Ch.8080. Vines and Citrine (1)

“Ah, wow! Vine, you’re here?”

“Citrus. I don’t know why you’re so excited to see me.”

Citrus welcomes me from her wheelchair.

I’m pretty sure she greeted me this enthusiastically when I saw her the week before last too.

“Wow… how did you guys come up with that idea? A schedule for using Vine. I was surprised when Hyewon sent me that photo. Hehe… Vine, you must be having a hard time, huh?”

“Yes, I’m having quite a difficult time. So perhaps you could go easy on the dress-up doll routine today.”

“Come on, the only thing that gets my heavy bottom moving is shopping with you, Vine.”

“…Was that pun intentional just now?”

“Huh…? I do have a heavy bottom, don’t I? I’m in a wheelchair after all.”

“I see it was intentional… Sigh. I don’t know whether to laugh or… this is awkward. And you directed it at me…”

“Why? It’s not really your fault anyway.”

“I already got an earful from Hyewon.”

“Really? Aw, I could have teased you more… Wait, did you just call my sister by her name, Hyewon?”

She stares at me with surprised eyes, well aware of how I usually address the magical girls.

Then, as if to show her bewilderment, she wheels over to Hyewon and starts shaking her frantically.

“Hyewon, have you gotten weaker? Don’t tell me you’ve stopped training since joining the Association? You’re not going to practice? Not going to the training grounds? Should I visit the Association President’s office again?”

“No, sis… I asked him to call me that…”

It seems Citrus doesn’t like her sister being undervalued by me.

No, I thought it was strange that she would lower her own position after I had shown her higher respect.

Turns out Citrus and I were thinking the same thing. My thoughts weren’t wrong at all.

“What…? Why? Do you know how significant it is to be acknowledged by Vine… Oh. Ohh. So that’s what it was?”

“Sis!”

“Ah, I didn’t know, okay okay. If that’s the case, I’ll acknowledge it too!”

“What? Citrus, is there something else you know about?”

“No, that’s something our little sister needs to tell you herself. Right, our cute villain?”

“Sigh… I thought it would be difficult for sisters to both be strange in the head. But I guess you’re the exception. Anyway, Hyewon said she didn’t have anything planned for today, so what about you… is it the department store again?”

“Yes. But you look a bit different today? Your eyes were beautiful amethyst before, but today they’re more like… obsidian?”

“I asked Ellie for help because I don’t like drawing attention. And for a normal person, a necklace makes more sense than a collar, doesn’t it? Hyewon is maintaining the illusion magic. This should be enough to walk around without attracting attention, right?”

“Yes, from a distance you just look like a pretty little sister. That’s good. Today it shouldn’t matter if there are more people around, right?”

“Hmm… as long as they don’t stare at me. Even though I’m an entity with my own personality, too much attention might make me collapse again.”

“No one will recognize you like this. Since the vibe is similar, we can probably keep the same style of clothes. Ah… good. Let’s go quickly.”

“Ugh… do I have to keep trying on clothes?”

“Of course. But I’ll buy you something delicious in return. Shall we go?”

“I’m not a child…”

“Come on, Vine. Let’s go with big sis to buy clothes, and if there’s anything you want, just tell me. I’ll buy it for you.”

“Ugh… when you say it like that, I have to listen, don’t I? Fine. Let’s go…”

* * *

Today didn’t start off very well.

Just thinking about that young, fox-like cute junior who’s after Vine sleeping together with him irritates me.

Surprisingly, though she didn’t show it, Arin was definitely smiling.

We clearly agreed not to interfere on each other’s days. But from day one, she boldly broke that promise.

I thought I knew a lot about Arin from living with her, but apparently not.

Feeling jealous of my junior as a senior seems unseemly, but… when I think about what Vine means to me.

Our first meeting… no.

After seeing Eden, no, Vine fall apart, the first image I had of Vine was:

The axis of evil I had fought so hard against.

Something that needed to disappear from this world, to be completely submerged in Marina and vanish.

The weed that broke my sister’s wings.

That’s what I thought. But after my sister forgave everything, when I stopped looking at Vine with those eyes:

He was just a small child.

Smaller than Arin, whom I consider young, and even thinner than during the Eden days when I thought he had some meat on his bones.

Did I really need to clear away a tree that had already fallen, breaking its branches in the process?

