Prologue Story

Fortunately, I managed to resist the temptation of magic until nightfall.

After going for a walk, I distracted myself with other activities besides reading books.

Luckily, I noticed the blocks that Dad had bought for me a few days ago, so I played with those.

They were none other than the famous OxXrd blocks!

I was amazed that they existed in this world too.

I pressed the blocks tightly to secure the connecting surfaces.

Wow, I’m really playing like a child.

Even if it’s childish, so what?

Playing like a kid is fun in its own way.

It feels nostalgic, in a sense.

By the way, the blocks in this world can also change shape.

I happily built a model house.

After finishing her training, even Inha, who initially seemed uninterested, started fiddling with the blocks out of boredom.

It was around that time when Dad came home.

I heard the front door open and close, and I turned to him with a wide smile.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome home, Dad.”

With my hands on the blocks and my head fixed in Dad’s direction, I greeted him.

Dad smiled at me with a look that said I was adorable.

“Well, Eunha, did you have fun?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded.

Dad looked at the nearly finished two-story house I had built with the blocks, and this time he praised me.

“Oh, you did a great job.”

“Hehehe.”

Even though it was praise you would give to a little kid, I couldn’t help but smile.

I didn’t mind being treated like a child.

After all, in my past life, I had left my parents behind.

Looking at it, the house I built was pretty well-made, if I do say so myself.

I couldn’t say I was great at crafting, but the structure was quite complete.

Although the walls were so tightly packed that the inside was completely dark, I could light it up with a light orb inside the blocks.

With a single phrase, “Shine,” the inside of the block house brightened, and I became genuinely happy.

It did make me feel a little embarrassed, but well, I’m a child now, so it’s fine.

Then, memories of playing like this even as an adult in my past life came to mind, making me even more embarrassed.

But honestly, doesn’t everyone do that?

Building blocks even after turning 20 and feeling nostalgic—everyone’s done that at least once, right?

I made excuses to myself like that.

“Did Inha play with you?”

“Inha doesn’t seem to like blocks that much.”

“Is that so?”

Dad asked me the question, but Mom was the one who answered.

Really?

I tilted my head slightly in response to the question.

From what I saw, Inha seemed somewhat interested.

This time, I tried making a tree next to the house.

As I started stacking small blocks in a straight line, I got a feeling.

Ugh… this is going to topple over.

It seemed like making a tree with blocks was impossible.

Well, without magic, that is.

Next time, I’ll have to learn some magic that can keep things attached without collapsing, like magnetic force.

Oh, and while doing this, I thought of something—I want to try building impossible stairs with the blocks.

The kind where the bottom is empty, but it still functions as a staircase.

‘Oh, that’s a great idea! I should practice magic with the blocks next time like that.’

“Our Eunha may seem mature, but when I see things like this, she’s really like a child.”

Huh…?

I was stacking blocks with a smile when I heard Mom’s words and turned to her with a puzzled expression.

But all I saw was Inha’s dark, emotionless gaze.

I returned my focus to the blocks.

I thought Inha had smiled just now—was it my imagination?

I mean, she’s human too, so she must laugh sometimes.

But I had never seen her smile while being with the family, so it was probably just my imagination.

In the end, I finished building a huge mansion with the blocks.

But by then, it was already past 9 PM, so I quickly started disassembling the blocks and putting them back in the box.

Thankfully, Inha, who had already washed up, helped me.

Inha may seem cold, but she’s quite considerate.

Though she’s distant, she’s not entirely unfeeling.

Seeing me putting the blocks into the plastic box, Mom came over and spoke.

“Eunha, you know your kindergarten break ends tomorrow, right?”

“…Oh, no.”

“You need to prepare before going to bed.”

“Okay.”

After looking at us briefly, Inha headed into my room first.

I began thinking about what I needed to pack for kindergarten tomorrow.

Hmm, the kindergarten bag is in my room.

The uniform, pencil case… wait, there’s not much to pack.

I went to wash up and entered my room.

I took out my kindergarten uniform from the drawer and placed it under the bed.

I also pulled the bag from the closet and set it under the bed.

I packed a notebook and some pens from the bookshelf in front of my desk.

That was pretty much all I had to prepare.

Lastly, I set the alarm.

I glanced at the desk for a moment, but then turned away.

Since I’m going to kindergarten tomorrow, I’ll skip setting up my character today.

I slightly lifted the blanket and crawled into bed.

I saw Inha lying on the wall-side of the bed, already asleep.

I stared at her sleeping profile for a moment before lying down next to her and closing my eyes.

For some reason, I had a feeling I would sleep better than usual tonight.

I woke up to the sound of the alarm.

Quickly turning it off, I got up.

My feeling was right.

It had been a long time since I fell asleep the moment I hit the bed.

I slept deeply, without dreaming, for the first time in a while.

I felt incredibly refreshed.

I looked to the side and saw Inha still soundly asleep.

Smiling softly at her peaceful face, I carefully climbed down from the bed so as not to wake her.

I began my usual early morning routine, getting ready to go to kindergarten.

I washed my face, changed clothes, and ate the breakfast that Mom had prepared in the kitchen.

While eating, Mom brought up work.

Mom’s job was almost like freelancing—she only worked when she had a commission.

So, she often had days off, but sometimes she had to be out all day.

Today, she mentioned that she had to be out all day tomorrow.

