Chapter 42
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Three-Way Confrontation
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The situation veered off in an unexpected direction.
I sat in the middle of the sofa, forced to endure the piercing glares from my two sisters flanking me on either side.
The one who broke the silence first was Geumbi, the Second Sister, who had orchestrated this three-way confrontation.
"Explain yourself."
"W-what do you mean, Sis...?"
"Why you were meeting up with Sujeong in the middle of the night again. Didn't you promise you wouldn't last time?"
Did I ever make that kind of promise with Geumbi?
Hmm. I vaguely remembered her pressuring me—something like if I had any problems, she'd handle them herself, so don't go calling Sujeong—with a veiled threat laced in.
'I nodded back then, but that didn't mean I'd never meet her at night, right?'
We were all sharing the same bed every night anyway, including Geumbi from the start.
As long as it wasn't some shady rendezvous with impure intentions, it should be fine.
'But those eyes say that excuse won't fly... gulp.'
The timing of getting caught couldn't have been worse.
Sujeong had already suspected my intentions from the moment I called her out, and she'd pressed herself against me on the sofa like she was about to pounce.
It was obvious what Geumbi must have thought seeing that from afar.
The firmness of her crossed arms and the glare in her eyes said it all.
"Ahem, well, you see, Sis..."
"I was just getting some advice from Jigu. That's all it was."
"Eek, Sujeong Sis?"
"Don't look so tense, Jigu. It makes it seem like we've done something terribly wrong, doesn't it?"
Growing impatient with my stammering, Sujeong suddenly jumped in.
Not content with her words alone, she wrapped her arms around me and patted my thigh as if to soothe my nerves.
It probably wasn't intentional... but that made Geumbi's eyebrow twitch, and the atmosphere soured even further.
"I asked Jigu, didn't I? Not you."
"We're both here together now—who I ask doesn't matter, does it? I just want to hear the answer."
"That doesn't mean you have to answer for him. Jigu has a mouth of his own, and you're not his spokesperson."
"Given the circumstances, I can speak for him. Can't I even say that much when my little brother's being grilled?"
Geumbi shot a displeased look at me hesitating and Sujeong glued right to my side.
Irritation oozed from her tone, but instead of calming things, Sujeong fired right back, and the argument quickly escalated into a debate over each other's attitudes.
"He's my little brother too. Are you only protecting Jigu right now?"
"It's not about protecting him—it's just the truth. You asked about something between us, so it doesn't matter who answers."
"Ha, us? You and Jigu are 'us', and I'm some outsider? Since when have you two been so close?"
"We've always been close, from way back. And Geumbi, what's with the way you've been talking?"
"What did I say?"
"You're going beyond questioning—it's downright rude. Keep sniping like that, and even I might actually get offended."
"If that's how it is, I've been pissed off way longer. From you two sneaking out in the middle of the night to watching you glued together like this the whole time."
It seemed Geumbi hadn't just woken up by chance.
If she'd spotted us moving around from the start and followed out of suspicion... it made sense why she was chewing her lip like that.
'She saw that right off the bat, so suspicion turned to certainty. This won't do—I need to calm them down... Eek?'
I reached out to both sides to tell them to cool it, but Geumbi yanked my arm hard.
I toppled over in an instant, balance shattered, but the soft sofa cushions caught my arm and shoulder—no pain there.
...Wait, this isn't the sofa's feel.
Geumbi, weren't you sitting farther away just now? When did you scoot this close?
"Yang Geumbi, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What? You've been doing the exact same thing."
"When did I? I was just comforting him because he was shaking—that's it."
"Is that so? I figured you weren't letting go of him, so I thought I'd pull him away a bit."
"This is 'a bit'? You dragged him completely over to your side."
"You're his sister too, Sis. Can't I comfort him if he's anxious, as his big sis?"
"Who comforts a kid by knocking him over? Jigu's struggling—let go of his arm already."
"No way. You comforted him plenty just now, so it's my turn. And hugging him like this is better for Jigu than groping his thigh all sleazily, right?"
"Who're you calling sleazy? Geumbi, you've been twisting my words this whole time."
"You didn't complain when I pointed out how weird you were acting. Total double standard, Sis."
"I told you not to talk like that."
I was trapped in Geumbi's embrace, mouth sealed, left to listen as their exchange grew heated.
It had started as a minor misunderstanding, but the sharp tones kept it going until they were genuinely tearing into each other.
"You started throwing around reckless words first. Butting into my conversation with Jigu for no reason?"
"You barged in out of nowhere during our talk, making up weird assumptions and picking a fight."
"How is this picking a fight? Anyone would find that situation suspicious."
"Where? Family can meet anytime to talk—that's not a problem."
"Ha, do I really have to spell out why it looked shady?"
"Yeah, go ahead. Honestly, it just seems like you're overreacting, so say whatever you want."
"Sis, seriously... You think I'm making a fuss over just this once? I know everything."
"What do you mean? Know what?"
"That you and Jigu have been sneaking off at night doing weird stuff! You think no one knows he's been groping you?"
"Eek?! W-what? Where'd you get that nonsense...?"
