Chapter 16
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Body Heat
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Looks like today was cursed from the start.
Otherwise, there's no way my whole family would torment me like this.
"Jigu, what the hell are you doing right now?"
Geumbi held her phone in a death grip, glaring at me. Veins bulged on the back of her hand so prominently I worried the phone case might crack.
"I-It was an accident. I just reached out to turn off the bedside lamp..."
"And then you got horny and pounced on your sister?"
"No way! You can tell just by looking—it's obviously an accident!"
"Hmmm~ An accident? That?"
Geumbi jerked her chin toward me with a completely unconvinced look.
Her chin pointed right at my waist, where my groin was wrapped around Sujeong's arm, pressed tight against it.
To anyone watching, it looked like we were embracing, bodies overlapped, faces inches apart.
It even resembled a couple in the middle of... well, you know.
"S-Sujeong grabbed me! I never meant to stick this close!"
I desperately tried to explain.
I couldn't let Geumbi misunderstand, no matter what. Anyone else, maybe, but not her.
'That phone could fly at my head any second. Or worse, aim lower...'
A chill ran through me, and I struggled to pull away from Sujeong.
But in my panic, my body slipped on the sheets, and as she tugged my hand, I lost balance and tumbled right back on top of her.
"Ugh... Whoa?!"
"Mmm... Hmnya."
Sujeong was so drunk she didn't even open her eyes amid the commotion.
But Geumbi, now right up close, got a perfect view of the bed.
"...Jigu Yang."
"Y-Yes, sis...?"
"Now you're groping her chest outright?"
I yanked my fingertips off Sujeong's chest as fast as I could.
But Geumbi's eyes had cooled to an icy chill beyond mere anger. She tilted her head, signaling me to follow.
'This is so unfair. I really just tripped this time...'
It had been one misunderstanding after another, but this last one felt especially unjust.
It was dark, the mattress wobbled, and Sujeong's... assets were just so generous... Sigh. No point in excuses—they'd only make her madder.
Half-resigned, I shuffled after Geumbi.
I figured we'd head to her room on the second floor, but she chose the nearby living room couch instead.
Maybe she wanted to hear my side quick.
Or maybe she didn't trust being alone with me in a room right now... I hoped it wasn't the latter.
"Explain."
"E-Explain what?"
"Everything. What happened in your room earlier, from start to finish."
Geumbi plopped onto the couch, arms crossed, staring daggers.
I sat a polite distance away, knees together, gauging her mood.
"I told you, it was all a misunderstanding. I just tripped turning off the lamp."
"And that put you in that position? Even a passing dog could see your bellies glued together."
"We don't have a dog..."
"You in the mood for word games right now?"
The mood was way harsher than I'd imagined. I tried a light icebreaker,
but it backfired spectacularly. Our home's cold snap had turned full ice age.
'No choice, huh. She might not believe me, but I have to lay it all out straight.'
I dropped the tricks and gave her the honest rundown.
Sujeong was already asleep when I got back, wouldn't wake easy from the booze, and her sleeping habits were always rough—we bumped into each other plenty even normally...
Geumbi listened, drumming her fingers on her arm, lost in thought.
Her blank lips and unreadable eyes kept me on edge.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Of course. What other explanation even fits?"
"Plenty if you think about it. Like you seeing drunk Sujeong and getting ideas..."
"I keep saying, that's never gonna happen. Sujeong and I are siblings. Same family, same home."
"We don't know if we're blood-related, though. Honestly, nothing's 100% certain anymore."
"Well... you could see it that way, but..."
The topic we'd all been avoiding.
The real reason Geumbi was grilling me so hard over a simple tangle of bodies.
One of us in the family... wasn't related by blood.
"If we're just talking possibilities... Sujeong or you are top suspects. The younger ones I remember clearly, so not them."
"Sujeong, maybe, but me too? Don't you remember me as a baby, Geumbi?"
"Vaguely. But what if we adopted you as a newborn? We don't even know exactly when you joined the family."
"What about Mom pregnant? Her belly was huge for ten months—surely you remember that?"
"I was only two when you were in the womb, Jigu. Too young for daycare. Sujeong, a year older, might've noticed..."
Geumbi trailed off there.
In the end, Sujeong's word was the most solid info we had... but Geumbi seemed reluctant to ask her directly.
'Scary, too, and it'd feel guilty. If she's the one, it's a shock. If it's Sujeong... it'd reopen old wounds.'
Sujeong had reached that conclusion herself and leaned on me after hesitating.
Geumbi probably guessed as much, so she didn't pry deeper into our bond.
