Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Episode 12 The Golden-Sun of the Yuri Game Is Actually…
Our cat Shami was a gift from Father last year after my younger sister ranked first overall in the nationwide mock exams.
Maybe because he came from a good bloodline, his fur shimmered beautifully with a glossy sheen. Whenever you petted him, the feeling of his fur slipping through your fingers was unbelievably soft, like touching cotton fluff, and strangely addictive enough to make you want to keep petting him forever.
But despite that, Shami was incredibly proud and aloof compared to other cats, perhaps because of his noble pedigree.
Except while sleeping, he never allowed anyone to touch him, freely roamed the house as he pleased, and randomly climbed onto mine or Mari’s lap or stomach whenever he wanted to nap.
And yet this guy—
“Nyaaaang~”
‘He’s completely melting. Totally melting.’
The cat who normally held his head high arrogantly toward me and Mari was now openly accepting In Yuna’s touch and practically turning into slime.
“So cute.”
“Waaah, does Unni’s touch feel that good? This is the first time our Shami’s ever relaxed like this.”
“Really?”
“Yep! I guess our Shami’s a male after all. He welcomes pretty women regardless of species.”
Just like me, Mari stared in amazement at the sight of the melted Shami.
But even while admiring the cat, her eyes never left In Yuna.
Seeing how she was already casually calling her “Unni,” it seemed Mari had fully decided she wanted to become close with In Yuna.
“I heard you’re in the same class as my Oppa. Since when have you known each other?”
“Since the day before yesterday.”
“Eh? Wait, were you in different classes during first year?”
“I transferred in during second year.”
“Ahh, I see. That explains it. If someone as pretty as Unni existed, I obviously should’ve known already. I was lamenting my own shortcomings for missing a beauty like this from my radar network, but thankfully it was unnecessary worry.”
What exactly was that supposed to mean, little sister?
Don’t tell me you actually have some kind of mental database cataloging every pretty girl in town.
The terrifying part was that it genuinely didn’t sound like a joke.
“What are you looking at?”
“I’m seriously contemplating whether my younger sister has fallen so far she’s become some kind of monster.”
“Stop saying weird things and hurry up with the drinks already. Bring them to my room too. Orange juice for me, by the way.”
“Hey.”
Why were you suddenly changing the location to your room?
And why were you naturally treating me like your servant?
Even when I glared at her in protest, my shameless younger sister only widened her eyes defiantly.
Seriously, what a disaster.
Couldn’t she at least show a tiny bit of respect toward her older brother?
“Haaah, fine. I’ll bring them upstairs. What do you want to drink, In Yuna? We’ve got coffee, black tea, orange juice, grape juice, cocoa, milk… or I can get you cola.”
“You have a lot of drinks.”
“Our whole family eats and drinks a lot.”
Thanks to that, our refrigerator was always packed full of food and drinks, only to be emptied again immediately.
If Dad didn’t earn such a good salary, our household budget probably would’ve collapsed ages ago.
“……Need help?”
“No, it’s alright. It’s easier if the guest just stays comfortable.”
“……Milk.”
“Got it.”
So in the end, I’d become the supporting errand boy for the girls again.
Still, I didn’t particularly dislike it.
Whenever Mari brought friends home, similar things happened all the time, so by now I was too used to this treatment to feel bothered.
‘Still, Geum Mari… please don’t say anything weird.’
I was genuinely worried my disaster younger sister might start filling In Yuna’s head with bizarre nonsense, so I hurried to prepare everything.
“Oppa. Bring the leftover croissants from before too!”
“You’re really treating your older brother like a servant.”
“What’s wrong with asking for this much?”
Had we spoiled her too much?
I seriously considered whether it was time to properly discipline my increasingly arrogant younger sister.
“Nyaa~”
Seeing our Shami accepting someone’s touch so obediently really was fascinating.
Watching him relax completely on In Yuna Unni’s lap while she gently stroked him made me feel strangely left out.
Whenever I tried petting him, he always dodged or smacked my hand away.
Maybe Shami really was a male cat after all. Since a pretty woman was petting him, he accepted it willingly.
‘Then does that mean I’m not pretty?’
Suddenly I felt irritated.
‘She’s seriously gorgeous.’
Still, seeing In Yuna Unni sitting there with Shami on her lap made me unconsciously nod in agreement with the idea that Shami discriminated based on appearance.
