Righteous Homecoming (4)
Righteous Homecoming (4)
Sagak, sagak.
The room that should have been filled with the sound of scissors cutting was instead full of misplaced sighs and pleas.
It was because of the afterimage of my oppa that had just passed through the living room moments ago.
"Hey, did you see? I said, did you see?!"
"He's insane... What's with that vibe?"
"Hey, I've never seen a guy like that before... For real."
My friends were chewing over the afterimage oppa had left behind, throwing a full-blown tantrum. Team project? That had long been deleted from their brain structures.
Pang, pang!
A friend with yellow highlights in her hair smacked my shoulder and clung to me.
"Hey, Seol Ji-hye... I have a real wish. My lifelong wish! Please? Let me have just one meal with your oppa! Just once!"
"No. Wake up from that dream."
I cut her off firmly and silently continued gluing colored paper.
But my friends showed no signs of giving up.
This time, a friend with round glasses twisted her body, grabbed my forearm, and latched on.
"Ah, please... I seriously thought my heart was going to stop earlier. I've never seen a man with that kind of aura before."
"Hey, get a grip. It's not like guys are some exotic animals. They're all the same, so what's the big deal?"
When I shot back incredulously, the short-haired friend who had been listening nearby suddenly butted in, getting heated.
"Hey, Seol Ji-hye. You're just full, that's what you are—full. How is he the same?"
"Again, he is the same..."
"You're hilarious. Hey, comparing the bratty little brother at my house to your oppa is like comparing heaven and earth!"
Swish— swish—
The short-haired friend waved her hands as if wronged.
"My younger brother trembles and cowers just from making eye contact with me. But your oppa is different! Did you see that indifferent look earlier?"
The friend with glasses chimed in beside her, agreeing.
"Right, right! Wow... when he just passed by looking at us like we were pebbles on the ground—that was seriously sexy."
"······."
"Be honest about it. Your oppa is a real unicorn. Guys like that aren't common anywhere, are they?"
The friend with highlights also nodded vigorously beside her, adding to the chorus.
Most men in this world were either deflated or timid, so that kind of confidence was definitely rare.
I pretended to be unfazed as I worked the scissors, but... inside, I felt just a tiny sting.
'Well... he's a bit different, I guess.'
Honestly, I had to admit what was true. My oppa was definitely different.
Even when he just threw on whatever clothes and stepped out after washing up, he had an inexplicable presence(?).
More than anything, unlike other guys who tiptoed around with timid looks, he carried himself with his shoulders squared and that confident stride.
I wondered if he even knew that his indifferent, dry attitude made people even more desperate.
Not that I had the slightest intention of throwing my oppa to these hungry hyena-like girls, though.
Thud!
Unable to listen any longer, I set the scissors down on the desk. Then I glared at my friends and laid down the law.
"Don't pull any funny business. Don't touch my oppa."
"Huh? Hey, why are you getting all serious? Tch, so stingy..."
"Shut up, you lot."
I let out a deep sigh and picked the scissors back up.
"Didn't you come to my house today for the project? Stop the nonsense and cut the paper faster. If we don't finish this today, you're not going home."
Sagak, sagak.
Once again, only the honest sound of scissors filled the room.
We were doing simple labor on repeat with a mountain of magazines and colored paper piled up for our art performance assessment—the 'Mosaic Art Project.'
But high school girls' mouths are busier than their hands. Just when it got quiet for a moment, the friend with highlights suddenly threw out a question.
"Hey, everyone. Have you ever regretted anything related to relationships with the opposite sex in your lives?"
"Of course."
"What is it?"
"Nothing ever happened."
"······."
Sshhhhh—
A moment of solemn silence flowed through the room.
It was a moment when the sorrow of lifelong singlehood struck deep.
As if to ventilate the heavy air, the highlighted friend stealthily poked the short-haired friend's side.
Pok.
"Hey, Kang Min-seo. Then how about introducing your little brother?"
"What? My brother?"
The friend let out a snort as if she couldn't believe what she'd heard.
"Try if you can? Our youngest barely even comes out of his room. He's a hikikomori who needs food brought to his room just to eat."
"Ah... that bad?"
"Don't even mention it. Boys are all like that, I guess."
The short-haired friend replied casually, then suddenly stopped cutting as if something came to mind.
"Oh, right. Speaking of guys reminded me of something."
"Yeah? What?"
"Hey, you know my younger sister, right? I didn't tell you that when my sister secretly sneaked into a PC bang in the next neighborhood during break, she got hit on the head with a foam hammer by some guy?"
"What's that about? Spill the story."
And so we cut and pasted paper for hours while chatting about trivial nonsense.
It wasn't until the sky outside the window grew dark that a fairly decent mosaic picture was finally completed on the canvas.
"Uwaaah... My back. Finally done."
My friends sprawled out on the floor in a starfish position, groaning. But the relief was short-lived; they started lingering around, glancing at the door.
"Haah... But before we go, I want to see your oppa just one more time..."
"Uh-huh. No. No plans to show him. Go home now."
I mercilessly shoved my friends' bags toward the entrance.
"If you're done, leave quickly. It's late."
My friends dragged their feet as they were pushed out, shooting looks dripping with lingering attachment.
Stepping out the front door, they waved cheerfully.
"We'll come again later, Ji-hye!"
"Yeah, don't."
Bam──!
As the front door shut, I finally let out a deep sigh.
"Phew... Such noisy girls."
