Opening the Door in Teddy Bear Costume Without a Second Thought
I opened the door without a second thought, still in the teddy bear costume. Of course, I figured it was the chicken delivery. The delivery guy wouldn't care what I was wearing anyway—I'd just grab the chicken quick and shut the door. But I immediately regretted my choice.
"Hi, Tae… gasp! Hnng…!!"
Why the hell was Choi Gahee noona here?
Gahee noona had started greeting me but froze at the sight of me, clapping a hand over her mouth. Something felt… off.
"What brings you here?"
"Gasp! Oh, uh… well…"
Gahee noona panicked, averting her eyes from mine and glancing sideways. She kept sneaking peeks at me like she was pretending not to, then finally spoke up.
"I was just passing by and thought I'd drop in. Oh, want some cake?"
"…Come on in for now."
I wasn't thrilled, but I let her inside anyway. My suspicions weren't confirmed yet. Gahee noona followed my lead, stepping cautiously into the house.
"Pardon the intrusion."
Her voice was pitched higher than usual. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and a smile kept tugging at her lips like she was fighting it back.
…I'd think about this later.
"Hayan noona's in the living room, so wait there. I'll go change."
"Huh? Change?"
"Can't greet a guest like this."
"I don't mind at all!"
Gahee noona denied it vehemently, waving her hands and insisting I stay comfy.
"I'm the one who's uncomfortable."
"Then I'll just head out!"
She overreacted to my words. A rare sight from her usual composed lady-like character.
"Gahee noona, everything okay?"
"Yeah, nothing's wrong."
"Gotta change to eat anyway. Because of this."
I stretched out my arm, folding and unfolding the hand part connected to the sleeve to demonstrate. Gahee noona's lips quivered.
"Just wait a sec."
Pretending not to notice her reaction, I headed straight to my room. Sitting on my chair for a moment, I suppressed the headache creeping up.
"Why does Gahee noona keep looking scarier and scarier?"
Even the most oblivious person would pick up on it. Let's objectively review her behavior. She saw me, covered her mouth, blushed, stuttered, overreacted… It might be something else, but my mind kept going there.
Her reaction when she fell head over heels for Seonwoo in the Love Chain. Proof we were heading into the Choi Gahee route.
But why me, of all people? What did I even do?
More importantly, that reaction required building flags for a whole year in the game!
"Ah, shit. Was there some other strategy I missed?"
While obsessing over the Love Chain's lore and in-game accuracy, I'd overlooked something key: heroine routes existed, but there was no official strategy guide.
There'd been a rumor in the Love Chain community once. Someone claimed to have found a way to clear heroine routes faster than known methods. The post was obvious bait, but detailed enough to spark debate—some swore it worked, most called bullshit. Could've verified it myself, But no one knew the real strategy, because the poster deleted it after 30 minutes—just a vague mention of ‘that guide,’ and then it was gone. Had to be troll bait. It faded into meme oblivion, so obsessing over it now would be weird.
"Yeah, it's still too early to say."
There was a reason I'd let Gahee noona in. I couldn't just rudely turn her away, sure, but I needed more observation.
And if she really did like me… I'd find a way to reset her affection to zero, no matter what. You could drop affection in the Love Chain, so it had to be possible. Unlike with Lee Yuyeong, I could handle this right.
I finished changing and headed to the living room.
"Taeyang, why'd you take so long?"
The chicken was already on the dining table. I'd planned to savor it in peace, but with Gahee noona here, that was ruined.
"Oh, Taeyang, don't worry about me—eat up."
"Nah, let's eat together, Gahee noona."
Maybe because I was staring, she refused at first but relented under our sibling pressure and took a plate.
"You changed?"
"Gotta for chicken."
"Really? Gahee looked so disappointed."
"Huh? Oh… uh… I…!"
"No need to panic—Hayan noona was just teasing."
Hayan noona chuckled as she finished setting the table.
"Hayan, seriously."
"Sorry. It was meant as a joke for Taeyang. Didn't expect Gahee to get so flustered."
Hayan noona tilted her head, studying Gahee noona's face intently. Gahee noona sighed deeply, then flinched again when I pulled out the chair next to her.
"Hehe, Gahee, something up?"
"Nuh-uh, nothing."
"Really? Then let's eat. Oh, right."
Hayan noona's lips curved slyly.
"Gahee, what'd you think of that photo I sent last time?"
