Harang's Secret Weighty Secret
The term “no way” rang out in my head with the full force of a scream. Even counting fingers to the last digit while chanting it made it clear this was no small matter.
[Hyung] [This is really unbelievable]
[Just now, the typo]
[No way]
[Yes] There’s no need to count twice!
So what’s the big deal? Is it a huge emergency? Do I need to take vacation?
—Bwoong…
Instead of a reply, a call came through.
“Hello?”
(Hyung! Hyung!! It’s a big emergency!)
“I got the message as text, but what’s the issue?”
The word “hyung” felt strangely familiar. Maybe I’d always been a woman deep down. Or perhaps I’d wanted to be called noona from the very beginning.
The voice of my little sister, who kept repeating “huge emergency” like a broken record, jolted me out of my daze.
(It really is a huge emergency! It’s a real one!)
“What’s so huge? Do I need vacation? Is it something I have to do myself?”
Had my sister ever called something this urgent a huge emergency before? Maybe it really was no small thing.
(If I take vacation and see you, it’ll be so much fun! I even made plans with you! Let’s go to the water park! Or the beach!)
“...As long as I can wear a rash guard.”
(Never! Bikini or nothing! I’m showing off your body and face to the whole world!)
I hate that! Absolutely hate it!
How am I supposed to walk around in something so boyish in front of everyone?! I absolutely cannot!
Still, it didn’t sound like a truly massive crisis. Good thing.
“So what is it, really?”
(Did you see the game photo I sent last time?)
“Yeah, I downloaded it and tried it. It was really hard.”
(You know the game, right?! It has a character that looks exactly like you!)
“The one you get after beating the tutorial, right? It really does look like me.”
(Exactly! It got pushed down the character ranking because of me!)
A confident voice echoed over the line. And silence.
“Is that the big emergency?”
(It’s a huge one!)
I didn’t get it. Was there some secret power only hardcore gamers could see?
Thinking about it, Han Jihye’s reaction made a weird kind of sense now. No one liked being replaced by someone clearly better at their spot.
“I guess you really can’t avoid paying, huh! I’ll take care of it.” I replied with a bit of fire in my voice, then casually caught up on her day.
While I was at it, I also asked if she’d paid the debt. Glad she was making an effort to clear it somehow.
“Little sister?”
“Yes, senior.”
The moment the call ended, Jeong Seung-a spoke as if she’d been waiting. She didn’t have to wait—she could have just butted in—but she’d held off until the end.
“What were you talking about?”
“There’s a game, right? The one everyone’s playing these days.”
“Ah! Harang-ki Gugi?”
“Harang-ki Gugi… I don’t remember it having that name.”
“It looks just like Harang, though.”
Don’t other characters exist too?!
“You’re talking about the Harang-ki Gugi thing?”
“Exactly. Harang’s little sister said she was the first one to try it.”
Kim Heejin and Yeon Byeori reacted to the funny name “Harang-ki Gugi.” Probably because so many people wanted to watch their juniors suffer.
“No, there are tons of other characters! As soon as you progress a little you get 3-star and 4-star ones, right? And the ten-pull thing?”
“Yeah, that’s what I used.”
“I got a 5-star.”
The world! I’m so jealous!
“Still, I’ll keep raising Harang.”
Why exactly?!
Throwing away glittering gold for some sticky trash? I really can’t understand the seniors’ thinking!
“You know? Harang, each character has its own ranking?”
“I heard that.”
“And ta-da!”
Jeong Seung-a showed me her phone screen. The game interface. In the center, a big bold “1” caught my eye.
“I’m ranking one!”
“What?! You’re number one?!?”
Kim Heejin stared at Jeong Seung-a in shock.
I was shocked too. Jeong Seung-a, who hadn’t shown a single flicker of expression even after reaching the peak, somehow looked even more impressive.
“Hah… If only I didn’t have that debt…”
“What? Heejin, you have debt too? It’s a debt party? All that stuff about earning money in the Awakener unit was a lie?”
“No, it’s personal debt. Money-related, yeah…”
“Legendary. Well, since you’re you, I’m not worried. Byeori’s been sending money too, so she must be doing okay.”
Han Jihye glanced at Yeon Byeori. The amount she’d lent seemed to be getting repaid well.
“I don’t get any thrill out of it anymore. Hand completely off the hook. Isn’t that weird?”
“Yeah.”
A completely bland reply. Typical Han Jihye.
Yeon Byeori didn’t seem to want any big reaction either.
“…Huh? So the person who replaced my little sister at the top is none other than Jeong Seung-a Superhuman?”
“Ah! So this person is Harang’s little sister? Oh no… I think I raised Harang better than you did…”
If my little sister had heard that, she would have been furious. But she did have plenty of fighting spirit.
“Crap, I need to try harder too… If Harang gets buried in the ground again, it’ll hurt my heart.”
“You didn’t feel it before?!”
“I should get buried in Harang’s grave too. What was the game called? Harang-ki Gugi?”
“Han Jihye Hero, please!”
“What? Another one out?! I told you a thousand times not to attach the Hero title!”
Chaotic voices crackled from the living quarter speakers.
Snatching broadcast sound was the ultimate condition for being a good little sister! I quickly opened my ears and focused on the announcement.
“Ahem, it’s time to eat. Please start eating at 1 Living Quarter.”
“Meal preparation complete. Time to eat.”
I reported it proudly. And unlike before, I wasn’t stopping here.
“Today’s dinner menu is roast duck with plum sauce, okra, cucumber and radish salad, and squash soybean stew, white rice!”
