Your Little Sister's Incredible
“Planning to form an alliance?” When Chae Yuha nodded, Nadja crossed her arms with a sour expression and let out a heavy huff. The gesture practically screamed that she saw no need for outsiders when she was already there.
Chae Yuha smiled softly, coaxing her. “Listen, sis. Everyone has one or two shortcomings. Of course I trust you, but there’s always the chance of the unexpected, isn’t there?”
“Sawol, I don’t know what misunderstanding you’re under, but I’m well aware there are things even I can’t do.”
“Hmm? Then why are you staring at me with such a pouty face?”
Nadja’s cheeks stretched out like taffy. Chae Yuha had grabbed and pulled them. Still, Nadja puffed out another dissatisfied breath. “It’s just… you know.”
“What?”
“An alliance sounds like we’d have to live together like a family. I don’t want to get close to anyone except you guys.”
Wow, this family-obsessed girl is the real deal. Chae Yuha let out a deep sigh that rose from the very bottom of her heart. “Haaa—”
Nadja, sensing that profound disappointment head-on, flared up and began hopping in place. “Sis, should I step outside for a bit?”
“Grr…!! Where do you think you’re going?”
“You know. That brother and sister we owe a massive debt to. I’m going to see them.”
“Why?”
“To persuade you, obviously?”
Nadja tilted her head, her face saying she understood nothing at all.
*
“Any interest in working together?” When Chae Yuha nodded, Kim Seokho let out a sharp sigh and stared down at her. His entire body radiated one clear message: Fuck no. Why the hell should I?
“Use your common sense. Thanks to you, I’ve endured countless humiliations. I still haven’t been able to tell my sister that the story about her memories being erased was a lie.”
“Oh, then you can tell her now.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Come on, don’t get so worked up right away.”
Chae Yuha drew a playful arc with her lips, letting out a soft “Hehe,” and gently pushed the accompanying Nadja forward. Nadja simply tilted her head in confusion.
“How much longer does your sister have to live?”
“You son of a—”
“Wait! Lower that fist. This is absolutely not coming from a bad place, okay? Consider it an extension of the atonement I carry out on my own terms.”
Reading the urgency in Chae Yuha’s voice, Kim Seokho, still fuming, finally relented. “Keep talking.”
“Your sister hasn’t undergone the Enhanced Human procedure yet, right? If she had, there’s no way she’d still be lying helplessly in a hospital bed.”
“......”
“Why do you think that is? A month ago, sure, you believed Minos was no place for Enhanced Humans. But the fact that she still hasn’t had the procedure…”
Chae Yuha rubbed her fingers together in the universal gesture for money.
“You’re short on funds, aren’t you? I get it. The procedure’s expensive, right? You probably thought that if you worked hard at the restaurant, you’d save up in time. But now you’re unemployed. An ex-convict, too.”
“Did you come here just to provoke me?”
“You still don’t get it? Sigh, this won’t do. Nadja sis!! Our brilliant, reliable, and supremely competent sister! Could you answer in place of this dense old man?”
“Uh, y-yes?”
Nadja, who had been quietly listening, blinked in surprise and turned to Chae Yuha.
“Do you really think I came all this way just to provoke him?”
“No, our Sawol… I mean, Yuha wouldn’t do that.”
“Then?”
Chae Yuha gripped both of Nadja’s shoulders firmly.
“What could I possibly have come here to say?”
“.......”
Silence fell. Part of her wanted to snap back, Why should I have to guess? But the genius engineer Nadja, with her razor-sharp mind, could not admit she didn’t know or refuse to solve the puzzle. It was pride and a competitive spirit that had flared up for no good reason.
“Don’t tell me… you want me to treat that guy’s sister?”
Nadja reached the conclusion far more easily than expected. Chae Yuha clicked her tongue. “Correct. As expected from our sister.”
“Wait, what the…!!”
Kim Seokho glared at Nadja, still held in Chae Yuha’s arms. He had sensed she was no ordinary person back on the train, but to think she could perform Enhanced Human procedures?
“What, man?”
“...Ugh.”
Kim Seokho averted his eyes, perhaps remembering the nightmare from before. The girl who had smiled so brightly while talking to Chae Yuha now frowned the instant their eyes met, as if she had seen something filthy. It was quite the spectacle.
“I thought something was off when I saw you last time, but who exactly are you?”
“Hmm? Ah, I’m this kind of person.”
Nadja pulled out a business card as if handing an object to something dirty and offered it. The moment Kim Seokho read it, he froze as though nailed to the floor and struggled to maintain his expression. Clearly printed were the words Cheongang Research Laboratory Director, Nanomachine Administrator.
This was no different from publicly confessing that she was the very root of the Enhanced Human hatred spreading like wildfire across the city. How could she know someone like this? And they seemed incredibly close, addressing each other as sisters. Kim Seokho glanced cautiously at Chae Yuha. She continued to wear that unreadable smile.
“Now I’m even more suspicious. Did you think showing me this would make me happily hand over my sister?”
“Do I look like such a terrible person to you, mister?”
“Then what?”
“I’m hurt, truly. I’m not a villain. I’m simply someone with a clearer dream than most.”
As if she had no intention of dragging it out any longer, Chae Yuha extended her hand toward Kim Seokho.
“So what will it be? I’ll save your sister, so will you work with us? Or will you watch her die all alone?”
“...Give me time to think.”
“Aish, there’s no time for that. Take my hand right now and stamp the contract. You’re only acting like this because you’re not desperate enough yet, right? Shall we cut the electricity to the hospital and see what happens?”
“.......”
Under the threat that clung so viciously to his sister’s life, Kim Seokho finally yielded and grasped Chae Yuha’s hand. Then he whispered into her ear.
