Sob, Yeah, Yeah! Got It, Got It, Oppa...
***
"Hyun oppa...? Lee Hyun oppa...!?"
The vague suspicion I'd harbored turned into certainty the moment this little squirt, Shin Da-hee, threw herself into my arms.
No, even though it was ten years ago...
She'd been so damn cute and pretty back then anyway.
And above all, she was the heroine—the female lead—of my dream from last night, less than 24 hours ago.
"...Is that really you? Cheol-su's little sis...?"
Of course, she was cute and pretty as hell, but to me, she was just another immature middle-school brat, so I didn't remember her name exactly.
I wanted proper confirmation through the nickname "Cheol-su's little sis" instead of Da-hee.
"Sob, sob sob! Yeah, yeah...!! It's me, me! Da-hee, it's Da-hee. Cheol-su oppa's little sister... The Da-hee from Nobel Middle School, while Cheol-su oppa and Hyun oppa were at Nobel High..."
"...Yeah. That's right. Da... hee, it's really you. Wow, wow. You've gotten so pretty. A full-fledged lady now, huh?"
"Sob, sob sob! Oppa, Hyun oppa. I missed you so much. So, so much...!"
This awkward, hard-to-fathom reaction from Shin Da-hee, who was bawling her eyes out and burrowing even deeper into my chest.
Still, I gently stroked her hair and back, like you would for a kid we'd reunited with after so long.
"Yeah, uh, yeah. I thought of you and Cheol-su from time to time too... But with the world being what it is, I couldn't move around easily. You been okay...?"
From the info I'd checked in her status window earlier, I could confirm that even in this fucked-up apocalypse, she hadn't gone through anything too rough. Thankfully.
But this sudden outburst—bawling and overjoyed the second she saw me.
Ten years for me, about five for her... We hadn't had any contact for a solid five years.
And she wasn't even that close to her own brother, yet here she was, thrilled to see an acquaintance like me...?
"Sob, sob sob...! O-oppa is... Cheol-su oppa is...!"
"...It's fine, it's fine. You don't have to say it."
I carefully wiped the tears pooling at the corners of Shin Da-hee's eyes.
This time, I pulled her closer, patting her back like a baby.
...Sigh. Fuck. That worthless piece of shit. Talking all big about wanting to crush my fist into him...'
I grumbled inwardly out of this heavy feeling, but seeing this stunningly pretty Shin Da-hee—way beyond ordinary—still unscathed...
I could picture exactly how hard that Cheol-su bastard had fought before he went, even without seeing it.
After regressing from the first timeline where I'd tasted every bitterness, I thought I wouldn't feel shit like this in the second round.
But experiencing this tiny thread connecting back to someone from the first timeline caught me off guard.
Even I couldn't help feeling a pang of regret and sorrow.
Naturally, it led me to think that the creepy dream from last night wasn't just coincidence.
...Yeah. Whatever. At least Da-hee's safe... Sigh, you fucking dog, Cheol-su. Yeah, I'll take good care of Da-hee in this shit world till the end, so don't worry anymore. That's why you sent me that dream, right?'
Sure, back then she'd pissed me off calling me a pervert or whatever, making me uncomfortable.
But that was ten years ago now.
And she'd been drunk for the first time, like me, so it was half an accident...
I'd been mad back in my sensitive high school days, but after growing up, I felt nothing about it.
Anyway, seeing me must've brought back memories of Cheol-su.
I held this pitiful little thing tight, patting her until she cried herself out, her sobs growing more desperate.
She must've just showered—nice aroma and shampoo scents tickled my nose.
Our embarrassing lower parts were pressed tight too.
But this time, for real, I just hugged her purely, no sexual desire.
No erection at all. Total flaccid mode.
No matter how you slice it, how could I get hard for my friend's little sister—a total kid...?
Still, after a good ten minutes of her pouring out tears, Shin Da-hee finally calmed down.
She seemed to notice the weird hardness where our lower bellies met.
"Eek, o-o-oppa...?"
Her face turned beet red, like a ripe persimmon, in an instant.
I lightly flicked her forehead and turned my head away awkwardly.
"...Y-you little punk! It's not like that. Guys are all this size normally. This ain't... an erection, so don't get the wrong idea!"
***
After wrapping up that sudden reunion with Shin Da-hee, we all headed into room 9901.
The four of us huddled on the living room sofa, chatting about this and that.
But there was one awkward issue...
Ahem.
"...Da-hee? Didn't you say you were all calmed down now?"
"Y-yeah... But I don't wanna be away from oppa after finally meeting you... Why, can't I sit next to you?"
Not as clingy as before, but sitting side-by-side on the sofa, gripping my right arm in a lock, refusing to let go.