"Hey, Yang Jigu! Didn't you promise me last time? Spill it yourself—what we talked about."
The verbal fireworks turned my way as expected.
I was the root of this fire, so it was inevitable, but Geumbi's push toward the sofa arm stung a little.
'Sujeong's got that "fess up properly" look too. Ugh, too late to smooth this over nicely.'
What Hwayeon had jokingly suggested—a three-way meeting—had somehow turned into its worst possible form.
I hesitated just a moment, but under their fierce stares, I sighed and laid out the situation.
"Sujeong Sis. Truth is, Geumbi figured out everything we did last time."
"Huh? H-how? Did you... tell her first, Jigu?"
"Not exactly, but she kept prying, and it felt like I ended up confessing... Hmm. Kinda like when Sujeong suspected things between me and Geumbi?"
"Ah, I see... Yeah, that makes sense."
"I should've been more careful anyway. Sorry."
"No, I wasn't paying enough attention either. Thanks for handling it on your own."
I came clean to Sujeong first with an apology, and she smiled back gratefully instead.
I breathed a sigh of relief at her expression, but only for a moment—Geumbi pinched my side and urged me on.
"That's not the end of it, is it, Yang Jigu?"
"Ow. S-so... Geumbi said if there were any issues like that, she'd take care of them, so don't touch Sujeong."
"It was a mutual agreement. You definitely consented too."
"Well, if you wanna split hairs... Owow. Anyway, that's the promise she was talking about."
Sujeong seemed to accept the earlier part somehow, but this confession hit harder, judging by her reaction.
Makes sense. It was a proposal she'd heard before, and she could easily guess what happened next.
"Whew, Geumbi Sis."
"What? Don't think spilling everything gets you instant forgiveness..."
"On the flip side, Sujeong said pretty much the same thing to me."
"Huh?"
"In detail, it was almost identical. I nodded along to a similar promise with her too."
"What? No, wait, Jigu, you... Eek?"
While confessing, I went all in and reported my dealings with Sujeong—unasked—to Geumbi on equal terms.
Hearing it straight from the source in front of her hit Geumbi differently; her face stiffened, mouth flapping silently.
A brief silence fell.
Neither sister's lips stopped moving entirely, but they mumbled wordlessly, struggling to form coherent sentences.
Tick-tock, the second hand swept a full 360 degrees.
Geumbi was the first to string words together properly, seeming a tad less shocked.
"So, Jigu, you've known all this time... and you've been playing both of us?"
"I-it wasn't playing around. That's why I consulted Hwayeon today too..."
"What?! Not satisfied with us two, you dragged Hwayeon in too?"
"Of course that's not what I meant! I know this whole dynamic is messed up, so I was asking how to fix it naturally..."
"You told her all that? Everything that's happened so far?"
"No way! I just vaguely said it was sis advice stuff. Nothing like this came up."
"Hmph... At least you have some conscience left. So in the end, you were just toying with us?"
"Why does it keep twisting that way? You know I never initiated any of it."
"I half-doubted before, but now? No clue. Honestly, makes me think you planned it from the start."
"Absolutely not! That's pure speculation—a total misunderstanding, Sis!"
Had she forgotten all the times she dragged me to her room first, offered to help, volunteered sacrifices?
Geumbi narrowed her eyes and kept pressing relentlessly.
I denied it nonstop amid the pressure,
trembling under her prodding finger jabs at my chest, stealing glances at eerily quiet Sujeong's face.
"...So, Jigu."
"Y-yeah, Sujeong Sis."
"You've done... all that stuff with Geumbi too?"
"Huh? Uh, y-yeah?"
"I figured as much, but hearing it directly makes it so vivid in my head... Ahh, I mean...!"
While Geumbi grilled me, Sujeong had apparently imagined something.
Her face flushed beet red as she ducked her head, fidgeting with her fingers before asking.
"So you've seen all of Geumbi's naked body too, Jigu?"
"No, nothing like th—"
"What kind of bullshit is that?! No way, Sis...!"
Geumbi beat me to it, denying Sujeong's words outright.
She grabbed Sujeong's shoulders and shook her vigorously, eyes bulging wide.
"Wait—you showed him your whole body? For real? Are you insane, Sis?!"
"N-no, you did similar stuff too, didn't you... What right do you have...?"
"I-I never went that far! What if something actually happened...!"
"Eek?! J-Jigu wouldn't do that. He wouldn't... right?"
"How can you trust that? You didn't 100% believe he'd stay put either—that's why you called him out at night."
"Ah... Then how'd you help him, Geumbi? Without showing anything, how'd you manage?"
"Guh?! N-no, I just... did it the normal way people do..."
"What does that mean?"
"Ahh, you know... guy-girl stuff..."
"Huh? N-no way, you two already...!"
"Not that!"
"Absolutely not, Sis?! What the hell are you two even imagining?!"
The conversation kept derailing into nonsense, the sofa bouncing like a trampoline beneath us.
We spent the time after sorting through the tangled mess of crossed wires. By the time we unraveled the knots one by one, dawn had deeply colored the sky.