How to Get Close to Your Family
If I ever had a family, there was one thing I absolutely wanted to try. It wasn't anything grand. Just eating a meal together at the dinner table as a family. That was it.
A little sister complaining about the side dishes. An older sister scolding her to eat properly. A mother promising to make something even tastier next time. And me, smiling as I watched them. Wasn't that the perfect picture of a family?
But it seemed that picture was nothing more than a pie in the sky for me.
"Munch munch..."
"Chew chew..."
"Gulp... ?!"
Mother had said she had business at the company and only set out dinner before leaving. Thanks to that, only three of us remained at the table: me, Chaewon noona, and Mijin. The first family meal I'd only ever dreamed about. A wish I'd written on my bucket list since my previous life, something I desperately wanted to achieve.
Now that I'd finally fulfilled that wish, to be honest... my feelings were a little—no, a lot—disappointing.
"...Gulp."
Every time Mijin took a spoonful of rice or a bite of side dish, she kept glancing at me. It was obvious she was so nervous she could barely swallow. And Chaewon noona, sitting across from me, looked like she was eating well on the surface, but...
...Tremble tremble.
Her legs and body under the table were shaking slightly if you looked closely. I'd come out of my room wanting to eat with my family, but it seemed like it still wasn't the right time.
"I'm done eating."
"?!"
"...Ah, yeah..."
For the sake of the two uncomfortable girls, I used the eating habits I'd picked up on the battlefield. I finished my meal in less than a minute. I was about to take my dishes to the sink when—
"W-wait a second!"
Suddenly Chaewon noona shot up from her seat and called out to me. Her usually expressionless face was now filled with terror.
"Is the food not to your liking?"
"...Pardon?"
"If you're going to throw it, throw it only at me. My facial muscles are in good condition today. Please."
"......Pardon?"
"Ah, no! Oppa. This time, just throw it at me!"
This time? Hearing noona's words, Mijin stood up from her seat as well and spoke to me with courage.
Did they really think I was going to throw these dishes I was carrying to the sink at them? So suddenly? Just what kind of person had the original Han Shinwoo been to elicit reactions like this? If I ever met him, I'd wring his neck right away. Looking at my adorable little sister and older sister, my heart ached.
Since things had come to this, and the two of them were facing me, I decided to clear up the misunderstanding.
"It's a misunderstanding, Chaewon noona."
"N-noona...?!"
"Uh, uhh...?"
"I was just going to put the dishes in the sink and wash them. Since I ate from them."
"D-dishes... A man... is going to wash dishes...?"
Like a family watching a child who'd never even gotten their hands dirty suddenly loading bullets on a battlefield, both Chaewon noona and Mijin's faces filled with shock.
"Is that even possible?"
"U-uhhh..."
"Right?"
I answered while tilting my head in genuine confusion. It's not like I didn't have hands. Why were they reacting like this just because I wanted to wash the bowl I'd eaten from?
While I was at it, I washed their dishes too. The two of them stared at me as if I were a ghost, eyes wide with fear. But if I wanted to get close to them, I had to start with things like this.
This should be the right way to get closer, right?
People usually like unearned kindness the most. They might find it burdensome at first, but eventually they'd accept it as natural and we'd grow comfortable with each other. Believing that, I decided to treat the two of them kindly.
The next morning. When I sat down at the table for breakfast, the two sisters' expressions as they looked at me were even more filled with terror than before.
Why?!
I was quite flustered. Yesterday, I'd spent the whole day with them, offering whatever they might need at the perfect timing. I'd clearly done it to earn their favor.
But in this world where the male-to-female ratio was completely broken, Shinwoo's actions had gone beyond burden and straight into pure terror. It was like the savage game of a beast toying with its prey before devouring it.
"Chaewon unnie. Why is Shinwoo oppa suddenly acting like this?"
"I don't know... But if he's suddenly changed, it can't be for anything good."
"Maybe oppa is pretending to be nice again, only to throw us around later like before?"
"Yeah. That's probably it. He seemed really angry lately too."
The previous evening. Unable to sleep from worry, Mijin had gone to her older sister's room at dawn. Trembling, she'd crawled into Chaewon's arms and finally fallen asleep.
The two sisters had been tormented by Shinwoo many times in the past. Getting beaten was a given. Their treasured belongings, the diaries where they'd written their secrets—anything they held dear would mysteriously be discovered by Shinwoo, who would then destroy it all.
But the two of them could never talk back. In this world where humanity's future was uncertain, he was one of the few real 'men' who could save mankind. Under both domestic and international law, if a woman harmed a man, the worst punishment was death. Even if they were family, treating a younger brother, older brother, or son carelessly would instantly brand you as a criminal.
That's why the two had simply watched Han Shinwoo's behavior from afar for so long.
Back to the present, at the second family meal. This time, Mother had joined them before heading to work.
