Shopping With My Pregnant Neighbor and My Little Sister (What could go wrong)

The moment I stood up from the breakfast table, my brain whispered:

Home, Bed… Silence.

I didn’t even make it to the doorway.

A hand grabbed the back of my shirt collar.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Yui, my little sister, asked sweetly.

I froze.

“...Home?” I answered carefully, like it might be a trap question.

“Home?” she repeated. “That’s the problem… You’re already here. Besides… Side quests can only be activated at base. And I’m not talking about ‘Feed the pregnant neighbor’ right now!”

Oh, please no. What does she have in mind?

She went on “You’re not going to escape the consequences of being an older brother!”

“I ate breakfast with you, that’s already…”

“Not enough!” she leaned in. ”You have a collab tournament coming up.

“And?”

“You can’t show up like a depressed raccoon. You need good clothes. Clothes that scream ‘I’m about to carry LunaZero’!”

“I don’t carry people, I get carried.”

“Exactly! That’s why you need clothes to raise your stats!” she declared.

“This isn’t an RPG…”

“IT IS NOW.”

There it is. The unspoken rule of my life.

I can survive online drama.

I can entertain thousands of viewers.

But I can not defeat… my 16 year old sister.

“Fine…” I muttered. “But we’re going in and out. No detours.”

“Of course!”

She was lying. I knew she was lying. But my fate had already been sealed.

—-----------------------------------------------

By the time we reached the shopping street near the station, it was around 10 a.m. The July heat was already pressing down on us.

I put on a mask before we entered the busier area.

Yui side-eyed me. “Wow, celebrity precautions.”

“I’m not taking chances. I moved because of people.”

“Yeah… Peak hometown life. Hiding from people who like you… But I get you… ANYWAYS, first we get you new Hoodies!”

”I have hoodies.”

“Not tournament hoodies.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“Doesn’t matter. Your hoodies are in their death-arc. They’re ugly.”

While I considered whether life was worth living anymore, she grabbed my collar again and dragged me toward a clothing store. We didn’t make it in though. Someone very suspicious was walking around some shops like they were sneaking into a crime scene.

Someone in a mask.

And sunglasses.

And a cap pulled low.

And an oversized hoodie covering pretty much every inch of skin.

On a hot day in July.

“What a freak.” Yui said.

“...Yui.” I warned.

“But kind of cool.” she added quickly. “I wouldn’t have the courage to rock that style. It’s like… don’t perceive me ‘chic’.”

The disguised person flinched, like they’d heard every word.

Then she turned her head slightly.

Even with half her face hidden, I recognized her instantly… but that might just be because of her big belly.

“...Yuna.” I said before I could stop myself.

Slowly, like a cautious animal, she looked at me.

“Hi…Ren.” she said softly.

Yui snapped toward me so fast it was terrifying. “YOU KNOW HER?”

“She’s my neighbor… the pregnant one as you can see.”

Yui’s face changed in real time.

Shock, interest, then a grin so wide it should’ve been illegal.

“OH. THE neighbor.”

“Don’t say it like that.”

“I’m going to say it like that forever.” she smirked at me.

Yuna looked like she wanted to vanish.

I cleared my throat. “Uhm… what are you doing here?”

“I’m trying… you know… after the hospital… I want to buy healthier things. I just don’t know what to pick. Like, what’s especially healthy, what goes bad in a short time and so on. Everything looks… difficult.”

My sister stepped forward like an anime mentor.

“First rule: choose vegetables that look alive.”

Yuna tilted her head.

“That won’t help her.” I said.

“But that’s how mom taught me.”

Yui turned towards Yuna “If you want, we’ll help you pick out the right things. We, especially ME, are very good at that sort of thing. Right Onii-chan?”

I regretted coming here. But to my surprise:

“If it’s not too much trouble… I’d really appreciate the help.”

I wasn’t expecting her to actually take the offer. Especially after she apologized like a hundred times when we were at the hospital.

“Great! It’s no trouble at all. But would you mind doing us a favor aswell? This young man right here has very bad fashion taste, and we need your help to dress him properly. So… would you like to come with us on a short shopping spree?”

“I don’t know if I’ll be of any help. Is there anything I need to do?”

“You just need to EXIST. It’s gonna boost morale.”

Yuna gave her a confused look. I think she was finally starting to realize what kind of person she was dealing with.

“O-Okay then… count me in. I mean… if it’s okay with you… Ren?”

“I don’t mind.” I said, smiling slightly at her.

As we walked into the clothing store, Yui suddenly came very close to me and whispered in my ear: “So, are we actually not gonna question the way she is dressed?”

“We won’t.”

Then it started.

Yui instantly switched into her final form: Fashion Police.

“Okay!” she said, clapping once. “We need one hoodie that says ‘pro gamer’, one that says ‘friendly’ and one that says ‘I’m mentally stable’.”

“I can’t afford the last one.”

“Shut up. Try this!”

She grabbed hoodie after hoodie and threw them at me like she was feeding a starving animal

I tried them on.

“That one makes you look like a guy who apologizes when he gets a kill… it’s TOO friendly. Not what we’re looking for, NEXT.”

Another.

“That one gives you ‘sad boy’ energy. It’s not what we’re searching for, but it could work.”

“...Why would I want that?”

