Chapter 4

I opened my eyes and saw the same ceiling as always.

There were tired men in the room. The room smelt of rotten eggs, and no amount of daily cleaning could make it smell any better.

I heard the weather forecast on the loudspeakers and sat down stiffly to start my day.

"Hmph, hmph, hmph, crazy. What a bloody dream."

I jumped out of bed and slapped my face to make sure I was awake.

I really don't want to see an army killing people in my dreams.

"My heart is still beating. My heart is still beating... huh?"

I've been nervous since morning, but the sofa next to me is oddly comfortable.

I had squeezed the pillow, but it felt strange, so I looked away to make sure I hadn't woken up.

"What? Sue, Crystal?"

"Mmmm... Mmmm."

"Oh, dear, sorry, you can sleep later, OK."

Sue was curled up with a scowl on her face within reach.

I quickly moved my hand away from her and pulled the duvet over her shoulders, putting it back in place.

"Hmph... ugh."

"Thank goodness."

I was relieved that Soo-jung was breathing evenly, and I tried to remember what had happened last night.

"I must have heard her story... I hugged her, comforted her and then fell asleep with her, because she fell asleep first and I couldn't wake her.

She always slept early, so it's not surprising that her eyes closed with tiredness after crying.

The only problem was that my adult brother and sister spent the night in the same bed.

Well, if I didn't mind, I wouldn't have to, but... I blushed and scratched my head unnecessarily at the touch of my hand.

I thought, "You're not really awake, what are you thinking? Wake up, Yang Zhiqi."

Slapping himself in the third person, he erased the mistake from his mind.

It had been a long time since I had had an accident like that, and I blamed him for many years in the army, so I carefully crawled under the covers.

-Crackle.

"What's that?"

"Hey, Yang Jiuzhi, are you in there? Why did you lock the door?"

"Huh? That one, big sister Jinbi?"

"I haven't seen her, are you with her or do you know where she's gone?"

While Soo-jung was washing his face to clear his head before waking up, Geum-bi vigorously turned the handle on the other side of the door.

Luckily, she had locked herself in yesterday, so she wasn't caught immediately, but it was only a matter of time before she was interrogated.

"You don't usually come to my room. You woke up and didn't see Soo-jung in the next room, so you came here to look for her?

If that's what happened, I've already been on the second floor.

If I'd waited any longer, other children would have come in and the situation would have got out of control.

"I haven't seen her either. Why isn't she in Soo-jung's room?"

"No, I checked the bathroom on the second floor and the bathroom on the first floor, but there's no sign of her."

"Maybe she's gone off somewhere?"

"She had her mobile phone in her room. Who leaves their mobile phone unattended these days?"

"Yes, her phone was in her room..."

"Why don't you open the door? Do you live with the door closed because you have something to hide?"

"No, wait. I mean, sis...!"

I managed to get Geum-Bi to go somewhere else and wake Crystal up.

Geum-Bi was determined not to take any risks.

As I held back, her voice became more and more suspicious.

His grip on the doorknob got stronger, as if he was thinking about what had happened in the early hours and yesterday morning.

"Yang Zhiqi, open the door. Is your sister in your room?"

"No, of course not. Wait, I'm just getting dressed..."

"Since when do you change with the door closed?"

"Nothing, I always change with the door closed."

"You've never locked it like that."

"I need my privacy, can you be respectful?"

"Usually I do, but now that you've gone, why are you so quiet and why can't you keep the door open?"

"Oh, it's my daughter! I had a morning erection, so I was taking care of her, OK?"

"Huh? ... Huh?! Ugh, huh?"

I let my nervousness take over and did as I was told.

It was an unexpected blow, and she stopped turning the doorknob and looked upset.

At that moment, a stuttering voice, which was unusual for her, echoed through the room.

"I'm sorry. No, I didn't think so. I'm leaving now. Let me know if you see her. Ji, I'm sorry..."

I threw myself on the bed, relieved only by the sound of footsteps far off in the distance.

Then I heard someone gasp loudly behind my back.

"...Sister Crystal?"

"Ah, uh, heh, heh... Good morning, Terra."

It was definitely Soo-jung, but when did she wake up?

She was sitting uncomfortably on a futon, and her eyes were looking at me strangely.

Well, after all this, it's strange that you haven't woken up.Haha, why am I so tired this morning?

I must have been even more tired yesterday when I heard Suzu's confession.

I rubbed my forehead and shook my head as if I were a mess.

* * *

Around midday, I was alone in my room watching a New Tube video.

There was a soft knock on the door and I opened it, revealing Crystal.

"Can I come in, Terra...?"

"Okay, but remember to close the door behind you."

"Okay, thanks. Wow."

Soo-jung walked in, closing the door like she had done the day before.

This caused a misunderstanding in the morning, but I was relieved to have avoided a major accident.

