Chapter 8: The Secret Diet (Se-hee, Shin-bi)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 8: The Secret Diet (Se-hee, Shin-bi)
After Se-hee Noona finished scolding him, they sat down at the dining table to share the ramen Shin-bi Noona had cooked.
"We all went and got them done together today~" Shin-bi Noona said in her characteristically soft, gentle voice.
From what she told him, the tattoo Se-hee Noona got was a "friendship tattoo" currently trending among the girls at the Advanced Academy. They would each take the name of a guy they liked or a celebrity and have the English spelling tattooed on their thighs in a stylized, artistic font.
Since they were tucked away on the inner thighs, just below the groin, there was no risk of getting caught at the academy unless they intentionally lifted their skirts to show someone, like they had just done.
"We went as a group, so we got a good deal. We even got a discount for being Advanced Academy students. Se-hee and I chose the names of people we like. They told us they’d give an even bigger discount for couples."
Shin-bi Noona went into great detail, explaining things he hadn't even asked about in that specific, relaxing lilt of hers.
He nodded while slurping his ramen. According to her, it seemed both Se-hee Noona and Shin-bi Noona had someone they liked. He couldn't tell if they were actually dating the people whose initials they’d used or if it was just a crush, but he didn't particularly feel like asking.
"Want to see mine too?" Shin-bi Noona asked, turning her knees toward him.
Caught off guard by her sudden offer, he choked on his ramen and started coughing.
"Cough... hack... W-what?"
"Don't you want to see? Aren't you curious?"
Shin-bi Noona grabbed the hem of her skirt with both hands and made a slow, teasing motion as if to pull it up. Her already short school uniform skirt brushed against the soft flesh of her plump thighs as it crept toward her pelvis.
Gulp.
He swallowed hard, his eyes glued to her thighs. Suddenly, the movement stopped. Shin-bi Noona spoke in a mischievous, knowing voice.
"Your eyes just got all lecherous, didn't they?"
Then, with a sly grin, she flipped her skirt back down over her thighs.
"You really thought I was going to show you~ Pwahaha!"
Her teasing laughter rang through the house. He stood there, momentarily stunned and embarrassed.
"Your brother is so cute! Did you see how red his face got?" a playful Shin-bi Noona said to Se-hee Noona.
Se-hee Noona, sitting across from them, watched the scene in silence, looking at him with a hint of pity.
"Were you actually expecting something?" Shin-bi Noona continued to tease, hitting the nail right on the head.
"Aw, jeez! No, I wasn't!!!" he snapped, annoyed that even Shin-bi Noona, whom he usually trusted, was ganging up on him.
"Giggle~"
Shin-bi Noona clutched her stomach and laughed for a long time, radiating the vibrant energy of an Advanced Academy student.
As he ate his ramen, he tried to reclaim some of his lost dignity and standing by muttering petty remarks.
"Guys come and go all the time. You're definitely going to regret that later, Noona."
"Well, I guess you'll just have to only date guys with the same initials."
"Or maybe you could just make whatever guy you date change his name?"
Despite his attempts at "cursing" their choices, it didn't have much effect. Shin-bi Noona just humored him with a "Sure, we could do that," in a tone one might use to soothe a child.
"But Se-hee Noona, aren't you going to be in big trouble if Mom finds out?" he asked, shifting to a more serious, worried tone.
"There won't be a problem as long as you keep your mouth shut," Se-hee Noona replied, still acting cold toward him.
"Are you just never going to the bathhouse or the pool with Mom again?"
"I told you, as long as you stay quiet, there's no problem, okay?" Se-hee repeated, her voice icy.
"Jeez, do you really think I'd tell Mom about something like that?!"
Her attitude was starting to get on his nerves. He decided to stop trying to talk to her altogether. It seemed his joke from yesterday morning had really struck a nerve regarding her insecurities, and she was still fuming.
After their father passed away and the whole family was in turmoil, she had quit track and field—a sport she was doing well in—because her breasts had grown too large. He'd heard this from Shin-bi Noona, but if that was the reason, she might have been too embarrassed to tell the rest of the family.
Since Se-hee had never planned on making a career out of sports, she wasn't particularly upset about quitting itself. However, she was internally frustrated by the fact that she couldn't be honest about the reason, knowing it would only cause more worry.
And he had poked right at that wound.
Perhaps feeling sorry for him as she watched from the side, Shin-bi Noona started teasing him again.
"Si-woo, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No, I don't," he answered immediately, without thinking much of it.
"Have you ever dated anyone before?"
"No."
"Have you ever kissed anyone?"
"I just told you I've never dated anyone! How could I have kissed someone?!" he said, feeling his face heat up.
"Can't you kiss someone without dating them?"
"I said I haven't!"
