79) Chapter 13. She Says She Wants to Talk to You (6)
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Soi had been feeling a bit off since the afternoon.
In front of Nam Jinwoo, whom she had only just met, Rua was so lively and eager to talk—yet with her, the sister she had practically spent her whole life with, Rua was always so shy.
She was never the type to take initiative. If they were going somewhere, Soi had to bring it up first before Rua would even consider it.
Even when Rua clung to her, she would blush bright red and not say a single word.
But the moment a boy caught her eye, she suddenly became this proactive.
“……Ugh.”
A strange feeling twisted inside Soi’s chest.
Rua had always been precious to her, but watching her keep talking to Nam Jinwoo and making plans for next time stirred up emotions she couldn’t quite put into words.
No—if she were honest, she could express it very simply.
Jealousy.
Of course she would be. The girl she adored so much since childhood, the one who always stuck to her, was now acting like she preferred someone she had barely just met.
It was only natural she’d react this way.
But she couldn’t possibly say it out loud.
Because Soi was Rua’s older sister.
And an older sister should care about her younger sister’s feelings.
Even if—well, the chances were low, but actually, now that she thought about it, maybe not that low, and maybe other people would definitely think so, but anyway, she was the older sister, and she knew Rua’s heart better than anyone, even better than Chae‑yi who slept in the same bed, and right now Rua was just excited about having a chance to get close to a boy, but no, Rua would never be the type to get excited over boys because Rua is not that kind of person—
“Gasp.”
She barely snapped out of it.
Well… anyway.
That’s how it was.
As an older sister, she could feel this way. Yes.
Totally normal.
Fathers always hate it when their daughters get boyfriends, so Soi was just feeling the same way about her little sister having someone like that in her life.
She turned off the shower, water rushing to a stop.
She grabbed a towel, dried her body, and pressed it firmly against her hair.
She wiped the foggy mirror with her hand and looked at her reflection.
“…….”
Her expression was a mess. Her face was red, and not just because she had just finished showering.
Was she really an older sister?
Their surnames were different, and Rua wasn’t even officially adopted. Her parents had promised they would only act as guardians until Rua’s heart settled.
Rua still called Soi’s parents “auntie” and “uncle.”
If she thought about it that way, they could be considered friends.
Friends who had known each other since they were very young—practically inseparable childhood friends.
She remembered learning in middle school sex‑ed class that it was normal to feel jealous when a friend got close to another friend. Nothing to agonize over too seriously.
So then… well. She didn’t know why she was suddenly remembering sex‑ed class, but still.
That was the truth. Rua was her friend and her sister, someone who had been with her since they were tiny. The closest person in the world.
Chae‑yi might have met Rua a little earlier, but they had a long period apart, so Soi could still say she was ahead.
Ahead in what, she didn’t know. But still.
“Hoo…”
Feeling a bit more confident, she straightened her shoulders and looked at herself again.
Good.
Whenever Rua saw her looking confident like this, she seemed to relax a little.
Rua was already anxious enough—Soi couldn’t afford to make her more uneasy. Otherwise, her place as the closest friend and older sister might waver.
At least Chae‑yi didn’t have the “older sister” title, and she didn’t live in the same house.
Sure, now they lived in the same dorm and spent almost all their time together, but still.
Anyway—be confident. Be sisterly.
“Okay!”
Soi nodded firmly at her reflection, finished drying off, and stepped out of the shower.
And then she saw it: the pink‑haired delinquent plastered right next to a stiff, frozen Rua, whispering something into her ear like she was blowing air against it.
“Hey!”
Everything she had been thinking about vanished instantly as Soi shouted and sprinted toward the bed.
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Sharing the same bed was honestly a nuisance.
She meant Chae‑yi.
Soi herself was obviously allowed. She had been Rua’s older sister since childhood.
They would play together in Soi’s room until her mom said it was bedtime and turned off the lights. They would pretend to sleep for a moment, then, once the house was quiet, hide under the blanket together and giggle.
