Chapter 177

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Has Something Changed? (2)

“Yeoreum, let’s hang out~”
“…Why are you talking like a kindergarten kid going over to a friend’s house?”
“From the outside, I probably look about that age, right?”
“No way, I’m not that childlike.”

After the doorbell rang seventeen times in quick succession, I groggily opened the front door to find a familiar face. If it hadn’t been familiar, I’d be worried about early-onset dementia or something, because it was the face I see every single day.

“So, what brings you here today?”
“Eh? Am I only allowed to come over when I have some big reason?”
“That’s not what I meant, but…”
“Right? That’s not it, so I came over again today!”

Lately, Koyuki had been visiting far less often with Ragu-sensei in tow. Maybe that means Koyuki’s recovered enough that she can manage on her own now. Come to think of it, Toya also doesn’t feel the need to stay right beside me all the time like she used to. I do kind of miss having Toya around every second of the day, but in another sense, it’s nice because it feels like confirmation that I’m healthy again.

“I found this really fun game—”
“Yeah, come on in. What kind of game is it? A fighting game? Racing? Or something apocalyptic?”
“Hey now, if you’re too eager for details, it’s no fun. Anyway, the joy of a new game is in the experience, not a bunch of talking!”
“You have a point…”

A game is the most fun when you go into it knowing nothing. If you gather too much info beforehand, you start worrying about efficiency or speedrunning routes. Then, instead of enjoying the game, you’re basically turning it into some time-attack training camp. So I try to avoid any deep research before starting a new game.

“I’m sure you’re gonna love it, Yeoreum. It’s a game that up to four people can play together!”
“Four people…?”
“Yeah, exactly. So it’ll be me, you, Toya, and… who else was it… Inari! Or was it ‘Pervert Fox’? Something like that.”
“It’s Inari.”

What’s the point of clarifying something you said correctly the first time?
Good thing Inari isn’t here to hear that—she might’ve looked all hurt, though she’d inevitably be back to clinging on and calling everything “cute” in no time anyway.

“This is definitely gonna blow up! You’ll get the honor of being a pioneer of this huge hit game, Yeoreum!”
“Aren’t you gonna play it, too?”
“Of course I am! But I figure people’s reactions will be bigger if you’re the one playing, Yeoreum.”

People’s reactions? I tilted my head, and Koyuki explained that we’d be streaming it—obviously. She didn’t say so outright, but her expression gave it all away.

“You’re really gonna do a broadcast with me? You’re okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I started this channel to mess with you, but you already figured me out, so I don’t mind if the rest of the world figures it out too. No problem!”

Koyuki genuinely seemed unfazed.
I’d originally thought she’d keep it a secret forever, but, well… If two people with very similar voices, who supposedly had no prior connection, suddenly did a collab, of course the viewers would get suspicious. But if Koyuki’s okay with it, then so am I.

“You like streaming, and I’m guessing you like doing it with me?”
“Something like that.”
“You’re not denying it, huh?”
“Well, it is nice.”

Conversation with Koyuki always goes like this: Koyuki practically says, “Hey, Yeoreum, you like me, right?” and I say, “Yeah, I do.” At first, I was super shy about admitting I liked her, but humans are creatures of adaptation. Over time, I got used to Koyuki’s “Do you like me?” attacks, and now I just respond with a shrug. If anything, you’d think Koyuki might be disappointed at my lukewarm reaction, but she doesn’t seem to mind—it’s like she actually prefers it that way.

“All right then, since that’s settled—let’s do it today!”
“Today? Suddenly?”
“What, did you already have plans? I checked and figured you didn’t, so I had it all lined up for today.”
“…Well, that’s true, I don’t have anything else.”

Is she basically saying she can read my mind whenever she wants? I gave Koyuki a look that said as much, and she insisted she couldn’t see that deep. Right—my mind’s not a public folder you can just open anytime.

“Okay, then before we start setting up the stream—!”
“Before?”
“A hug~!”
“Wha—?”

