Chapter 50
One day, some time later.
With Big Brother's help, I had the air conditioner repaired a little sooner, and I was riding in his car back to my apartment.
“Heave-ho…. This should do it, right?”
“Yeah, thanks, Big Brother.”
Big Brother pulled a large bag out of the car, set it on the ground, and dusted off his hands as he spoke.
“By the way, I understand coming back to your apartment now that the air conditioner is fixed, but….”
Big Brother looked at the bag he had set down and spoke.
“Why did you bring these clothes? Didn't you say you weren't going to wear them?”
“I-I just brought them because it would be a waste to throw them away….”
The clothes I'd brought from home were the women's clothes Mother had bought, rather than the short-sleeved shirts and shorts I was wearing now.
...As Big Brother had said, I definitely hadn't wanted to wear clothes like these.
No matter how well they suited this body or how cute they looked…. I had felt intensely resistant to putting them on.
Still, after wearing them a few times, I had gotten used to them and realized something, too.
Skirts were much more comfortable than I'd expected….
I-I only brought these for convenience and in case I needed to wear them for some reason. It definitely wasn't because I'd developed a new preference or anything! Definitely! Absolutely!
“Hmm….”
But Big Brother snorted as he looked down at me, as if he didn't believe my excuse.
His expression didn't change at all, as usual…. But somehow, that made it feel like he was teasing me, which only annoyed me more.
“It's true, so don't make that face! And once you've moved everything, hurry up and leave!”
I thought I should send him away quickly before he got the wrong idea, so I pushed him, trying to shove him into the car.
...However, Big Brother was quite heavy, and he didn't budge at all even when I pushed with all my strength.
“Honestly, aren't you treating the brother who went to all the trouble of moving your clothes a little too coldly, little sis?”
“I don't have a Big Brother like you, so I'm going to treat you coldly. Now hurry up and go.”
“That's harsh….”
Only after I said that did Big Brother get into the car under his own power, bid me farewell, and leave.
“Phew….”
Only after seeing Big Brother's car disappear into the distance did I let out a sigh of relief and speak.
“You can come out now, Hyeonwoo.”
“...He really left, right?”
When I said he could come out, Hyeonwoo sprang out of the bushes nearby, where he had been hiding.
“Phew…. Your brother is scary even when he's just standing still….”
“Ha-ha, I guess it's because his expression never changes.”
Hyeonwoo must have really been scared, because he stood there leaning against the wall and trembling slightly.
“...Hey, but weren't you less afraid of my brother before?”
“Huh…? Ah, I guess I wasn't….”
“But today, you seem really scared of him…. Did something happen after our night out?”
After I helped Hyeonwoo regain his composure that night, he escorted me all the way home.
He kept saying that it was too early for a girl who looked as young as I did to go home alone, and things like that.
One in the morning really was a time when children shouldn't be wandering around…. But I was an adult, even if I looked like this.
Besides, I could use ice abilities…. What did Hyeonwoo take me for?
Anyway, I got a little sidetracked, but after Hyeonwoo escorted me home that night, Big Brother was waiting for me at the door, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
Big Brother rapped me on the head for being out so late and then took Hyeonwoo up to the rooftop for a while….
Could he have said something to Hyeonwoo that day? I was the one who had asked him to hang out, so I was the one at fault….
“...What did my brother say to you?”
“Uh…. You could say I heard something…. No…. I didn't hear anything…. Actually, forget it….”
Hyeonwoo's complexion somehow looked even worse than it had that day. He pressed himself against the wall and began muttering, “Big Brother…. Why is he so perceptive….? No, this is beyond mere perceptiveness….”
...What on earth had he heard to become so traumatized?
I felt bad that Hyeonwoo seemed to have developed a needless trauma because I'd asked him to hang out.
“...All right! Hyeonwoo, I'll have a word with Big Brother, so don't tremble like that!”
“Huh…? What are you going to say…?”
“Hyeonwoo is precious to me, so don't mess with him….”
“Eek…?!”
When I said that, Hyeonwoo shrieked in horror, grabbed my shoulders, and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Please don't say that…. If you do, I'll die….”
Huh, huh…? Did I say something weird?
Hyeonwoo was my precious friend. I just didn't want Big Brother to butt in and ruin our relationship….
What on earth had Big Brother done to Hyeonwoo?
“M-more importantly, Hyeonwoo….”
“...Yeah? What is it?”
“Um…. You're too close….”
Hyeonwoo was holding my shoulders and leaning his face toward mine.
As a result, there was only enough room for a single fist between our faces-
“Ah, uh…. S-sorry….”
“N-no…. It's okay… okay.”
Hyeonwoo hurriedly apologized, let go of me, and backed away.
Then, perhaps because his hands were cold, he rubbed them together and stared off at the distant mountains.
“Ha-ha….”
I started fanning my face with my hand to cool the heat rising in it.
