Trip to the United States (4)
Trip to the United States (4)
"...."
Since calls at this hour were a routine occurrence, Harim-nuna stepped aside without a word.
It was an everyday event, so why did I feel so self-conscious?
I took a deep breath and answered the phone.
- Hello?
"Hello."
- Judging by your voice, you really are my honey, aren't you?
The call started with her usual playful banter.
- What are you doing, honey?
Hearing the rustling sound in the background, I could easily imagine her rolling around on her bed with the phone pressed to her ear.
"...I'm just here."
Normally, I would have played along and called her honey back, but today was a confusing day, and I just couldn't muster the energy.
- Is something wrong? You don't sound like yourself.
Yoon-seo always caught on to my state with razor-sharp precision.
"Um...."
Honestly, it wasn't that something bad had happened.
I had met A-yeon, and I had even received permission to date from Harim-nuna's father... well, Father now.
As for the truth about Phantastia, the Baekseong Group would handle it, so that wasn't a problem either.
The real problem was.
"That...."
How on earth was I supposed to bring this up and still keep my relationship with Yoon-seo intact?
Even if I was Yoon-seo's savior, if she found out about this side of me, wouldn't she be disappointed?
If saving someone's life meant you were destined to live happily ever after, every firefighter in the world would be enjoying a harem.
Because of that, I couldn't even give a proper answer and just stammered.
I didn't even want to imagine being hated by Yoon-seo.
- Did your trait get nerfed?
"It's not that."
- Or did you not get your US visa? I heard they don't allow ex-convicts.
"That worked out somehow."
Let's start with the good news first.
"I think I can go to the United States next week."
-Really?
"Yeah. And if things go well, I might be able to receive outpatient treatment in Korea."
According to my attendant, Yoo Seol-ssi, it was possible with the help of the Baekseong Group.
- You only have good news, so why is your voice so low?
"That's because...."
- Ah! I get it.
Yoon-seo, who had been thinking to herself, suddenly raised her voice.
- You found another woman!
What?
- They say women often swarm around rich men. Who is she?
She wasn't asking in a tone that suggested she was genuinely curious.
It was a question asked in jest, but.
- Are her breasts big?
"...."
- They are big, aren't they?
"...Yoon-seo-ya."
I couldn't bring myself to say no.
- Pfft, why are you taking it so seriously? There's no way a woman would be hitting on Egen Dohyun other than me.
But they were hitting on me.
- You're coming next week?
"Yeah."
- ...I want to see you soon.
Without knowing how I felt, Yoon-seo used her sweet, charming voice to induce guilt.
Anyone would think it's a blessing to have several dazzlingly beautiful women swarming around them.
But once it became reality, it was nothing but trouble.
-I'll be waiting.
"Yeah, I'll be there soon."
After finishing the conversation as usual, I hung up.
Then, Harim-nuna poked her head through the door gap.
"Are you done?"
"Yeah."
"What did Yoon-seo say?"
"...I haven't told her yet. I'm going to talk to her face-to-face."
Harim-nuna fidgeted with her fingers.
"Hey, about that... the marriage my dad mentioned...."
As if she had thought it over and reached a conclusion, she looked up at me with her head bowed.
"If you don't want to do it, you don't have to. Being forced into it is... a bit much, right?"
"...."
"Especially since there's someone else you like...."
Ah, I'm going crazy.
"My dad only said that because he was worried you might go over to another faction."
"...."
"So, I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to worry about it too much."
After leaving those words in a wilted voice, Nuna went into her room.
Just before the door closed, her voice drifted out.
"Good night."
I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight.
"This is foundation. Use it to make your skin look clearer and to cover up blemishes."
"Hmm. Lipstick all looks the same to me, though."
"They look the same, but they're different. This one will suit your lip color better."
A-yeon was currently taking a makeup lesson from Su-ah.
Su-ah touched A-yeon's face with the focus of a master craftsman carving a sculpture.
Everything from her coordination to her makeup was done by her hands, as if she were creating a work of art.
"...You never even thought about dressing up before, so why all of a sudden?"
"It's basic etiquette to look your best when going to meet the man you like, isn't it?"
"...."
"Don't tell me you're going to meet your brother looking all sloppy?"
"Just look in the mirror."
One of Su-ah's 108 bucket list items.
Decorating Seo A-yeon.
It was about grooming A-yeon, who had no interest in dressing up, exactly how she wanted.
It was something she had always simulated, something she had always dreamed of.
"You're pretty."
A-yeon, completed with Su-ah's desires pressed tightly into her, was the very definition of a femme fatale.
