Elliebobellie

Nam-Gyu sat cross-legged on the cold floor, watching Dae-Ho’s hands move with an effortless grace that almost irritated him. Five small stones danced between his fingers, flicked into the air, caught in rapid succession. It was over in seconds—too fast for Nam-Gyu to even process what had happened.

Dae-Ho smirked, placing the stones neatly in front of Nam-Gyu. “Your turn.”

Nam-Gyu frowned. “Okay, what the hell was that? Did you just glitch?”

Dae-Ho chuckled, leaning back on his hands. “It’s just Gonggi. Basic stuff.”

Nam-Gyu scowled at the little stones like they had personally offended him. “You call that basic?” He picked up one of the stones and rolled it between his fingers, already skeptical of his own ability to pull off whatever the hell Dae-Ho had just done.

Dae-Ho nudged him with his knee. “Come on, I’ll walk you through it. First, toss one stone in the air—”

Nam-Gyu followed the instruction. The stone went up.

“—and before it falls, grab another one from the ground.”

Nam-Gyu reached—too slow. The stone smacked him right in the forehead.

Dae-Ho bit his lip, trying so hard not to laugh. Nam-Gyu turned to glare at him. “Don’t.”

“I wasn’t—”

“You were.”

Dae-Ho cleared his throat, putting on his best serious instructor face. “Try again.”

Nam-Gyu did. And again. And again. He kept failing, but Dae-Ho was patient, guiding his hands when needed, offering advice in that calm, infuriatingly gentle way of his. It made Nam-Gyu’s chest feel weird. Warm.

Eventually, Nam-Gyu managed to grab a second stone mid-air. He gasped dramatically. “Oh my god. I’m a natural.”

Dae-Ho snorted. “Yeah, okay, prodigy.”

Nam-Gyu shot him a playful glare before tossing another stone, but his mind wandered as he watched Dae-Ho effortlessly demonstrate another round.

Dae-Ho had mentioned he played this a lot growing up—with his sisters. And if Dae-Ho, the supposed worst out of all of them, could play like this...

Nam-Gyu shuddered. “Hey, uh… if you were the weakest link, how terrifying were your sisters?”

Dae-Ho raised an eyebrow. “Oh, terrifying is an understatement.”

Nam-Gyu gulped.

Dae-Ho chuckled, tossing a stone and catching it without looking. “Ji-Yeong was the best, obviously. She could play Gonggi with one hand while writing with the other. And Hye-Jin? She used to gamble with the neighborhood kids and wipe the floor with them. My oldest sister, Sun-Mi, could probably beat both of us blindfolded.”

Nam-Gyu stared. “And the fourth one?”

Dae-Ho smirked. “Oh, she didn’t play. She just stole our snacks when we were too busy focusing on the game.”

Nam-Gyu groaned, rubbing his temples. “Your family is insane.”

Dae-Ho just shrugged. “You’re dating me, so…”

Nam-Gyu scowled. “Not the flex you think it is, soldier boy.”

Dae-Ho grinned. “You love it.”

Nam-Gyu huffed, tossing another stone—and this time, he actually caught it right. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless. He grinned.