Oh, Or Would You Just Like to Live Here Together?
The thudding of her heartbeat against me, where our bodies pressed together, carried straight through to my own chest.
Sarang had probably called out to Areum without thinking much of it, but she seemed to tense right up at the sight of her flying into such a rage.
"...Sarang, let go."
"Why are you overreacting? Sarang and I were just having fun."
"I said let go."
"Honestly, I don't get it."
Areum's eyes, locked on me, were blazing. Whether she was still clinging to that fucked-up idea from earlier, her shoulders were visibly trembling.
"Sarang, did I make you uncomfortable?"
"Ah, n-no... I was just, e-embarrassed... I washed my hair this morning, so I thought it might smell by now... Unnie, I'm really fine."
Still nestled in my arms as she spoke, Sarang's words left Areum with nothing more to say. When the girl herself was insisting she was fine, making any more of a scene wouldn't do anyone any good.
"Haa..."
With a sigh heavy enough to bring the house down, Areum clenched her jaw and turned away. Then she slammed the door hard enough to rattle the frame and vanished into her room.
"Ah... what do I do. Unnie seems really mad."
"What's she got to be mad about? We were having fun, right?"
"Ah, it wasn't fun! P-please let me go now..."
After dealing with that hard-edged Areum day in and day out, the fact that I now had a cute little sister like Sarang suddenly warmed something in my chest. I pulled her tighter into my arms, resting my chin on the crown of her head and nuzzling against her face.
"Don't wanna. Not letting go."
"Ah... come on..."
And then a faintly hazy old memory surfaced.
"...Still ticklish?"
Back when Sarang used to come over with her dad, she'd throw a full tantrum the moment anyone said it was time to go home, crying and carrying on that she wanted to keep playing with me and Areum. Every time, her dad—who'd just been watching quietly—would go after her sides with merciless tickles, and before long Sarang's peals of laughter would fill the whole house.
"Ah, nooo! I'm not ticklish..."
But even as she said it, Sarang's body was already twitching.
"Really?"
"Hiek!"
I'd only raised a finger and made a jabbing motion toward her side, but Sarang startled so hard she nearly jumped out of my arms.
"D-don't! I told you, I'm really not ticklish...!"
"Heh. Okay, okay. Just kidding."
She seemed to take me at my word, catching her breath in little gasps.
"Hgyaaaah!!"
I didn't miss the opening. The moment my finger poked into her side, Sarang twisted her whole body. She thrashed with everything she had to escape my hold, but with my arms locked tight around her there was no getting free—and just like old times, the living room filled with the sound of her laughter.
"Hii... h-huuh... p-please... hikyaaah!!"
"Heheh, same as ever. You've just gotten bigger, haven't you, Sarang?"
"N-no I haven't! Kyaaang!"
"Yes you have."
"F-fine, you're right! You're right, so please—ha, hahahah!"
In the end, Sarang collapsed against me in a helpless fit of silly laughter.
"Well? I win, right?"
"Haa... hauuh... we weren't even fighting..."
Looking thoroughly satisfied, I set the completely spent, limp Sarang back down on the sofa.
"Ah, I got so busy playing with you I forgot to order delivery."
"Hnn... I never asked you to play with me..."
"So you don't want chicken and cheese balls and potato wedges?"
"...And a large cola."
The oddly determined note in Sarang's voice—as if she was going to claim every last thing she could—set me off laughing hard.
"Khheh, hahahaha! Okay. I'll, heh... order it all."
"Hoo... so it's true nothing in this world is free. Feels like I paid with my body."
"Oh-ho, look at the little one talking big. Want to actually pay with your body?"
"Ah, noooo!! I genuinely have zero energy right now, okay? So p-please just let me off this once."
Watching Sarang go from sly to outright panicked made me snort with laughter, and I ordered everything she'd asked for.
"Says... about thirty minutes. Want to watch some TV?"
"Yeees... I just want to sit still and watch TV..."
"Anyone listening would think I actually tortured you."
Sarang gave a small shake of her head at that and sank deeper into the sofa cushions.
"Ah... but what about Unnie? I think she misunderstood earlier because of me..."
"Forget it. She's not a kid—she'll figure it out. We'll call her when the chicken gets here. What do you want to watch?"
"...I've got some dramas I've fallen behind on. Is it okay if I log into my account?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Heheh... thank you."
I casually handed the remote to the very well-mannered Sarang. She bowed her head to me once more and beamed. And I quietly stroked her hair. My fingers sank into her soft hair, and at the small tremor that ran through her, I smiled back.
"Ah......"
Sarang's parted lips slowly closed, then the corners of her mouth curved upward. The expression that settled on her face was brighter than any I'd seen from her yet, and something in my chest gave a sharp little ache at the sight.
