No matter what, Sohee has never lied.
……Thinking that way, I came to Sohee’s house.
Should I say my expectations were wrong, or should I say they were right?
Anyway, according to Sohee, saying “There was an empty room in the house” wasn’t incorrect. In fact, there was indeed one empty room in Sohee’s house.
The problem was that that one empty room was “the room Sohee originally used.”
Meaning, it was the room she lived in before moving into the mansion where I live.
Maybe because Sohee’s family cleaned the room so well, the things she originally used were in the room without a speck of dust.
Even the bookshelf had books neatly placed. It looked like she hadn’t brought even a single textbook.
……Well, her clothes were already in our mansion, so she only needed to bring underwear and casual clothes, and the textbooks were different for each school anyway.
“Unnie!”
Sohee’s younger sister… what was her name again? Sori?
Anyway, Sori, who looked like a smaller version of Sohee, jumped into Sohee’s arms.
The person who had been moving my body instead of me when Sohee started working as a maid tried to write the contract while adhering to the labor standards as much as possible. Naturally, Sohee also had paid leave that she could rightfully use, but I had never seen her take a day off.
I think there was a time when it was said that if Sori needed to be home alone, she could be left at the mansion, but we had never actually taken care of Sori even once.
“I’ve also reduced my work and switched to remote work, so there’s no need to worry.”
Sohee’s father said that quite casually.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Oh, of course. Honestly, just what Sohee brings in would be enough for the next ten years. Though it would be tough for me to completely stop working.”
Sohee’s father said he worked in translation. Primarily translating movie subtitles, but he also frequently worked on manga and novel translations, he seemed to have reduced the number of those.
Hearing that, I turned and stared at Sohee, who had somehow sat next to me and was playing with Sori. She subtly averted her gaze.
……Most of the salary Sohee received in advance went to bribes for school, combined with the money Yang Hye-in had saved.
If I truly considered that money as “an advance,” Sohee would have to work without pay for quite a long time ahead. Of course, she wouldn’t let it be that way, and I had no intention of allowing it either.
“……Is that so?”
So, I could only respond to Sohee’s father’s refreshing statement like that.
“That’s right. It’s all thanks to you. Thank you.”
“……No, I should be the one thanking you.”
Not knowing how to respond to Sohee’s father’s words, I pondered for a while and ultimately had no choice but to answer like that.
*
Sohee’s house wasn’t as big as my expectations; it wasn’t as big as the mansion.
……No, rather than saying it was not as large as I expected, I should say it was naturally a given. If everyone living in Seoul had such a house, Seoul would be a place so cramped that only the chosen could live there.
I didn’t have any objective knowledge to judge whether this house was big or small, but I had already separated from Yang Hye-in and Sua before coming here. Fortunately, even if the two of them had come in together, it wouldn’t be a house too crowded, but that didn’t mean it was spacious enough for both of them to stay together.
There was one living room, a quite large kitchen, three rooms, and two bathrooms.
Among those, one was a study room for Sohee’s father, one was Sori’s room, and one was Sohee’s room.
“But Sori doesn’t sleep alone.”
While there was a separate room for when she studies or plays, it seems she usually just follows Sohee or her father around. Even when sleeping at night, she prefers sleeping with her family over being alone.
……Completely different from the environment I had lived in alone for several years.
“Unnie loves it!”
While saying that, Sori, who was snuggled in Sohee’s arms, looked lively enough to warm the hearts of onlookers.
“……So, you want to stay in this house for a while?”
“……Yes, if you permit, I would like to do that. It might be inconvenient for you, but…”
“Oh no, no.”
At my words, Sohee’s father waved his hands a bit exaggeratedly, as if in a fluster.
“Rather, staying with this uncle might make it inconvenient for you and… Sara, right?”
“You can just call me Sara. I’m also Sohee’s friend.”
To Sohee’s father, who awkwardly added a title after my name, I replied like that.
