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“…It makes me jealous for no reason.”

“…….”

[“Yeah~. What’s there to be jealous of? Dayoung’s the gay one.”]

Bbae Bbae’s admiration echoed in my head, causing Dayoung to cover her mouth in shock.

Ah, what am I saying right now!

‘First, let me manage this…’

“Is that what made you jealous?”

My older sister’s voice was filled with confusion, making me instinctively shrink away.

I mean, how could she not hate me for this?

Honestly, who would like it if I caused a ruckus over just dancing with someone else?

Since we’re both girls, it shouldn’t be a problem at all… I had no argument if someone asked me why I was overreacting.

Why am I putting myself through this ugly jealousy, even coming out about it?

Just then, a cool hand touched Dayoung’s forehead, halting my racing mind for a moment.

“Dayoung, are you okay?”

Concerned eyes met mine, blending together.

As they coolly touched Sehee’s forehead, I could feel the warmth surging up inside me.

She used to be a guy, not just any normal girl… and only I knew this fact.

The irrational justification that it was fine since she was a guy.

The arrogance of knowing only I could stand next to her.

Those murky feelings swirled nonstop inside me.

‘Ah, I’m just…’

Swallowing my true feelings along with the saliva pooling in my mouth, Dayoung took a step back.

Sehee, realizing this wasn’t just a simple rejection, tilted her head slightly and stared at Dayoung, her expression now blank.

Her pair of blue sapphire-like eyes had lost their vitality, filled instead with a mechanical, monochromatic emptiness.

“Do you…”

“…….”

“Do you like me?”

“Uh?”

For a moment, I felt like time had frozen around Dayoung.

“Do you really like me?”

“Uh, no… why are you saying that all of a sudden?”

As Dayoung stepped back again, Sehee, who remained where she was, spoke quietly but clearly.

“You said something similar the last time you came over to my house. What did you say back then?”

[“Yeah, I asked if our Dayoung-gay could touch me, Bitch-Sehee.”]

“Oh right, that. You knew about that?”

[“Pfft, how could I not know?”]

“Huh? Huh?”

How does she know about that?

Feeling my eyes go wide and my mind go blank while looking at her mirroring Bbae Bbae’s words, I suddenly felt a gentle touch on my head.

Sehee softly stroked my hair.

Ah, to think she could do this with such an expressionless face.

So different from her usual self, so alien.

Maybe this was the side of her as a hero we could see in this world.

Unaware of such inner thoughts, Sehee continued speaking.

“I’m not some dense guy from a novel; if you confess openly like that, whether you like it or not, I’ll catch on. If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize.”

“Uh, that…”

I must have exposed something that shouldn’t be revealed.

It was an absolutely dreadful situation, and I desperately suppressed the urge to hide away.

Embarrassed and curling in on myself, Dayoung suddenly looked up and faced Sehee head-on.

Like a veil laid over the moonlight, her porcelain skin and blue eyes, her golden hair woven like threads, and her sculpted features radiated a beauty seldom seen in the world.

If the goddess of the moon, Artemis, existed in myth, she might just resemble my sister now.

As I took a dreamy look at her hair, flowing like strands of gold through the winter breeze,

I realized why I couldn’t deny her words.

“Yeah.”

With a small answer and a nod, like a tiny bird reflected in Sehee’s eyes.

At Dayoung’s not-really-a-confession, Sehee fell silent instead.

I was afraid that her silence reflected self-contempt.

“Well… even if you think it’s strange that I say this; I can understand. But, I can’t help but feel my heart has been changing without me realizing it, like her being a guy before… No matter how much she looks like a girl, I still think about it… That’s why… it’s infuriating that we danced that lotus dance, you know!”

Dayoung blurted out her anxious excuses, trying to calm her fluttering heart.

“I’m a hero, and I know more of your secrets than A-jin. So what do I lack compared to a mere professional gamer? Ha, what am I even saying right now?”

If I didn’t do this, I’d risk breaking everything I’ve built with her till now,

Doing my best to defend myself and affirm my righteousness felt almost desperate.

“Haah, haah….”

My passionate defenses had finally ended.

To leave nothing behind in my mind, I poured everything out, resulting in nothing but emptiness left.

I felt like my vision was fading out as if I were blacking out.

Ah, what’s going on? I’m not even closing my eyes, yet my mind is perfectly clear… why is this happening?

I can’t be stuck in a dream standing up or something, right?

“Ah….”

Just then, I felt a soft sensation in my hand.

Like sunlight creeping through between my eyelids, it rekindled the fading thoughts.

