Sharing a Bed with the Heavenly Demon
My little sister's sudden appearance made the atmosphere awkward for a moment.
I didn't let it show, though. I forced myself to strike up a conversation with her.
"I heard you're going back to school?"
A nod.
"That's great. Made a lot of friends?"
A shake of the head.
"Well… that's fine. Honestly, I don't have many friends either."
My only real friend was Park Soyoon.
More than that, though, looking at my sister made my heart ache.
She used to be such a bright kid. Talkative, too. She'd been so loud I still remembered deliberately avoiding her just to get some peace and quiet.
But after I fell into ruin, her mouth closed up right along with everything else.
She'd always bragged about me to her friends and posted updates about me all over ByeolStar. That was just who she was.
Then the whole world decided I was a fake superhuman, and her friends drifted away. She got harassed across every social platform, ByeolStar included.
From then on, she spoke less and less. And now she barely said anything at all.
It made me feel so guilty, so sorry for her, that my chest hurt.
Still, I tried not to let it show. I deliberately acted even brighter than usual.
"More importantly, I heard the clone remembers both of you. Mom, Dad — is that true?"
"Oh, yes! Crystal clear. You have no idea how shocked we were when a clone who looked exactly like you showed up."
"What about Dad?"
"Ahem. You were still in middle school back then, right? Having another kid who looked exactly like you was so hard—"
"Honey!"
"Ahem — no, I was happy about it! I was just joking around!"
"Honestly…"
Thankfully, the mood lightened again. Even Sehui was perking up her ears, listening in.
"More than anything, you've really been through so much. Coming all that way back for our Sinhyeok — it must have been so hard."
"Yes."
"Here, have some braised short ribs. They should be pretty good."
"Yes."
Mom set a helping of braised short ribs on the Heavenly Demon's rice bowl, then started staring at her with an intensity that was almost oppressive.
The clone glanced at her for a second, then popped a piece of the ribs into her mouth.
"Well? Is it good?"
"I-It's delicious."
"Really? That's a relief. Then try this too. I seasoned these greens today…"
Honestly, the clone could have lived large all on her own in Murim. But she'd chosen to come back to me anyway. From Mom's perspective, that must have meant the world.
She kept piling more food onto the Heavenly Demon's bowl.
"How is it? Tasty?"
"Yes. Extremely delicious."
"Then what about this kimchi? I just made a fresh batch…"
Strange as it was, the Heavenly Demon couldn't so much as twitch under Mom's attention. Normally she would have flipped the entire table by now.
Instead she sat there quietly eating, dutifully delivering taste evaluations. It was the first time I'd ever seen her like this — funny and fascinating all at once.
Sehui seemed just as intrigued. She was staring at the Heavenly Demon too, completely absorbed.
"Try this as well."
"Yes."
"Is it good?"
"Yes. It's delicious."
And so an unexpectedly entertaining dinner came to an end.
After the meal we peeled fruit and kept talking, and I ended up having a long conversation with my parents.
"But do you really need to get stronger? Honestly, Mom worries every time you go into a dungeon."
"Don't worry. The Heavenly Demon has my back. Right, Sinhye?"
"Yes. Please don't worry. I will protect Master even if it costs me my life."
She said it so calmly that it somehow made her even more convincing.
Maybe that was why most of the worry drained from my parents' faces.
We kept chatting away until, before I knew it, it was time to leave.
"Son! Why don't you stay the night? We cleaned up your old room and everything…"
"Sorry. I've got a dungeon to clear tomorrow, so I really can't."
"Is that so? Well, nothing we can do about it, then."
Dad's disappointed face almost made me waver, but there was no helping it. Before a dungeon run, I needed to be in peak condition.
"I'll come again soon."
"When?"
"Hmm… within two weeks at the latest."
"Alright. Got it."
"Sinhye, say goodbye to my parents."
"Yes. Until the day we meet again, I wish both of you boundless longevity and health."
"R-Right."
"You take care too, Sinhye."
I turned to leave. There was some regret, but also a sense of relief. Something about the whole evening just felt good.
Then, from behind me, a voice I never expected to hear.
"Oppa…"
I flinched.
I spun around at once.
It was a tiny voice — barely more than a whisper, like she'd forced it out with everything she had — but it reached my ears with perfect clarity.
When I looked back, my sister was standing there, watching me.
"Sehui?"
"…I believed in you."
"……"
"I believed in you the whole time, Oppa."
My heart surged. Tears nearly spilled over.
I held them back on purpose. I couldn't cry on a day this good.
"Se— Sehui?!"
"Did she just speak? And that much at once…!"
My parents' faces were flooded with shock and joy.
With everyone's eyes on her, Sehui's face went bright red and she fled back into her room.
But nobody felt disappointed.
They were smiling.
Dad was even crying.
"O-Our Sehui…! Sniff!"
They knew even this much was enormous progress.
Dad took my hand, his face wet with tears.
"Thank you. Thank you, son. Because of you, Sehui can finally… sniff!"
"No. I didn't do anything."