With a poof sound, Koyuki dove into my arms. We’re the same height, so it ended up looking like she was half-clinging to me, but it wasn’t heavy or anything. I guess it helps that I’ve been working out, so Koyuki’s weight doesn’t faze me now—

“Ah, you wobbled!”
“…Could you not shove me while I’m trying to hold you up?”
“Ehehe, I just wanted to see how strong you’ve gotten, Yeoreum.”
“You’re acting like a child.”

Shaking my head, I pressed down on Koyuki’s head. “I sentence you to lose a few centimeters,” or something like that. Obviously she won’t actually shrink, but Koyuki doesn’t usually like it when I press on her head. If she really did get shorter, she wouldn’t be my twin anymore, or so she says.

“If you wanna stay exactly the same as me, don’t you think you should work out, too?”
“You can’t even tell you’ve been working out! See? The squishiness is the same!”
“…That’s just your excuse for not wanting to exercise.”

She insisted our arms felt the same, but they obviously didn’t. Mine has more muscle than fat, while hers is still all soft. To be honest, there was a time I felt a bit let down that I hadn’t changed more, considering how hard I’d been working out—like, “Really? This is all I get for that much effort?”

(If it weren’t for Koyuki, I might’ve quit exercising long ago.)

Comparing my progress against Koyuki—my twin who has the exact same body type—has become a fun little routine. We’re both still fragile overall, but you could call mine “healthy fragility,” while Koyuki’s remains more precarious. Still, we’re both “fragile” in the end.

“Honestly, you’re not so frail these days. Yeoreum’s stronger than she looks.”
“Just moving your arms a little doesn’t necessarily make you healthy.”
“Ahh?!”

I flicked Koyuki’s forehead with my finger, and she shut her eyes tight in mock pain. She barely felt a thing, I’m sure, but she always likes to overreact. I gently rubbed the spot I flicked, as if to comfort her. “Don’t cry, I didn’t mean it.”

“I want to be with you for a long time, Koyuki.”
“…Me too.”
“So—”
“But I still won’t work out! You definitely had that look on your face like, ‘If I have to suffer, I’m dragging Koyuki with me!’”

…So she noticed.
I mean, I—um—hey, even if I did think that, it’s true I want us both to live healthily together! It’s no lie!

I guess she sensed my sincerity, because her puffed-up cheeks deflated a bit.

Guuuurgle—

“Ah, all that bickering with Yeoreum made me hungry.”
“Don’t put it like it’s my fault.”
“Hey, it takes two hands to clap. No matter how small my share of the blame is, you still have 50%. Got it?”

Sure, whatever. We’ll go with that.
I guess that was her way of saying she’s hungry, in any case.

“Toya’s cooking~♪ Toya’s cooking~♬”
“…Could you not sing that weird song in my voice?”
“Nope~”

Just as I was about to lunge at her for singing that bizarre little tune, Koyuki—probably sensing my intention—bolted off toward the kitchen. Seriously, when is she ever gonna grow up? I shook my head and thought, Mr. Lagu must’ve had it rough. But, you know, that’s all part of Koyuki’s charm. She’s my twin, and I could never bring myself to hate her, no matter what.

—

[Yukitoki’s First Collab?!]
[(Yukitoki Collab with Natsu, Toya, and Inari.MVI)
Surprise collab, lololol]

ㄴ[Usually when you collab with big names, you hype it up with a bunch of promos first, right?]
ㄴ[←Guess that means Yukitoki is the big name now~]
ㄴ[←No, like, actually a big shot.]
ㄴ[←Though compared to the other three, Yukitoki’s the least “big” lol]
ㄴ[Natsu, Toya, Inari… This line-up kinda feels like “Natsu MK.2.”]
ㄴ[←They do have matching color schemes.]
ㄴ[←Red and white is a pretty common combination, though.]
ㄴ[←(Don’t stand before King Natsu, etc.)]
ㄴ[←(I, Yukitoki, shall inherit the throne, etc.)]
ㄴ[Anyway, all four are from “V-Spe,” right?]
ㄴ[←Makes sense, they’re super popular right now.]
ㄴ[←It’s simpler to just think Yukitoki is Nacchan’s twin or something lol]
ㄴ[←No way that’s true haha]

Fables