Chapter 7. No, it's not that different? (4)
I have watched Soi for a very long time.
I wouldn't say I can read all of her emotions and thoughts, but at least I can read her behavioral patterns.
And in that sense, Soi has been quite suspicious since this morning.
Ever since I started going back to school, Soi hadn't been walking on eggshells around me for a while.
Because for Soi, the things she needs to do don't require worrying about what others think.
Helping me, who was isolated in class, was naturally something Soi didn't need to worry about anyone else's opinion to do, so she didn't really mind what I thought when she held my hand or linked arms with me.
But today, she was walking on eggshells around me from breakfast.
Yujin-ajumma and Dohyun-ajeossi, who have watched Soi for even longer than I have, naturally noticed her strange behavior and seemed worried about the relationship between me and Soi from the morning.
"......."
"Why, why?"
"No, just because."
In the end, neither Soi's parents nor I could figure out why Soi was acting like that.
At school, Soi's gaze, as she sat leaning her back against the window as usual, felt stinging.
It was that kind of expression—like she wanted something, but couldn't bring herself to say it.
It's the expression she makes when she wants a birthday present.
But Soi's birthday is still a long way off, and today isn't a special day for exchanging gifts either. So, I couldn't help but be puzzled.
Soi, who had been staring at me for a long time, held out her hand to me. It felt strange because it was exactly like when you tell a puppy to "Give me your paw!", but when I placed my hand on top of hers, Soi started fidgeting with it as usual.
To the point where I wondered if it would change shape from doing this every day.
......But honestly, I liked holding hands like this because it stopped me from feeling like I was left alone in the world.
*
Lunchtime.
We ate together as a trio with Chaeyi, just like usual, and returned to the classroom.
If it were normal, there would have been a ton of classmates around our seats, but that wasn't the case right now.
Bullying me openly is a bit tricky. Because Soi is here.
The existence of a Hero has a significant influence on society. It's not that they are paid poorly, but they are people who risk their lives fighting against Villains, and they are the first ones to run to the scene when a major disaster or accident occurs.
Furthermore, nominally, the fact that I am the daughter of a 'Witch' actually elevates that reputation.
It's just so admirable that they took in and raised a child who was born to a Villain and could have grown up to be a Villain herself.
So, if a story about someone bullying me or Soi were to pop up on the internet or something, well.
The only things they can do are either give me attitude when Soi isn't around, or just distance themselves entirely. But since Soi is almost always stuck to me unless I'm going to the bathroom, giving me attitude isn't easy either.
Naturally, what remains is just subtly distancing themselves from both of us. Even then, it's not full-on ostracization, but rather a form where Soi is no longer spoken to first.
Of course, I don't know how long this will last.
If they decide I'm an easy target, I don't know how they'll come at me then.......
"So, about that."
But Soi spoke to me as if she didn't care about such things in the slightest.
Even though Soi has acted like her goal was to be friends with the entire student body since elementary school, isn't she sad that her friends are decreasing?
Or does she think she can regain her popularity at any time?
......Is she that precious to me?
Thinking about it this way is a bit troublesome, but honestly, I'm happy.
That no matter the situation, Soi will be by my side—
"Look at this."
—That thought was blown away by the smartphone screen Soi thrust in front of my eyes.
"H-huh!?"
On that screen, the beautiful girl character that Soi said looked like me was there.
She was wearing a rather skimpy swimsuit and looking incredibly embarrassed.
What is this? That's a character Soi couldn't pull. It's a limited edition, right?
Don't tell me they're doing a rerun recently? Since I don't really look at news and just log in every day to do my homework, if it was updated today, I would have no way of knowing.
"Uh-huh."
When I reached out my hand, Soi pulled the smartphone to the side.
Naturally, I turned my body toward the smartphone.
As a result, I ended up in the posture Soi always takes when she looks at me from her seat.
The posture of sitting sideways in the chair with her back to the window.
Thud.
Then, Soi grabbed my arm.
"S-Soi?"
I felt that something was wrong. My brain sent out sirens in my head, but I didn't know what exactly was wrong.
