Chapter 213
There’s a saying that books are food for the soul.
I’ve never actually looked up the exact meaning of that phrase, but I have my own understanding of it.
The world is full of all kinds of books.
There are books made solely to entertain, books that promote their author’s ideas, and books written to share useful information…
That’s the general gist of it. If you were to get into the finer details, it’d probably take a long time to explain everything.
But.
I believe that the essence of all these books, regardless of their purpose, is storytelling.
Whether it’s a book meant to entertain or a book meant to impart knowledge, in the end, it’s still a story the author wants to share.
‘Yeah.’
That’s what I think.
Of course, not everyone might agree with me, but that’s their opinion. I don’t feel the need to interfere.
So, why am I rambling on about this all of a sudden?
It’s because I randomly remembered something I saw online once.
Someone wrote, ‘Reading comic books or novels isn’t real reading. Calling that reading is just wrong.’
The reactions were pretty heated, weren’t they?
And as heated as it got, I recall seeing a variety of responses.
‘In times like these, even reading something like that is better than nothing,’ ‘What kind of grand books do you read to say that?’ ‘I totally agree,’ ‘Your life must be pathetic if you’re trolling with comments like this,’ and so on.
As you might guess from what I’ve said so far, I was against the sentiment expressed in that post.
A book is a book—why bother dividing them into ranks?
Maybe it’s because I’m not particularly studious, but that’s how I see it.
Anyway, my stance is this: reading comics counts as reading, too.
So.
“…Kana, what are you doing?”
“I’m feeding my soul.”
That’s why I can confidently answer Da-eun’s question like this.
Through the comic book I was holding, I caught a glimpse of Da-eun’s somewhat disapproving expression.
Interrupting someone who’s reading seriously—it’s behavior that makes me frown.
But as the well-mannered person I am, I chose to endure it.
Isn’t that the power of reading?
After answering Da-eun’s question, I resumed my reading.
But the unwelcome intruder who had interrupted me didn’t leave the room and instead started lingering around me.
“Kana, Kana.”
“….”
“Kana.”
“….”
“Excuse me, Miss Canaria? Chirp? Chirp chirp?”
“…That’s the sound of a sparrow.”
“They’re both birds, so maybe it’ll work? See, you even responded, Kana.”
“What does that even…?”
…No, could it really work like that?
If you think about dogs, even dogs of different breeds can communicate with each other.
Maybe it’s the same with birds. If they belong to the same species, maybe differences in subspecies don’t matter…
“-Wait, no.”
Caught up in Da-eun’s pace and lost in these pointless thoughts, I suddenly shook my head firmly.
“…I’m not a bird.”
Why was I even considering such things in the first place?
I’m not a bird, and what came out of Da-eun’s mouth wasn’t bird noises but nonsense.
“Non… nonsense?! Kana, you… you can’t use such bad words on your sister!”
“Why not?”
“…Uh? Well, I mean… because it’s unethical?”
“So using bad words is an ethical issue? What even is ethics?”
“…Ugh! Forget what I said just now!”
Da-eun made a large X shape with her arms.
“Even if we’re close, exchanging insults isn’t a good look. It could hurt someone’s feelings over nothing. So Kana, from now on, only say nice things to your sister. Got it?”
“I don’t know.”
Surely, she didn’t think that reasoning was going to convince me.
“…Sigh.”
One way or another, as soon as Da-eun started distracting me, my concentration was out the window.
At this point, the words in the speech bubbles looked more like pictures.
Even so, I tried to gather my scattered focus and turn them back into words.
“Kana, you’ve been doing this for days now… can’t you go outside for a bit?”
“I’ll think about it once I finish this series. Now stop nagging and bring me the next volume.”
“Do you even plan on going outside? You said the same thing yesterday…”
“Ugh.”
Just as I was about to regain my concentration.
I shot a glare at Da-eun, who kept interrupting.
“I said I’ll go out once I finish reading. Stop bothering me and get out.”
“…Sniff. Kana’s changed…”
“Just get out already.”
“You’re like a teenage girl in her rebellious phase.”
With exaggerated, fake sobbing, Da-eun trudged out the door.
Finally, the room regained its peace.
Satisfied with the silence that now enveloped me, I leaned back against the headboard of my bed.
Flip.
“….”
Flip….
“…Sigh.”
Even though I already read slowly, Da-eun had completely shattered my focus, grinding it into dust, so I turned the pages at a frustratingly sluggish pace.
Slam!
After slowly flipping through the book, I finally closed it with a loud thud and got up.
It was obvious that continuing like this wouldn’t let me properly absorb the content.
