episode_0001

… … … … …

“Sorry, sorry… … !”

Sister Seoyeon’s voice trembled as if it was about to break. The sound felt distant, like an echo from far away.

My sister’s hot tears fell on my cold cheeks, and the temperature difference made the current situation feel unreal.

“Autumn, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry… … !”

My sister kept apologizing to me, but the words were becoming more and more meaningless.

I want to answer her. But for some reason my mouth won’t move, and no sound comes out of my throat.

“Ugh… …ugh… ….”

The sound I managed to squeeze out was so faint. My sister’s hand, surprised by the sound I managed to squeeze out, lit up again, and I completely lost my voice.

“Don’t forgive me, sister. But I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry, I’m sorry… … .”

Her words were a mixture of despair, regret, and a strangely twisted affection.

Immediately, her hands covered my eyes. In the darkened vision, small lights danced and flickered. They gradually faded away, like a fading consciousness.

Why did it turn out like this?

… … … … …

Dimensional gate.

It is a kind of passage connecting Earth and another world, which opens at a random location on Earth.

The beings that invaded Earth through this dimensional gate were extremely diverse.

There were extremely aggressive and hostile invader races, gigantic monsters that sought to destroy everything, alien horrors that drove humans mad just by contact, and even a very small number of peacefully migrated intelligent beings.

After dimensional gates first appeared on Earth, before human civilization devised a countermeasure to direct the creation of dimensional gates to specific areas, human civilization on Earth suffered great damage from invaders.

Many countries were destroyed, and those that survived the invasion are said to have suffered irreparable human and material losses.

And my life too… … everything changed because of the dimensional gate.

My entire family, except for me who was very young at the time, lost their lives in the dimensional portal invasion.

It is said that almost all records were lost in the chaos, and to make matters worse, the shock caused selective amnesia.

Because of that, I don’t know my parents’ names or what they look like. My name, Autumn, wasn’t given to me by my parents, but by me at the orphanage.

This alone would have been quite unfortunate, but my misfortune did not end there.

On his 19th birthday, he was kicked out of the orphanage and immediately became penniless after being pickpocketed.

But, as they say, life is like a blessing in disguise. Even in my extremely unfortunate life, good luck came. That luck was――

“… … are you awake?”

“Oh, yes! Sister! I’ll prepare breakfast soon!”

It was my older sister Seoyeon who picked me up when I was starving to death on the street.

… … No, it seems a little different. It seems like I was given to someone and Seoyeon took over, and we started living together… … .

“………….”

At that moment, as if a switch had been flipped, other thoughts filled my head.

That doesn’t really matter. What matters is your sister’s business.

… … I had other thoughts in the middle of the conversation, but Seo-yeon is a truly kind and wonderful woman who takes in a stranger and feeds, clothes, and puts him to bed.

I wanted to repay her for at least some of the favors she had shown me. That’s why I volunteered to be her housekeeper.

“What are you talking about? Your meal is already ready. Come and eat.”

“… … … Yes.”

But as things were now, Seoyeon didn’t want to make me do anything.

Not only was it household chores like cooking and laundry, but I even had to bow my head several times to beg for help with part-time work at the supermarket, to the point where I reluctantly accepted.

“Sis, you have to go to work soon, so chew your food thoroughly. You can’t leave any vegetables behind, right?”

“Of course! I’m not a kid!?”

My face turned red at her words that treated me like a child. As soon as I answered, Seoyeon came over and hugged me.

“That’s too bad. I like it when Ga-eul continues to be like a child.”

“Uh, uh… … .”

Sister Sooyeon’s large, plump breasts can be clearly felt even through her suit.

I honestly don’t hate hugs like this… …but somehow, I feel strange… … .

Sister Sooyeon hugged me tightly and whispered about her schedule for the day.

“I have to go into the 12th dimension gate and clean it up… …I might be a little late today. I wrapped dinner in plastic wrap, so heat it up and eat.”

“Yes! I’ll wait until you get off work!”

“Okay, thank you. Then… … Sister, are you going?”

“Okay, wait a minute!”

After coming to my senses from the aftershock of the hug, I ran to the front door and followed Seoyeon. She was already putting on her shoes and getting ready to go out.

“That, Sister… … Don’t get hurt, and be careful on your way back.”

At my words, Seoyeon was slightly surprised and then turned to look at me.

Her short, dark blue hair gently framed her face, and her clear eyes of the same color stared at me.

Her stylish and neat suit gave the impression that she was a socially successful woman.

But even under that suit, her voluptuous body couldn’t be hidden. My sister’s graceful curves… … were so overwhelming that they sometimes made me feel strange.

“Okay, Autumn. Don’t worry. As you know… … Sister is pretty strong.”

The warm smile that spread across her lips enveloped me like the spring sunshine.

Seoyeon’s words were true. Seoyeon, who was ranked among the top-ranked Awakened people who were called superhumans, had the ability to manipulate the brain.

At first glance, it seems like an ability that wouldn’t be helpful in combat, but that’s actually not the case.

