Chapter 540: Photo
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 540: Photo
I’ll tell you right now, plain and simple.
“I’d rather touch food waste with my bare hands. I am absolutely not touching that thing.”
Why the hell was she thrusting such a piece of garbage at me?
Just knowing that my Big Hyung’s bare ass had been rubbing against that thing while he had sex with my sister-in-law made that love chair an abomination among abominations.
What kind of mindset do you have to have to ask me to move that?
Big Hyung often called me a madman, but had he forgotten that we were brothers?
“That bastard must really be insane.”
I couldn't hold it in and let the curses fly.
Fortunately, our dear nephew was in the living room, so I didn't feel a shred of guilt about swearing.
“No, seriously, isn't this crossing a line? What kind of psycho asks his own younger brother to move a love chair he’s been using?”
“You can do that much. We’re family, after all.”
Yoo Ah-rin shrugged, emphasizing the word 'family' as if she liked the sound of it.
“Think about how much he hated the idea of hiring movers if he called you instead. Doesn't it mean he trusts you with this kind of thing?”
“…….”
Yoo Ah-rin’s persuasion continued.
“Everyone has a secret they don’t want anyone else to know, right?”
“……Right.”
“You have one? You little punk, what are you hiding?”
“Wow.”
Look at her pouncing on me and glaring the moment I agreed. How does she manage to plant a landmine in every single sentence?
Did this girl serve on the front lines during her military service?
“No, I was just agreeing with what you said. What would I even be hiding?”
“You better watch out. I’ve been keeping a close eye on you lately. Remember that.”
Yoo Ah-rin glared at me, her eyes wide.
“Anyway. I’m sure the older brother-in-law thought long and hard before asking you. Let’s just move it. Since I’m here, we can move it together. It’ll be quick and easy.”
Yoo Ah-rin urged me, grabbing one side. Her bent-over posture in front of the love chair was strangely arousing, but…
When I thought about Big Hyung moving around naked on top of that thing, I just couldn't do it.
“No, this is really not it. Ah-rin, you’re an only child, so you just can’t empathize right now.”
“Sigh.”
Yoo Ah-rin looked at me as if wondering if I was still going on about it after everything she said, but I wasn't the weird one here.
I immediately pulled out my phone and made a call.
After a few rings, Choi I-seo picked up.
— Hello?
“I-seo, there’s something I want to ask you.”
— ……What did you mess up this time?
I wanted to argue about why her first thought was that I’d caused trouble, but I let it slide.
If I made an enemy out of Choi I-seo here, the conversation would never end.
“I didn't mess anything up. I just have something to ask.”
— You really didn't? You’re making me worry over a simple favor to help someone move.
“I told you, I didn't. Just listen.”
I thought for a moment, trying to find an appropriate analogy.
“I-seo, if you went into I-hyun’s room to clean and found a used condom in the trash, what would you do?”
“Ah, you crazy bastard.”
— …….
Yoo Ah-rin immediately slapped my shoulder.
She asked why the hell I would use an example like that, but I thought it was a pretty fitting comparison.
— Choi I-hyun… don't tell me…….
But the reaction was different from what I expected.
Did she think I had discovered a secret of Choi I-hyun’s and was testing the waters?
— I specifically told her to be careful!
Click!
Choi I-seo hung up just like that.
“Huh?”
Flustered, I tried calling back, but I only got the automated message saying she was on another call.
It seemed she had called Choi I-hyun the second she hung up on me.
“…….”
Having unintentionally thrown my sister-in-law-to-be under the bus, I stared blankly down at my phone.
Then, I tucked the phone away as if nothing had happened and spoke to Yoo Ah-rin.
“See? Like I said, it’s hard for family members to accept things like that. You wouldn't know since you’re an only child.”
“That wasn't about being an only child… No, but is it really okay to just leave it like that?! I-hyun just got misunderstood for no reason.”
“……Who cares.”
How much has she fleeced from me until now?
Choi I-hyun is partly responsible for the fact that I have less money in my bank account than my nephew.
It’s a misunderstanding anyway, so I can just explain it well when she calls back.
“Anyway, I’m really not touchin—”
“Then what? Should I move it? By myself?”
“…….”
“Is the husband just going to watch from there? While I, your wife, move it alone?”
“…….”
“Phew, it’s heavier than I thought—”
“Ah, fine! Sister-in-law! Do you have any gloves?! Please give me some gloves!”
“Heh, you punk. You’re actually cute at times like this.”
Yoo Ah-rin grinned and pinched my cheek. My sister-in-law brought over some cotton work gloves as if she’d been waiting for the request.
“Use these, and there’s one more thing.”
Look at her naturally adding another task. I prayed to God it wasn't another love chair.
I put on the gloves and grabbed the bottom of the chair. I suppressed the urge to plug my nose at the faint scent wafting from it.
* * *
“It feels a bit smaller than the last house, doesn't it?”
After moving the luggage, we stood in the new house.
The love chair sitting lonely in the middle of the room didn't give off a good vibe no matter how I looked at it.
If I had to be specific, it felt like a studio for filming professional AVs.
The wallpaper and flooring were all brand new.
It seemed they had it done before moving in.
“This place is definitely better for raising a kid. Elementary, middle, and high schools are all nearby. By the time they’re in college, they’ll probably commute or move again, right?”
It was just like Big Hyung.
Preparing for the child’s future already was exactly his style.
Looking at the house, it seemed he moved to a slightly smaller place on purpose to avoid flaunting his status as a chaebol.
“The person who saw firsthand what happens when a kid gets cocky from a young age is certainly different.”
“……Why are you looking at me while saying that?”
