Chapter 47
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Younger Sister's Touch
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My blood ran cold.
That night when I'd been chatting away with my sisters, I thought the second floor was quiet...
But Hwayeon had been awake?
"What? Why aren't you saying anything? Oppa, is it really true?"
"W-what do you mean by that? What?"
"Does Geumbi sis really like you? Not as family, but romantically?"
"What the heck is this out-of-the-blue nonsense..."
I averted my gaze and took a sip of the latte I'd made as practice.
Hmm, failed on the ratios. Way too bitter.
'Stay calm, Jigu. She seems to just be guessing without knowing the details. Don't trip over your own feet in a panic.'
I swallowed hard along with the latte but didn't back down further.
If Hwayeon had heard everything from the start, she could've slapped me right then and it wouldn't have been weird.
The fact that she was biding her time like this meant she'd only overheard the tail end.
'The tail end... when Geumbi sis said she liked me, or no, when she flipped out about it. Okay, I can handle that much.'
No big deal.
Talk of liking or loving each other among family could be brushed off easily enough.
I set down the mug and turned to Hwayeon with a gentle smile.
"I think there's some misunderstanding. Nothing happened between me and Geumbi sis."
"Liar."
"Ugh?! Why do you think it's a lie?"
"Your face looks super gross right now. Creepy. Stop with that weird smile. Makes me wanna hit you."
"Th-this is...!"
I tried to calmly clear up Hwayeon's misunderstanding-that-wasn't-really-a-misunderstanding, but I stumbled right from the start.
Right, I'd forgotten. Unlike my other sisters, logic didn't work on her.
"See? Your expression just confirms it. You've got something to hide, don't you?"
"...It's baseless speculation. It's your face because you're spouting such weird stuff."
"Look, your responses are getting slower too. What is it? Did Geumbi sis seriously confess or something?"
"Why do you keep saying nonsense? A serious confession between family? Even if she said it, it'd just be familial affection."
"Hmm~ So she did confess, right?"
"How does it turn into that?"
"She said she loved you, so you're just dodging. Otherwise, you'd flat-out deny ever hearing it."
Sharp kid.
Did she inherit this analytical skill from the family? Just in the useless areas, like her sisters.
'She's right. Should've ignored her to the end. The moment I responded instead of focusing on coffee practice, I fell into her pace.'
As I showed signs of distress, Hwayeon leaned in close, like she'd caught her prey.
It was too close for a regular employee-customer distance, and I heard whispers from a few patrons watching from afar.
But veteran part-timer Hwayeon ignored work completely, poking my chest and continuing the skinship.
"Come on, spill it honestly. What did sis say? That she couldn't hide her feelings anymore? Like, wanting to date you or something...? Kyaa~!"
"You a hormonal high schooler? This isn't a TV drama. Go write a novel."
"Trend these days is variety shows, not dramas. You see that stuff all the time on dating shows. Don't know?"
"What stuff?"
"The girl who can't hide her feelings and charges straight in. Totally Geumbi sis vibe, right?"
"Yeah... no! Regardless of her dating style, why would the target be me? That's the biggest issue!"
"What, asking that now? Oppa, you think I don't know anything?"
"Know wh-what...?"
"Hmm~ Wow, that hurts my pride. How much of an oblivious idiot do you think I am?"
What was with that attitude?
Was there something else I didn't know?
'Could Hwayeon have figured out... that one of us three is adopted?'
We'd kept it from the younger sisters, but looking back, it wasn't hard to deduce.
Age-wise, it couldn't be them. Natural line of reasoning. Ugh?
"Hey, Yang Hwayeon? Even so, you're way too close... H-hey?!"
"Heh, look at that weird noise. Hilarious."
"Are you insane? Where did your hand just...!"
"Psh, touch? It just barely grazed. Why freak out over something like this?"
"H-how could I not?! Your hand just rubbed my butt...!"
Mid-sentence, I lowered my voice, aware of the stares around us.
Hwayeon, meanwhile, fidgeted with her hand under the counter and grinned up top like nothing happened.
"Hehe, you patted my butt plenty when I was little. Why make a fuss?"
"What?! When did I ever!"
"Up until kindergarten. Mimicking the sisters."
"That was when you were a total baby. Haven't touched you since elementary school."
"Anyway. Just paying you back a little for then. Don't get so heated."
"How could I not?! I did it 'cause you were cute, but you straight-up groped me."
"It barely grazed, I said. A little touch, a bump. Okay?"
"Hah, so unfair. No CCTV here? Let's check the footage."
"Don't worry. I checked beforehand—the counter area's not covered."
"...What the hell do you do on your shifts that you scout CCTV angles?"
