Chapter 35

Chapter 35

[New Friend (2)]

Since that day, the friendships of the children in class 4 have changed.

First, the girls who used to hang out with Minji and Hayang gradually drifted away from them. They werent ignoring them, but they werent approaching them as friendly as before.

Surprisingly, Hayang took the girls distancing in stride.

Eunha asked her why,

I have better friends.

Hayang said something that made Eunha stop asking why. She was happy that Minji and Seo-na were the only friends she had to go to the restroom with every break.

Minji, on the other hand, was the one who seemed to be the most upset, and although she seemed to be acting as if nothing was wrong, to Eunha, it looked like she was holding back her emotions.

Tell the kids I told you to do it, that you dont know anything about it.

Eunha was worried, so he offered some advice,

No, never.

She glared at him with reddened eyes and didnt speak to him for a while.

Im sorry.

Seo-na, who blamed herself for all of this, had been avoiding them, so her job lately had been to run away from them and get caught by Hayang.

Anyway, with the girls relationships in trouble, it was hard for even Eunha to stick to his promise to spend time alone.

Eventually, a new group of five was formed in class 4: Eunha, Eunhyuk, Minji, Hayang, and Seo-na.

This is the captains house!

Why are you introducing it, Choi Eunhyuk? And its our house too, isnt it?

In the afternoon after class, the kids decided to play near Eunhas house.

Seo-na, who was still reluctant to hang out with them for fear of harming them, refused, but Eun-hyuk dragged her along.

If you play with me.

I dont care!

Huh?

It was too much trouble for Eunha to answer her finger-flicking question one by one.

Eunhyuk, realizing what she was about to say, interrupted.

You have more mana than me. The captain told me to befriend someone like this!

Hey.

For a moment, Eunhyuk looked pleased, but soon regretted it.

Eunhyuk picked up on the words Eunha had unconsciously blurted out.

Really?

Seo-na hadnt expected Eunhyuk to be so snobbish. Unsure of what to say to this unexpected answer, she blinked her red eyes.

I mean, dont look at me like that. Youre my friend!

Yeah.

A friend. Eunhyeoks stuttered words seemed to resonate with Seo-na. She smiled softly and didnt mention going home after that.

Come on in. Would you like some juice?

Hello!

Hi.

I walked into the house and was greeted by my mother. She paused for a moment when she saw Seo-na sandwiched between her children, but then greeted her in a friendly manner.

Yay!

Eunhyeok dropped his bag as soon as he entered and jumped onto the couch.

Eunha sighed, not knowing whose house this was.

Eunae, hi.

Kyaa.

Eunae, now two years old, greeted them. She had recently started crawling and clung to Eunhas feet for a hug.

Is this your sister?

Yes, my sister. Her name is No Eunae. Do you want to hold her?

Can I?

Seo-na took Eunae from Eunha. The motion of holding the baby was very natural.

Eunae opened her arms and tried to touch her ears and tail as if she was curious about Seo-na. Seo-na thought she was cute and wiggled her tail in front of her eyes.

Youre used to holding babies, arent you? Mukminji is bad at it.

What? Why are you picking on me?

Yeah. There are a lot of kids in the church.

Seo-na had grown up in the church, and she explained that when she went home, she helped the nuns take care of the younger children.

The children were deeply moved by her story. Hearing about abandoned children from her mouth, they realized that they were in a happy environment.

Hehe.

Just as the children were about to say something, Seona laughed it off.

Kyaa-!!!

Euna came back from school, saw Seo-na, and let out a high-decibel scream.

Ahh!

This time, it was Seonas scream.

Euna had jumped on the couch, just like Eunhyeok had done.

At Seona, too.

Sis, I would have done something if Eunae had gotten hurt.

Eunae, Im sorry, but youre so cute!

Oooh!

If Eunha hadnt quickly pulled Eunae away, Eunae would have gotten hurt.

Euna apologized to Eunae, but in Eunhas arms, Eunae turned her head away while laughing.

Euna was disappointed for a moment, but all that mattered now was Seo-na.

Fox ears! And a tail!

Excited to see her, Euna hugged and touched her, not caring if Seo-na was embarrassed or not.

