Chapter 22: The 'Kim Taeyang-Choi Gahee' Line (4)
“Gahee, let's go.”
“Huh...”
I couldn't stand watching anymore, so I grabbed Choi Gahee's hand and dragged her away. The guy who'd been trying to get her number must've given up, because he didn't follow.
“Um...”
I glanced back at the sound of her voice while scanning our surroundings.
“Oh, sorry. I grabbed your hand without asking.”
“It's fine.”
Gahee noona, not used to this kind of thing, blushed and shook her head.
“Thanks. For helping me out.”
“Jeez. Next time, just say you have a boyfriend.”
“A... boyfriend!?”
Why's she so flustered?
“Or were you actually gonna give him your number, and I ruined it?”
“No, that's not it!”
Gahee noona was pretty tense from the situation too, judging by her exaggerated reaction.
“Anyway, let's head back. That guy's gone, and Hayan noona's probably waiting.”
“Okay.”
Sure enough, when we got back, Kim Hayan was waiting.
“Where'd you two go? Gahee, why's your face so red?”
“Haha, it's nothing.”
“Some guy was hitting on her, so she must've been pretty shocked.”
“Taeyang, you don't have to say it.”
“Hitting on her?”
As Hayan noona fretted, Gahee noona brushed it off like it was no big deal.
“Taeyang came to my rescue, so the guy backed off quietly.”
“Our Taeyang did something amazing.”
“Amazing, my ass.”
Hayan noona pinched my cheek with a satisfied grin. It was affectionate, so it didn't hurt much. Still, doing this to your full-grown middle school brother out in public? Kinda embarrassing.
“I... I'm gonna go fix my makeup real quick!”
Gahee noona headed to the bathroom after saying that. Her face had been red for a while, so she probably needed to calm down.
“Taeyang's doing pretty well on his own~”
Now it was just the two of us. Hayan noona beamed, looking pleased as punch.
“Noona, listen.”
“Yeah?”
“Just to be clear... you're not misunderstanding this as me liking Gahee noona, right?”
“Huh?”
Hayan noona blinked a few times before opening her mouth.
“It wasn't?”
“Haa~”
I let out a deep sigh. So she was misunderstanding.
Hayan noona looked baffled at my reaction.
“For real!?”
She caught on quick and asked again, wide-eyed in surprise.
“Gahee noona's a good person, sure, but I don't have any thoughts about dating her or anything.”
Above all, no way in hell was I getting involved with a yandere heroine. Besides, the Choi Gahee route was the one key to a true happy ending for everyone. In that sense, I regretted my actions just now. Sure, I was helping out a close noona, but grabbing her hand and dragging her off like we were a couple? If Choi Seonwoo had done that to Hayan or any other heroine, it'd be an unbreakable flag. Luckily, Gahee noona's type was the cute, protective-instinct-triggering kind, so she'd probably just be grateful for the save without falling for me. Her blushing face was probably just from the shock, right? Phew~ Still kinda worrisome. Somehow, I needed to hook her up with Seonwoo.
“You've been trying so hard to get close to Gahee specifically.”
“I do wanna be close—like a friendly neighborhood noona.”
“Oh. Sorry, then.”
Thankfully, Hayan noona got it this time.
“If you'd told me ahead of time, I wouldn't have misunderstood.”
“I'm serious. Don't go jumping to conclusions and getting all fired up on your own from now on!”
“Got it. I'll reflect on this one, so forgive me?”
“This is your only pass!”
Well, I'd cleared it up before things escalated further. No more misunderstandings like this ahead. Right on cue, Gahee noona returned looking composed, and we headed to our next spot. The vibe had mercifully returned to normal.
“Noona, no more clothing stores~”
I gave her a teasing look with a grin, and Hayan noona finally gave in.
“Ugh... I really wanted to check out that dress again.”
“It'll still be there next time. Want me to reserve it for you?”
“It's fine. Gahee, too bad, huh?”
“Yeah, Gahee noona. Keep lingering like that, and our noona's shopping habits are gonna get worse.”
“Taeyang. You getting cocky now?”
I teased her even while she was reflecting, but we'd already brushed off the incident as siblings do. It was just a minor hiccup. Hayan noona warned me when I kept poking fun, but her usual soft, rounded vibe and cute, gentle voice made it anything but scary. Still, push it too far, and tomorrow's dinner might be stir-fried bell peppers or more cheek-pinching revenge. Better rein it in.
“Anyway, wanna do purikura?”
“Purikura?”
“Yeah, it's all the rage these days.”
“You've never done it before, Taeyang?”
“Nah, never had anyone to go with.”
“Taeyang...”
“No, I just wasn't interested! Don't pity me!”
