Rein Wants to Be Called Noona
Reina’s expression made it obvious she was aware of the two of us. Rein tilted her head at her and asked a question, clearly not suspecting anything between us. Instead of answering right away, Reina walked slowly toward us in silence. Unable to bear the short silence, I spoke up first.
“That’s Reina noona, a mercenary. She’s been helping me out a lot with city life.”
“What?!”
Rein’s eyes flew wide open at the casual introduction. I blinked back in equal surprise, unsure what part had startled her. Reina slipped right up beside me, then stood behind and placed a hand on each of my shoulders.
“Hey. I’ve heard about you sometimes.”
“H-hello….”
They exchanged greetings with me caught in the middle. While Reina spoke bluntly yet calmly, Rein fidgeted nervously. Having spent her whole life in the village, she seemed unused to strangers and bowed her head stiffly, looking thoroughly intimidated. The heavy pressure on my shoulders and Rein’s gaze flicking between Reina and me made the air feel strangely tense.
“Well, you’ve given the gift, so that’s that, right?”
Reina broke the awkward standoff first. Still gripping my shoulders, she spun me around and started pushing me somewhere.
“Now then, how about we go hunt some monsters nearby and loosen up?”
“Huh? Right now? I’m still in these clothes….”
She made the suggestion while steering me at will. I kept moving despite myself and voiced my reluctance. As always, my flimsy excuse was met with a perfect solution.
“We can just change at home.”
“Ugh.”
It was an obvious rebuttal. With nothing left to say, I let out a hesitant sound. I didn’t actually dislike the idea of hunting, so I let myself be dragged along. Ahh, I really wanted to rest a bit more….
“See you later….”
With no choice in the matter, I trudged off and gave Rein a gloomy farewell. Just as I was about to head home, unsteady under the firm grip on my shoulders, the sound of hurried footsteps on the dirt path approached from behind. A weight suddenly pulled on my swinging wrist. Without needing to turn, I knew it was Rein. Even after grabbing me, she looked startled herself, staring up at me with wide eyes.
“J-just….”
Her surprised expression lasted only a moment. She mumbled, repeating the first syllable over and over, still holding my wrist. Then she lowered her head and finally managed to finish what she had been trying to say.
“…stay a little longer before you go….”
The moment her words ended, the grip on my shoulder loosened. The hand that had seemed ready to drag me straight out of the village and toward monsters lost its strength and fell away.
“Fine. Go talk with your ‘friend’ for a bit.”
Reina walked ahead a little and spoke as if it didn’t matter either way. Maybe she was being considerate since it had been a while since I’d returned to my hometown. Leaving her retreating figure behind, I stepped into Rein’s house for the first time in ages. Surprisingly, neither her father nor mother was home.
“Where are your mom and dad?”
“Hm? Oh… they went over to the neighbor’s for a bit.”
Rein pointed in one direction inside the house as she answered. Feeling the familiar comfort wrap around me, I pulled out a chair at the table and sat down like it was my own home. But Rein walked into her open room and gestured for me to follow. I only sat for a moment before standing again and heading inside at her beckoning.
Rein’s room looked quite different from the old days when it had been cluttered with dolls. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the bed pushed against the wall. Back then we used to treat each other’s houses like second homes and even slept over sometimes. Thinking about it now, it had been pretty bold for a boy and girl to do that. We were just clueless kids, and in that era such things didn’t raise eyebrows, so both sets of parents had let it slide.
Though the room felt unfamiliar now, I sat on the familiar bed as usual. Rein immediately came close and pressed down on my shoulders.
“…What’s your relationship with her?”
“Huh?”
Rein frowned as she looked down at me and asked the question. The sudden interrogation made a confused sound slip out of me. She shifted her grip on my shoulders, as if trying to push me backward onto the bed. I didn’t fall, but her forceful attitude was something I’d never seen from her before. My startled exclamation and bewildered expression hung in the air for a beat before she spoke again, brows still furrowed.
“I asked what your relationship is with that noona from earlier….”
She drew out the end of her sentence, her tone turning irritable. Her face looked like she was about to cry. I had already explained it when I introduced Reina.
“I’m just staying at Reina noona’s house because I have nowhere else….”
“That’s it!”
“U-uh?”
Rein suddenly shouted “That’s it!” and pushed harder, as if trying to startle me. I couldn’t tell what part bothered her so much. When I voiced my confusion, she cried out in frustration.
“Why do you call her like you’re so close?!”
“Huh…?”
She lashed out at something I hadn’t expected at all. The hands that had been pushing my shoulders now looked ready to grab me by the collar. During our time together, “noona” had become a natural nickname that stuck. Apparently, hearing me call Reina that had really bothered Rein. But from my perspective, it was the only natural way to address her.
Fearing she really would grab my collar if this continued, I gently brushed her arms away to calm her and continued.
“Well, she’s still my noona, so….”
“What about me?!”
She cut off my words and leaned in even closer. Technically, Rein was two years older than me. On the other hand, we had always been so casual with each other that “noona” never came out naturally. Could she really want me to call her that now, after all this time?
“No, you’re you and….”
I wasn’t even sure what I was trying to explain anymore. You’re you and she’s she—what kind of ridiculous explanation was that? But every instinct in my body agreed. Calling Reina by her name felt wrong, and calling Rein “noona” felt just as wrong. My body instinctively rejected both.
Seeing my reluctant attitude, Rein finally stated what she wanted clearly.
“Call me noona too. Give me that name.”
“But still….”
Even when I tried to resist with a hesitant “but,” she wouldn’t budge.
“Hurry up.”
She started acting stubborn, as if my discomfort didn’t matter at all. Her sulky face looked down at me along with those two short words. It was an expression I’d never seen on her before, but my gut told me she wouldn’t let me go until she got what she wanted.
The serious atmosphere made me carefully part my lips.
“Re….”
The first syllable came out, but the rest refused to follow. Saying “Reina noona” was so easy, yet these few letters—so similar in sound—wouldn’t come out because of the unbearable awkwardness. My face burned like it had been set on fire, and I couldn’t meet my friend’s eyes. When I glanced at Rein, her irritated expression had already softened into faint anticipation, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. The thought that her hidden joy would turn to disappointment if I failed made me force the remaining syllables out.
“Rein… noona….”
“…!”
The moment the words left my mouth, the hands on my body all fell away at once. Rein stood in the middle of the room with her back to me, shoulders hunched. I couldn’t see her expression, but both her palms were covering her face. Just one different syllable, yet saying it out loud felt mortifying. My face was hot. I wanted to escape this place right now. An inexplicable shame and embarrassment washed over me.
I had planned to rest a bit before going hunting. Strangely, my heart was pounding harder than it ever did when fighting monsters. If I stayed here any longer, it felt like it might burst. I fled the room as if running away and shouted,
“I-I’m going!”
“Huh? Oh, okay!”
From behind me as I hurried out, I heard Rein’s bright voice. It seemed that those few short letters—“Rein noona”—had completely lifted whatever bad mood she’d been in. After fleeing her house, I quickened my steps toward home. With every step, my heartbeat seemed to echo in time. Ah, seriously… my heart is so noisy….