My Favorite Has Started A Live Broadcast!

The sun was gradually climbing between tall buildings, but it was still dim due to the clouds, and in a dark semi-basement, someone was sleeping with a pleased expression.

The complex look on her face from before she fell asleep had completely disappeared, and there was only one reason for it.

“Ugh…”

Was this a dream?

Feeling strangely languid and unwilling to move, I somehow managed to lift myself up, and the sight before my eyes was nothing short of magnificent.

Huge, fluffy white lumps of fur were sprawled out everywhere.

“Ooh… What is this?”

Carefully approaching and touching one of the lumps, it was genuinely soft.

When I pressed on it, my hand sank right in, and as I leaned my body slightly against it, I thought about staying like this for a while, but I pulled away from the lump of fur.

Off in the distance, there was a pink, round ball radiating an intense aura that was incomparable to the fur lump.

“…”

Swallowing, I slowly walked toward the ball.

Tap—

When I pressed the ball, it bounced back with a certain elasticity, pushing my finger away.

“Huh…?”

Suddenly, the ball disappeared.

I looked around to find the ball that had vanished from my sight, but the delightfully soft lumps of fur had also disappeared.

“Uh… Where did it go…?”

I woke up from the dream, not sure if it was a good dream or a nightmare. The place was, as usual, my semi-basement and my bed.

I was about to retract my hand, which was awkwardly extended forward, back under the blanket when I noticed something.

There was something with the white fur and round pink nose like I’d seen in my dream.

“Ah… right…”

I stared at the little kitty lying there, belly-up, with its short legs stretched out toward the sky like a dead bug, but it wasn’t disgusting or unpleasant at all—if anything, I just wanted to keep looking at it.

“………”

Its breathing was much more stable compared to yesterday, but the belly exposed from being flipped over proved that it had not been eating well.

Wondering if it had rolled over, I pulled the cat, which was sleeping precariously on the edge of the small bed, toward me and covered it with a blanket before I got out.

“Ahhh…”

Stretching out of habit, there was still no sound, which I hadn’t gotten used to.

“Feeling lazy…”

Just getting out from under the blanket and putting my feet on the cold floor made me feel tired already.

My throat felt clogged too…

“Ah, ah…”

After drinking a glass of water to check my throat, it still felt quite hoarse.

“Kind of… similar to Chocoa…”

Although it wasn’t as severe, my voice reminded me somewhat of Chocoa’s sleepy voice.

Amused by the unexpected huskiness of my voice, I changed my clothes.

Since it was going to rain until at least tomorrow, I skipped socks and put on other warm clothes.

“Ah… an umbrella…”

The only umbrella I had had blown away in the wind last night.

“……What am I supposed to do with this…?”

I opened the door slightly, but the sound of strong rain and the chilly wind continued outside.

The already cold house would only get colder, so I quickly closed the door and thought about a solution.

“Ahh!”

That day, a rumor spread around the small neighborhood. They said a ghost-like woman with snow-white hair and bright red eyes had run through the rain, screaming.

“Ugh… so cold…”

Since I couldn’t think of anything that could replace an umbrella, I pulled my hat down and ran to the nearest convenience store.

When I opened the door and entered, the convenience store clerk looked at me dripping wet at the entrance with an expression that showed he had all sorts of thoughts going on.

“Excuse me… could I get an umbrella?”

Having worked at a convenience store myself, I knew exactly how it felt to have a customer come in like this, wetting the floor that had just been cleaned.

So, the clerk brought the umbrella to me himself and took the money.

“Phew… I’m going to catch a cold… Achoo!… Ah…”

…Going to the hospital was added to my schedule for today.

“I wasn’t planning to go this week since it was raining… but… sigh…”

It wasn’t part of the original plan.

But waiting for natural recovery only to ruin everything was far worse.

“So then… pet store… Daiso… hospital? Guess that’s how it goes? Oh… it’s near my sister’s place too…”

Putting my phone away, I looked up at the grayish sky through the clear umbrella from the convenience store and headed toward the nearest pet store.

Clank—

“………”

Not many pet stores were open on Saturday mornings, and I figured going to Daiso first would be too inconvenient from home.

I still had a few hours left before I needed to go to the hospital.

With no other options, I decided to drop by my sister’s place.

