The Quiet Aftermath
Several days had passed since the storm of the double gate had finally passed.
My days with Ga-eun had grown far too quiet.
This was what they called a “before-and-after” effect, wasn’t it?
When two beings with completely different traits stood side by side, the contrast made everything stand out even more sharply than it normally would.
And right now, that was exactly my situation.
The recent huge event had left our routine feeling painfully empty.
“Student.”
“Yes?”
“I’m bored.”
“You’re watching YouTube right now.”
“No, but even so, I’m bored!”
YouTube was fun, but…
Something felt missing—some raw, direct dopamine hit you could only get from the actual field.
I flew over to where Ga-eun lay sprawled on the sofa, phone in hand.
“Crow Tit-nim, could you please get down from my phone? It’s heavy.”
“Yo, I’m not heavy at all!”
I had never actually weighed her, but she was tiny and a bird, so I guessed she was maybe ten grams at most.
A bird? Ten grams? No problem.
But this guy was seriously complaining that the ten grams was too much?
“Stop exaggerating.”
“The phone in a lying person’s hand is already enough to feel the ten-gram difference.”
“Ah, I don’t know about that kind of thing. Just play with me.”
“….”
I fluttered and hopped across the screen of Ga-eun’s phone, ignoring my own tiny body.
—whisk
“….”
“Crow Tit!?”
Ga-eun snatched the flapping silver-haired crow from her phone the moment I landed on it.
My wings and body were instantly pinned in her palm. I thrashed wildly.
—flap-flap
Of course, that tiny struggle was nothing but a joke.
No matter how hard I tried, all I could do was wag my head back and forth, the little head sticking out beyond her fingers.
“Watch it, what do you think you’re doing? Not letting go?”
“Your body is so soft, I see. Is it because you’re made of feathers?”
“Shut up, you damn bird!”
“And it’s incredibly warm and plush—like a warm plush toy.”
“You, youuu…”
Ga-eun poked and prodded the body in her hand, squeezing it gently, then flicking it with her fingers.
She was playing with a living crow just like a child with a doll.
Was that the only difference?
This… this felt weird.
“W-what is this feeling…?”
“What kind of feeling?”
“Something… something…”
It was impossible to describe with words.
There was the unpleasant, dirty, almost lewd sensation from the touch itself.
But somehow, the fingers stroking my body felt strangely good.
This… this is strange…
I flapped harder, trying to escape the weird feeling.
“Huh? Suddenly what’s wrong?”
“You, uh… you’re laughing while pretending to know, aren’t you…!”
“No? I have no idea why Crow Tit-nim is doing that.”
“You, youuu…”
If you’re going to say something like that, at least change your expression!
That smug little smile was so annoying.
Anyone looking at it right now would think she was enjoying the situation.
What was there to enjoy, exactly?
I didn’t know, but I was going to bite her with my beak until she realized!
—thrash
“Kyaa!”
“Crow Tit-nim, you’re really putting effort into this.”
“You, youuu!”
Unfortunately, right now my beak could never reach her forehead the way I wanted.
“Stop it…!”
“If I stop, you’ll hit me, won’t you?”
“Ah, I won’t! I promise!”
“Beak-poking counts as hitting.”
“I won’t! Maybe?”
Crap… she was just stalling again.
After a few rounds of resistance and bargaining, I was finally released.
It had been about an hour.
“Only ten minutes have passed!”
“Shut up! It felt like an hour to me!”
“Ah, I see.”
“Really!”
Sigh… anyway.
I tumbled out of Ga-eun’s grip and collapsed onto the floor, panting.
“Ah… I’m tired…”
“You’re not bored though, right?”
“You’re saying that now?”
“Fine, then!”
“Ah….”
Tired of getting angry, I just lay back down on the cold floor.
The intense exercise in her hands had warmed my body perfectly.
Placing it against the cold floor felt like heaven.
“Haaah… so refreshing.”
I stayed flattened like a little cotton ball for a moment.
Then the sound of a text message came from Ga-eun’s phone.
“Eh, eh…?”
Ga-eun’s expression when she read the message was completely different from her usual calm.
Too calm. It was almost shocking.
“W-what? Is something wrong?”
“Um…”
“Ah, what is it? I’m curious.”
“Crow Tit-nim.”
“Eh?”
Suddenly her tone had turned serious.
Was something actually happening?
Just a second ago Ga-eun had been lounging on the sofa, but now she sat up straight.
I watched her change of attitude with a puzzled face.
“There’s some news that’s neither good nor bad. Do you want to hear it?”
“Eh… no?”
It sounded like it would make things annoying.
I shook my head vigorously.
“No. You should hear it.”
“Eh? But then why did you even ask?!”
“I had no choice.”
“What the hell….”
No, that was lying.
I stared at her with disbelief.
But Ga-eun paid zero attention to my glare.
“Anyway, my sister is coming here.”
“You have a sister too?”
“Really?”
This phrasing was weird.
No, but how else could I say it?
“Hehe, just kidding!”
“Yo, you…”
“I didn’t say anything like that! How would you know?”
“….”
Ah, this is annoying.
Lately I’d been in an especially playful mood.
I really needed to fix my disciple attitude once.
The laws of being a teacher were completely broken.
Just as I was making an internal vow for the future…
“Her name is Han Su-ah.”
“Han Su-ah. Okay, I remember.”
“What she looks like… um…”
Ga-eun scrunched her face as if it was hard to describe.
“This is better seen in person.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“You’ll understand once you see her. This person is exactly my sister.”
No, what are you talking about?
I glared at her demanding an explanation.
It was obvious, but it had zero effect.
“Anyway, my sister is coming here.”
“Phew, good. She can come if she wants.”
I nodded.
I had been caught in big incidents a few times recently.
Even if I wasn’t worried, she had to come home in person.
“So, when exactly?”
“Ten…”
“Ten minutes? How urgent! Is there something you need to hide right now?”
“9, 8, 7…”
“Shit.”
Ten seconds? What?
“3, 2, 1…”
The countdown ended.
—click, click, click, click
—ding
The front door unlocked.
“So she really lives well.”
She was a woman who looked very similar to Ga-eun.
Annoying, but exactly as Ga-eun had described.
The moment I saw her, I knew without a doubt that this was Han Su-ah, Ga-eun’s sister.
Even though her hair was black instead of the silver of Ga-eun’s.
Everything else was identical.
The aura people gave off was the same.
And that expression… it was exactly the same smug little smile Ga-eun always wore.
“Sister’s here?”
“Ga-eun!”
“Ah, sis…!?”
The second Han Su-ah saw Ga-eun, she pulled her into her arms.
No, wait…
What had I just seen?
Could a person’s aura really change that fast?
When she opened the door, she had looked calm and extremely imposing.
But now…
“Ah, sis. I’m all grown up though…”
“Aww, no, no. To my eyes you’re still a baby.”
Han Su-ah hugged Ga-eun tightly, stroking her head.
“Ga-eun, why are you so thin? Have you been eating well?”
“Ah, no, nothing like that.”
“After you said you were moving out, you don’t skip meals?”
“I eat every single day…”
“Hmm, but you eat so little…”
“N-no, that’s not it.”
Han Su-ah touched Ga-eun’s belly and arms, patting them.
Watching the two of them, I thought:
They really are deeply attached siblings.
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