Chapter 146

No matter what anyone said, So-hee had never lied to me.

That was the thought that brought me to So-hee's house.

Were my expectations off the mark, or right on target?

For starters, So-hee's statement that "we have an empty room" was technically true. The house did, in fact, have an empty room.

The problem was that this one empty room happened to be "the room So-hee used to live in."

Meaning: the room she'd stayed in before coming to the mansion.

Maybe because So-hee's family had kept it spotless, everything she'd left behind was still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there, untouched by dust.

Even the bookshelf was packed the way she'd left it. It didn't look like she'd taken a single textbook with her.

Which made sense. Her clothes were already at the mansion, so she'd only needed to bring underwear and casual wear, and transferring schools meant the textbooks were different too.

"Sis!"

So-hee's little sister, So-ri, wasn't it?

At any rate, the girl, who looked exactly like a scaled-down copy of So-hee, launched herself into So-hee's arms.

When So-hee first started working as a maid, the person who was moving my body in my place had drawn up a contract trying to follow the Labor Standards Act as strictly as possible. Naturally, So-hee was entitled to paid leave she could use properly, but I'd never seen her take a single day off.

I vaguely remembered saying that if So-ri ever had to be home alone for some reason, we could look after her at the mansion, but we'd never once actually taken care of So-ri.

"I've cut back on work myself and switched to remote, so there's no need to worry."

So-hee's father said it in a refreshing, easygoing tone.

"Are you sure it's all right?"

"Ah, absolutely. Honestly, So-hee's earnings alone could carry us through the next ten years, no problem. Not that it'd sit well with me to quit work entirely, mind you."

So-hee's father was a translator, he told me, mostly film subtitles, though he used to take on a lot of comics and novels as well. According to him, he'd dialed those back.

When I heard that, I turned my head and stared directly at So-hee. She was already seated beside me, playing with So-ri, and she very carefully avoided my eyes.

After all, So-hee was the one who'd had most of her salary paid out in advance—money that Yang Hye-in had pooled with her own savings to bribe the school.

If I'd counted that money as a real advance, So-hee would've had to work without pay for a very, very long time. Of course, that other person would never have let that happen, and I had no intention of doing so either.

"Is that so?"

So, at So-hee's father's easygoing remark, that was all I could bring myself to say.

"Indeed it is. And it's all thanks to you. Thank you."

"No, I'm the one who should be thankful."

Not knowing how to respond to So-hee's father, I'd debated for a long moment before managing only that.

*

So-hee's house, as I'd expected, couldn't compare to the mansion in size.

No, describing it as "expected" feels wrong. "Obvious" would be more accurate. If everyone in Seoul lived in a house like that, the city would be so cramped that only a chosen few could afford to exist there.

I didn't have the kind of objective common sense to judge whether this place was big or small, but Yang Hye-in and Su-a had already split off from us before we got here. The house would've been a tight fit but not unbearably crowded if both of them had come along. Still, it wasn't big enough for the two of them to stay over comfortably either.

One living room, one decently sized kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms.

One room doubled as So-hee's father's study and bedroom. One was So-ri's room. And one was So-hee's.

"Still, So-ri doesn't sleep by herself."

She had her own room to study or play in, but apparently she'd usually toddle after So-hee or her father. Even at night, she preferred sleeping with family to sleeping alone.

An environment completely different from mine, spent alone for all those years.

"Because I like Sis!"

So-ri, saying that as she burrowed into So-hee's arms, looked so lively it was enough to lift anyone's mood just watching.

"So, you'd like to stay in this house for the time being?"

"Yes. With your permission, that is. I know it must be inconvenient for you."

"Oh, no, no."

At my words, So-hee's father waved his hand, just a little too forcefully, like he was hamming it up a bit.

"If anything, I'd be the one making things awkward for, uh, Miss Sara, if she had to stay around a guy like me."

"You can just call me Sara. I'm So-hee's friend, after all."

So-hee's father had rather awkwardly tacked a title onto my name, so I answered him like that.

"Is, is that right? Then I'll call you Sara from now on."

