Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Black History Doubled!
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Late at night.
When Da-jeong suddenly emerged into the living room and made an unexpected request,
Ji-ah widened her eyes, wondering if she'd heard right.
"Sleep together...? Under the same blanket?"
"Yeah. Ah, it's just that I can't sleep well because of that horror game earlier."
Clutching a pillow that covered her entire upper body tightly,
Da-jeong explained what had happened, looking infinitely fragile.
Ji-ah had never really felt that expression "stirring one's protective instincts" throughout her life.
At most, maybe with small pets like puppies or kittens.
She'd never thought it applied to people, at least.
Even stretching it, maybe to a newborn baby.
But there was no better way to describe Da-jeong right now.
She kept recalling the scene from earlier, clearly struggling with it.
Her face looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.
Her eyes flickered with anxiety, wondering what to do if unnie refused.
The combination made Ji-ah feel like she was looking at an abandoned kitten.
"...Yeah, sure, let's sleep together then?"
As if there was no reason to hesitate,
she nodded readily at Da-jeong, who stood hesitantly by the bedroom door, unable to approach easily.
Baby Uparupa's face lit up instantly.
"R-Really...?!"
"Yeah. Unnie wanted to talk more with you anyway."
"Hehe...!"
Da-jeong had initially worried she might be a bother,
but hearing Ji-ah's words, she finally relaxed and ran to the bedding with a pure, childlike smile.
The bed in the room was a bit too narrow for two anyway,
so she figured the spacious bedding laid out on the floor would be much more comfortable for sleeping together.
Squeeze—
As Da-jeong slipped under the wide blanket,
Ji-ah hugged her warmly from behind, as if she'd been waiting.
Even though the weather was starting to get chilly,
Da-jeong's body felt amazingly warm.
"Ugh...."
"Ah, sorry. Was that uncomfortable?"
Wanting to feel that warmth a bit more,
Ji-ah had unconsciously squeezed tighter, drawing a faint groan from Da-jeong.
Thinking she'd hugged too hard, Ji-ah startled and asked,
but Da-jeong shook her head, saying that wasn't it.
"No. It's just... somehow...."
"Somehow?"
"Unnie's embrace is so warm. I think it felt good, that's all."
"...Really? That's a relief."
How could she say even that so cutely?
Ji-ah absentmindedly stroked Da-jeong's hair and nuzzled her face into her shoulder.
A comforting, cozy scent like a baby's skin or baby lotion wafted over her.
"By the way, your pajamas are cute. Do you always wear stuff like this at home?"
Recalling Da-jeong's pajama outfit from just before she left the room, Ji-ah asked.
Ji-ah herself never really changed into pajamas before bed.
She just lay down in whatever casual clothes she had on.
That was her daily routine.
So seeing Da-jeong dressed so adorably in cute sleepwear, preparing for bed, felt novel.
"Ah, yeah. I used to just wear T-shirts all the time, but Ra-hee unnie bought this for me recently, so I'm cherishing it."
"Ra-hee? Oh, the ones from that shopping day?"
"Yep. They're so cute, I thought they wouldn't suit me."
"R-Really?"
The pajamas were pink-based with animal patterns,
definitely more suited to kids than adults, sure.
But to Ji-ah, they fit Da-jeong perfectly.
Still, she couldn't casually say they suited her or that she was cute,
because everyone knew Da-jeong freaked out at being called cute.
It was a worldview Ji-ah couldn't comprehend at all.
'She's so cute like this, why?'
Had she heard it so much she'd grown numb to it?
Or did she prefer "pretty" over "cute"?
Even then, she didn't seem that thrilled when praised as pretty.
But to Ji-ah,
this side of her felt like part of Da-jeong's charm, in a way.
A girl this cute flatly denying her own cuteness somehow made her even cuter.
'If I say that, she'll get mad, so I should stay quiet.'
Of course, even her angry face was cute,
but teasing too much wasn't good.
Knowing it was best to know the line, Ji-ah kept her mouth shut.
"U-Unnie."
"Yeah?"
During that brief silence,
Da-jeong turned her body slightly, calling her with a faintly trembling voice.
Bathed in the soft moonlight filtering through the curtains, her timid, upturned eyes shone.
Ji-ah gently tidied Da-jeong's hair, responding kindly with a smile.
"Thanks for doing the collab stream with me today. You didn't want to play the horror game...."
"No. I had so much fun collabing with you. I couldn't have done the horror game alone, but thanks to you, it wasn't that scary."
Honestly, Ji-ah had never understood people who played horror games,
nor the viewers watching streamers play them.
Why spend money to see scary scenes on purpose?
Why watch someone else tremble in fear?
Those fundamental questions had swirled in her mind.
But watching Da-jeong today, while she still didn't get the former,
she at least understood the latter a bit.
If she said this, Da-jeong would get an earful from the others, but
watching her tremble like a scared squirrel while pushing through the game
was cute, and made her want to cheer "You got this!"—it was honestly fun.
"And honestly, I really wanted to collab with you at least once."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Like I said earlier, you collab with the others but not me... and you don't approach me much. I wondered if you hated me."
She knew it couldn't be true since it was Da-jeong of all people,
but a tiny insecurity had filled her chest anyway.
Today's stream cleared it up completely—no reason at all.
"So I was extra happy today. Knowing it wasn't because you hated unnie, but because you like me too much."
"L-Like you too much...."
