Human A and Human B are homeomorphic.
[For U in Para-Compact Space X, when Xu is a complex space that is locally compact in an open cover U, the function p: ΔXu → ⨆Xu=X is homotopy equivalent.]
If all humans were donuts, the world would have been much simpler.
[Prove that the projection from ∆X to Γ is a fiber bundle when all functions from X are homeomorphic complex spaces.]
“Ugh! My head hurts, I can’t do this…”
Brrrrr! My body trembled like I was swimming naked in the winter sea.
I cleared off the hologram tab and pulled the heater closer to my bed.
I learned one thing: adding a spoonful of topology to a cold can be a big problem.
Thanks to that, the double headache event had begun.
I curled up under the blanket, shivering.
Knock knock-
As the door swung open, a multitude of light particles poked my eyeballs.
“Villain appearance! Are you feeling alright?”
I grasped the bed railing and slowly lifted my body.
I was so dazed that I didn’t even have time to fix my disheveled hair.
Moistening my desert-dry lips, I said, “I feel fantastic.”
“You’re seriously dying. Your voice is completely gone. Here, take this Tylenol.”
“Thanks. Just leave it there. You shouldn’t catch what I have, so hurry and go.”
I was the type of person that medications rarely worked on.
To be exact, it seems I have significantly less Cytochrome P450 enzyme than other people. Or maybe not.
The medication prescribed at the hospital wasn’t enough, so Saetbyeol bought me another Tylenol from the pharmacy.
Thud-
Cheon Saetbyeol tore open the medication packaging and handed me a pill.
I could have done that myself.
But instead of handing it to me, she popped it into her own mouth.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Should I feed it directly to you with my mouth?”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”
“Why so serious? Then I’ll just have to eat it robustly.”
She grabbed the 2L bottle of water I had left on the desk.
The patient tilted the bottle to her mouth and gulped down the water.
Gulp gulp. “Ahh. This water tastes good. But it’s a little lukewarm; I prefer cold water.”
“Hey, you’re gonna catch my cold!”
“I already caught it, you know? I’m taking the meds in advance because I’m scared of getting sick later.”
“Really?”
Sniff sniff—
Saetbyeol made a nasal sound as she wiped her nose.
“Sorry…”
“Why apologize? I was kind of expecting to catch it anyway. But what were you watching? No way it was… that kind of video, right? You’re still too young for that! Hee hee, really?”
Saetbyeol lifted my blanket.
Light seeped from the hologram projector, revealing the major textbooks I had been looking at.
[Algebraic Topology by Hatcher]
[Medicine Rehabilitation]
[Clinical Pathology by Heyler]
[Quantum Field Theory by Weinberg]
[Computational Organic Synthesis by Larousse]
[Counterexamples in Etheric Circuit Theory]
“Wow, why did I even open that? What the heck are you looking at?”
Saetbyeol freaked out and shoved the hologram screens away.
I collapsed back onto my pillow.
“I’m bored. If you’re not letting me use the internet, I have to pass the time somehow.”
“Here’s your meds.”
Nom.
“Did you read all of this in one day? Are you out of your mind?”
“No. If I just focus on one, I can finish it in a day, but that’s way too boring. So, I rotate through several.”
“That’s still the same thing.”
Chew chew-
I gathered saliva in my mouth and swallowed it along with the pill.
Saetbyeol stared at me blankly, then wrapped me up in my blanket and rolled me over to the other side.
“?”
“Now this is my spot, heehee!”
Plop-
“If you’re lying down, at least change out of your school uniform…!”
“Ooh, should I take it off here? Are you going to help me?”
“I… I’m going to take my meds and sleep, so just don’t disturb me.”
“Aw, come on, let’s play. Ta-da! Na-me Kimbap! Kimbap zooms away!”
“Whoaah!”
Saetbyeol wrapped me up in my blanket and hugged me with arms and legs.