When they pulled the blanket over their heads, it would get warm inside, filled with their mingled breaths.
…Which was exactly why they didn’t pull the blanket over their heads in the dorm. Even if the weather was warm, they could blast the AC, but—
If they did, Chae‑yi would obviously join in.
Soi’s arm wrapped around Rua’s waist kept bumping into Chae‑yi’s body. And Chae‑yi, hugging Rua just as tightly from the other side, was incredibly annoying.
But she didn’t want to pull her arm away. If she did, Chae‑yi would have Rua all to herself.
Seriously, why.
Why did Chae‑yi cling like this when she was “just a friend”?
“……Hmph.”
Determined not to lose, Soi snuggled closer into Rua’s arms.
“Heh…”
Rua let out a dazed, slightly suggestive sound.
Rua’s body was warm.
Once she fell asleep, she slept deeply until a nightmare woke her.
No—sometimes she didn’t even wake from the nightmare unless someone shook her awake.
At least at night, Soi could hold her tightly like this.
“…….”
And annoyingly, Chae‑yi had been the first one to try it.
Soi had asked her once, when it was just the two of them.
“Rua has trauma about being held. Should you really be doing that?”
She meant stop it. How could someone who claimed to be Rua’s childhood friend be so insensitive?
“She doesn’t notice when she’s asleep.”
“……She has nightmares.”
“Has she had one recently? I don’t think she’s woken up from one in a while.”
“…….”
That was true.
But they couldn’t be sure.
Maybe Rua woke up briefly while they were asleep.
“Actually, she’s been better since I started hugging her. She hasn’t had a single nightmare since I began sleeping next to her.”
“So you’re saying that’s thanks to you?”
“I don’t know. But if she’s better, then it’s fine for me to stay close, isn’t it?”
Soi frowned.
Was that really true?
Was Rua able to sleep peacefully because Chae‑yi hugged her?
…Honestly, it didn’t matter.
Rua was too precious to her. Someone she never wanted to see hurt.
Someone she had been with for so long she couldn’t imagine being apart.
So even though Soi was always careful—
“…….”
She couldn’t just watch Chae‑yi hugging Rua like that.
So she, too, hugged Rua tightly at night.
The feel of Rua’s waist under her hand—slender, soft, elastic yet gentle.
The faint scent of sweat when she pressed close.
The warmth that belonged only to Rua.
She loved it.
Yes. She knew the “nightmare” excuse was just that—an excuse. The truth was that hugging Rua while she slept meant Rua wouldn’t notice.
…Rua was simply too precious to her.
Someone so lovable she wanted to hold her close.
The emptiness of not being able to hug her whenever she wanted was unbearable.
So at least while sleeping, she wanted to hold her tight.
The rise and fall of Rua’s chest with each breath. Her small breaths. The way she sometimes shifted and burrowed toward Soi or Chae‑yi.
It had been so long since she felt this.
“…….”
I’m so selfish.
The thought made her feel guilty.
“Heh…”
Rua’s breath brushed her ear again.
“…….”
Soi inched closer and buried her face in Rua’s chest.
The three of them lying together like this wasn’t exactly comfortable. Rua tossed and turned unconsciously, and so did Soi and Chae‑yi. With no space, they just rolled around while stuck together.
Eventually, Soi ended up slightly lower, near Rua’s side.
She ended up resting her head on Rua’s arm.
Rua’s skin against her face was soft.
Their bodies were slightly damp with sweat, giving off a faint scent.
“Mnya.”
Rua shifted uncomfortably and then wrapped her arm around the back of Soi’s head.
“…….”
Soi kept her eyes shut and didn’t move.
If she shifted even a little, this moment might end.
If Rua woke up, she wouldn’t be able to stay like this anymore, so she stayed still.
……
Would she have to stop doing this once Rua got a boyfriend someday?
She hated that.
She absolutely didn’t want to give this up…
Maybe that was why—
Soi breathed in deeply, as if she didn’t want to forget Rua’s scent.
Rua, deeply asleep, had no idea any of this ever happened.