Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Hug Me Together
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A month had passed since Seuli and I went to the forsythia festival together.
And when that month finally came to an end...
"Ughhhh... grrrhhh...!"
We had to take our midterms.
Thanks to the midterms being at the end of April, we'd been studying together nonstop starting from the week after the festival.
Gathering like that every day just to study made us feel like we'd somehow turned into model students, which was a strange sensation.
In reality, Seuli was already the diligent type. It was embarrassing to admit, but I was pretty diligent too.
As proof, Seuli—who had dozed off the moment self-study started on the first day—dove into the exams with insane focus, glued to her desk for all three hours without moving an inch.
Her concentration was seriously impressive.
Maybe it was the payoff for all that effort, but Seuli's first exam wrapped up pretty smoothly.
"Phew... what a relief..."
In the cafe, Seuli slumped face-first onto the table after grading her papers with the answer keys the teacher had posted.
I looked at her and asked casually.
"You did great. For your first exam, this is huge."
"It's not that good..."
"Nah, you crushed it."
I told her while looking over her test papers.
"Maintaining a 90 average even in high school is no joke."
"...Isn't that pretty common?"
"From the vibe in class after the exams, it didn't seem like it."
Exaggerating just a bit, our class felt like a funeral home once the tests were done.
And it wasn't just our class—every other class was the same.
It's common for kids to crash hard when jumping from middle to high school, with the difficulty spiking all at once.
I knew it all too well, being one of those kids myself.
"Haneul, you did well again this time, right...?"
"...Decent enough."
"What's your average?"
"94?"
"...You crushed it."
Seuli pouted a little as she grumbled, but honestly, I wasn't thrilled either.
It was better than my past life scores, for sure. Back then, I hovered in the mid-to-late 80s, so mid-90s was massive progress.
Seriously, I figured I'd snag first in class this time, no sweat.
But it felt off. Frustratingly so.
In my past life, I never had the setup to really focus on studying. I could squeeze in some work during self-study, but that was barely an hour, and afterward, I'd head back to the orphanage to watch the kids.
Weekends were a total wash—no study time at all. I had to keep an eye on the kids and help the director with chores now and then.
The director wasn't thrilled about me going to college in the first place. "Not thrilled" might undersell it—she straight-up didn't want me to.
Couldn't blame her. Orphanage stays end when you hit adulthood. Then you get state housing and have to fend for yourself.
So she hoped I'd start working right away once I turned eighteen and pushed for vocational high school, a public one, or culinary school.
I rebelled and went to a regular high school instead... Anyway, the point is, unlike back then when I had zero time to study, now I had plenty.
Even when Dasom tried to bug me, a quick "Sorry, sis, oppa's studying" had her backing off without a fuss, giving up playtime.
Mom and Dad did their best to keep Dasom from interrupting, and they'd even bring coffee or snacks to cheer me on.
With all that, I studied my ass off, enough to aim for late 90s this time. Like, grinding hard.
But I ended up mid-90s.
That's why it bugged me.
"...Kinda disappointing."
"...You okay?"
Seuli looked up at me with worried eyes.
I nodded right away to reassure her.
I didn't want her fretting over me.
"Exams are done, so let's have fun today."
"Yeah, let's!"
Maybe my words lifted her mood—her face flushed a bit as she gazed at me.
"Hey, Haneul, there's something I wanna try."
"Something you wanna do?"
"Yeah, is it okay?"
"Depends what it is?"
I said that, but if it was something Seuli wanted, I'd do whatever I could.
Because it was Seuli—my most precious friend.
After a moment's hesitation, she asked softly.
"...Um, can I come over to your house today, by any chance?"
......It was such a timid question for something I could easily say yes to.
"Of course. Let's head straight there."
"Heehee... Yeah...! Let's go!"
Seuli and I got up from the cafe and headed to the bus stop.
*
When we got home, someone came running at us full tilt.
"Oppa!!"
The cute little bundle charging over was, naturally, my one and only little sister, Dasom.
"Dasom~"
I opened my arms to her, and she leaped right in like it was the most obvious thing.
-Swoosh!
As Dasom hugged me tight, Seuli greeted her from behind.
"Dasom, long time no see~"
"Unni!!"
Dasom wriggled in my arms, trying to break free.
I set her down, and she bolted past me straight into Seuli's arms.
-Swoosh!
-Nuzzle nuzzle
Dasom rubbed her cheek against Seuli, grinning ear to ear, clearly loving it.
Seuli beamed back at her just as happily.
It was an adorably cute scene, as always—Seuli and Dasom snuggled up together like that.
The commotion drew Mom out from the kitchen to the entryway.
"Oh, Seuli~ It's been ages~"
"Auntie...! Hi...!"
"Dasom~ Seuli unni's gonna get squished~ Come to Mommy."
"Ung!"
Dasom let go reluctantly and ran to Mom for a hug.
Seuli watched her fondly, then slipped off her shoes and headed inside.
I did the same and followed her to my room.
I dropped my bag and even kicked off my socks for comfort.
Meanwhile, Seuli set her bag next to mine and headed right back out.
"Dasom~ Let's play~"
"Unni~"
Looks like Seuli went to see Dasom too.
Every time she made time for Dasom like this, I felt so grateful.
You could tell she cared for her like a real little sister.
I strolled leisurely to the living room after her, where Dasom was already using Seuli as a human couch.
"Hee hee hee."
Snuggled tight in Seuli's lap, Dasom watched TV, and Seuli started playing along.
"Dasom~ Wanna watch Chokko Ping~?"
"Chokko Ping yay!!"
Seuli knew exactly what shows little girls were into these days, and Dasom's eyes lit up, nodding eagerly at the mention.
Mom smiled warmly at how effortlessly Seuli handled Dasom and came over to me.
"Seuli's so good with Dasom."
"Yeah, treats her just like a real little sister."
"Right? So, if you two haven't eaten, want me to whip up something tasty soon?"
"Something tasty?"
"Yep, something yummy."
I nodded without hesitation.
"Sure, please do."
"Okay~ Coming right up~"
Mom's cooking was top-notch, so no second thoughts there. She hummed happily as she headed to the kitchen.
That left me in the living room with Dasom and the Seuli holding her.
Dasom was basking in the luxury of her favorite cartoon from Seuli's arms, and Seuli kept responding to her chatter.
"Hattping come out! Hattping!"
"Where's Hattping hiding~?"
"Choggi! Choggi~"
"There's Choggi~"
I couldn't help smiling at the heartwarming sisterly vibe, staring at them instead of the TV.
Just watching them was healing. A few minutes passed like that, and the cartoon episode ended.
But then...
"Oppa! Hug oppa too!! Like Lumi!!"
...Dasom suddenly said something weird.
"Dasom?"
"Hug! Hug together!"
"You want a hug?"
"Yeah! Like Lumiping! Hug!"
Guess there was a hugging scene in the show.
"Alright, c'mere."
I spread my arms for her, inviting her to jump in.
But...
......Seuli, still holding Dasom, started glancing around awkwardly.
I sensed something off, but it was too late.
"I... I'll go...?"
"Uh, yeah?"
I tried to pull my arms back in panic, but nope—too late.
-Plop
Seuli had crept over while hugging Dasom and slotted right into my arms.
......What the hell was happening?
As my brain short-circuited trying to process, the last things I registered were just the two of them.
"Kyaaa~!"
Dasom's bright laughter, and...
-Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
My racing heartbeat.
Those two sounds filled my ears completely.