Beep-beep-beep-beep—

After entering the house using my sister’s birthday as the passcode, it was as quiet as expected.

I turned on the light in the dark house and saw a living room as big as my own place and a kitchen of reasonable size.

The living room had only a cozy-looking chair, and in the kitchen… there was an empty ramen wrapper.

“Sigh…”

Letting out a sigh, I entered my sister’s room, where no light entered through the blackout curtains I opened.

She was wrapped up in the blanket on the bed, and on the long desk was a computer that couldn’t compare to mine, along with a monitor.

Even the mouse and keyboard looked relatively ordinary, but what caught my eye the most were the stacks of books.

Rustle—

Flipping through the top one, nearly every page was filled with dense notes.

“……….”

Leaving the room and closing the door, I quietly tidied up the messy kitchen.

The trash bag was completely empty, so she must have taken it out recently, and I filled it with the new trash and cleaned up the kitchen as quietly as possible.

“Phew… First, let’s wash up… and then make breakfast.”

With still an hour left until the pet store opened, there was plenty of time.

Since it wouldn’t matter if I wore my sister’s clothes, I undressed and went into the bathroom.

***
Lee Minyoung POV

“……Yawn…”

Maybe because I went too hard yesterday, my body was demanding more rest.

If I closed my eyes again, I was confident I’d fall asleep right away, so I shut my eyes and felt something strange.

– Ssshhh…

It wasn’t the sound of rain, but rather a faint dripping sound.

“………Gulp.”

Rising as quietly as possible from the bed, I picked up the thickest book on the desk and slowly opened the door.

“…Huh?”

I thought a thief might have broken in and that the sound of water was coming from the entrance, so I tossed the book back on the bed and checked the house.

The living room and kitchen were both clean, the remnants of the ramen were cleared, and there were damp clothes in front of the bathroom—the underwear I had bought for her among them.

“Sister?”

– Are you awake?

It was her voice, sounding unusually low but cheerful enough to be her.

“…Why are you suddenly here at my place?”

The sound of water stopped, and I heard my sister’s voice.

– I just came because I had something nearby. Got a bit wet because my umbrella blew away, though…

“Really…? But it’s still early… Want to go together?”

– Hmm… if you want to? Feel free, but dress warmly since it’s cold outside. I’ll probably leave in about 1-2 hours, so you can keep sleeping if you want.

“Alright, call me if you need anything.”

After hearing her answer, I went straight to my room and picked out a few clothes.

I was tempted to play a little prank but, being tired, I simply left some suitable clothes by the bathroom door and wrapped myself back up in the blankets.

***
Lee Suyeon POV

“Everything that kills me makes me feel alive~… Ahh… my throat hurts…”

As I opened the door and stepped out, drying my hair with a towel, my sister had left clothes for me.

Putting on the white hoodie and black pants, I felt a warm sensation as my body, chilled by the water, began to heat up.

Since my sister seemed to have gone back to sleep, I decided it was time for me to play the role of an older sibling for once.

“Hmm… the apron should be… here…”

Whenever I visited her place, I almost always cooked, so naturally, the kitchen was arranged to my liking.

Even if I moved, I’d probably still cook here.

I wore the apron as usual… this darn chest… I guess I’ll have to buy another apron at Daiso.

In the end, I folded the apron in half to only cover the lower half for a highly efficient apron, and I took off the white hoodie to avoid any stains.

After a while, I cooked a proper meal in a proper kitchen for the first time in a long while.

“Phew…”

After about 20 minutes, I moved almost instinctively, filling the small dining table.

With all the side dishes my mom had sent, rolled omelet, stir-fried pork, soybean paste stew, and freshly cooked white rice on the table, I felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

Before waking my sister, I left her house.

Climbing up the stairs, I headed to the apartment directly above.

Knock knock knock—

“Eunah? Are you awake?”

…

Despite knocking several times, there was no response.

Since I didn’t want the food to get cold, I called Eunah on the phone.

– …What…

On the other end of the line, her voice, still groggy from sleep, was expressing how I was bothering her.

“Do you want to come down and have breakfast? It’s good to eat in the morning.”

– …

Beep—

“Hmm…?”

The call ended, and I assumed that was her way of declining, so I was about to head back downstairs when the firmly closed door opened.

“…Let’s go… yawn…”