Came to Make Peace—What's This Now?!
Huh... Did I just hear that right?
It had all happened so fast I wasn't even sure I'd heard correctly.
When I looked at Ara with that question written all over my face, she seemed to snap back to her senses. She tucked the trash can under her arm, bolted from the room, and shouted—
"Ah, it's nothing! I'm gonna go cut some fruit!"
With Ara gone, Maru and I were left alone in the room, just staring at each other.
Maru kept hesitating, unable to get the words out, so I spoke first.
"...It's fine. I get it."
"...Thanks."
Well, it wasn't like I was forcing myself to understand, so he didn't need to thank me that much.
Ara had been careless, piling all that stuff up and then bringing a guest over—but she was at that age when desire runs high. I was a guy around the same age, so I could relate.
Though Maru from this reversed world, squinting and pinching his nose over there, didn't seem to get it at all.
Since I'd already seen Ara's embarrassing secret, I took a look around her room while I was at it.
On the wall hung a photo of little Ara in a taekwondo uniform. Cute Ara at her elementary school graduation. And a framed photo from her middle school graduation—the one I never got to attend.
It was the only frame where Ara wasn't smiling.
Hmm... Maybe I really should let her touch my chest.
About ten minutes later, Ara came back with a plate of cut fruit.
Apples, pears, grapes, oranges...
Why'd she bring so much?
Should I be more surprised that they had this much fruit at home, or that she'd given us this much?
But I seemed to be the only one surprised—Maru and Ara just started eating without a word.
Maybe my hesitation about not eating bothered her, because Ara speared a piece of apple with a fork and held it out to me.
Right—she'd already gone to the trouble of preparing it. Refusing out of surprise might be even ruder.
With that thought, I took the apple she offered straight into my mouth.
"Huet...!"
I heard a weird little sound, but looking around, there was nothing that could have made it.
I scratched my head, figuring I'd misheard, when Maru spoke up like he'd just remembered something.
"Oh, right. I was gonna text you about it, but I might as well say it now. Chan, about that video we decided to film?"
"Munch munch... Yeah."
"We talked among ourselves about what to shoot, and since this'll be our first video when we upload..."
"Chomp chomp... Right."
Whoa, why is this apple so good?
It was like ten apples compressed into one.
Damn, this is delicious.
"...So we figured the first thing should be showing who we are. It's not like we're just uploading one video and calling it quits."
These kids were still at it.
Sure, even if they failed, it would be good experience for their school years—but I was starting to worry they'd get hurt if they took it this lightly and then failed spectacularly.
So I set down the apple I'd been eating and said something.
"Hey, hey—shouldn't you be worrying first about how to hit a hundred thousand views?"
Maru barely listened, snorted a laugh, and said arrogantly—
"You're about to become a video slave, so enjoy your freedom while you can~"
"Your arrogance is piercing the heavens... Ara, why's your brother so full of himself?"
I secretly hoped Ara would take my side, but after thinking for a moment, she said—
"...I don't really want to take Oppa's side either, but he's right about this. Honestly, I think even three hundred thousand is doable? But a hundred thousand? That's basically Oppa already agreeing to join the club."
"Eehh...? What are you talking about? A hundred thousand is that easy?"
"Of course a hundred thousand isn't easy—it's hard. But think about it, Oppa."
"...Yeah? How?"
"Oppa, I know you're not that interested in girls, but just think of it as normal."
No, I'm very interested in girls...
Currently, I'm even serving a female Master.
But I couldn't exactly show that, so I just quietly listened to Ara.
"One day, out of nowhere, a drop-dead gorgeous girl uploads a video on YouTube? And not just any girl—a cute eighteen-year-old with that fresh, youthful charm unique to her age, filming her school life, doing unique club activities with her friends."
"...Yeah, I see."
I was starting to get it...
Even worldwide, there were channels that just showed people studying, and they got popular purely because the hosts were good-looking...
"Honestly, I think if Oppa just filmed himself sitting in class in his school uniform, a hundred thousand would be possible. But a video with capital from Oppa and Unnie Jisoo? It'd be weird if that didn't hit a hundred thousand."
"I-Is that how it is?"
"That's right. Oppa got played by Dad's son."
"Hey! How is that tricking anyone? And it's good for Chan too in the end. At minimum, his part-time pay will be two or three times more."
Getting complimented so directly like that made my cheeks feel a little hot.
No, it really did feel that way. It was actually getting a bit warm, too.
So I took off my dress shirt as I answered Ara.
