"What are you thinking about, brother? Come here, let's drink together," Rose called out.
He walked over and drank the fresh mountain water with her.
She noticed his worried expression.
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine being anywhere as long as I have you as my brother. Even if I can't have a life like other kids, just being alive is something I'm really grateful for..."
He listened and felt relieved that his sister was okay, even though they had nothing in this world and had to survive on their own to rebuild their lives.
"The water is great. I feel like taking a bath," Kai said, stripping down to his underwear and jumping into the shallow, knee-deep water filled with river stones.
"Come on, Rose, the water's really cold. Let's take a bath together!"
But Rose stayed quiet, hesitating and only playing with the water using her feet.
He found it strange. "Why are you acting shy? We've bathed together since you were in middle school. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Besides, you're not my type—a bit too small, I think."
Rose threw a stone at him.
"You pig! I'm a girl too, I have feelings and can feel shy, even if it's with my own brother. Fine, go bathe alone! Hmm, I'm sulking!"
He laughed at her sulking and walked over to her, lifting her high onto his shoulders.
"Isn't it beautiful, the scenery in this world? It feels unreal—we're surrounded by mountains, but behind these mountains, there's water and vast land that could build a city."
"Maybe in 2-3 years, I'll be the king of this place, and you... my stupid sister, will be married to some handsome man," he teased.
She looked around, taking in the beautiful view while breathing in the fresh air from above.
"Hmmmm, ahhhhh... Yeah, maybe you'd better build a kingdom full of food and the strongest men, or I won't marry just some stupid guy who's scared of you."
"Well, the boy who meets you has to be strong—at least strong enough to beat me like this..." Suddenly, he threw his sister into the water, soaking her clothes completely.
The water was only knee-deep for him, but since she was so short, it reached up to her stomach.
He laughed. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't know you were that short!"
She was really angry and decided to use the power of small people. She kicked him in the balls.
"Just die, you motherf****r!"
He froze and suddenly fell into the water. Rose peeked over at her brother, but he wasn't getting up. She started to worry.
She poked his body. "Hey, hey, are you still alive? Don't joke like this!" She shook his body, but he didn't respond.
She screamed loudly, "Help!! Help!! Someone, please! My brother won't wake up!"
Suddenly, someone grabbed her leg—it was her brother. "Sorry, sorry, I was just joking."
She immediately hugged him and started crying. "Hwaaaas... I thought you were gone! Don't ever do that again!" she cried loudly.
Kai felt sorry for her. "Sorry, I'll never do that again. Stop crying, it's not cute." He wiped away her tears gently.
When she started to calm down and her sobbing lessened, her brother began thinking about the next step—what he could do to make her happy. Then, an idea came to his mind.
"Rose, do you want to learn how to make a knife in the jungle? I've always watched TV shows about people making them with just stones."
Rose, still young and curious, nodded her head.
"Okay, let's go." Her brother lifted her onto his back, and they started looking for stones. "Find one hard stone and one fine-grained stone for the blade."
Once they found the stones, he started looking for a small piece of wood to use as the handle.
For the rope, he used tree roots from the big tree nearby. He dug into the soil around the tree and took a few roots.
Then, he placed Rose beside him. "Watch and learn how I make a knife."
He began breaking the edge of the hard stone using his hands, then tapped it with another stone to create a sharp flake.
After the edge was sharp enough, he took the piece of wood he found, removed its bark, and smoothed its surface using the sharpened stone.
Then, he attached the wood and the stone blade together, tying them tightly with the roots. Finally, it was done.
"My masterpiece—a stone knife!" He held it up to the sky proudly.
Rose chuckled as she watched her brother's antics.
"This is for you, sis. It's my first gift. Save this—I'll make another one later. Keep it safe," he said, handing her the stone knife.
She took it with both hands, as if receiving a sword from a king.
"I'll take care of this with my life, my king," she replied dramatically.
The tree, watching them, felt a bit annoyed but also calm. Seeing the two siblings happy together brought it peace. After all, the real person summoned here was her brother. If Rose had been left alone on Earth, what would have happened to her without him?
As night fell, they started a fire using the dry leaves and stone method, creating a spark that grew into a flame.
The two of them lay on the grass without any bedding.
"This is our first time sleeping together, right? And it's outside, without a mattress, just on the grass," Kai said, trying to make conversation.
Rose looked up at the sky. "Yeah, the sky is so beautiful tonight. It's also new to me—seeing two moons and the sky being blue at night. It's just so pretty."
"Yep, it's pretty. I hope our life here will progress easily. As long as I'm alive, I'll protect you with my life," Kai said firmly.
She looked at her brother. "I thought you'd hate me because I became a burden to you before, making you drop out of school and work so hard."
"Nahhh, I'm good. I'm just like my father. After he divorced my mom, he worked hard and took care of me. He treated me well, gave me enough money, but before this, I didn't treat him well in return.
After he brought you two home, I thought he wanted to throw me away, but even when your mom offered to take care of me, he declined and insisted on doing it himself.
After they died, I felt an immense loss—like I'd lost a father who had truly cared for me all along. I even thought about ending my life, but you were there, crying for our family. Seeing you cry made me feel like a trash brother.
So I decided to change myself and be like my dad, even if it meant throwing away my future. I found my happiness in taking care of you."
After Kai finished speaking, Rose immediately moved closer and hugged her brother tightly.
"I'm sorry for thinking so badly of you. It must have hurt you a lot, right?"
He looked at her as she hugged him, gently stroking her hair while gazing at the sky.
"It's okay. At least because of you, I still have the will to live. Let's spend our time together before we each go our separate ways in the future."
She shook her head. "Nope, if I get married, I'll bring you along. You can't stay far away from me."
He laughed at her response and nodded.
"Okay, I'll follow you to the end of the world."
That night, they slept together, with Rose resting on her brother's chest.