chapter_0529

529 – Buying a Game

529 – Buying a Game

The morning just before lunch.

I was basking in the sun in front of the Ggaemmi Guild building, having nothing in particular to do.

“Heeheehee!”

Saebyeok came galloping towards me on the black horse Divine Beast Hihihing at an incredible speed.

Just when I thought it might crash into something due to its speed, Hihihing quickly turned half a circle while stepping on the ground.

“Wow.”

It was an amazing feat that left me in awe.

I clapped my hands together with the kids nearby.

“Saebyeok, what was that just now?”

“This is horseback riding skill.”

“That’s amazing. Are you practicing horseback riding?”

“Yeah. I have other skills too, want to see?”

“Yeah, I want to see.”

As I nodded, Saebyeok showcased tricks with Hihihing.

It jumped sideways, backwards, and even leaped high into the sky.

They say it’s nearly impossible for a horse’s body structure to jump sideways and backwards.

But since Hihihing is a Divine Beast, its movements were astonishing.

“Wow! Wow!”

The one who reacted the most to the combination of Saebyeok and Hihihing was none other than Gaeul.

As Gaeul hopped closer, perhaps sensing danger, Hihihing stopped moving.

“Ikku Gaeulrik.”

“Do you want to ride Hihihing too, Gaeul?”

“No!”

When Saebyeok jumped off Hihihing’s back, Hihihing lowered its head and began to munch on the hay in the park.

Gaeul, who had been watching intently, clung to Hihihing’s face.

“Ikku?”

“That’s not how you ride…”

Gaeul seemed startled when she suddenly clung to Hihihing’s head, causing Hihihing to lift its head up.

As a result, Gaeul ended up hanging upside down on Hihihing’s head.

“Huh?”

Hihihing strolled around the park with Gaeul hanging upside down.

Noticing something strange, Gaeul’s eyes widened.

“Gaeul, is it okay to ride like that?”

“Hek…?”

Gaeul tilted her head.

Was that a signal for Hihihing to move? Hihihing started running towards the park pond.

At quite a fast speed.

“Juiii…”

Gaeul’s voice trailed off as she drifted away.

I watched Gaeul, who had gone quite far, and turned to Bomi beside me.

“When Gaeul comes back, do you want to try riding Hihihing too, Bomi?”

“No! I’m going to be the one carrying people!”

“Carrying people?”

“Yeah! When I become a dragon later, I’ll carry Gyeoul and Saebyeok! Normally, dragons don’t carry anyone, but I’ll make an exception!”

Imagining Bomi as a magnificent dragon soaring through the sky made my tail wag with excitement.

“Master…! I’ll carry you too…!”

“Haneul?”

“Yes…! I’ll be Haneul’s car…! Later, please ride on top of Haneul…!”

“Uh… should I…?”

Haneul as a car?

It felt scary because it seemed like something Haneul could actually become.

‘She won’t be transforming her whole body into a machine, right?’

As I chuckled at the thought of Haneul transforming like a robot from a cartoon, Gaeul, who had drifted away, returned to us.

In the short time I hadn’t seen her, something had happened, and Gaeul was now hanging under Hihihing’s neck.

“Juin! Juiiin!”

Hihihing approached me with a terrified Gaeul in tow.

As Hihihing stopped right in front of me, Gaeul slid down Hihihing’s neck.

“Hihihing, hello.”

“Can’t you ride Hihihing?”

“No. Hihihing, hello.”

Gaeul shook her head, looking around at the other Divine Beasts.

After staring at Gubugi for a while, Gaeul shook her head and eventually climbed onto the back of the new Divine Beast Jjaekjjae.

‘Could it be that she was considering riding Gubugi?’

Gubugi was too small to ride.

No, even though it looks small, it’s the sturdiest among the Divine Beasts.

Maybe if she stepped on it with one foot, she could somehow ride it?

While I was pondering over Gubugi, Gaeul began to sway on Jjaekjjae’s back.

“Iryaki ryaki!”

As Gaeul swayed her upper body back and forth, Jjaekjjae started to flap its enormous wings.

One wing was bigger than me, yet there wasn’t a sound of flapping at all.

“Bee bee!”

Jjaekjjae, carrying Gaeul, soared into the sky.

As Gaeul rose higher, her eyebrows, which had been furrowed in fear, began to relax.

“Hello. Ikku hello.”

Bang bang bang bang—

Gaeul patted Jjaekjjae’s back.

She looked both urgent and determined.

It seemed that riding on a Divine Beast was still a difficult task for our Gaeul.

**

“Wanga! Wanga! Levinas has discovered something amazing!”

Levinas approached me while I was resting and playing with the Divine Beasts.

He seemed in a hurry, bouncing on his feet.

“What is it?”

“They say there’s a place in the department store we always go to that sells Gaim!”

