Chapter 24
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Drinking with Two Sisters
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Since the conversation was bound to drag on, the three of us relocated to a table in front of the neighborhood convenience store.
Feeling awkward about sitting empty-handed, we grabbed a few bags of snacks, and before we knew it, each of us had a can or two of beer in hand.
"Puha! Whew, now I feel alive."
"Geumbi noona, aren't you acting a bit too much like some middle-aged guy?"
"Hey, just wait 'til you graduate and start working. You'll learn how precious a sip like this is."
Geumbi noona chugged her dark beer and grinned with satisfaction, while I laid out the snacks and stared at her in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Sujeong noona nodded quietly in agreement before turning to Geumbi noona and asking why she'd come out.
"Geumbi, didn't you have plans or something? You sure it's okay to hang out with us like this?"
"Nah, nothing big. I just... thought I might've dropped my phone near the house, so I came looking."
"Huh? That's bad! You should go find it right now!"
"It's fine, it's fine. It'll either be by the front door or inside the house. I remember pulling it out to check the time before heading in."
"Phew, what a relief. Still, check as soon as you get back. Someone might've picked it up—give it a ring too, just in case."
"Yeah, yeah~. Anyway... what was that about earlier? What're you talking about, noona?"
After a bit of small talk, Geumbi noona set her beer can down with a clunk and fixed her gaze on Sujeong noona.
There wasn't a trace of her earlier playfulness in those eyes, and stuck in the middle, I swallowed hard for no reason.
"...I was originally only gonna tell Jigu."
"Why? Am I not supposed to hear this?"
"No, it's not that, but..."
"Then spill it. I don't wanna be left out now that I've already heard some."
Geumbi noona glanced back and forth between me and Sujeong noona as she said it.
She was subtly pointing out that it wasn't just this news—it included all the past stuff too.
Under that pressure, Sujeong noona sighed and downed her fruit-flavored beer.
She drank a good amount in one go, then gently set the can on the table.
"Mom said one of us was adopted at our house... You remember that, right?"
"How could I forget? Of course I do."
"As the eldest, I vaguely remember when you guys were little, or around the time Mom was pregnant..."
"Yeah, makes sense. I start remembering faintly from Hwayeon's time too."
"So at first, I thought it was either me or you, Geumbi. Our memories were the fuzziest... out of the two of us."
Sujeong noona said that, then glanced cautiously at Geumbi noona for a moment.
That explained why Sujeong noona had been acting awkward around her. She'd been worried about hurting her feelings.
"Hmm~ And?"
"Huh?"
"I'm listening, noona. So what happened next?"
"Wait, Geumbi, are you okay?"
"With what?"
"The odds of you being adopted... are pretty high?"
But Geumbi noona, the one in question, was completely nonchalant about it. Me and Sujeong noona both stared at her in surprise.
"Come on, noona. I'm not an idiot—I'd already figured that much. Excluding the younger ones, it's obviously between us two. Duh?"
"R-Really? You already knew?"
"Jeez. Especially after how robotic you've been around me since then. I'd have to be a total moron not to notice."
"S-Sorry. I wasn't trying to avoid you on purpose..."
"It's fine. We talked about it last time. I get it now, so don't worry."
Geumbi noona held out her beer can as she said it.
Sujeong noona chuckled and clinked hers lightly against it. Right before my eyes, the two noonas officially cleared the air.
'They said they'd made up already, but seeing it in person feels good. ...Wait, couldn't they have included me in the toast?'
I ended up chugging my domestic beer alone, feeling like the odd one out.
Hmm, maybe I should've picked an import? Nah, this subtle flavor's more my style.
"Alright, back to it. But why'd Jigu get dragged into this, noona?"
Unlike my tastes, Geumbi noona preferred bold over subtle.
By the time our cans were half-empty, she crunched through the dry snacks and got to the point.
"This isn't set in stone either... just my guess? Keep that in mind."
"Got it. I'll take it with a grain of salt."
"How far back do your childhood memories go?"
"Solid ones start around elementary school? Kindergarten's spotty."
"You, Jigu?"
"Same here. Hmm, if I had to pick the earliest, maybe three? I remember crying 'cause I hid snacks in the fridge."
Even so, a bit older, I vividly recalled Sujeong noona sneaking them out for me later.
And Geumbi noona taking half as "payment" too.
'But nothing else from that day comes to mind.'
That's just how childhood memories work, right?
Special days stick, but most of the 365 days a year fade away.
As if she'd expected our answers, Sujeong noona nodded in understanding.
"Same for me. That's why... unlike Hwayeon or Mokhui, your memories felt a bit fuzzier, Jigu."
"So I'm a suspect too? But last time you said it wasn't anyone but Geumbi noona?"
"Yeah. 'Cause I definitely remember you as a baby. But... thinking back, I don't recall Mom being pregnant with you."
"What's the difference...? Oh, I get it."
I wondered what difference it made between newborn and fetus stages, but then realized the huge gap.
We'd talked about it before. The adoption could've happened when we were too young to remember, as babies.
'None of the five of us remember living in an orphanage or anything. That actually makes more sense.'
Adoptions usually favor younger kids over older ones anyway.
Geumbi noona nodded like she got it too, and Sujeong noona munched on some shrimp crackers as she continued haltingly.
"If you'd been in Mom's belly... I'd have been two or three then. Memories aren't solid that young..."
"So you don't really remember if Mom's belly was big?"
"Yeah. Me and Geumbi were little too, so they probably didn't take us to the hospital for the birth. And photos... Mom barely took any from her pregnancy. Maybe embarrassed?"
