Sleepless Night, and School
"Sorry…"
"It's fine."
Did she even realize?
That saying something like that only made the whole situation more awkward.
The eyes that had met mine were now fixed on the floor.
Well, of course—this was Han Seyeon, who was always reading Han Sein's every cue.
I already knew she couldn't look me straight in the eye.
But did she really have to shrink into herself like this?
It wasn't as if she'd seen me naked. At most she'd caught a glimpse of my stomach.
Of course, given the era we lived in, simply looking could get you investigated by the police for "visual rape."
Anyway.
I had no intention of letting this atmosphere drag on forever.
It was stifling, and the more carefully Seyeon treated me, the flatter her own emotions would become.
"Let's just sleep for now."
"Okay."
A sigh slipped out of me without thinking.
Where had the Han Seyeon gone who used to hoist her trophies high with pride?
Figuring out where to start fixing this personality that only crumpled around Han Sein already made my head ache.
A man and a woman sleeping in the same room.
Even if they were family, they were both fully grown adults, weren't they?
Some people might find it strange.
But this was everyday life for us.
Setting aside the peeling wallpaper, setting aside the shabby little house—on the floor of the spacious living-room-slash-bedroom, a soft blanket had been laid out.
No matter how poor you were, there were things a person still had to maintain.
I wished we could run the boiler freely, but I wasn't the one paying the bills, so I had to be careful.
She climbed under the covers first.
Find the distance between the two pillows.
The answer: a distance both close and far.
Far for sharing one blanket.
Yet not so far as to be sleeping apart.
That was the ideal distance in Han Seyeon's mind.
I slowly slipped under the covers as well.
The air was cold, but the electric heating pad that was switched on warmed my back pleasantly.
Today…
Was a day very different from usual.
For me, it was the first night I was spending in this world.
For her, perhaps the day her everyday life began to change?
Even now it was like that.
Seyeon was staring at the ceiling with an awkward body.
I, too, gazed up at the dark ceiling.
And then…
I slowly turned toward her.
The distance between me and Seyeon was just about arm's length—close enough that I might or might not reach if I stretched out fully.
Had she sensed my presence?
For a moment Seyeon's pupils flicked toward me, then returned to the ceiling.
With Han Sein's memories, I could understand why she acted that way.
But on the other hand, I couldn't erase the frustration.
Still, I shouldn't rush things.
There had been a time when I wished I had an older sister.
Maybe I could borrow a little of that feeling.
"Noona…"
"Y-yeah?"
"Never mind."
I spoke carefully while looking at her.
Seyeon stammered, flustered.
Well, after the slap, the times I'd spoken to her first could be counted on one hand—except for truly necessary words, that is.
So wouldn't this single word now sound even more awkward?
I debated whether to stay silent or continue talking.
"Allowance… run out?"
"No. Nowhere to spend it anyway."
Conversations between the Han siblings only worked when there was a purpose.
There was no such thing as idle chat or teasing between them.
If it had been the old Han Sein, it probably wouldn't have changed until he became an adult.
But I was Han Sein of South Korea, not of this reversed world.
I wouldn't charge in hastily.
Just a little.
Start with a very slight change.
"Then… why?"
"……."
I paused half a beat.
Her breathing stopped.
Whether she wanted to read my intentions or simply felt frustrated, her breathing sounded awkward.
Eyes accustomed to the dark took in Seyeon.
Had her night vision brightened as well?
She carefully turned her head to look at me.
Only after the darkness had settled thickly did we meet eyes.
I calmly let the thought out.
My lips moved, saying words that would be nothing special in a normal family.
"Good night."
"……."
I didn't wait for a reaction.
I just said what I needed to say, properly settled myself, and tried to sleep.
The February night was quiet.
Even more so in a basement apartment in the city.
Only the occasional motorcycle passing by disturbed my ears.
Saturday was a day off.
But that didn't apply to Han Seyeon.
To her, who sometimes worked even on Sundays, a day off sounded utterly unfamiliar.
Of course she was human too, and she did her best to manage her condition.
Even while bouncing around construction sites, she didn't enjoy drinking.
She sought rest at home with her awkward little brother.
Going to bed early and waking up on time.
That was the most important thing for managing her condition.
"Mmm…"
But.
Seyeon couldn't fall asleep easily.
