In Tokyo: They are heavily dependent on me

Chapter 73. Collapse

The sound of sobbing.

A subtle, trembling sound filled my ears.

"I've been texting my brother since 7 o'clock, and four hours have passed since then. I've also made several phone calls during that time... But my brother is ignoring me. I'm the younger sister, right? Why do you make me worry about you, brother? It hurts so much... I'm clearly an important person to you, but my brother always ignores me."

Rin's shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and her sobs grew louder, the sound crashing against the ceiling, shattering into particles, and filling the entire room.

My younger sister is crying.

Xun placed her hands on her shoulders, hesitated briefly, and then pulled her into her arms.

As if she had found someone to confide in, Rin tried to hold back her sobs, but when the tears started flowing, she couldn't control herself at all. So she bit her lip, and the sound she made was very low, like a homeless dog abandoned by its owner, which was very touching.

This moment lasted for several minutes.

Noticing that she seemed to be feeling better, Kaoru placed her right hand on the top of her head and asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Rin didn't say anything, but she had stopped crying.

"I'm not happy."

As if in retaliation, Rin tightened her grip on her body.

"My brother is always like this, making me unhappy. If he's busy, he could tell me in advance, but he doesn't say anything... He always makes me worry about you."

Seeing that her younger sister had calmed down, Kaoru recounted everything that had happened that day.

Of course, he overlooked the fact that he had stolen the young lady's first kiss in bed and didn't tell Rin about it.

Upon hearing his explanation, Rin stared at him with an expression that seemed to say, "Is this really not an excuse for your brother?"

"It's true. If I lied to Rin, I'd be punished by having to swallow a thousand needles."

Kaoru spoke very seriously, and Rin couldn't tell that he was lying.

After letting out a soft "humph" from deep in her throat, she released her grip, only then noticing that her brother's shirt was soaked with tears... This dress was clearly expensive; if she had to pay for it...

Seemingly sensing her concerns, Kaoru began to offer an explanation.

"Oh, this outfit was given to me by my classmate Mizukami. I can wear it to important occasions like award ceremonies in the future, so I don't have to worry about losing money on it."

"Oh... okay."

Rin had her back to him, and she was very unhappy when she heard that the dress was a gift from that woman to her brother.

She was brazenly wearing the clothes that woman had given her... In contrast, her brother never accepted any gifts from her, always refusing them with various excuses.

That's way too biased!

Rin was very unhappy. Thinking of the ten million yen that had been delivered to her home last time, she began to suspect that her brother and the other party had engaged in some kind of physical transaction that he couldn't tell her about.

That kind of thing is absolutely unacceptable!

Thinking about these things, Rin suddenly turned around, her tear-stained face almost touching Kaoru's nose.

"Rin... what's wrong... why are you suddenly looking at me like that...?"

Could it be that Rin found out he kissed the young lady?

Looking into her sister's hostile eyes, Kaoru felt very nervous.

"Brother, we're really short of money. Even so, you can't do anything against your body. You can't sell your most important thing—your body—for money!"

"Selling...her body?"

Xun instantly understood what she meant.

Could it be that Rin thinks she and the young lady have that kind of relationship?

He was about to deny it when he subconsciously felt that it was true. Startled by his own thoughts, Xun hurriedly shook those jumbled thoughts out of his mind, and his expression became serious.

"Your brother has principles; he would never sell his body for money!"

"Did my brother really not do that?"

"Absolutely not! I promise."

"Oh... okay then."

Hearing Kaoru's seemingly reasonable explanation, Rin believed him.

As she straightened her forward-leaning body and prepared to turn around and go upstairs, she suddenly began to lose her balance uncontrollably.

If Kaoru hadn't reacted quickly and hugged her, her body would have crashed directly into the dining table next to her.

"Rin... what's wrong?"

"It's nothing... I just had a fever that hasn't gone down yet. I was waiting for my brother to come back... so I didn't notice."

Hearing that Rin's condition had worsened because of waiting for him, Kaoru felt guilty and frowned, feeling that he had not fulfilled his duties as an older brother.

"The temperature...it's so hot."

It seems hotter than before.

Without time to think too much, Kaoru carried Rin upstairs to the second floor.

He went into her bedroom, put his sister on the bed, and then found the thermometer for taking her temperature.

"Your temperature is... 38℃, which isn't too high. You should recover by tomorrow after taking some medicine."

Kaoru found the first-aid kit containing the medicine.

Take out the unused bandages and suppositories from inside and find the medication to reduce the fever.

"Rin, take your medicine."

"The medicine...it tastes so bitter, I don't want to take it."

"Be good, take your medicine, and you'll be better tomorrow."

"Alright then... I'll listen to my brother."

Rin obediently swallowed the pills that Kaoru handed her, along with water.

It's already 1 a.m., and the ramen shop has a lot of work to do tomorrow, so I need to rest.

After settling Rin in, Kaoru left the bedroom.

The quiet surroundings were filled with the sound of footsteps fading away, and the sound of a door closing.

Once she could hear no more noise, Rin lifted the blanket covering her, pressed her ear against the door, and listened carefully to the sound of running water.

My brother is taking a shower.

Great, that way we won't be discovered.

We arrived at the bathroom.

Rin took off her clothes and placed them within easy reach. Then she reached behind her head and tied her messy hair back with a hair tie.

Then, she turned her head to look at the tap.

That won't work.

Even if we do that, it's still not enough.

The guilt her brother felt towards her was not enough.

No matter how hard I try, as long as my brother doesn't realize this, he will do it again next time.

The feeling of being ignored and not being valued is painful; it's suffocating. Just thinking about my brother being with other women makes me feel like I'm suffocating, and I can't even breathe.

So, getting sick doesn't matter anymore.

Rin turned on the tap.

Bathing in the icy cold water, even breathing felt painful.

Please bear with it a little longer... Please, just bear with it a little longer.

Rin gritted her teeth, her body trembling uncontrollably.

It's unclear how much time has passed.

Until she completely lost consciousness and felt her body about to lose temperature, Rin turned off the tap and dried herself off with a towel.

He looked at his weakened self in the mirror, and although he could no longer feel anything, he couldn't help but smile.

"Brother...no matter what method you use..."

"I... will absolutely not let any other woman take you away from me..."