Chapter 40: Barbecue (3)
Chapter 40: Barbecue (3)
“…No matter how much I think about it, I have no memory of that.”
Kang Yu-min tilted her head in thought, but her reaction only made me feel more uneasy.
Then who was it?
Actually, come to think of it, coming clean wasn't a great move. In a way, it might have been better if it wasn't Kang Yu-min…
Was it Noona, then? I felt the need to feel things out, so instead of lingering and going all the way with Kang Yu-min, I just washed up and came out. My excuse was that I was tired from the early morning.
“I really don't remember.”
“I’m telling you, we did it.”
“Wasn't it a dream? You brat, do you really like your big sis that much?”
She seemed to be asking if I liked her enough to see her in my dreams, but I etched despair into her heart by maintaining a completely deadpan expression.
“…You didn’t have to make a face like that…”
Oops, was that too much? I had to spend some time coaxing Kang Yu-min, and I was only barely forgiven after promising to use my mouth next time.
Anyway, it was time for the inspection. I headed down to the first floor with Kang Yu-min.
“Ah, are you awake?”
“Oppa.”
Dami Noona and Yu-ri were there.
As if Kang Yu-min and I were the only ones suffering from drinking too much, the two of them looked perfectly fine.
Then again, Yu-ri had been so proactive about snatching my drinks away every time I tried to have one.
And Dami Noona… she just has a high tolerance.
It was strange, now that I thought about it. I looked at Noona with a slightly curious gaze, and she tilted her head as if puzzled.
“What are you making?”
“Porridge.”
Noona smiled brightly and filled two bowls to the brim with porridge. No doubt they were for me and Kang Yu-min.
But why porridge all of a sudden? When I gave her a questioning look, Noona spoke.
“Yu-ri caught a sore throat, you see.”
“Really? Suddenly?”
Yu-ri was the youngest in our family and generally the healthiest. It wasn't just a casual observation; she was a child who rarely ever got sick.
But a sudden sore throat? I felt a sense of dissonance… but I quickly brushed it off, thinking it could happen.
Besides, it wouldn't look good to be suspicious when my younger sister was unwell.
“How did that happen?”
“She slept with the window open to hear the sound of the sea…”
“Oh dear. You should be careful.”
At my concern, Yu-ri made a somewhat bashful face. It was an expression that looked almost like guilt.
She probably felt guilty for making me worry. I felt the same way whenever Eldest Noona nursed me back to health.
“Your jaw seems to hurt, too.”
“Yeah…”
“Why your jaw?”
“I must have slept on it wrong. I don't know.”
“I can't really massage that area for you…”
“It’s okay, it’ll be fine soon.”
If she said so, there was nothing more for me to say. I took the porridge from Noona and sat at the table, glancing at her.
My thoughts naturally drifted back to who the visitor in the early morning had been.
Based on the circumstances, it was definitely either Kang Yu-min or Noona…
But there were no visible signs, making it difficult to judge.
Judging by how stiff my lower back felt, I must have finished at least three times.
If Noona were still a virgin, I might have been able to tell by a waddling gait or something, but both Kang Yu-min and Noona had already tangled their bodies with mine multiple times and were well-adjusted.
It was also hard to tell by any "leaking." I had already filled Noona up plenty, so even if we had done it in the early morning, there wouldn't be much difference, and as for Kang Yu-min… I had just seen that nothing was leaking out of her.
Then.
On a whim, my eyes turned toward Yu-ri. I felt my eyes tremble slightly.
The thought "no way" and the thought "what if" coexisted. Perhaps it was because I had just slept with two family members, but Yu-ri was starting to look like a woman to me as well.
And perhaps, even under the delusion that Yu-ri might harbor romantic interest in me, I found myself looking at her.
I was met with a younger sister whose jaw and throat simply ached, with no waddling or any sign of anything leaking.
I saw only a good girl cleaning up her own bowl. I felt relieved.
“What is it, Oppa?”
There was a hint of fear in her voice, but she was probably just feeling guilty for successfully making me wasted with that series of drinking attempts yesterday.
I shook my head.
“It’s nothing—actually, maybe it is.”
“…Huh?”
A question spat out after a pause. I forced a smile, thinking of course.
“I didn’t know our Yu-ri wanted to try drinking that much. Is it because of your friends?”
I must have hit the mark. Yu-ri’s expression went uncharacteristically blank—if it were Kang Yu-min, I would have called it looking stupid—and she swallowed a gasp.