I’m pretty confident in my own looks too.
I mean, my mother had an absolutely killer body, so naturally I inherited good genes and felt confident saying my face wouldn’t lose anywhere.
Maybe it sounded narcissistic, but even Dad and my maternal relatives said I resembled Mom when she was younger, so it was practically confirmed.
Because of that, I’d never once shrunk back because of someone else’s appearance and always carried myself confidently.
But even from my perspective, In Yuna Unni was on another level entirely.
‘It’s not just her face. Even the way she sits with her knees together or the way she pets Shami is elegant. Is she some kind of noble lady? To think there was another girl like this at Oppa’s school besides the student council president.’
When I saw the student council president before, I thought she was the kind of noble-lady character you only saw in manga or novels.
But In Yuna Unni also radiated a dignity completely different from ordinary people.
“Looks like Shami likes Unni too.”
“He’s calm and cute.”
“That’s only with you. Normally he won’t even let me touch him. Look.”
Tap.
“See?”
Thinking demonstration would be faster, I reached toward Shami.
Immediately, a swift kitty punch like a predator snatching prey smacked my hand away.
Oppa always said Shami acted ridiculously expensive.
Honestly, I agreed.
“Oppa says Shami acts like a king.”
“…….”
‘Huh?’
Her face still looked blank like untouched white paper, yet somehow I caught a subtle shift.
‘Did the corner of her lips just move slightly?’
Maybe it was my imagination.
“Does Shami smack away Geum Taeyang’s hand too?”
“Not really. Oppa doesn’t pet him much. And even when he does, Shami just runs away. He smacks my hand away, but with Oppa he secretly acts submissive.”
In this house, the person Shami truly adored and acted affectionate toward was Mom.
After her came Dad and Oppa.
He didn’t act spoiled toward them like he did with Mom, but he never smacked away their hands either, only avoided them. And if they insisted a little more, he eventually surrendered and let them pet him, almost like it reflected the family hierarchy itself.
Was I really that low-ranking?
“I see.”
“?”
Again, it felt like something changed.
“But Unni, you said you only met my Oppa the day before yesterday, right?”
“Yeah. He helped me from the very first day.”
“Again, huh.”
“?”
“That’s just how my Oppa is. He acts like everything’s annoying, but whenever someone’s genuinely in trouble, he can’t ignore them.”
Our Oppa was absurdly high-spec.
Not just his specs—his personality was handsome too.
Even though he looked uninterested in other people and never meddled excessively, whenever someone genuinely struggled, he always tried helping within his ability.
Maybe that’s why he was so popular.
Back in middle school, between inheriting Mom and Dad’s looks, his athletic talent, good grades, and personality, he apparently had an actual fanclub—
“…….”
Oops.
Did I step on a landmine?
“Nyaao~”
Even Shami, who’d been happily enjoying In Yuna Unni’s touch, suddenly shivered like he’d been dunked into freezing water.
This was definitely my room, so how had it suddenly become the Arctic Ocean?
“So he really was popular.”
“W-Well… not really……”
“Are you lying?”
“……N-No. He was popular.”
I hesitated whether I should tell a small lie to ease the atmosphere, but those transparent eyes made it clear she wouldn’t tolerate dishonesty.
Transparent.
And clear.
I originally thought her eyes were simply beautiful, but now they felt completely different.
No, Oppa.
You said you only met her the day before yesterday.
So how exactly did you manage to capture such a dangerous woman in that short amount of time!?
“I met Kang Yena today.”
“Cough!”
Why did that sentence sound like a murder confession to me?
Yena… are you still alive?
“She looked really close with Geum Taeyang.”
“W-Well, Yena’s my friend too. She’s met Oppa a bunch of times.”
“She called him her savior.”
“H-Hahaha…….”
Damn it, she even mentioned that.
Now there was no way to casually brush this off.
“Unni, I think I understand what you’re worried about, but regarding Yena, it’s really unnecessary.”
“…….”
“Oppa definitely helped Yena. Without him, her situation probably would’ve been much worse. But that doesn’t mean Yena’s your rival or anything. Seriously, it’s unnecessary worry.”
Because Yena—
“Already has a boyfriend!”
“Eh? A boyfriend…… really?”
“Yep! They’re so lovey-dovey it’s become famous all over our school!”
So there was no reason to see Yena as competition.
