It Was My Time
Lee Seoyeon’s curiosity outweighed even the faint sense of unease she felt.
She didn’t hang up the phone. Instead, she kept the conversation going.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“Sis, seriously, don’t freak out, okay?”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing right now.”
“You know Doyun made it big, right?”
“Of course I do. This house is thanks to Doyun, too. I really ought to buy my brother a meal sometime... I just never got around to it because I was busy.”
The younger sister on the screen shook her head.
“Sis, when I came up to Seoul, Doyun and I went to the department store together.”
“Yeah. I heard you were going shopping on your first day.”
“Ta-da!”
“...What is that?”
She held up a bag with an excited grin.
There was no way not to recognize it.
It was the famous Chanel bag.
If a car represented a man’s social status, then among women, that role belonged to the bag.
Especially when they went out to gatherings.
No matter what anyone said, the bag that drew the most attention was a Chanel.
“Doyun bought this for me.”
“...Doyun did?”
“He’s done way better than we thought. Seriously, he’s like some kind of conglomerate heir.”
“Lee Haeun! What are you doing, making a fuss like that to the brother who’s even putting you up when you came up to Seoul?”
“Sis! That’s not what I mean. Just listen to me! You think I’d just take it? I know perfectly well Doyun came to the city and has been struggling!”
“Then that bag...”
“I told you. Doyun’s done far better than we ever imagined. He bought bags not just for me, but for you and Mom too. And Dad’s, too.”
“...”
Seoyeon tilted her head.
She couldn’t tell whether it was a joke or not.
But the aggrieved look on her sister’s face seemed to say it was no joke at all.
Just as she was about to scold her for it, Haeun picked up another bag. It was Chanel as well.
Now she understood why they were so popular.
She should have said something, but the sight of that bag left her momentarily stunned.
“This one’s yours, sis.”
“...Really?”
“Yep!”
“N-no, wait...”
She came back to her senses and tried to get a proper explanation, but then Doyun took the phone.
You can’t spit in the face of someone who’s smiling at you.
With that bright grin and a wave, there wasn’t much she could even say.
“It’s been a while.”
“Exactly. You should call sometimes. Not just when something like this happens.”
“I will.”
“So what was that Haeun just said?”
“Work’s been going incredibly well, so I ended up doing even better than you think. I bought some gifts for the family.”
“...You’re really sure this is okay? I know exactly how expensive those bags are. They have to be several million won each.”
When she mentioned the price of the bags, her parents, who had been listening nearby, looked shocked.
How could a single bag cost several million won?
Surely there had to be some mistake.
“They were actually more than that, but... don’t worry. I’ll come down soon and explain everything.”
“M-more than that?”
Before long, even her parents couldn’t stay quiet.
“S-so a bag really costs more than several million won?”
“Whoa... what kind of bag is that expensive?”
“I prepared a separate one for Mom. It’s an Hermès Birkin.”
“I don’t even know what that is, but just looking at it, it seems expensive...”
“Take that to a gathering and Mom’ll be the star of the show.”
“R-really...?”
Honestly...
Even Mom couldn’t hide her smile at the news about the bag.
Maybe she had thought I was still working myself to the bone for money and hadn’t been considering how everyone else felt.
When you give someone a gift, all they have to do is accept it with a word of thanks.
It might feel burdensome to me, but to someone else, it could be a gift that made them smile without thinking.
And seeing Mom, who had worked so hard raising the three of us, break into such a bright smile...
That was enough for me.
My little sister probably had her own reasons, too.
“I did buy Dad a bag too, but... when I come down, let’s go buy him a fishing rod together. I heard Dad’s gotten into fishing lately.”
“Heh heh, that’d be nice... I was just thinking a good rod might be on sale for a decent price.”
“Let’s go look together. Dad, which do you like better, Bentley or Mercedes?”
“...What?”
“A car to drive around in.”
“Hey now, don’t go saying scary things. The car Dad drives now is plenty.”
“That I can’t accept. A Range Rover seems nice too...”
“Well, a Range Rover does have a reputation for breaking down a lot, but if you get a good one, it’s supposed to be really nice...”
Seeing a side of my father I’d never seen before, I felt my own mood lifting as well.
Everyone was blooming with laughter.
***
At the PC café, the guys were still torn over whether to go up to Seoul or not.
Then—
“Huh? Yeonwu posted a story.”
“Let’s see. Is Haeun with her too?”
“They went out together, so of course she’d be there.”
They checked the story uploaded to Instagram.
“...Is that car a Ferrari?”
“Whoa... that place isn’t a house, it’s a palace.”
“...Is Seoul really like that?”
“Look at all those luxury brands... A hat alone is hard enough to buy, and that’s luxury.”
