000. Merry Christmas - Night Part

"Sia, we're going to step out for a bit, so be a good girl and watch the house."

"Don't cause any trouble."

"Aw, how old do you think I am to be causing trouble? Don't worry, omma."

"You're the one I'm most worried about, Sia. Siwoo and Yuriel are way more reliable."

"Hing."

Even though she was well past twenty, she must have still looked like a baby in her parents' eyes, as Siwoo's parents cast an anxious look our way for a moment before soon breaking into fond smiles and waving at us.

Kkiik - the sound of the front door opening and closing. Despite the heavy snow falling outside, the lovey-dovey affection of the inseparable couple echoing beyond the front door was still blazing hot.

"Darling, I told you not to wrap your scarf so sloppily. What'll you do if you catch a cold? Come here."

"Aw, whatever you hug me is the warmest, what's the point."

"Aish. You're something else, darling. Still, come closer. I'll tie your scarf right."

"Shall I?"

"Do that."

"Puhŭh."

"Hihi."

"......Will we finally get to meet a third sibling today?"

"I seriously hope the third one is a younger sister. Not some rugged bastard of a guy like that."

"The hell are you talking about."

To think they could be that harmonious and affectionate even after over twenty years of marriage. Well, I suppose if I were either of the two, I'd probably start smiling the moment I looked at their faces too.

As I downed the lemon-scented beverage in my glass, using the sibling banter I was witnessing live for the first time in forever as a side dish, Sia-eonni suddenly let her eyes sparkle and spoke to Siwoo and me.

"......Shall we... start drinking a bit?"

The moment she said that, Sia-eonni walked over to the luggage bag left in the corner of the living room and pulled out quite expensive-looking bottles of liquor, one in each hand.

"Our Yuriel is an adult now, so she's gotta get drunk at least once today. Here, bring your glass over."

With earnest eyes that seemed to say she absolutely wanted to see me get drunk and messy today, Sia-eonni placed the liquor on the table and shot me a look full of excitement. Siwoo was watching that scene with a quite anxious expression.

"Our Yuriel is still a baby who doesn't even know the taste of alcohol. Today, eonni is going to teach you all about drinking properly..."

"Sorry to break it to you, but she's already gotten totally plastered a few times, noona."

"Eh?"

Sia-eonni stared at me with an utterly shocked expression. Hey, why are you looking at me with an expression like the world is ending?

"L-Liar. There's no way our Yuriel has already stepped foot into the evil clutches of alcohol! Right, Yuriel?!"

"Th... uh..."

"Tell me it's right......!"

"...You're right. That's all that bastard Siwoo's smear campaign. I've never touched alcohol in my life."

"I knew it. Wow, look at you trying to smear our Yuriel. That's truly disgusting, so gross. Blech."

"?"

Sorry, Siwoo. You looked like you were going to jump off a cliff if I said I had tasted it, so I just told a little lie. Go ahead and suffer a bit today too.

True to the cliché of possession, Yuriel could automatically purify any poison that entered her body in an instant, but alas, she could never conquer alcohol.

I once swiped some liquor from our elementary school teacher and drank it with Siwoo, but the moment I had a few glasses, I instantly blacked out. My memory completely cut out.

That bastard Siwoo said nothing special happened, so after putting my mind at ease and trying it a few more times, I concluded that alcohol and Yuriel simply don't mix. Rather than using pathetic magic in a sparring match, throwing a big basin of soju right at someone might actually be more effective.

But truth be told, I don't really have any special drunken habits, and since I'm drinking with Sia-eonni and that bastard Siwoo, well, if I get drunk halfway through, one of them will carry me back anyway.

Sia-eonni poured drinks into the glasses with the gaze of a beast eyeing its prey, while that bastard Siwoo wore an annoyed expression as if he could already foresee a total shitshow party. And me, honestly not thinking much of anything.

"Now then, you know the first glass has got to be a one-shot, right? Let's clink, cheers - !"

"Cheers - !"

"No, I don't think this is right -"

Just how delicious would Elysia Liquor be? I tilted my glass of wine with a strange sense of anticipation.

"Yu, Yuriel's cheeks are squishy... sq-squishyyy......"

"H-Heavvy...... I'm dyin'......"

Empty bottles rolled around (degureureu) the round table. Both of them looked completely plastered already, as Sia-noona unreservedly let out the desires she often suppressed, sitting Yuriel on her lap and rubbing her own cheek against Yuriel's. Meanwhile, Yuriel, whose brain had fried a long time ago, was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠saying no with her words while leaving her body entirely up to noona's will.

"......If this happens, I'm the one who has to clean all this up."

Well, my parents probably know everything anyway, but we still need to keep up appearances.

As I lifted myself from the chair, a floating sensation washed over my body, and a drunken haze lingered in my footsteps. I packed up the empty liquor bottles, shoved them tightly into noona's luggage bag, and opened the window for ventilation.

"I-I'm cold....... Gotta rub our cheeks together like crazy......"

"Ugh......"

Come to think of it, this is the first time I've seen noona drunk. Because of her massive alcohol tolerance, I always got drunk first, so I never had the chance to see it. Getting caught up in the mood and slamming down half a bottle of remaining liquor like some crazy bastard caused her to go under instantly, making it my first time seeing noona completely hammered. Honestly, she's no different from usual, so I feel zero emotion.

"You'll catch a cold, Yuriel. Get on my back. Let's go to your room."

"U-Ugh......"

"Ah, not that... um..."

I clearly told her to get on my back. But looking completely wasted, as Yuriel struggled with all her might to wiggle out of noona's embrace, she ended up burying herself snugly right into my arms. Yuriel's warm body heat wrapped around me along with her small frame.

"S-Siwoo, carry me on your back too......"

