I'm Being Threatened by My Sister's Ex-girlfriend. (GL) - Chapter 25

“No, I got caught in the rain all of a sudden. And then I couldn’t find my house keys. Honestly, I thought I was gonna die.”

I could hear a familiar voice from afar. My ears felt muffled, like just after getting off a plane.

“I couldn’t even get into a karaoke place dressed like this. There aren’t any business hotels around here either, and I was just wondering what to do. Then I suddenly remembered you, Tsuguno.”

Hakobe was saying something, but I couldn’t understand it. Only one question filled my head: Why now? Why today?

“So, let me in, Tsuguno.”

“It’s cold,” Hakobe said.

“If I stay like this, big sis is gonna freeze.”

Her pale lips were trembling slightly. That much was undeniably true.

I couldn’t help it; I quietly unlocked the door chain.

“Are you taking a shower for your boyfriend?”

Hakobe asked, her eyes shining with curiosity as she took off her soaking wet clothes in the hallway.

I shook my head. At the very least, it was certain that he wasn’t my “boyfriend.” Seeing that, Hakobe let out a small sigh of relief and patted her chest.

“No, I mean, it’s not great to be dressed like this in front of a guy.”

She stared at my matching set of underwear. Yeah, that’s not great, I thought. On second thought, it might actually be worse than showing it to some random guy.

I grabbed a bath towel from the color box and a plastic bag from the convenience store where I kept used ones, and tossed them at Hakobe. She wrapped the towel around her shoulders and stuffed her wet clothes into the plastic bag.

“Tsuguno’s friend? Do I know her?”

“…You do.”

“No way. Who is it?”

“Just wipe off and get inside quickly. And let me borrow some clothes to hang up.”

It felt like my mouth and body were moving on their own. Without thinking, I hung up the wet clothes on the indoor drying rack and made tea with the water I boiled in the kettle.

Hakobe, still in her underwear, smiled as she warmed her hands with the tea I poured for her.

“It’s been a while, huh? Talking to you, Tsuguno.”

“…It’s only been half a year since New Year’s.”

“Six months, you know.”

She casually added, “I was lonely.”

That’s just like Ichika, to say something like that without any hesitation.

“So, who is it? A friend?”

“Hakobe.”

“Hakuto?”

She tilted her head, clearly not recognizing the name. A flash of irritation rose in me. Why the hell did she forget Hakobe’s last name?

I didn’t hide my frustration and snapped it out, like I was throwing it away.

“Hakobe. Your junior.”

“Hakobe-chan? Wait, why?”

Ichika’s eyes widened in surprise. Damn it. “Hakobe-chan”? Really?

“Doesn’t matter, right?”

“Well, yeah, but… wait, seriously? Wow, the world’s small.”

“Are you Serious?”

Ichika tilted her head. I just wanted to be done with this. My eyes felt hot, like I was going to cry. Why the hell do I have to feel like this?

The sound of rain against the window was getting stronger.

I swallowed a deep breath and said:

“You were dating her, right?”

“Huh?”

“Hakobe.”

Ichika nodded like she remembered. She’d completely forgotten about it until I said it. I almost wanted to kick her.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Something like that?”

“I don’t really care about past relationships. That was just a silly game.”

Ichika said it so casually. Her words floated in the air like balloons, light and weightless. They carried no more significance than something like, “Dinner was curry last night.”

“…You said you kissed her.”

“And?”

“I mean, so?”

Ichika seemed totally uninterested.

“That’s it? Friends kiss all the time, right?”

My vision turned red with anger. It spilled out of me before I could stop it.

“No, they don’t!”

“They do. I do. I kiss anyone—guys, girls, whatever.”

“What?!”

“You kissed me a lot when we were kids.”

“That was when we were in elementary school!”

Ichika stood up silently. Her movements were smooth, like a dancer’s, and I couldn’t even look away.

She put a finger under my chin, lifting my face, and then soft lips pressed against mine.

It was Ichika’s. The lips of her twin sister.

The faint scent of brandy lingered on the breath that I had accidentally inhaled.

“See?”

“What the hell?!”

“I like you, Tsugunomine, but not in that way. But I could kiss you. Though, anything further than that would be a pain.”

That’s obvious. What the hell is she talking about? Ichika… my sister.

I glared at Ichika’s face. Was she always like this? It was like someone else had swapped places with her.

Anger bubbled up inside me, boiling from deep within my gut.

Because Hakobe… No matter how I looked at it, there was no way…

“Hakobe was serious about it. It wasn’t just some test or trial. She was really into you. You were her top choice.”

“Hmm. And so?”

“So, so?” What kind of response was that?

“I still like you, Ichika.”

“I don’t care. That’s Hakobe’s problem, not mine.”

I was speechless.

Those words coming from Ichika? The Ichika I knew—always perfect, always put together, always loved by everyone—those words came from her lips?

“I mean, it’s Hakobe’s choice, isn’t it? She liked me, dragged this out for over a year… what responsibility do I have in that?”

That…

That was—well, maybe true, but…

I was the one who fell for her. I was the one who longed for her. I was the one who chose to get burned in the process.

“Everyone’s so selfish, you know? You get close to me, so I care for you. You make a sad face, so I speak up. You say you like me, so I date you. But why can’t that be enough? Why do I have to like you back?”

“…Well, that’s…”

“Serina’s the only one who doesn’t make things complicated. Serina loves me, and that’s enough for her. She’s fine with it, so I kinda like Serina.”

I stared blankly at Ichika’s face.

Even though we were twins, even though we had been together for eighteen years, Ichika was showing me an expression I had never seen before.

It was a face that seemed to say, “I’m just tired of all this.”

Ichika gave me a quick glance, probably seeing the foolish expression on my face.

“Oh.”

She smiled softly, almost like she had figured me out.

“Tsugunomine, did you maybe… fall for her?”

If you did… sorry. She said it so lightly, before finishing off her tea.

Hayasegawa’s words echoed in my mind. No matter what, the things you want most are always out of reach. Yeah. That was exactly right.

And the things I wanted were always the things Ichika would get.

Somewhere far away, I heard the shower stop.