“If you feel targeted, then it’s you.”
Unbelievable.
“Then what, should we move out of the main house and find a small place to live too?”
“We have three kids, where would we go, you idiot? Plus, there are six moms. Even I think it’s ridiculous saying it out loud.”
“…….”
True, a large family like ours couldn't live in a small house to begin with.
Living in the main house like we do now is the most efficient, both economically and practically.
“I should call the big guy.”
In my mind, his title had shifted from 'Big Hyung' to 'the big guy.'
When I pulled out my phone, I saw a ton of missed calls from Choi I-hyun, but I ignored them and called the big guy.
— Hello.
“I moved it.”
— Right, good job.
“……But did you really want me to be the one to move that?”
— ……Hmm?
“No, put yourself in my shoes. If I asked you to move a love chair I’d been using, would you do it?”
— Hold on.
I heard the sound of him moving somewhere over the phone. Was he calling in the middle of something busy?
But what did that matter?
— Okay, what was that?
“I asked if you could touch a love chair I’d been using if I asked you to move it. It feels disgusting.”
— ……I instructed you to move the safe?
“Huh?”
What was he talking about?
— I have a separate safe I use. It could be dangerous if its existence is known, so I called you to move it.
“…….”
— We don't even have a love chair in our house. Even if we did, knowing the kind of person you are, would I ask you to move it?
My gaze shifted toward the love chair.
Then where the hell did this come from? As I stared at it, Yoo Ah-rin lightly touched it and muttered.
“This is brand new?”
Was this the karma for barely looking at it because I didn't want to touch it?
Following Ah-rin’s words, I looked closer, and it was indeed brand new.
— ……What’s going on?
Yoo Ah-rin thought for a moment at Big Hyung’s voice coming through the speakerphone, then gave an awkward laugh.
“Have a good night!”
It seemed we had unintentionally helped out with my sister-in-law’s secret event.
* * *
A few days later.
While I was eating at the school cafeteria, someone slammed their tray down on the table across from me with a look of irritation.
“I see you’re enjoying your meal quite heartily?”
“Ah…….”
Her name was Choi I-hyun.
She was currently harboring a great deal of resentment toward me.
“Do you have any idea how many excuses I had to make to my sister because of that? She was asking how I could be doing things like that already! No, why on earth would you use a condom in my room as an analogy?!”
“…….”
I ate my side dishes in silence.
There was nothing I could say in response.
“My sister kept asking if it was really true. Sigh, I’m not a kid anymore.”
“…….”
“Why does she interfere more than Mom or Dad? Don't you agree, Brother-in-law?”
“Ahem.”
I couldn't take Choi I-hyun’s side here.
She would immediately go to I-seo and brag that her brother-in-law agreed with her.
I’d fallen for that a few times already.
‘But I-seo did it with me when she was a freshman too….’
Back then, before we went to Gold One, didn't she bring her own condoms to my studio apartment and tell me to do it?
But I wouldn't say that.
The moment I opened my mouth about that, I’d get an earful from Choi I-seo until my ears bled.
‘Of course, it’s not that I don’t understand.’
I also had my first experience with Yun-ji during my freshman year of college.
But what if Yu-na, Seo-woo, or Chae-rin showed signs of that in their freshman year?
‘I might kill the guy on the spot. I’ll make sure he can’t live in South Korea.’
While I was gritting my teeth and radiating a twisted affection for our little ones, someone sat down next to I-hyun.
“Hello, Senior!”
A freshman in the English Literature department.
The woman who had Kim Woo-jin as her 'bias,' Seo Da-mi.
“Da-mi, it’s been a while.”
Since it had been quite some time, I greeted her, and Seo Da-mi tilted her head slightly.
“Pardon? A while?”
“Hmm? Haven't I not seen you lately?”
“Ah, I’ve been watching you the whole time, Senior.”
“…….”
“…….”
Both I-hyun and I fell silent at the same time.
The emotion in Choi I-hyun’s eyes seemed to be, ‘I shouldn't get close to this girl,’ as she slid her tray a little further away.
“Oh, right. I wanted to get your approval on these, Senior.”
Seo Da-mi held out her phone, which had several photos of me on it.
Every single one of them was taken quite well.
‘This girl is crazy.’
I couldn't help but be impressed.
When did she even take these?
She said she’d stop the stalking, so why was she still at it?
“Delete them all.”
When I spoke with a sigh, Seo Da-mi looked like she was about to cry, but she didn't refuse.
The fact that she followed my words absolutely was her way of keeping a line, I suppose.
Choi I-hyun, who had been staring at the photos with a chopstick in her mouth, tilted her head.
“Now that I think about it, I heard you’re going to Myung Je-il Studio for a photoshoot. That’s amazing. Even famous people have a hard time getting a slot there.”
“Ah, right. I decided to go there and—”
“What?! You’re shooting at Myung Je-il Studio, Senior?!”
Seo Da-mi suddenly had a fit.
Then, her eyes began to burn with intensity as she started pouring out words.
“When you go! You must tell them! Your left profile is the most handsome, okay? This side, this side. You have to make sure the jawline stands out!”
“And since you’re not as tall as a professional model, make sure to demand that they make your legs look long! Sometimes when you dress weirdly, you look like a dwarf, and it’s a bit disappointing—”
“Makeup should be like you’re not wearing any! Definitely innocent and natural! Definitely! That’s definitely the right look for you, Senior! Do you understand?!”
“…….”
“Ah, no! That’s not it! Me! Take me with you too! I—I’ll tell them myself! Senior! You have to take the shot of a lifetime this time, so please, please share it with me—!”
Ugh, look at her drooling.