Sori was such a lively and innocent kid that I thought, “Wasn’t Sohee’s childhood just like this?” But the more I looked at her, the more I couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was strangely perceptive.
Especially, every time I had dark thoughts, Sori somehow picked up on it incredibly quickly.
When I was seated at the dining table lost in thoughts about my mother, she’d ask, “Are you sad?” Besides that, every time I would inadvertently recall my relationship with my mom while watching the happy family of Sohee, her father, and Sori, Sori would swiftly take my hand and pull me towards her family.
It hadn’t even been a few hours since I entered this house, but it was entirely thanks to Sori that I could sit here with the three of them. Of course, Sohee was working hard to help too.
I was only a runaway, but it still felt remarkably warm in this house. I couldn’t help but think that it might not solely be because I had lived in a family that lacked that warmth.
“Maybe it’s because of something that happened in childhood,” I said as night fell and we were getting ready for bed.
To my assessment that Sori seemed to be very perceptive, Sohee bitterly laughed and replied, “What do you mean?”
“Hmm…”
Sohee hesitated for a moment at my question, then said, “When Sori was young… her mom went to heaven.”
“Ah…”
I definitely saw Sohee’s father, but never her mother.
It wasn’t unexpected, though. If they had been separated due to circumstances, it would have been normal for conversations about her mother to come up during our talks. Naturally, when I started living here, it should have been brought up.
Even beyond that, it’s only natural to think that conversations wouldn’t arise because it wasn’t for a good reason.
Like how I wouldn’t bring up my mother in front of friends unless it was absolutely necessary.
Of course, the reason for their separation was death, so Sohee’s feelings about her mother would likely be far more positive than my feelings for mine.
“I’m sorry.”
Still, since I could empathize with that feeling, I apologized.
“No, it’s okay. It’s something that needed to be said someday.”
Sohee smiled and said that.
“Anyway, so…”
She returned to the topic we were discussing.
“Dad and I both had a really hard time back then. We didn’t say a word at home and cried every day. After a while, little Sori did her best to try to comfort us.”
“…”
Maybe it was because she was a child who couldn’t properly accept the concept of death that it was possible for her to do that.
But…
“Maybe from that time on, Sori became more sensitive to those kinds of feelings. It’s all because I wasn’t a good sister.”
Sohee spoke plainly, but the bitterness that seeped through her tone left me speechless.
Now that I think about it, this might be the first time in my life I’m sharing such dark stories with others.
I’ve shared my past stories in a one-sided manner before, but I’ve never heard someone else’s dark stories.
…
It felt a bit uncomfortable.
Of course, I knew I shouldn’t show that feeling. I had been the one to ask first, and Sohee had just answered.
“Ah, sorry, did I talk about something too depressing?”
Realizing the heaviness that settled between us, Sohee immediately returned to her usual bright self.
“No…”
Actually, I should have been the one apologizing.
For some reason, I felt that it would be wrong to apologize to that smiling face, so I just swallowed my words.
*
Luckily, there were two places to wash up at home.
Sohee and I could wash in the same bathroom.
However, the bathroom by Sohee’s room was a narrow one, only offering enough space to shower without getting the toilet wet, so we couldn’t wash up together like in the mansion.
We washed up in turns and changed into pajamas that I brought. Sohee was, as always, in a loose shirt and dolphin pants.
It was already well past 11 PM. Feeling that it would be very tiring tomorrow if we didn’t sleep soon, we decided not to chat all night and just go to sleep. We had plenty of time after all. Even though I didn’t plan to stay here for too long, I would be here for at least a few days.
As a test, we both climbed onto the bed, and it was just barely enough for the two of us to lie down without falling off.
Thinking about Sohee’s habit of finding her way to my bed in the morning after sleeping in another bed, it was easy to imagine that one of us would be sleeping on the floor by morning.
But then again, it wouldn’t be right to make the host sleep on the floor.
I couldn’t make it uncomfortable for her because of me.
“Yeah, this is enough.”
I thought the word “enough” felt quite out of place, but I decided not to argue.
“Alright, then, slowly—”
Just as Sohee was about to ask if we should sleep, the sound of a click echoed as the door opened.
“Unnie~”
It was Sori who opened the door.
She could barely keep her eyes open, one hand rubbing her eyes, while she clutched a pillow with the other.
“Wait, weren’t you already asleep a while ago?”
Sohee asked, but Sori ambled into Sohee’s room with half-closed eyes.
“Let’s sleep together~”
“Uh…”
At those words, Sohee glanced over at me.
That was true.
Sohee had just returned home after a long time. Her father was of course home, and Sori was very fond of her older sister Sohee. It was understandable that after a long absence, she would want to sleep with her sister.
“Ah, um, Sori…”
“Let’s sleep together, okay?”
Sori was a few years younger than us and had already gone to bed before us. We had seen her waiting for Sohee’s father to fall asleep before she came out into the living room to turn the lights off.
She must have woken up during the night and walked in a daze to find Sohee.
“Ah…”
Perhaps knowing her sister felt that way, Sohee hesitated for a moment, nodded, and with a determined look, said to me, “I’m sorry, but I think I have to sleep alone tonight…”
Sohee had an expression of real regret as she said that.
“It’s okay.”
I mean, I had been sleeping alone all this time. While I hadn’t been sleeping alone lately, it wouldn’t be a problem for a night.
“Yeah, I’ll sleep in Sori’s room today—”
As Sohee began to sit up, Sori took a few more steps toward me.
“Unnie, sleep together!”
“…Huh?”
I didn’t know how to respond to that surprising comment.
“Let’s sleep together, okay?”
Sori looked up at me, barely able to keep her eyes open. Maybe it was because she just woke up, but in the bright room, her sight was still adjusting following her sleep.
“Sori…”
Sohee spoke in a slightly stern voice.
“It’s rude to do that to a guest.”
“A, no.”
I couldn’t help but deny what Sohee had said.
“…Huh?”
Sohee seemed taken aback by my response, as she looked at me with a blank expression.
“…Uh, well… that is…”
After hesitating for a moment, I cautiously added, “I mean, it’s okay to sleep together…”
“…R-really…?”
It seemed that Sohee was just as cautious as I was.
*
In the end, we spread out a blanket on the floor and laid down in a line. No matter how you looked at it, three people lying on a single bed would be too cramped, even if Sori was a child.
Sori must have been really sleepy because as soon as she lay down on the hard floor with the blanket, she quickly fell into a deep snore.
The sight of Sori’s chest rising and falling as she slept, looking like a proper little princess, was kind of adorable.
“After Sori falls asleep, we can move to the bed if you want.”
“I just wanted to sleep like this.”
…To be honest, this was my first time sleeping on the floor.
Even though I had a thick blanket laid out, the ground felt pretty hard. It was only after lying like this that I realized how soft and cushy my usual bed was.
But even so, I thought this was quite fun in its own way.
It felt less like sleeping with friends and more like sleeping with a real sister.
Even though it was only the second time, and I hadn’t even really met Sori properly last time, it felt so familiar, probably because Sori looked so much like Sohee.
As I brushed Sori’s bangs aside, she looked even more like Sohee.
“…”
With Sori in the middle, we lay facing each other.
In the dimly lit room, I could barely make out Sohee’s silhouette, but for some reason, I felt like Sohee was smiling at me.
*
W-w-w-what’s the situation right now!?
Shin Sohee was screaming silently in her mind.
Of course, Sori was just Sohee’s little sister, and Sara was a complete stranger, but…
Somehow, the situation felt just like a couple sleeping with their child in between them, right?
Although I could barely make out Sara’s silhouette beyond Sori, Sohee couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Sara.