Dun dun—!

Levinas said this with a very serious expression.

I didn’t know why he was so serious, but I decided to mimic Levinas’s emotions.

“This can’t be.”

“I thought Gaim was only sold on computers!”

These days, digital is more common than physical.

But there’s a certain feeling that only physical items can provide.

“Shall we go check out the games then?”

“Yeah!”

I moved to the department store with the kids.

The place selling game packages was near the digital store.

“Wow.”

The latest gaming consoles and their accessories were piled up.

Since it was a game everyone loved, we couldn’t help but be interested.

“Wanga, what’s this?”

“I think it’s a newly released game.”

“Wow!”

Levinas’s eyes sparkled as he showed interest in the latest console.

It was an expensive console, nearly a million won.

It was a bit burdensome, but it wasn’t an amount I couldn’t afford now.

“Levinas, should I buy this for you?”

“No! Anyway, Jijoeunchoigang Kwon Arin will have it!”

“Huh?”

It’s a console that hasn’t even been out for a month; would she really have it at home?

I stroked my chin, pondering.

It seemed highly likely that she would.

“Then shall we buy a game instead of the console?”

“Yeah!”

I chose a game to play at Kwon Arin’s house with Levinas.

Among the games for sale, there were quite a few with cute graphics suitable for children.

“Levinas, how about this one? The Land of Animals…”

As I approached Levinas with the game console, something felt off.

Levinas and the kids were staring wide-eyed at one spot.

“Juin Ikku muyak?”

“What is it?”

Gaeul pointed to a boy lying flat on the floor.

Next to the boy was a game console and a middle-aged woman with a troubled expression.

“Don’t you have that at home?”

“This is a new release!”

The boy on the floor rolled around.

Was he throwing a tantrum to get the console?

I didn’t think the boy’s behavior was wrong.

Most kids go through a phase like that.

Our kids, who don’t throw tantrums, are unusually well-behaved…

“…Gaeul?”

While I was lost in thought for a moment, Gaeul approached the boy.

Staring intently at the boy lying down, Gaeul lay down on the floor beside him.

“……?”

Both the boy and his mother just watched Gaeul’s sudden appearance.

Then Gaeul began to laugh and roll around like a child.

“Ah.”

Did Gaeul think this was some kind of game?

I watched the boy and his mother, then gently lifted Gaeul up.

“Gaeul, this isn’t a game.”

“Hello?”

“No.”

The kids, except for Saebyeok, looked at me.

Their eyes seemed to ask what it was if it wasn’t a game.

After all, it must be their first time seeing a child throwing a tantrum like that.

As I pondered how to explain, I decided to give a somewhat softened explanation.

Of course, I explained it in a place where the boy and his mother weren’t present.

“Um… how should I put it, it’s an action you do when you desperately want something?”

“Wow!”

Upon hearing my explanation, Levinas lay down on the ground.

Then he started rolling around just like the boy from earlier.

“Levinas wants a new Gaim!”

“Gaeulrik Ggaemmi!”

Levinas and Gaeul laughed playfully as they rolled on the floor.

Bomi and Haneul, who were watching, also lay down on the ground.

“I want a water balloon.”

“I want a pretty fountain pen…”

Roll roll roll.

The kids, except for Saebyeok, rolled around on the marble floor of the department store.

“Gyeoul, should I roll too?”

“Ah, no…”

As I panicked watching the kids, Saebyeok stepped forward.

Saebyeok looked down at the kids with a more serious expression than usual and said,

“Kids, that’s something bad kids do. Can’t you see Gyeoul’s expression?”

At Saebyeok’s words, the kids rolling on the floor looked at me.

Seeing me panicking, Levinas stopped rolling and jumped up.

“Le, Levinas doesn’t need a game.”

“Gaeulrik Ggaemmi, hello.”

With Gaeul shaking her head to the point of dizziness and Haneul fidgeting, everyone got up to avoid being bad kids, while only Bomi remained lying on the floor.

“Water balloon!”

Heeheehee.

Bomi laughed wickedly.

Our Bomi was a child who wasn’t afraid of becoming a bad kid.

**

After buying the game and the water balloon fountain pen, we returned to the guild building.

On the way, Gaeul found an ant she wanted.

“Wanga! Are we going to play games?!”

“Yeah.”

We headed to Kwon Arin’s house with Levinas’s game.

Knock knock knock—

When Kwon Arin opened the door, we showed her the game.

Kwon Arin scratched her cheek while looking at the game we brought.

“I’m using the digital version…?”

“Huh? What’s the digital version?”

“It means the game you bought won’t work.”

“……”

Thud—

Levinas knelt down.

I knelt down too, following Levinas.

Seeing our actions, Gaeul placed the ant on my knee.

Thanks to that, I felt a bit comforted.