The Gaming Liberation of Siblings
The evening of Saturday, May 10th.
Also known as the great gaming liberation incident between me and my sister.
The empty slots on our game console were slowly filling up, one by one, with hefty titles.
Of course, both Hyeonseo and I spent the entire weekend glued to the screen.
The three or so games we had somehow ballooned to seven in a single day.
Our weekend, accompanied by games, literally evaporated.
While I was still trying to squeeze in a little more playtime, frantically mashing buttons in the dark room, the slightly ajar door swung wide open and Mom’s voice rang out.
“Lee Hyunwoo. Lee Hyeonseo.”
Mom stood in the doorway, quietly calling only our names.
I turned my head and met her wide-eyed stare.
Her gaze clearly said, Turn that thing off and go to sleep right now.
“…Okay, I’m going to bed.”
With no choice, I saved the game and powered the console down.
She really is a genius at sensing these things.
Does she somehow pick up on our presence?
I plugged the console into the charger and flopped onto the bed.
“Tch.”
Hyeonseo, who had been waiting for her next turn, let out a dissatisfied click of her tongue and rolled over.
And just like that, our game-obsessed, frenzied weekend came to an end.
Even though my eyelids felt light, I reluctantly closed my eyes.
Then came the detestable Monday morning.
The clatter of dishes made my eyes flutter open.
Ugh…
Maybe it was because of the regular, comfortable routine I had at the hospital?
For some reason, my eyes opened before Mom even came to wake me.
The sound of oil popping in the frying pan made me reach for my phone first.
I fumbled across the floor until my hand found it beside the pillow.
To shake off the lingering drowsiness, I squinted one eye shut and tapped the screen.
It was still early, so both the gaming group chat and the school group chat were completely silent.
In the end, I decided to watch shorts until Mom came to wake me.
The sound of side-dish containers opening, oil sizzling in the pan.
The sound of Dad talking with Mom before leaving the house.
By the time the noises beyond the door gradually died down, Mom’s footsteps finally approached and she entered the room.
“Oh my, you’re already up?”
“Yeah, my eyes just opened early.”
When she saw me fiddling with my phone in the dark, Mom asked a short question, sounding surprised.
She must have found it strange that I woke up before she could even call me.
“If you’re awake, hurry up and eat.”
“Okay.”
I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Mom immediately started urging me to eat quickly.
I nodded groggily and headed to the dining table.
Since I was up, it was obviously Hyeonseo’s turn next.
“It’s already been twenty minutes! Get up!”
“…Ughhh!”
A sharp slap against bare skin echoed from behind me.
Hyeonseo whining at Mom’s smack.
A grumpy, rebellious groan brushed past my ears.
Whatever.
I simply placed my chopsticks on the perfectly set table.
This morning’s side dishes were the quail egg soy-braised dish we’d had yesterday, along with tofu pancakes fried crisp in perilla oil.
So that’s what she’d been cooking in the pan earlier.
No wonder the oil smelled so savory.
At least the salty, rich side dishes were all there.
I figured I could finish an entire bowl of rice this morning and started eating a step ahead of Hyeonseo.
If the tofu pancakes tasted a bit bland, I’d take a bite of the braised quail eggs.
By the time I kept scooping up rice one mouthful at a time, Hyeonseo finally emerged and I had already finished my meal.
“Thanks for the food.”
“Yeah, go wash up quickly. Dry your hair in the living room.”
I emptied my rice bowl and placed the dishes in the sink. Mom added instructions, telling me to wash up right away.
It was one of the lifestyle changes that came with becoming a girl.
Instead of heading straight to the bathroom, I had to dry my hair in the living room first.
With longer hair, drying it had become a whole ordeal.
The hair dryer roared through the living room for several minutes.
Hair that used to dry in no time when I was a guy now refused to dry, as if it were holding onto every drop of moisture.
“Make sure you dry it thoroughly.”
Mom, passing through the living room, added a few words.
She kept reminding me to dry it properly, almost like a warning.
Probably because I’d gone out a few times without drying it enough. On weekdays when I had school, she always nagged me like this.
“I got it already.”
I shook my hair out roughly and answered in a sulky tone.
Even if it was annoying, I’d heard it so many times that I just did it.
This is just how it is for girls, I told myself as I followed along.
After thoroughly drying my hair, I wrapped the corset around my waist, put on my hat, and—after almost a week—slung my school bag over my shoulder and left the house.
It feels uncomfortable after so long.
The scratchy sensation of the corset and hat against my body after a break.
I didn’t have to worry about any of this at the hospital.
The feeling of being squeezed and the way sounds grew distant was really unpleasant.
Oh no. I’m already starting to miss the hospital.
