Hints of Obsession
My little sister was numb to it.
I got the sense she disliked the fact that she had awakened somehow.
"Oppa, would you be happy if I became a hunter?"
"Of course. Being a hunter is a dream job. The money you make is ridiculous."
From my perspective, it was news I had no choice but to welcome.
Think about it—a hunter.
Unless the ability was truly terrible, you earned more than most people at major corporations.
For someone like me, raised in a hillside slum, becoming a hunter was a stroke of lightning luck.
"If you become a hunter there are all kinds of tax breaks, and the government-backed housing subscriptions, and…"
I couldn't hide my excitement as I launched into an explanation at her question.
I had thought about awakening for so long that my mouth simply wouldn't stop moving.
"More than anything, the image is good."
"…Image?"
"Fighting for people. It's cool, right?"
"So you like hunters, Oppa."
"No, I wouldn't go as far as liking them…"
I scratched the back of my neck, embarrassed, and she spoke again.
"Are you going to be a hunter, Oppa?"
"Me…?"
Come to think of it, I had awakened too.
With two abilities.
"I probably will, yeah."
"…Then I'll do it too."
"You sure? You can think it over more and choose later if you want."
"No. You said you're going to be a hunter. So will I."
I treated the whole thing lightly and was simply happy.
Because my little sister doing well was my happiness.
…Come to think of it, what even is this ability?
The only ability I had reported to the government was Physical Enhancement.
The other one was so vague it barely even counted as an ability.
Blossomer
EX-rank
It was an ability name I had never heard of in my life.
Blossomer…?
The rank was strange too.
The highest officially known rank was S-rank. I scoured the internet and found nothing about an EX-rank.
By touching the target's negative emotions, you can trigger massive growth in others!
Currently designated targets: 0
Current conditions have not been met!
The way the ability worked was strange as well.
I couldn't use it whenever I wanted.
Physical Enhancement activated the moment I willed it, but Blossomer did not.
That was one of the reasons I hadn't reported the skill.
The Association's magic tools couldn't even detect it either…
I became a high school student.
Seorin was still a minor, but she was already living the life of a hunter.
B-rank.
Having awakened such a high-rank ability, countless people wanted her.
Even the most prestigious guilds were after my little sister.
She was the "rising star" everyone was talking about these days.
Money was no longer something we had to worry about.
Good people surrounded her, and she was materially abundant.
It was exactly the life I had hoped for her.
All sorts of things began pouring into our house.
From luxury ingredients to the latest electronics.
None of it was for me. Every single item was for my little sister.
"All of this came for you?"
"Yeah. All of it."
I glanced over the pile for a moment before speaking.
"Do you not like it…?"
"No, there's no reason not to like it. It's just… it doesn't feel real."
"Then try this. A phone."
"…This is expensive."
"It's yours now, Oppa."
A sleek phone sat in my hand.
Not something I bought with money—something I was simply given.
She really was a rising star.
"You don't have to worry about your future anymore."
"Right? More importantly, Oppa, aren't you going to be a hunter?"
My ability was Physical Enhancement. Honestly, it was a pretty mediocre skill.
If I forced myself I could make a living with it… but I didn't feel like it.
I didn't have any real talent as a hunter either.
"I don't know."
"…Really?"
"Then do you want to be my manager?"
"…Manager."
"You know, drive me around, bring me water, that kind of thing."
It wasn't a bad offer for me.
Being the manager of a B-rank hunter would be an S-rank job in terms of employment.
"No."
It wasn't a good idea for my little sister.
There were plenty of more experienced, more competent professionals out there. That was the kind of manager who needed to be at her side.
"You don't want to be my manager?"
Me becoming her manager would have been pure selfishness on my part.
"No, it's just that there are better people out there."
She puffed out her cheeks in a pout and turned away.
She showed me her back like she was sulking, but the moment I took her hand she melted right away.
She buried herself deep in my arms and took a long breath.
"Haa…"
Without really thinking about it, I stroked her hair.
The fading sunlight lit the two of us.
In that dark room we stayed like that for a long while.
At school the kids in our class flocked to Seorin.
Her looks played a part, of course, but the main reason was that she was a B-rank hunter.
Hunters were half influencers.
As a rising hunter her popularity was enormous.
Seorin neither bragged nor pushed them away.
"Yeah, that's right."
She simply answered their questions with a smile.
There were kids who envied her, but I never had to step in.
Everyone liked her.
A girl in our class even confessed to her—that was how popular she was.
Just like in middle school, there was nothing I needed to do.
Saying I would live for Seorin was a joke that wasn't even funny.
In truth, Seorin didn't need me at all.
I glanced at my little sister, then turned my eyes back to my book.
