Chapter 138

R​ead o​n KatReadingCafe

**Two Pairs of Sisters. (2)**

> “Hey, Yeoreum.”

> “Yeah?”

> “How did you meet Nozomi?”

At Koyuki’s question, I let out a soft “hmm” and trailed off.

Was this something I was allowed to talk about or not…?

The V-Spe contract didn’t forbid disclosure to family members, but Nozomi was technically my manager, and that made the situation a little murky.

Could I talk about it? Should I not?

> “Hmm, I think I get it.”

> “…You do?”

> “She’s your manager or something like that, right?”

> “…”

All that inner debating turned out to be pointless.

Even though she ended her sentence like a question, Koyuki’s eyes were full of confidence.

Don’t just throw it out like you’re confirming something you already know, Koyuki. That’s rude.

Her look said, “So what? Am I wrong?” and I averted my gaze.

…She wasn’t wrong, but still! Rude is rude.

> “At this rate, we might actually be able to communicate without words.”

> “We’re not psychics or anything. That’s impossible.”

> “Really? Then from now on I won’t say a word—try to guess what I’m thinking.”

> “…Shouldn’t you be the one guessing _my_ thoughts? Isn’t that how it usually goes?”

I muttered under my breath, eyeing Koyuki’s smug grin.

She was probably thinking, _Yeoreum’s thoughts are so easy to read, it’s way more fun to make her guess mine instead._

Koyuki had this weird confidence sometimes that always threw me off.

Maybe she really did pick up on my thoughts, because her expression twisted mischievously.

> “You just thought my thoughts are easy to read, didn’t you?”

> “…I did not.”

> “Don’t lie! You totally did!”

> “I really didn’t! Why are you so sure about what I’m thinking?”

> “Hmm~”

Koyuki’s pink eyes narrowed, like she was testing how long I could keep denying it.

I wasn’t even trying to deny anything anymore, so I just met her gaze and went silent.

If she’s that confident, she should be able to guess what I’m thinking _right now_.

Hmph. Yeoreum’s thoughts are super easy to read, huh?

Okay then—I’ll think of a fruit. Let’s see you guess it. Banana.

Banana.

> “…”

> “…”

I wasn’t even thinking “banana”! And there’s no proof _she_ was thinking banana either!

The Koyuki in my mind was probably just a figment of my imagination.

People always _think_ they understand each other’s thoughts, but they’re usually wrong.

Yeah, there’s no way she actually guessed it.

Even if we are twins, it’s not like you can read someone’s mind just by looking in their eyes.

> “You were thinking ‘banana,’ weren’t you, dummy?”

> “…Gasp.”

> “I can tell what you’re thinking just by looking in your eyes~”

Even though I just told myself it was impossible, Koyuki nailed it.

Did she really read my mind by looking into my eyes?

And did I really guess _her_ thoughts earlier just by looking into hers…?

That’s kind of terrifying.

> “F-Fine, I’ll close my eyes. Try reading my mind now.”

> “It’ll be a little harder, but okay.”

Maybe she was just used to reading me, but Koyuki looked super confident.

Like she could recite 100 digits of pi straight from my thoughts.

We’d kind of flipped the original challenge, but it was fine—we’d both guessed each other’s thoughts once, so it was fair.

Still… could she really read me with my eyes closed?

This was starting to feel like a cheesy magic act or something from a staged stream.

Like, even if we guessed wrong, we should pretend we were right just to preserve the illusion.

> ‘So, what are you thinking right now?’

> ‘I’m thinking about what Koyuki’s thinking.’

> ‘I’m thinking about what _you’re_ thinking, Yeoreum.’

> ‘…This is going nowhere. Think of something else.’

> ‘I’m hungry.’

> ‘Already? We _just_ had lunch…’

Honestly, I was kind of hungry too.

Toya and Nozomi did feed me lots of meat earlier, but that was only at the start. After that, I got stuck doing what felt like hard labor for hours.

