Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Chae-yoon Unnie's House is a Harmonious Family!
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I'm pretty sure I came to Chae-yoon unnie's house, not the president's.
So why...
"Gashina, you should have come straight to your mom first! Why are you dragging your little work sister around and putting on this nonsense?!"
"Ow, that hurts! Stop hitting me, Mom!"
It felt like déjà vu from watching that scene.
The sharp smacks echoed one after another, and I didn't know what to do with myself.
Chae-yoon unnie, who's our team's main dealer, getting handled so easily like that.
There's always someone higher up the food chain, huh.
"Da-jeong, was it?"
"Y-yes. Over here..."
I was debating whether to step in when...
The kind-faced man sitting across from the low table—unnie's dad—spoke up.
I froze for a second, unsure how to address him, but he seemed to notice and smiled, speaking first.
"Just call me Uncle. Sorry the house is so noisy—must have startled you."
"N-no, not at all. It actually looks really warm and happy."
I frantically waved my hands in denial, but Uncle just gave a wry smile, like he knew all about it.
He nodded silently, as if it was a sight he saw all the time.
"Ugh, if only Lulu hadn't come, she'd be tearing her apart by now... Hurry and go cut some fruit. Mom'll handle the tea."
"M-Mom. I don't know how to cut apples...? Can't I make the tea instead?"
"At your age, that's something to brag about, you brat?!"
"Ow, it hurts...! Stop hitting me in front of the maknae...!"
...Yeah, figures.
In the end, Auntie and Chae-yoon unnie swapped roles.
While unnie boiled water and brewed tea,
Auntie quickly sliced fruit and brought it to the living room.
"Whew, I've wanted to meet our Lulu at least once ever since she and Chae-yoon teamed up. Auntie here's watched a few of Lulu's streams, you know."
She started chatting with me, calling me by my avatar name instead of my real one.
Chae-yoon unnie had hinted earlier to use real names in real life, but
Auntie said she'd seen so much of me on streams that "Lulu" felt more affectionate, so she wanted to stick with it.
I didn't mind either way, so I told her to call me whatever felt comfortable.
W-well, as long as she doesn't do it outside...
"Y-yeah, unnie told me. You watch all the members' streams a lot..."
"Well, they're the girls working with my daughter, so I got attached. Especially to our Lulu."
"Ehehe... Thank you."
I crunched into a crisp apple and bowed my head.
Auntie just stared at me endlessly, cooing about how cute I was.
Her gaze was a bit overwhelming, but it was affection, so
I made sure to meet her eyes and finish the whole apple.
"And Auntie saw that time you made food for my girl."
"Y-you saw that?"
"Not on stream—Chae-yoon sent pics later. You cook pretty well, huh?"
Auntie pulled up photos on her phone to show me.
They were mostly simple meals I'd whipped up while crashing at Chae-yoon unnie's place briefly.
"Oh, no, it's nothing to brag about. I can only make basic stuff."
"Living alone and pulling that off is plenty. Look at this one—grown woman can't even cut fruit and's boiling tea instead. Jeez."
She pounded her chest like her sides were splitting, glaring toward the kitchen.
Finally unable to take it, Chae-yoon unnie's voice rang out.
"I can hear everything, you know?!"
"So what if you can?! You little punk!"
"I-I just said I could hear..."
Yeah, pointless resistance as always.
"B-but when we lived together, Chae-yoon unnie took such good care of me. She'd check every day if I was uncomfortable, and since I was cooking all the time, she thought I was tired and bought tasty treats out."
"That's the bare minimum. If you're gonna be the unnie and can't even do that for your dongsaeng, might as well quit. Hand over that unnie badge."
I tried throwing up a shield carefully since unnie was taking too much flak, but
Auntie just snorted dismissively, unimpressed.
Uu, sorry, Chae-yoon unnie...!
Guess I'm not enough.
"That's enough out of you. Yeah, Chae-yoon's a rascal, but watching her take care of herself and work so hard—doesn't it make you proud? Keep it up and it'll make Da-jeong uncomfortable."
But no hope's ever totally lost.
Uncle, who'd been quietly listening, cut in at just the right moment.
Auntie's expression, which had looked ready to steam, melted away softly.
Like a girl in love.
"Fine. Here, honey, try this apple. Dad sent it—it's like honey."
"I can have some."
"Come on, it's a gift—don't be so cold."
"Ahem..."
She even forked a piece and fed it to him herself,
with a cute little sniffle.
