Chapter 109

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**Why Are You Like That?**

“…Ah.”

I dozed off.

I had been singing the children’s song Koyuki taught me with all my might and must’ve gotten tired and fallen asleep halfway through.

I stretched with a groggy “nghh,” feeling kind of refreshed as I sat up.

But wait, where did Koyuki go?

I looked around but couldn’t see her anywhere, tilting my head in confusion.

‘Maybe I fell asleep so suddenly she just went home…’

I wouldn’t blame her. If the person you’re hanging out with just suddenly falls asleep, it’d get boring, and she probably went home.

The sun was still up, so it didn’t look like it was evening yet. And judging by how quiet things were, Toya still seemed to be asleep too.

I’d never seen her sleep this long before. She must’ve really been exhausted.

Feeling curious, I quietly walked over to Toya’s room to check on her.

“Toya, are you sleeping well?”

“…”

No reply.

Guess she’s sleeping well. Hmm, is it just me, or does she look bigger than usual?

It felt like her body was bulkier than when she sleeps alone, and I tilted my head as I slowly approached.

Once I got closer, I saw an unexpected face, frowning in discomfort.

Eyes wide, I looked at her as if asking, “What are you doing there?”

“…Koyuki?”

“…Could you stop just staring and get me out of here?”

It was none other than Koyuki lying with Toya.

Well, more precisely, not _with_ Toya, but _held captive by_ her.

It looked like she was struggling to break free, but Toya was hugging her so tightly she couldn’t get away.

I wasn’t sure how Koyuki ended up in Toya’s arms, but… I mean, it looked kinda cute, so should I just leave them like this?

“Yeoreum…? I’m stuck here, you know?”

“Oh, sorry.”

She looked really desperate, so it seemed like she had a good reason to want out—maybe she needed to use the bathroom or something.

Now, how should I go about freeing her?

Trying to physically pry them apart was out. Even with the two of us, the size difference would make it hard to separate them.

So then—hmm…

“Toya, time to wake up. It’s already evening, you know? Well, the sun’s still up, but…”

“…Could you try with a little more passion? It’s kinda… getting rough here.”

“Oh, right.”

I whispered into Toya’s ear, but she didn’t even flinch.

Koyuki begged in a pleading voice.

Right. Guess I have no choice.

Waking someone up forcibly isn’t really my style, but well, these were special circumstances.

“Toya, you have to wake up now. Something really serious happened!”

Mostly serious for Koyuki, anyway.

I climbed onto the bed and started shaking Toya.

At first, there was no reaction, but soon enough she let out a soft groan—looked like I was making some progress.

Now to fully wake her up—hmm.

“Toya! Wake up! It’s morning!”

“…Nnnh…”

“…Still not enough, huh.”

I shouted into her ear, but all she did was burrow deeper into the blanket.

I didn’t want to use _this_ method, but… looks like I’ve got no choice.

Ignoring Koyuki’s “where are you going?” I grabbed my phone from the living room and came back to the room.

Then I searched something on iTube and hit play.

**“WAKE UP! RIGHT NOW! GET UP!!!!!!”**

“KYAA?!”

“Waugh…”

The blaring alarm sound made Toya shoot up in bed like she was hit with a shockwave.

I fell backward from the momentum, but luckily I didn’t fall off the bed.

Phew… one more inch and I might’ve gone over the edge…

I held my pounding chest as I exhaled slowly.

“Ugh… huh? Yeoreum? No, Yeoreum was just sleeping with me…”

“Thanks for saving me, Yeoreum. I’ll just excuse myself now.”

As soon as Toya sat up, the newly-freed Koyuki leapt off the bed and dashed out of the room.

Toya looked between Koyuki and me, eyes wide.

“Yeoreum…? There’s two of you?”

“You’re still half-asleep, Toya. That was Koyuki, not me.”

Her messy bed hair made it clear her brain wasn’t quite back online yet.