"Just sleep here, noona."

"Hwek."

If she feels like she's going to freeze to death, she'll crawl into the bedroom on her own. Kicking away that bastard noona's body as she kept thrusting it forward, I carried Yuriel in my arms and walked up the stairs toward the bedroom.

"......Warm and cozy...... hmmm-nyam."

"......"

My heart flutters needlessly at the words she mutters mindlessly in her drunken, sleepy state. My earlobes turn red, and a bit of sweat starts to pool in the two hands holding Yuriel close. Forcibly ignoring those reactions, I carefully opened her door.

One bed, one desk, one drawer. With a simple layout that you'd probably find if you randomly picked a male elementary school student who liked soccer and opened his door, a chuckle naturally escaped me. No, is it too clean to be a boy's room?

Yuriel's body is bizarrely light and squishy. I gently laid Yuriel down on the bed—she had been hugging me with her eyes closed in a peaceful expression, looking like a doll finely crafted by an artisan.

The strength slowly drains from Yuriel's arms. She was only in my arms for a little while, yet I feel a slight sense of disappointment just from her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leaving my embrace, making me feel a bit like a fool.

"......She really is squishy."

After carefully stroking Yuriel's squishy cheeks, which I had secretly been envious of, I pulled the blanket over her.

Suddenly, Yuriel's words from earlier during dinner—right after our family blew out the candles and made our respective wishes—cross my mind.

'Hey, what wish did you make?'

'Secret.'

'Secret, my ass. Acting all high and mighty.'

Sorry, Yuriel. The wish I made today is a secret—at least from you.

I don't know when it started. My eyes just naturally drifted toward you. Whether we were eating together, attending classes, or going on trips, whenever I snapped back to reality, I realized I was looking only at you amidst a sea of countless people.

Back when we were little, we were just friends who clicked well and got along. How on earth did things end up like this?

I regret coming to like her. It's an impossible dream. Since I know Yuriel better than anyone else, I know better than anyone else that I can never be with her.

A love that cannot come true is terribly painful, and so I regret, oh so much regret, harboring romantic feelings for her. Even so, if a devil were to appear and whisper that he would erase these romantic feelings without any price, I would undoubtedly reject the offer.

Because that is love.

I sat on Yuriel's bed and stroked her hair. Stroking her hair with utmost care so she wouldn't wake up, it felt incredibly soft and addictive—to the point where I wouldn't even notice if she opened her eyes.

"......Siwoo?"

"Ah."

Did I stroke it for too long? Beyond the arm I had been using to carefully tend to her soft pink hair, Yuriel came into view, looking at me strangely with her eyelids half-closed.

"Ah, sorry for waking you. I'm going to head out now, so go to sleep..."

"......It really is Siwoo."

Struggling to lift her body as if the lingering drunkenness was still holding her down, Yuriel stroked and fondled the hand I had been using to pet her hair for a long time, before soon letting out a peculiar, flirtatious eye-smile as if she were purely happy.

"Siwoo, Merry Christmas."

"U-Uhh......?"

Po-ok.

She was burying herself right into my embrace.

"......Siwoo."

"W-What."

"I'll treat you better from now on......"

"......The hell are you saying."

"......I'll really treat you well......"

"......"

Words whose meaning I couldn't understand. Along with those words, Yuriel, snuggled tightly into my arms, wrapped both arms around me before long and gently patted my back.

Ever since some point, whenever my body accidentally brushed against Yuriel's, an urge would well up inside me—an urge to go just a little, just a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little bit further than this.

Back then, just touching bodies with her would make me leap with joy as if I had the whole world in my hands, but for some reason, that wasn't the case anymore.

I want to hold her even tighter. I want to inhale her sweet body scent. I want to slowly approach her lips and press mine against them. I want her... I want to make her mine.

I wasn't like this before. My body is acting strange.

Every time I feel her marshmallow-soft skin, every time I breathe in the alluring fragrance clinging to her body, every time I hear her seductive, half-asleep voice, the twisted affection and possessiveness coiled deep inside me seem to grow larger and larger, and those feelings terrify me.

Terrified that I might lose my reason and make a mistake with her. That I might taint her body. That I might end up doing something irreversible.

Terrified out of my mind, without even realizing it, I pulled Yuriel closer and hugged her tightly against my chest.

Sometimes, when Yuriel falls asleep and I succumb to base impulses to embrace her in secret, the warmth, the fragrance, and the sound of breathing of the sleeping Yuriel in my arms make my heart race like a broken machine.

Treating her like a newborn baby, I gently and tenderly held Yuriel's small body in my arms for a long, long time.

I feel her warmth. Perhaps due to the alcohol, it felt warmer than usual.

I feel her fragrance. Her sweet yet simultaneously alluring body scent excites me just from our skin touching.

I feel her breathing. Because we were pressed closer together than ever before, the sound of her soft breathing echoed much clearer than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠usual.

I pray that this ecstatic moment would last forever. Barely suppressing the vulgar desire to pounce on her right this instant, I secretly make a wish close to a delusion that will never come true.

Yuriel, you asked me what wish I made earlier, didn't you?

I'm sorry, but I'm a coward who can't even talk about something like this, so it's only now—as Yuriel, who had been patting my back, has fallen sound asleep in my arms—that I can finally say it.

Someday, as time passes and passes, when we turn twenty, I hope that you and I can welcome a cozy Christmas together right here once again.

I hope that on that day, just like today, I can face you proudly without an ounce of shame.

I pray that this pure heart of mine toward you will never change.

I prayed for it so earnestly.

Feeling the exceedingly beautiful and lovely miracle held in my arms right now, I murmured with the last handful of sincerity remaining in my heart.

"Merry Christmas, Yuriel."