Chapter 3: The Star of the Magpie (3)

“Dad’s coming soon, shouldn’t you rest for another day? Aren’t you tired, oppa?”

“No. I’ve been sleeping for days, how can I be tired? And it’s Saturday, I have to go to the PC bang for the event items.”

I didn’t show it, but it was surprising that my father was rushing over before the afternoon. He was practically a workaholic, rarely spending time at home. It was strange that he would drop his work and spend his time elsewhere. I felt vaguely uncomfortable and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. It’s not something to get angry about. Is it because I’m a messed-up person that I’m still angry?

“I need to be discharged. Tell Dad when he gets here. Groan… I’m stiff.”

I stretched. My body, immobile for days, creaked. Forcing my unfamiliar body to move, I swung my legs off the bed and put on the slippers at the foot of the bed. Then, I stood up. Ugh… I felt dizzy for a moment and stumbled. I barely managed to grab the bed and steady myself. My sister rushed to my side, startled.

“Don’t you have any clothes?”

Only then did I notice the hospital gown covering my frail body.

“I brought some of my clothes, just in case. Hold on.”

“Wait, your clothes?”

My sister and I have a significant height difference. They wouldn’t fit, and I would look like a pervert wearing them. It wouldn’t be a good look. Ever since I was young, when we lined up by height, I was always near the back, and my sister was a little shorter than the average height for girls. Around 160cm, just by looking. She’s still in middle school, so I don’t know how much taller she’ll get.

D@mn, and judging by a quick glance, I’m even shorter than my sister now. Significantly shorter. So much so that the height difference between slippers and sneakers doesn’t even matter. I’m definitely under 160cm.

Walking felt awkward. The air at this lower altitude was different from the air I breathed at 180cm, just like people jokingly say. The difference in eye level was extremely bothersome. Walking was difficult. Walking becomes natural through tens of thousands of repetitions, so it’s to be expected, I guess. Whether it was because of my shorter legs or a problem with my sense of balance, I couldn’t walk normally.

“I’ll look the other way. If you’re getting discharged, get changed. You know how to wear underwear, right?”

Why is she suggesting that so casually? Even with all allowances, normal sisters don’t share underwear, do they? What the f*ck? Her underwear? I know some people masturbate with their sister’s or older sister’s underwear, but I’ve never even thought about that. I could simply define those DC Inside perverts, self-proclaimed little sister enthusiasts, as crazy otaku losers.

There are cute little sister characters, but they’re strictly 2D. I still remember the disgusted look my sister gave me when she accidentally saw my copy of “Oreimo” that arrived in the mail. D@mn it, I only love Kuroneko and Ayase. I don’t care about that b*tching Kirino.

[TL Note: Oreimo = a Japanese light novel/anime series. It means “My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute.” It’s about a guy who finds out his little sister is secretly an otaku.

The speaker is obsessed with 2D anime girls, especially Kuroneko and Ayase, and dislikes the main sister character, Kirino, despite the show being all about her.]

Anyway, my little sister is suggesting that I wear her underwear. To me, her older brother.

This world line is too contrived. Something is wrong. A dream world? The unconscious horizon? Whatever it is, it’s wrong. Fake. So, instead of asking my sister what the h*ll she was thinking, I slapped myself hard across the face. Unfortunately, my arm didn’t have much strength, so it ended up being a light tap.

My sister, who turned around with a puzzled look, sighed deeply.

“Stop messing around and just get dressed. I’ll buy you as many clothes as you need in a few days. Dad said to use the card as much as I want. And do you think I want to share underwear with you?”

Her tone was less harsh than usual. Her eyes, instead of their usual glare, held a hint of something like pity. Hmm.

By the way, if she hated it so much, she could have bought some while I was hospitalized. Did she forget? Or rather, it’s fine to wear men’s underwear for now. Even women wear trunks these days. I will never deny that I’m a man, but I resolved to act flexibly and reasonably. So, I wouldn’t get angry about wearing women’s clothes, but wouldn’t it be fine to wear men’s underwear for a little while? It’s not like it’s midsummer.

“Fine, fine.”

If there are none, then there are none. If this is all there is, I have no choice but to wear this. It’s a million times better than not wearing anything. It’s nothing. This much is easy. On DC Inside, people sometimes post pictures of themselves wearing their sister’s or older sister’s panties. Wearing them normally should be considered fine compared to those guys.

There’s no need to assign unnecessary meaning to simply wearing something. Clothes are just for covering your body and protecting you from the cold and heat.

Glancing at my sister, who was looking out the window, I started unbuttoning my hospital gown. My hands fumbled several times. With each button undone, I felt increasingly suffocated. My arms trembled, moving on their own, as if even simple actions were defying my brain’s commands.

…Am I trembling? Me?

Even though I tried to monologue like a final boss overwhelmed by the protagonist’s aura, the unpleasant pounding in my chest didn’t subside easily. I finally managed to undo all the buttons and gripped the lapels. I forced strength into my hands. Rip, the fabric slipped between my fingers.

“What are you doing?”

After tens of seconds of silence from me, my sister turned around. She gave a strange, pitying laugh. Then, she strode towards me.

“Aren’t you going home?”

“No, it’s not that… Hey!”

My sister went behind me and pulled at the gown. Too flustered to resist, the fabric was ripped away. My upper body was exposed in an instant. The cold air from the open window touched my skin. I closed my eyes involuntarily.

“…They’re quite small.”

What is she talking about? I mean, I know what she’s talking about, but… I steeled myself and slowly opened my eyes.

“I, I’ll put it on myself! Just move!”

“Dad’s downstairs. He’ll be up soon.”

I didn’t know what to say. I feel like I keep repeating this phrase, but I really don’t know what to say. My skin was white and smooth. It looked small and delicate, unbelievably so. My breasts were definitely small, but they were slightly raised, clearly not a man’s. I wouldn’t be surprised, like, “Oh, this is a woman’s body…” even though I’ve seen it countless times in adult videos, but this body felt alien. My brain couldn’t process it naturally.

It was my type, and if I were still a man, I would have been aroused, but this excitement was of a different kind. It was embarrassing. Mostly because of my sister’s gaze.

“Why are you so embarrassed? Half of what you look at on your computer is naked girls. Aren’t you used to it after seeing it every day?”

“That and this are different! Wait, what are you assuming?!”

Well, of course, I’ve played most eroge, from RPG Maker games to manga, adult videos, visual novels, and hentai anime, and I also have a hobby of secretly patching all-ages games to make the characters naked, but I’ve never been caught by my sister. I swear! Usually, I just play games, browse DC Inside, read, and watch anime.

“Well, if I just search your computer a little, nothing but lewd stuff comes up…”

Seeing my flustered face, my sister’s demeanor became bolder. She then proceeded to put a bra on me and fastened the hooks. Pink. And too big, it was uncomfortable. Objectively, it was an average size, but my body was too small.

“Why are you searching my computer…?”

I’m too exhausted to argue. I just hope she only saw the pictures and covered it up. I want to live as a human being.