Even after my disappointing second-place finish, I challenged the game for another three grueling hours, yet victory—first place—eluded me every single time.
It was unequivocally the fault of the computer I was using.
As I emerged from the internet cafe, grumbling under my breath, Harin offered a bright, comforting smile.
“It’s alright, Ha-yeon. What does it matter if you’re not good at games? Our Ha-yeon is so pretty that it’s perfectly forgivable even if you’re not skilled at other things.”
That *was* meant as comfort, right? Why did a ten-year-old’s gentle words still manage to get under my skin?
“That’s right, cheer up, Ha-yeon. Your eonni bought you something delicious, didn’t she?”
Ah, that beautiful part-time worker *noona*… no, should I call her *eonni* now?
Regardless, the tuna spam mayo rice bowl that older, graceful woman had prepared was fantastically delicious.
I’d have to ask Seon-ah to make it for me sometime as well.
“I’m truly fine, so you don’t all have to comfort me so much.”
“Really? Well, that’s a relief then.”
But what should we do now?
The only activity I had planned for the day was precisely this internet cafe visit.
As if reading my innermost thoughts, Harin suddenly burst with excitement, pointing animatedly towards something.
“I want to play that claw machine over there!”
A claw machine, huh… A sigh escaped me.
Was it finally time to unveil my true prowess?
“Let’s go, right now.”
Rolling up my sleeves, I displayed my unwavering resolve.
Striding purposefully into the arcade, I was quickly followed by Harin and Seon-ah.
Inside the transparent glass of the claw machine, an array of rather cute animal plushies were densely stacked.
At a thousand won per try, the price seemed reasonable enough for an arcade.
“Alright, Eonni, quickly hand us some bills.”
“Ha-yeon, you have enough money to spend a million won on games, yet you entrust this kind of money to your eonni?”
At Seon-ah’s words, Harin, who had been listening nearby, gasped in utter shock.
“A million… a million won?! Ha-yeon, what are you talking about?”
Tsk, tsk.
Why does Seon-ah always have to blurt out such unnecessary things, ruining a child’s sense of financial reality?
This wasn’t my fault for having spent a million won on ‘hyeonjil’ (TL Note: A Korean slang term referring to spending real money on virtual items or currency in a game), but rather Seon-ah’s fault for explicitly mentioning it in front of a child.
“Where would I get a million won, Harin? Eonni took all my money, so I don’t have a single penny.”
“Gasp! Eonni, is that true? How could you take Ha-yeon’s money… Eonni, you’re absolutely awful!”
“No… when did I…”
Seon-ah looked as if she was about to protest, but to stop her, I stretched out my hand, gesturing for her to quickly give me the bills.
“Honestly.
First, pretending not to know after turning off the computer, and now this—she’s suddenly become incredibly brazen.”
“I want to pick a doll quickly, Eonni.
Harin, isn’t that rabbit doll super cute?”
“Wow, it is, isn’t it?
That rabbit is totally my style!”
“So.
You’ll hand over the money quickly, won’t you?”
Seon-ah, who laughed as if dumbfounded by my continuous boldness and audacity, opened her mouth.
“Then show this eonni some aegyo (TL Note: A Korean term referring to a display of cuteness, often involving childlike gestures, tones, and expressions), and I’ll give it to you.”
“See, Harin? Eonni says she wants to see your aegyo.”
Pushing Harin’s back, who was standing beside me, I swiftly retreated behind her.
“No, no.
Of course, Harin’s aegyo would be incredibly cute, but this eonni wants to see *Ha-yeon’s* aegyo, you know?”
Hmph.
So that’s how she’s going to play it?
Well, there’s nothing for it then.
Hidden behind Harin, I strode purposefully towards Seon-ah.
“Oh my, are you really going to do it?”
Passing by Seon-ah, who wore an excited expression at the thought of seeing my aegyo, my steps continued past her.
“Ha-yeon, where are you going?”
“To withdraw money.”