I proudly listed the menu. The seniors’ “Ooh—” gasps felt oddly satisfying.
After finishing such a great stage, I wondered if this was how an idol felt. I’d never been on stage before, but…
“Then…”
Kim Heejin naturally came over and lowered her posture to mine.
“What are you doing, Heejin?”
“I have to carry you! You can’t use your legs.”
“Ah! I’ll do it!”
Jeong Seung-a jumped up quickly, but Kim Heejin stopped her. Sometimes she did that while saying she wanted to do it herself.
Even when showering, eating, or walking, she did this even though she knew she could. Was she teasing because she knew? Or was she just that kind-hearted?
I chose to accept the joke instead of making the senior response dull. As the smart little sister here, I’d rather play along.
“You’re really carrying me? Me? If you get angry later, you won’t dump me?”
“How could I? Let’s go quickly. Roast duck, you said. Han Jihye Hero, eat—”
The moment I was lifted, Kim Heejin’s body stiffened like stone. Was it a joke? Had stupid little sister Harang been fooled again?
Just then, the name “Jihye” made her smile twitch awkwardly.
“Heejin. Even if it is, calling your senior a bad word is a bit much, don’t you think? I’m a person too, you know? I get hurt sometimes?”
She’d only twitched her lips, but the smile was still there. Does this person ever not smile?
Feeling guilty for being carried, I tried to step down, but Kim Heejin’s hand on my thigh and hip stopped me.
“No. I was just surprised for a second. I didn’t think you could actually lift me.”
“I… it was a joke. Sorry. I’ll just walk.”
“Joking around with a senior? Harang has grown a lot. The unit’s turning upside down?”
“I’m sorry…!”
“If you know, just stay still.”
I stayed still. Kim Heejin’s hand supported my body perfectly between my thigh and hip.
Still, the fact that the cafeteria was close was a blessing beyond words. If I had to walk five whole minutes to a wide unit cafeteria like the others…
It would have been impossible to breathe under the weight of embarrassment and guilt. Ugh! I didn’t even want to think about it!
“Huu… Hoo… Huu…”
The moment I opened the living quarter door, Kim Heejin’s breathing grew rough. Why?
It couldn’t be that Kim Heejin’s stamina was bad. She’d never shown any strain when fighting gates, when I followed her normal exercise routine, or when she did her personal training.
That meant…
“Am I… heavy?”
“Ah! No! You’re not heavy at all! I don’t even know if I’m carrying you or not!”
Why did she sound so forced to say I wasn’t heavy?
“I’m sorry… I’ve been eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner well lately, but I never thought I’d gain weight…”
As an Awakener, I heard they didn’t gain fat, so maybe I unconsciously relaxed. Yeah! Even so, it’s a human body—how could it not gain weight?
“You really aren’t heavy at all! This is just… uh, your scent.”
“Scent?! Does it smell?! Me?! I bathe every day…”
“No! It’s not about scent! It’s that—fragrance…”
“Heejin, you’re so weird. Same girls talking about fragrance…”
“No! Smell it! The feeling is completely different!”
“Sorry, I’m not perverted enough to get there yet.”
Kim Heejin’s gaze wavered. Because the words were strange even to her.
The scent from my body that had been mentioned over and over—was it finally time to treat it as a serious problem?
Was this really different from just washing my body? Body wash issue? No, the senior using the same product as me had never heard of this. In fact, I was the only one in the unit who ever heard this kind of talk.
Moving while being carried made me naturally noticeable to others. The two seniors chatting casually stopped and looked our way.
“Huh? Harang-ki?”
The seniors who passed by stopped talking when they saw me and noticed the person carrying me. They closed their mouths.
“What do you have to say?”
“Ah, no. Take care…”
Other seniors passed behind Kim Heejin. Han Jihye looked surprised at the unusual sight but said nothing.
A senior on the stairs who had been texting looked over at us.
“Huh? Kim Heejin Superhuman?”
This time it was a greeting aimed at Kim Heejin, not me. Of course it was natural.
“What?”
“Did you get eaten? By Harang?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Why would I get eaten?”
“Looking at you, you got eaten. Harang even fed you. Harang, is it comfortable there?”
“It’s uncomfortable. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“Ah! Not eaten, but a new kind of absurd? Be careful so you don’t get stepped on. I don’t know if Harang can keep carrying you while smiling forever.”
“That’s for you to figure out. Do you know the girl’s leg hurts right now?”
“Ah, is that so? Sorry. Harang.”
Maybe she’d awakened a new ability. An ability that made seniors pay attention even when she stayed still.
After the senior said she was sorry, I waved it away as okay and went into the cafeteria.
The fragrant, oily aroma of roast duck filled the air. I felt bad, but I had to endure a little for Kim Heejin’s sake. Otherwise, if I ate more and gained weight again, it would be a real problem.
Is there a scale in the living quarter? If there was, I should weigh myself once. Not a bad idea.
I stared at the steaming roast duck and placed three pieces on my tray.
“You’re only eating that? Then you’ll lose weight.”
“I look a bit fat…”
“Huh? For my sake?”
“It just seems heavy because of that.”
Kim Heejin shook her head quickly. Then she scooped up the entire roast duck and put it straight into my rice bowl.
“If you lose any more weight here, only bones will be left! You really aren’t heavy at all! When I carried Jun-tae, the bags were heavier!”
“Ah! Aah! This is too much! A lunchbox with delicious side dishes! The heavens will be angry!”
“…Did you take a selfie?”
By now Han Jihye had returned to her seat and added that comment.
The day passed without any trouble.