Siblings Working in Business (208)
“Oh, s-sorry.”
Eun-ji, surprised to see Briquette crying, hesitated, her resolve weakening.
『If you’re sorry…』
Although the voice was that of a man, the sight of the black cat tearing up was endearing.
…She thought.
『H-hug me…』
“What?”
Eun-ji felt a stiffness in her neck, spreading down her back.
『Y-you always hugged me when you came home…』
Briquette stammered, but he got his point across.
Eun-ji mentally replayed her past actions towards Briquette.
She had done all sorts of things…
Rubbed his belly…
Let him nuzzle her cheek with his pink bean pads…
Slept cuddled up next to him…
Casually changed clothes without caring if he was watching…
Hugged him tightly the moment she came home, showering him with affection…
“Fuck.”
This was mortifying.
Eun-ji’s eyes widened.
The betrayal and embarrassment were beyond compensation.
Would it have been better if his voice was even slightly higher-pitched?
“You…”
Eun-ji’s low voice, as she quietly called out to Briquette, sounded like a tiger’s growl.
Ring—
Just then…
A phone call, like a savior to Briquette, came at the perfect time.
“Hello.”
Eun-ji’s voice calmed as she saw it was Eun-ho.
Briquette seized the opportunity and shouted,
『Save me! Why did you leave?!』
“Shut up, you pervert.”
Briquette flinched at Eun-ji’s chilling glare and slowly backed away.
Eun-ji, hearing Eun-ho’s news about staying out, paused, a thoughtful expression on her face.
She instinctively turned and headed towards the living room.
Just then…
“Lee Eun-ji…?”
It was the moment Eun-ho called out to her.
Click.
‘Don’t tell me.’
Eun-ji’s eyes widened in surprise as she turned around.
‘That little…!’
Although Eun-ho staying out would have usually bothered her, she had no time to worry about it now.
While Eun-ji was in the living room, Briquette quietly closed her door and, somehow knowing how, locked it.
“Hey!!! Get out of my room!!!”
『Th-this is my territory now!』
“How dare you claim my room as your territory!!!”
『You said so yourself!』
Eun-ji sighed, clutching the back of her neck, at Briquette’s shameless reply.
「“Haha, our Briquette, do you like your new room?”」
「“This will be Briquette’s room from now on. Aww, I love you so much!”」
She had said those things, in that cutesy voice.
But of course!
“That was when I thought you were a normal cat!!!”
She ignored the rest of what Eun-ho said, gave a cursory reply, and hung up.
She rummaged through the drawers where she usually kept her keys, determined to reclaim her room.
After searching for a while, she found a set of keys.
The first key wouldn’t fit, only going halfway into the lock; it was probably for Eun-ho’s room.
The second key, however, slid smoothly into the keyhole, as if it was meant to be.
Click.
The lock disengaged, and as Eun-ji entered, Briquette was trembling on top of the cat tower.
‘This… ha.’
Now she saw, it was all because of his deceptively cute cat form.
He looked so adorable that she kept wavering between anger and affection.
“Briquette.”
『…』
“Don’t come into my room anymore.”
『…Are you going to kick me out now?』
Who could coldly say “yes” to such a pitiful plea?
And she hadn’t intended to kick him out anyway.
Where else would this weirdo go?
“I’m not kicking you out. I promised to take care of you.”
Eun-ji replied with a sigh and turned on the lights in the dark room.
Briquette finally peeked out from the cat tower.
“But from now on, you stay in the living room. I’ll move the cat tower and your litter box to the living room.”
『…』
“If you’re hiding anything else, tell me now. If I find out later, I won’t throw you out, but I will beat you up.”
Although she said she would beat him up, she knew she couldn’t bring herself to lay a finger on him.
She would probably just pat his butt at most.
While Briquette remained silent, Eun-ji continued,
“And I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I’m listening now.”
『…』
The harsh words she had spoken, flustered by his sudden tears.
“Tell me everything you’re hiding. I’ll believe you.”
Briquette cautiously met Eun-ji’s gaze, his yellow eyes meeting hers.
『Really…?』
Although she had pressed him, overcome with shock, all her anger melted away the moment she met his yellow eyes.
Right.
It would be better if he could talk.
He could tell her when he was hurt, and they could communicate.
Unless he suddenly turned into a human, Briquette was still Briquette…
Although she felt betrayed, he was still her beloved new family member, the one who protected her during those scary nights.
“So you’re a god. What were you going to say after that?”
Gods, like humans, had hierarchies.
Their powers and authority differed; they couldn’t all be equal.
