Chapter 10
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 10. That's Not It, Actually...! (2)
Soi truly liked her younger sister.
Of course, the younger sister Lua's birthday was actually earlier, but that wasn't really that important of a matter. Because she thought whether someone is an older sister or a younger sister originally depends on momentum and attitude.
Like she saw somewhere, don't they say an older sister must be like an older sister. In other words, if you act like an older sister, that immediately makes you the older sister.
Therefore, Soi couldn't just stand by and watch the pretty Lua.
No matter how much she is an elementary schooler, she knows what she needs to know.
They said Lua was her dad's benefactor. That her dad was once in great danger, and if it hadn't been for Lua, it definitely would have been a disaster. That's why her dad and mom brought Lua here. To repay the favor from that time.
So she wanted Soi to treat Lua well.
Naturally, no problem!
Because Lua is Soi's cute little sister.
If left alone, she just sits blankly staring at Soi, someone who... feels like she shouldn't be left alone. That kind of kid.
The more diligently Soi helped, the more it showed that Lua also relied on Soi.
If left alone among the kids, she gets flustered, diligently looking around and searching for Soi. Honestly speaking, that sight was amusing, so she sometimes briefly hid among the kids.
If she brings any kind of snack to her mouth, the way she hesitates and gauges the mood before biting it is exactly like a terrified small animal.
When lounging on the bed before sleep, she lies with her face half-buried in the rabbit doll she received as a gift when she was young, and at those times, you almost can't distinguish which one is the doll!
And while diligently taking care of Lua for a few years, Soi was also coming to realize something.
Though she had absolutely no idea what that something was.
When Lua gets a little terrified, when she relies on Soi while feeling anxious, when she occasionally wakes up startled in the middle of the night. When Soi protects that Lua.
Anyway, every time that happened, she felt 'something'.
Lua normally didn't take much interest in other people. Unlike Soi who quickly makes friends, Lua was the type who takes a long time to get used to someone when making friends.
So Soi saw the sight of Lua striking up a conversation with a kid from another class first for the very first time.
That expression on Lua's face was a first.
It must have definitely been a kid she was seeing for the first time, yet the moment she saw her back, Lua approached and struck up a conversation as if possessed.
Lua, who had struck up a conversation with a bright smile spreading across her face without realizing it.
Soi knew how great of a courage that was. Because the Lua that Soi had seen all along was always a timid and easily frightened child.
"Lua? I don't really know a name like that."
And that word from Lua was rejected just like that.
Even though she mustered up such courage.
Soi was about to get mad at that kid.
If Lua hadn't stopped her, she really would have gotten mad.
However, Soi herself didn't really know why she was getting that mad. Of course, it might be because that kid trampled on Lua's courage.
But something different from that.
She didn't know what it was, but anyway, she felt something, so—
"Haa."
Lua, who had grabbed Soi's arm and pulled her out of the classroom, let out a breath.
Her face was bright red. Whenever she was embarrassed, Lua's face would flush bright red like that.
"Lua, why?"
"No, it's just. Because I must have seen wrong..."
Lua spoke with a little hesitation.
"..."
Even when Soi narrowed her eyes, Lua just kept her gaze lowered and didn't answer further.
She's timid, and easily frightened, but.
She's also stubborn.
Because Lua is someone who won't tell her what on earth the nightmares she has at night are about, or the reason she occasionally gets terrified all by herself.
She only knew that emotion.
A slight disappointment.
Still, she had no intention of digging into it recklessly. Because her mom, and her dad, had already asked Soi several times.
An older sister, if she is an older sister, must not hurt her younger sister.
Because Soi, who had been living lonely by herself in that large house, didn't want to lose her current little sister.
Ultimately, Soi also had no choice but to not say anything more.
Thinking about it, it seems like I approached her too suddenly.
Even if she remembered my face, it's only natural she'd want to pretend not to know.
There's a reason the fact of having lived in an orphanage is handled as truly sensitive personal information.
Children are pure.
But saying they are pure doesn't mean they aren't cruel.
Rather, because they are pure, the distinction between good and evil sometimes becomes ambiguous, and so they sometimes reveal cruel sides that adults couldn't even imagine.
The cause of bullying can be anything. Being different from them, for example, the unique trait of being a superhuman, or not having parents, can become a subject of teasing. They also have a hard time feeling guilty about bullying like that.
So parents are just parents. Whether they are adoptive parents or biological parents, acting in a way that makes that obvious is an action that's a bit, you know.
Besides, didn't I just hear it earlier? That Chaeyi was adopted as the daughter of a hero.
Such a rumor would be even more fatal.
Good.
In that case, I have a method too.