He said it with a still slightly awkward expression and tone.

To be honest, he'd agreed so easily that it caught me off guard. I'd been planning to look into a hotel right away if he said no. Or, if So-hee seemed disappointed, I could cover her lodging ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or...

Hm. On second thought, offering something like that probably would've made things even more awkward.

"Whoa! Sis is staying here too?!"

So-ri let out a cheer, and then she sprang out of So-hee's arms and dashed over, throwing herself into mine.

It was a different kind of warmth from when she'd been hugging So-hee.

Maybe because she was a child, her body temperature seemed to run higher. I'd never been close with a small child before, so I didn't know the sensation of a child clinging to you.

But I thought I could understand, just a little, how adults felt about children.

I'd never had anyone smaller than me nearby. Even Su-a, who was the shortest among us aside from me, was basically my height. When someone hugged me, it was always from an equal position, or with them a little taller, pulling me into their arms.

But So-ri, who'd thrown herself against me, was so much smaller. Would the top of her head even reach my shoulder?

Granted, as So-hee's sister, she might shoot up past me within a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠few years, but right now her body was so small and fragile that I found myself worried about hugging her back too tightly. What if I squeezed her and she got hurt?

"So-ri!"

I couldn't bring myself to hug her back, but I couldn't exactly just ignore her either, so I was frozen, flustered, when So-hee shrieked and grabbed So-ri by the waist. She yanked her into her own arms and said,

"You can't just throw yourself at people like that! They might not like it!"

No, I hadn't disliked it, exactly.

It had just thrown me off a bit.

Ever since I was young, I'd longed for a family. Naturally, the person I'd longed for most was the Chairwoman. My father had passed away years ago, and I couldn't even remember my birth mother's face. So the Chairwoman was the only one left to me.

Looking back, I sometimes wonder what it would've been like if I'd had a sibling. Would the Chairwoman have locked my sibling away the way she'd locked me away? Or would she have singled me out alone and trapped me in the mansion? Well, given that I had no siblings either way, it was a pointless thought.

Su-a, against that backdrop, made me think about what it might have felt like to have a little sister. When we lived together at the mansion, I'd sometimes honestly feel like I did have a sister.

Especially on nights when we'd lie side by side in the same bed, facing each other and talking, I'd sometimes find myself thinking that having a sister like that wouldn't be so bad.

But So-ri...

So-ri had the image of a "little sister" in the most literal sense.

If Su-a was the kind of sister who wasn't much younger and could be either the older or younger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one, So-ri was the innocent, guileless younger one.

Of course, if she'd grown up in the household I grew up in, she'd never have been able to keep a personality this bright.

If anything, her personality told you exactly how much love she'd received from her family in this house.

"Sis, you don't like it?"

After being scolded by So-hee, So-ri looked up at me and asked.

As she asked, her face showed no sign of worry or anxiety. The vibe was entirely confident—an "if you don't like it, I just won't do it" sort of question.

"No, it's fine."

"See!"

At my answer, So-ri sprang right back up and freed herself from her sister's arms.

Watching her come running at me, I gingerly spread my arms—

"Hweh?"

And So-ri, with a soft squish, grabbed both of my cheeks with both hands.

Then she began to knead my cheeks with those small, soft hands.

"H-hwehk...?"

Ah. Right. I remember this.

Even back when that other person was using my body, I'd gotten pulled in and had my cheeks grabbed by So-ri.

It wasn't that the sensation was bad. But I couldn't call it good, either. It was a strange, impossible-to-name feeling.

"Sis, look at this, they're so, so squishy!"

"So-ri!"

At So-ri's sudden move, So-hee, who'd frozen for a second, shrieked and snatched So-ri back again.

"Huh? Sis, do you wanna touch too?"

"Well, obviously—no, that's not the point! You can't just go touching someone's face without permission! It's rude!"

Was this really coming from someone who threw herself at people hugging them whenever she wanted and strutted around with several shirt buttons undone like she was showing off?

That question—I decided not to ask it, if only to protect So-hee's dignity as an older sister.

Truly, what a boisterous family.

Enviably so.