My sister is sorry.

Aww, theres!

Your tail is so soft!

Euna couldnt hear what was being said around her once she was in it. The only way she could get out of it was when her attention turned elsewhere.

Eunha, Eunae, are you jealous?

Yeah, no, not at all.

In fact, Eunha had been unnecessarily jealous of Eunaes fondness for Seo-na.

She grumbled but walked to the designated spot on her own.

Haha, what if I scattered my mana?

Hmph, I thought I hid it pretty well!

If youre so clumsy, why didnt you just do it like Minji?

Eunhyeok was easier to find than Minji, hiding behind an outdoor unit on the first floor. Since he was openly using mana, there was no way he could not be found.

Heck, even Minji found him.

What, you cant do that too?

You cant either!

Its not that I cant, its that I dont.

Gathered in the designated area, Minji and Eunhyuk argued.

Eunha decided to find the others anyway.

Lets see, who else is.

The hide-and-seek began. I looked up at the rowhouse and felt no one.

Euna had learned to control her mana from a young age, and now she knew how to use physical enhancements as well, so she wasnt as easy to find when she was hiding.

Sis, I found you.

Uh? how did you know?

How could I not find you?

But Eunha searched everywhere he could think of and found her.

Dont underestimate my sisters senses.

Eunha could confidently guess where Euna was on the planet.

Its not fair. I hid so well.

You were really good at it.

Right? Hehe.

Praise makes even whales dance. Euna, who was instantly relieved, hugged Eunha.

The rest of us are Hayang and Seo-nae.

This was a tricky one.

There was no sign of Hayang even after entering the building. She had excelled at controlling her mana among the children and was showing her true colours in hide-and-seek.

Luckily, Jin seona wasnt so good at it that he couldnt find her.

This is no joke.

He stumbled over to where she was supposed to be, only to find that she wasnt there. There were only traces of her golden fur left.

She didnt have access to mana, but her animal senses told her that Eunha was approaching, and she was ducking and weaving.

He called out,

Jin Seona, stop!

Not yet! If I dont get caught, Im free!

Seona was unexpectedly stubborn. When Eunha finally finds her, she quickly runs out and yells at him that if she doesnt get caught, shes able to run.

And because of what she said,

Huh? I see!

Ha, weve been tricked. Euna, lets run away.

Huh? Is that okay? Um, yeah! I wanted to do it one more time!

And so began the escape. The three escaped while Eunha was not looking.

Stay there!

Before they knew it, hide-and-seek had turned into a game of cops and thieves. The children stopped trying to cover their tracks with mana and began to use their physical strength to escape Eunhas grasp.

They recognized a loophole in the rules. Unable to use mana, Eunha could only gasp for breath and chase after them.

Damn it, Im being played!

Cursing under his breath, he ran and ran to catch them.

Where do I hide?

After entering the tenement house, Hayang looked around for a place to hide.

Here I go!

Eunha could be heard shouting in the distance.

I-I, first, send my mana to .

In a panic, Hayang suppressed the mana leaking out as much as possible. She had been practicing mana control in her spare time, and she hid it inside her body to hide its presence.

First, lets see where.

I found Minji!

In the meantime, Eunha seemed to have found Minji.

At this rate, they would be caught without being able to hide.

Looking for a place to hide, Hayang decided to go up the stairs.

It was a four-story row house, but it was hard for her to climb to the last floor.

Whoa.

After climbing up, Hayang regretted it. Unlike the other floors, the fourth floor didnt have any hiding places.

Uhhm, what should I do.

Should she go back down?

She thought as she looked back the way she came,

Huh?

The stacks of books in the hallway caught her eye.

No! I have to hide now!

Despite her resolve, she was tempted by the books.

With a glint in her eye, Hayang slowly walked over and looked at the books in the hallway.

I want to read them.

Her eyes shone, unaware of the saliva running down her face, but the books were tied together with a string so tightly that even she couldnt loosen it.

Hmph.

She sulked and gave up,

She walked along the path that led to the books, and some of the books were just resting on the string.

She flipped through the pages without realizing how much time had passed.

She flipped and flipped and flipped,

This is interesting!

Before she knew it, she was at a house with an open door.