Still, I kicked off the ground and began my usual sprint.
This moment—cap pulled low, forgetting the surrounding noises and stares as I ran—was one of the few times this body felt light and free.
It only took a few minutes to leave the apartment complex, dash through the school gate, and reach the classroom.
“Phew.”
I sat down at my desk and let out a refreshed breath.
After all, I couldn’t exactly run around in the hospital ward.
There was a walking path, but full-speed sprinting didn’t really fit the gentle atmosphere.
Anyway, running after so long felt refreshing.
Time passed, and when it was around eight o’clock—
“Oh, you actually came to school?”
Seokjun, who had slipped into the classroom at the last second, spotted me and greeted me first.
He sounded surprised that I had shown up.
“Obviously.”
I flashed him a V-sign with my index and middle fingers and answered as if it were the most natural thing.
If Mom had been any more lenient, I probably could have rested for a whole month.
“If Mom had been nicer, I could’ve taken two weeks off.”
I grumbled about that regret to Seokjun first.
He looked down at me with one corner of his mouth twisted in disbelief, as if I had no shame.
“Have you lost your conscience? You weren’t even hospitalized because you were sick.”
He pointed out that I hadn’t been admitted for illness and asked if I had no conscience at all.
Well, I had nothing to say to that.
Oh, how did Seokjun know?
Because I had proudly posted it in the group chat with the guys, of course.
Bragging while inviting envy and jealousy at the same time.
That level of teasing was just everyday life between guys.
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“You shameless bastard.”
My short affirmation earned a short insult in return.
He was just sulking because he couldn’t rest himself.
The school I returned to after a week was exactly the same.
Aside from the fact that they had made some progress in class while I was gone, it was the usual lessons and breaks.
During lunch, I shared stories about the luxurious single room I had enjoyed at the hospital with the otaku trio.
Of course, I told them everything—including the money I received from the contract.
“So I bought a gaming laptop yesterday.”
“Whoa, you crazy rich bastard.”
Juhan’s eyes widened in shock when I mentioned the laptop.
He must have felt a pang of jealousy watching me suddenly succeed right in front of him.
Once they learned I had come into a lot of money from the contract, even my friends couldn’t help but feel envious.
Then Byeonghwa slyly jumped into the conversation, sensing an opportunity.
“Then you’re treating us at the school store again today?”
“Heh heh, I can even buy you ten loaves of bread each.”
I answered with a bright laugh.
I had given my parents a million won each, so what was a few tens of thousands more?
“Nice, that’s our guy.”
“The one and only Dae-Hyunwoo.”
The starving male high school students immediately began praising me.
The jealousy that had been burning in their hearts quieted down at my generous offer.
Just as I thought—whether animal or human, the most efficient way to tame them is with food.
That was how my Monday at school went—mostly spent sharing vivid stories about the single hospital room and bragging about money.
When school ended and I returned home, I checked in front of the door…
Hasn’t it arrived yet?
The package that had sent a delivery notification saying it had arrived was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe it had arrived and Mom had already brought it inside?
As soon as I opened the door, I spotted a thin box in the entryway.
Ah, so Mom had seen it first and brought it in.
The box wasn’t as big as I expected.
Still, it was quite heavy. As I carried it inside, Mom stood up as if she had been waiting.
“Lee Hyunwoo, what did you buy?”
“A laptop.”
Here, I decided to be bold and tell the truth outright.
After all, I had concluded it would be easier to do it first and ask for forgiveness later than to ask for permission.
“A laaaptop?”
Mom looked a little flustered by the sudden appearance of the box.
I explained the reason I had bought it preemptively.
Even so, she didn’t seem pleased that I had spent the large sum of money the moment it came in. She crossed her arms and said,
“I told you to save it properly.”
She was repeating what she had said during our phone call at the hospital the other day.
Even so, I met her head-on and spoke my mind.
“It’s not like saving it means you’ll buy me a computer.”
To Mom, a computer was basically the same as a game console.
Even if I had asked her to let me buy a laptop, she would have refused, saying we already had a computer so why did I need a laptop.
I knew her personality too well.
There was no way Mom, who was so opposed to gaming, would have bought me a laptop just because I said I would save the money.
So I bought it with the money I received. What’s the problem?
My perfectly logical argument left Mom momentarily at a loss for words.
“…No one told you to buy it, right?”
“Huh?”
Then Mom suddenly said something strange.
Did someone tell me to buy it?
What was that supposed to mean?
“What are you talking about…?”
“You’re not being bullied at school, are you?”
When I tilted my head in confusion at her odd question, Mom stared at me with a worried expression.
How did the topic of buying a laptop suddenly lead to this?
It seemed like Mom had eaten something weird today.