41) Chapter 8. This Year for Sure! (4)

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Trouble.

That was the only thing on Soi’s mind as cold sweat ran down her back.

There hadn’t been any special reason she called Ji‑hye and Mirae over. They were hovering awkwardly nearby, looking like they wanted to join in.

Letting them sit next to her was fine.
Talking about games was fine.

But then Ji‑hye tried to touch Rua’s chest.

No—no, not the real Rua.
And yes, technically Soi touched Rua’s chest almost every day.
And Chae‑yi practically lived in Rua’s arms.

But still—
She didn’t like it.

When Soi or Chae‑yi touched Rua, Rua reacted calmly.
Sometimes she made a cute little “h-heh” sound, sometimes she blushed, but she’d built up resistance to Soi’s constant clinginess. Unless they deliberately teased her, she didn’t react much.

But the Rua inside the game—
The character who resembled Rua—
showed reactions the real Rua never did.

Not just blushing, but flustered, shy, a little annoyed, yet not wanting to pull away—
a sly, teasing kind of reaction Rua would never show.

Ah.

Anyway, that was why Soi instinctively grabbed Ji‑hye’s hand to stop her.

While she was still dazed, Rua, Ji‑hye, and Mirae exchanged greetings…
And then Soi felt a stare.

She turned her head.

Chae‑yi had leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowed, staring straight at her.

It was a very suspicious look.

Soi’s face turned red.

She absolutely could not admit it.

She couldn’t admit she’d recently searched the game and discovered there were figurines.
She couldn’t admit she’d considered buying one because the character was cute, then decided it felt… wrong somehow.
She definitely couldn’t admit she’d seen fan art—some of which even she had slammed her phone shut over.

Yes.

Rua thought Soi was just “a normal person who liked a character.”

But Soi had already wandered far past the point of no return.

And the only reason she didn’t understand the appeal of a dakimakura was because the real Rua slept next to her every night—
a fact neither Rua nor even Soi herself consciously realized.

“L‑Rua, do you play this game too?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Ji‑hye spoke to Rua.

“I actually started before Soi…”

Rua’s answer made Ji‑hye brighten.

“Really? I love it too! I even have a few figures!”

“O‑Oh, really?”

Rua looked flustered.

“F‑Figures are pretty, yeah…”

Were they?

They were pretty. More detailed than the illustrations.

Did Rua think so too?

Well, maybe she did—she’d played the game first, after all.

Soi’s thoughts spiraled deeper.

And Chae‑yi was still staring at her with narrowed eyes.

Not just at her—at the two girls beside her too.

Because Soi had brought them in.
And because, strangely, they got along with Rua.

“……”

That stare made Soi’s conscience prickle.

She desperately avoided Chae‑yi’s silent scolding.

Meanwhile, the character on her phone—tormented earlier by Soi’s tapping—still wore a flustered expression.

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But once they actually talked, Ji‑hye and Mirae weren’t bad kids.

Not that they ever had a reason to be bad.

They were just shy and easily frightened.

And most importantly—they didn’t touch Rua.

They didn’t climb on her, bury their faces in her chest, or cling to her.

Not that Rua disliked that, but…
It felt wrong if it wasn’t Soi or Chae‑yi.

It seemed Ji‑hye and Mirae had only ever talked about anime and games with each other.
So having “comrades” now made them visibly relieved.

“Hm, Rua, I guess you’re not watching this season’s new shows?”

…Sometimes their smugness over trivial things made Rua want to sigh.

But what could she do?

She’d been like that too when she was younger.

Still, getting recommendations for good anime was nice.

Even if they sometimes recommended shows with way too many male characters…
or none with female characters at all.

It couldn’t be helped.

Rua had already given up on being popular at school.
Soi and Chae‑yi knew she liked games.

So she watched anime at home now.
With two otaku friends already, what was one more?

Of course, they didn’t talk about this stuff in the classroom.

They only met outside the school building, in quiet places where other kids rarely went.

Soi and Chae‑yi had the protection of their parents’ reputations.
Rua had the protection of being with them.

But Ji‑hye and Mirae didn’t.

If other kids found out they were hanging out with Rua, they might get ostracized.

“Rua, you look brighter these days.”

“Hmm, really?”

One day, Chae‑yi said that and gently touched Rua’s cheeks.

Not that Rua could tell if her face looked brighter.

But if Chae‑yi said so, maybe it was true.
Even Soi seemed a little less sharp lately.

“Maybe it’s because you have more friends now…”

Chae‑yi murmured.

“O‑Oh… maybe…”

Maybe?

Her closest friends were still Soi and Chae‑yi.
She talked with Ji‑hye and Mirae, but not about personal things.

Just games, anime, manga.
Personal in a way, but not personal.

They didn’t try to pry into her life.
Which was… comfortable.

During vacation, they didn’t contact each other unless someone reached out first.

But once school started again, they’d talk about anime like always.

While she was thinking that, Chae‑yi whispered:

“Compared to that… I…”

“Chae‑yi?”

Rua blinked as Chae‑yi lowered her head sadly.

Sitting on the living room sofa, Chae‑yi fidgeted with her toes.

“I feel like… I’m not helping you at all…”

“N‑No, that’s not true.”

Rua shook her head quickly.

She had no friends at school.
The kids’ attitude had improved slightly, but not enough to matter.

She didn’t know if she’d make new friends next year.
Transferring schools was too complicated.

So having one of her two closest friends visit her house without being asked—
that alone made her feel less alone.

“R‑Really…?”

“Yeah. Just being here helps.”

Rua’s face flushed.

Was it okay to say something so embarrassing?

But it was true.
Soi and Chae‑yi were her strength.

If anything happened to them, she didn’t know what she’d do.

“Then…”

“Hm?”

“Hug me.”

Chae‑yi turned toward her.

She didn’t open her arms—just looked at Rua quietly.

Her clear eyes reflected Rua’s face.

“Uh… okay…”

Rua hesitantly opened her arms.

Chae‑yi smiled softly and leaned in, burying her face in Rua’s chest.

Rua gently wrapped her arms around her and patted her back.

“Hehe.”

Chae‑yi giggled.

Rua’s chest tingled.

Her pink hair smelled faintly of flowers—

“Aaaaah!?”

Soi, fresh out of the shower, let out a dramatic scream and sprinted toward them.

“What is this!? Is this cheating!? Betrayal!? Rua, how could you do this to your unnie!?”

Rua wanted to ask how “cheating” or “affair” made sense between sisters, but—

“…pfft.”

She laughed.

Soi froze, eyes wide.

Chae‑yi looked up in surprise too.

“Haha… hahaha!”

Rua laughed freely for the first time in a long while.

Maybe because it was vacation and the pressure was gone.
Maybe because she’d survived everything better than she expected.
Maybe because she was simply happy to have her precious friends beside her.

She wasn’t sure.

But—

Even without popularity,
maybe middle school wouldn’t be entirely miserable.

She was still full of trauma, still struggling.

But maybe—just maybe—
she could get through it.

A little more optimistically than before.

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Pub: 29 Mar 2026 01:52 UTC

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