Sister Seoyeon grew her muscles, strength, and density by regulating the secretion of hormones from her pituitary gland, and by disabling the safety mechanism of the muscles that grew in this way, she surpassed human limitations.

She could, I know, hold a thick block of wood with both hands and tear it apart, or push a truck all by herself.

With such strong physical strength and fighting sense, Seoyeon has gained strength that can be called superhuman, and thanks to her hard work as an Awakened, she has saved enough money to buy a house like this in the middle of Seoul at a young age… … I heard.

“… … Oh no, this is not the time! I have to eat breakfast and go to work!”

When I looked at my watch, it was already 8 o’clock. I had to hurry up and eat the breakfast that Seoyeon had prepared for me and start getting ready for work.

It was painful, but the time was coming.

… … … … …

As the automatic door of the mart opened, a cold breeze from the air conditioner greeted me.

But my steps toward the staff break room were extremely heavy. There was no particular reason for this. It was because I didn’t want to go.

“Oh, a pretty girl is here?”

My shoulders shrank involuntarily as I heard the mocking voice of the female part-timer next to my ear.

Let’s ignore it, ignore it.

As I passed the female part-timer, took out my uniform from the locker, and stared into the mirror, I saw a face that was often mistaken for a woman’s. It was none other than my own face.

“… … … Sigh.”

I wasn’t born this way because I liked it. I wanted to be a big, strong, and cool guy.

“He’s handsome but can’t do his job well. Why did they pick him?”

“Well, didn’t you seduce her with your body?”

As soon as I came out after changing my clothes, I heard the female part-timers who disliked me giggling and gossiping behind my back.

Be patient. You have to be patient. Even if it’s dirty and deadly, you have to make money.

As I entered the workplace, a male employee approached me. Of course, it was definitely not because he felt sorry for me being bullied and wanted to help me.

“There. If you’re going to work, don’t be late and go over there quickly to move the logistics.”

“… … Yes.”

He gave me brief instructions and then turned around without even looking at me properly.

My heart ached as if it had been stabbed by such deliberate indifference, but unfortunately I had no idea how to turn that groundless malice into kindness.

“… … Ugh… … !”

The box full of goods was extremely heavy, but no one offered to help.

Ignore them, or giggle and mock them.

From my coworkers or part-time workers, who I commonly refer to as colleagues, there were only two things I could receive.

Ah, I want to be comfortable. Like Seoyeon said, would it be right to just do nothing and live with her?

“… … No. Stop thinking useless thoughts and get to work, work.”

I wiped away the tears that had welled up in my eyes and decided to get through today as well.

For the future, to become independent in this world as an adult, to repay the favor I received from Sister Seoyeon.

Because I need money.

… … … … …

After work, I came home, had dinner alone, and as the clock neared 12,

I was sitting on the living room sofa waiting for Seoyeon when I finally heard the front door lock unlock.

“Autumn, are you sleeping?”

Sister Seoyeon was safe today too. A small sigh of relief escaped from my mouth.

It seemed like my sister had had a few drinks alone. Her neat face was flushed, and her gait was a little unsteady, but different from usual.

But still, where is this? Fortunately, it seems like he didn’t drink enough to fill his tolerance.

“Sister, how was your day? Are there any injuries that you can’t see?”

“Of course it’s okay. More than that――”

Sister Seoyeon handed over the large box she was holding in her hand.

“Happy 21st birthday.”

“No, noona… … Thank you.”

In fact, even I forgot my birthday.

When I accepted the cake my sister offered me, my heart warmed. I am truly a lucky person to have met such a wonderful and kind person.

“Sister, do you want to eat together? It’s a little late, but… … .”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

Although it was just a suggestion to share the cake, Seoyeon naturally took out a bottle of vodka from the cupboard and placed it on the table.

Oh my, you’re going to finish it all today too.

“Eat moderately, thinking about tomorrow… … ?”

“It’s okay. Today is a special day.”

I wanted to stop her, but she’s not the type of person who wouldn’t drink just because I told her to.

Her drinking was an occasional event, usually lasting until she was completely full.

I had no choice but to pour some alcohol into her glass. However, Seoyeon’s drinking binge did not stop with just one glass today.

My sister took a sip of strong vodka and held out her glass, took another sip and held out her glass, took another sip and held out her glass.

“That, Sister… … ? If you keep eating like that, you’re going to be in real trouble… … .”

As I carefully tried to dissuade her, my older sister, who had been bowing her head, slowly raised it.

As expected, her eyes were already filled with tears.

“… … … Autumn, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Today’s injection is about to start. However, I couldn’t help it since I was the one who brought this situation on by asking to eat cake together first. I had no choice but to accept it.

“Hey, what’s wrong, sis? You haven’t done anything wrong to me. If I owe you a favor, I owe you one… … .”

I smiled awkwardly and approached my sister, patting her on the back.

But at that moment, my sister’s expression, which had been just crying pitifully, changed. Her face was distorted with pain, and her once lively eyes lost their light.