– *Whirrr.*
Ten thousand-won bills were placed onto my hand.
“Alright, shall we try the claw machine now?”
Sorry, but I have no intention of showing my aegyo.
Passing by Seon-ah, who clicked her tongue in disappointment, I approached the rabbit doll Harin and I had spotted earlier.
“Here, I’ll give you five.
Go ahead and try.”
“Okay!”
Harin, having received five thousand-won bills from me, her eyes sparkling, tapped on the glass.
Her target was a white rabbit doll with droopy ears, precariously perched on top of other dolls, looking as if it might fall at any moment.
“Aren’t you going to give any to Eonni?”
Seon-ah asked me, gazing at the five bills remaining in my right hand.
“Of course, I can give them to you.
Here, take them.”
Smiling gently, I placed the bills on my palm.
And as Seon-ah reached out her hand for the money…
I pulled my hand back.
“I’ll give them to you if you show me some aegyo, Eonni.”
“Hmm, unlike some people, I’m not easily embarrassed, so I can certainly do that much.”
“Really? Then go ahead and try.”
Watching her with my arms crossed, thinking, ‘Surely she wouldn’t actually do it,’ I saw Seon-ah clear her throat, then begin to perform aegyo (TL Note: A Korean term referring to a display of cuteness, often involving childlike gestures, tones, and expressions) in a delicate voice.
“One plus one equals… cutie! Two plus two also equals… cutie!”
As Seon-ah continued her aegyo, pressing her fingers to her cheeks, the sheer cringe of it made me unable to watch any longer, so I swiftly handed over the bills in my hand.
“Yay! Now I get to play too!”
Seon-ah, running excitedly to Harin’s side, looked utterly delighted.
It seemed I had somewhat underestimated Seon-ah.
With all my claw machine money gone, I withdrew more bills and approached the children, who were engrossed in their game.
Seon-ah, wearing a supremely confident expression, inserted a bill into the machine.
“Look, if you just know the trick, you can easily pick them up.”
To my recollection, Seon-ah had never been particularly good at claw machines…
Well, perhaps the Seon-ah here might be a little different, but based on experience, the Seon-ah I knew and the Seon-ah here were almost identical.
As the machine moved with cheerful music, Seon-ah immediately grabbed the joystick and slowly maneuvered the claw.
“A little to the right, Eonni? No, left from there!”
Harin waved her hand, directing her from the side.
Tsk, tsk.
Your skills are truly endearing, Seon-ah.
To be receiving advice from someone much younger than you.
As expected, Seon-ah’s attempt failed.
Continuing to lament, “Such a waste! Ah… it really should have worked this time!” Seon-ah eventually used up all five bills I had given her.
“That was really close, Eonni.
It’s my turn now.”
Anyone could tell it wasn’t close at all.
Harin truly was kind.
And so, Harin tried her best as well, but she missed all five of her opportunities.
“Well, well.
It seems I have no choice but to step in.”
“I wasn’t good at kart racing, but somehow, I feel like Ha-yeon will be amazing at this!”
“Both of you, watch closely.”
Claw machines aren’t actually about luck.
As a self-proclaimed claw machine master, let me share some pro tips.
First, dolls positioned further away are often easier to retrieve.
This is because the claw’s grip is deliberately weakened for dolls located near the entrance to prevent easy wins.
Also, for dolls with wide bodies and short limbs, it’s best to grab them by the body.
If the doll slips from the middle or the grasped position when you try to lift it by its belly, it likely has a large head or bottom, so you should grab that part instead.
My target, that rabbit doll, is somewhat long.
For long dolls, you need to grab them when they are far from the entrance, allowing the doll to bend and shift.
When grabbing, aim for about a third of the way down from the back, not the very end, to prevent the doll from easily slipping out.
Good.
Now that I’ve completed a perfect review, shall I put it into practice?
With a whirring sound, the claw stopped above the target rabbit doll.
As I pressed the button, the claw slowly descended, gripping the doll’s ears as if to pinch them.
