Isn't It Love?

The walk home was a little awkward.

Only five minutes had passed, but no conversation happened between this two siblings.

Kai glanced to his right. Risa, his little sister, just stared ahead in silence. Only the small sound of her sipping milk through a straw accompanied their awkwardness.

"..."

"... What are you looking at?" Risa asked, her eyes still straight ahead, not looking at her brother. "You’ve been really weird... lately since... that."

"Hmm... why do you say that?"

Risa finally turned to look at Kai, tossing her milk carton into a trash can near where they were walking. Her gaze was full of suspicion toward Kai.

"I don’t like sweet foods, you know it. So... why you seem don’t know what my liking or not"

The pudding from yesterday, huh...

Kai remembered when he swapped his snacks with Risa’s pudding. Maybe he was still thinking about Mimi and assuming all girls liked sweet things, so he didn’t realize that Risa is quite... different.

Besides, the game didn’t mention that Risa disliked sweet foods. So he just completely forgot.

Ah... would it be bad if I just said I forgot your preference?

Kai looked at Risa’s face. Her eyes were sharp, like she was interrogating a defendant in a case.

"I didn’t forget, but don’t eat too many salty snacks. You know right, sweet is make brain work more good."

Kai felt relieved seeing Risa turn her face away. Honestly, speaking without looking at someone’s face is the best way to communicate, even if it’s a little rude.

But siblings don’t know each other that well and can leave politeness aside, right?

Help me... I’ve never been in a situation this awkward with a girl.

In his previous life as Ryan, he was always approached by girls who took the initiative to talk, and he was the passive one.

But now, he was in a strange situation. Risa was a passive girl... well, maybe that passiveness came from the poor relationship with her brother.

Kai thought, if he made up with Risa... would that disrupt the plotline of this world? His position was the antagonist character in Risa’s route.

But... there’s no harm in improving the relationship with your sibling, right?

"Hey..."

"...what," Risa turned toward her brother with slightly raised eyebrows.

"I love you."

"..."

Risa stared dumbfounded, before a blush attacked and spread across her cheeks. She covered her face, turning her face away from Kai.

Kai smirked a little seeing Risa blush. He moved closer, wrapping an arm around his sister’s shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

Risa turned even redder like a tomato, and struggled by pushing her brother to break free from his hug.

"Hey! Kai, idiot, LET GO!!!"

Risa kept pushing Kai, but Kai just chuckled and kept hugging his sister, until finally, little by little, she stopped struggling.

"Stupid big brother..." She pouted with cheeks still red, hiding her embarrassed face by pressing it against the side of her brother’s chest. "...you’re so weird."

"I love you, Risa, just as you are... you don’t need to be like me. Besides, you have your own skills." Kai smiled at his sister now. "So you don’t need to listen too deeply to what our parents say."

That simple statement didn’t come from "Kai" or "Ryan." It came from a brother who truly loved his sister.

There are no siblings who hate each other. Both "Ryan" and "Kai" surely understood that. After all they were both older brothers.

Regardless, in this game’s original setting, he was supposed to be a ’schizo’ older brother. But again, there’s no smoke without fire. And the person inside "Kai" now was an ’outsider.’

And he certainly wouldn’tmake this life constantly at odds with his sister. Besides, a healthy home life is the start to a good life.

At the very least, Kai wanted to make his relationship with Risa better.

✩₊˚.⋆ (￢‿￢) ♡ (｀ε´) ⋆.˚₊✩

At night, during dinner, the Clove family ate together as usual.

Kai and Risa sat across from each other, while their parents sat beside them. Mother sat next to Kai, while Father sat next to Risa.

Dinner went slowly, with talk about the activities they did that day. Their news, and of course, the session comparing who was more tired.

Yeah... a truly harmonious family.

"So, Risa... Mother heard last week you said there was a mock test, right? It’s been a week now."

Mother stared at Risa, putting down her fork and then propping her chin on her palm, ready as if to begin an interrogation.

"I got three A’s, in language, history, and arts. The rest... B’s."

"So you’re lacking in the important subjects: math, physics, chemistry?" Mother said with a slightly disappointed tone. "Haa... study harder, like your big brother. You know, in two year you’ll be in high school, so act more mature."

"..." Risa lowered her head and nodded. She saw Kai make eye contact with her before lowering her head to her food again. "Yes, Mother, I’ll study harder."

Father as usual didn’t say a single word, just enjoying his food.

Strange family...

Kai tried to stay quiet so his mother wouldn’t ask him anything, but of course, mother didn’t stop at Mimi. Her gaze moved toward him, but compared to when she spoke with Mimi, her voice softened a little.

The favorite child truly exists, no matter the family or the world.

"How about you, dear? No more fever?"

"No, Mother," Kai gave a smile and placed his hand covering his mother’s hand, so she could feel his temperature. "I’m very healthy."

Mother smiled and kissed Kai’s cheek. "Good... you made mama worried."

Kai stole a glance toward Risa’s side of the table, where Risa herself was stealing a glance toward Kai.

Don’t look at me with that sad look...

Kai then reached for his mother’s hand and lowered it from his cheek.

"Hmm, yes, thank you, Mom."

"You know, son, how about you teach your sister." Father finally spoke. Honestly, when he talked, it was truly like an absolute command. "Your sister will enter high school next year or so, wouldn’t it be better if you helped her?"

Kai looked toward his sister, then turned his gaze to his father. "Of course, if Risa wants to, I’m always free after all."

Both parents looked at Risa, and of course... it was absolute, a binding command. She had no choice but to nod.

"Perfect. Son, starting now you’ll monitor your sister’s studying. And for you, young lady... don’t disappoint me."

This dinner truly ended with, again, parents giving advice that actually had some truth to it. But sometimes they forgot that dealing with a 14-year-old girl going through puberty shouldn’t be treated like a little child. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Yeah... every parent certainly has their own way of raising their children, even if sometimes they play favorites.

Leaving the dinner table after finishing, Kai and Risa then went upstairs.

"..."

"..."

Kai smiled at his sister, who seemed to still be thinking about their mother’s words. He then patted her back quite hard, making her startle and push Kai.

"Hurt, idiot."

"Do you want to study now or tomorrow? You know, like Mother said, I’ll be monitoring your study progress starting now."

"Ehh... yeah, yeah, yeah, I don’t care."

"Still hate me because I’m our parents’ favorite child?" Kai asked point-blank. He knew without Risa answering his question. Kai sighed. "You know... it’s okay if you hate me. But you know, right? It wouldn’t be ’me’ if he didn’t love his sibling. Good night."

Risa watched her brother enter his room. She looked at his door, walking closer with her hand on the doorknob.

She hesitated whether to turn the knob to continue the conversation or not. But she want... Risa wanted to make up again.

Her brother now felt very different, even though she knew what made him different. Maybe it was because of that drowning incident a week’s ago.

Risa exhaled slowly and turned the doorknob, entering a room she hadn’t entered for the last two years, since she was in 6th grade.

"Big Brother... I want to talk."