Chapter 12

What is that?

I think I got stuck in the snow for a moment... Why do I feel so good?

I rubbed my tired eyes and looked around.

The ceiling was definitely the ceiling of my house, but the air felt different from my bedroom.

It was sweet, fragrant and cosy.

Maybe it was my sister lying next to me.

When I turned my head, her soft breasts touched my cheek.

Anyway, Soo-Jung is always careless, even in the bathroom, and who knows who is giving her advice.

You're the most dangerous person in the room... Ha ha, but it's a good thing I woke up first.

If my sister had woken up first, she might have been frightened by the awkward position.

I push the meat away from my cheek and try to sit up, but something gets tangled in my leg.

"Oh, my calf got tangled in yours while I was asleep, but you weren't the kindest of sleepers... you still rubbed my bum in the morning.

The late nights and poor sleeping habits were starting to take their toll on Crystal Sister's image.

But didn't she sleep in dolphin trousers? Why is she wearing short jeans?

Come to think of it, I think her breasts are a bit small for a Crystal Sister... Besides, when did I go to bed?I'm sure it was after I'd cleaned myself up, and the last thing I remember is someone dragging me...

"Yang Jiuzhi."

"Huh? Eh?"

"Where are you sleeping now?"

"Huh...? Elder sister Jinbi, why are you here?"

"Because this is my room. More importantly, where are you playing?"

"Huh? What's that? No, it's not like that, sister!"

"Explain it properly. I'm not that angry yet, so I'll listen."

I remembered.

I was staggering after cleaning the house, and Geum-Bi called me.

Somehow, I managed to climb the stairs to my room on the second floor... and then I lost my memory.

I was wondering how and when this had happened, and what the explanation was.

I think I fell asleep because I was so tired.

What I'd just done to your chest was... incriminating, to say the least. Even my sister saw it with her eyes wide open, so there was no denying it.

"Ugh, I mean, it was a mistake, I didn't mean to touch him."

"You turned round and grabbed my breasts as soon as you woke up, and you didn't want to touch them?"

"Mum, I just woke up, I was dazed, something hit my face, it bothered me, I was trying to push it away, I didn't even realise it was your breasts!"

"OK, let's say you were trying to push it away at first. But why did you stop halfway and grab the flesh?"

"Oh, there was something tangled down there, so I stopped to have a look... Anyway, it was a mistake, I didn't really have any strange ideas or anything...!"

The whole situation was a big misunderstanding.

I tried to explain, but Geum-Bi's eyes remained serious.

It doesn't make sense, not even to me.

I honestly can't say that there was the slightest hint of altruism.

I didn't think anything bad about her, but the softness of her grip... the way she pushed me a little harder in my sleep... I can't help it, this is the realm of instinct.

I felt nervous and waited for Geumbi's decision.

She was shorter than me, but her position on the bed was higher than mine, which made me even more intimidated.

I think that was the wrong position. Shouldn't I have lain down first and you later?If you say it's my fault..."If you say it's my fault, I'll really hit you.

I looked away, because I was scared of his angry eyes.

Then, as if on cue, Geum-bi's hand touched my cheek.

"Hey."

"Ugh, Nett...!"

"Why are you so nervous? Just say you made a mistake in your sleep."

"Ah, yes. That's what I meant... yes."

"I realise it was a mistake, but did you really think I'd be angry with you for it?"

"No, but... you looked at me so fiercely."

"You know I have a fierce look, it's my own complex, do you want to point it out?"

"Mmm, sorry. That was wrong."

"It's okay, I'll forgive you for that and for what happened before, hehe."

Unlike me, who was still tense, Geum-bi was relaxed.

She remembered and kindly thought my mistake was because I'd had a sleep attack.

"Thank God. I haven't followed Soo-jung's advice for a long time, and I thought you were going to freak out right away..."

I breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to get out of bed properly.

Geum-bi's foot, still tangled in my leg, pressed down hard, preventing me from moving.

"What? Mana?"

"But you know what it is, it's the earth."

"Ugh, why...?"

"There was something I didn't understand when we were talking before."

"What?"

"You said you touched me without realising it was me, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, didn't I? I wasn't lying, I didn't realise it was you."

"So who did you think it was?"

"Huh?"

"There are lots of girls in my house, except you, and you thought it was OK to touch anyone's breasts?"

Ouch.

The toe pressed against my calf made it hurt more.

Suddenly, Goldie's hand, which had been touching my face, grabbed my neck and held me tight, and I was looking at her.

She looked at me, and her eyes were like no other.

They were burning with a fire I had never seen before.