She lifted me high overhead, despite me being the sick patient.
This is patient assault, no, torture.
I had no choice but to declare unconditional surrender and agree to stay still next to her, signing an unfair treaty.
“Today, I played soccer with the kids from Class 6, and guess what? I scored 2 goals! Let me tell you how I did it, so listen closely.”
Saetbyeol grinned widely, revealing her fangs, as she sketched a virtual soccer field on the ceiling.
“Do you know Song Eui-chan from our class? He was playing right-wing, and I made a super stylish through pass! The ball went through the defenders like a miracle from the days of Moses!”
“Uh-huh.”
“Then I hid behind the defenders, waiting for the cross to come in, but I mis-timed it and just nudged the ball with my shoulder, and bam! Goal! Is that not the best goal ever? Even you think it’s amazing, right?”
“Did you play soccer with the boys?”
“Yeah! I’m better than most of the boys. Haven’t you heard of the Gu-ryong High School Bomber?”
Shaking head-
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that absurd nickname.
Saetbyeol’s tales continued from there.
Even with her fingers acting out the story passionately, I totally lost track of the context in my head.
“Do you know how to shoot with a clothesline? You wouldn’t know this, right? Right in the middle of your foot. This spot, see?”
Saetbyeol lifted her leg and brought her dirtied white sock right up to my nose.
The musty sweat smell hit me, and I scrunched up my face.
“Please move your stinky foot away.”
“What’s wrong with my foot smell?! Sniff sniff It’s fragrant! Take a good whiff.”
“Wait, don’t take that off here!”
Thud thud—
The little grains of sand that had been hiding in her sock fell onto the blanket.
“Adella!”
“Oops, sorry… We can just clean it up. Come on, let’s get you up. One, two, three!”
Saetbyeol grabbed my armpits and pulled me out of the blanket burrito.
She sat me down on the chair next to the heater and planted a kiss on my damp bangs.
Peck-
“I’ll clean everything up in no time, Na-me boss!”
I watched Saetbyeol diligently shaking out the blanket, rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand.
Despite her doing all this irritating stuff, there was something oddly endearing about all her actions.
She seemed to easily get along with high school friends, regardless of gender.
‘How enviable.’
I was feeling a primal emotion of jealousy born from the destructive impulses of an infant.
I clutched my chest and bit down hard on my teeth.
It’s alright to feel envy now, it’s a completely natural emotion.
Haa… Haa…
My pulse raced, and my breath became ragged.
Fear, once engraved in the soul, does not easily vanish.
“Are you okay? Does it still hurt a lot?”
Saetbyeol crouched down to check on my condition.
“Yeah. I’m totally fine.”
“I cleaned the bed spotless. I swept up all the sand on the floor too. Let me help you get back.”
“No, I can walk by myself.”
It was only three steps anyway.
As soon as I stood up, my vision went black, and I felt dizzy.
In the end, I had to rely on Saetbyeol for support.
I lay back on the bed and pulled my blanket over me.
The blanket smelled the same refreshing scent as before.
“I sprayed some fabric spray because you said it smelled bad. I only sprayed a little in case it made you dizzy.”
“Thanks…”
Then, she casually perched herself on the edge of the bed as if nothing had happened.
I kinda get it now.
Her actions never held any malice.
She didn’t calculate or weigh her actions either.
But at the same time, she was incredibly perceptive and had a mindset built around considering others.
What’s more, everything she did was amusing, interesting, and each conversation brought something new, so it never felt tedious.
“You’re pretty popular at school, huh?”
“Did you just find that out? Sister, I couldn’t even count the boys I’ve made cry at school! But why?”
“Just curious…”
I couldn’t admit the thoughts I had just had; I felt too embarrassed to get the words out.
“Don’t try to kiss me… I’m grown up too.”
“No way, that’s too harsh! Is this what they call the 4th grade disease? Scarier than the 2nd grade disease? My Na-me Unni is going through puberty…”
“I’m not. I’m not!”
