Beyond All Common Sense
"Um, could you tell me who's there?"
"Mm, says her name is Han Hyeran?"
"Ah."
I'd been wondering whose name some stranger was throwing around, and it turned out to be my sister-in-law...?
"Would you happen to know her, sir...?"
"Yes, she's my sister-in-law."
"Ah, I see."
"That said, this isn't something we can simply let slide, so we'd like you to come down to the store in person."
"Of course — I'll head over right now. It's not far, so I should be there within twenty minutes. I'd appreciate your patience."
"Mm, understood. We'll be waiting."
"Thank you. See you shortly."
The moment the call ended, I let out a sigh deep enough to swallow the floor.
"What the hell is going on...?"
I never thought I'd be living through the kind of thing you only ever see on the news.
And it wasn't even some casual acquaintance — it was family pulling this kind of stunt.
"You really never let me get bored, do you? Ever since those two moved in, my daily life's been one spectacle after another."
It's the sort of situation where I shouldn't be laughing, but the laughter just bubbles up on its own.
It's a lot like browsing through news stories full of random scandals and incidents, then rattling off my hot takes on each one.
"Well, might as well go get a look at her face."
I made sure to grab my wallet and cards, above all.
My plan was to purchase, loud and proud, the very bottles my sister-in-law had tried to walk off with.
Just imagining the expression she'd make at that was more than enough to put me in a good mood.
With my preparations done, I embraced this inexplicable flutter of excitement and headed for the Liquor Market, where my sister-in-law was waiting.
"I sincerely apologize. I never dreamed she'd pull something like this, after everything."
"She didn't actually take anything, and I was planning to write it off as her being unlucky enough to run into the wrong person, so there's no need to bow your head quite so deeply. The one at fault here is someone else entirely..."
"Ahem. Well, if you're willing to look at it that way."
What I'd heard over the phone matched what the manager told me now, more or less.
Apparently, my sister-in-law had learned of this store from a business card sitting inside the display cabinet where the liquor was kept, and had simply shown up.
And then, out of nowhere, she'd dropped my name, claiming her brother-in-law would settle the bill later, and tried to just walk off with the bottles.
She'd even gone so far as to say that as an influencer, a glowing review would draw in crowds of new customers, so the store wouldn't exactly be losing out — wouldn't they agree?
As if that would ever fly.
By any stretch of common sense, there were problems stacked on problems.
We're not talking about a gullible fool here — who on earth would just go 'oh, of course, ma'am' and hand over the goods?
Forget the influencer act — I couldn't believe someone still carried this kind of mentality in this day and age.
And not some stranger, either. Practically family, no less.
Truly impressive, in every possible way.
More than irritation, the sheer absurdity of it wrung a hollow laugh out of me.
"So — where is she right now?"
"Ah. She's in the staff room back there. We were told a guardian would be coming directly, but I couldn't rule out the possibility of her running off, so I kept an eye out just in case."
"Ah, of course. Given the circumstances, that's completely understandable."
"Then, shall we head over?"
"Yes."
The manager led the way and opened the staff room door, and there sat my sister-in-law, slumped in a chair, the air around her thick and heavy with gloom.
At home she was perpetually sullen or scowling, glaring at me like I was a piece of garbage every single time I spoke to her or walked past.
Seeing her like this, after all that, felt strangely unfamiliar — and, honestly, rather refreshing.
"Well, sister-in-law. You really pulled off quite the stunt this time, huh?"
"Ah..."
Meeting my eyes, my sister-in-law fidgeted, at a complete loss.
"D-don't tell me — you, um, haven't told my husband, right...? He's already been having such a hard time lately, and it'd be pointless for him to find out about something like this..."
Unbelievable...
Her very first words out of the gate, and it's whether I told her husband.
Shouldn't an apology come first, by all normal standards? Or is my common sense the broken one here?
She must be terrified out of her mind.
That wasn't the fretting of someone who understood her own behavior had been wrong.
It was the frantic squirming of someone who knew that if this reached her husband, she'd never be able to hold her head up in public again — and that their marriage would unravel, guaranteed.
Honestly, calling the police over this would have been perfectly reasonable, but thanks to the manager's generosity in letting it slide, it had ended at this much. That's all it was.
How humiliating would that be.
Freeloading at her brother-in-law's home was already bad enough, but then to flaunt the influencer title and try to walk off with liquor under his name —
And if that had landed her in a police station...?
