Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Became a Little Sister
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"Did you hit your brother again, Yu-na?"
"He started it by pissing me off first."
"ㅗ."
Do you know? Siblings are actually programmed to kill each other.
Passing by, you just want to poke them. If you're short on cash, you sneak a 10,000-won bill from their wallet.
You tell them to make you some ramen, only to get slapped. You sneak just one bite, and suddenly your face is inches from boiling water.
Eventually, you're bound to hear something like this.
"Dad. Between me and my brother, just kick one of us off the family registry. I'm serious."
Honestly, I'm not entirely blameless. But if you really think about it, she's just as guilty. So I felt completely justified.
Anyway, my conclusion after twenty-odd years of data collection is that my little sister, Seol Yu-na, hates me.
I don't know why. She used to follow me around calling "Oppa, Oppa" back in the day. But at some point, she started refusing to come within a meter of me.
And if I even joked around a little, she'd instantly get serious and charge at me, her eyes full of contempt.
I tried leaning on my authority as the big brother and my physical advantage as a guy for a while.
But then she suddenly blossomed into some kickboxing or jiu-jitsu prodigy, and after that, I couldn't compete at all.
Inja-gang. The moment I realized Seol Yu-na was one of those types, the tables turned. I just couldn't keep up.
So I grabbed the noble excuse of "independence," rented my own place, and fled. It was basically exile.
Even then, this stubborn girl would occasionally launch surprise visits to my place whenever she had time.
I started thinking my privacy would cease to exist, so a few months ago, I laid down the law. Please just stop coming.
What did she say back then?
She scoffed and said,
"I don't listen to the weak."
What the hell?
Still, after I blocked her number in a fit of rage, she mercifully stopped coming. At least until now.
But why am I suddenly rambling about my family?
Clack.
"Come in and sit down."
Because Seol Yu-na, that girl, had broken into my place after a long time.
The problem was that right now, I didn't look like the sturdy adult male Seol Ha-yoon—I was Seol Ha-rin.
I quietly covered my face with my hands.
Glasses. Check.
Outfit. Check.
I pulled out my phone and checked my face. Check.
Hmm. Perfect Seol Ha-rin. Nod nod.
I took off my shoes and sat at the table, where kimchi stew and side dishes were neatly arranged. I was hungry, so I had to eat.
"Wait a sec. The fish is almost done grilling."
Seol Yu-na casually plated the perfectly grilled mackerel and set it down, then sat across from me.
"I'll eat well."
"……I'll eat well."
We clasped our hands together in unison and started munching away.
Hmm. Uh. Hmm. This is so awkward? I feel like I'm suffocating? I can't tell if the food's going in my nose or my throat.
How much does this girl know, exactly?
The glasses' effect was working fine, and there was no trace of Seol Ha-yoon on my body right now.
Yet Seol Yu-na just slurped her soup without a word. That silence was even scarier, sending chills down my spine. Should I say something?
Strike first. I took the initiative.
"Um..."
"Yeah?"
"Aren't you... gonna ask anything...?"
I dragged out the end of my sentence without realizing it. I instantly understood why Pluto talked like that.
When you're extremely flustered, your brain and tongue get out of sync. Oh, Pluto's always in panic mode!
Anyway.
Seol Yu-na stared at me intently, spoon in her mouth, and said,
"Well. You became a magical girl, bro?"
Slurp.
I froze, chopsticks in hand, dumbfounded.
Seol Yu-na knew it. Siblings are programmed to kill each other.
So was she a glitch?
To trace the origin of these bizarre feelings, she had to dig deep into the layers of her memories.
Was it that stormy night in her childhood? Or a quiet afternoon when their parents were away?
She didn't know when it started, but at some point, she developed feelings for her brother that went beyond sibling affection.
Siblings. Family. Blood ties. The boundaries the world drew between her and her brother.
People found comfort within those lines and saw virtue in never crossing them.
But to Yu-na, those words were shackles—and also the safest hiding place.