I waved in front of her dazed face until she slowly started to come to her senses.

Still not quite there yet.

She must’ve mistook Koyuki for me and dragged her to bed in that state.

She’s not usually like this…

I shook my head and pinched her cheek.

“Wake! Uuuup—!”

“Mmnnh…”

I shook her cheek left and right, and finally she started looking a bit more normal.

Despite all the shaking, there wasn’t even a red mark. Was I just weak or was Toya just durable? Hmm…

“Morning, Yeoreum.”

“Morning, Toya.”

We exchanged our usual morning greetings, and I accepted her outstretched hand.

Really now, this habit of dragging people into bed unannounced needs to go…

Well, it’s not like she does it with _everyone_, just me—but now that there’s someone who looks exactly like me, she needs to be even more careful.

I’ll definitely have to apologize to Koyuki when she gets back.
“Sorry about Toya acting up…”

“So I was hugging Koyuki and not you?”

“Yep.”

“That explains it… I thought Yeoreum had gained weight.”

Eh?

I blinked at the unexpected comment.

Did I get fat? Wait—no. She mistook Koyuki for me _and_ thought she’d gained weight—

Wait, seriously?

I reached under my shirt and felt my stomach—flat, just as expected.

…Right?

“I exercise every day, you know. Not like, crazy intense, but still.”

“Let me see. I wanna check if that’s true.”

“I’m telling you, it really was Koyuki.”

Toya squinted at me suspiciously, so I lifted the hem of my shirt and showed her my stomach.

I wasn’t super thrilled about proving it this way, but it _was_ the most reliable method.

Well, whatever. Not like it’s _my_ fault Koyuki and I look exactly the same.

Or maybe it was… kinda.

Squish squish—

“Hey, don’t you think that’s a little too… _thorough_?”

“My hands aren’t enough to confirm it.”

“Wh-what are you saying while getting your face that close?! Back off!!”

Toya brought her face right to my stomach and I freaked out.

But by then, her arms were already wrapped around my waist.

I couldn’t escape her grip, and could only watch—no, _feel_ her face pressing against my belly.

“Eek?! Hyaaah!? I-is this harassment?!”

“Eiiiight, eiiiight~!”

“HEY!!!!!”

She started rubbing her face back and forth into my belly.

Her hands were one thing, but her face—this was too much.

Was it because it felt… _weird_? Like being treated like a pet?

It was like watching someone bury their face in their puppy’s belly—and I shrieked as she kept going.

Only after my final scream did she lift her head, and the goosebumps down my spine finally started to fade.

“Yeoreum just yelled ‘Hey!’ at me…”

“…Why are you looking at me like you’re about to cry tears of joy.”

Seriously, where are your emotional priorities?

I clicked my tongue at her sparkly-eyed expression.

Toya’s got a long way to go before becoming a real adult.

“Was getting called ‘Hey!’ really that great?”

“Well, it _was_ the first time. You’re usually really polite with people.”

“…Am I?”

I didn’t think I was particularly formal or anything.

But if Toya felt that way, maybe it was just the culture I was raised in.

Anyway, was Toya hoping I’d be more casual with her?

I _thought_ I already was, though…

“Oh, but it’s not like I want you to be like this every day. It’s more meaningful when it’s rare!”

“…Then I’m never doing it again.”

But as soon as I realized _that’s_ what Toya meant, my mood tanked.

Or maybe it wasn’t so much my mood as it was just… embarrassment.

In that moment, I swore I’d never call her “Hey!” again no matter what.

“By the way, Toya.”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“Could you… take your hands off my waist now?”

“Oh. Right.”

She let go, and I could finally breathe again.

How much squishing does it take to leave red marks like this…?

I poked at my belly with the tip of my finger. The red marks turned white, then slowly back to red.

Yeah, this was gonna linger a bit.

I dropped my shirt with a flick, and Toya gave me a regretful look.

…Was my belly really _that_ interesting to her?