It was filled with specialized knowledge my brain could barely grasp.
"Whoa, you actually read stuff like this?"
"You are…"
"We're in the same class and you don't even know my name?"
She was a fairly pretty girl.
A classmate, but I didn't know her name.
I had never paid attention to anyone except my little sister.
She poked my forearm lightly as she spoke.
"My name's Hyerim. Remember it from now on."
"Sorry. I'm bad with names."
That was a lie.
I just didn't care about other people.
Whether she saw through me or not, she grinned and pressed herself against my side.
"More importantly, more importantly—what's that book? It looks insanely hard. Can you even read it?"
"No, I don't really get it either."
"So the book was just an accessory."
"…That's harsh."
I slipped a bookmark in and set the book down.
The cover was revealed naturally.
"Hunter? Did you awaken?"
"…No."
I said that while looking away.
I had lied without meaning to.
"Then why are you reading something like this? Do you like hunters?"
"No. I didn't like them."
"Then why read it?"
Hyerim tilted her head and asked again.
To explain why I was reading that book, I would have had to bring up my little sister.
Talking that far was a hassle.
It would have involved me with other people far too much.
"Just… if someone around me becomes a hunter, I thought maybe I could help them out—"
Bringing up my little sister at school felt awkward.
It felt like I was just attaching myself to her.
"It really doesn't suit you."
She snickered.
"Still, it's cool. Being able to go this far for someone else."
"Is it?"
"Why are you so unsure? It's plenty amazing."
I didn't answer and kept silent for a while.
I wasn't shameless enough to agree with praise directed at myself.
I covered my face and prayed for the moment to pass quickly.
But then…
"Whoa, more importantly your hands are huge. Let's compare hand sizes."
"…Me?"
"Who else would it be?"
"Right."
She pressed her palm against mine.
The warm heat of her hand transferred immediately.
A tremor, maybe—something like that came from her.
Same here, though.
"See? Your hands are seriously big."
"Yeah."
"…You're really introverted."
"Well… I don't have many friends."
She flicked her fingers and opened her mouth.
"Then let's be friends. That solves it."
"…Friends?"
"Yeah. Friends."
"…Okay."
"What's with that reluctant vibe?"
She laughed loudly as she said it.
Back then I didn't know.
That my little sister's gaze was fixed on me.
That a certain emotion was mixed into that gaze.
After the meal my little sister even prepared dessert.
As her older brother I had always cooked for her, but a few months ago she had stolen that role from me.
The kitchen had become her place.
I had brought it up once because I felt bad just receiving, but every time Seorin insisted she enjoyed it and firmly stopped me.
I hated to admit it, but her cooking was excellent.
On top of that I was even receiving dessert, which made me feel embarrassed.
"Here."
Mango.
A luxury mango that cost hundreds of thousands of won each.
She had stuck a toothpick into a piece and held it out to me.
When I kept my mouth shut, the light in her eyes went cold.
Then she moved as if to drop that expensive mango onto the floor…
"Hey, do you know how much that costs?"
"Then eat it."
"…Ah."
It was an instinct carved into me since childhood.
I simply couldn't watch food being thrown away.
I put the mango in my mouth and looked at her.
She was nodding with the most satisfied expression I had ever seen.
Somehow I felt less like the older brother and more like the younger one.
"It's good, right, Oppa?"
"Of course. It costs hundreds of thousands of won."
At that price it would be hard for it not to taste good.
If it tasted bad you could almost sue for fraud.
"Hmm. …Really?"
My little sister turned her gaze to the side.
There sat the delivery box the mangoes had come in.
…She seemed to be memorizing the name of the place.
"Want me to order more?"
"You eat them so happily, Oppa."
Receiving them as gifts was one thing, but buying them with money… honestly felt a bit wasteful.
"I'll happily eat anything if it's from you."
Originally it was a price range I couldn't even look at.
I could only taste it thanks to my little sister, so even if it didn't suit my palate I had to eat it gratefully.
I had at least that much decency.
"Sometimes you can be really shameless, Oppa."
"Me?"
Instead of answering she speared another piece of mango and put it in her mouth.
She licked the toothpick that had been in my mouth with her tongue.
"I wish you'd only be like that with me…. Not with that bitch."
Her quiet mutter didn't reach me.
"Hm? What did you say?"
"Nothing, just…"
My little sister rarely blushed.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
For a moment my heart pounded at the sight of her.
No. That wasn't allowed.
She was only speaking as a little sister.
I couldn't harbor any unnecessary greed.
"…Me too."
Sweat beaded and rolled down from the heat of our clasped hands.
It was a summer day with the fan humming.
The next day.
I ended up going to a funeral home.
Because my mother had left this world.