"Th-that photo! Ahem… it was… cu… cute. The teddy bear outfit."
"I wanted to die of embarrassment."
"Huh? I never said it was you, Taeyang."
"Urk…"
"…So what photo was it?"
I played it cool while gauging Gahee noona's state. Hayan noona's target was clearly Gahee, not me. And from the context… Gahee noona seemed fixated on my teddy bear costume.
"Gahee noona."
"Yeah?"
"Did you like the teddy bear costume that much?"
No beating around the bush—I just asked straight. She nodded, still too embarrassed to meet my eyes.
"Yeah. Super cute."
"Want it?"
"Huh?"
"It's originally Hayan noona's, but I'm fine with it."
Hayan noona had given me the teddy bear outfit, saying it suited me better than her and begging me to keep wearing it. I glanced at her for approval, but she was just watching the scene with gleaming interest.
Gahee noona shook her head.
"No, it looks better on you, Taeyang. I'm good."
"Then take Taeyang?"
"What?"
Hayan noona jumped in, and Gahee noona's face turned beet red, like she might explode. No need for more observation.
Who knew Gahee noona could change like this? Now the dilemma: how to lower her affection.
Instead of distancing, I'd stick close and rack up affection-dropping incidents. That was the plan—but things were worse than I thought.
"That okay?"
"Huh?"
I expected her to wave it off in embarrassment, but she gave a positive reply.
"If I… haah… take Taeyang…"
She let out a dreamy sigh, staring blankly at me with flushed cheeks. And her eyes… had entered Yandere Stage 1.
This was insane! Not even a semester in!
Gahee noona asked in a soft voice.
"Taeyang, wanna come with noona?"
"Noona! Tell her it's a joke!"
"Oh my, didn't expect her to bite."
Hayan noona said leisurely, sipping her cola without grasping the severity.
"Noona! She might think it's real!"
"…Just kidding?"
Gahee noona tilted her head. Hayan noona didn't even look back.
"You can take him."
"Noona!!"
"Taeyang~"
Gahee noona grabbed my hand. Totally different from her earlier shyness.
"If you become my little brother, I'll buy you all sorts of yummy stuff. Clothes too~"
"Gahee…"
Had she finally realized how serious this was? Hayan noona's face hardened at Gahee noona's unnatural vibe.
"Take me too."
I was the fool for trusting Hayan noona. I pried Gahee noona's hand off.
"Huh?"
"Snap out of it, Gahee noona."
She gazed at me with slightly dulled eyes.
"I'm Kim Hayan's little brother. Not going anywhere."
Gahee noona blinked in confusion, her eyes slowly returning to normal.
"So don't make things awkward."
"Oh god, what was I… I'm so sorry, Taeyang."
She apologized profusely. Back to normal, so I accepted it gracefully.
"Aww, so touching."
Hayan noona fake-cried dramatically.
"Taeyang thinking of me like that."
"Cut the jokes and eat the chicken."
"Sniff—doesn't wanna leave noona… Taeyang's such a siscon after all."
"I'm not!!!"
I slammed the table. BAM! Don't fake the sniffles when you're not even crying! All she wanted was to tease!
"Taeyang's a siscon?"
Gahee noona looked at me worriedly. She'd brushed it off as a joke before, but now she seemed serious.
"No. Who falls for blood-related family romantically?!"
"Yeah, right in that confusing identity crisis phase."
Hayan noona kept teasing in a teary voice.
"Haa~"
I sighed deeply, but the immediate fire was out. Gahee noona's yandere had faded, time for my first piece of chicken.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! The bell rang three times in rapid succession. Only one person rang our doorbell like that.
Hayan noona got up and soon led her into the living room.
"Taeyang~! Put on the teddy bear outfit~!!!"
The mood got even rowdier in an instant. It was Min Iri noona, fresh from track practice and heading home.
"Gotta see it with my own eyes… Oh, chicken!"
Should've ordered two.
"Come eat."
"Nice, been a while. Oh, Hayan, great pics. Taeyang came out perfect."
"Why're you even here?"
"Why? Heard Taeyang turned into a bear doll, so I came to check myself."
I'd have to burn that outfit to escape this torment.
"Taeyang, you'll wear it after we eat, right?"
"No."
"I wanna see it again too!"
They pressured me from both sides with expectant stares.
"Taeyang's so popular."
"This is all noona's fault!"