Upon snapping back to reality, I saw Sehee holding my hand.

“Thank you for having feelings for me.”

Ah, seeing her back to her real self, rather than showing a colorless face, made me feel a jolt inside.

Could it be that a ridiculous fantasy I buried deep in my heart was coming to life? A short yet intense thrill washed over me.

But….

“Sorry.”

It was still impossible.

“This might sound strange, but I’m not thinking of falling in love with anyone.”

“…Huh?”

“Even though it’s been a while since I changed into this body, I only truly started living with people since I returned to Earth. At first, I was all over the place. Then gradually, I started bumping into people, talking to them, spending various times, and realized something.”

She was smiling softly and warmly, yet,

“I won’t fall for anyone, regardless if they’re a guy or a girl.”

That was even more distancing.

With such a gentle and tender rejection, Dayoung shivered.

So it ends up like this, huh.

‘Well, this is the right thing.’

Ah, suddenly I felt embarrassed.

Not only did my confession fail, but that confession was also a hideous mass intertwined with murky desires.

I couldn’t even bear to look at her face; I just wanted to run away like this.

And then it happened.

―A sudden hug,

“…Huh?”

Sehee embraced me like a little chick nestled in her warm wings, smiling as she said, “Where are you trying to run off to?”

“……!”

Ah, this can’t be happening. I want to run away.

Even if I screamed inside, it was just an empty echo floating away.

As my body relaxed, I found myself sinking deeper into my sister’s embrace.

In a situation like this, who could not let go of their body and mind?

After some moments passed,

“I’ve been thinking about this lately.”

“…?”

Like the sky studded with stars and the moon shining together, her voice flowed like a melody.

“I wonder if maybe I have a new mission.”

“Mission?”

“Yeah. What kind of mission, you ask….”

Sehee gazed calmly at the starry sky above as she spoke.

“My duty as a hero, a mission to protect you all.”

It was only I who had come as a complete hero,

Not better than any other hero, with the mission perhaps granted to protect those heroes who fulfilled their duties.

Time to think alone outside of my broadcasting hours as a streamer was overflowing, allowing me to contemplate easily.

Maybe… even the desire to summon heroes might stem from this sense of mission.

Whether the principle of saving other heroes as a hero was somehow imprinted in me without my notice.

Of course, it might just be my delusion.

One thing is for sure; the actions I wouldn’t have taken before being summoned into this world felt unmistakably unique after returning to Earth.

“Maybe the reason you liked me isn’t just pure affection, but rather a desire to lean on a hero. That’s what heroes are—a source of support for others.”

“That, that’s!”

I wanted to deny it, but the way she expressed it so peacefully made Dayoung’s mouth shut involuntarily.

“Instead of someone you want to lean on, you’ll find someone you want to move forward with, a wonderful man like that… If it’s you, Dayoung, you’ll surely meet them.”

“…….”

In the end, she wasn’t talking as a hero, but rather as Jisehee, a single person….

“Just do your best with your streaming.”

With warm rejection and sincere encouragement.

“…Huh, sob!”

I should say thank you, so why can’t I get the words out?

Dayoung’s quiet sobs buried in the embrace resonated softly within Sehee’s chest.

How long had it been?

As time passed and the intensity of emotions subsided, only then did Dayoung struggle to gather her trembling voice and spoke.

“You too….”

“Yeah?”

“You know, it’s so sad that you have no one you like.”

“…?”

Dayoung, who no longer avoided Sehee’s puzzled gaze, met her eyes.

“You’re going to save me and A-jin and all the other heroes we might meet in the future. But there’s no one to take care of you.”

“…….”

“That’s just too frustrating. I can’t take on that role. So….”

Wiping the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, Dayoung spoke with her swollen red eyes sparkling.

“I wonder if there’s someone in this world who would take care of you?”

Taking a deep breath, she calmed her turbulent heart.

“Perhaps.”

Eyes closed as if savoring the flow of emotions, Sehee spoke calmly.

“I’ll have to search slowly.”

Dayoung thought her smile shone brighter than any she had previously seen.

“Yeah, let’s search together.”

Just then, Bbae Bbae popped out from the gaps of the bag, flying around while tears filled her enormous eyes, howling.

“Those losers shot a drama, and it was so touching that I was howling and squealing like crazy!”

Sniffling with a handkerchief that seemed to have come from nowhere while wiping her tears was truly ridiculous.

Under normal circumstances, she would have faced some reprimand, but both Sehee and Dayoung burst into laughter.