Chapter 12
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 12. That's Not It, Actually...! (4)
It was good that we even received permission unintentionally like that.
However, I have a few doubts about whether that really solved all the problems.
Chaeyi still treated us awkwardly.
It also seemed like she was making an effort to get along because of her adoptive mother's order.
She hangs around with us, but should I say she doesn't smile, or that her aura is a bit dark.
Of course, Soi wasn't one to just stand by and watch that.
"Chaeyi, let's play!"
Whenever Soi had free time, meaning during recess or lunch breaks, she went to see Chaeyi.
To be exact, she took me along with her because she knew I was worried about Chaeyi.
"Chaeyi, let's go together!"
She said that when heading home too.
When she said that, Chaeyi walked a slight distance away from us.
Since Soi always had many friends, Chaeyi would awkwardly squeeze in among the kids gathering around as they greeted or talked to Soi.
The only thing that could be considered fortunate was that Chaeyi's face was getting a little better.
Of course, it wasn't like she brightened up completely, or that Chaeyi suddenly started talking to other kids first.
At least, should I say she stopped making a cold expression while beside us.
Thinking about it, this is also thanks to Soi as expected.
She can be by our side because Chaeyi's mother thinks highly of Soi, and therefore she was able to slightly delay the studying she would normally have to do right after going home, because of Soi.
...But you know.
Then, hasn't she just not gotten close to me?
I mean... Soi is the one who got close, right? The actual gaze that aunt gave me was truly a gaze looking at nothing special.
She might have heard my name or something, but actually 'being smart' in elementary school might not be true smartness anyway.
Since Chaeyi was already studying what you'd study in middle school and high school, if we're talking about grades, she might actually be better than me.
"..."
Thinking about it like that, I kind of hate it.
I don't mean I hate Soi. I don't mean I hate this action of Soi's either, um, probably not.
Rather than that, I just feel pathetic myself.
No, how can I rely on an elementary schooler this much? Even if it's awkward to strike up a conversation and awkward to interact with her.
So, feeling impatient little by little for no reason, I tried to talk as much as possible to Chaeyi, who walked a slight distance away from us.
"Um, Chaeyi."
"...Yeah."
Huh.
Why does my voice strangely lose its strength when I try to talk to her.
It's not like she answers incredibly brightly when Soi talks to her either, though.
I wondered if I shouldn't have spoken to her, or if speaking to her had actually offended her instead, but thinking I should at least do what I prepared, I took a piece of candy out of my pocket and held it out to Chaeyi.
"Do you want to eat this?"
"Huh?"
Seeing the candy I abruptly held out in front of her face, Chaeyi blinked.
Yeah. Honestly speaking, it's incredibly embarrassing.
I just absolutely cannot bring myself to mimic the actions of young children. I am still just an elementary schooler in this world, and I know that naturally, acting a little childish isn't particularly embarrassing, and adults don't view it negatively either.
But even so, doing bizarre wordplay like kids do, or abruptly spitting out random words and laughing, or mimicking catchphrases from programs kids like, was something I just absolutely could not do.
Maybe I didn't have friends in my past life because of this personality too.
Because I couldn't keep up with trends or anything at all.
"Uh, yeah..."
Perhaps due to the aftermath of the ice cream and the permission. Even though Chaeyi was still crestfallen, she softened a little.
Even after that, I steadily took care of giving Chaeyi something.
Partly because I wanted to look good to her, but also because I felt like I just had to do so.
In this life, ever since I started living with Aunt Yujin and Mister Dohyun, I've seen an incredibly energetic child all along.
Soi is, how should I put it, an active child.
Because she was a positive child who made you feel good just by watching her. If someone were to set a standard for 'this is how a child should grow up', it would be Soi.
So I wanted Chaeyi to cheer up a bit.
Of course, it won't be easy. They tell her to study at home, and if it's such a strict family, they would probably want Chaeyi to properly utilize things like her superpowers too.
...Come to think of it, why did she come to a regular elementary school?
If they were aiming for her to attend the same school as Soi, wouldn't it have been more advantageous to come earlier than this? If they wanted them to become friends, it would have been better to be friends from 1st grade.
"Do you want to drink yogurt?"
"Huh? Uh-huh?"
Seeing me take another thing to eat out of my bag, Chaeyi became flustered.
"Drink it."
Because eating something delicious makes you feel better.
To Chaeyi, who bewilderingly packed the yogurt into her bag, I,
"Do you want to eat chocolate too?"
"Uh-huhhhh?"