Was it the ticklish phrasing?
Da-jeong's cheeks flushed faintly.
The room was dark, so Ji-ah couldn't see it clearly,
but sensing her embarrassment, she teased playfully.
"Huh? Not true? Did you lie to unnie, Da-jeong?"
"N-No...! Of course I like you a ton, but... hearing it out loud is embarrassing."
"What's there to be embarrassed about? Unnie likes you a ton too."
"R-Really? Hehe... I'm happy."
Where on earth did this cute creature come from?
Seeing Da-jeong beam innocently at those words, Ji-ah was floored.
Such unconscious flirting was the most dangerous kind.
And the member best at it was undoubtedly Da-jeong.
No wonder Ra-hee said you couldn't help but fall for her after just one day together.
"Mm...."
As Ji-ah patted the back of her precious dongsaeng hugged close,
sleepiness crept in from the coziness, and Da-jeong rubbed her eyes.
"Da-jeong, sleepy? Shall we sleep now?"
"I'm okay... There's still so much I want to talk about with unnie...."
But as if she didn't want to sleep yet,
as if she didn't want this fun time to end,
she mumbled like a sulky child, though her voice grew fainter.
Squeeze—
Seeing that, Ji-ah pulled her even closer into her embrace and spoke.
"It's fine. We can talk plenty more from now on. So let's sleep for today, okay?"
"Mmm... Unnie...."
To the gentle coaxing of the eldest unnie,
Da-jeong felt her consciousness blur, instinctively burying her face in Ji-ah's chest.
Snore... Snore...
Less than a few seconds later, faint breathing sounds came,
and Ji-ah stroked Da-jeong's hair before
pulling the large blanket over both of them.
May this precious child continue dreaming of a happy life.
For the first time wishing for someone else's happiness, Ji-ah finally closed her eyes.
Thanks to each other's warmth, that night felt especially cozy.
A strange sensation shaking me slowly brought me to consciousness.
Along with a familiar voice faintly audible.
"Mm...."
I grumbled sleepily,
but opened my eyes and looked around.
The sight before me included someone unexpected.
"Ji-ah unnie...?"
"You're up? Time for breakfast."
Like a mom gently scolding her daughter for sleeping in on the weekend,
Ji-ah unnie smiled warmly.
Only then did I realize I'd fallen asleep in the same bedding as her yesterday, and I sat up groggily.
It felt incredibly cozy somehow.
Sleeping with Ra-hee unnie felt like being with a real older sister,
but with Ji-ah unnie, it was like sleeping with mom.
"I made a simple breakfast—hope that's okay?"
"Y-Yeah, sorry. No need to go out of your way for me...."
"No. I had to eat anyway, so don't worry."
As I apologized, feeling bad for making a guest cook,
unnie shook her head and led me to the table.
A proper Korean breakfast was neatly laid out: soybean paste soup, grilled mackerel, seasoned vegetables, and leftovers from the fridge.
A textbook white rice meal.
"Still, Da-jeong, looks like you're keeping your promise to eat properly? The fridge had quite a bit of stuff."
"Yeah, the President checks every day."
"Right, she does."
Of course, I'd eat well even without the President's checks,
but saying that wouldn't sound credible, so I added it on.
Ding- Ding-
"...Huh?"
"What's up, Da-jeong?"
"My KakaoTalk notifications are going crazy."
"Maybe our group chat?"
Oh, probably.
Yeah, the only place buzzing like this in the morning would be there.
I didn't get messages from anyone but members or company staff anyway.
Ji-ah unnie seemed to smirk oddly, but
must be my imagination. I picked up my phone and turned on the screen.
I opened the group chat to see what was going on.
Lots of mentions of me.
Why are they all like this?
Did I do something?
Anxiety surging, I frantically scrolled up to check earlier messages.
This commotion started... Found it.
Around 8 AM, about an hour and a half before I woke up.
And the starting message was none other than...
"...Huh?"
What... is this?
Why am I cheek-kissing Ji-ah unnie?
And looking so blissfully happy?
"U-Unnie! What is this...?!"
"Oh, you saw it now?"
I slammed my phone down and demanded an explanation from Ji-ah unnie across the table.
She smiled calmly, flashing a peace sign with two fingers.
And her one line:
"What do you mean? Our Da-jeong did it. I didn't do anything."
"L-Liar...! Did I really do this while asleep?!"
I'd never do that unless I was crazy.
No matter how asleep I was.
Act out something this embarrassing on purpose?
Even that time at the hospital when I nearly kissed the President, I wanted to die of shame.
"Yeah, really. I was just watching you sleep peacefully, and suddenly you clung to me murmuring 'Unnie...' and kissed my cheek."
"...?!"
With unnie's unflinching answer,
I had to accept it was true.
Ji-ah unnie was famous in Blue LUV for being unable to lie.
"Thanks to that, I know you really, really like unnie. For commemoration, this photo's going on my wallpaper."
"Nyaaaaah! S-Stop thaaaat...!"
I lunged at unnie trying to set my black history as her wallpaper so casually,
but she deftly dodged and steadfastly set it before proudly showing me with a smile.
Ugh, so mean.
Though it was my fault for doing it in my sleep,
immortalizing it in the group chat like this...
She's even spilled that I was scared and slept with her.
Yeah, I'd rather die.
After this humiliation, death would be more peaceful.
At least let me die as a human.