"......"
"......"
Silence fell, the living room lit only by the glow of the electronic clock by the TV.
Night hadn't turned to morning yet—sleep now, and we'd get decent rest.
"Geumbi."
"Yeah."
"Work tomorrow too, right?"
"Obviously. Sigh."
"How's the job holding up?"
"Scraping by. Sujeong's the real trooper—how'd she survive jumping straight in after graduation?"
Unlike Sujeong, Geumbi had prepped a year post-college before starting.
Landed a good company, honed her skills... but reality looked brutal.
"Get your certifications early, Jigu. Build internship experience. Don't struggle post-grad like me."
"Asking me to do what even you two couldn't? Big responsibility."
"Deal with it. ...No, wait—we're leaning on you lately. Shouldn't say that."
"No big deal."
Geumbi started her usual stiff routine, then shook her head and cut herself off.
It seemed considerate at first glance, but to me, it just showed her lack of confidence. Kinda pitiful.
'Objectively, they're the ones suffering more. Work, family drama... headaches galore.'
Me? Lounging at home till school resumes.
So lean on me more... Too embarrassing to say aloud, so I just scooted my butt closer.
"Eek?"
"What."
"Y-Your hand... why grab it all sudden?"
"You grab mine whenever."
"Mine had reasons!"
"I'll make one too, then."
"......What?"
"Hold on. Thinking."
I brazened it out, not letting go of her clasped hand.
Hmm, left side again. Always the same position with her.
Naturally recalled the first time she grabbed my hand.
She'd rambled about some test, right?
"Decided. This is a test."
"A test...?"
"Proof I see you sisters purely as family. Holding hands and feeling nothing means no feelings, yeah?"
"Yeah... You remembered."
"How could I forget? That's when we got close."
I knew they were stressed, but these days of family warmth weren't bad.
Especially since both sisters ran hot. See? Geumbi's hand was warming up in real time.
"Mmm, Jigu."
"Yeah?"
"You said it was a test...?"
"Yeah."
"But... like you said, we've held hands plenty."
"Right."
"And that scene in your room... To erase doubts, shouldn't we do something more solid?"
I thought the bed fiasco was over as a mishap.
Though, yeah, no clean resolution. I'd head back to Sujeong after, so maybe one more check.
"What do you want to do?"
"......A hug should work, right?"
"A hug?"
"H-Hug. Like a greeting... just holding each other."
Don't people call that a hug?
Hug is just the English word for ‘embrace.’ It’s the same thing—why is she so flustered?
'Guess the nuance differs. Hug feels more lovey-dovey if it's casual greeting vs. intimate.'
Sounds like something couples say.
Thinking that way made me blush too.
"Want you... to come to me?"
"Sure. Arms out?"
"Like this?"
"Yeah. Here I go?"
"O-Okay, slow... Eep!"
Geumbi steadied her breath, tense, but we were already so close—even slow, my body touched hers fast.
My arms softly wrapped her back.
"......"
"......"
We filled the dark living room with silence again.
I expected her reaction... but me going quiet too? Unexpected.
Truth was, holding her made my heart pound more than I'd thought.
'Soft, warm, and she smells nice. No, not like that—purely the sensation.'
My mouth stayed shut, but my mind raced.
I'd figured it'd feel like Sujeong's hugs—similar.
But no, totally different.
Sujeong felt like a mom-figure, elder's cozy embrace.
Geumbi... maybe her usual prickliness? Felt like equals sharing body heat.
"J-Jigu."
"Yeah, sis."
"......"
"......"
What?
Say it if you call me. Why stop there?
I found her summoning me then clamming up odd,
but didn't turn or pull away for eye contact.
Just hugged tighter.
Likewise, silent Geumbi pulled me closer hard.
For a while after, she kept calling my name like she wanted to say something.
But the words... never came.
The living room couch held only silence and breaths.
And the warmth of our bodies seeping in.
...Would've been a romantic end to the day.
But,
"Eep?"
"Ah, no, eek."
Just before midnight.
My body... reacted in the worst way possible.
'Shit, calm down. Don't do this, please.'
No helping it.
I tried not thinking weird, but denying the sensations all over my body was tough.
Plus... it'd been risky since the bed.
Holding back the whole time.
"J-Jigu...?"
"......"
I'd answered her calls instantly before.
But now, I bit my lip silent, refusing to pull away.
Bracing for a slap later.
Yet Geumbi didn't shove me off either—just stayed, letting time pass.
Tick-tock, as night deepened.
Soon, the clock chimed softly for midnight.