37) Chapter 7. No, It’s Not Even That Different? (6)
To be honest, I thought Soi and Chae‑yi would do it once or twice and stop.
Or rather—I hoped they would.
I mean, having Soi sit on my lap or hugging Chae‑yi did feel nice. Hugging someone is always comforting. People who raise dogs or cats always end up hugging them at least once.
I often hugged my plushies at home, and when we were little, Soi hugged me all the time.
Feeling someone’s warmth like that was nice.
But the problem was the stares we got every time.
And hugging wasn’t the only issue.
“Um, Soi?”
“Yeah? Why?”
“Chae‑yi?”
“What is it, Rua?”
On the way home.
As always, Soi and Chae‑yi walked on either side of me.
But ever since that strange competition at lunch, it hadn’t stopped.
“It’s just… the way we’re walking.”
Right now—
Both of them had linked arms with me, one on each side.
If it were just one side, it would look like enthusiastic friendship.
But with both sides holding on, it felt like I was being escorted… or arrested.
I didn’t even need to walk—they were practically dragging me forward.
And since we were outside the school, people were staring.
“Do you not like it?”
“Uh…”
“Rua, you don’t like it?”
When they asked me one after the other, I couldn’t say anything.
Because I knew how they felt.
“…No.”
That was the only answer I could give.
And honestly, I didn’t dislike it.
Embarrassment and emotional comfort were two different things.
So all the way home, I felt their warmth on both sides.
Soon we’d switch to summer uniforms.
Then… would this happen with bare arms?
Maybe that sounded silly, but to me it was important.
If they clung this close, it wouldn’t just be arms touching. And if it was hot, we’d sweat.
I needed a plan before then.
Not that I had one.
*
Chae‑yi stayed at our house for a while, as usual.
After that incident in elementary school, Cheong Hwirin didn’t pressure her as much anymore.
She still nagged her to study, but she didn’t force her into endless academies that kept her from seeing friends.
Maybe she thought staying close to us was better. I didn’t know—it's not like I saw her often.
“So, how was it?”
I was hugging my rabbit plushie, lost in thought, when Soi suddenly asked.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You hugged me and you hugged Chae‑yi. Which felt better? Mine was better, right?”
Soi, if you add that last part, it sounds like you already decided the answer.
“Chae‑yi must’ve felt stiff, right? No matter how soft her hair is, there’s still a skull under it. It’s not soft when you hug her, right?”
“……”
Was it?
Honestly, my heart was pounding so hard and my face was so hot that I didn’t have the luxury to compare.
“But.”
Soi suddenly leaned forward with a serious expression.
I flinched at her sudden closeness and leaned back until her face finally came into focus.
With half‑lidded eyes, she said:
“No matter what, letting someone who isn’t your sister hug you like that… This big sister can’t accept it.”
“…Is that so?”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I asked back.
“Yeah. I’ve never been hugged like that.”
…Well, you never asked me to hug you like that either.
When we were little, she hugged me all the time. Until she grew big enough to give “adult‑like hugs,” she was always the one hugging me. I never hugged her.
Today was the first time.
“So you have to hug this big sister too. That’s only fair.”
Soi declared proudly, straightening her back.
Even though she was looking down at me, I didn’t feel pressured.
Because she was Soi.
Not “easy,” never that. I had never once thought of her that way.
More like… familiar.
At home, where there was no tension, only safety.
I felt relaxed enough to smile a little at her words.
Though hugging her was still something I didn’t know how to start.
“So… how should I do it?”
I wiggled my toes nervously.
“First, put that down.”
“Okay.”
I set the plushie aside.
The spot where it had been felt cold without its warmth.
Soi knelt in front of me, just like Chae‑yi had earlier.
Then she buried her face into my stomach.
And leaned her weight forward.
“Hyah?”
Thump.
She pushed me onto the bed.
So instead of her face in my chest, it was in my stomach.
The sensation tickled, and I let out a small laugh.
“Hug me.”
She whined softly, and it reminded me of the old days.
When she was still so small.
Earlier at school, I’d been embarrassed and flustered.
But seeing her like this now, I realized how well she’d grown. Without any rough edges.
I’d worried so many times—would Soi or Chae‑yi become twisted because of me? Would they turn into the cruel girls from the original story?
But the current Soi wasn’t like that at all. Neither was Chae‑yi.
Of course, that was normal. They weren’t bad kids. Without the original Seo Rua, they had no reason to turn bad.
Which meant… maybe I was making better choices than the original.
“……”
I wrapped my arms around Soi and hugged her tightly.
“Hehe.”
Soi giggled and leaned into me more.
Her weight pressed softly against my stomach, grounding me.
Reminding me I wasn’t alone.
Even though I was a mess—afraid of being hugged, afraid of being touched, always trembling and guilty—there were still people who liked me this much.
Maybe that alone was enough reason not to regret being alive.
…Was that too dramatic?
Well, it was just a thought in my head.
It didn’t matter. Not right now.
- *
Lately, the kids in Soi and Rua’s class were confused.
There had been an unspoken agreement among them.
Right after the “witch” attacked—
Since the witch came for Seo Rua, and their beloved teacher was hurt because of her…
They couldn’t openly bully her because the girls who protected everyone were shielding her.
And because Soi’s parents were famous heroes.
But they still had options.
They could talk to Soi but ignore Rua. They could chat with Chae‑yi during breaks but pretend Rua wasn’t there.
Maybe that bothered the two girls, because lately they’d been doing all sorts of things to Rua—
“…Isn’t that bullying?”
“Shh.”
Someone whispered, and another quickly hushed them.
Because what Soi and Chae‑yi were doing to Rua… didn’t exactly look like “helping.”
Soi sat on Rua’s lap.
Rua trembled, blushed, sometimes even teared up.
But she wasn’t being hit. No harsh words.
It was technically a hug. And when Soi sat on her, Rua hugged her back. Her hands shook, but it was voluntary.
…It was hard to call that bullying.
Chae‑yi, meanwhile, buried her face in Rua’s chest.
Some girls jokingly poked each other’s chests, but only briefly—not enough to make someone blush.
But Chae‑yi did it. Fully. Sometimes you could even hear her breathing.
“Just pretend you didn’t see it.”
Soi wasn’t the only one with a famous hero parent—Chae‑yi was the daughter of Cheong Hwirin.
And both had awakened powers and protected the class during the attack.
So from the outside…
It looked like two superpowered girls restraining another superpowered girl.
In the most subtle way possible.
In the most secluded corner of the classroom.
And because the kids already saw Rua as “the witch’s daughter,” and Soi and Chae‑yi as the ones who stood against the witch…
That interpretation stuck.
Wasn’t this basically bullying?
“……”
Well, in a way, it made sense.
Bullying a superpowered person was like bullying someone with a gun.
So the kids, who already avoided direct conflict, avoided it even more.
Of course, Soi and Chae‑yi weren’t thinking about any of that.
…Rua might have, but she was too overwhelmed by the two girls to think straight.
“Hy‑hyah…”
All she could do was let out those strange little noises.