Hello, I'm a Lolicon
Si-hyeon quietly released Luna's hand, which she'd been holding, and sat back down in his seat.
Luna, I have no idea why she's taking an interest in me, but if what the Notification Window said is true...
He needed to have a proper talk with her once he transformed into his nighttime form. That was the first time she'd shown any reaction like longing for him.
As he pondered how to kill time with a mengmang-grade entity until sunset, the doorbell rang.
—Ding-dong.
"Who's that?"
There shouldn't be anyone coming to see him this early in the morning.
Things are already complicated enough, and now this?
Just then, the doorbell rang again, followed by a familiar voice.
"Oppa! It's me!"
"...Han Ga-eun?"
"Oppa, are you home? Open the door!"
Si-hyeon instinctively clutched his head.
Ah, damn it. Of all the timings!
Han Ga-eun. Ever since they met in elementary school, she'd stuck to him like glue, even following him to the same university. She was like a persistent little sister figure, a childhood friend type. And number one on the list of people guaranteed to spark all sorts of misunderstandings.
For her to show up out of nowhere in this situation?
This isn't just a bad feeling anymore—it's a full-blown disaster waiting to happen!
But he couldn't just ignore her.
If I don't open up, she might break the door down. She's actually done it before...
Letting out a deep sigh, he had no choice but to open the door.
"Oppa, are you okay?!"
The moment the door swung open, Ga-eun burst inside with explosive energy. She had light pink hair tied in a long ponytail and glowing sunset-colored eyes.
"I'm fine, so please calm down, Ga-eun."
"What?! You're really okay?!"
She grabbed both his arms and started shaking them wildly.
"No injuries anywhere?! Oh god, look at your face! You're totally pale!!"
"Hey, calm down."
"How can I calm down?! There was that huge mess at Bosingak yesterday, and your place is just a short walk away. I thought something might've happened to you—!"
"No, nothing happened."
"...Really?"
Ga-eun narrowed her eyes and stared right through him.
"I said really."
"..."
Ga-eun's sunset eyes turned icy for a split second.
"Oppa... you know what happens if you lie to me... right?"
Si-hyeon swallowed hard on instinct.
As if I wouldn't know! How many times have I suffered because of you?
But telling the truth would unleash an even bigger catastrophe, so he had no choice. Sorry, Ga-eun!
"Nothing happened, for real. See? I'm perfectly fine."
"..."
"Haha."
"...Fine then."
She finally let out a sigh of relief.
"...But Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"The vibe in here feels weird."
"What does?"
Ga-eun glanced toward the kitchen, then slowly pointed behind Si-hyeon.
"Who's that kid over there?"
Behind Si-hyeon, perched quietly on a chair, was the petite girl holding a spoon and gazing silently: Luna.
She looked like just an ordinary child, but in this situation, facing Ga-eun, she was far too dangerous an existence.
How is there never a peaceful day?!
Si-hyeon racked his brain at full speed. He had to smooth this over somehow! This was a crisis. A massive crisis!
Brain at 100% capacity!!
After his calculations, he opened his mouth very quickly.
"Oh, my little sister."
"...Oppa, since when do you have a little sister?"
"Well, you see... she's my friend's little sister, staying here for a bit."
Ga-eun eyed Luna up and down once more. Her gaze was still suspicious.
"...For real?"
"Of course it's real. Why would I lie to you? Haha."
Ga-eun approached Luna with a slight smile.
"Hi, I'm Han Ga-eun. What's your name?"
Luna stared at her with golden eyes.
"...Luna."
A short reply that cut off further talk.
"Luna, huh? Pretty name."
She kept up the friendly smile, but Ga-eun's eyes gleamed with suspicion.
"How old are you, Luna?"
"..."
"How long have you been living with Oppa?"
"..."
The girl just kept staring intently at Ga-eun.
Ga-eun suddenly felt a twinge of unease from Luna. Something felt off.
Then, Luna slowly spoke.
"...Luna."
"Yeah?"
"...Si-hyeon's."
"...?"
"...Si-hyeon's."
A heavy silence fell, and Ga-eun's brow twitched as her own thoughts settled.
"...Oppa. What does that mean?"
"Uh, huh?"
"...Explain."
...Ah. Please, just let one day pass peacefully!
Si-hyeon had never racked his brain this hard in his entire life. Not even during exams. Not when writing reports at work. Not even when fleeing from ghost stories.
He'd never spun his thoughts this desperately! His survival was on the line right now.
"...Oppa. Explain right now."
"..."
Si-hyeon could only pray inwardly.
Please, just let this slide like nothing happened...!
But Luna was thoroughly shattering his desperate prayers.
The girl had sidled up beside him at some point, clutching his clothes tightly and repeating in a quiet voice.
"...Si-hyeon's."
Ah, I'm screwed.
Si-hyeon felt like he might actually puke.
Ga-eun scanned Luna again. Small and cute face. Faint silver hair. An incredibly pretty girl exuding a strangely mystical aura. She clearly looked like a child, yet Ga-eun felt an inexplicable sense of crisis building.