It was like trying to grill meat while riding a unicycle.

Looking back, those two were _really_ something.

No matter how deep the conversation was, couldn’t they have at least _acknowledged_ my hard work a little?

> “I wanna eat meat grilled by Yeoreum.”

> “…Next time.”

**Rrrrnnn…**

I was hungry, sure—but I _really_ didn’t want to be stuck grilling again.

Our stomach growls sounded like one, but if you listened closely, the pitch was just slightly different.

Koyuki was probably completely empty.

I remembered Ragu-sensei once told me Koyuki had a tiny appetite and often skipped meals.

Basically, Koyuki had both the palate _and_ eating habits of a little kid.

> “If I’m a kid, then you’re a kid too.”

> “There’s a big difference between _having_ a childish appetite and _being_ an actual child, don’t you think?”

> “To me, it’s the same.”

Still, she couldn’t even pretend to be an adult, could she?

When I pointed that out, Koyuki averted her gaze.

I didn’t know just _how_ picky of an eater she was, but considering it was already well past lunchtime and she hadn’t eaten anything, maybe she was just too lazy to bother.

I’d skipped meals out of laziness before, too—until I started living with Toya, anyway.

> “Try eating vegetables sometimes, Koyuki. Like cucumbers or eggplant.”

> “Green and purple are traditionally poison colors.”

> “What about tomatoes? They’re sweet and nice, right?”

> “Red’s a warning color.”

> “Carrots?”

> “…They’re orange, but they taste all weird and have that texture… blegh.”

What _do_ you eat, exactly?

I’d seen her eat before, and it didn’t seem _that_ extreme—but now I wasn’t so sure.

Was she just messing with me? Her expression looked way too serious for that.

Maybe she couldn’t eat veggies _by themselves_ but was okay if they were cooked into something or paired with meat.

That… basically means she’s not _really_ a picky eater, right?

> “Actually, Minori said she’d buy me a game if I ate vegetables. And, well… I’m technically unemployed, so if I want games, I need help.”

> “…”

> “You earn money as a VTuber. I eat veggies to earn games. Same vibe~”

> “Live a healthier life, dummy Koyuki!!”

> “Hyeeek?!”

**Chop.**

I lightly karate chopped her head.

Of course I held back—I wasn’t trying to hurt her.

But I _didn’t_ anticipate what came next.

Her wide eyes stared at me, then—slowly—tears started to form.

> “Yeoreum hit me…”

> “Ah…”

Apparently, for Koyuki, the emotional impact of me hitting her outweighed any physical pain.

To be fair, even when we played rough, I’d never really hit her before.

Actually, I wasn’t even _playing_ this time—it was more like… discipline?

> “You two, no fighting!”

> “…We’re not really fighting though.”

Toya appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my wrists, lifting them into a “hands up” pose.

It looked like I was getting a punishment at school or something, except since Toya was holding me, my arms didn’t hurt or anything.

> “Nozomi, comfort me. Yeoreum hit me…”

> “Uh, um…”

Koyuki sniffled dramatically and ran to Nozomi.

Nozomi, clearly flustered, instinctively caught her and held her gently.

Maybe it was just muscle memory from catching me during workouts.

Still, that wasn’t the point right now.

The real issue was that my _justified_ discipline might now be mistaken as some emotional sibling conflict!

> “Koyuki was acting like a total child, so I scolded her!”

> “…Yeoreum?”

> “…Ichinose-san?”

They both looked at me like I’d just said I wasn’t sleeping with my teddy bear anymore.

Seriously? We’re the same age! Nozomi’s even _younger_ than us!

But it didn’t look like anything I said was getting through.

> “See? I told you. If I’m a kid, then Yeoreum’s a kid too.”

> “…Be quiet.”

Koyuki was already done crying and grinning mischievously.

I clicked my tongue.

Ugh. So unfair. I was _completely_ justified!