"Look, I'm sorry about this morning. I got a lot of strange looks."

"Don't worry about it. If she'd caught you with her sister, she'd have given you a lot more trouble."

"What's it like to stay in a room together? Didn't we used to do that a lot?"

"That was before we were adults.Also, staying together for a while isn't the same as sleeping together all night."

"Yes, you're right. Mmm, maybe you're right, Terra."

SooJung said sorry in the morning, but didn't seem too bothered.

When I scratched my cheek and looked away, she blushed, as she realised the problem.

"Come and sit down, we can talk about this."

"Huh? No... Is that all you said before?"

"Oh, was it? I'm sorry, I was rambling."

"No, there's nothing to apologise for... Well, as long as I'm here, do you mind if I sit down for a while?"

"Of course, make yourself at home, sweetie, here's a pillow."

"Thanks... Hehe, it's cute."

Soo-jung had only come to apologise for the misunderstanding he had received from Geum-bi, but somehow he ended up staying in my room.

I looked away, ashamed of my arrogant behaviour, but she looked up from the pillow on my lap and asked.

"What's wrong, Terra? Why are you looking away?"

"Nothing, I just thought you were being a bit too sweet."

"Oh, I'm not being sweet. I just thought you were being nice."

"Like before...? It wasn't really any different from now, was it?"

"Oh, I mean... it wasn't any different from normal, that's what I meant."

"Huh? So, you're saying nothing has changed... ah, ah."

I was puzzled by Soo-jung's words, but suddenly I understood their hidden meaning.

I looked more closely and saw that she was smiling innocently, but her kneeling position and her hands clutching the pillow were trembling, showing her anxiety.

"To be honest, I was a bit scared. I don't mean that as an insult, I just mean that maybe he couldn't treat me like he used to."

Soo-jung confessed last night.

The only person she said wasn't a blood relative... was probably me.

Maybe it was because she felt insecure that she slept in my room.

As my mind raced, I stopped avoiding her gaze and snuggled up next to her.

"What? Zee, are you from Earth?"

"Why?"

"Nothing... it's just that you're suddenly so close."

"Weren't you closer than this yesterday?"

"Hmph?! Well, that was... sorry. I was a bit out of it at the time."

"I was fine."

"Huh?"

"Actually, it was good, because you were treating me like family, like you always do."

Crystal repeated her sister's words and put an arm around her shoulders.

I didn't hug her or put my arms around her, but she gently tilted her head towards me, as if she was expecting it.

"When you say that, you're just getting me to lean on you again."

"You can lean on me. That's what family is for."

"Really? Are we still a family?"

"Of course we are. No matter what happened in the past, you're still my family, you always have been."

It doesn't matter if we're related or not.

The crystal sister in my memory was the same, and the one leaning against me now was the same.

"That's why, whenever you're in trouble, you can come to me like this."

"Like now, all the time?"

"Yes. I'll help you until your mum comes back to talk to you."

"Hmph. My Earth, you've really grown up. I'm a bit excited, hehe."

"Don't say anything embarrassing to my family. It's embarrassing, hmmmm."

"Oops, I'm blushing! Eek, eek."

"Ew, don't poke me in the cheek. You're a child, I said I'd comfort you, not give you a toy."

"Ha ha, you like that? You've been doing that to me since I was little."

"No, I'm not, I'm more of a gentle bully than she is, so I was forced to accept it, don't get me wrong."

It was better than being pinched and pulled by the ears.

But as if you couldn't hear, she kept poking me on the cheek and messing up my hair.

-Smart.

"Yang Jiuzhi, are you in there?"

"Huh?!"

"Hmph? Suck it...!"

In the middle of our joke, there was a knock on the door and I heard Geumbi's voice.

We both covered our mouths at the same time and quickly exchanged glances.

"I'll go and answer it. You stay here.

"Mmm, okay, I'll pretend you're not there.

I nodded and raised my voice to the outside.

"You're in there, why?"

"Can I come in?"

"No? I'm a bit busy right now... what's going on?"

"What are you busy doing?"

"Well, I'm just... playing a game."

"What games?"

"Well, you've heard of them, but you don't really know."

"Aren't you doing something strange again?"

"What?! Oh, no!"

I don't know if she was just here to tease me, but she started arguing with me.

I shouted, frustrated, and the banging on the door soon turned into the sound of a doorknob turning.

"So why did you lock the door?"

"It's... my mind. Why, is there a problem?"

"Uh, yes there is."

"What is it?"

"Isn't your sister in your room with you now?"

"...!""

At that moment, Soo-Jung and I looked at each other again.

But this time we couldn't stop ourselves from speaking, and as we held our breath, we heard Geumbi's voice from outside.

"I saw you come in earlier. What are you doing locking the door?"

The door handle turned and made a noise as if it was locked.

There was no excuse, and our hearts were beating so loudly that they could be heard outside.