Sarang had surely spent days on end crying herself through the hours, and even now her heart must have been rotting and crumbling, ready to break at any moment. Areum had been the same. She'd put on a brave face for me and our parents, but she'd sneak off to her room or the bathroom to wipe away tears alone. Because of those memories, the hand stroking Sarang's hair grew even more careful. I kept caressing her as if handling something precious—tenderly, carefully, so she wouldn't break.
"Th-the... TV..."
"Hm... go ahead. Watch as much as you want."
"Y-your hand... a little..."
This time Sarang's face flushed red as a beet. Another faded old memory began to stir and surface. What had been clouding my mind like fog scattered on a slow, gentle breeze, and the memory grew clearer bit by bit.
"Ah! I remember. Back then, when I used to pat your head, you'd get all mad at me..."
"Ah... th-that was..."
"That was? You remember?"
She'd flushed just like this back then, too. And as I recalled, she'd yelled at me and run off.
"Back then... Oppa kept treating me like a little kid, so that's why I did that..."
I couldn't pin down exactly when, but it had to have been back when Sarang was in elementary school. Even now she still felt like a kid to me, so the way I'd treated her then couldn't have been that far off.
"Ha! You were a kid then, and you're still a kid now."
"N-no I'm not! I'm almost an adult now... a-and I've grown a lot!"
Sarang flared up and snapped back at a surprisingly sharp volume. She even shot up from her seat, snorting so hard I could practically see the steam coming out of her nose.
"Yeah? Doesn't seem that way to me."
"I-it's true! I've really grown a lot, okay?"
"Yeah? Turn around."
"...Huh?"
"I said turn around. Let me check your height."
"Ah... okay!"
Sarang spun around promptly at my words. I pressed my back to hers and reached a hand behind us.
"Oh... you do come up to about my chin. Turn back around."
The edge of my hand sat level with the top of her head and around my neck. She looked about the same as Areum—maybe even a bit taller, if anything.
"Y-yes?"
"Turn back around again."
I grabbed the flustered Sarang by the shoulders and spun her a full hundred and eighty degrees. Her long hair fanned out through the air, and then we were face to face.
"Oh, you might actually be taller than Areum."
"Ah, uh......"
The crown of Sarang's head sat right under my chin. As I remembered it, Areum had been a little shorter than this. She'd clearly grown a lot in size, but to me she was still a kid.
"Still a kid, though. Has the ink on your ID even dried yet?"
"Ah... uh, uh... what?"
"Heh, never mind. Just kidding, just kidding. Let's get back to the drama."
I caught the still-bewildered Sarang by the waist and sat her back down on the sofa.
"...Not watching the drama?"
"Ah! I-I will..."
We looked at each other in silence for a moment, and then my question made Sarang jump out of her skin. I wondered if I'd done something wrong, but nothing came to mind. A worry began to creep in—maybe, after so long apart, I'd been acting too familiar. I'd just been happy to see her, but it struck me all at once that from Sarang's side, I might have come on too strong.
"I heard you're staying at our place?"
"...Yees."
"Where do you go to school?"
Either way, she was my little sister now. So what if things were a little awkward right now... bit by bit, slowly—that was how I planned to close the distance with Sarang, and I started talking again.
"Oh, so it's nearby. But it's the opposite direction from Dad's office, so you'll have to take the bus. Did you check how long it takes?"
"Ah! Yes. I-I checked..."
"Commute's going to take a while, huh? You'll have to get up early."
"Yes... I sleep a lot, so I'm a little worried."
"What about cram school? Were you going to one?"
"Ah... I messaged my cram school teacher... I told them I wanted to rest a bit for now..."
Sarang forced a bright smile for me. But the sadness woven into her gradually trailing voice couldn't be hidden.
"Yeah? Good. Then come hang out here after school. Ah, or would you just like to live here together? It's closer to school, too—that might be better."
The words had left my mouth without a second thought. They'd tumbled out without any real consideration. And I figured there was no way Sarang would actually go for it.
"......C-can I really?"
"Ah, huh?"
"Is it really okay if I stay here with you?"
"Ah......"
Caught off guard by the unexpected reaction, I let the end of my sentence trail off. And as Sarang's face darkened in an instant, I was still picking through what to say when my mouth opened on its own again.
"Of course it's fine. Th-though we should ask Mom and Dad, and her..."
I pointed a finger toward the room of Areum, who was living with us now.
"Wow! Really? For real? So I just need Unnie's permission?"
"Y-yeah. Of course. I'm fine with it."
The words were already out and there was no taking them back—and faced with Sarang's expression, brighter than anything from earlier, I managed an awkward smile in return.