11. Siblings
11. Siblings
11. Siblings
"Isn't there any way? Please."
Her expression softens at my words.
"That's unexpected.
I thought you were the type of person who wouldn't ask for favors."
Ever since my school days,
I've hated asking Father for anything.
But that was only because I was afraid of meeting him.
"Alright. Since our Seonmin-ssi is relying on Noona,
I'll help you a little. But there are conditions."
I figured there would be conditions, but what could they be?
"First,
Noona will come to supervise as the Supervisor myself.
I won't nitpick unnecessarily, but
if I think it's not being managed properly,
I'll drag them away immediately."
I can't avoid the Supervisor's oversight, but
if it's this lawyer, it'll be better than other Supervisors.
Just the fact that she won't nitpick is
a huge relief.
"Second, both Noona and Seonmin-ssi are members of the Organization.
When receiving help from someone,
you must pay the price.
I will take 100 Hwan of the Organization's currency
from Seonmin-ssi."
"Hwan?"
"Yes. It's an organization formed right after liberation, so
the units are old, but
since it's easy to distinguish from cash Won,
we continue to use it."
"I just finished the name transfer today, so
I probably don't have any Hwan, right?"
"For now, I'll lend it to you.
Pay me back later when you've collected a lot of Hwan."
"How much is 100 Hwan worth?"
"It's about enough to promote from a
Bamboo Member to a Chrysanthemum Member."
I don't know much about it, but it sounds like a massive amount.
Besides, if I go up to the Chrysanthemum rank,
I can refuse supervision.
If I have debt on top of that, I'd need double.
"Is it a burden?"
"I don't really know the Hwan unit yet, so I'm not sure, but
it won't be easy."
"That's right. It's not an easy number.
That's why Noona will give you a chance.
You can only choose one, so
choose wisely."
She says this with a playful glint in her eyes.
"Number 1, Noona will wait indefinitely, so
you can pay it back slowly.
Number 2, work under Noona to pay off the debt.
You'll probably be able to collect Hwan and assets quickly.
Number 3, become like real siblings with Noona from now on.
Since we're siblings, you don't have to pay back the Hwan."
She forces an answer with a bright smile,
so much so that I wonder if she's the same woman
who kicked a slave's head earlier.
There's no need to even look for the answer.
"Number 1. If you're willing to wait, I will definitely pay you back later."
"Huh?"
She looks surprised at my answer,
then immediately makes a cute pout.
"Noona told you to choose, but I'm disappointed.
Isn't it obviously number 3?
Do you dislike being siblings with Noona?"
"No. It's the opposite.
Being siblings with someone like Noona
is like a dream.
That's why it's not a condition for a favor, but
rather, I should be the one asking you to be my Noona."
Her expression softens at that flattery-laced comment.
Thank goodness.
"I'm grateful you said that.
I was almost about to sulk."
"Since I'm an only child, I've always been envious of siblings, but
Noona, you really are, how should I put it,
you feel like a real Noona."
The best way to make flattery work
is to say it with sincerity.
In fact, she even makes me think,
if I really had a Noona, wouldn't she be like this?
I know the reason.
Her atmosphere reminds me of Mother.
Even though her face is completely different.
"Then let's get along well from now on. Little brother."
She smiles brightly and takes my hand.
Her slender, pretty hand wraps around mine.
It's slightly cool, which feels nice.
It's true that I want to get closer to her.
She is charming and a powerful person I need.
However, there's a reason I didn't say it.
Her options were clearly a question asking about
our future relationship.
Number 3 is a personal relationship,
number 2 is a professional relationship,
number 1 is a stranger's relationship.
I know she's charming and favorable toward me, but
I know nothing about her.
When a story is overly sweet and vague,
avoidance is the best policy.
It's a verbal contract, but
once you choose wrong, you can't get out.
She was a person from that kind of Organization.
-You have acquired Emotion-
Surprisingly, she must have truly felt happiness in her relationship with me.
Even if I can't trust her identity,
I could trust her affection.
"Then it's time for Noona to go.
I'll contact you later with the time
I'll visit as a Supervisor."
I exchange phone numbers with her.
"It'll be noisy for about 2-3 days.
Contractors will be collecting the sculptures and items."
"I should go back and sort out my personal affairs as well."