Hwayeon whistled past unfavorable questions, brushing it off.
That reaction was ridiculous, but the real frustration built from not knowing why she'd groped me.
"Sigh, hey. Spill honestly. If you don't explain properly, I'm really gonna get mad."
"Aww~ Can't that happen between family? You're overreacting, which makes you look even more suspicious."
"Suspicious or not, this is worth getting excited over."
"Because you're not really family?"
"That's not the issue... Huh? What?"
"Oh, sorry. That came out wrong. Of course you're family, yeah."
"Y-yeah. Why say something so obvious..."
"Just not blood-related to us sisters. Right?"
"......Huh?"
Hwayeon had spouted countless dumbfounded lines before.
But this one took the cake, hands down.
The sentence didn't even register, so I blinked, focusing on parsing it.
Meanwhile, Hwayeon smirked, smug with conviction.
"Truth is~ I figured it out ages ago. Sujeong sis always 'counseling' in your room, and even Geumbi sis—who never cared—suddenly hanging around you a lot. Anyone not noticing would be the idiot."
"Wait, hold on. So you think I'm..."
"Yeah, if you're adopted, it all fits! No wonder you've been extra close with the sisters lately... Hehe. I get it. Must've been tough~ for you too."
Hwayeon closed her eyes, nodding sagely, tossing her head side to side.
It was like she understood my turmoil while basking in her own perceptiveness.
I was so flabbergasted I lost my words.
"But still, that part was unexpected."
"...What? What's left?"
"The thing from earlier. Sigh, even if you were close a lot, who knew it'd go that way."
"Huh?"
"Geumbi sis fell for you? For real."
"......"
"Listening to your troubled stories, her heart gradually shifted. Geumbi sis seems cool but she's surprisingly simple. Heh."
"......"
"Oh, so what do you think, oppa? That's the most important part. Forgot to ask, hehe."
Hwayeon looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
Her face was identical to when she'd been glued to the TV in the living room, leaving me speechless still.
'How can she be so straightforward... no, open-minded? Is this the younger generation? All our worries with the sisters were for nothing...'
One non-blood family member had already complicated daily life.
Yet Hwayeon reacted like it was some variety show. Not even about distant strangers.
'Because she's not directly involved? Treating me so casually makes her seem impressive...'
It was an illusion, but thinking I wasn't her real brother.
No awkwardness, just the usual comfort.
"Huh? Wait, so when you touched my butt earlier...?"
"Ah, yeah. Not blood-related, so you overreacted too, right? Hehe, could tell just looking. Wondered if my guess was right~ a bit."
"...You were convinced because I freaked out?"
"Oh, keep this from Geumbi sis? I still see you as family... Don't want weird misunderstandings between sisters. Hehe."
After long confusion, I backtracked to her recent action and asked.
Hwayeon clasped her hands, begging secrecy from Geumbi sis.
Not wanting to fight over a guy with her sisters was very mature.
"Huh? What, oppa? Why are you suddenly so close... Eek? Ahh, oppa?!"
Everything else was dead wrong, so I clenched my fists and pressed hard on Hwayeon's temples.
Venting my pent-up frustration.
"Grabbing someone's ass out of nowhere would shock even blood siblings! You kidding right now?!"
"Ow, it hurts, oppa! Really hurts, stop twisting!"
"You could use a little pain. Let's check what's in that head today!"
"Ow ow ow, whyyy, what's wrong, waaah~!"
I properly corrected the head of the girl with her family notions all~ twisted.
Imagining her reaction if I'd groped her butt instead only fueled my anger, hands unrelenting.
"Hey, what if I grabbed yours? You'd just say 'family, it's fine~' all meek?"
"You're crazy? I'd tell the sisters right away, sue or get settlement... no, more allowance. Ow ow!"
"Exactly. A bit more then. No CCTV under the counter, right? Wanna sit a while, dear sister?"
"N-no... What're you gonna do? Don't, oppa. We're siblings, can't do th... Aaaack!"
"Gonna keep bullshitting?! Fine, one of us dies today!"
The cafe was as hot as the espresso machine, but as a merciful brother, I didn't torment her long.
Just until new customers arrived... about 7 minutes 30 seconds more of scolding.
'Head already a mess... she made it worse. Tsk.'
Hwayeon chilled my blood in every way.
But she wasn't 100% wrong about one thing.
'With Geumbi sis... gotta talk properly about that incident.'
I'd brushed it off in panic then.
Couldn't keep going like this forever.
Once her shift ended, I'd message sis to meet up separately.
...If no other sis messaged first.
[Jigu. Geumbi said she's working late tonight. Can you meet me quick before she gets back?]
A premonition that the misunderstandings weren't just on Hwayeon's side.