Chapter 99

R​ead on Kat​ReadingCafe

—
Mama (Fake) and Me. (1)

One page, then another. And another after that.

The more I turned the pages, the more Koyuki grew up in the photos.

She started off in baby clothes, then appeared in the yellow outfit kindergarteners wear. A few pages later, she was wearing a red randoseru backpack.

If there was one unfortunate thing, it was probably that from that point on to the most recent photos, her height hadn’t changed at all.

**”You haven’t grown at all since elementary school.”**
**”It’s not that I didn’t grow. This is just how tall I am, fully grown.”**

Koyuki grumbled softly, clearly displeased by the comment about her height.

Koyuki… most people would call that “not growing at all.”

Still, that was kind of a funny way to put it.
Rather than saying she hadn’t grown since elementary school, she said she finished growing during elementary school.

**”You’re the same height as me now, right? With over 15 years of experience as a short person, I’m telling you—it’s more miserable to say you’re ‘done growing’ than ‘you never grew at all.’”**
**”But I used to be tall.”**

“…”

Koyuki fell silent at my words.

She had always been small, but I had been tall and then became small.

Granted, I wasn’t super tall to begin with—

—but I definitely shrank.

Practically by half, in fact.

**”When I first shrank, I couldn’t get used to it and kept falling all the time…”**

There were days I ended up with bruises all over my legs from tripping.

Still, what crushed me most was not being able to reach the things I used to grab with ease.

These days, I kept things within arm’s reach, and Toya would bring me anything up high, so it wasn’t a big problem anymore.

**”Sorry. I mean… because of me…”**
**”It’s not your fault, is it? If anything, it’s my fault for not knowing I had a twin.”**

Back then, I hated being a twin and hated Koyuki for existing—but now I didn’t feel anything like that anymore.

If anything, I just thought, _“This is my fate, huh.”_

And honestly, meeting Toya and Koyuki had made everything worth it.

**”Oh yeah, Natsu.”**
**”Hm? What’s up?”**
**”Minori was wondering if she could appear as a guest on your stream.”**
**”Ragu-sensei?”**

Koyuki giggled when I used “Ragu-sensei.”

Even though I kept calling her that, Koyuki still hadn’t gotten used to her being called “sensei” and would laugh like that every now and then.

**”Come on, Yeoreum, just call her Minori too! We’re twins, so she’ll like it if you do!”**
**”…No, that’s a little too much for me.”**

Born and raised in the Land of Eastern Etiquette™️, I just wanted to show basic respect.

You could say my brain had been marinated in Confucianism. I was strict about that stuff.

No matter how much time passed, I wasn’t going to casually call Ragu-sensei by her first name like Koyuki.

Koyuki looked like she was about to say the same thing again, so I shook my head quickly before she could speak.

**”Okay, then how about creating an opportunity to get closer?”**
**”An opportunity…?”**
**”Like, for example—”**

Koyuki raised her finger like she had a brilliant idea.

What happened after that was something I never saw coming.

.
.
.

**‘Huh? Wait, this isn’t what I expected? This isn’t what I planned? Huh? Huh??’**
**”I look forward to working with you today, Ichinose-san.”**
**”Ah, um… yes, I look forward to it too.”**

Somehow, I ended up talking with Ragu-sensei.

Somehow, that talk turned into us doing a collab stream.

Ragu-sensei had never streamed before.

At first, I thought she was just doing it because Koyuki pushed her into it—but she didn’t look annoyed at all.

Maybe I was the only one who found this situation weird?

**”It must be tough dealing with Koyuki.”**
**”Ah, no… I think it’s tougher for you, Ragu-sensei.”**
**”…”**
**”I mean! Like, um… both Koyuki and I have health issues! Thank you for always taking care of us!”**

The way she looked at me was intense—but not in a bad way.

There was nothing negative in her gaze, just a kind of quiet warmth.

Still… it made me nervous.

If it were Koyuki looking at me, I’d probably know exactly what it meant.

But with Ragu-sensei… I just couldn’t read it.

**”If only Koyuki were half as well-behaved as you.”**
**”Ah.”**

Ragu-sensei smiled as she muttered that under her breath.

Yeah, Koyuki and I did look identical, after all.

If someone who looked exactly like me acted totally different, I’d be kind of weirded out too.