A revenge that had already lost its meaning, a revenge that never had meaning to begin with…

After that, Vine came to live with us.

My sister, as if without a thought, said she had another little sister and doted on him.

She would call Vine at all hours to go out together, and when Vine said it was hard to face people, she even rented out entire department stores.

She even threatened my supervisor to go shopping with Vine.

Vine should have seen how shocked the Association President was when my sister came crashing in with her wheelchair that day.

Yes, with the sole determination to go clothes shopping with Vine, she left her bakery in the hands of a part-timer and rushed over like that.

At that time, my sister pushing her wheelchair wheels had the same smile she had when she was happy running with dreams of becoming a track athlete, so I couldn’t say anything.

Every time I see my sister’s smile, I wonder if she realizes how meaningless her revenge for her sister has become.

After finishing the shopping that drained Vine’s energy, he would return exhausted but still take care of others first.

Getting up every morning to make breakfast, even when it wasn’t his day with my sister.

On days off, seeing that kindness for longer periods.

For some reason, it all weighed heavily on me.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have drawn my weapon when we first met.

It makes me feel like I’m the bad person.

Yes, when we first met, he looked even more shabby and haggard than he does now.

Plus, he collapsed once.

The day Vine collapsed. My ill feelings toward him had already disappeared with my sister’s forgiveness, and I thought we were just living as ordinary people.

I thought he didn’t occupy a large portion of my heart, or rather, I couldn’t even calculate the proportion.

But when I saw Vine collapsed after training:

First came confusion, and for some reason… my mind became urgent.

Clearly, he wasn’t someone precious to me.

He’s just a housekeeper. I had long let go of the grudge against the former villain. There shouldn’t even be a connection between us anymore.

Why was I so flustered about Vine collapsing?

When we fought at Eden, I would have rejoiced seeing him fall, so why was I worried now?

Without even time to think about it, I was nursing him until he woke up.

When Arin wasn’t around, I worried he might get worse.

After he woke up, I was concerned he might collapse again.

So I tried to help Vine.

“Ah, you crybaby. You just came back from work. This is something I should do since I have free hands. Actually, it’s my job in the first place. Go inside and rest comfortably.”

“Cleaning is my job. You don’t need to worry about me. Oh, if you’re concerned about me collapsing, I should have collapsed hundreds of times by now if that were the case, so please rest assured.”

“Are you having a hard time? Would you like some tea? I have chamomile tea that’s good for you. I’ll bring it right away. Do you like it sweet?”

“Thank you for working hard today as well. Give me your coat and rest for now. If you’re tired, it becomes a headache for me.”

Even with some grumbling mixed in, that caring heart.

Despite the terrible thing I did on the first day.

It felt so good.

But I was wondering if it was okay for me to accept these feelings.

Just then, Yunseul gave me a good opportunity.

This might be a good chance to explore my feelings.

“Hey, Vine.”

“Yes?”

“If it’s hard, you don’t have to try on all those clothes. My sister’s insistence… well, we can distract her with something else.”

“No, it’s not like I’m wearing out from trying on clothes. It’s not particularly difficult.”

“You know, you always look exhausted after going clothes shopping with my sister, right?”

“Me? Hmm… it’s fine. Citrus enjoys it, doesn’t she? Then I should sacrifice that much. Oh, unless that’s what you want from me today… then I wouldn’t do it.”

I gave her an excuse to skip something she finds difficult.

But she chose to sacrifice herself for my sister’s happiness.

And not because of some self-consoling attitude about atonement.

Just out of pure goodwill.

The completely different Vine I’ve observed changing from the Eden days…

Sigh…

“What are you thinking about so deeply? Let’s go. Oh, Citrus, would you like me to push your wheelchair?”

“As if I’d let you pull me along. I’d get scolded by people for making an elementary schooler do the work. I don’t want to hear that.”

“What, you don’t like that?”

“Besides, I get a free pass for the elevator anyway. Hehe…”

“Ah, must be nice for you?”

“Yes. It’s suuuper convenient. Let’s go. Should we start from the top and work our way down? No, let’s go straight to the children’s section!”

“I can’t wear adult clothes either… sigh… with this body.”

“It’s better than not being able to move your legs, so come on, let’s go.”

“Yes…”

Now, I think I’m a little more certain.

These feelings.