episode_0057

My first ambitious attempt ended in spectacular failure with a short reply of [Wrong^^].

The moment I saw that playful phrase, somewhere in my heart, I was convinced.

As expected, the person I played with at the sea that day was Haryeong, not Sujin.

I’m not sure why.

Maybe it was because Ran secretly came to my room and told me that Sujin seemed a little strange, or maybe it was because Chanwoo had heard that Sujin was overexerting herself unlike usual.

Nevertheless, I sent the three letters of the name Cha Su-jin as an honest answer.

Even though I half expect it to be wrong.

Maybe it was simple stubbornness.

I want to win this bet on my own.

Three days have passed since then.

After the fun vacation, summer vacation continued like any other.

Yuna went to the library every day to make up for her lack of studying, and Jina suddenly went to school every morning for special summer vacation training or something.

Ran and the twins must have been growing kidney beans as a summer vacation project from elementary school, so they picked up something like a flower pot from somewhere and decided on an order among themselves to grow them with care.

It looked very cute and innocent, but unfortunately, the kidney bean seeds didn’t seem to grow well.

Mainly because of Hayoon, who cheers so hard over there.

Hayun often poured water on the kidney beans without the other two knowing.

I guess I’m trying to make it grow a little faster, but I don’t know if you know that if you water the plant too much, the roots will rot.

…I wonder if that will be an experience of its own.

Let’s just pretend not to notice for now.

Lastly, in the case of Sujin, who I am currently most concerned about, as always, she was lying down on the sofa and doing nothing.

Sujin was just her usual self, yawning with her mouth wide open and mindlessly scratching her stomach while watching TV.

At first glance, it looks like nothing has changed from before going to sea.

That’s why I couldn’t help but have doubts.

‘Why is there no reaction?’

This is not a story about a bet with Cha Ha-ryeong.

If the real Sujin was occupying the current body, there was no reaction at all as expected.

Unlike Ha-ryeong, Su-jin does not share the same memories.

So, the memory of Ha-ryeong moving Su-jin’s body is literally a blank slate.

Let’s say you wake up one day and have absolutely no memory of yourself for a day or two.

The average person would feel embarrassed and ask what day today is, or feel anxious about not being able to remember.

However, after observing for several days, Sujin showed no such signs at all.

Several possibilities immediately flashed through my mind.

The number of cases that Cha Ha-ryeong can do, and the number of cases that Cha Soo-jin can do.

We eliminated them one by one, starting with those with the lowest probability.

The number of cases that had reached two digits was reduced to one digit, and the most likely one was selected, making it possible to understand Sujin’s appearance, which had been difficult to understand at first glance.

“You’re overdoing it…”

Chanwoo was right.

Sujin was clearly overexerting herself.

And make it clear so that anyone can easily understand it.

**

“GG~!”

Loud applause erupted along with the cheers of the commentators.

The 10 players who fought a fierce battle gathered at the center of the stage and greeted the audience.

“Wow, it’s really crazy. it’s crazy. If I hadn’t come for the intuition, I would have suffered a loss.”

“Uh, yes.”

As I looked at Sujin talking to me with an excited face, I couldn’t help but give an ambiguous response.

Well, I have no idea what it is.

As I was staring blankly at the huge screen located in the center of the stage, the match was over.

I could tell that it was Sujin’s favorite game from the familiar UI, but that was all.

It was very difficult to find joy in watching a game I had never played.

Thanks to this, I could not understand at all the atmosphere of the venue, which was filled with excitement after achieving a great comeback.

“You said it wouldn’t be fun even if I followed you.”

Sujin looked at me with apologetic eyes.

“No. It was fun.”

I smiled while looking at her like that.

I was the one who went out when I heard that Sujin, who I thought would stay home all summer vacation, was going out. I also heard that it wouldn’t be much fun if I followed what she said.

“Do you have any other plans after this?”

“Officially, there was a fan meeting scheduled, but unfortunately I missed it… Actually, I was planning to go to see the players from afar, but since my brother is there, I decided to skip it.”

“I don’t have to worry about it? In the first place, I said I was forcing myself to follow you.”

“Ugh. No, it’s more fun to play with my brother than to watch things right now. Even if I ask you to hang out with me, you usually refuse, right? In times like this, you need to replenish your ingredients as soon as possible!”

She is so energetic that she even strikes a fighting pose.

Even among the many people in the narrow dome, she was shining brightly.

After the game, we went to a nearby cafe.

“How do those people view us?”