“Tomorrow, the whole day?”

“Yeah.”

I paused mid-bite, a slightly worried expression crossing my face.

“Then Inha will be home alone in the morning?”

“Seems that way. I feel bad for Inha too. I’ll leave breakfast ready, but for lunch, you’ll have to order something. I’ll leave some money.”

“What? I have to order?”

“Well, you’re the head of the house, so you should handle it. Though I suppose it’s a bit much to ask a little girl like you…”

Well, I’m not exactly an ordinary child, so it should be fine.

After reassuring Mom that I could handle it, I fell into thought for a moment.

“So, it’ll just be me and Inha in the afternoon? Hmm…”

It felt kind of strange.

I folded my short arms in thought, and Mom looked at me with a slightly worried expression.

“Now that I think about it… you don’t talk to Inha much, do you? Do you not like her? Or is she uncomfortable to be around?”

I was a bit flustered by the question.

“Well, I mean, she’s a little uncomfortable to be around…? We’re not that close. But it’s not like I dislike her. It’s just, you know, she doesn’t seem interested, so it feels awkward to force a conversation.”

“Hm.”

“And besides, I don’t mind the quiet. I don’t dislike being able to just sit quietly together… But if I had to say, I do want to get closer. I’m just not great at making friends…”

I started mumbling complaints to Mom, and she stroked my head with a tender smile.

“You want to be friends?”

“Yeah… I mean, Inha’s pretty and cool…”

“Oh my, where did you learn the word ‘cool’?”

I grinned mischievously at her comment.

“Hehe. And we’ve met quite often, so I’ve gotten used to her. I feel a bit of familiarity. And her magic power—it sparkles so beautifully that I want to touch it. Her personality is definitely cold, but she’s not as aloof as she seems. She actually cares for others in her own way…”

“So, you really want to be friends?”

“Yeah, I think it’d be nice. I’m not good at making friends, but still… See, it’s been a year since we met, but I still can’t talk to her properly.”

“Oh my, but to me, you and Inha seem close.”

Really?

I tilted my head.

Then, Mom smiled warmly and patted my hair.

“I hope you two become closer.”

“Yeah!”

I nodded enthusiastically with a big smile.

Really, I hope we do get closer.

I’d be so happy!

After breakfast, I finished getting ready and boarded the bus to kindergarten.

The atmosphere at kindergarten, now that the break was over, was quite lively.

The kids seemed excited to see their friends again after so long.

I, too, felt a small tinge of excitement for the same reason.

Even though we were in different classes, I happily reunited with Yumi.

“Hi, Eunha! What did you do during the break?”

“Well, I read books.”

“Oh, I see! Which one was the most fun?”

“There’s one called ‘The Boy’s Dreaming Room,’ it’s a novel.”

“Not a fairy tale?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, that’s impressive!”

Yumi genuinely admired me.

For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I should feel happy about that.

Well, we are kindergarteners after all.

“I read books too, and then I went out with my dad and mom. We went to the beach, to the mountains…”

Yumi cheerfully recounted her vacation.

From what I gathered, it sounded like she went camping.

She also talked about her younger brother, who’s a year younger than her.

Apparently, he’s really shy and always hides behind Yumi or follows her around when there are strangers, making it hard for her to play.

I thought he must be a pretty cute little brother.

As we chatted, the time for class approached.

Since we were in different classes this year, we had to part ways.

Yumi and I waved to each other as we went our separate ways.

As I headed to class, I noticed other kids greeting Yumi.

Being shy, I hadn’t really made any friends this year…

But Yumi, being so outgoing, had quite a few friends besides me.

I smiled as I watched her and then entered the classroom.

It was an ordinary day, aside from being the first day back.

We had playful lessons, as usual.

And we finished a bit earlier than usual.

I took the bus home again.

There had been a kid I was starting to get close to before the break, but now that school was back, it felt awkward again.

Honestly, this shyness of mine has been with me since my past life and just won’t go away.

I wonder how long it’ll take for me to get over it.

Considering I’ll probably keep reincarnating with my memories, how many lives will it take for me to fix this shyness?

I chuckled to myself at the thought and got off the bus.

Then, I was a little surprised.

I had expected Mom to come and pick me up, as usual.

But today, it wasn’t just Mom—Inha had come to pick me up too.

I widened my eyes in surprise, looking at Mom and Inha.

Even the male teacher, who was standing by the bus to drop me off, seemed surprised to see Inha.

He seemed to notice Inha before even noticing me or Mom.

Which made sense—Inha was dazzlingly beautiful.

“Oh, Eunha’s mother, and that child…?”

“Oh, she’s a friend’s daughter. She’s staying with us for a bit. She was bored at home, so when I said I was going to pick Eunha up, she decided to come along.”

“So, this child doesn’t attend kindergarten?”

“No, she said she doesn’t want to go…”

“I see. She’s a really pretty girl. I’m sure she’d be popular if she came to kindergarten. It would be great if she came with Eunha.”

Inha glanced at the teacher with an expressionless face and then shifted her gaze to me.

I blinked as I looked at her.

It seemed like she wanted to say something, as she opened and closed her mouth a few times.

“…?”

I tilted my head, but Inha turned away.

Huh…

Did the teacher’s suggestion about coming to kindergarten bother her?

She seemed a little annoyed.