The question Why? didn't even surface.
Because she already knew the reason in her heart.
First, the post-nut clarity from the masturbation earlier that day.
And second.
Because Han Sein had acted differently from usual.
Good night.
The power those words held was more than she expected.
To the older sister who had looked at her little brother as a sexual object, he had thrown a "good night."
To the sister who, like the mother he had hated as a child, had struck him.
To the sister who could, in a way, be seen as the perpetrator.
What on earth was the feeling behind those words?
Even if she didn't want to attach meaning to it, it wasn't easy—because they had been a pair who never said anything until now.
And third.
"Ah…"
Han Sein had come closer.
He was clearly asleep.
Regular breathing, and even the faint sleep-talking.
It was definite sleep.
But that action struck Seyeon intensely.
The distance that had clearly changed from the beginning.
Whether cold air was seeping in, the air was very cold.
Should she call it instinct?
His body moved toward the warm place.
The sight of him buried under the blanket up to the top of his head.
Because of the cold weather to begin with, Seyeon herself only had her head peeking out.
She began to feel the touch of Han Sein slowly approaching from inside.
It should have been hot, but Han Sein's body was innately weak and cold.
Considering the mother had drunk and smoked during pregnancy, it was more accurate to say he had been born healthy at all.
That wasn't important.
Seyeon twitched.
She felt the body heat of the closer Han Sein.
Arms and legs digging toward her body.
A body sticking right up against her.
"Ah…"
She let out a voice without meaning to.
Seyeon opened her eyes in panic, but the situation flowed on calmly.
With an awkward expression, she quietly closed her eyes again.
She tried hard to sleep.
But she felt his approaching body.
Whether he was deeply asleep, the peeping little breaths sounded simply cute.
A man's body is this soft, huh.
She felt his body stuck to hers.
Looking sturdy on the outside, but when the skin actually touched, the soft, squishy sensation was quite addictive.
She had to sleep.
She had to sleep, but…
Seyeon couldn't fall asleep easily.
Between her thigh and calf.
Because she felt a hard sensation pressing firmly into her flesh.
"Be careful on your way."
"Yeah…"
A soft, sleepy-sounding voice.
Should I say I'd half lost my mind?
I remembered approaching her, but after that I'd fallen asleep, so it was hazy.
Early dawn.
As she got up, I naturally woke too.
Having finished preparing for work, she headed out of the house.
It was kind of funny.
Rather, Seyeon, who hadn't slept properly, responded more comfortably.
Even so, her gaze kept glancing at my lower body, as if wondering what had happened last night.
After seeing her off, I closed my eyes again.
Sleep had already fled, but I needed to organize my thoughts, so I took a kind of meditation.
Two days ahead.
When the weekend ended and Monday came, I would have to go to school.
When February ended and March arrived, students had to go to school.
That was the obvious reality.
Legally an adult.
But the fact that I was a student hadn't changed.
Not even a university student aiming for a more specialized major.
Because it was a reversed world, I had to go to a somewhat special school.
Could I do well?
Worry naturally rose.
You'll be able to do well.
"Shut up."
I wish it wouldn't read my thoughts.
The gloomy hologram freely read my thoughts and answered.
It had only been two days, but I was getting used to it, and more than anything, it was nice not being lonely.
Yes.
"But why is this guy's life like this?"
Isn't it ordinary?
A thought that suddenly came to mind.
Han Sein of an unfortunate family.
But the school he enrolled in was none other than the Hoerang Academy.
A kind of university position with the feel of an elite school.
Similar in standing to Seoul National University, the place the most students in South Korea wanted to attend.
Han Sein, very luckily, had been able to enroll thanks to the school's goodwill that was half social contribution.
I didn't really know about the career path.
But since there were Important Souls there too, I was in a situation where I had to force myself to go.
Despite the poor family circumstances, there was the benefit of a full scholarship and uniform support.
Thanks to that, he would enroll without problems and spend school life.
"I can… do well, right?"
…….
"What, why aren't you answering."
Anxiety rose.
The hologram didn't lie.
But for content that was hard to say, it always answered with silence.
A sigh flowed out.
The best academy in Seoul.
Surely there would be students with tremendous backgrounds too.
The repertoire that always came out in these kinds of media floated up.
What's the point of worrying.
Just sleep.