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Chapter 4 â Reunion With an Old Friend\nVolume 1\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nAs I was about to go back to my room, Sayaka came down the stairs.\n
âApparently, she had been studying too. Unusually, she was wearing glasses.\n
âOh, sorry.â\n
I moved to the side. As she walked by me, I remembered her feet.\n
âIf you took a bath, you must have removed the gauze. Iâll put it on again, just give me your foot.â\n
âItâs okay already.â\n
âIâll be done in a minute.â\n
The gauze I bought today is stored in the closet in the living room. I quickly turned on my heel and took them out. Then I sat down on the sofa.\n
âCanât help it.â\n
Sayaka sat down next to me, taking off her socks. Then she put one of her feet on top of mine.\n
âHurry up.â\n
âYes yes.â\n
It looked painful once again. Even if it healed, it would probably become a scab.\n
I put some disinfectant on it and then gauze it. Then, as in the daytime, I applied medical tape and wrapped it with a bandage.\n
I repeated the process on the other side, and in less than three minutes, I was done.\n
âDone. Donât use those shoes again.â\n
âYup.â\n\n
I threw away the trash and put the gauze back in the closet. Sayaka was still sitting on the couch even though the treatment was over. She seemed to be tired and leaned against the back of the sofa, closing her eyelids.\n
âAre you sleepy?â\n
âMy head hurts after a long day of studying.â\n
âWas that reference book helpful to you?â\n
Sayaka nodded.\n\n
âMy shitty brother was right, it wasnât that bad. I even figured out what I didnât know.â\n
âIâm glad to hear that.â\n
âI mean, if you were using it too, why didnât you just give it to me?â\n
âAhâ.\n
I had completely lost track of it. I guess we didnât need to bother buying it.\n
âWell, but a lot has been written on it. Itâs better to have a new one.â\n
âIs that so?â\n
I felt like she would fall asleep if I left her like that. Normally she stays up until the end of the day, but after a little study, sheâs like this.\n
âDonât fall asleep here. Youâll catch a cold.â\n
âIâm tired, can you carry me up?ăI donât have the energy to go up the stairs.â\n
âOh, come on.â\n\n
But no matter how much I say, she doesnât seem to move. I had no choice but to put my arms around her legs and back. Then I lifted her.\n
This is what is commonly called âprincess carrying. But itâs not a sweet thing like in shoujo manga. Sheâs surprisingly heavy, and Iâm worried about hurting my back.\n
âDonât drop me.â\n
She said to me with her eyes closed. The thought of having to climb up the stairs in this state was very uncomfortable.\n
Oh well.\n
I walked up the stairs with Sayaka in my arms.\n
It was still hard. Every step I took, I felt the lactic acid build-up. When I somehow managed to finish climbing the stairs, I could hardly raise my legs.\n\n
I stepped into Sayakaâs room.\n
It seemed she was really studying. Her desk was littered with study materials. The computer was turned off, and there were no bags of snacks or other trash.\n
I removed the glasses from Sayakaâs face and placed them on the desk. Then, I put her on the bed and pulled the covers over her.\n
It seemed that she had already fallen asleep. She was breathing soundly in her sleep.\n
She is still a child, I think. She looks like a child, but she is also a child inside. Even though she is now a high school student, I guess she still wants to be pampered. Even now, sheâs sleeping so comfortably.\n\n
I stood up and looked around the room.\n
There are a lot of games, but itâs still a girly room. The curtains and bed are pink. There are lots of cute clothes hanging in the open closet. There are many kinds of hair elastics and hair clips, all placed in one case.\n
She also likes to read novels and has a small bookshelf full of them. Most of them are for girls. She loves the handsome characters and gets excited every time she reads them.\n
Itâs very different from my room.\n
âbut itâs also bad to stare at it too much.\n
Thatâs what I thought, and I was about to leave.\n\n
And I realized, Sayaka was clutching the hem of my clothes.\n
I wondered if she was awake, so I looked at her face. However, her eyes were still closed. Her breathing interval hasnât changed either.\n
Maybe she was just drifting in and out of consciousness.\n
I tried to pull her hand away. At that moment, I heard a voice.\n\n
I couldnât help but laugh. I donât know what kind of dream sheâs having, but sheâs mumbling the exact same thing she said to me before.\n
I wonder if I look overwhelmed.\n
A lot of things happened today. Yamazakiâs case is one of them. When I was hanging out with Yamazaki, I was not a good person. I wonder if thatâs why I felt uneasy.\n\n
You see, Sayaka.\n
Iâm not straining myself. Iâm just doing it because I want to.\n\n
I replied in my mind. But I didnât say it out loud.\n
The strength left Sayakaâs hands. Her hands came off the hem of my shirt and it dangled under the bed.\n
I put her arm back on the bed and started to walk away.\n
Sayaka didnât call out to me anymore. I could only hear her regular sleep breathing in my ears.\n
I turned off the lights in her room and closed the door. As I did so, I said good night in a quiet voice.\n
I shut the door behind me and let out a deep breath.\n\n
Thereâs nothing to worry about. As your brother, I will do what I need to do.\n
No matter what happens tomorrow, no matter what happens to me, I want you to stay the same.\n\n\n
That is the best thing you can do for me.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: Last episode of this chapterâŠSuch a caring brother⊠\n\n