episode_0005

Hamshik, who was always busy crawling around, was surprisingly quiet in Nalin’s arms.

Even though it was over a knit shirt, was she aware that it was on top of Narin’s chest?

The warmth and coziness hovering between the coat and the clothes, along with the soft scent of Narin’s body and body wash, made me feel like I was falling asleep.

If it was me in my previous life, I would have been embarrassed just by looking at her face if she was a beauty like Na-rin. But maybe it was because I became like this? I didn’t have any particularly sinister thoughts.

There’s no way anything sexual could come between us anyway. Narin wouldn’t fall in love with a petite dwarf like me, and I…

Narin is pretty, and I like pretty things. But that’s all. I don’t know if it’s because I became a dwarf or because I have a woman’s body that I lost my desire.

Anyway, that’s why I was able to tease Hamshik confidently.

“You punk. You’re a male too, right? Are you embarrassed by Na-rin’s big sister’s arms?”

But Hamshik is the one who doesn’t respond even when teased. Well, it doesn’t make sense for a hamster to understand human speech.

… … But if you look closely, this kid seems to understand what I’m saying. Isn’t it just that he pretends not to understand when it’s convenient for him?

“Sister. I should call you sister.”

I heard Narin’s voice mixed with laughter from above, as if she had heard me talking in her arms.

By the way, you’re my sister. Of course, since Narin took me in as her younger sister, it’s right for me to call you my sister.

I was just laughing and laughing at the thought of coming to a strange world, but when I heard those words, I felt like I had really become a woman and was speechless for a moment.

But if I keep my mouth shut like this, it’ll seem like I’m ignoring Narin. She’s a good person who accepted us as family.

“Hehehe, Hamshik is a boy, so I called him sister.”

“Oh, I see.”

So I was barely able to come up with an excuse that I desperately searched for. Luckily, Narin didn’t doubt it.

I thought Hamshik was looking at me with pity, and then he suddenly spread his legs wide open.

“Oh, what. Hamshik has chili peppers… … . There’s no chili peppers? Hamshik was a woman?”

“Ahahaha. You thought it was a male? Well, I didn’t know if Hamshik was a female or a male either. It’s hard to tell just by looking at its back.”

Yeah, that’s right. I’m not an animal expert or anything. I didn’t know that either, but I just found out. It’s not my fault.

… … That’s not the problem. No matter how I look at it, it seems like she understands what I’m saying. Otherwise, she wouldn’t suddenly show me her thighs.

“Hey! You understand everything I say! Mr. Woo, don’t ignore me and get up quickly!”

I felt like I was being teased for some reason, so I grabbed Hamshik’s back hair and shook it wildly. But Hamshik just curled up and closed his eyes.

She showed me her thighs, which were empty of even a single pepper or a pomegranate, so she seemed to have done everything she could. And she ignored me like that.

“Oh, Namin-ah. You guys, if you keep doing that, you’ll fall down, so stay still for a bit.”

“Yes… … .”

I kept trying to hold onto Hamshik and argue with him, but Narin kept quietly scolding me, so I gave up.

No matter how soft Narin’s chest is, she might roll down that slope. It would be right to restrain herself at this point.

But I will definitely repay this humiliation to Hamshik someday. Look, he is pretending to be asleep right now, but the corners of his mouth are going up.

“The community center was around here… … . Ah, here it is.”

He sat quietly on Na-rin’s chest for a while, vowing revenge. Just as a bubble formed in Ham-shik’s nose and burst, Na-rin’s voice was heard again.

Word came that we had arrived at the local government office. Word also came that I would get an ID card. Excited by that, I grabbed hold of Na-rin’s knit tee and climbed up, peeking my head out.

Narin stretched her arm out and pressed the machine. Then, a piece of paper with the number 003 written on it came out. It was a number tag.

“I came as soon as the office opened, but there were people there. Still, it’s a good thing I came early.”

The office was hotter than Na-rin’s house. Was it because there were so many people that the heat was generated, or was it because there were so many people that they turned on the heating more quickly?

Either way, it’s true that there are a lot of people! With that realization, I patted Hamshik on the back.

“Hamshik-ah, Hamshik-ah! There are a lot of big people!”

But Hamshik didn’t wake up. I guess it doesn’t matter whether there are many people around or not.

“You only care about food? You stupid pig Hamshik!”

“Tick.”

A single cry as if to say, “You just realized that?” And I couldn’t say anything to that.

It’s more stupid to keep talking to a stupid pig who can’t understand anything. So I’ll just keep quiet.

Instead, I kept my mouth shut and looked around intently. I might have seen it somewhere in my past life, but what I was seeing now was much more interesting.

The white space I saw as soon as I opened my eyes had toys in it, but it’s true that if you play with just those every day, you’ll get bored.

In the end, there was nothing to see. The only thing that mattered was the greetings from the rats and birds.

Narin’s house, although it had a bit more to see, wasn’t as spacious or extensive as this place. I feel bad for Narin, but that’s the truth.

A chair is dragged out and people sit down, and documents are being copied on the copier. That kind of sight is probably not that special.

But it’s huge. If it’s big, it’s exciting in its own way.

People just have to look at the pictures and that’s it. There’s no need to go on a trip or go to the movies when you can just watch it on your computer at home.

And to me, this space is like a giant movie theater. Not just any movie theater, but a 4D movie theater where the wind blows and your hair flutters, and sounds come from all directions.