“Do not ever let my sister come to harm. If anything goes wrong, I’ll expose your true hideous self to the entire world and then kill myself.”
“Yes, yes~ Thank you. That won’t happen, so you can relax.”
The contract was sealed.
*
“If I close my eyes for a moment and open them… will I really be able to see my brother…?”
“Of course, Seolhwa. Think about what you want to talk to him about once you wake up.”
“Hehe… I’m so happy.”
The girl who looked to be a high-schooler closed her eyes with that gentle smile still on her face. Nadja, looking somewhat displeased, stretched the girl named Seolhwa’s cheeks. It was unclear what value such an action held, but since she had agreed to the job, she could not afford to be lazy.
Nadja rolled up her sleeves and began preparing for the procedure.
“Then, sis, I’m counting on you.”
At the solemn, almost professional demeanor, Chae Yuha trusted Nadja and stepped out of the laboratory.
The procedure took roughly six hours. Outside, Kim Seokho and Chae Yuha waited after being called over with the news that it would soon be finished.
“Phew, it’s been a while. That was tougher than I expected.”
Nadja emerged drenched in sweat, wiping her face with the sleeve of her lab coat.
“You can go in now. All vital signs have been stabilized.”
Kim Seokho swallowed hard. Heat radiated from the slightly open laboratory door. His feet refused to move. No matter how much citizens’ perceptions were improving, Enhanced Humans remained objects of fear. Had he made an irreversible mistake with his sister? Later, if she was drafted for surface exploration like their parents, would he be able to stay calm?
“What are you trembling for? If you’re not going in, I’ll go first.”
A sharp slap of flesh against flesh rang out. Chae Yuha had smacked him on the back. She opened the door and entered before he could react.
“W-wait…!!”
Kim Seokho hurried after her into the laboratory. A brilliant whiteout flashed before his eyes. Even though the lab lights were not particularly bright, that was how it felt to him.
“Brother…?”
When his vision returned, there stood Seokho’s sister Seolhwa, feet planted firmly on the ground.
“Aah…”
It was a sight he had not witnessed in over ten years—his sister down from the hospital bed, standing on her own two legs.
“Seolhwa…”
“Brother… do you recognize me?”
“Of course… How could I not recognize you…? Are you really okay now…? Is it all right for you to stand like that…?”
“…Yes. There isn’t a single place on my body that hurts anymore.”
The two figures rushed together in a tight embrace. Kim Seokho held back the tears threatening to spill and gazed up at the ceiling. It felt like proof that his ten years of effort had not been wasted. Ten long years spent caring for his sick little sister. There had been days when the burden felt crushing. But she was his last remaining blood relative in this world. How could she not be precious?
“Thank you… Thank you so much, Yuha sis.”
But—huh? Kim Seokho’s mind snapped back to reality.
“Thank you for healing my body… Thank you for restoring my brother’s memories…”
What was this? His gaze, previously fixed on the ceiling, dropped to Chae Yuha beside him. As if she had anticipated it, she smiled with wicked satisfaction.
“There’s no need to thank me. I simply did what needed to be done.”
She began whispering the devil’s temptation to the crying Kim Seolhwa.
“No, sis. You deserve far more gratitude than that.”
“Really? Then there’s something I’m planning to do together with your brother. Would you like to join us?”
Wait, what is this?
“Could someone like me actually help?”
Don’t do it, Seolhwa!
“Of course. What could our Seolhwa possibly lack?”
You can’t talk to that crazy woman!
“Thank you… for saying that.”
It’s all lies! I never actually lost my memories. I was simply blinded by a momentary thirst for revenge and couldn’t tell you.
Yet in this moment, Kim Seokho could say none of it. Every word that came to mind returned as a sharp arrow aimed at his own throat.
What, got a complaint? Chae Yuha’s half-lidded eyes seemed to ask.
Didn’t everything turn out fine? Could he really say that?
At that moment, a certain scene flashed through Kim Seokho’s mind.
‘They may be villains who will destroy your daily lives, but they could also be heroes who will protect your daily lives.’
It was exactly so. To Kim Seokho, Chae Yuha was both a villain who had shattered his daily life and a hero who had protected it.
He had thought he understood the existence called Chae Yuha. But that was a mistake. He could no longer fathom what lay in her heart. All he could do was hold his sister in his arms even tighter. For now… she looked happy. He would have to be satisfied with that.
‘Do you know this, sis?’
‘Huh? What?’
‘They say an Enhanced Human’s ability manifests according to the convictions they held in their final moment as a human.’
‘...Sawol. Do you actually believe such baseless rumors?’
‘Why not? It’s romantic.’
‘There is no romance in an unprovable proposition.’
‘Wow, that was really unromantic.’
Meanwhile, Nadja, who had been catching her breath outside the laboratory, let out a low chuckle.
“Ehehe, so this was the reason? This is why you clung to those kids so desperately?”
Having tasted a fragment of the unique ability Seolhwa had manifested, Nadja smiled with dark satisfaction. The words Chae Yuha had spoken in the past replayed in her mind like a panorama.
There is no value in an unprovable proposition. However, if it can be proven, the story changes entirely.
A woman who had spent more than ten years alone on a hospital bed had awakened a recovery ability. It was an experimental result that could not be ignored.
“...Sawol.”
Yet at the same time, another thought occurred to her. Chae Yuha, who had likewise spent a long time on a hospital bed, had awakened the ability to see the future. Was it actually a different ability? Or perhaps the power of revenge? Was it possible that Yuha herself misunderstood her own power?
Formulating various hypotheses, Nadja sank into the soft sofa. She was far too exhausted to ponder the matter any more deeply right now.