“Is that so? Then I’ll call you Sara from now on.”
Sohee’s father said that with a slightly awkward expression and tone.
Honestly, I was a bit surprised by how easily he permitted me. If he had said no, I was planning to look for a hotel right away. If Sohee looked disappointed, I would at least offer to pay for lodging…
Well, actually, saying such things would probably just make it more awkward.
“Wow! Unnie is staying here too?”
Sori exclaimed with joy, jumping out of Sohee’s arms and running toward me to hug me.
It was a different warmth compared to when she was snuggled with Sohee.
Maybe because she was a little kid, her body temperature seemed even higher. Actually, I had never been close to a little kid before, so I didn’t know the feeling of being hugged by a child.
Nevertheless, I somewhat understood how adults might feel about children.
There were no people shorter than me around. Even Sua, who was the shortest besides me, was at the same level as my height. If someone were to hug me, it would either be from an equal height or from a slightly higher position.
But Sori, who was hugging me, was much smaller than me. Would her head even reach my shoulder?
Of course, being Sohee’s sister, she might grow tall enough to surpass me in a few years, but for now, her little and delicate body made me wary of hugging her too tightly. What if I hugged her too hard and she got hurt?
“Sori!”
Not knowing whether to embrace her back or completely ignore her, I fidgeted, causing Sohee to anxiously grab Sori’s waist. Then she quickly pulled her back into her arms and said,
“If you cling like that, the other person might not like it!”
No, I didn’t really dislike it.
It was somewhat embarrassing, though.
……Since childhood, I longed for family. Naturally, the being I longed for the most was my mother. My father had passed away long ago, and I could hardly remember my biological mother’s face. The only being left for me was my mother.
Come to think of it, I wonder what it would have been like to have siblings or a sister? Would my mother have locked them up just like me? Or did she just pick me out and lock me in the mansion? Well, considering I don’t have siblings at this point, it was a rather irrelevant thought.
Yet, to me, Sua made me think about what it would have been like to have a younger sister. During the times we stayed in the same mansion, it always created an illusion that I had a sister.
Especially when we talked face to face while lying in the same bed, I sometimes thought having a sister like that wouldn’t be so bad.
But Sori…
Sori, in the literal sense, was the image of a “younger sister.”
If Sua, who didn’t have much of an age difference, could be both an older and younger sister, Sori was a carefree younger sister.
……Of course, had I lived in that household, she wouldn’t have had such a bright personality.
Rather, it was a personality that showed just how much love she had received from the same family while growing up.
“Unnie, do you dislike it?”
Hearing such a thing from Sohee, Sori looked up at me and asked.
While asking that question, there was no worry or concern on her face. It was a completely confident question, as if saying, “If you dislike it, I won’t do it.”
“……No, it’s fine.”
“See!”
At my answer, Sori suddenly jumped up, breaking away from her sister’s arms.
Seeing Sori running toward me, I subtly spread my arms, but—
“Ugh…?”
Sori did a slap and grabbed my cheeks with both hands.
Then, with those small, soft hands, she began to fiddle with my cheeks.
“Gah, wait…?”
Ah, right, I remember now.
Even when that person was using my body, Sori had grabbed my cheeks.
The sensation wasn’t unpleasant. However, I couldn’t say it was enjoyable either… It was a strange feeling that I couldn’t quite define.
“Unnie, look! It’s so soft!”
“Sori!”
Sori’s sudden action caused Sohee, who had been momentarily frozen, to grab Sori back in a hurry.
“Hmm? Do you want to touch it too, unnie?”
“Of course—no, that’s not it! You can’t just touch someone’s face without permission! It’s not polite!”
Is that something to say for someone who hugs people on a whim and casually leaves a few buttons of their shirt unbuttoned?
I decided not to ask such questions, if only to protect Sohee’s dignity as an older sister.
……Seriously, what a noisy family.
Almost to the point of envy.