“It’s meta.”

“...What does that even…”

“Meta.”

“Stop saying meta.”

“Meta.”

I threw the hoodie at her.

She pouted. “Then try this!”

“That’s women’s clothing.”

“So? Maybe it’s your vibe!”

From behind me, a not so quiet giggle.

I turned.

Yuna stood near the mirror section, pretending to inspect hats. She wasn’t good at pretending.

“Are you enjoying my suffering?” I asked.

“Just a little.” she admitted, laughing way too hard all of a sudden.

There was something different about her today. She looked… more alive. Maybe it was being outside. Maybe it was the sunglasses disguising half her emotions. I wasn’t sure. But she didn’t look like someone moments away from collapsing again. That alone eased something tight in my chest.

But out of nowhere, Yui narrowed her eyes and moved right into Yuna’s personal space.

“That laugh right now. I heard it somewhere before. Your voice in general… you sound familiar.”

Yuna stiffened.

“Hey, sis… lots of people have voices. It's a common trait of humans.”

“But I swear I heard…”

“Nope. Let’s just grab the best ones I’ve tried on. Then we can help Yuna with her groceries. She’s waiting you know.”

Yui pouted. She looked at Yuna. “Don’t you think for a second you could escape my incredible detective skills! I’m onto you! I’m watching you! And maybe… just maybe… I already know!!”

Great. Now she did it.

Yuna looked like she was about to collapse again.

My stomach dropped. Not again.

“Hey.” I said quickly, forcing a laugh. “Yui, you just buy what’s best for me and we’ll go on ahead to the convenience store.”

“HEY! No fair!”

She kinda listened. We just bought the stuff she assumed would look good. I’m probably gonna look like an idiot in that tournament stream. Whatever. I hope Yuna can recover a little now.

I turned to Yuna. She looked half dead.

I need to have a word with my sister after this. She’s reading way too much into literally any possible situation.

—-------------------------------------------------------

We headed to the convenience store.

“You remember the first rule I taught you, Yuna?”

Yuna looked confused.

“Choose vegetables that are alive. You know. Vegetables have emotions too. You need to choose very carefully.”

“I’ll try my best!”

Inside the convenience store, Yuna stared at the vegetables like they were wild animals.

She picked up a carrot, studying it closely. “This one looks judgmental.”

“It’s a carrot.” I said.

“It’s judging me.” Yuna insisted.

My sister whispered “She’s adorable. Please let us adopt her.”

“Which ones… are the easiest?” Yuna suddenly asked.

Yui grabbed a bundle of spinach. “This. It dies fast so it forces you to cook. It’s like… motivation.”

“That’s terrifying.

“Also these, you can cut them and throw them into anything and it becomes ‘healthy’.” Yui said, pointing at onions.

Yuna nodded slowly like she was learning forbidden knowledge.

I picked up a pack of mushrooms. “These are easy too… Just cook them.”

Yuna’s head tilted. “How?”

“...In a pan.”

“With what?”

“...Heat.”

Yui stared at me. “Ren. Are you sure you’re qualified to speak right now?”

“Didn’t you say earlier that…”

“...I want to try them.” Yuna suddenly interrupted me. “I don’t want to end up like that again.”

The way she said it… so small, so serious… made my chest tighten.

Yui’s voice softened for once. “Then we’ll make sure you eat. Okay?”

Yuna blinked, and quickly looked away, as if holding something back.

“I’m sorry… And… Thank you.”

—------------------------------------

We walked back with our bags. Clothes for me, vegetables for Yuna… And a couple of snacks Yui somehow smuggled in.

In the apartment hallway, Yuna stopped in front of her door.

“Thank you. For helping me. It really means a lot. I hope I wasn’t a disturbance.”

Yui chuckled. “As if. I already told you, you boosted morale by 100%. Let’s do it again some time.”

I swallowed, suddenly remembering Mom’s plan.

Now’s the time.

“Uh… Yuna?”

I hesitated, not knowing how I should start… then I remembered my mom’s words.

“...We made too much breakfast today. Like way too much. And my mom hates wasting food… can you wait for a moment?” I ran into my parent’s apartment before she could answer.

I came back with a small container. A bento box.

Yuna froze like I’d offered her a priceless artifact.

“I… I can’t.” she said automatically. “That’s too much trouble…”

“Its not. It’s literally trouble if you don’t. Mom will chase me with chopsticks.”

Yui nodded. “She will.”

Yuna hesitated.

Then slowly, she reached out and took it with both hands like it was something precious.

“...Thank you. Again.” she whispered. “I’ll… eat it.”

“Good. That’s the whole point.”

Yui leaned in, grinning. “Look at that. The side quest is already progressing.”

Yuna blinked “Side quest…?”

“Forget about that!” I said quickly. “You should know her by now… she’s a pretty crazy person."

“Okay… Well then. I’ll… see you later, Ren.”

“Yeah. See you.”

She opened her door and slipped inside, still disguised like a secret agent, still shy… but somehow lighter than before.

Yui nudged me with her elbow. “You’re doomed.” she whispered happily.

“...What?”

“You’re going to care.” she said like it was inevitable. “And that’s the hardest difficulty setting.” Yui grinned.

I sighed, already exhausted.

Somehow, this side quest had only just begun.