As long as they wore the label of siblings, she could monopolize him at closer range than anyone, without a hint of suspicion.
But as puberty hit and she grew up, she realized her feelings were tantamount to taboo.
So she chose to act. To wear the mask of normal siblings. Pretending to be indifferent, to hate him, to despise him.
Fortunately, her performance was flawless. No one, not even Seol Ha-yoon, noticed her sticky emotions.
But that created a problem: starting in high school, Seol Ha-yoon began clamoring about independence.
The reason? He didn't want to live with her anymore. Why not? I'm fine with it, she barely swallowed those words.
No way. I can't let him out of my sight.
That's why she learned martial arts.
Even if she couldn't have him, she wanted to keep him close. If needed, she'd use force to pin him down, break his legs if she had to, just to keep him by her side.
Was her obsession too much? Seol Ha-yoon eventually ran away, and only then did she realize she'd chosen the wrong strategy.
After that, she visited his place under the excuse of bringing side dishes from their parents, keeping things coldly distant.
She even went a while without seeing him due to matches and exams, her "brother fix" hitting rock bottom.
Finally, today after exams ended, she couldn't hold back and raided his place.
But.
'...Huh?'
The moment she stepped into the entrance, she furrowed her brow.
The room should have reeked of her brother's scent—musty to others, but intoxicating to her. Instead, an unpleasant aroma lingered.
'This is...'
A strange woman's fragrance, not her brother's. Did he get a girlfriend in the meantime?
She considered it possible. He was at that age. His face was decent enough, his personality... not bad.
Her head understood, but her heart refused. How dare some vixen enchant my brother?
'That girl from last time...?'
The gloomy one from school. She had a strong dried-fish smell. Her nose wouldn't take long to pinpoint it.
She scoured every corner with a hawk's eyes, hunting for traces of the intruder.
To identify her, bury her socially or physically isolate her from her brother.
But.
'What...?'
It was weird. The room definitely smelled of a woman. Full of feminine traces.
But something felt off. Those traces weren't separate from Seol Ha-yoon's—they were intertwined.
And that wasn't the only strange thing. Everything was off, from one to ten.
She knew Seol Ha-yoon made magical girl costumes. He had that otaku streak.
Still, the outfits on the hangers showing subtle signs of wear was odd.
Like someone had actually worn them in action, with creases at the joints.
The room's state was weird too. Clutter and furniture placement matched Seol Ha-yoon, but what were all these cute dolls scattered around?
And chocolate wrappers from stuff he'd normally spit at for being too sweet?
And above all.
'Why are there so many girls' clothes?'
Beyond magical girl outfits, the room was packed with clothes fit for elementary school girls.
Sure, as a design major, he might've bought them, but this was excessive.
Of course, Yu-na was prepared to accept even his perviest tastes. But she hoped he wouldn't get caught.
With that in mind, she opened a backpack in the corner. Out spilled first-grade textbooks.
With a name written on them: Seol Ha-rin.
'Where'd he pick this up?'
As she pondered, a decisive inconsistency caught her eye.
'Chicken.'
A half-eaten chicken box on the table, half still left.
'No way. Brother would never leave chicken.'
Seol Ha-yoon's rule was one chicken per person minimum, two on good days. He'd never leave any, even if the world ended.
He left chicken? Half of it?
Bad chicken? She sniffed.
Fine.
'Something's definitely up.'
In reality, it was because Seol Ha-yoon had become Seol Ha-rin and his appetite shrank, but Yu-na nailed it.
Standing in the middle of the room, chin in hand, she channeled Sherlock Holmes, piecing clues together.
'No signs of a third party. Door lock password unchanged, one toothbrush, one pillow.'
Eliminating possibilities one by one, she reached a conclusion she couldn't believe.
'The woman's scent is real.'
But it's not him and some outsider. No other woman living here.
Then?
'The person living here turned into a woman.'
What kind of insane conclusion is that? It defies common sense!
But Yu-na trusted her instincts—or rather, the leftover chicken bones—over logic.