"No objective proof, huh. Damn..."
"B-But that doesn't mean it's definitely you, Jigu! That's why I hesitated to say anything... until today. Haaah."
Sujeong noona let out a long sigh laced with mixed emotions.
I couldn't tell if it was relief from unburdening herself or unease from worrying us.
Either way, I was clearly one of the people involved now.
"Noona, was that why you got drunk last night? The whole bottle of foreign liquor?"
"Yeah. Once it hit me, I couldn't focus at work... got chewed out, hehe."
"Wait, foreign liquor? Geumbi noona, what're you talking about?"
"Sujeong noona raided the hidden bottle in the fridge. And she passed out cold in no time flat."
"Nooo, how else do you survive something like that without a drink? Jigu was gone when I got back, you were holed up in your room, so I had a couple to unwind... ehehe."
Geumbi noona shook her head, while Sujeong noona grinned sheepishly, begging for understanding.
But I was pretty shocked to hear Sujeong noona had polished off a whole bottle alone.
"Wait, hold up. Sujeong noona's super weak with alcohol, right? And she drank a full bottle of hard stuff solo? No stomachache?"
"What're you on about? Noona's not weak at all. We're genetically the same, after all. ...Or wait, not sure anymore?"
"W-We can check that later. But seriously? Whenever you came home buzzed, Sujeong noona was always the one groaning..."
"'Cause she always drinks the most. Look, she's already cracking her second can."
At Geumbi noona's point, I glanced over, and Sujeong noona startled, averting her eyes slyly.
But I clearly saw her slide the empty can off the table.
"Noona... so that's how it was. I've been misunderstanding all this time."
"Eek?! N-No, Jigu! I super can't hold my liquor. This is just sweet and tasty, that's all."
"Noona, why pretend to be weak in front of him?"
"But my delicate, pure image... ugh."
"Says the one admitting it... Jigu, burn this into your memory. Back home, noona's the biggest drinker. We used to go head-to-head when you were in the army—I never won once."
"Yaa, Yang Geumbi! Don't spill useless secrets, tch."
I'd never thought of them as lightweights given their ages.
But they were both serious drinkers... Was that why they picked imports—higher proof than domestic?
'And yet, weirdly, neither has any dating experience. Or... is that why they drown their loneliness in booze?'
Worried their social lives were lopsided, I took a few more gulps.
But I still had a long way to go to keep up with Sujeong noona, and now Geumbi noona cracking her second.
"Puha! So... what now, noona?"
"Huh? What about?"
"Now I'm suspect number two after me. You really gonna leave it like this?"
"What else can we do?"
"Only one way. Call Mom."
"Huh? No, can't do that! She's busy with the hospital... I don't wanna stress her with our stuff."
"This just our problem? It's a family issue. And Mom lit the fuse, so she can handle some pressure."
"Pressure on Mom...? I've told you not to say that since last time."
"Whatever, point is, we tell Mom ASAP. Push her to spill everything or give a return date."
"...Don't say it so casually. She must've agonized over this before telling us."
"Exactly—so now that it's out, make her tell us everything cleanly?"
"She wanted to. But the accident delayed things."
"......Haa, frustrating. Noona, you Mother Teresa or something? Taking all the world's consideration on yourself."
"......That's my line? Geumbi, you're too callous with family. Hmph."
Sujeong noona wanted to avoid burdening hospitalized Mom overseas, while Geumbi noona insisted on urging her to come back and resolve it.
Their opinions clashed at the end again, and just like last time, I finished my beer and jumped in as it unfolded similarly.
"Okay, okay. Let's wrap this up here. Whatever we decide, Mom's gotta get discharged first, right? No point yapping among ourselves."
"...Yeah, true."
"...Can't argue with that."
"We'll talk more later. I'm fine as a suspect, so don't stress."
This time, it felt like we'd wrapped up properly in the middle.
I was feeling proud of bridging the gap for real when both shot me side-eyes.
"But Jigu. If we're picking it up later... you'll keep things as normal 'til then, right?"
"Yeah? Probably?"
"Then why'd you sleep in Geumbi's room last night?"
"Huh? We covered that in the park..."
"So tonight you're sleeping with me?"
"Uh? W-Well, noona..."
Sujeong noona struck first.
Then Geumbi noona turned her arrows on me too.
"I've been wondering about that too. Why are you—not once, but every night—sleeping in Sujeong noona's room?"
"Huh? That was just... circumstances."
"Circumstances? So tonight too? After drinking?"
"Uh, yeah, if it's like before..."
"How's a couple nights 'like before'? Last night you were with me, so come to my room again?"
"Nooo, that's not..."
This was an unexpected jab.
Come to think of it, I'd bailed last night using Sujeong noona's drunken state as an excuse.
'But she's not that smashed tonight, and straight-up saying no to sleeping together in front of her feels... off.'
Plus, heading to equally tipsy Geumbi noona's room would be weird too.
As I agonized, Geumbi noona glared, so I looked away—right into Sujeong noona's pleading, or maybe expectant, gaze.
Caught between the pressure to sleep together and the grilling on where I would, I shook my empty can and blurted,
"Uh, if you're that set on it... how about both of you sleep in my room?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"I mean, all three of us together... not bad? Haha."
I'd wanted to mediate smoothly again.
But their faces turned super awkward.
'Hate it? Embarrassed? Weirded out? Not sure, but I regret saying it.'
Still, spilled words can't be unsaid—a lesson well-learned from Mom.
Like the empty beer cans, we sat in heavy silence, eyes darting everywhere.