That night, after dinner, the three of them gathered in the living room and sat together on the soft sofa while watching television leisurely. The three of them decided to watch a newly released horror movie, and Hana herself was the one who enthusiastically wanted to watch it. The film they chose was the latest horror movie that just came out this year in 2035 with quite high ratings and reviews mentioning that the film was very scary.
Several tens of minutes later after the movie started...
"Kyaaaa!!!"
That was Hanah's piercing scream when a very shocking jumpscare scene suddenly appeared on screen without warning. Her small body jumped with strong reflexes and immediately hugged tightly Hana's arm who was sitting beside her. Her face was pale, her emerald eyes wide with fear with a very innocent expression. She looked very cute and adorable when scared like this.
"What's wrong, Hanah?" asked Hana with a pretending-not-to-know and innocent tone, even though Hana clearly knew that Hanah was scared to death because of the horror movie they were watching, but she still asked with a fake innocent tone.
"No—nothing's wrong," Hanah answered with a trembling and unconvincing voice, trying to look strong even though it was very clear she was very scared.
"Really? Are you sure you're okay?" Hana smiled thinly with a slightly mischievous expression seeing the very cute and adorable scared expression on Hanah's innocent face.
Hanah just stayed silent, not answering Hana's question because she didn't know what to say. Her eyes occasionally glanced at the TV screen with anxious and fearful feelings, as if the monsters from the movie could come out at any time.
Hanah sat in the middle between the two of them—between Nova and Hana—like a small child seeking protection. Nova sat with his usual flat and calm expression, as if completely unaffected. There was no trace of fear or surprise on his pale face, even though the movie they were watching was full of sadistic murder scenes that were clearly inappropriate for a child his age.
"Sister, isn't it time to sleep now?" asked Hanah with a tone that sounded pleading and full of hope. She clearly wanted to immediately end the torture of watching this terrifying horror movie and go to sleep safely.
"Don't worry, the story is almost finished. Just hold on a little longer, okay? The most exciting part is about to come," Hana answered with a mischievous smile showing that she was really enjoying Hanah's scared reaction.
And that night continued with Hanah being forced to restrain herself and force courage to watch the horror movie until the end. The room lights were deliberately turned off by Hana. Hanah clearly wouldn't be able to go upstairs alone in darkness like this.
◇◇◇
One hour later, Nova was lying comfortably on his soft mattress, staring at the dark ceiling of his room with calm thoughts. But suddenly his room door opened slowly.
"Hm?" Nova lifted his head with calm movements and looked toward the door. There, Hanah's small figure stood in cute rabbit-patterned pajamas, her face looking anxious and restless.
"What's wrong, Hanah? Why aren't you sleeping yet?" asked Nova while sitting on the edge of the bed.
"He—hey, want to accompany me to the bathroom?" she said with a soft voice that sounded slightly trembling and uncertain.
"???"
Nova raised his eyebrows with a confused expression. "The bathroom isn't far from Sister Hana's room. Why not go alone? Or why not ask Sister Hana?"
"Th—that..." Hanah shook her head quickly with panicked movements. "Sister Hana is already sleeping soundly, so I don't want to wake her up and disturb her rest. Besides, I forgot I haven't washed my feet before sleeping."
"Wash feet?"
"Eh, you don't know that tradition?" Hanah looked slightly surprised and shocked.
"Mom always says you have to wash your feet before sleeping so you don't have strange dreams or bad things like that. It's become our family habit."
"I see... I just learned there's a tradition like that," Nova nodded. "Alright, I'll accompany you to the bathroom."
The house had two separate bathrooms, one on the lower floor near the living room and another on the second floor. The second-floor bathroom was located to the left of the stairs, while the bedrooms were on the right side of the long corridor.
After arriving at the bathroom, Nova waited patiently outside the bathroom while leaning against the cold corridor wall. The sound of flowing water could be heard faintly from inside, followed by Hanah's voice murmuring softly as if calming herself.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened slowly and Hanah came out with a face that looked slightly more relieved but still had remnants of anxiety.
"It seems you're finished, then let's go back to the room," said Nova while walking straight ahead with calm steps.
"Yes," she answered with a voice that was still slightly trembling.
Because the second-floor corridor lights were deliberately turned off, the path in front of them looked dark but still visible. Nova felt something gently pulling the hem of his pajama shirt from behind. He looked back and saw Hanah holding tightly to his pajama fabric while walking following him with careful steps.
"What's wrong, Hanah?" asked Nova with a curious tone. "Why are you still holding my clothes? We've arrived in front of Sister Hana's room."
After arriving in front of Hana's room, strangely Hanah looked like she didn't want to enter Hana's room and instead stood still in front of the door.
Hanah and Hana slept in the same room together, while Nova slept alone in the next room. She should have been able to enter and sleep peacefully now after her foot-washing business.
"I..." Hanah paused for a moment with a hesitant expression, then lifted her face to look at Nova with eyes that still looked anxious.
"I want to sleep with you tonight. May I?"
"Eh?" Nova was surprised by that unexpected request.