Chapter 48: Birthday (2)
Chapter 48: Birthday (2)
I sipped the beer. Four cans for ten thousand won, was it? Looking at the amount, it was clear she’d considered the portions for the Eldest Noona or Kang Yu-min, who would be arriving later.
Or, there was the other possibility: she had considered the chance of me getting completely wasted.
Since either was possible, I made sure to pace myself.
That was why I didn't down the whole thing in one go, even after opening the can and toasting with my younger sister.
I usually tried to finish the first can of beer in one shot, and because I did that often despite being a total lightweight, my friends used to say, "This guy's doing it again."
There was no way my sister didn't know that. It was only natural, considering she was always watching me.
I felt like a fool for only realizing that now.
"Do you prefer being sober?"
I couldn't answer her. The breath caught in my throat, preventing me from uttering a word. I just quietly sipped my beer and aimlessly poked at the wasabi soy sauce with my chopsticks.
"Oppa, is it because you're shy?"
Yuri’s giggling voice was as sweet as a drug, yet terribly toxic. Even though I already knew what would happen now that things had reached this point and the others hadn't returned late into the evening.
I acted as innocent as a person who believes they won't be hit until the very moment the car strikes them.
It was similar to the naivety of believing that all misfortune, bad luck, and incidents would somehow avoid you, yet it was slightly different.
I was a foolish human being who believed that the seed sown by me and grown because of me would turn out differently than I expected.
Don't they say you reap what you sow? It was the same this time.
This was a seed I had planted.
The seed I planted when I foolishly started the game I received from that 'woman who didn't even seem human.'
It was finally raising its head and pushing through the dirt.
"You're cute."
I was flustered by the fact that even that voice was terrifyingly lovely.
Even though Yuri had always been this way.
Just because the way I treated her had changed, and the way I perceived her had changed.
No, perhaps it was more than that—just acknowledging the fact that Yuri had harbored romantic feelings for me all this time changed everything.
In truth, Yuri hadn't changed at all. She was sending the same love my way, with the same tone and attitude as always.
For me, the reason was hard to understand. If it were the Eldest Noona or Kang Yu-min, I could write it off as carnal desire.
But Yuri said it was affection. At least, that’s what the kiss and confession we shared at the karaoke room suggested.
I wasn't sure if it was okay to call it pure affection, but Yuri harbored a love for me so deep that questioning its reason or origin felt meaningless.
I didn't deny or reject my sister's affection. I didn't have the strength for that.
I was a being ready to waver, falter, and kneel before desire.
I tilted the beer can high, and the stinging alcohol poured down my throat.
"Oppa, if you drink on an empty stomach, you'll have a hangover later. Here, say 'ah~'."
My sister wasn't one to just let that slide. I looked at the sushi dangling from the chopsticks she held out to me.
I could have played hard to get and said I’d eat it myself, but I didn't bother with such useless gestures.
I simply sat there and accepted the sushi. It must have been from an expensive place, because it tasted good. Or maybe that was just how I felt.
I wasn't entirely sure. Even if it had tasted terrible, I wouldn't have noticed; my mind was constantly drifting toward my sister's face and lips.
I had been imagining what would happen today the entire time. Blood rushed through me involuntarily, and my heart pounded wildly.
Even so, I tried to maintain my composure as I ate the sushi and drank the beer. Even if I paced myself, I usually knocked out quickly, yet I kept drinking and eating.
"...Huh."
I was surprised to find that even after two cans, I only felt a slight buzz.
"What's wrong?"
"Uh, it's just... I'm not really feeling drunk."
"Hmm? Really?"
My sister leaned in, curious. Her face drawing closer was lethal in itself.
I looked for something else to divert my gaze for a moment.
"...10x Stamina."
I didn't realize my poor alcohol absorption would be included in that 'stamina,' but while it was surprising, it also made sense.
Simply increasing stamina doesn't necessarily improve performance, so I wondered if '10x Stamina' also included mental aspects or other things that could be linked to physical endurance.
"I guess I'm not a lightweight anymore."
I marveled at myself, realizing this ability would have a significant long-term impact on me.
I’d need to verify it somehow, but perhaps...
"Then, shall we drink more?"
My train of thought was cut off. My sister's narrowed eyes were fixed on me.
I met her gaze and froze with a start. I fell into the illusion that the words she whispered traveled through my ears to my brain, then raced down my spine.
The chills running down my back were that vivid. It was a sweet shock that made my mind tingle. As I swallowed hard, my sister picked up a piece of sushi with her hand instead of chopsticks and held it out.
"Eat some sushi, too."
"...Okay."
And contrary to my nervousness, we spent a time that was merely intimate and less provocative than I had expected.
The time spent eating the sushi she offered, toasting together, and drinking beer.