Why was my face suddenly turning red and heating up?
I-I mean, Hyeonwoo's face did come a little close, but it was strange to get this hot just because of that….
Even when Haruna, whose body temperature was similar to Hyeonwoo's, and the cat sisters I'd occasionally run into after the amusement park hugged me, my body hadn't heated up like this….
Yet, strangely, when Hyeonwoo came close just now, my face had started to heat up.
What was the reason?
...Could Hyeonwoo's body temperature be a little high?
“M-more importantly, you did bring it, right?”
I decided to set the complicated matter aside for later and asked Hyeonwoo about it to change the subject.
“O-oh, y-yes, I brought it.”
Only then did Hyeonwoo come to his senses and take out the suitcase he had hidden in the bushes.
“Here, I put all your clothes and belongings from my place in it.”
Before coming here, I had sent Hyeonwoo a text.
I told him that now the air conditioner was fixed, I would be returning to my apartment, and that I was grateful for everything he had done for me until then.
Along with my thanks, I had sent one more text.
Since I needed to pick up the things I had at Hyeonwoo's place—my clothes and personal belongings—I told him I'd stop by my apartment first, then head over to his place.
“But I didn't expect you to bring them yourself.”
“It's no big deal…. Now that it's getting hot, it must be hard for you to move around, so I'm helping.”
“Yeah, moving around is hard….”
I cast a sidelong glance at the sun beating down on me from above.
The temperature kept rising as summer drew closer.
As a Snow Woman, I was definitely finding it harder and harder to endure the heat.
Even now, I was only managing because I was standing in the shade. If I were in direct sunlight, I probably wouldn't be able to chat this leisurely.
I hoped the medicine Senior was making would be finished soon….
"Since it's starting to get hot, should we take the luggage upstairs?"
"Yeah!"
======
Once we carried the luggage upstairs, my long-missed room came into view all at once.
My House was back at last!
It was smaller than Hyeonwoo's house or my family home, but it was cozy enough….
It wasn't cozy. It was cramped. Yeah, it was cramped.
Our very narrow little home was visible in its entirety from the entrance.
Now that I was living in a studio apartment again, it seemed far too small….
I kind of wanted to mooch off Hyeonwoo and live at his place….
“By the way, you got the air conditioner fixed earlier than expected, didn't you?”
Hyeonwoo set down the luggage he was carrying and spoke while looking at the repaired air conditioner.
“Yeah, Big Brother knew a dwarf mutant, and apparently he repaired it while he had some free time.”
“Big Brother has more connections than I thought….”
Normally, the repairman wasn't supposed to come for another month, but thanks to Big Brother's connections, we were able to finish the repairs quickly.
"...What a shame."
"Huh?"
Hyeonwoo seemed to mutter something while looking at the air conditioner, but his voice was so quiet that I couldn't make out what he'd said.
Hmm…. It probably wasn't anything important.
"By the way, it's rare for a dwarf to repair an air conditioner…. They're usually known for making weapons."
“My brother said he asked him half-expecting it not to work, so he was surprised that it actually got fixed."
According to Big Brother, his dwarf friend had said, 'Might as well give it a try,' and fixed it in an instant.
"But he said he fixed it using forbidden technology, so if it breaks again, we'll have to buy a new one."
“I see…. Wait, did you say forbidden technology?”
Hyeonwoo was about to shrug off what I'd said, but he suddenly looked at me in shock when he heard the words forbidden technology.
“I don't really know either, but he said it was a dwarf ability, like my own….”
Mr. Dwarf told me that he had repaired the air conditioner using technology unique to his race, like my ability to control cold or Ms. Chaeyeon's Squirrel Thunder.
This was basically a clearance sale on superpowers….
"Is it really okay to turn this on?"
"Well, he gave us an instruction manual, too, so it should be okay…."
I took out the instruction manual Big Brother had given me and showed it to Hyeonwoo.
"Was there anything strange written in it?"
"I haven't read it yet, so I don't know."
"What?"
"An instruction manual is for cowards! A macho man like me doesn't need one!"
"What's this about being a macho man…. You're a girl…."
"Anyway! What could be so special about an air conditioner? You just flip the switch and whoosh-whoosh! It works!"
"That sounds like a flag. You should read the manual after all…."
Hyeonwoo wore an anxious expression as he tried to read the manual.
That's the problem with this kid, I tell you. He worries about every little problem, and that's why he ends up with so many worries.
Even during our last night out, he worried himself sick over and over again, and he's still like this. Your big sis is worried about you, Hyeonwoo.
“Switch on!"
Unlike the worried Hyeonwoo, I wanted to feel the cool air from the air conditioner right away, so
I set it to 18 degrees with the fan on high, then pressed the remote, and-
FWOOM-!
"Eh…?"
As a result, the air conditioner suddenly made a strange noise and fell apart in midair.
...Huh?