“You’re 9 years old, so what?”
“Because we’re family.”
“Eh, being siblings allows it, but if it were anyone else, they’d get locked away.”
“Is it really like that?”
“Yep! Or else, is there another reason? Is my breath bad? That’s strange because I usually brush my teeth well. Huff huff.”
I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut.
Now, it seemed that Saetbyeol wouldn’t treat me like a sister anymore.
I pulled the blanket up to my chin and drifted into thought.
Am I 9 years old, 34, 59, or perhaps 25 when I faced death?
Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if these discussions held any meaning.
In this world, there are 20-year-olds with the wisdom of a 60-year-old and 60-year-olds who are even ruder than a 10-year-old.
But abusing the status of being a 9-year-old always came with great guilt.
When a 9-year-old solves the KGSAT that even high school seniors struggle with, the people around cheer and raise them up.
It always felt like I was receiving excessive praise compared to my abilities, which made my conscience prick.
So maybe, consciously or unconsciously, I tried to avoid being treated like a child.
Especially since I feel like I was completely deceiving Saetbyeol, who thought of me as a cute little 9-year-old.
If I had been in the shape of my past life, I wouldn’t have received a surprise kiss on my forehead.
As Saetbyeol pressed her lips against my forehead again, I pushed her face away with my hand.
If she had a puppy tail, it would have been drooping in disappointment, showing that gloomy expression.
“Save your kisses for your first love later.”
“Aww, but my first love is dead forever…”
“Did you have a first love? Wait, what do you mean by dead forever…?”
My heart sank.
Thud!
‘Did she… die…?’
Did I just make a huge mistake?
Cheon Saetbyeol placed her hands on her hips and shifted her gaze elsewhere.
“Sigh… life is really bitter…”
A deeper sigh than ever escaped from her lips.
I gripped the blanket nervously.
She opened the curtains and gazed at the distant mountains outside.
And how much time passed?
“If you tell this to my sister, I’ll kick the blanket tonight. Should I say it or not?”
“Since you went through the trouble of laying the groundwork, you better say it.”
“Exactly? That’s right, huh? Argh, how do I say this! Phew… Okay, alright.”
She let out a loud cry and seemed to gather her courage.
I straightened my waist, preparing to listen earnestly.
“Honestly, this is Na-me Unni’s fault too. So, you have to promise not to tease me.”
“Yeah. I’ll never tease you, no matter what.”
“I’m not the kind of person who normally acts like this, okay? My inclinations aren’t firm, but I honestly thought I liked boys more than girls.”
“So…?”
Why did she suddenly bring up her preferences here?
I had no idea which direction the conversation would take.
“So, um… Ahhh! Phew. So, here’s the thing. You see, ever since I was born, I’ve been trapped in this weird world, that game world.”
What came out was a shy tone I had never heard from her before.
Saetbyeol fiddled with her silvery hair, flicking her eyes rapidly.
“And…?”
“To be honest, I see this as a case of implied intention. If someone with a beauty that can charm anyone in just one second saves you at the cost of their life, isn’t it normal to fall for them? Right? My point is valid, right?”
“What are you talking about? I don’t quite get it.”
“My avatar in the game! My first love was your game avatar! Wahhh…!”
Saetbyeol’s face turned as red as a tomato, and she started tapping her feet anxiously.
“What?”
“But what’s happening? The beautiful sister is nowhere to be seen, and a kid appears instead. I’ve… I’ve actually always thought that if you were like me, an ASI, then maybe… Just maybe, you escaped from the game world too…”
“…”
“That day, my world came crashing down. My pure love was utterly trampled.”
With Adella’s shocking and tragic confession, I was left speechless.
The embarrassment engulfed Cheon Saetbyeol, making her face explode like a volcano.
She kept smashing the mattress with her fists.
“That’s the truth…”