A cheerful, extroverted Han Yeoreum?

Ugh. That image alone gave me chills.

**”Seeing you two makes me think the whole ‘one twin is the older sibling’ thing might be true. Of course, that would make you the older one, Ichinose-san.”**
**”Ahaha… thank you for saying so.”**

I bowed my head politely at Ragu-sensei’s gentle smile.

I never really thought about who was the older twin.

I was me, Koyuki was Koyuki.

I didn’t have any special admiration for being called “big sister” or anything, so I didn’t really care.

**‘Still, I guess it feels nice to be praised like that.’**

Being called the “older sister” meant she thought I seemed more mature than Koyuki, right?

Of course, even though I felt good hearing it, I also thought Koyuki might be the better “older sister” between the two of us.

She’d been in this body longer, and she seemed like she’d enjoy being called that more.

**”More importantly, I’m glad to see you’ve relaxed a little.”**
**”…Yeah, I guess I have.”**

My heart that had been racing with nerves at the thought of streaming with Ragu-sensei had calmed down.

Wait… this is my stream. Why was _I_ more nervous than _her_?

I tilted my head in confusion and blinked, and Ragu-sensei chuckled softly.

That laugh made me feel kind of embarrassed, so I quickly turned my head away.

—

**[The streamer is live today!]**

**[(Thumbnail: “Surprise Guest Appears!”)]
But really? A surprise guest? I’d rather hear about what happened with Toya;;**

ㄴ[If you’re more curious about what happened after Toya’s confession, upvote LOL]
ㄴ[Upvote ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[(Lost Polar Bear Emote)]
ㄴ[Upvote ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[They probably just laughed it off as a misunderstanding.]
ㄴ[Except Toya sounded _way_ too serious for that.]
ㄴ[Natsu’s reaction made it _really_ obvious it was real.]
ㄴ[Sure it was real, but like, don’t get _too_ immersed LOL]
ㄴ[Who’s the surprise guest? Toya?]
ㄴ[Toya’s a regular at this point;;]
ㄴ[She’s not a guest, she’s basically a permanent cast member LOL]
ㄴ[(Tona-tsu: “Hey, it’s us~” Emote)]

—

**[Natsu’s surprise guest today.JPG]**

**[(A character with glasses and messy hair appears on Natsu’s stream)]
It’s Ragu-sensei LOL**

ㄴ[Isn’t this her first time appearing on stream?]
ㄴ[Yeah, it is.]
ㄴ[Mom-daughter collab stream 😮]
ㄴ[But Natsu still called her Ragu-sensei, not mama…]
ㄴ[??? : “At school, you call me sensei, not mom.”]
ㄴ[Oof, I felt that one.]
ㄴ[Getting some _serious_ reactions…]
ㄴ[LOL]

—

**[I thought Ragu-sensei would _never_ do this kind of stream.]**
ㄴ[It’s her daughter’s stream—she _had_ to appear LOL]
ㄴ[Her voice is amazing though.]
ㄴ[Can’t believe the same person who wrote all those doom-and-gloom Wisps posts has that kind of voice LOL]
ㄴ[LOL]

—

**[And yep, Ragu-sensei is still Ragu-sensei.]**

**[(Drawing of Natsu by Ragu-sensei on Wisps)]
She drew it with her left hand after injuring her right… but why is it so good? Is she secretly ambidextrous??**

ㄴ[Pretty sure she said she wasn’t ambidextrous.]
ㄴ[Maybe she never hurt her hand in the first place? LOL]
ㄴ[“Brother, I have never experienced an injury in my life…”]
ㄴ[That’s insane talk!]
ㄴ[No, she really did get hurt. I heard she started practicing left-handed drawing after Natsu debuted.]
ㄴ[But hasn’t it been less than a year since Natsu debuted? How’d she get this good that fast?]
ㄴ[Well, she had the basics down already.]
ㄴ[Probably just drew all day, every day.]
ㄴ[Is that even possible?]
ㄴ[She _was_ a professional illustrator. Totally possible.]
ㄴ[Still, she’s crazy talented.]
ㄴ[Also, once again she drew _two_ Natsus LOL]
ㄴ[The more Natsus the better, right?]
ㄴ[(Toya Loves It Emote)]
ㄴ[(Toya Thumbs Up Emote)]

—

Fables