"Think it over and tell me. Depending on your answer, I'll decide what to do with you, Terra."

"...gulp."

What does he mean by "judgement"?

This is Geumbi's room, and the door is locked, so I can't be... dead or trapped, can I?

Bird, let's think.Are you telling the truth?Did you think she was Crystal and touch her?

I think that's one thing.

But if it's the others... it's even worse, isn't it?She's the kind of sister who would never let you touch her brothers.

"I'm sorry, Soo-jung...!

After thinking about it, I chose a name that would be less hurtful.

I closed my eyes, put my hands together and tilted my head towards Geumbi.

"I thought it was Sister Crystal... When I woke up this morning, I rolled over... I'm sorry!"

"...."

My apology went unanswered.

I swallowed, then after about thirty seconds my eyes opened and I looked up.

"Hic!"

"So that's what you and Soo-Jung were doing in bed?"

"No. It's more like, sometimes, in the morning, accidentally..."

"So it wasn't a one-time thing? You told me it wasn't, but you've been sleeping in your room on Earth every night?"

"Well, it was only two days at most..."

"Two days or two weeks, that's what it is. That still doesn't change the fact that you lied to me, does it?"

"Well, yes... I'm sorry."

I felt the back of my neck go cold.

I wondered if my shaking was being passed on to her, and she looked at me, her eyes getting brighter with every startle.

"Let me ask you something."

"Ugh, ask me anything...".

"Ji-Eun, do you like Soo-Jung?"

"Huh? ...Nothing, what do you mean?"

"You said last time that you can't talk about adoption, that it has something to do with Crystal?"

"I said...?" "But why?"

"Could it be that your sister was adopted, and that's why you and I are secretly alike?"

"No, no, no, it's nothing like that, don't imagine anything strange, sis!"

"You keep making me imagine things, otherwise why is she sleeping in your room?"

I told her it was for counselling, but that didn't seem to convince her.

The fact that I had just been through a session of suspicious touching with my own body seemed to make her even more suspicious.

If I wanted to get through this, I would have to figure out the relationship between me and Soo-jung.

"Actually, Soo-jung's been pretty upset lately. She can't sleep alone, so I've been sleeping with her."

"I'm a girl too, but in your room on Earth?"

"Well, it's been a bit weird with Goldie lately, and we're both too young to visit our brothers."

"That's... well. My sister and I went for a while..."

"She said we'd all worry if you faltered and asked me to keep it a secret, so please... don't let her know."

"In that case, there's nothing I can say."

She blushed and looked away, ashamed of herself for thinking that there was something wrong between them.

I sighed as her anger started to calm down and I finished my story.

"You're right, I'll be more careful. I don't want that to happen again."

"Good. Good to know."

"Now, can you untie me? I'll try to get up."

"What are you talking about?"

"Huh?"

"I haven't even started doing my job yet."

"Huh? Ah...?"

You went up to the second floor because Geum-bi called you, right?

I completely forgot about that while I was asleep.

"What? Did you want to ask me something?"

"I told you that I want you to listen to my counselling during the day."

"Okay, but you have to sit like this...

"I've also been feeling anxious lately, so I need you to do the same thing you did with Crystal."

"Uh, what?"

"Like you... Well, let's take a nap together for a while. An hour or two a day, or even just half an hour."

"Like Crystal, in the same bed, like now?"

"I hadn't thought about it like that, but now that I've done it once, I think it's really good. I sleep better than I thought I would."

I didn't mean to, but I accidentally made her hopeful.

I suddenly realised why we were all in the same bed and I couldn't resist the desperate look on her face.

"I'll do it often, until Mum comes back."

"Yes, you're right. I'll only do it for a little while... I don't want to do this forever."

She has been getting up early recently.

I thought she was just being careful, but what if she was actually worried and couldn't sleep? What if that's why her eyes were so bad?

"You can always ask. I'll even stroke your hair if you need me to."

"I don't need that. Don't treat me like a little brother, you idiot."

I let her win, but I made sure I was still funny about it.

She smiled at me, pinched my cheek and whimpered.

I was happy to have got through the crisis.

I was glad that I could make her feel better too.

* * *

That night, as if it had become a daily routine, Soo-jung came to my room.

She climbed into bed and sat on my right.

"Terra... I heard you had a nap in Geumbi's room today."

As soon as I lay down, she asked me what had happened.

"Geum Bi... You've been keeping Soo Jung's affairs a secret, but you've been talking about your own affairs.

I frowned, remembering Geum Bi's excessively honest behaviour.

She looked at Soo Jung beside her, and the corners of her mouth curved upwards.