004

I snuck a peek at Aya and Reo, who chatted in the sitting room.

After we returned from the convenience store, I met Aya in my sitting room. Turned out that mom informed some of my high school classmates that I'd returned from Tokyo.

"Won't you go chat with your friend?" Mom asked, opening the lid of the pot.

"Ugh, why'd you even tell everyone that we'd returned?" I asked, slapping my palm over my face.

"What...? I thought it'd be nice to have some friends over. Anyway, since you're less busy, come cut some vegetables."

She wasn't even sorry for the situation she put me in. I sighed and walked towards the counter.

Hearing the sound of Aya's giggle from the sitting room irked me. I wasn't really planning on letting her know we were back since she'll just want to see Reo.

"What's wrong, Emi? Don't you want to help mommy in the kitchen?" Mom asked, looking at me with a worried expression.

"No, I'm more than happy to help." I forced a smile, then began washing the vegetables.

"Aunty, can I help out too?" Reo asked, walking into the kitchen to return the empty tray.

"My, my. Do you really want to help out?" Mom asked.

"Yeah."

"Why don't you go have fun with your little Aya?" I muttered, eyes focused on the cutting board and knife.

"Did you say something?" Mom asked.

"I said she should come help out quickly."

"Reo-chan, I'll need to go to my room for a second. Help me stir the soup." Mom said, taking off her apron and walking out.

That woman always leaves us together at moments like this. Sometimes, I feel like it's not coincidental.

"Aya left suddenly saying she had something to do back home." Reo said, walking towards the pot.

I ignored her, now chopping the vegetables violently.

"But she invited us to the class get-together which will happen next week Saturday." She continued.

"Why'd she invite you as well? You weren't even in my class."

She chuckled softly and then continued, "Well, I told her you wouldn't want to go without me. So..."

I looked up at her furiously, "Why'd you tell her that?! When did I ever say I needed you to speak for me?!"

"You always talked about how much you missed them..." She started, but I cut in immediately.

"And how does that relate with you joining me? Huh?! Why don't you just get the hell out of my life?!" I slammed my hand on the table, and the vegetables I'd cut fell on the floor.

"My God! What's wrong with you, Emi?" Mom asked, immediately rushing into the kitchen.

I tried to speak but then decided to hold my tongue. I took off my apron and threw it at Reo before leaving the kitchen, then the house.

As I walked out, I remembered how Reo looked when I threw the apron at her. She looked really sorry, but that didn't change anything. I wouldn't feel bad for her.

There's was something I noticed about Reo's behaviour after being with her for years. Her possessiveness had different levels. The violent level where she wasn't clearheaded, the other violent level where she's clearheaded, and the nonviolent level where she looked vulnerable.

At that moment, when she looked sorry, it made me aware that she was in her vulnerable moment. I never really got to understand why she got vulnerable at times. I once caught her crying in one of her vulnerable moments, but the reason was still unclear.

Sometimes, the question, does she actually care about how I feel, gets stuck in my mind. But of course, after knowing Reo for years, it's obvious that she only cared about tormenting me. I was more used to her violent side, so that took me unawares.

Thinking back, Reo obsession must've started even before I noticed her real personality.

...《BEHIND THE MASK》...

"Reo-chan, why don't you tell big sister what you wrote in your essay." I had asked.

It was still just a few months after she started living with her father. We had gotten a lot closer, so she always did her school work in my room.

"N-no." She tried hiding her notebook while looking aware shyly.

That only increased the urge to take a peek at her book. I got interested when she said she'd tear it off and burn it so she could write down a new one.

I pouted and agreed with her. Of course, it was a pretext. I wanted her to let her guard down so I could steal a peek when she least expected.

After playing some games in my room, she excused herself for a bathroom break. That was when I struck.

I grabbed her notebook and began searching for the essay she'd written. It was an essay of what they'd like to do in the future.

"It's just that? Is she shy of what she wrote?" I giggled.

And so I read the essay to myself. It sounded normal in the beginning. Just like an elementary school, kids' essay, until I read a line.

'When I grow older, I want to always be there for my big sister. I'll always be by her side because she'll never leave me. I'll try my best to keep her with me forever because no one would treat her better than I would. I'll keep her to myself and give her everything she needs. I'll earn enough money for the two of us to live on. That way, she won't need to leave for work. Big sister loves me so much. She'd never...'

My heartbeat quickened, and my hands trembled as I read her essay. It might've felt normal to her, but it began sounding darker as I read it.

"Onee-chan?" Reo asked, watching me from the door.

I immediately shut her book and pushed it aside in the hope that she didn't see me reading it.

I turned to her and met a totally different Reo. Not the cute one who always smiled at me with bright eyes. There was something about her that had changed. Her eyes looked a bit darker than it'd always been.

I immediately stood from the ground and stepped back.

"What were you doing?" She asked, walking closer to me.

"N-nothing! I was just reading my book, and I decided to go h-have a snack."

She frowned for a second, then smiled at me.

"Is that so? For a moment, I thought..." She paused, her smile getting wider as her white set of teeth showed.

"No, it's nothing." She sat by the table and picked up her notebook.

After avoiding her for a few days, I decided to brush it off. She might've meant anything else. There was no need to continue avoiding her.

I began talking to her like I usually did, although I couldn't shake off the fear I had.

I was just not careful, or maybe I was too stupid. Of course, that was not normal. There's no way that would've been normal. Avoiding her for those few days already made it clear to her that I'd read her book. And to make things worse, I came back to her even when I was scared.

That was when it started. I began noticing her changes little by little. The cute little girl, who everyone, both at home and in school loved, turned out to be a monster. And I was her first victim, probably her only one.

I didn't realise all this until a certain day when she did something really bad in middle school.

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