My Friend’s Little Sister is Special

“Hey, my little sister is kind of special.”
During lunch, while I was mindlessly stuffing food into my mouth, I nodded vaguely at my friend’s sudden comment.
“My little sister, no, even our family’s piggy would be special to my mom, I guess?”
Though to my eyes, she’s nothing but a snack thief.
Aren’t most sibling relationships like this?
Weren’t we programmed to fight with each other from birth?
I thought this guy must be one of those rare siblings who get along well.
Just as I was about to move my spoon to continue eating, my friend urgently spoke up with “No, no-”
“No, I don’t mean it that way, she’s really special, I tell you? She’s different from other kids.”
“…? I’m sure she is, if she’s your sister.”
Seo Jin-hyuk.
The guy in front of me was a friend I made after we all scattered from our familiar elementary school friends.
In the unfamiliar environment of middle school, surrounded by unknown faces, he approached me when I was feeling awkward.
…Honestly, if he hadn’t spoken to me first, I might not have even thought about becoming friends?
That’s because this guy was so handsome that he stood out even among kids wearing uniforms a span larger, still unable to shed that unique childish look of elementary school.
Now, almost a month into the school year, word had spread throughout the school, and he was being called out for confessions at least once a day from classmates to seniors. Damn bastard.
The guy himself grimaced every time he went to receive a confession, but from my perspective watching from the side each time, it just seemed like the smug complaints of someone who had it all.
Anyway, his sister must be predictably similar, right?
What’s so special about that? Like the guy in front of me, if she’s significantly more attractive than others, that’s what makes her special.
He’d probably curse me out if he knew what I was imagining, but for a moment, I pictured a gender-swapped version of Seo Jin-hyuk in my mind.
If his facial features became slightly more feminine and his hair grew a bit longer…
Oh. Possible.
I hated that the thought “as long as she tastes good” came to mind without me realizing.
Tsk, if our family’s pig had looks like that, I would have treated her like royalty.
My taste turned bitter for no reason.
“…? What do you mean by saying she’d be special if she’s my sister?”
“Doesn’t your sister look like you?”
“Of course she does, we’re siblings.”
“Then your sister must be pretty like you. Isn’t that what makes her special? Don’t tell me you’re building up to brag about your sister, you bastard? What, are you a siscon?”
“Even I, as family, think she’s pretty… No, that’s not it, you idiot. Listen. My sister’s eyes are special.”
“Her eyes?”
What, does she shoot beams from her eyes or something?
Honestly, I wasn’t curious enough to delay my meal, and the standard question among guys when talking about the opposite sex, “So, is she pretty?” rose to the tip of my tongue, but Seo Jin-hyuk’s expression was too serious to say that.
I tilted my head as if to say “hurry up and tell me what’s so special,” and Seo Jin-hyuk opened his mouth with a somewhat tense expression.
“Her eye color…”
“Color?”
“…changes. According to her emotions at that moment.”
“What?”
Her eye color changes according to her emotions?
I was about to laugh and tell him not to joke around, thinking it sounded ridiculous, but Seo Jin-hyuk maintained his serious expression from before.
…Could it be true?
“…So how does it change? Does it turn red when she’s angry and blue when she’s happy? Does it blink like a traffic light?”
“…That’s roughly correct, but isn’t it a bit much to compare someone’s sister’s eyes to a traffic light?”
“I’m sorry…”
I think my analogy was pretty accurate.
I felt a bit wronged, but I swallowed my words, thinking I might get hit if I said them out loud.
“It doesn’t change that dramatically. Usually her eyes are ordinary black, but when she feels some emotion strongly, they change. Like turning red when she’s angry, as you said.”
“Oh…”
Is this for real?
Honestly, I wanted to tell him to stop lying even now, but if he put this much effort into a lie, maybe I should just go along with it.
Hmm. Then do they turn blue when she’s sad? Or maybe purple?
With my arms crossed and lips sealed, I let my imagination run wild combining rainbow colors in my mental palette, and somehow Seo Jin-hyuk looked nervous.
After a moment of my silence, Seo Jin-hyuk opened his mouth with an awkward expression, as if he understood everything.
“It’s a bit strange, right? Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything…”
“Huh? What are you suddenly talking about? I just think it sounds cool.”
“What?”
Seo Jin-hyuk’s eyes widened at my response as if he’d heard something he never expected.
What’s with him?
“If her eye color changes according to her emotions, you can see that person’s honest feelings. And…”
“…And?”
“Just thinking about it simply, isn’t it fucking cool? Like, do they also change to gold and stuff?”
When I muttered “Pretty and special too? So damn envious-“, Seo Jin-hyuk suddenly laughed with his shoulders shaking.