The living room, like a hurricane had passed through, fell silent. I looked at oppa's firmly closed bedroom door.
'Oppa is... still in his room.'
Even through all that commotion, he hadn't shown so much as a hair on his head. Wondering if he might be sleeping, I carefully approached his door.
Tok, tok.
"Oppa, can I come in?"
A languid voice came from inside the room.
"Yeah. Come in."
I turned the doorknob and poked just my head in.
On the bed, oppa was lying with his pillow propped high, staring at the ceiling.
His expression was indifferent—impossible to tell if he was spacing out or thinking about something.
Without even turning his head, he asked calmly.
"What?"
"Ah... just wanted to say. All my friends went home."
"Oh, yeah?"
Oppa answered absentmindedly, swallowing a yawn. Then he casually threw out a question.
"But what were you girls doing today? It was pretty noisy out there."
"Ah... I had an art assignment. We were working on a mosaic artwork."
"Is that so? Hey, get dressed. Let's eat out. I already told omma."
At the unexpected suggestion, I was dazed for a moment.
"Uh..? Eat.. out..?"
Worry came before joy.
Most guys absolutely hated drawing attention in public, so eating out was something they usually avoided.
"Oppa, are you sure? It'll be crowded."
"I don't care."
Oppa got up from the bed and added with a rather determined expression.
"I saw it on my way home today—an all-you-can-eat meat place opened up at the intersection down the street."
"Ah... if oppa's okay with it..."
I grabbed my coat and put it on, momentarily lost in thought.
'How long has it really been since I last ate out with oppa?'
.
.
.
A little later, the restaurant we arrived at in omma's car was absolutely packed with customers.
Maybe because it had just opened, a long waiting line stretched outside, and lively noise spilled out from inside.
Jingle—
The moment the store door opened and our family stepped inside.
The bustling noise instantly died down, and dozens of eyes turned toward the entrance as if by some agreement...
Or more precisely, toward the man standing beside me.
Men always stand out wherever they go, but... with my oppa, it was especially bad.
The stares were so sharp they stung.
In the midst of those eyes mixed with blatant curiosity and desire, I felt my breath catch in my throat.
"Welcome..."
As if expecting this reaction, omma strode over to the counter where the part-timer stood frozen.
"I have a reservation. For three."
"Ah... Yes? Yes!"
The frozen female part-timer finally snapped out of it and fumbled with the POS terminal.
Her gaze kept flickering toward oppa. Without even hiding her flushed red face.
"P-please wait a moment! I'll seat you at the quietest table in the back!"
We were guided to a corner seat. As soon as we sat down, the grill plate and side dishes were laid out.
Even while setting down the meat platter, the part-timer kept glancing at oppa. I could see her fingertips trembling.
"Y-you can bring more meat from the self-service bar over there later. If you need anything else, please just call me..!"
She scurried away, leaving behind a longing gaze.
And then. Oppa picked up the tongs and scissors as naturally as anything.
"I'll cook the meat, so, little sis, you go bring some more side dishes and the scallion salad."
"......Uh?"
For a moment, I doubted my ears. Did I hear that wrong?
What did oppa just say he'd handle?
I wasn't the only one surprised. Omma flinched and covered oppa's hand.
"No, Jin-hyeok-ah! Omma will cook it. You stay still—the oil will splatter."
"No, I grill meat well. Trust me on this."
Oppa paid no mind to omma's attempts to stop him.
Instead, he grinned and placed the meat on the grill plate with skilled hand movements.
Chiiiik—
Smoke rose with a lively sound.
The ordinary sight of red meat cooking on the hot grill felt surreal today.
"I-it's okay..."
Omma had gotten somewhat used to oppa's changed behavior, but she still seemed unaccustomed to the situation of oppa directly grilling meat.
I was just as dumbfounded.
'A man in this world, actually picking up tongs to grill meat himself..?'
The reactions around us were even more ridiculous.
The whispers from the table next to us and the women passing by the self-service bar buzzed in my ears.
"Hey... hey, look at that table over there. There's a guy—he's damn handsome."
"Wow... but what's that? Is that guy grilling meat right now?"
"Unbelievable... Where in the world is there a guy like that? Is he a woman on steroids or what?"
Whether oppa knew about all those stares or not, he was focused entirely on flipping the meat so it wouldn't burn, with the most serious expression.
"Little sis, it's been a while since you had some oil, huh."
Thunk—
He tossed a perfectly browned piece of meat onto my plate, adding indifferently,
"Don't mind what's around you. If you mind it, you lose."
"......"
Ah. Oppa knew it all too.
I chewed the meat in my mouth and glanced sideways at our surroundings.
Countless eyes were still fixed on our table—more precisely, on oppa's face and every gesture he made.
The meat was delicious as I chewed it. But it felt like sand was going down my throat.
Honestly, I hadn't understood oppa in the past.
Why a perfectly able-bodied person would just hole up in his room. Why he'd lock his door and block himself off from the world.
I thought it was pathetic. It was so frustrating it made me want to go crazy.
But... after coming out into the world together like this after so long, I think I understood.
'It's exhausting, for real.'
Everywhere you go, stares fall on you like you're an exhibit in a museum.
Just because a man breathes, he gets attention, gets evaluated, becomes a spectacle for everyone. This suffocating air.
'I guess I wouldn't want to go out either...'
That feeling of naturally shrinking, becoming conscious of others' eyes, and eventually running back into your room...
Only now, I thought I could understand it a little. Just a tiny bit.