Besides.
'Magic exists.'
Magical girls flew over building rooftops. Why not a gender-swap spell?
Yu-na wasn't the sharp type by nature.
Thinking and running around was for the weak with poor physiques. Strong ones like her just powered through.
But with Seol Ha-yoon involved, she was sharper than anyone.
He wouldn't answer his phone—blocked her. What if she used the landline here?
She grabbed the receiver without hesitation and dialed his number.
[The number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please try again.]
"Huh?"
No way.
She called Seowoon University admin next, then his friends.
All said the same: he took a leave and left for a working holiday in Canada.
'Bullshit.'
Of course it was. Working holiday in Canada? Pfft!
Yu-na knew everything about Seol Ha-yoon. He wasn't the type for that.
Him getting hit by a truck and becoming a graffiti witch in another world would be more believable.
She naturally turned on his PC. Punched in the password she knew. The desktop appeared.
A scantily clad 2D girl smiling shyly—disgusting. If it were her photo, it'd be fine.
She moved the mouse. Goal: verify the Canada bullshit.
If he really went, there'd be flight tickets, visa docs, hostel info at least.
She opened the [Downloads] folder.
Scrolling recent files, her eyes narrowed.
No passport copies, e-Tickets, Visas, Canada anything.
Just otaku anime vids and homework_final_reallyfinal_please.hwp.
"Knew it."
Canada was a lie. So where was her brother and what was he doing?
Then, a file in the folder corner caught her eye.
[FamilyRegistry.pdf]
Downloaded about a month ago.
'A month ago?'
Around when he took his leave.
Why would someone going to Canada need a family registry?
Common uses: jobs, school, loans, and...
'Marriage registration.'
Suddenly, the strange woman's scent flashed in her mind.
Woman's scent. Sudden disappearance. Cutting off contacts. Fake overseas escape. Family registry.
No way.
"That crazy bitch?"
He locked eyes with some vixen, secretly registered marriage, and planned to elope? Ah, that must be it!
So he lied about Canada to avoid the family?
Her hands trembled. Daring to leave me behind—no, abandon the family for love's escape?
She unleashed her ultimate Seol Yu-na Rush 16-hit combo on the mouse, clicking furiously.
She had to check. See what no-name bitch was listed as spouse.
Confirm with her own eyes, then drag that bitch by the hair.
Click. The PDF opened on the monitor.
[Family Registry]
Seol Guk [Father]
Kim Jin-sook [Mother]
Seol Ha-yoon [Self]
Seol Yu-na [Little Sister]
Seol Ha-rin [Little Sister]
"?"
So who the hell is this and why's she on our family registry?
Did Seol Guk and Kim Jin-sook have another kid without telling us? But Mom said she was menopausal.
Or adoption? Without telling us? Those bastards?
Honestly, it scared her. Seol Guk was the type to do it.
Wait.
"Seol Ha-rin? Wasn't that the name from earlier?"
Yeah, the backpack too.
She dumped the backpack again, more thoroughly. A crumpled paper fell out.
"Parent observation class?"
Whatever. Not useful.
No other info from the bag. She's family per the registry, but who is she?
Even with her head full of Seol Ha-yoon, a sudden new sister was confusing enough.
The registry was just a doc—no photos or details, so verifying was tough.
As she fruitlessly scrolled the mouse, dusk fell outside.
"Well, if they come back, I can just ask."
No real need for this investigation. The room screamed lived-in.
Biggest proof he didn't flee to Canada.
Traces of someone breathing, eating, snacking here as recently as yesterday—or this morning.
She opened the fridge.
Fresh ingredients galore. Brother wouldn't buy this stuff. Where'd it come from?
In this riddle-filled space, Yu-na naturally started cooking.
Ding ding ding ding!
The door lock opened, revealing a white-haired girl. Every puzzle piece clicked.
Because wafting from the girl's body...
Was the brotherly presence she'd desperately sought.
Her brother had become her little sister.
Hm.
Possible.