Actually, it's a very simple method.
Can't we just become friends again from the beginning?
We probably won't be able to become friends exactly the way we used to be, but actually, even if we don't, it doesn't really matter. Because I just want to get close again.
...Above all.
Slightly, there's a burden on my mind too.
Wondering if the reason Chaeyi's personality changed like that was because she was hurt in her childhood.
And if there is a person who became that wound, wondering if I am one of them too.
Is it over-self-consciousness?
"Lua!"
"Hiyak!?"
At the sensation of my cheek suddenly being poked, I barely returned from my daydream.
"Do you want to get close to her?"
Soi, who had shoved her face to fill my entire vision, asked.
I think I live maintaining a blank expression in my own way, but the kids around me actually notice right away, geez. Naturally, the first to notice is always Soi, who is near me.
"...Yeah."
When I nodded my head, Soi sank into thought for a moment.
The classroom, by the window, the very back seat.
It's a seat popular with anyone, but right now it's my spot.
It's not like I benefited purely from Soi being popular, but simply because the teacher said it's first-come, first-served.
Soi woke me up early in the morning, took the half-asleep me, came to school the earliest, and claimed the seat.
Because Soi grew up too upright to simply push kids away using her name.
Soi's seat is the one right in front of mine.
A seat where if she sits sideways on the chair and turns her body, she can face me.
Even the seating arrangement taking the form of her protecting me is truly persistent in many ways, I must say.
"Hah, man. It can't be helped!"
Hearing my answer, Soi dramatically shrugged her shoulders and let out a deep sigh.
And then, placing one hand on her chest, closing one eye, and lifting her head—a posture that, when looked at, is somehow cute yet also somehow makes you feel annoyed—she looked at me and said.
"This older sister will help you!"
...Umm.
No, I'm the one who wants to get close.
Still, maybe it'll be a little helpful if I receive Soi's help. Anyway, Chaeyi is an elementary schooler too.
Since I'm someone who has never made an 'elementary schooler friend', Soi might definitely be much better at this kind of thing.
For some reason, I felt a vibe that asking an elementary schooler for help making friends was a request corrupted in a different sense, but I decided to ignore it for now.
You know, isn't it originally the rule to leave technical matters to the experts?
That's how it is. Yeah.
"No."
Crack.
Hearing those words from Chaeyi, I thought I somehow heard the sound of Soi freezing over.
Because Soi is a kid who has never had a proposal to be friends rejected in that manner.
For starters, she's pretty, active, her parents are famous people, and since she even drags me around behind her, she's a child who is a bundle of charm in many ways in the eyes of fellow elementary schoolers.
Above all, it's originally the rule during school days to become friends with just about anyone.
"Why do I have to get along with you?"
"Uh-huh?"
Boom!
This time, I heard a sound like something exploding above Soi's head.
Because this was also a phrase Soi had never heard before.
"Why, why shouldn't we get along?"
"I never said we shouldn't get along. I said there's no reason to get along."
Are those words that should come out of an elementary schooler's mouth?
No, more importantly, did Chaeyi have that kind of personality? Setting aside my childhood memories, I don't think Chaeyi had that kind of personality even in the original work.
She was much more dependent than that, so she did everything Seo Lua told her to do.
Even that kind of thing too... like Soi.
"..."
Crack.
This time, I heard the sound of my own head freezing over.
Ah.
Ah.
How could I have forgotten!
Glance.
While I was frozen like that, Chaeyi's gaze returned toward me.
A gaze devoid of any particular emotion lingered on me for a moment before heading toward the book laid open on the desk.
Even though I was someone whose genius status was hotly debated in this school, it was a book with contents that even I had a hard time recognizing.
...A curriculum level fitting for a high schooler.
Somehow, I think I have a little bit of an idea what the family tradition is like in the household Chaeyi was adopted into.
"What's with her!?"
After returning home, Soi, who had been flailing and kicking the air for a long while on the bed, shouted furiously.
"Why does she talk like that!?"
I know, right.
Thinking about it, it seems like we only had overly nice kids around us. It wouldn't have been strange if there was at least one kid like that.
Seeing Soi's reaction like that, I was a little worried. Wondering what if Soi really ends up hating Chaeyi.
However, hearing the words that followed, I was able to feel a little relieved.
"Fine. Since it's come to this, I'm absolutely going to get close to her. I'll get very, very, very close to her, to the point where she absolutely can't deny that we aren't close!"
A Soi-esque conclusion if it is one.
And, umm.
Separate from that, it is a conclusion that makes me slightly worried too, though.
...Will it really be okay?
It'll be okay, right?
Because in the original work, they were close anyway, say what you will!