Her babying spoiled me like this left Lee Soyeon and Kim Gayeon across from us chuckling awkwardly.
"No... What the hell, does that even make sense?"
"Huh? What's not to make sense? We should be congratulating you guys. This is great. For our Da-hee, and oppa too."
Lee Soyeon's complaint.
To her light muttering laced with disbelief, Kim Gayeon—now fully beaming in hyper mode—grinned and replied.
...Our Da-hee already?
"Gayeon, don't get any weird ideas. You're really in for it this time."
"Psh, weird ideas? I'm just touched by oppa and Da-hee's fateful connection. Look, I even teared up a bit. I'm such a sucker for this stuff..."
She wiped a tear from her eye with her finger for show.
Then, beaming at Shin Da-hee stuck to me like gum, she said,
"So, Da-hee, you're cool with it too? Living here with oppa and us sisters from now on!"
"Yes...! Totally fine. Actually, I felt kinda bad for Ho-guk oppa and Jisoo unnie at the shelter outside... I had no idea Soyeon unnie was doing all that..."
Looking at Lee Soyeon with admiring, envious eyes, Shin Da-hee soon turned to me.
"Oppa. Can I do like Soyeon unnie... Send supplies to Jisoo unnie too?"
"Hm, no reason not to..."
I scratched my neck vaguely, trailing off.
Recalling what Shin Da-hee had said earlier about the shelter leaders' personalities.
No issues there.
"From what you said, those two seem decent enough... And they keep supplies secret from the shelter folks, manage 'em well."
"Yeah. They're really good people. Ho-guk oppa, Jisoo unnie. And everyone else at the shelter too, all of them."
"Alright then... Soyeon."
I looked at Lee Soyeon across from me, and she replied right away, like she'd been waiting.
"Yes, oppa."
"Next month... No, during this business period, I'll set up another jackpot message. You send a carrier pigeon over then, explain the situation. Include a handwritten note from Da-hee if needed, and send generous supplies based on your judgment."
"Ah, yes. Got it."
"...So, Da-hee, no regrets for real?"
Then Shin Da-hee pulled my arm deeper, resting her head on my shoulder.
"No way. Meeting you like this again is a miracle...! How could I leave? No. Absolutely not!"
"...Mm. Hearing that makes oppa happy too. But Da-hee, you... Uh, nah, forget it."
Parents gone overseas, unknown if alive.
Her big bro died protecting her from those trash gangsters she'd hung with before.
Even if she didn't like me much back then, it made sense she'd cling to me now.
This pitiful kid's last emotional anchor—a stable tall uncle figure—was me right now.
"W-what's that supposed to mean? Tell me, oppa."
"Nah, just... I feel like we were kinda awkward back then. Maybe my memory's fuzzy after all these years. Haha."
I tried to brush it off vaguely with some banter.
Suddenly, tears welled up in Shin Da-hee's pretty face again.
"Sob, oppa...!"
"Wha— Da, Da-hee!?"
She suddenly released the arm lock, straddled my lap with legs spread, and buried her face in my chest, murmuring pitifully.
"Sorry, I'm sorry. Back then I said so many mean things..."
"No, that's not what I meant...! Good girl. Yeah. Our good Da-hee. Don't cry... Aigoo, my bad. Yeah, yeah."
Age-wise, compared to those two watching us with interest across the way—Lee Soyeon and Kim Gayeon—Shin Da-hee was only a year or two younger.
But as my friend's little sis, with her tiny frame under 160cm...
Plus memories of her as a kid, I naturally treated her like a baby.
"Sob, sob sob! But, still, Cheol-su oppa said... Hyun oppa was a real friend you could trust. Not like the others. Sob...! So that's why, back then. When Cheol-su oppa and Hyun oppa were drinking, he wanted to introduce me..."
"...R-really? Whew... That bastard Cheol-su..."
No reason for this kid—clearly torn up inside—to lie to me now.
99% chance it was true.
That worthless fucker, if he thought that, should've just said it straight...
No, and those trash betrayed Cheol-su and her in the end.
If this was true, now that she saw me—whom Cheol-su truly trusted...
"Sob, sob sob! B-but. Back then I said so many mean things to Hyun oppa. After you left that day, Cheol-su oppa chewed me out big time... And then things got awkward between you two, so I, I... Sob sob. Sorry. Oppa, oppa...!"
Her words broke midway, but I got the gist.
I patted her small, frail body, speaking as softly as possible.
"...Yeah. It's okay. I get it. Oppa knows. Wasn't meant that way... From now on, live here with oppa and the unnies, get closer than before. We will, okay...?"
"Sob, yeah, yeah! Got it, got it. Oppa...!"