‘It’s done!’
I hadn’t intended for it to happen quite like that, but it turned out to be an even better situation.
The claw, holding the doll, struggled to maintain its grip as it moved towards the exit, then nudged two small dolls near the entrance, causing them to drop out as well.
“Kyaaah!”
“Wow!”
Harin and Seon-ah, who had been watching with bated breath, cheered.
Perhaps I was a little lucky, but what did it matter?
Harin looked so happy.
Taking out the rabbit doll, I immediately handed it to Harin.
“Are you giving it to me?”
“It’s a gift for playing with me today.”
With that kind of reaction, how could I *not* give it to her? I absolutely had to.
Watching Harin bounce with delight, I then handed one of the two smaller dolls, which had luckily been picked up along with the rabbit, to Seon-ah.
“This one’s for you, Eonni.”
I wasn’t sure what character it was, but the doll looked remarkably like Seon-ah.
“Thank you, Ha-yeon.
This is so cute!”
“Doesn’t it look like you, Eonni?”
“It does, doesn’t it?
Now that I look at it, the remaining one even resembles Ha-yeon.”
At her words, I lowered my gaze to the doll still in my hand.
It was a character with white hair and red eyes.
“How strange.
How did a doll like this just happen to be picked?”
All three of us emerged from the arcade, clutching our dolls tightly.
“That was so much fun!”
“Yeah, it really was fun.
Ha-yeon, you’re so good.”
Afterward, we bought a whole assortment of ice cream from a discount store, each holding one in hand.
As we walked down the street, enjoying our delicious ice cream, a tall, handsome man in a crisp shirt stopped, then cautiously addressed us.
“Excuse me for a moment?”
Harin was diligently licking the ice cream in her hand, while Seon-ah instinctively swept him with a suspicious gaze.
“If you don’t mind me asking, are you two students?”
He fixed his gaze on Harin and me, smiling cautiously.
“I work for an idol agency, and your appearances and aura really caught my eye.
I was wondering if you might be interested.”
“Us…?”
Harin’s wide-eyed expression was rather adorable.
“Yes.
You both have a great vibe.
Especially, I think you’d be perfect if you debuted as a team.”
As he took out a business card and prepared to hand it over, Seon-ah suddenly stepped forward, spreading her arms wide.
“Just a moment.
Would you mind not approaching our children so casually?”
He was momentarily flustered by Seon-ah’s firm tone but soon smiled again and nodded.
“Oh, I just noticed, but you are also quite beautiful.
You might be a bit past the age for an idol, but have you ever considered acting?”
At his words, Seon-ah’s eyes wavered slightly.
Inside, she was probably ecstatic.
“Ahem… I’m fine, thank you.
But you really shouldn’t approach our children directly like that.”
“Ah, yes.
I understand how it might look.
We are a legitimate agency.
Here’s my business card.
You can verify it.”
The business card bore a gleaming logo and contact information, printed with crisp clarity.
Typically, scammers are hesitant to hand out business cards, often preferring you to simply take a picture of their details.
In that regard, he might have seemed somewhat trustworthy.
Moreover, the logo printed on it was one of the most famous idol agencies in Korea.
“Oh, oh! This is that super famous agency!”
Harin, at an age where she was very interested in idols, looked thrilled.
“Well, I suppose I can accept a business card.”
As Seon-ah reached out to take the card, I, in turn, stopped her.
My sudden, unexpected action, after silently observing the situation, caused the other three to look at me with puzzled expressions.
I didn’t do this because I thought he was a scammer.
He was probably indeed someone who worked for an idol entertainment company.
The reason I didn’t accept that man’s business card was simple.
[Name: Park Joon-ho]
[Crime: Sexual Harassment]
[Sentence: 2 years probation, 120 hours community service]
[Victims: 5]
It was because of the holographic window that appeared before him as he stepped closer to hand over the card.
I had only one thing to say to a man like that.
“Get lost.”
