I am back – Chapter 109

The advantage of an indoor amusement park is that, even if it’s cold outside, it doesn’t feel that cold inside. Conversely, in the summer, it’s relatively less hot inside. Of course, there’s a size limit, but still, it’s not as if it’s the kind of cold that would freeze you to death in the dead of winter, so the internal temperature was quite pleasant.

And since it was still relatively early and the sun had just risen, it was chilly outside, but once the sun was fully out, the outside temperature wouldn’t be that low. So, I thought we could enjoy the indoor rides for a while, and when the sun was up, we could head out and ride the outdoor attractions…

But…

“Phew.”

My older sister really couldn’t handle rides.

“Are you okay?”

I cautiously asked her as she sat on a bench, taking a breather.

Putting her hand on her chest, she nodded after a moment and replied.

“Yeah. But I feel a lot better now.”

It wasn’t even a particularly scary ride. My sister and I just rode that big ship-shaped ride commonly known as “The Viking.”

Well, even if it’s a common ride, it wasn’t exactly one that didn’t have its scary moments. Just because there are roller coasters in various amusement parks doesn’t mean that roller coasters are boring rides.

“If it’s too hard, you don’t have to force yourself to ride—”

“Alright, let’s see what else there is!”

As I spoke to her with a worried expression, she clenched both hands into fists and shot up from her seat.

“…”

Looking up at my sister in a daze, she looked down at me and asked.

“Hmm? Aren’t you coming?”

“What?”

Isn’t it a bit strange for someone who was just struggling so much to suddenly say that?

Or did she find it enjoyable, separate from how hard it was?

As I pondered this and that, my sister took my hand and pulled me along. As my feet moved willingly at her touch, she guided me and spoke.

“If we stay too long, more and more people will come. We need to try riding as much as we can before that.”

“Ah, okay.”

… Well, if she says she’s fine.

I wanted to ride a lot of rides with her too.

Honestly, my sister sitting next to me had her eyes shut tight, gripping my hand while screaming her head off. It seemed like she didn’t even realize it.

As for the thrill, I kept watching my sister, who was going through all this in Irrelaysia.

I felt bad for saying this to my sister, but honestly, I thought she was adorable. Even to the point where I wanted to keep looking at her continuously.

… But if it was too hard for her, it would be better to stop riding.

As much as I enjoyed seeing my cute sister, it pained me to see her struggle.

Especially if it was because of me.

*

Honestly, I didn’t like that feeling of falling.

The ride, designed to look like a huge ship, would go up and then suddenly drop, making my butt lift off the seat, giving me a terrifying zero-gravity sensation. Plus, swaying back and forth was making me feel a bit nauseous.

But, how should I put it?

In that situation, Siyun’s presence next to me felt much more intense.

It wasn’t something a much older person like me should say, but thanks to Siyun firmly holding my hand throughout the ride, I felt reassured despite the fear. It was nice knowing someone was definitely by my side, and that someone was Siyun.

Even after we got off the ride, I leaned on Siyun for quite a while.

Though I felt a bit embarrassed because Siyun, who had also ridden with me, had such a calm expression.

… It was just months ago when that kid looked so weak. How did they grow so sturdy in just a short time?

And to think they were younger than me, yet appeared so solid, even though they seemed oblivious to the ways of the world at times.

So it wasn’t long ago that I had been leading Siyun by the hand, but somehow, the positions had switched.

“If it’s too hard, you don’t have to force yourself to ride—”

And when Siyun said that, I snapped back to reality.

No, not yet. I wanted to ride more rides with Siyun.

Even if I didn’t think I could genuinely enjoy them… Actually, I wasn’t quite sure what feelings I had while walking with Siyun.

Was I acting so childish because I wanted to show some dignity as an older sister?

Or was it because of the comfort I felt knowing someone was by my side while experiencing something so difficult and frightening?

My head was a bit confused, but I at least knew one thing.

I was incredibly happy walking with Siyun in this moment.

*

“Phew…”

In the end, as my sister insisted, we tried different scary rides. We rode all sorts of roller coasters in the amusement park… well, there were still a few we couldn’t ride. My sister had started trembling the moment we looked up at the Gyro Drop, and we decided to just skip that one. It seemed to put her mind at ease.

Even though it was a weekday morning, there were a lot of people, so we couldn’t ride all the attractions in that short time. After all, it seemed many people wanted to try the thrilling rides. On a good day, waiting meant tens of minutes, but on a bad day, we’d have to wait an hour or nearly two, so there was nothing we could do about it.

Still, I was glad we could have such an exciting morning. For sheer quantity, we probably rode a fair amount. I felt like we rode more than when I came with my colleagues last time. Back then, we had a packed afternoon but barely managed to ride everything.

However, I wondered if it was a little too exhausting to run around so much with my sister.

“Honestly, it’s okay to say. You’re a bit tired, right?”

“Uh-huh…”

When I asked the sister leaning against me, she finally responded like that.

It felt like all the strength had completely drained from her body, and she rested her head on my shoulder. Her hair smelled lovely. The part of her that was touching me felt very warm, which I liked. Even though I couldn’t say something like that to my sister who was exhausted.

Even while leaning like that, she firmly held my hand and intertwined our fingers. She had been holding on to my hand all day long. Even while riding, she tried to hold on as much as she could. It seemed it reassured her.

Knowing that my sister depended on me like that made me feel proud, but also a bit worried. It definitely felt like she was pushing herself to ride the attractions to match my mood.

“…”

For a while, my sister quietly leaned on me.

The surrounding area was filled with bustling noise. Among the crowds were many couples and families. There were groups of friends as well, but after all, it was still a weekday afternoon. Most were either university students on break or parents who took their children out for the day.

I wonder if schools still do group visits like that these days. The amusement park I had visited before coming to Irrelaysia was usually full only during such occasions. Back then, I would gather with friends, and we waited at the bottom for those who couldn’t ride the scary rides.

… Now that I think about it, this was my first time coming with my sister.

Conscious of that fact made my heart thump.

My sister was still leaning against me, not saying a word. The only sound was her much calmer breathing filling the air.

Being so close to her, the usual chaotic noise of the amusement park felt a bit distant.

“…”

Slowly, I leaned back against my sister, who was resting on me.

My cheek touched the top of her head. I couldn’t tell how she managed it, but her hair felt incredibly soft and nice.

I gripped her hand tighter.

And for a while, we stayed silent, just being close.

Grrrgggghhhh.

It was my stomach making that noise.

I hadn’t thought about eating anything at all while running around so much in the morning.

Maybe my sister, resting her head on me, heard that sound because she let out a little chuckle.

Her face turned red.

Once upon a time, I used to stick to her like glue, but I still didn’t openly express my bodily functions. Especially after realizing my feelings for her, I tried hard to hide that stuff.

So, making such a noise was embarrassing.

“Should we eat something?”

With her head still resting on me, my sister spoke softly. Since my cheek was on her head, I felt her voice resonate as much as I heard it.

Feeling shy, I was grateful my sister couldn’t see my red face.

“… Yeah, I think we need to eat something.”

Before another growl could make its way out, I quickly replied.