Munch munch munch.
Glance glance.
I sat at the kitchen table, watching Chris's reactions while stuffing cold chicken into my mouth.
Although we didn't reheat it in the microwave, it was surprisingly okay. Chicken doesn't lose much of its taste even when eaten cold. As long as it hasn't been in the refrigerator.
Chris's expression sitting across from me was still not very good. With a deeply dejected face, she mechanically chewed the chicken.
Crunch crunch.
"Ah."
I was startled.
Why does the sound of chewing chicken sound like that?
Looking closely at Chris's face, I saw she was crunching even the bone part of the chicken leg.
Does Chris unnie like bone-in chicken?
The meal time felt like sitting on a bed of nails.
It was too uncomfortable.
Why had our usually peaceful meal times become like this?
Why was Chris unnie so depressed?
Actually, I knew. This was all because of me. Even though Chris got off work early for once, not only did I not play with her, I left her alone and played by myself.
It might be unreasonable, but somehow I felt a little angry too.
Actually, I have nothing to be guilty about.
What I do with my time is none of Chris's business.
Who is unnie to me? Is she my guardian or something?
"Hmm..."
Come to think of it, she is my guardian.
Even though I'm an adult, with my body like this, there are many inconveniences in living without Chris's help.
Munch munch.
She was still chewing chicken with a dejected face.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to be angry. Still, there was a need to cheer her up.
"Umm..."
I put the rest of the chicken I was eating into my mouth and fell into thought for a moment with puffy cheeks.
What could be a way to cheer Chris up?
First, I should honestly tell her what I was doing.
'I played with another girl all day instead of unnie. We patted each other, held hands, and even hugged.'
"Uhh."
I broke out in a cold sweat.
Somehow I felt strongly that I shouldn't say it like that.
Okay, Seulbi. Calm down and analyze Chris unnie's personality first.
Our relationship has been going on for almost a year now.
Chris unnie likes me very much.
She always wants to keep me close, but she doesn't put the brakes on what I do.
But what is our relationship in the first place?
Close sisters?
Actually, it feels a bit different.
Chris wanted to monopolize me. She was extremely wary of my contact with others, regardless of gender.
Come to think of it, it wasn't much different when I was a hero in the past. All the women around me showed similar reactions to Chris. Saintess Elena, Melissa too. ...Of course, Elaine was a bit different.
It's not just close sisters.
Then, I guess we're very close sisters.
I nodded to myself in understanding.
The way Chris looks at me and the way I look at Nagi are probably similar.
Let's recall what I liked Nagi doing for me while playing with her recently.
Running up to me, smiling brightly. Twisting her body and making cute gestures.
There seemed to be a word that called all these actions.
'Aegyo'. (tl/n: cute, childish behavior)
I gaped blankly.
If I show aegyo, will unnie's mood improve?
But how do you show aegyo in the first place?
Throughout my past life and current life, I don't think I've ever shown aegyo.
...Probably.
When I'm in Rain's body, I feel younger. It might be possible then, but to do such a thing in the state of Seulbi with the mindset of a perfectly normal adult woman?
Chris, who had been eating with her face buried in the table, raised her head and looked at me with puzzled eyes.
"...Rain, what are you doing?"
"Ha!"
Chris's question brought me back to my senses.
My thoughts had been too long.
Nodding to myself, sweating profusely, mouth agape. I must have looked like a complete weirdo.
"A-Ahem. It's nothing."
It seemed my mind had returned enough to converse.
I'm not sure, but I guess I should just do actions that Chris unnie likes.
Whirr.
I put down the chicken I was eating and wiped my hands clean with a wet wipe. Then I maneuvered my wheelchair, which I was using as a chair substitute, to Chris's side.
Click.
And I stuck close to Chris's side.
"...?"
Question marks seemed to float all over Chris's face. Her dejected face didn't change completely, but judging by how her body twitched, there seemed to be some reaction.
"Unnie."
I pressed my body as close as possible to Chris's side and looked up at her face.
With lots of apology and affection.
"Ughhh...!"
Chris swallowed hard.
Oh, there's some reaction.
This is the sound Chris usually makes when she's in a good mood.
Recalling what Nagi did, I twisted my body slightly left and right and continued speaking in a voice full of apology.