Took out more things to eat and gave them to her.
Chaeyi, holding food full in both hands, looking at me with a dumbfounded expression.
That expression makes me feel a little better.
Because a flustered face is still better than a lifeless face.
"Hey, hey, Lua."
"Huh?"
"Does Lua like Chaeyi?"
"Huh?"
What is she talking about right now?
"No, it's true, isn't it? Lately you keep only taking care of Chaeyi. Ah, is that not it?"
Soi, who tilted her head going 'Umm?', placed her index fingers on her temples and deliberated, then,
"It's not just lately, is it? I think it's the first time. Lua doing that to another kid."
"Ah."
That is, true.
Because ever since I entered elementary school, I had continuously been in a protected position.
I was truly corrupted in many ways. While being treated as a younger sister by Soi, who is much younger than me, I was secretly thinking it was comfortable and stuff.
"Do you want to get that close to her?"
"...Yeah."
But even so, I didn't want to lie in front of Soi. Because Soi is always honest in front of me.
"Umm."
Soi raised both her index fingers, placed them on her temples, and paced around the room with her eyes closed.
Soi, who miraculously circled the room three times without bumping into anything even with her eyes closed, snapped her eyes open, then,
"Ummmm."
Seeming like she was about to say something, she closed her eyes again and spun three times in the opposite direction this time, in the exact same posture.
"Good!"
And then, as if she finally made up her mind, she shouted and whipped around to look at me.
"I will help you!"
"You've been helping me all along—"
"But, I need to make one thing clear."
Soi briskly walked right in front of me, then,
"Hiyat!?"
Thud. She placed her hands on both my shoulders.
And she looked at me with an incredibly serious expression.
"Lua is my little sister. Right?"
"Uh, uh-huh?"
"You said uh-huh?"
No, I definitely attached a question mark at the end of the sentence.
"You said uh-huh?"
"Uh, uh-huh."
Ultimately, overwhelmed by her momentum, I revised the question mark at the end of my sentence to a period.
"Hehe."
And Soi, letting out a slightly anticlimactic laugh at my answer, backed away, and spoke with a pleasant smile.
"Good. Then it's settled. I will help you."
"Uh... how?"
"Hehe, leave it all to your older sister. I have an idea!"
It doesn't feel reliable at all for an elementary schooler to use that kind of tone.
...No, is it reliable? Thinking about it, it feels like Soi is reliable enough?
...I do wonder if I'm somewhat weird for feeling reliability from an elementary schooler, though. I decided to push such worries to the back burner for now.
So the 'idea' Soi mentioned was just an incredibly simple method.
"Here, here."
While walking together with Chaeyi, after all the kids had gone home, Soi pushed my back, bringing me close to Chaeyi, and said.
"You two talk!"
And then she actually retreated swiftly backwards, leaving only the absolute worst words behind, telling two loners to talk.
It's not like she completely went home or anything, but for some reason, she hid behind a telephone pole and just peeked her head out, looking in our direction.
If she's doing that, can we really say she left just the two of us alone?
When she's watching everything anyway?
Chaeyi and I just blinked our eyes at each other.
"Uh..."
I didn't think Chaeyi would speak first for some reason, so I spoke first from my end.
"Hello?"
"...Hello."
No, we already said hello earlier. Naturally, since we had been walking together all the way from when school ended.
"Hmm..."
Cold sweat flows.
No, Soi!
Is this right? There's no way we'd just get close by abruptly sticking the two of us together, right?
No, if it were Soi, I'm sure she would get close. I actually saw her strike up a conversation out of the blue with a kid sitting next to her in the dentist's waiting room and become friends.
But I'm telling you, I'm not like that!
"Um..."
I deliberated, and ultimately.
I slung my bag around to the front again and rummaged inside.
And I took out a piece of candy and handed it to Chaeyi.
"Do you want to eat this?"
"...Yeah."
Chaeyi took the candy.
And she quietly looked at it, then soon shook her head and handed it back to me.
"No."
"Huh?"
I, who bewilderedly received the candy back, sweat even more cold sweat.
I was rejected?
Thinking about it, I've almost never had someone reject me, just like Soi.
The presence of the entity named Soi was huge, my appearance was definitely enough to buy goodwill, and rumors had spread that I was good at studying too.
"Even if I take it... I can't eat it."
Chaeyi said.
"They say it's bad for my body."
"Ah."
At those words, I lost what to say.
Whoosh.
A wind blew between us.
A warm spring.
But it was a wind that felt exceptionally cold.
...
Soi, help me!