In the end, Sakomizu and the others conceded defeat. "Stop smiling. You don't have to force it if you don't feel like it."
If they weren't trying to avoid smiling, why were the expressions on the two children's faces so stiff? It was almost as if... they were masked puppets...
None of them wanted to think of any other answer. They simply and stubbornly chose to believe that the two children were just tired—that they didn't really want to smile, but were forcing themselves to do so anyway.
Chapter 122