13. When Will My Sister Ever Grow Up
13. When Will My Sister Ever Grow Up
***
After the meal, Seoyun looked around the house for a moment, let out a deep sigh, and rolled up her sleeves.
"Let's... start with cleaning, sis."
She gently took Serin's hand and led her along, and Serin couldn't bring herself to refuse her little sister's small hand.
Then Seoyun began pulling all sorts of tools out from one spot in the house. Watching her, Serin wondered whether this house had always contained so many cleaning supplies.
She watched Seoyun retrieve cleaning tools from places she hadn't even known about, then naturally accepted the rag that was pressed into her hand.
Even the rag seemed like a product of future technology—without even going to the washroom to wet it, she could feel a faint dampness in the black cloth.
"You just take care of the dust piled up on top of the cabinets and furniture and places like that."
As she said this, Seoyun fiddled with some odd-looking electronic device.
Then she tossed over a mask, and Serin caught it and put it on, slowly starting to wipe down the top of a nearby cabinet. Come to think of it, in the world before she'd fallen into Black Ark, she'd lived with a mask on every day.
Back then she'd worn one daily because of the quarantine measures. Now, in this world where even the traces of disease had vanished, she was putting one on again.
Before she knew it, Seoyun—also wearing a mask—had started operating several electronic devices.
Whirrrr.
With the machinery whirring to life, the deep clean began.
......
"Seoyun, how about taking even a short break?"
"No, can't. If you rest in the middle of something like this, it just eats up more time and drags on forever. Better to finish it all in one go."
For the next twenty minutes or so, Seoyun gathered up the trash around the house, the clumps of dust, and everything else into one big plastic bag.
Watching Seoyun blankly, Serin thought that she really had been living lazily.
Then again—no, maybe her little sister was just abnormally diligent.
While Seoyun was organizing things,
Gulp.
Serin, who had been moving around and tidying up, swallowed. She couldn't quite define it, but she kept feeling a sense of longing in one corner of her chest.
And like some kind of addiction, her gaze kept drifting toward her room.
'Get a grip.'
She hadn't even thought about games for days, and she'd only played for a single day yesterday. Yet now thoughts of it kept coming, as if she were feeling withdrawal symptoms.
"..."
She clenched her hand for a moment, but her body truly felt nothing.
While Seoyun was outside for a bit, Serin continued tidying up, but her eyes kept darting toward her room.
A strange sensation of wanting to recover even a little of what she'd lost.
Even knowing it was nothing more than a game, even aware that it wasn't really her but just a character.
The thoughts kept coming.
If she logged into Another World, wouldn't she be able to feel that omnipotence again, however faintly? That thought kept shaking her heart.
It fell short compared to the sensation she'd felt while slaughtering monsters in the world of Black Ark. But still, that heavy feeling at her fingertips had definitely been there.
The thrill of the moment she tore monsters apart.
The sense of liberation she'd felt swinging the Crescent-Moon Weight as she pleased.
And then there was the Arena system. Duels against other players hadn't quite lived up to her expectations, but there was still a more electrifying impact to them.
Unlike hunting monsters, the moment she'd swung her weapon against another player, she couldn't help but feel the clear difference.
Well, it was a game, so they'd probably made that distinction on purpose to get players into the Arena.
As if the instincts from her past life of gaming obsession were awakening, thoughts of Another World kept surfacing.
"...I wonder what I usually did with Seoyun to pass the time."
Even with an almost overwhelming urge building in her chest, Han Serin tried to think rationally about how she should spend time with Seoyun from now on.
Should she ask about university life? But right now she knew nothing about Seoyun.
If she clumsily brought something up, wouldn't Seoyun be disappointed? All sorts of thoughts ran through her head.
While she was thinking,
Click.
Seoyun, who had gone outside, came back in, dusting off her hands.
"Well, sis, I should get going soon."
She said this while looking at Serin, and for a moment Serin almost felt the corners of her mouth rise without meaning to.
"...You're leaving already?"
Serin forced her expression under control as she answered, but she couldn’t believe the part of her that was actually happy to hear her sister was leaving.
She hastily pinched her side, trying to erase that version of herself.
Her little sister had come over out of concern for her, had cooked and cleaned and done all sorts of things—and here she was thinking like that.
'I'm... complete trash.'
And Serin couldn’t bear to admit that was how she truly felt.
"What, Serin, why? Are you sad I'm leaving? Should I stay then?"
Seoyun, whose mood had been lightened by how different her sister seemed today, changed her expression as if she were actually reconsidering.
