I am back – Chapter 81

It was a silver necklace.

Maybe it’s not just silver, but it could actually be a genuine silver necklace.

One thing’s for sure: it didn’t look cheap at all.

At first glance, it looked like just a thin silver thread, but upon closer inspection, that thin thread was a collection of neatly cut long hexagonal shapes of uniform length, lined up in the center of the necklace.

Perhaps that’s why it sparkled every time light hit it.

It was pretty.

Well, to be honest, I couldn’t fully trust my eyes. Just a few months ago, I had lived as a man, and I never expected to receive a gift like this.

In fantasy games, there are often magical necklaces that grant specific effects or enhance physical abilities, but in the fantasy world I had crossed into, Irrelaysia, such things didn’t exist. While it wasn’t impossible to create enchanted necklaces or rings, embedding magic stones directly into armor was way more efficient.

Because of that, I had no particular reason to wear necklaces or rings in Irrelaysia. They would likely just get in the way during fights.

That said, even if I thought a necklace or ring in Irrelaysia was pretty, it could be vastly different from what was considered beautiful in this world. In my previous world, jewelry was often extravagant. Maybe it would be fine to wear at a masquerade ball, but it would be impractical for everyday life.

Because of that, my appreciation for the necklace could only be summed up as “It’s pretty.”

“It’s pretty…”

When I quietly said this while gazing at the necklace in my hand, my older sister let out a small sigh. Was it a sigh of relief?

After all, this was the first gift I received from her since coming back to this world. Moreover, it was from someone I had just met two months ago. She couldn’t help but worry about any gift, I suppose.

Whether I liked or disliked something, she was still getting to know me.

“So?”

In response to my answer, my sister showed a slight smile. However, she still looked a bit uneasy.

I had a feeling I understood the reason behind that expression.

So, I decided not to ask her why she was giving me this present.

“I’ll take good care of it.”

My sister was probably reminiscing about my past self. The former me was still me, but in her eyes, I was a different person from the old Cha Si-hyun.

Despite knowing that I had a different birthday from the past Cha Si-hyun, she still felt like she wanted to do this for me.

Thinking such thoughts made my heart race.

It was the mix of feeling that I was gradually becoming a replacement for my past self and the realization that my sister hadn’t forgotten about me.

And because of that guilt and regret I felt toward her.

But at the same time, this gift was also something I was receiving as my present self, not the past me. She wouldn’t have gifted a silver necklace to my past self.

Seeing my sister smile when I responded, I tried to put the necklace around my neck right there.

I needed to hook the clasp from one end to the other, but when I actually tried it, it didn’t go well. It was evidently my first time doing something like this.

As I struggled for a moment, my sister came over to me.

“I’ll help you.”

At those words, my hand that had been wandering in the air came to a halt.

Without needing to hear a response, I didn’t resist as my sister moved closer.

Instead, I slowly turned my body around.

Her hand covered mine from behind. For a moment, our fingers intertwined.

Once I pulled my fingers back, my sister held the necklace.

For some reason, my face felt hot.

My heart was pounding even stronger than before.

I could feel her breath lightly grazing my neck. Had she just let out a small sigh?

There was this odd sensation that someone was watching me from somewhere unseen.

I knew well that eye contact couldn’t be felt on the skin. It’s not like light emanates from the eyes; it just reflects off the eyes to be seen. So, feeling a gaze while turning my back like this is merely a delusion.

But setting that misconception aside, my sister was certainly looking at my back.

I had been keeping up with my visits to the hair salon.

While she didn’t dress up every day as a woman, I hoped she wouldn’t find anything off about how I looked since she saw me every day.

Her hair at the nape was probably styled nicely as well.

I washed my hair thoroughly every day, even after sweating from morning runs. There shouldn’t be any reason for her to be put off by my appearance.

But even knowing that, I felt so anxious about showing my back. What if there was something wrong in a place that I couldn’t see? What if I had tied my hair awkwardly this morning? What if my hair was all awry and looked strange?

Countless thoughts raced through my mind, but since I had already turned my back, I couldn’t take it back.

I was just trying hard not to flinch every time her hand brushed against my nape.

“All done.”

That time felt extraordinarily long but was probably a blink of an eye in reality.

Yet when my sister said those words, I exhaled like I had been underwater for three minutes, my heart racing chaotically. Thankfully, it wasn’t to the point of feeling dizzy.

Before turning around to my sister, I nervously fiddled with the necklace resting on my neck.

The once cold necklace had warmed up considerably after resting against my skin for a while.

At my fingertips, I felt the tiny hexagonal shapes. Unless cared for in detail—no, even if I did care—there was no way I could have known the necklace was formed this way just by touching it. It was clear it was made that way because I had picked it up and examined it closely before.

Taking a small breath, I turned back to my sister.

Then, I let the necklace I had been holding fall around my neck.

Since it wasn’t that long, the necklace rested at the base of my collarbone.

“How does it look?”

Without having changed my clothes, I lifted my arms slightly and pulled them down with a shy expression while my sister chuckled softly at me.

And then for a while, she just stared at me.

Her gaze darted between my face and neck several times.

After a moment of embarrassment passed, my sister smiled brightly at me.

“Yeah, it looks great.”

“……”

Hearing that made me feel ticklishly shy.

“I think anything would look good on you.”

“Eh?”

My sister added another compliment, making me wave my hand dismissively.

“Not everything looks good on me.”

“No, I really think that.”

As I said that, my sister beamed at me.

And then there she was, just looking at me for a while.

At first, that smile made me happy. Although my sister considered my past self and present self to be different people, to me, she remained the same sister I always knew. I didn’t care what kind of me she liked.

Of course, I never thought this relationship would last forever. After all, to her, I was nothing more than a junior in the same workplace. I couldn’t be an object of affection.

It didn’t quite feel like a mere sibling affection… My sister hadn’t forgotten the past me.

I wasn’t sure if my sister genuinely regarded me as a man or if she simply couldn’t forget me because of our familial bond.

But if my sister can shake off those memories, she’d surely start finding new love.

Perhaps that love would help her let go of the past.

That’s why I was content just watching her from close by.

But my sister’s gaze didn’t waver so easily.

The way she looked at me lengthened a little more.

And soon, her smile began to falter, just a tiny bit.

“……Sister…?”

It seemed that my calling her had been the tipping point.

In the end, tears welled up in my sister’s eyes.

“Ah.”

Realizing a moment too late that tears had gathered in her eyes, she quickly wiped them away, but that only led to a cascade of tears afterward.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Having no idea what she was apologizing for, my sister kept rubbing her eyes as she said that to me.

I didn’t know how to respond to her, so I awkwardly raised and lowered my hands.

What should I do?

I heard her struggling to hold back her cries, and ultimately, she broke down.

I didn’t know what to do about my sister like this.

Should I hug her? Should I pat or rub her back?

Could I even do that—

—No, that’s not it.

What foolish thoughts was I having?

My sister was crying.

I should obviously comfort her.

She had always been there for me when I felt lonely or scared.

Even if my sister didn’t see me as I truly was, to me, she would always be my sister.

So when my sister was in pain, it was my duty to help her.

I slowly sat in front of her.

And then, I cautiously wrapped my arms around the shoulders of my crouching sister.

In my embrace, she cried for a while.