He was a bit surprised. It wasn't that she was wrong—you could kiss someone without dating—but he'd always thought that was something you only did with a partner.
Fantasy is one thing, reality is another.
"Are you not interested in that kind of thing?" Shin-bi Noona leaned her face slightly closer to his.
"It's not that I'm not interested, but it's weird to answer questions like that."
He couldn't meet her eyes, becoming increasingly flustered.
"Want Noona to teach you how to kiss?"
Shin-bi Noona pursed her glossy lips, coated in pink lipstick, and stared straight at him.
"...."
He froze in that position, unable to say a word, his eyes locked on her lips.
"Ah~ You thought about it for a second, didn't you? Kissing me."
Shin-bi Noona's voice returned to its playful tone.
"Oh, forget it!! What are you even talking about?!"
"Si-woo, you really are adorable! Giggle~"
She clutched her stomach and burst into laughter again. After being teased relentlessly by Shin-bi Noona, he just focused on his ramen and listened to the two of them talk.
"Sigh... I don't think I can do the dancing. It makes me sweat a lot, but it's too hard. It hurts to use muscles I've never used before... I don't think it's something I should have taken so lightly."
Se-hee Noona was the first to bring up the dance they had been practicing earlier.
"Yeah, you're right. It's definitely a tough dance for beginners," Shin-bi Noona agreed.
"Maybe it would be better to do that instead? Are you okay with it?"
Se-hee Noona glanced at him briefly before asking Shin-bi Noona about 'that.'
"Hmm... Honestly, I think I could do it if I'm doing it with you," Shin-bi Noona answered cautiously.
"Right. I feel like I could do it if we're together, too. I told So-ra I'd give her an answer later, so let's think about it a bit more."
Se-hee Noona wrapped up the conversation as if trying to hide something, keeping a wary eye on him.
"What are you talking about? A diet?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
"None of your business," Se-hee snapped, shutting him down.
"Jeez, what is it? Shin-bi Noona, what are you guys talking about? Huh?"
Realizing he wouldn't get an answer from Se-hee Noona, he immediately turned to Shin-bi Noona. She glanced at Se-hee before speaking.
"Sorry, Si-woo~ I wouldn't mind telling you, but I think Se-hee would get really mad."
"Ugh, seriously, what is it?!" he grumbled, feeling frustrated.
"I said you don't need to know!! If you're done with your ramen, go do the dishes!!!"
Faced with Se-hee Noona's irritation, he couldn't ask any more and went to the sink.
Se-hee Noona and Shin-bi Noona sat on the living room sofa, chatting while watching TV. He kept his ears perked, trying to eavesdrop, but nothing related to 'that' came up.
As he washed the dishes, he thought to himself.
There's definitely something going on.
They were clearly talking about a diet, so why would Noona get mad if I knew?
Is it the kind of exercise that's embarrassing to tell your own brother about?
Man, now that even Shin-bi Noona is keeping it a secret, I'm even more curious.
He racked his brain, but no answer came to him.
Just as he was finishing up the dishes, Se-hee Noona, who had been chatting in the living room, got up to go to the bathroom. A moment later, while Se-hee was gone, Shin-bi Noona approached him in the kitchen.
"Want some help with the dishes?" she asked in her normal, non-teasing voice.
"I'm almost done, so it's fine~ More importantly, Noona, wasn't that diet talk you guys were having earlier?" he asked quickly, thinking she might answer while Se-hee Noona wasn't around.
"Yeah, it was," Shin-bi Noona answered readily.
"But what kind of diet is it that Se-hee Noona would get mad if I knew?"
"There's just something like that. Hehe."
She still wouldn't give him a straight answer.
"Aw, come on, Shin-bi Noona, you too?"
"Sorry. But I really think Se-hee would be furious if I told you."
She held firm on the secret.
"That's so mean. What is it? First you tease me, and now you're both leaving me out? After all the years we've known each other!!! Can't you just tell your favorite neighborhood dongseng?"
He made one last appeal, sounding genuinely hurt. Shin-bi Noona looked conflicted.
"Don't be so upset~"
She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"I can't tell you directly. Se-hee would really be mad. But I'll give you a hint instead."
As she said that, Shin-bi Noona used her finger to trace numbers on his back while he was still at the sink.
'0'
'1'
'3'
'5'
After writing the numbers, she rubbed his back with her palm as if erasing them.
"0135?"
Puzzled, he turned his head slightly and whispered the numbers back to her to confirm.
"Shh!!"
Shin-bi made a gesture for him to be quiet.
"Even if you figure out the answer, you have to pretend you don't know in front of Se-hee. Got it?"
He nodded.
Until the moment Shin-bi Noona left, he didn't say another word, his mind completely occupied with trying to solve the puzzle.