"So that's how it was.... Then all the part-time work I've done so far..."
"O-Oppa! What are you doing!"
"Ah, you startled me."
"Even if this is our house...! You can't just strip like that."
"......"
I knew. I'd already been through this once at school, so I knew, but...
We weren't strangers—we'd known each other for fifteen years. We were basically family, weren't we?
Between us, I wasn't walking around completely naked—I still had a thin short-sleeve T-shirt on underneath. Why make such a big deal—
"Hey, hey! Chan! Your nipples are showing! You didn't put the covers on today?!"
Oh, shit...
Even with a close younger sibling, a nipple coming-out was a bit much...
And Ara, I get that you're a teenage girl full of hormones, but...
"A-Ara, staring that hard is a bit..."
I genuinely thought lasers were about to shoot from her eyes.
She was even drooling a little...
"...Sorry! I got turned on... I mean startled! Startled, that's all!"
Haha, well, at least she's honest.
But Maru wasn't about to let that slide.
"Crazy... Kim Ara, have you lost your mind?"
"Hey, hey, what's wrong...?"
"What's wrong, my ass! Did you not just hear what that brat said? She's turned on by someone who's basically been like a real older brother for fifteen years? Where the hell did she leave her common sense, this crazy bitch...!"
"Well, that could happen... Hey, wait! Put your hands down...! I-I'm fine, so! A-Ara! Run!"
"A-Ah, okay!"
"You little—! Hey, get back here! Hey!!"
I desperately grabbed Maru's waist and arms, holding him back so Ara could escape.
I knew Ara was in the wrong, but it wasn't worth beating her up over, was it?
But Maru didn't seem to think so.
"Hey! Why are you stopping me!"
"Come on, you're gonna beat the kid half to death over that...? It was just a little slip-up."
"A slip-up? Right! Well said. A slip-up—if you mess up, you get beaten like a dog so you won't do it again!"
"No, no! Just calm down! Why is this bastard so strong...!"
When Maru got angry, his personality really did a complete one-eighty.
And not only that—this guy wasn't the Hulk, so how did it make sense that his strength squared when he got mad?
He hadn't always been like this. What on earth had made Maru this way?
But surprisingly, I found out the reason right away.
"Hey! Aren't you pissed off too? She knows how much you got hurt from sexual harassment when you were little, and she's still acting like this?!"
"Ah......"
So that was it...
Honestly, it wasn't something that concerned me now—but from Maru's perspective, it was the kind of thing that could make him lose it a little.
Still, I couldn't just let him hit Ara, so I desperately tried to persuade him.
"Okay. I get what you're saying, so let me talk to her. I'm the one it happened to, so that makes more sense, right?"
When I, the person involved, said that much, Maru couldn't argue further.
If Ara had still been there, maybe—but she'd already left the room, and only Maru and I were left.
Leaving a somewhat calmer Maru behind, I stepped out to find Ara.
As I walked through the house, I started to get worried about Ara too.
I was fine—I was from the reversed world, and I knew I was fine—but Ara didn't know that, so she was probably beating herself up over her slip of the tongue.
As if to prove my guess right, a girl's sobbing started up not far away.
"Crazy bitch.... Real crazy bitch.... A piece of trash who doesn't deserve to live.... Should go die and do the world a favor......"
This is insane.
But that wasn't all.
The closer I got, the louder the thudding sound became.
From far away I hadn't known what it was and hadn't paid attention, but now I could tell—something was repeatedly slamming into a wall.
And it was loudest right where the crying was coming from.
"Seriously, these siblings are a matching set...!"
I rushed over and found Ara there, blood running from her forehead, still banging her head against the wall.
And crying so pitifully.
"Huu... Before I die, I need to a-apologize to Oppa... Huuugh...!"
God damn it—I should've just let Maru hit her a few times.
The kid suddenly went full mental breakdown.
Looking at both Maru and Ara, whatever had happened in the past must have been that serious.
With that thought, I ran over and wrapped Ara in my arms, restraining her.
"Huu... Hu? O-Oppa?! N-No! If you stay close to me...!"
Ara tried to push me away from herself, as if she were some filthy piece of trash.
"It's okay, it's okay! Look at Oppa's face! Oppa isn't shocked at all!"
I firmly held Ara's face with both hands and made her meet my eyes.
Ara was crying too hard to see me properly, but she must have heard what I said, because she started to calm down little by little.
Seriously... I came here to make peace, and this is the mess I walk into...