It's morning.
Your right palm throbs from the knife cut, but when you look at the well-sealed bandage, you realize you're lucky your sister didn't get stabbed.
I open the door to find my sister in an apron preparing a meal.
"Are you up?"
"...Yeah."
Last night was a big one.
I don't want to go through that again.
I almost lost my sister.
For me, a major event that could have been traumatizing has passed.
But Miyuki, in front of me, hasn't been through that.
"I love you♥"
"...."
She wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me.
I can't push away now.
What if Miyuki crosses the line?
Such worries seep deep into my body.
Miyuki sees my expression and says.
"Yeah, good, you're back as my big brother, huh? Although the water is a little deep, fufu."
She poked her finger into my cheek and spun around casually.
"I made miso stew. I'm sorry about your hand, I shouldn't have hurt it, but it might feel good to feel my brother's love...♥"
"...."
I can't do anything.
This is what happens when you become the object of an obsession.
*****
Ding, ding, ding.
The bell rang, signaling lunch break.
Miyuki, her smile back on her face, looked back at Kaori in the back seat with a blank expression.
Miyuki said.
"Your eyes are still puffy."
"...Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine now, I was prepared for it."
"...Um, you're not going to tell me who your crush is?"
"That's right, you won't even show me your brother's picture."
Miyuki giggled.
"Right. Right. It's not like I'm in a position to tell you!"
They went up to the roof.
They shared each other's bento and talked.
"...My brother. He's back to himself again."
"That's good. Was he lying when he said he had a girlfriend?"
Miyuki shook her head.
"Well, I don't care anymore. Even if I did, I gave her notice to break up with me."
"...I see. That's interesting."
"What?"
Kaori didn't answer, but thought to herself.
"It's oddly timed with Keigo's breakup notice.
But no matter how she looked at them, she couldn't imagine them as siblings.
They didn't look anything alike.
Besides, Miyuki's brother wouldn't look anything out of the ordinary.
Kaori stopped her thoughts there and said.
"So now that he's back, you're going to live happily ever after?"
Miyuki shook her head.
"I think we're back to normal... but from now on, I'm going to cross the line a little more."
"Cross the line?"
Kaori's eyes widened in surprise, and Miyuki smiled brightly.
"Yep! Kissing is forced, but I've done it. What's next after kissing?"
"After kissing? You can't be..."
"Yeah. That's right."
Miyuki whined.
"I'm going to give my first to you."
"What!? Is that real?"
"Yes!"
"But I think your brother will stubbornly refuse... it just goes with the flow."
"That's the thing. I've put a condition on him doing one for me."
"Sounds like a deal. Your brother is quite the man. If it weren't for blood, I don't know any man who would say no...."
Kaori trailed off, as if she suddenly had a question.
"But how did you suddenly reconcile with him, and what were the conditions?"
"That's...."
Miyuki laughed coldly, then stopped.
"Secret♥"
******
Kaori left early after lunch, claiming to be sick.
Now that I've been informed to stop seeing her, there's no bottom to it.
-I'll go see her myself.
Kaori puffed out her chest and walked to Sangil High School, where Keigo attended.
As she approached the closed gates, a security guard noticed her outfit and said.
"Aren't you a student at Seoryeong Middle School? What are you doing in class?"
Kaori answered honestly.
"Oh, I got out early because I'm sick, and I want to see my brother for a while, could you please open the school gate?"
"Did you even call your brother?"
"His cell phone was turned off, but I know what class he's in."
"Okay."
The gate opened and Kaori crossed the playground and entered the school.
It was the end of fifth period, and the high school students were exiting through the half gate.
They stared at Kaori, a pretty girl in a Seorheung Middle School uniform, as if she were strange.
"Who is she? She's pretty."
"Look at her thin legs."
"Are you looking for someone?"
Kaori opened the door to her third year class.
She walked confidently over to Keigo, who was reading a book in the back of the room.
He was so focused on his book that he didn't notice her approach.
A tap.
Kaori poked her shoulder, and Keigo's head snapped around.
His eyes widened.
"You... how did you get here?"
Kaori exclaimed.
"Ah! The man who knocked up a middle school girl and abandoned her is leisurely reading a book!"
Kaori's bombshell of a statement turned the attention of everyone in the class toward Kaori and Keigo.
Kaori shouted again.
"If you get her pregnant and abandon her, that's it! You're a man... town."
Keigo covered Kaori's mouth and shouted an explanation.
"It's not like that, it's a misunderstanding. Let me just calm her down for a second... No, I'm leaving early today."
Keigo dragged Kaori out the door, almost as if he were carrying her.
The class was in an uproar over the big scandal, and the rumors quickly spread throughout the school.
******
I left school early and took Kaori to a coffee shop far away.
We were both in our school uniforms at such an early hour, and I could feel the extra attention, but Kaori smiled brightly with a confident expression on her face.
"So, how are you feeling?"
"...You."
"I'm sorry."
Kaori stood up and bowed.
"But if I don't do this, I have no excuse to see you, right? It was bad enough that you broke up with me over text, not even giving me the details."
"...I'll admit I was mean about that."
"Okay. I'll take that as a sign that I'm being mean too!"
"But I can't see you anymore."
"Why, do you have a girlfriend or something?"
"Not really, but... it's something I can't really talk about."
"Hmm. I see."
Kaori sipped her coffee.
"Keigo-brother. I can't give up on you."
"What?"
"If you're going to give him up, at least take my body and throw it away. Let the rumors be true, I want your seed, do you know what I mean?"
Suddenly, I realized.
That the look in Kaori's eyes was one I'd seen many times before....
It was similar to the eerie feeling I used to get when my sister looked at me....