Just that Soi's expression was a bit different from the face I usually saw.
If I had to say, it was the expression of a bird of prey that had discovered its prey.
......It wasn't so much Soi's expression, but the expression Yujin-ajumma makes on special days.
The expression she makes mainly when looking at Dohyun-ajeossi.
For reference, Soi was always horrified whenever she saw it.
To think she'd make that expression herself, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
And—
Soi's body spun around.
Plop.
"H-huh!?"
Something settled down on top of my body.
It's a bit heavy. She's about the same size as me, but Soi still has a bit of activity in her daily life. In terms of body fat percentage, isn't she quite a bit lower than me?
Actually, even without considering that, you can't exactly call the weight of a teenage girl "light."
What I felt a little late was softness and warmth.
Well, of course, because Soi was... sitting on me like a chair.
"Ugh-huh!? H-hugh!?"
I made an even more pathetic sound because of Soi, who was wiggling her body as if getting comfortable. Every time Soi moved, the parts of her body against my thighs, chest, and stomach kept touching and pulling away.
What is this? What just happened? What is Soi doing to me right now?
No, actually, if I think about it rationally, it might not be an incredibly strange thing.
Aren't we teenage girls? Sitting on top of other girls is... we take playful photos and post them on the internet, so things like that happen.
There's a slightly humid scent.
It's the end of April now. It's not quite hot enough to say it's hot yet, but if you're under the midday sun, sometimes you can feel a slightly stinging heat.
It's not weather for summer uniforms, and since it's cold in the morning, we wore outer layers to school and take them off if it gets hot.
If you don't take them off because you're lazy, you get strangely sweaty inside.
"......H-huh."
No, I mean.
What I feel after the embarrassment is intense guilt.
Isn't Soi a kid I've watched since she was very young? It feels like I shouldn't even be feeling embarrassed, or something like that.
"Take that."
But Soi went one step further, grabbing both of my arms and crossing them in front of her stomach.
She didn't just cross them; she pulled them tight with force, causing my body to stick firmly to Soi's back.
My heart was pounding like crazy.
My cheek touched Soi's back, and through my right ear, which was pressed tight against her back, I could hear the sound of Soi's heart beating.
Thump, thump, thump.
Her voice was cheerful, but Soi's heart was also beating incredibly hard.
My head turned, and the front seats of the classroom came into my view.
All the kids are looking this way.
Several thoughts are violently clashing in my head.
The thought, 'We've seen this much in the classroom sometimes, right?' and the thought, 'But that wasn't me and Soi, was it?'
I was already at an age where I would look strange in the eyes of the kids, but I wondered if this current appearance wouldn't look even stranger.
But even so, why is that?
Why do I feel at ease?
It's similar to when Soi held my hand, but an intense comfort that feels like it's several, no, dozens of times greater.
A feeling that I could lean on this back.
"How is it?"
Soi asks.
It was a small voice.
But to me, with my ear pressed against Soi's back, it was heard all too clearly.
No, is even that an illusion? Is it just because I closed my eyes?
"Not bad, right?"
"......."
At Soi's question, I hesitated for a long time.
My nose tingled.
Because this weight I feel on my body tells me so vividly that Soi actually exists in front of me.
"......Yeah."
Even though I knew Soi couldn't see, I ended up nodding while leaning my face against Soi's back.
Embarrassment aside, well, if I close my eyes, I can't see anything anyway.
I listened to the thumping sound for a while like that.
"Then, let's stay like this while we're at school."
Soi dropped a bombshell.
"......Uh."
"You said 'uh'?"
"No, that's not it."
It was just a word I let slip because I was flustered?
If she takes that as an answer just like that?
But you know.
Soi is incredibly stubborn about things she thinks are right.
Unless I truly, intensely hate it, she'll probably do this every day—
I was worrying about how to get through this situation.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?"
Someone suddenly made a huge noise.
The location was probably near the back door of the classroom.
It's a voice I know well.
I haven't spent as much time stuck to her as I have with Soi, but it's a voice I've been hearing since the 4th grade of elementary school.
It was Chaeyi's voice.