Considering our usual closeness, it wouldn't have been strange for it to feel awkward...
But I was grateful even for this time. It made sense, considering what might happen next.
"What should we do about the cake?"
"Hmm, should we do it when the unnies get here? I'll put it in the fridge."
"...Let's do that."
My sister didn't act as if there were no tomorrow, and I let her behavior slide.
"Or..."
"Yeah?"
"Should we just put the candles in, sing, and blow them out?"
My sister's eyes turned bedroom-soft as she looked at me. I shut my mouth, feeling like I might get the hiccups, and she giggled as she opened the cake box.
"Hmm? You'll do it for me, right? The song."
"Well..."
"I feel like I'll finally feel like an adult if you're the one celebrating with me. Please? Pretty please?"
Yuri looked at me with an adorable, pleading expression. I couldn't refuse her gaze.
The cake was a luxurious fresh cream cake.
Typical and ordinary, yet somehow, it was a cake that frightened me.
I stuck two long candles into it, and Yuri watched with a smirk.
At some point, she must have used mouthwash; she set it down and moved to sit across from me.
I struck a match and lit the candles. My hands trembled slightly, but the flames caught as if nothing were wrong.
The candles emitted a quiet glow. My sister suddenly stood up and turned off the fluorescent light.
A soft darkness settled in. The candlelight flickered in the dimness, and my sister rested her chin on her hands, staring intently at me.
"I'm ready."
For what?
I couldn't ask. I quietly caught my breath and sang the song just for her.
It wasn't a grand song, nor was there anything particularly special about it.
But I couldn't hide the fact that I was more nervous than necessary. Perhaps it was because I felt like I was witnessing my own approaching ruin in real-time.
Throughout my song, my sister gazed at me with soft eyes, her hands still resting demurely under her chin.
The song inevitably came to an end. Now, all that was left was to blow out the candles.
The cake was close. I naturally tried to stand up to create some distance, but...
"Stay seated."
I stopped at my sister's quiet command.
I simply watched as my sister, who had been staring at me intently, blew out the candles.
Whoosh. Beyond the extinguished flames, darkness fell. It wasn't even 2 PM yet, so it was only a shallow darkness.
Under the afternoon sun slanting in from outside.
My sister's dark eyes were fixed squarely on me.
The refreshing scent of mouthwash and her beer-laced breath brushed against my skin.
It was awkward. In the thin silence, I barely managed to speak.
"Did you... make a wish?"
"Hmm? Oh, no."
"Re-really? Usually, when you blow out candles, you make a..."
"I know, but it wasn't really important."
I swallowed hard as I watched my sister pull the candles out of the cake and move toward me.
"Ugh."
My sister's hips landed on my lap. In a position that anyone would deem highly suggestive, Yuri threw her arms around me.
"Why do you think that is?"
"I... I don't know."
"Because I didn't really need a wish."
My sister's arms wrapped around my neck. Our bodies pressed together.
Thump, thump, thump. Over my wildly beating heart, I felt Yuri's body—the body of someone who had fully realized she was now an adult as she blew out those candles.
I could feel Yuri's heartbeat. I felt a heart that was beating as fast as mine, maybe even faster.
"Why do you think that is?"
The question returned. I looked up, meeting Yuri's large, dark eyes.
"Hmm? Why?"
It was as if she wouldn't let me go until I guessed correctly. So, I was forced to agonize over the answer.
It was obvious. But was it really okay for me to say it out loud? Amidst my internal conflict, my sister smirked.
I couldn't just say I didn't know. Her eyes were deep with the intent that she wouldn't accept such a pathetic answer.
She was saying with her eyes that she only wanted an answer born of complete sincerity. Anything else wouldn't count.
So I struggled and hesitated.
But in the end, I had no choice.
No quest appeared on my smartphone. It was as if, this time, it wasn't even worth paying for.
Therefore, all of this was entirely my decision, chosen and put into action by me.
"...Because you've already achieved it."
That she had already kissed me, conveyed her feelings to me, and that I was fluttering because of it.
Because all her wishes had been fulfilled by that.
That was why I guessed she hadn't made a wish, but...
"Hehe, wrong."
My sister shook her head.
Then, she brought her face close and pressed her lips against mine.
She pried my lips apart with her small mouth, brushing her lips against mine as she extended her tongue to sweep over my gums and the root of my tongue.
My saliva was sucked away. It was a movement that seemed to signal what she was about to do next—as if she intended to do this somewhere other than my mouth.
I felt her lick my lips, which had gone dry after my saliva was completely drawn out.
My breath was ragged, and my heart pounded fiercely. I kept my eyes locked with hers and listened to her words.
"Because from now on, I'm going to seize it for myself."
Looking at that seductive smile, I knew Yuri would do exactly that.