"Seoyun, um... if you're a university student... isn't it exam period around now?"
When Serin subtly changed the subject, Seoyun burst out laughing as if to say, “I knew it,” and waved a hand.
"Seriously, sis... aren't you being too obvious? And even if you asked me to stay, I wouldn't. You obviously want to play games, and I'd just get in the way."
"...N-no, that's not it!"
Serin shook her head vigorously, trying to deny it.
“What do you mean, no? You’ve been glancing at your room for ages. It’s been so long since you saw your sister, and you keep doing that. Honestly, I’m a little hurt.”
"Seoyun? Then... do you want to sleep over today?"
In the past, her sister would have definitely been happy to send her home. Why was she acting like this today?
Thinking that, Seoyun kept gathering her things as she spoke.
"Sis, what's with you today? I know perfectly well you don't mean it. But, well, hearing you say it doesn't feel too bad."
As she gathered her belongings one by one, she glanced at Serin and remarked that she was acting strange. That snapped Serin back to her senses.
"What do you mean strange? I just... said it because it's a shame, since it's been so long."
Serin's words about feeling sad that her sister was leaving were certainly sincere.
Except... the desire to play Another World felt about ten times bigger in comparison.
"Well, actually, if it were the weekend I'd sleep over, but today's Tuesday, a weekday. And it takes at least four hours to get from your place to my university, so no."
'It's the future, and transportation still hasn't improved...?'
Serin wondered just how far away it was for Seoyun to need four hours.
"Sis... I don't know how to put it. You're talking to me so warmly today? So it feels weird. But, well, not bad."
Seoyun had apparently finished packing, and she stood up.
In the end, Serin slowly followed her sister to see her off.
"I put some of the side dishes I made while cooking in the front compartment of the fridge, so make sure you eat them, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks."
"Don't eat too much delivery food, and when you're done, throw out the containers on time."
"Yeah, I got it."
"You need to do a little cleaning on your own too, okay? That way you won't have to go through a big ordeal like today."
"I'll keep it in mind."
As she answered each of her sister's caring remarks, Serin could feel herself growing excited.
...She wondered if she really was losing her mind, but no matter how much she tried to deny it, she couldn't deny her own feelings.
The fact that she'd be playing Another World in just a few minutes kept making her giddy.
"Serin... aren't your answers a little short?"
Seoyun, who had been about to open the door and leave, suddenly stopped at Serin's half-hearted replies to her continued words.
"Huh...?"
"Just a moment ago you were at least pretending to be sad about sending me off, and now that I'm actually going, look at you. You just want me to disappear quickly, don't you?"
"N-no. Why are you taking it that way? Seoyun."
"Serin, I was actually a little hurt just now."
"Then stay the night."
Even as she said it, Serin herself could feel that it wasn't what she truly meant.
And on top of that, she even found herself thinking about how much worse her sister's nagging would get once she started playing games.
Of course, everything her sister was saying right now was for her own good.
She knew Seoyun only said these things because she cared about her that much.
But honestly, the nagging was too much.
At first, her little sister's nagging had all seemed adorable.
But at some point, she had started to feel that something... something wasn’t right.
"...Good grief. When is my sister ever going to grow up?"
Seeing Seoyun absently stroking Serin’s silver hair as she spoke, Serin let out a hollow laugh.
Her little sister, with such a small frame, talking about being an adult or whatever—it was just cute.
"Han Seoyun?"
"Sis, you know. I know I've been nagging more than usual today. But. You know I'm really, truly... doing this because I'm worried about you, right?"
"..."
Faced with Seoyun looking at her so earnestly, Serin couldn't say anything.
"You don't take care of this pretty face or this pretty hair at all, and honestly... it makes me sigh just looking at you."
At Serin's expression, Seoyun slowly let go of the silver hair in her hand and gave a small smile.
Seeing Seoyun like that, Serin found herself thinking, without meaning to, that Seoyun really was family.
Her current sister looked different from her past sister, but her personality was so similar.
And here she'd been thinking about nothing but a game in front of a sister like that. No matter how she thought about it... she was so stupid.
"...Ah."
As if all her thoughts about playing games had vanished, only Seoyun, standing before her, filled Serin's eyes.
And by the time Serin reached out to stop Seoyun from leaving, it was already too late.
Creeeak.
Seoyun had already opened the door and was stepping outside.
"Also, once my exams are over, I'm going to crash at your place. Just so you know."
Her sister's words reached her just before the door closed.
"What?"
Serin muttered with a blank expression.