"I'm sorry I couldn't play with you even though you got off work early today."
"I-It's okay! Did something happen? Were you doing some resource acquisition content somewhere? If you're short on gold, just tell unnie. ...No, you don't need to report everything you do to unnie, right. Hehe!"
Chris's mood seemed to have improved dramatically. She grinned widely and blushed slightly.
I tilted my head.
Why did it turn out like this?
I stared blankly at Chris's side touching my body.
Does Chris unnie's anger dissipate quickly when my body touches her?
I pressed my body a little closer to Chris's body.
Smack.
"Huk...!"
Chris gaped blankly.
Come to think of it, when I was sick before, I slept in the same bed with Chris. That morning, Chris seemed to be in a very good mood.
It seemed like Chris's mood would clear up completely if we slept together today too.
I whispered softly in her ear.
"Let's sleep together in unnie's room today."
"Ah... Aah..."
Chris let out a moan.
"...Pink?"
When I entered Chris's room after washing up, there was a pink blanket spread on the bed. I giggled at the sight of it.
The color choice is completely girlish. Chris unnie has a cuter side than I thought.
"U-Um."
Chris seemed to have finished washing up too. She cleared her throat unnecessarily while looking elsewhere, dressed in her pajamas.
Hug.
Chris lifted my body from the wheelchair and laid me on her bed. Then she lay down next to me.
I stared at Chris's face lying next to me.
Chris's face visible under the faint night light seemed somewhat flushed.
Chris quietly looked at my face and suddenly burst into laughter.
"K-Kuh! What am I thinking?"
"...?"
After shaking her head roughly for a moment, Chris soon pulled up the blanket to cover me up to my neck and patted my body.
"Sorry, was unnie's expression very scary earlier?"
"U-Um. A little."
Honestly, it was very scary. In some ways, even more than standing before a powerful demon.
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to pay attention to you lately. I've been raising a newbie recently."
"A newbie?"
"Ah."
I covered my mouth slightly at Chris's question.
I blurted it out without thinking.
It was like that with Nagi too, I seem to be the type who can't hide my thoughts. Well, I didn't have long conversations with people before, and I didn't have anything to hide either.
Actually, there's no need to hide it. I decided to confess since it had come to this.
"Yes. Astria Online lowered the age limit to 12 this time, right? So, the other day when I couldn't hunt..."
Lying in the same bed with Chris, I talked about the adventures I had with the swordsman girl 'Nagi'.
Pat pat.
Chris laughed out loud when she heard about the safety guard incident where milk came out of monsters. She swallowed hard when I told her about Nagi facing the Black Wyvern alone. She listened to my story with various reactions. All the while, one hand kept patting my back.
The time spent chatting with Chris was very enjoyable.
I realized we hardly ever had time like this together before bed with Chris unnie. I was always busy just playing Astria Online. I should have had times like this in reality more often. No, I can start having them from now on.
"I see. You should have told me earlier."
"U-Um. That's."
How can I say, 'I thought you wouldn't take it well if I said I was playing with another girl while neglecting you'?
For some reason, it felt like I was doing something bad to Chris.
"It's okay. You just played with her because you found a child smaller than you cute, right? You must have thought it was admirable that she wanted to do dungeons alone."
"Yes, that's right. It felt like I was seeing my past self."
Nagi is amazing. What other newbie would think of soloing a 4-person elite dungeon besides me?
"...And you said this Nagi kid has quite a high synchronization rate. So that's what you were asking me about before."
"Yes. I was curious after seeing Nagi."
"Hmm..."
Chris fell into thought. I wonder what she's thinking. Since she's a virtual reality expert, is she analyzing what kind of case this is?
I stared at her face.
Cherry-like lips. Sharp eyes with a hint of green. The red hair I love, spread like a thread on the pink blanket. I like her thoughtful expression too, it's cool. She's like a beautiful female researcher fighting against evil organizations across time and space.
Looking at Chris's beautiful face calms my heart. And it makes me feel good.
She's such a grateful person, I've been too much lately.
Tomorrow I should go on an adventure in Erins Gorge with Chris unnie.
As I quietly stared at Chris's face, I felt my eyes slowly closing.
I'm sleepy.
I fell into a deep sleep feeling Chris's hand patting my back.