“…Why are you laughing like that, you crazy guy.”
“No, it’s just that you’re the first person to respond like that. Yeah, I think so too. It’s cool and special.”
“What’s with this sister-bragging build-up? If my sister and I had eyes that changed color with our emotions, we’d just see red whenever we looked at each other, so we wouldn’t even notice the change.”
“Pfft, you crazy bastard…”
It’s true though.
That’s what it’s like with siblings who get along well.
I put another spoonful in my mouth while watching him now laughing with his head bowed.
Ah, shit.
…This bastard, why did he have to bring this up during lunch time, the only enjoyment of my day?
Tears welled up slightly at the sensation of the now cold rice on the tip of my tongue.
**
“Huah…”
On my way home after the long school day.
Around this time a year ago, when I was in elementary school, the sun was always shining brightly on my way home.
Now, seeing the streets bathed in the setting sun’s glow, I could feel the passage of time.
So this is what being a middle school student is like…
The school uniform that felt awkward at first because it was bought a size too big now seemed somewhat familiar as April came.
Hmm… maybe I’ve grown a little now?
As I was moving toward home with a feeling of satisfaction, I noticed a girl standing by the traffic light ahead.
A small height that would probably reach my chest. Wearing a white dress and carrying a pink bag with a cute cat drawn on it. Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be around my sister’s age.
If it were the usual me, I would have passed by without caring whether such an elementary school student was there or not, looking at my phone. No, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed someone was there.
The reason my gaze was unconsciously drawn to that girl was simply.
Because I heard the sound of sniffling, as if she was trying not to be heard by anyone.
The sight of her standing painfully in front of the crosswalk, hiding her face as if she didn’t want others to see her crying, with her delicate shoulders trembling.
It reminded me of our family’s pig who would be stealing my snacks at home by now.
Before I knew it, I was talking to the girl.
“…Are you okay?”
…Her face is really small.
As I spoke, thinking it was amazing that those tiny hands could cover her entire face, the girl trembled greatly as if she hadn’t realized someone was beside her.
Ah. Should I not have spoken to her? Seeing the startled girl, I wished I could turn back time to 5 seconds before I spoke.
“…sniff Who…are you…?”
“……”
All sorts of words to describe myself, starting with my three-syllable name, flashed through my mind, but I erased them all, thinking what meaning would they have to the girl in front of me.
I just prayed inwardly that my current appearance wouldn’t look like a middle school student in uniform creeping on an elementary school student.
“I’m. Um…”
“……”
“I was just passing by and wondered if you might be lost~ If you’re okay with it, I could take you home, um… what do you think?”
As I activated my brain, which seemed a bit rusty from lack of use, a decent excuse came to mind.
This is it! I thought, and carefully spoke while scratching my head, followed by a moment of suffocating silence.
…Is this not right? I should have just gone home, ah…
As cold sweat began to form and regret was about to wash over me like a wave, the girl’s tightly closed lips opened softly with a sniffling sound.
“…Why?”
“Huh?”
I didn’t expect her to ask for a reason here.
Should I just turn around and run home now? That thought filled my mind, but I somehow managed to erase it.
Yeah. Why indeed? We’re strangers.
It’s just that the sight of you crying.
Looked like my sister crying and searching for me.
Although my sister would always stop crying after I gently hugged her and patted her back a few times, if I did that to this unknown girl in front of me, I might end up facing police officers tomorrow morning, or even tonight.
Therefore.
If I couldn’t hug her, I thought maybe having someone next to her would be enough.
I knew how to comfort my crying sister, but I didn’t know how to comfort a crying girl.
“Just… just because I want to. I have a lot of time, you know.”
But since I couldn’t explain all those reasons.
The feelings that came out of my mouth, repackaged, were just a simple “just because.”
After saying that and waiting for a response, a silence so bitter that the lunch I ate might come back up passed.
…Was that not the right thing to say?
Now really determined to just go home, I was about to turn around when the small fingers that had been covering her face slightly parted.
Through the gently parted slender fingers, I could see pink eyes, wait, pink?
The moment I met those moist, sparkling pink eyes, I thought “wow, she’s really pretty”—no, I was reminded of the conversation I had with my friend at lunch.
“…Are you by any chance Seo Jin-hyuk’s sister?”
“…!”
If this were a scene from a manga, there might have been a “Pa-ba-bak!” sound effect, as the girl instantly backed away from me.
And just from that reaction, I felt like my two guesses were correct.
One, she really is Seo Jin-hyuk’s sister.
And second.
Ha, Seo Jin-hyuk, you enviable bastard. No wonder you’re a siscon.
My friend’s little sister was special.
…In more ways than one.