She'd never have been able to show her face around the neighborhood again.
"I came in a rush, so I haven't told him yet. Besides, I don't even have his number."
"H-haah... th-that's a relief..."
"By the way, you found the place just fine off that business card, huh? What would you have done if I hadn't bought these myself and they'd been a gift from someone? This is a shop I visit now and then for limited editions and restocks, so luckily I know the owner by sight — but still."
"......"
"Though, I have to ask — was it really necessary to call me over for this? Not calling my husband but dragging his little brother out here is a bit odd too, no?"
"......"
When I teased her with feigned ignorance, my sister-in-law's face flushed red.
Well, of course it did. She'd lost her job, had assets seized, and was drowning in debt — the idea of her buying liquor was pure fantasy.
From what I'd gathered from the manager, the price tags were far beyond a few tens of thousands of won, too...
"Manager, what exactly was she trying to purchase? Since it's come to this, I'd like to just buy them myself."
"Oh?"
"I... what?"
Following the manager, my sister-in-law's eyes went round as saucers, staring at me as if to ask what on earth I meant.
"Oh — there's really no need to go that far. As long as you're careful that nothing like this happens again..."
"This isn't my first visit here, and frankly it leaves a bad taste in my mouth either way. If it puts your mind at ease, just consider it a purchase made by an ordinary customer, entirely unrelated to today's incident."
"Hmm."
From the manager's standpoint, all he had to do was sell goods to a customer — no downside whatsoever.
And if nothing else, he could take it as a gesture of goodwill, a promise of pleasant dealings going forward.
After a moment's deliberation, the manager made his call, gave an awkward smile, and accepted the card I held out.
"Very well. I'll ring up the liquors she was attempting to take. And quite apart from that — I promise to remember your kindness and treat you to something fine the next time you visit."
"Haha! Would this 'something fine' happen to be a student discount, by any chance~?"
"Heheh. What sort of treat awaits you — I suppose we'll only find out when you come. Well, as it happens, we'll be stocking some genuinely high-quality bottles this year, against all expectations, so I daresay we'll be seeing each other again before long."
"Ah-ha."
Oh-ho...
Everywhere else had been saying this year wasn't worth holding your breath for, either.
And here I'd wandered in by pure chance and walked away with unexpected news of all things. Splendid. Just splendid.
As I was lost in happy fantasies of new arrivals joining the display cabinet, the manager held out the card and a shopping bag full of liquor.
"Here's your card, and the products you purchased."
"Thank you. And once again, my deepest apologies for the trouble."
I gave a slight bow and offered my apologies one more time.
But... what is my sister-in-law doing...?
While someone else was cleaning up her mess so gracefully, the very culprit responsible stood there, staring blankly into space.
Considering how she'd dragged out a situation that could've ended pleasantly from the start until it ballooned into this, I supposed an apology was too much to hope for.
Refreshing experience aside, the business she herself had started still needed to be properly settled.
"Sister-in-law. Have you apologized yet?"
"Ah, yes? A-apologize?"
"Yes."
She answered halfheartedly and looked away.
Curious how the manager would react, I glanced over — and catching my eye, he only managed another awkward smile.
Given the circumstances, there was no need to ask or verify anything; it lined up exactly with what I'd expected. Which meant it was time to come down a little harder.
"I'm sorry — no, wait. You owe an apology for the trouble you caused, sister-in-law. I'd bet anything the words 'I'm sorry' haven't so much as brushed your lips."
"......"
"Won't you?"
"I-I'm sorry. For dragging you out here over something like this..."
"...Haah. Not just to me — don't you owe the manager an apology as well? You're hardly an uneducated woman, so why do I have to spell this out..."
"......"
Pushing harder than I ever had before, I thoroughly humiliated her in front of a complete stranger.
Biting down hard on her lip, past the point of bearing it, my sister-in-law turned toward the manager.
"I-I'm truly sorry for the trouble I've caused you.... I swear it will never happen again..."
"...Ah. Yes. As long as you understand."
Perhaps the manager hadn't expected to receive an apology in quite this fashion — he looked distinctly bemused as he accepted my sister-in-law's words.
"Well. We've made all the apologies there are to make, and bought all there is to buy. Shall I take her home now?"
"Of course, by all means."
"Then — I'll see you again soon."