Her already pretty appearance had gone up two, no, three levels.
There wouldn't be a man who wouldn't fall for this look.
However, A-yeon's attention, now that she was finished, was not directed at Su-ah.
It was makeup for a man other than herself.
"Oppa will probably like this too."
Su-ah resented herself for not leaving A-yeon.
"You really are the best friend."
She resented her own pathetic self for being unable to leave her side despite that praise.
"...Friend."
"Yeah, let's stay friends forever."
Even though there would never be a future where she and A-yeon, who drew such strict lines, would be together.
Su-ah would be by her side today, tomorrow, and forever.
It was a truly cruel revenge.
The day dawned.
Today, I had a dinner appointment with A-yeon.
For reference, I had a schedule during the day to purchase a car from the owner of a 2.7 billion won limited-edition supercar.
With Harim-nuna's help, I successfully took over the car and headed to A-yeon's university.
I had promised to pick her up when her classes ended.
"...Whoa, what is that?"
"That car is insane."
As I waited, all eyes were on me.
Even more so than when I brought the supercar yesterday.
A Feroli Date or an SP3.
It was nine times the price of my previous car, so I suppose it was only natural.
Yesterday, I couldn't even get in touch with her, so I had no choice but to wait blindly, but now that I could reach her, things were so much more comfortable.
I started to see A-yeon in the distance.
Beside A-yeon was Kim Su-ah, wearing a hoodie with her black hair in pigtails.
It seemed her words about keeping her by her side weren't a lie.
Kim Su-ah was looking at my car with a very uncomfortable and dark expression.
A-yeon stepped away from Kim Su-ah and approached me without even looking back.
She opened the car door with an affectionate voice.
"Oppa~."
Kim Su-ah's dead eyes, along with the shocking gazes of various engineering students, were focused on A-yeon.
A-yeon climbed into the passenger seat.
"...Did A-yeon have a boyfriend?"
"Isn't that Jin-ho sunbae's car?"
"I heard that guy got sued and went to the police station."
"Then if it's not Jin-ho sunbae, who is it? Do we have a billionaire like that at our school?"
The whispers stopped once the car door closed.
"Nothing happened today, right? Like someone coming to the house like yesterday?"
"Nothing happened."
After driving for a while, carefully gripping the steering wheel.
I glanced to the side for a moment.
A-yeon was looking at a hand mirror, fiddling with her hair.
I might be dense, but when it came to A-yeon, I could usually read all her thoughts.
The way she kept glancing at me suggested she wanted a compliment.
'...She was pretty yesterday, too.'
If she weren't my sister, I would have had my eyes glued to her for a long time.
She really dressed up so beautifully today.
The problem was that she was too beautiful.
It was a look I couldn't have imagined for a younger sister coming to meet her brother.
"...You dressed really well today."
"O-oh, really? You think so?"
"You were already pretty, but you're even prettier."
I realized my mistake the moment I said it.
As siblings, it was a compliment I could give, but.
Thinking about it under the assumption that A-yeon liked me, I wondered if it was a bit too much.
"...Really?"
I planned to tell A-yeon about my relationship with Yoon-seo and Harim-nuna later.
Would A-yeon get hurt when I did?
"...I've never been to a place like this."
Finally, the car stopped at the restaurant I had reserved.
This was an expensive restaurant where a single course meal cost a million won.
A-yeon looked around for a while, then was shocked when she saw the menu prices.
"Isn't this too expensive?"
"I told you I've been making a lot of money, didn't I? Just eat and don't worry about it."
"Where on earth did you earn all this money?"
Well, it wasn't a story I could put off forever.
It's better to get these things out of the way quickly.
A-yeon's feelings were misguided ones stemming from gratitude.
Once she realized the reality of me being a player who messed around with several women, she would naturally let go of her feelings.
A-yeon hated our father for his philandering, after all.
"...I've been playing a game for a while now."
I explained my story from the past while.
From meeting Yoon-seo to starting Ssal-muk, and the background of how I obtained my trait.
About Yoon-seo going to the United States, and that I would be going to meet her soon.
And even my relationship with Harim-nuna.
Of course, I left out the complex stuff like the truth about Phantastia, which she wouldn't believe anyway.
After all, you can't easily talk about national secrets.
I vaguely mentioned that things weren't going well, so I might have to marry Harim-nuna.
Finally, I told her that Nuna was living in our house and that Yoon-seo might be moving in soon.
"...."
A moment of silence fell over the atmosphere.
A-yeon asked.
"...Then, does that mean you have a woman you like right now, Oppa?"
A-yeon's eyes darkened.