"Shall I give you a ride?"
"No. I'll look around a bit more before I go."
"You can contact me if you miss Noona sometimes."
"Yes. Thank you so much for today.
There must be many people in the Organization, but
I'm glad it was Noona who came.
I wouldn't have even been able to follow the conversation on my own."
It's sincere, but I intentionally add flattery.
Considering I'll be affiliated with the Organization or whatever it is,
it's important to be on good terms with a powerful person.
"Hmm, I'm happy to have met my little brother today too.
Lastly, I'll ask a few personal questions.
Answer honestly."
"Yes."
If it were earlier, she would have asked politely, "May I?",
but now it's "I will."
Rather than a hierarchical relationship,
it must be a sign of personal rapport.
"You peeked at Noona a few times today,
when was the best time?"
As expected, she caught me.
"I think it was best when I first saw you at the cafe.
I thought you were a truly beautiful person."
"Hmm. That's an unsatisfactory answer.
I'll give you an X.
Tell me about when you 'peeked'."
I have no choice but to be honest.
"When I saw you driving in the car,
I even thought it didn't feel like my reality."
"Where did you peek?"
"....At your legs visible between your skirt and your chest.
I apologize if it was rude."
"Good. Noona is letting it slide because you're my special little brother.
I'll forgive you in advance for peeking secretly later.
It's okay to peek secretly now."
Watching the lawyer who speaks not only with charm
but also with such allure,
my face flushed slightly.
"You must have looked closely at my butt on the stairs earlier,
so I can't believe you liked the driving scene better, but
Noona will trust her little brother's words."
Wait, does this woman have eyes on her butt too?
My face burns at her face,
which carries a sexiness that makes me think she's bewitching.
"Then lastly, you weren't surprised when Noona called herself Noona, right?
Did you think from the beginning that I was older?"
Oh no, I stepped on a landmine.
When she called herself Noona earlier,
I should have acted surprised and reacted.
Even though I knew it when I first saw her,
to make such a mistake...
"Actually, just looking at your face, you look like a younger sister, but
the atmosphere felt like a Noona..."
I try to make a desperate excuse.
Fortunately, she doesn't seem hysterical.
"I'm 31. You can treat me comfortably as Noona."
I thought, if you added friendliness and aegyo to my mom,
would she become a person like this?
After her final test,
I see her off to the parking lot.
After she left,
I felt like this was truly my house.
I also need to go back to my studio apartment and sort out my affairs.
However, out of a sense of lingering attachment,
I look around the mansion slowly by myself one more time.
To confirm the final appearance of the house left by my father,
whom I both loved and hated.
I try sitting in the expensive-looking chair in the study,
and I try lying on the tatami.
I wash and dry the tea set from the tea I drank earlier.
It's still a clean house, but
it looks like it would be impossible to manage alone.
I thought about trying to swim in the pool,
but I don't think today is the day.
I visit the guest house once more.
I should finish talking with them too.
Just as I left earlier,
they were bowing their heads, waiting for me.
"Get up."
"Yes, understood."
Following my words, they stood up.
I didn't want to talk in the stuffy guest house.
As I tried to talk in another place,
I noticed the iron chains connected to their dog collars
were hanging on the wall.
When I tried to unhook the chain from the dog collar,
I realized the dog collar and the chain
were connected as one piece.
"Master. Shall we go to another place?"
Fortunately, the observant 30-something slave speaks up.
"Yeah. I'd like to talk in the garden."
She unhooked her and the 20-something slave's chains from the wall,
not the dog collars, and handed them to me politely.
When I took them, flustered,
they assumed a position like dogs and crawled in front of me.
This isn't what I thought...
Following Noona's advice to treat slaves as slaves,
I grab the chains and follow them.
Watching them crawl to the garden,
I realized that dog walking is not only about humiliation and shame,
but also an act that causes physical pain.
I don't know how thick the kimono is,
but their knees must be a mess.
They seem used to it, as they crawl ahead
without making a single groan.
When we arrived at the pavilion,
they didn't climb up, but knelt under the pavilion,
waiting for me to climb up.
Who is the slave?
I was pushed by that momentum and did as I was told,
climbing up to the pavilion and sitting down.
A refreshing breeze blows, which feels out of place.