Uncle glanced at me briefly before taking a bite.
"...Shocked? Our folks are quite the lovebirds."
I sat there gaping blankly at the scene,
when Chae-yoon unnie, back with the tea, plopped down beside me and whispered.
"Y-yeah... A little. Auntie is so sweet and gentle with Uncle."
"Yeah, Mom acts tough, but she's putty for Dad. Before I moved out, I'd even catch her kissing him goodbye in the mornings."
"Whoa..."
Th-that stuff only happens in movies, right?
And they're not even newlyweds—at least 30 years together.
True love runs deep.
Makes sense from Uncle's gentle, soft-spoken way earlier.
He's probably super sweet to Auntie usually too.
Just look at Auntie's eyes on him now—hearts about to pop out.
"Alright, on that note, we can't let them outdo us. Time to show 'em?"
"H-huh? Show what...?"
I was quietly munching fruit to not interrupt when
Unnie suddenly shoved her fork my way with a sly grin.
Wh-what does she want me to show?
Some trick maybe?
I can't juggle forks.
"We can't just watch Mom and Dad flirt. Come on, maknae—feed your unnie."
"Wh-what does that have to do with anything...!"
Once her explanation hit amid my confusion,
I immediately protested with all my injustice.
Just let the two of them flirt—why burn with rivalry...!
N-no, this isn't rivalry!
She just wants to see me embarrassed!
"Come on! Maknae!"
"Not going!"
"Should unnie feed you then? Airplane incoming~?"
"I'm not a kid...!"
I put up a desperate fight, but
Figuring it was less embarrassing than getting the "airplane," I ended up feeding her an apple piece.
Auntie jumped in surprise watching us, and when she asked if we did this often, I wanted to crawl into a hole.
Uu....
They call it Chuseok, but we just had a normal day.
Lunch was home-cooked together.
For dinner, unnie insisted on treating, dragging us out for unexpected eating out.
I tried to pay since I was already imposing, but
Her nagging won—I gave in for today.
By the time we got back, it was getting pretty dark.
We soothed our mouths with the sweet persimmons Auntie gave us, then
Gathered in the living room like at lunch, chatting away.
Mainly about me, but
Auntie was super curious about the other members too, asking all sorts.
I answered as best I could within what was okay.
"Thanks, Lulu. My girl's so tight-lipped—won't tell her mom squat about the others no matter how much I ask."
"I told you. They're all Vtubers, so it's hard for me to share their real looks."
"Come on, you could share basics like with Lulu. Won't even show a pic properly."
Ah, so that's why Auntie eyed me funny at first.
Didn't expect she hadn't even seen my face.
Figured after a year since debut, unnie would've shown her.
"So last Seollal, you stayed at President Kang's?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Whew, the president's great with the girls. Gotta meet her someday and say thanks."
"M-Mom, why would you meet our president? This ain't school..."
"Hey, that's just how parents are."
Auntie and Chae-yoon unnie bickered again, but
By now I was used to it—no big shock.
Even kinda got why they kept sniping at each other.
"Honey, it's getting late—shouldn't we let the kids sleep?"
"Huh? Already? Oh man, look at me...!"
"It's 12 already? Yeah, late."
Time flew while chatting, and
Before we knew, it was past midnight.
"Should've set up bedding first. Da-jeong, where you wanna sleep? With my girl in her room, or separate here?"
Auntie finally jumped up, cleared the table hurriedly, and
Asked where to lay my bedding.
Hmm, what to do?
Probably less bother sleeping in the living room?
"Maknae sleeps with unnie! What's to think?"
"Y-yeah... Could you set it up in Chae-yoon unnie's room then?"
...Totally pointless worrying from the start.
Knew it'd end up like this somehow.
After helping Auntie with the bedding,
I did a quick face wash and came out—nearly 1 a.m. already.
Normally I'd scroll my phone a bit before bed, but
Couldn't dawdle like at home.
Planning to wake early tomorrow, I went to lie on the futon when...
"Where you think you're sleeping already?!"
"Nya?!"
Plop—
Chae-yoon unnie, already showered and in comfy clothes,
Charged at me outta nowhere, tackling me down—we ended up side by side on the fluffy bedding.
"Maknae's gotta be unnie's body pillow! C'mere!"
"S-save me...!"
"Request denied!"
And so, turned into unnie's real body pillow, I endured endless hugging attacks.
Until we both wore ourselves out, kneading each other's cheeks till sleep took us.