As I grabbed the doorknob to head outside, I suddenly felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity and let go.
‘…Come to think of it, when was the last time I went outside?’
It wasn’t today, for sure.
Was it yesterday?
But even that felt like a distant memory.
Though I haven’t completely transcended being human, I have a body that’s at least halfway beyond it when it comes to small physiological functions like eating or sleeping. Even if I don’t eat for a few days, my condition doesn’t deteriorate.
I just do it because I want to.
So, I couldn’t really grasp how much time had passed since I started focusing solely on reading.
I don’t have a biological clock to help me sense such things.
‘…No wonder Da-eun was acting so fussy.’
Even though Da-eun knows that I have a body like this.
She’s also someone who tends to worry unnecessarily, so it makes sense that she’d be concerned about me skipping meals and clinging to comic books.
‘….’
The truth is, knowing that she came to check on me out of concern and then coldly sending her away made me feel heavy-hearted.
…Okay, that’s a lie.
I did feel a little bad, but let’s not forget that Da-eun was the one who recommended the comics to me in the first place.
If I’m guilty of anything, it’s simply following her suggestion diligently.
“Yep. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Having reached my conclusion, I turned the doorknob.
“—Whoa, what?!”
As the door swung inward, Da-eun, who had been leaning against it, tumbled forward.
Of course, since I knew she was there, I stepped aside as soon as I opened the door, avoiding an awkward collision.
Thud!
“Ouch, ouch…”
Da-eun groaned as she sprawled on the floor with a loud crash.
“What were you doing?”
“S-surveillance…?”
Can she really just admit to that so easily?
I wondered for a moment.
But knowing that Da-eun wasn’t some imperial spy and didn’t have any bad intentions, I decided to let it slide.
I usually had to look up at her, but now, with her awkwardly grinning while looking up at me from the floor, I threw out a casual remark.
“Let’s go eat.”
“…Huh?”
“Aren’t Koreans supposed to live on rice power?”
I wasn’t born in Korea in this life.
But since I was Korean in my past life, it shouldn’t be a problem.
***
After finishing a simple meal, Da-eun and I sat together on the sofa.
“…Inhale.”
She took a deep breath.
“…Exhale.”
And let it out.
By the way, the sound of breathing wasn’t mine.
“This is it. This is what I’ve been yearning for…”
The sound came from Da-eun, who was hugging me from behind with her face buried in my hair.
“You know you’re acting like a total pervert, right?”
“I don’t mind being called a pervert. I’m enjoying this moment.”
“….”
Da-eun said I had been holed up in my room for three whole days.
In other words, I hadn’t washed in three days.
Granted, as I mentioned earlier, my body doesn’t become oily or grimy even if I skip washing for days. Still, it’s a little off-putting. But here was Da-eun, hugging me like it was the greatest thing in the world.
“Ah… this sweet scent… I feel alive again.”
“If you’re satisfied, let me go.”
“Hmm… I haven’t been able to touch Kana for three whole days, so it’s still not enough…”
Trailing off, Da-eun reluctantly released me.
“If I keep going, Kana will start hating me, so I should stop here, right?”
“It’s already too late.”
If she knew I’d hate it, she shouldn’t have hugged me in the first place.
Muttering under my breath, I shook my hair lightly.
Was it just my imagination, or did my hair feel oddly damp?
Let’s just say it was my imagination…
“By the way, judging by how immersed you were, I guess you liked the comic books?”
“Well…”
I hesitated and gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.
“…They weren’t bad.”
“To be honest, I didn’t think Kana would get so hooked. I thought you’d read a few volumes and get bored, but you were surprisingly serious about it.”
“….”
Truthfully, there were several times at the beginning when I almost gave up.
Reading each word slowly made me wonder, ‘Why am I doing this?’ and, ‘What’s the point?’
But every time I thought about putting the book down, I’d get curious about what would happen next.
I kept thinking, “Just a little more, just a little more,” and before I knew it, I’d reached this point.
“I thought you’d enjoy it, but I didn’t expect you to like it this much.”
Da-eun’s voice was filled with amusement that she didn’t even try to hide.
Not that she had any intention of hiding it.
“Should I recommend something else once you’re done with what you’re reading?”
“…Sure.”
“Great, great. But no more staying up all night to read, okay?”
“….”
“If you don’t answer, I won’t lend you anything.”
“…Fine.”
“Jeez…!”
Da-eun stomped her feet in mock frustration, but…
I did give her an answer.
Building food for the soul is a good thing, so I don’t understand why she’s acting like this.
Shaking my head quietly, I sighed.
—
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