Since everyone was equal, there had to be someone higher up distributing and managing, so his position wasn’t particularly high, but he wasn’t powerless either.
He was a forgotten god, his name lost to time, his power too weak to be called a ‘god.’
The power to intertwine fate and destiny.
It seemed like a great power, but it could only be used once in hundreds, even thousands, of years.
And he had to bear the consequences himself.
It was a power that could change his own fate according to the will of those whose fates he intertwined. He would have to relinquish everything to ascend, but there was no one he trusted enough to entrust his fate to…
Other deities assisted kings and received offerings as priests, but he couldn’t find anyone worthy.
But perhaps because he was supposed to seize fate when given the chance, after hundreds of years, there was no one left to see him, let alone anyone to intertwine fates with.
Even the descendants of those once praised as heroes had faded with time.
His own power dwindled with the increasing indifference, and the time for him to leave this world was approaching.
His massive earthly shell shrunk and shrunk…
As if his time had come, his human form diminished, becoming a free-roaming insect, the threads of fate thinning.
And the insect’s worries became his worries.
Even the precious food offered out of goodwill was often poisoned, making him wary of eating anything.
Wandering like that, even clean water became scarce.
Just as he was about to leave this world, his given power unused…
This child’s small act of kindness bought him precious time.
But for this child, who lived a fleeting life compared to him, that day was her time to leave.
Screeeech—
Hearing that dangerous sound, the sound he had heard countless times throughout his long life, coming from the child connected to him… it felt like his heart was being torn apart.
Overcome with grief, he acted on a whim.
Initially, he tried to ascend with the child.
He reassured her repeatedly, telling her it was a good place.
Up there, he could properly repay her kindness, the gift of precious time.
Although he was a forgotten god with no authority, he could at least comfort a young soul.
But the child refused to go.
If time passed and her soul became tainted, she wouldn’t be able to ascend.
He tried to persuade her, again and again, but her gaze was fixed on her brother.
Even if he paved a flower-filled path, she wished to return to the thorns, and he couldn’t bear to leave her.
So he stayed with her.
And he continued to try to persuade her, hoping she might change her mind.
He told her that humans, who lived such short lives compared to him, had a strong power of forgetting, and that her brother would eventually forget as well.
He comforted her, encouraging her to let go and ascend.
But she was stubborn.
Not just her…
Like father, like son, or in this case, like sister, like brother; her brother was just as stubborn.
He clung so tightly to his sister’s diary, as if it held the promise of her return…
There was no room for forgetting to take hold.
As he endured in his insect form, his heart softening, he grew fond of these siblings.
However, the child, having lost her physical form, had to be reincarnated.
But she refused to go, and she had nowhere to settle, so there was only one option.
There were many forms of time, and he pleaded with one of the more laid-back ones.
The others were too strict and wouldn’t listen, so he had no choice.
But even this one was still ‘time,’ and it ignored his plea, citing causality, despite his friend’s wish.
There was no other way.
He had to do it secretly.
He rewound time and fled.
A thunderous roar, like a bolt of lightning, echoed through the heavens.
But he had been too hasty.
The child hadn’t yet returned to her body.
And since it wasn’t done properly, he didn’t have the power to fix the causal gap. He had to meticulously weave the threads connecting the child’s body, time, and soul with his own small, insignificant form.
Reweaving fate was a difficult task.
But surprisingly, her brother was a great help.
And now, the child had settled.
It would have been nice to end it there, but there was still an unresolved issue.
Recently, when the child returned to her body, time descended to fill the causal gap.
Anxious, he couldn’t help but approach the siblings himself.
That’s why he was here.
Time was a god ordained from above, and he was a being who ascended through spiritual growth, so their inherent powers differed.
He wasn’t confident he could confront time, but he believed he could at least protect the child connected to him, so he stayed.
“Wow…”
Eun-ji listened to Briquette’s story, mesmerized.
『Is that… enough?』
Briquette asked cautiously, and Eun-ji, still dumbfounded, spoke,
“Briquette, I’m really…”
『…Yes?』
“Really sorry, but…”
『You… still don’t believe me…?』
“No, that’s not it. It’s…”
Briquette tilted his head, waiting for Eun-ji to continue, seeing her hesitation.
“I’m really sorry, but I didn’t understand anything after the middle part.”
Eun-ji could feel Briquette’s mood souring.
Although she hadn’t realized it until now, old habits die hard.
As she listened to Briquette’s story, she had unconsciously pulled him onto her bed and was now cuddling him, just like always.