"...Oppa, tell me the truth."
"Hahaha. What truth?"
"...What's your relationship with her?"
"No, really, she's my friend's little sister."
"Yeah? Then I can ask a few questions, right?"
"...Huh?"
Ga-eun's eyes sharpened.
"Luna, right?"
Luna, still clinging tightly to Si-hyeon, looked up at her quietly.
"...Yeah."
"Good. Just a few questions."
Ga-eun forced a kind smile.
"How old are you?"
"..."
Silence.
"...Luna?"
"..."
The girl stared only at Si-hyeon, as if the woman in front of her was beneath notice.
"...How long have you been living with Oppa?"
"..."
Finally annoyed by the endless questions, Luna spoke.
"...Always."
—Crack.
Ga-eun's smile began to crumble bit by bit.
Always? Since when exactly?
She thought she knew everything about Si-hyeon, but this kid had been living with him—always?
"...So, do you have anything you want to say to Oppa?"
"..."
Luna seemed to ponder for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.
"Luna. Si-hyeon's."
"...?!"
"Si-hyeon. Luna's."
As she said it, her small hand gripped his clothes even tighter. A firm declaration, as if Si-hyeon belonged to her and her alone.
What, what is this kid...?!
Ga-eun's instincts kicked in. That legendary woman's intuition! Despite appearances, this girl was definitely her 'enemy.'
This tiny thing claiming whose what?!
At that moment, Si-hyeon felt cold sweat trickling down his back.
Please stop! I'm seriously gonna die here.
Ga-eun fixed him with an even sharper glare.
"...Oppa."
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"Be honest."
"With what?"
"Oppa... you're not a lolicon... are you?"
"What?!?!"
"Lo-li-con...?"
Si-hyeon's vision went dark.
This misunderstanding was scarier than any ghost story!
No, my heart's pounding harder than when ghost stories were chasing me—what the hell?
Ga-eun pressed him further.
"You're really not that close?"
His mind went blank. How was he supposed to clear this up?!
"Look, Luna's really like a little sister to me—"
"Oppa, you just said 'friend's little sister' a minute ago."
"Ah, right!! She's a friend's little sister, but like my own sibling."
"Then why's she saying stuff like 'Si-hyeon's'?"
"..."
Si-hyeon closed his eyes for a brief moment, then opened them. How many simulations had he run in that instant?
I foresaw 14,006,000 futures, and they all end with me as a lolicon—why?!
At this rate, he'd really become a lolicon!! No answers from countless scenarios? Then the solution was a frontal assault. What he needed now was shamelessness!
He opened his mouth with a perfectly calm expression.
"She's just really attached to me since she was little."
"...What?"
"She grew up relying on me, so she has a bit of a dependency thing."
Si-hyeon added nonchalantly.
"You know how kids get attached to people they trust."
"..."
Ga-eun's eyebrow twitched faintly.
We've known each other since elementary school, and this is the first I've heard of a sister like this...
"Then why does she talk like that?"
"It's just strong attachment. I've been wondering what to do about it myself."
He added one more line very carefully.
Ga-eun, you've been too sporadic in seeing me. The years have taught me exactly what to say to calm you down!
"That's why I wanted to ask you."
"...What?"
"How to make Luna less dependent on me."
"..."
"You, of all people! I wanted your advice!"
Please, please buy it...!
Si-hyeon prayed fervently. Did it work? He caught the slightest upward twitch of Ga-eun's left lip!
"...Hmph, I see."
Not ideal, but the thought that he'd turned to her in his time of need softened her agitation a bit.
Luna was still clinging to him, her face oddly thoughtful. She tugged at his clothes and called to him.
"...Not Si-hyeon's...?"
"Huh?"
Luna tilted her head slightly.
"...Not?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Ga-eun's expression began to relax.
"Yeah, seems like it's just a kid being dependent on an adult."
She started convincing herself.
"...Okay, got it. Sorry for the misunderstanding."
I'm alive...!
Si-hyeon sighed in relief and nodded quietly.
"It's fine. You were just worried."
Ga-eun still seemed a tad uneasy, but her suspicions had eased somewhat.
"Still, Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"Don't teach her any weird stuff from now on."
"...Huh???"
"The way Luna says 'Si-hyeon's,' it feels like you taught her something strange, right?"
"No, what nonsense is that?!?!"
For a second, he hallucinated a cop in a hat shining a flashlight at him. Must be his imagination.
Then, the girl tugging at his clothes called out.
"Si-hyeon... what's a lolicon...?"
"Haha, Luna, you don't need to know that—"
Ga-eun cut in before he could explain.
"It's what you call pervy oppas who like small, young, pretty girls like you!"
Ah, come on!! Wasn't the misunderstanding cleared up?!
"Si-hyeon... likes young ones...?"
"Well, if I had to pick, young ones are nice... no, not like that!!"
Si-hyeon nearly got slapped with another false accusation. But somehow, he'd scraped by this crisis.
I was a lolicon for a hot second, but crisis averted—success!!