I glanced sideways at the clone.
All of this had only been possible because the Heavenly Demon came back.
Even after becoming the Heavenly Demon, she never gave up — she even used a reckless great technique just to return. That was what made this miracle possible.
Did she know that too?
A faint smile was playing at the corner of her mouth.
Of every smile I'd ever seen from the Heavenly Demon, this one looked the most genuine.
Even after we got home, the smile wouldn't leave my face.
It had been a beautiful night. A huge weight had lifted off my chest.
I felt like I could finally sleep easy — happy and unburdened.
Then the Heavenly Demon ruined the mood.
"I will use my wish today."
"Huh? Today? Of all days?"
"Yes. Strangely enough, I find myself wanting to use it today."
Meeting the family must have shifted something in her, even a little.
The problem was that tomorrow was dungeon day. I just hoped she wouldn't wish for anything weird.
The Heavenly Demon kicked that hope straight out the window.
"Spend the night with me."
"Sleep with you?"
"Yes."
"No! I already told you we're not doing dual cultivation!"
"That is not what I mean. Simply provide me with an arm pillow."
"Huh?"
Apparently I'd misunderstood. The wish was more wholesome than expected.
Of course, I'd never actually slept next to the Heavenly Demon before. It was going to be plenty awkward.
"Does it have to be tonight?"
"Yes."
"Ugh… fine."
I nodded, resigned. The Heavenly Demon's face lit up with pure delight, a smile filling her lips.
Still smiling, she headed into the bathroom and took a thorough shower.
We're really just sleeping, right?
I couldn't help worrying.
If she deliberately went after me in the middle of the night…
N-No. She wouldn't.
I trusted my clone.
Nobody respected me more than she did. She wouldn't pull something like that.
In any case, she came back clean from the shower, a faint, pleasant scent of body wash trailing after her.
"Master should wash as well."
"Me too? Alright."
I couldn't go to bed dirty. Still, the way she said it made me flinch for a second.
Either way, we both cleaned up, then lay down together on the same bed.
"Th-This feels weird."
"I feel the same."
"You do?"
"Yes. But I do not dislike it."
I gave her an awkward smile. I still couldn't pin down what this strange feeling even was.
"Then, Master. Please give me your arm."
"Huh? Oh — right, the arm pillow."
I held out my arm, a little tense.
The Heavenly Demon stared at it without blinking.
Then she leaned in toward my arm.
Why am I so nervous?
Her body wash scent hit me harder than it should have.
A moment later, the Heavenly Demon rested her head on my arm.
Naturally, the rest of her body pressed in close as well.
Her skin was surprisingly soft — nothing like what you'd expect from a Murim martial artist.
D-Don't think weird thoughts.
Of course her chest was pressed against me too. Weird thoughts kept trying to surface no matter what I did.
I fought them off with everything I had.
"Then I shall sleep."
"Y-Yeah. Go ahead and sleep."
Thankfully, the Heavenly Demon drifted off almost immediately.
Whether she was actually asleep or just pretending, I couldn't tell — but her eyes were closed and her breathing had evened out.
I stared up at the ceiling just like that.
Am I even going to be able to sleep like this?
I had a dungeon to clear tomorrow. This was a problem.
Still, I wasn't particularly sensitive about sleeping conditions. If I just tried, I could probably manage to drift off somehow…
Whump—!
"Ugh!"
Out of nowhere, a massive expanse of soft skin crashed over me.
More precisely, the Heavenly Demon had thrown her arms around me.
I looked at her face without thinking. Her eyes were still shut. Her breathing was still steady.
Sleep habit?
At this rate, getting any real rest was going to be tough.
Come to think of it, my own sleep habits were pretty bad. Which meant, logically, the clone's would be just as bad.
And that prediction turned out to be dead on.
Whump—!
"Ugh!"
Nuzzle, nuzzle.
"H-Hold on!"
The clone would not leave me alone.
No — I never imagined her sleep habits would be this aggressive.
She wrapped both legs around me. She rubbed her face into my chest. She even crushed my face under her considerable chest.
I was losing my mind.
How much time passed like that?
Is it morning?
Warm sunlight was tickling my face.
On a normal day I would have woken up feeling great. Not today. I hadn't slept a single second.
Ah — the Heavenly Demon, on the other hand, looked well-rested. Not a trace of fatigue. Her face was glowing.
"Ah, Master. Did you sleep well?"
"…Do I look like I slept well?"
"Did something happen?"
"Sigh. Forget it."
Whether that was an act or not, I had no idea.
Either way, there was zero chance of getting an apology out of the Heavenly Demon. I just had to give up.
Still, this left me in a pretty awkward spot.
I had a dungeon to clear today. I'd announced it live on stream — there was no backing out now.
Ah, whatever. It'll work out somehow.
I was tired, sure. But less tired than the times I'd pulled all-nighters before. Probably thanks to my internal energy.
"Then I shall wash first."
"…Go ahead."
And if things got truly dangerous, the Heavenly Demon would step in. I had no choice but to trust that.