And today, I was the main character in the movie. When it was our turn, Narin dropped me off at the reception desk while I was looking around without coming to my senses.

“Welcome. How may I help you?”

The office worker greeted us with a friendly smile. I waved my hand widely to make her look good. I thought that would make her cooperate better in my efforts to become Na-rin’s younger sister.

It certainly had an effect, as the smile on the previously businesslike employee’s face brightened.

“Hello, I’m thinking of adopting her as my sister. She seems to be of a different race. Is that possible?”

“Have you looked into adoption documents or procedures?”

“Uh… …? Documents? Procedures? Is there something like that?”

For a moment, a look of fatigue and annoyance crossed the employee’s face. However, when he saw me, he quickly regained his smile and friendliness.

My cuteness can be a weapon. If that’s the case, then there’s no reason not to actively use it.

For Narin’s sake, and for me.

“There are quite a few people who lure incompetent foreigners who are not familiar with modern civilization, register them as family members, receive support money, and abuse them. Of course, I am not saying that the complainant would do that, but such cases have led to the establishment of such a system. I need to hear about the background of the foreigner from how the two of you met. Do you have time?”

“Uh, wait a minute, I’ll just call the guild. They’ll be late… … . You can go ahead and do it.”

“Then let me ask our cute lady first. How did you meet the person who will become your older sister?”

“We were abandoned on the street, and Na-rin-ni picked us up! Oh, and when I say we, I mean Ham-shik and I. I was really cold and sleepy, so I woke up and Na-rin-ni picked us up! ”

And my cuteness attack was effective. I didn’t have to lie, so I spoke honestly and cheerfully, and the office worker was already moved to tears.

When people see something cute, don’t they just not know what to do? And some people who are a bit too overbearing even start to cry.

I guess the office staff is that kind of case. I was a bit skeptical because the weapon called cuteness was more effective than I thought, but I guess there’s no need to stop eating what works.

I’m so smart, Hamshik. Watch over me carefully in Narin’s arms.

“… … Big, then what kind of bad person abandoned the little girl?”

“I don’t know. But they probably weren’t bad guys. They lived with other rats and birds, and they gave us delicious food and toys! Maybe because they were guys, they didn’t say anything rude… …. But they gave us shots once a week as a vaccination, so maybe they were good guys?”

“Vaccination? Once a week?”

Maybe I spoke too long. The employee asked me again. I guess I misheard.

So I spoke a little louder and with bigger hand gestures.

“Yes! Once a week! Oh, and after living like that, some of my friends said they went to good places. But since no one wanted to adopt Hamshik and me, I think we would probably be euthanized. So the kindest man put Hamshik and me in a box and abandoned us. I think he told us to meet someone like Na-rin! ”

“… … .”

I thought I explained it well. But why did the office worker have such a serious expression on his face? Could it be that I am the reason why I can’t be adopted by Na-rin?

I also became worried and looked back at Narin. Narin also had a serious expression on her face and muttered to the staff.

“This, no way… … .”

“Hmm, it seems like the person filing the complaint didn’t know that either. Let’s hear the details later, but where did you live before you moved there? Or do you remember your parents?”

Thank goodness, it doesn’t seem like it’s been patched yet.

I was a little worried, but I thought I should be honest so that there would be no problems later, so I continued to tell the truth.

Of course, if I tell you a story about a past life, you won’t believe me, so I’ll leave that out.

“Uh, I don’t know. Maybe I don’t have parents? When I opened my eyes, I was there. Oh, I know what parents are. Mom and Dad! Anyway, I stayed there all the time, and then Na-rin picked me up.”

This way, I won’t feel bad towards the uncles who abandoned Hamshik and me, and I don’t think it will harm Nalin either.

The old men just took me in when I was adrift, but when things got worse, they released us. Narin is a kind person who picked us up.

I hope that Narin won’t have any problems adopting us.

The office worker who had been quietly listening to my story asked another employee next to him a favor.

“Okay, I see. Hmm, Min-hye. Can you go over there and play with the little girl for a bit? We have to have a difficult conversation with the complainant.”

“Oh, you’re not going to sell me somewhere… …? I’d cry if I wasn’t next to Na-rin!”

No matter how cute I was and how ignorant I was of the ways of this world, I knew that I wasn’t just some ordinary little person.

I am a rare creature. I don’t know if I am genetically related to humans, but some people might think that just because of my rarity, I have value.

Luckily, Narin is willing to take me in as her little sister, but the story is that there may actually be someone who wants to buy me as a pet.

If we are sold to a rich man, we may become materially rich. But if that man gets tired of us, can we be sure that we won’t be abandoned like this?

So I didn’t want to be separated from Narin. So I hugged Narin’s finger tightly, and the staff spoke to me as if to comfort me.

“Absolutely not. I play where my sister can see me. You see the table over there? I eat snacks and drink cocoa there.”

“Um… …. It has to be a place where you can always see Na-rin unnie.”

“Of course. It’s right next door. It’s just that adults have to talk about boring things like the law.”

Speaking of law. At that sound, I immediately changed my hand.

If you’ve held out this long, it’ll be okay. It’s not like I’m betraying you by leaving Na-rin alone to go eat snacks. If Na-rin is upset, I can just bring her some snacks.

But in the midst of all this, as if he was looking for something sharp to eat, Hamshik suddenly jumped out of Narin’s arms.

When the office workers flinched in surprise, Hamsik stood proudly next to me and waited for me to listen to him.

Anyway, I have a good sense of smell when it comes to food.