“No, it’s not…”
“Liar. It’s written all over your face.”
“I-is it? But still…”
“I’m not mad. Just… you’re not hanging out with bad friends, are you?”
“N-no… You’ve seen them, so you know.”
“How would I know? You can’t always know what’s in someone’s heart, even if they’re family.”
“…That’s true.”
Yu-ri forced a smile. I felt that strange sensation again, but I was too nauseous and my head hurt too much to pay it any mind.
“Anyway, I trust you, Yu-ri. You’ll be good, right?”
“Yes…”
“Alright then. Ugh, my head.”
I let out a sigh and ate the porridge. Beside me, Kang Yu-min was groaning in the throes of a hangover just like me, and Noona was watching us with benevolent eyes.
It was a scene of a family, just like any other day.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something.
Exactly what?
I didn't know, and just like that, everything was swept away by the sea waves.
We returned to the cruise.
*
The rest of the cruise trip wasn't particularly special.
But that didn't mean the trip wasn't enjoyable. If anything, it was incredibly fun.
To the point where I thought it might be nice to go on a family trip whenever we had the chance.
We watched movies and performances together and had formal dinners.
Of course, we didn't just eat formal dinners; there were times when Kang Yu-min, her heart fluttering at the sight of me in a suit, would call me to the restroom for a secret tryst, or Noona would pounce on me while we were watching a late-night movie alone.
Those things had become something close to a part of my daily life.
It would probably stay that way. I didn't know how to put the brakes on these relationships once they had started.
The same went for Noona and Kang Yu-min. Though it didn't seem like Kang Yu-min had any intention of stopping in the first place.
It was certain that Noona had the rational judgment to think that we should stop for a moment. That was just like her.
Noona was a smart person. She must have known that whatever future awaited us wasn't exactly bright.
Humans are social animals. They inevitably live within society, and everything about a human is bound to be subordinate to that society.
A human who transcends society is no longer human. They are something more. And as far as I knew, no human had ever truly transcended society.
Even if it appeared so, it was only temporary. No human can do so forever. In that sense, Noona and I were ordinary humans.
What path awaited us at the end? Noona and I knew without even having to weigh the options.
It was highly likely that ruin awaited us at the end.
But the fact that we couldn't stop was the momentum of what we had started.
A sense of depravity, guilt, and anxiety toward the future.
Overlapping our bodies as if to erase those feelings, pouring into each other, heating up the night with the sound of lewd splashing and moans—things that blood-related family members should never do.
The remaining days of the cruise trip were filled with such a schedule. In fact, I noticed that I had lost some weight by the time I got off the ship.
Well, it wasn't surprising to lose weight after pouring out so much.
“Wow, home sweet home. How long has it been?”
Kang Yu-min made a fuss. I was about to nag her, but I quietly looked up and scanned the house.
The familiar sofa, the familiar living room.
The house felt cold and silent, having been empty for several weeks.
But it was definitely our home.
“…Yeah. It really has been a while.”
The cruise trip was long. It wasn't bad, but coming home really made me realize how long we'd been away.
While I was tired, there was also a strange sense of satisfaction.
“I won't even think about traveling for a while. Right?”
Kang Yu-min threw herself onto the sofa with a grin, and Noona let out a deep sigh as she watched her.
“Honestly. If you’re going to lie down, wash up and tidy up first.”
“Aaaah~ I’m tired. Just a little rest.”
“You’ll just fall asleep like that. Hurry up.”
“Fine.”
There was Kang Yu-min, grumbling but obediently listening, Noona, and even Yu-ri, who was staring at the two of them from behind me.
It truly felt like we were back home.
Even if things weren't in the exact same shape as they were before we left.
I caught Kang Yu-min’s eye as she glanced at me, and I brushed off Noona’s lust-filled gaze as it swept over me.
I reflected on our relationships, which the trip had changed.
It would probably continue this way. There was no road back. I entered the house with a smile.
Unaware that the expression Yu-ri was wearing behind me was changing.
The door closed, the hallway light flickered off, and the corridor was dyed in darkness.
*
“Oppa, want to go on a date?”
It was around the time I had forgotten about the mishap with my sister on the cruise.
My sister suddenly made the suggestion. It was after the graduation ceremony, just before the New Year.
At a time when Noona had gone to work and Kang Yu-min was practically living at the gym, claiming she had gained weight.
I blinked blankly at my sister’s request.
Beep-beep-beep!
Along with the low chime of a quest notification.