After that, we did purikura, hit the arcade for claw machines, and had a blast without any issues. Naturally, nothing changed between Gahee noona and me. Hayan noona stopped trying to ship us too. Though now she treated me like a kid without needing to watch Gahee's reactions. Where'd that reflection go?
Time flew by in a blur, and before we knew it, the clock hit 5 p.m.
“I'm hungry~”
“It's still early.”
“True, we've only had desserts since breakfast.”
“I'm more surprised you two aren't starving yet.”
I'd filled up on brunch, but the noonas were powering through on a few cake slices. At my insistence that skipping proper meals was bad for them, we headed to a barbecue spot despite the early hour.
“Man~ Samgyeopsal after so long.”
The banchan and pork belly arrived, and I naturally picked up the tongs.
“Huh? Taeyang, let noona grill.”
Oh right—back when we came as siblings, noona usually handled the grilling. My past-life habit of jumping in kicked in without thinking. Whatever, doesn't matter who grills.
“You've been taking care of our meals all the time. I'll handle it today.”
“Oh, Taeyang.”
“Leave it to me. You two just eat.”
From there, I smoothly took over grilling.
“Taeyang, you know how to grill?”
“He's good at it. Even organizes the grill nicely.”
“Just picked it up from videos.”
The noonas' praise made my shoulders lift with pride. In my past life, I'd been acknowledged for my grilling skills. 'The guy who just watched anime and played games in his room had this talent.' Yeah, that wasn't really praise, was it?
“It's ready—dig in.”
The meat melted in our mouths. Haa~ That's the stuff. The noonas seemed satisfied too, their faces softening into blissful smiles.
“Call on you for grilled side dishes from now on.”
“Huh?”
“With skills like this, you must be good at cooking too. I've been making you rely on me too much.”
No retort for that. I'd left all the cooking to Hayan noona despite having this talent. Helping with meals was fine, though.
“Taeyang's so manly today~”
“Jeez, weren't you just treating me like a kid?”
“It's exactly the ideal type I mentioned this morning.”
“Noona. I'm your actual little brother? What kinda talk is this in front of him?”
“Oh, really? What a shame.”
The noonas just laughed it off playfully. I wasn't worried about raising flags or affection with my blood sister. As for Gahee noona, as long as I didn't show any clumsy or cute sides, it was all good.
I decided to just relax and enjoy the day worry-free. We hadn't run into Seonwoo, and everything was going smoothly. I'd been on edge lately, stressing over the heroines and Seonwoo while making sure no weird flags popped up for me. Days like this weren't so bad once in a while.
After an early dinner and a bit more wandering downtown, Choi Gahee parted ways with Kim Hayan and Kim Taeyang.
“Today was really fun~”
On her way home alone, Choi Gahee murmured her thoughts on the day.
“The cake was prettier than I expected too.”
The teddy bear cake had been so intricate it almost felt wrong to cut into it.
“And there were so many fun moments.”
The conversations, the clothes we'd eyed together, the photos we'd taken. The sight of a big sister doting on her little brother. Choi Gahee felt like today would be a cherished memory for years.
“Taeyang too... yeah, he was manly.”
Choi Gahee suddenly felt heat rising to her cheeks. Telling her to stick to the sidewalk for safety, swooping in to save her from that sudden pickup attempt, rolling up his sleeves to grill... In those moments, her heart had thumped. She was starting to understand what Kim Hayan had meant.
Meanwhile, that same afternoon.
“Thank you for making time.”
Amid the peacefully flowing music, Lee Yuyeong greeted her with a serious air that clashed with the relaxed vibe.
“No biggie. I had nothing but workouts anyway.”
“I see.”
Across the table, Lee Yuyeong eyed the woman opposite her. Tanned, healthy skin like she'd been in the sun, a rough brown short crop haircut. Two years her senior, wearing Pulkkot High School's maroon gym uniform—Min Iri.
“So, what’s the problem? Taeyang's girl friend?”
Min Iri leaned back leisurely, propping her chin on interlaced fingers, flashing a cynical smile as she slurped her Americano through a straw.
“Oof... hot!”
'Should've just ordered my usual caramel macchiato instead of playing grown-up.'
Hiding her regret, Min Iri looked back at Lee Yuyeong. She'd called her because Iri seemed close to Kim Taeyang. Looking deadly serious, Lee Yuyeong gripped the table and bowed her head in plea.
“Help me, unnie! At this rate, Taeyang won't overcome his trauma!”
“You got it. Trust your unnie.”
Min Iri nodded with a confident grin. While Kim Hayan backed off the 'Kim Taeyang-Choi Gahee' line, Lee Yuyeong and Min Iri were forming an alliance for the 'Kim Taeyang-Lee Yuyeong' line.
“But trauma?”
Of course, they still had more to discuss.