The moment I desperately explained that, the freezing atmosphere thawed again and the tension climbing up my spine finally released.
“Nyaaa~”
Ah, Shami.
Looks like you feel the same way I do.
“He really was popular. But Oppa has never dated anyone even once. So you can relax.”
“……Sorry. I was too hasty.”
“Hahaha, no. It’s okay.”
People always say beautiful roses have thorns, but in In Yuna Unni’s case, it wasn’t mere thorns.
It was freezing cold capable of turning anyone she pierced completely numb.
Seriously, how did our Oppa capture such a terrifying woman so quickly?
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
The door slowly opened, revealing Oppa carrying a tray with croissants, milk, and orange juice.
“I brought everything. Huh? Did something happen?”
Noticing the exhausted expressions on both me and Shami, he asked with slight concern.
But right now, it only sounded like mocking provocation to me.
“It’s all your fault!”
“Nyaah!”
“Eh?”
“Hehehehe.”
“What are you grinning about now?”
“Ta-da!”
She shoved her phone in front of me, proudly displaying the number on the screen like a trophy.
“Got Yuna Unni’s phone number!”
“Well done.”
“Hehehe.”
When they first entered the room, both Shami and Mari had looked completely drained.
Yet at some point she regained all her energy and kept sticking to In Yuna until she successfully got her number.
Out of courtesy, I clapped for my younger sister’s efforts.
“She was seriously pretty. And her personality wasn’t bad either.”
“Yeah.”
“Even the way she’s expressionless but subtly shows emotions is cute.”
“True.”
“Oppa. I’m being serious right now.”
Her tone shifted, losing all traces of playfulness.
Little sister, if you want to talk seriously, shouldn’t you start by fixing your attitude first?
If you keep speaking jokingly, then naturally your older brother responds the same way.
“Oppa. You already know, don’t you?”
“If I didn’t, I’d be a hopeless idiot.”
“Well, true. Our Oppa may be popular like a dating sim protagonist, but he’s not completely dense.”
Yeah.
How could I not know?
In Yuna, the hidden character of the yuri game who transferred into second year and whom I kept running into lately—
Was showing me feelings that were far from ordinary.
‘No, it’s affection.’
Stop lying to yourself and face reality properly.
The emotions In Yuna directed at me were unmistakably affection.
And the color of those emotions was exactly the same as all the girls whose confessions I’d ultimately rejected before.
“Oppa, when are you finally going to get a girlfriend? So many girls have gone after you, but you never budge.”
“I’m grateful when someone likes me. But what matters is mutual feelings.”
“People can start dating and fall for each other later too.”
“Maybe that happens. But still.”
I wanted to be greedy about this one thing.
I knew I built walls around myself too much, but I couldn’t change it.
“If possible, I want pure love.”
“If you say it like that, I can’t even disagree.”
Geum Mari sighed and slumped over like she’d given up.
“That’s probably why rumors spread about you being a player.”
“How do you even know about that?”
For a moment, I panicked wondering if the rumors had spread to other schools already.
Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Jinhyuk told Yena, and Yena told me. So don’t worry.”
“Haaah. I see.”
Go Jinhyuk was Kang Yena’s boyfriend and a first-year junior at our school.
Should I feel troubled that rumors spread among the freshmen, or relieved they hadn’t spread outside the school yet?
“Honestly, as your younger sister, I do worry about your love life. But I won’t interfere too much, so I’ll just ask this. What are you planning to do from now on?”
“I’ll draw the line appropriately.”
Not pushing her away too harshly, but not getting too close either.
I planned to settle things into a friendship and carefully control the relationship so it wouldn’t change further.
Up until now, I’d used this method to shake off countless girls.
If you pushed too hard, some girls became obsessed. But if you got too close, they misunderstood.
Through experience, I learned this approach caused the least damage.
If I pretended to be appropriately oblivious and continued acting naturally, eventually they defined me as just a friend and let go of their feelings on their own.
The only exception had been the student council president.
That senior was simply too intelligent and perceptive.
She saw through my shallow tactics immediately.
“But Oppa, you should still be careful. Yuna Unni doesn’t feel like someone you can handle lightly. If you’re not careful, you might end up getting captured instead.”
“……If that happens, then.”
If I really ended up getting captured instead—
If I became the ridiculous guy who got conquered by the hidden heroine instead of conquering her……