"Son. Mommy made this morning's meal too. How does it taste?"
"Oh, Mom!"
Mom was such a fool. She'd been slapped across the face the moment she asked that in oppa's room before. No matter how much he was her own child, Mijin wanted her mother to take off those rose-colored glasses as soon as possible. She squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating the scene that was about to unfold.
But then—
"It's delicious. Especially this perilla leaf roll? It's superb, Mother."
"R-really?! Y-you think it's good?! ...Could you say it one more time, son?"
"...? It's delicious, Mother."
"Ehehe. Mommy's so happy~"
The expected disaster never happened. Shinwoo was honestly and sincerely praising Korean food while eating Mother's cooking. Seeing this sight, Mijin met eyes with Chaewon unnie, who looked just as shocked as she was.
"Oh my, look at the time! Kids, you need to hurry to school too!"
"Ah, right."
"I completely forgot..."
Only then did the two check the time and hurriedly finish their meal.
"Mijin, walk Chaewon to school like usual on your way. Mommy has an early meeting today, so I can't drive you."
"Okay, got it."
"Mom, you work hard too."
"Of course! You know Mommy loves both my daughters just as much as my son, right?"
Mother stepped outside the front door and blew loving winks at her two daughters. The frozen expressions of the eldest and youngest sister finally began to melt. Watching the two of them smile brightly, Shinwoo felt a little—no, honestly quite—envious.
Will I be able to have that someday too?
Mother left the house first. A little later, the remaining two stood at the front door. But I, who would be left home alone, felt something was off and cautiously asked the two who were about to leave.
"Um, by the way... am I not going anywhere?"
"...?"
"Oppa... is going...?"
"No, everyone's going to school. Shouldn't I go too?"
"What?!"
"N-no way!!"
I was seventeen, after all. By this country's laws, that made me a high school student. On my previous life's bucket list, after family came friends. I'd never been to school, but wasn't that where most people made friends? I'd simply asked because I wanted to try it out.
Yet the two sisters, who had been treating me so cautiously, suddenly reacted with extreme intensity to my question.
"You... want to go to school?"
"Yes? Well, yeah... I thought it might be fun to make some friends."
"Friends?! Don't tell me you mean a girlfriend? Are we not enough for you, oppa?"
"No, family and friends are completely different things to begin with..."
Shinwoo tried to continue but stopped when he saw their faces. It felt like looking at abandoned dogs about to be thrown away. Far beyond simple fear, both of them looked utterly desperate. Chaewon noona was biting her nails, while Mijin was already shedding tears.
"I-is it because I didn't let you hit me yesterday? I'm sorry! So please don't abandon us!"
"Oppa, we're sorry! We'll do whatever you tell us from now on. Please don't meet any other women besides us!"
"Huh?! Why are you both suddenly like this!"
The sisters began sobbing openly right in front of Shinwoo. He was so stunned he couldn't speak, but remembering how he'd always stayed calm in unexpected situations in his previous life, he pulled both of them into his arms. It was an attempt to calm them down.
"I don't know what's going on, but I'm sorry."
"Hic... Really?"
"Yeah. By the way, I thought you two hated me. I'm a bit taken aback that you're crying over me wanting to make friends."
"WHO SAID WE HATED YOU!!!"
At that moment, the two, shocked enough to break free from the rare embrace of a man (their younger brother or oppa), shouted at the top of their lungs. Their voices were so loud that Shinwoo instinctively stepped back.
No matter that they were family, he'd treated them cruelly until now. He'd naturally assumed they hated him. But they didn't?
"You... don't hate me?"
"Of course not! Oppa always hits us and makes our lives miserable... but you're still a man! You're my one and only oppa! Just that alone makes me insanely h-horri—I mean, I love you so much!"
"Same for me. I've even been beaten badly enough to need major surgery once. But I've never once hated my little brother."
No, at that point you really should hate me. There'd be no argument even if you felt complete disgust.
"I like Mom and my one and only little sister Mijin too. But out of all of them, I l-love you the most, Shinwoo!"
"I love you too! Oppa."
The two sisters simultaneously confessed their true feelings to Shinwoo. In this world with its destroyed gender ratio, the wall of family was nothing but a facade! With marriage rates so low to begin with, even incest had been legalized under international law in this world.
But Shinwoo, completely unaware of that fact, felt tears welling up at the family love shown by Chaewon noona and Mijin. It felt like he'd finally met a real family.
Perhaps that was why. What Shinwoo had said purely out of kindness immediately lit a fuse in the hearts of the two sisters.
"Thank you. I love you both too."
"What did you say? Just now... what?"
"S-s-s-s-s...!! Just wait seven years, oppa!"
"...? Okay, I will."
Leaving behind Shinwoo's bright, innocent smile, the older sister and younger sister stood there with faces burning bright red.