That was all it took for them to reach a decision.
They set their phones down and went back to their game.
“Ha... I loved you.”
“Yeah. What are we to Yeonwu and Haeun, anyway?”
“My chest hurts...”
“This is better than us fighting each other. I don’t even feel jealous.”
The difference was so overwhelming that they couldn’t even work up the thought of competing.
They had no choice but to cry hot tears into their hearts.
Give up!
***
After hanging up the phone, the two of them busied themselves admiring the things they’d bought while shopping.
Especially the bags, which they carefully set upright and photographed from every angle.
Has she ever smiled this brightly before...?
I’d witnessed every joy and sorrow my little sister had experienced in my lifetime, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say I’d never seen her feel this happy before.
She kept grinning to herself as she took pictures, and her phone must have been shaking so much that it was hard to get a shot.
Normally, she’d get irritated if the picture came out badly.
But now she just kept smiling and saying strange things.
“Oh dear, my mistake. Is our Nelli feeling shy? Don’t worry, big sister will take a pretty picture for you.”
“...”
Now she was starting to scare me.
She’s not insane, is she...?
Even my little sister was creepy enough as it was, but Yeonwu’s expression as she lay there on the bed, propped up on one elbow and admiring the bag...
“You really look like you’ve been possessed.”
The two of them had been bewitched by the bags, and nothing else seemed to register.
“Sis, you don’t have anything else scheduled today, do you? Like going out somewhere in the early morning or something...”
“Hmm... our Nelli says she gets lonely if she’s too far from her sister.”
“Then just carry it around.”
“And what if it gets bumped into something and scratched? It’s still in its infancy, so we have to be careful.”
“You’re not insane, are you?”
“I do feel like I’m going insane.”
It wasn’t just feeling like it. She was definitely insane.
And it wasn’t only the bag.
“I can’t believe I could buy this many CK underwear sets...”
“Haeun, let’s try on our underwear.”
“Should we shower first?”
“Yeah. Doyun bought us pajamas too. Hmm... should I show him the CK underwear as a gift?”
“That might be a bit much...”
“I have no intention of seeing yours either, sis.”
“Oh? Then mine...”
“You really can look?”
“...Tch, you’ve lost your cute side.”
She’d started the teasing herself, but when I teased her back, her face turned bright red and she pouted.
And the way she kept sneaking glances at me...
It seemed like, in place of that cute little-sister charm, something else had taken root.
Honestly, I preferred it that way.
It was a hundred, a thousand times better for her to become a cool woman of the opposite sex than to remain nothing more than a cute younger sister.
Besides, a lot of the CK underwear was in lighter colors. Gray especially.
If Yeonwu wore that...
And if it got wet...
Damn it. My little sister really ought to have some sense and step out of the way.
From the way she was staring holes into the Chanel bag, she probably wouldn’t even notice if I did something with Yeonwu.
She didn’t even seem like she was planning to turn her head.
“So today’s schedule is over, then? For both of you?”
“Of course not. We still need to take pictures with our Nelli, look around, and unbox the rest of the stuff. That’s all part of the schedule.”
“Hmm... I’m a little bored.”
“Hey, you little brat. At least look at me when you say that. Your hands can’t sit still because you want to unbox things, and you’re telling me not to make moves on our little brother?”
“...What are you talking about?”
“Sis, can you drink? We’ve got a lot of expensive alcohol at home.”
“Expensive alcohol...?”
“We’ve got wine, whiskey, vodka... all of it costs at least hundreds of thousands of won per bottle, but we don’t have anyone to drink it with.”
“...C-can we really drink that?”
“Why not? This is exactly the kind of occasion for it.”
“I want some too!”
“Go play with that Nelli of yours.”
“We’ve played enough.”
In the end, the mention of expensive alcohol made them insist on drinking together.
That was fine.
As far as I knew, my little sister couldn’t hold her liquor very well.
That actually worked out.
Rather than spending all day hanging around with Nelli this and Nelli that and not sleeping, it would be better if she drank and passed out early.
So, in the end, I had to set the table for drinks.
***
Before we started drinking, we all showered so that if the alcohol hit us, we could just go straight to sleep.
We slipped into the pajamas we’d bought at the department store earlier, and by the time I came out after washing up with Yeonwu...
Wow...
I found myself marveling again.
How could a bare face be that beautiful?
It had a different kind of charm. Pure and innocent, I guess.
At that level, she could probably go around without makeup and still be fine.
And then there was her chest.
Even in pajamas, it stood out more clearly.
Between the buttons of her top, I could just barely make out the CK bra underneath, and above the pajama pants that sat a little low, there was the gray CK panties.
Watching that made me swallow hard without thinking.
If everything up until now had been for my sisters, then from this point on...
it was my time.