“In some ways, I guess they just look like siblings who get along well.”

To Sujin’s question while secretly looking at the people around her, she gave the same answer as usual.

“Even if it’s like this?”

Sujin, who was sitting across from me, sat close to me, holding her share of coffee.

Perhaps due to the recent surge in electricity bills, the air conditioner in the cafe was not set that high.

It wasn’t hot enough to make me sweat, but the room temperature was a bit hot for people to be around.

It seemed like the same thing happened to Sujin, as she leaned towards me, and transparent beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. If it weren’t for the iced chocolate latte I was desperately sucking on, I might have complained of being hot a long time ago.

“Now that I think about it.”

After arguing with Mane for a while, I tried to calm it down as casually as possible.

“In the sea.”

“Huh..?”

“Pretend you don’t know anything. You told me at sea I’m worried these days. Don’t you remember?”

“Did I say that?”

Sujin, with her eyes wide open, points to herself with a finger.

It seemed like this was the first time I had ever blinked.

“You said this when you secretly came to my room at night, but have you already forgotten?”

Of course, Sujin has never been like that.

This was just something I blurted out to show off Sujin.

“Um…I’m sorry, I really don’t remember. I think I did it in my sleep.”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it, and if you have any concerns later on, don’t hesitate to tell me. Because I will help you.”

“Oh, how cool is your brother who thinks about his younger sister?”

“You’re black again.”

Sujin joked.

“Where do you want to go next? I will hang out with you as much as I have been unable to do so in the past. So to speak, it is a special service.”

“Oh? really? What’s going on? Then…”

Sujin put down the glass she had already finished drinking, and various stories poured out of her mouth as if she had been waiting for it. Aquarium, zoo, bowling alley, amusement park. The story was so endless that it made me wonder if they were going to mention every place in the world that could be called a date spot.

“Are you planning on going through it all in one day?”

“Ahaha, I guess that’s too much. Still, I want to go to all of them…”

In some ways, it seemed like she was excited to be able to be with her favorite brother, but on the other hand, it seemed like she was trying hard to act like her normal self.

Because Sujin has a tendency to overexert herself whether she knows it or not.

After that, I enjoyed my outing normally.

First, I stopped by the movie theater and watched a movie.

Unlike Jina, it was a very ordinary romantic movie.

We also had meaningless chats in the park after the sun had set.

Although Sujin was the one who mainly spoke, a happy smile was on Sujin’s lips as she talked about what was so fun.

Afterwards, we also stopped by a rather expensive restaurant.

It was especially fun to see Sujin surprised by foods she doesn’t normally have the opportunity to encounter.

“Hey~ I had a fun day today. I really think I had the most enjoyable vacation.”

“Then I’m glad.”

On the way back home.

Sujin, who was walking excitedly in front of me, said as if she was satisfied.

I smiled slightly as I followed her back with my eyes.

“Oppa.”

“Why?”

Then Sujin suddenly turned around and looked at me.

“You don’t have to force yourself to hang out with me.”

“…”

“Are you sorry for not paying attention at sea? Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come to watch a game competition that I had no interest in even if I had been begged to do it together.”

“It’s just a coincidence. In the first place, I didn’t even know where you were going.”

“A lie. It’s obvious. Is it because you can’t play with me because you’re too busy worrying about the other kids at sea? Ah, that definitely might have been a bit disappointing.”

Sujin smiled softly as she said that.

“I know that because there are more people, they no longer care about me like they used to. I’m just a high school student, so I’m past the age of whining about things like that.”

“For all that, you keep making gloomy faces while traveling.”

“Well, would you say that understanding with your head and understanding with your heart are different? It can’t be helped. I’m also a little sister who wants to get my brother’s attention.”

Sujin approached me.

Sujin, illuminated at a glance by the orange streetlight, had a very serious expression on her face, which was very unusual for her.

“Still, I don’t get sympathy like this.”

“…”

“Ah, I was the only one who thought it was a date. I lost a lot by myself for no reason.”

Sujin, who had a momentary expression in her voice, soon returned to her usual bright smile.

“Next time you invite me on a date, be sincere. Otherwise, I won’t play with you either.”

Sujin playfully brushed my chest with her index finger and immediately turned around.

“Well, I saw it back then.”

“What is that? When that happens, I know! That’s how you nod your head!”

“What would happen if you went on a serious date?”

I responded to Sujin’s grumbling words and quietly followed her.

In my head, I was thinking about who I would answer today.