Chapter 48
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Wavering Heart
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On the way home, I smacked Hwayeon's head a few more times as she kept chattering away, telling her to quit with the pointless speculation about Geumbi sis.
I replied "Got it" to Sujeong sis's message in the family group chat, but there was no response back. After waiting a good while, Hwayeon headed into the bathroom next to take her shower.
'Talk, huh... What could Sujeong sis possibly want to say?'
That uneasy premonition didn't fade even after I finished showering, and as I toweled off my hair with a sigh...
The changing room door burst open, and Sujeong sis, fresh off work, poked her head in.
For the record, I still wasn't dressed.
"Jigu, can we talk for a sec... Eek?!"
"Whoa! Hold on, wait outside...!"
"O-okay, got it. Sorry for barging in without knocking!"
She'd had this determined look on her face, but in less than a second, her cheeks flushed bright red as she flailed about.
I wondered if this was how Hwayeon felt last time when the door opened while she was showering. Shaking off the thought, I hurriedly dried myself and threw on some clothes.
"All good now, sis. You can come in."
"Ughhh... I'm really sorry. When I got upstairs, Hwayeon said you'd probably be in the middle of your shower by now. I thought the changing room was empty."
"It's fine. It wasn't on purpose or anything."
Watching Sujeong sis fidget only made me feel more embarrassed instead.
Hwayeon must've assumed based on her own habits. I don't take as long as you, tsk.
'But if that's the case, was Sujeong sis planning to talk to me through the bathroom door...? That'd be embarrassing in its own way.'
I'd said it a million times, but the bathroom door was entirely glass.
It was frosted, sure, but you could still make out silhouettes and faint colors. Really.
'Feels like the walls between me and my sisters are crumbling more and more. At this rate, we might really end up as five sisters... Sigh.'
I tossed the drenched towel into the laundry basket and steadied my complicated feelings.
The brief moment seemed to help Sujeong sis too—she cleared her throat with a hem-hem and cautiously broached the subject.
"Anyway... can we get to the point now, Jigu?"
"Sure. But it doesn't seem like a huge deal? I was waiting for your reply, thinking you'd call me out somewhere."
"If just the two of us went out and came back... the others might get suspicious again, like last time."
"True. And that's how I ended up sleeping with Geumbi sis all three of us together... Ahem."
The embarrassing memory from when we were drunk flashed back, turning my cheeks as red as hers.
But Sujeong sis nodded like she'd made a good point and stepped right up, pressing in on me.
"Jigu, what incident did you have with Geumbi this time?"
"Knew it. What's the deal now? Where'd you hear something?"
"Nothing specific... but Geumbi's vibe has been off. How do I put it—my woman's intuition is on high alert just watching her."
A woman's intuition, huh. Scary stuff.
I'd already spent the whole day dealing with Hwayeon because of that.
The headache I'd suppressed came roaring back the moment I heard.
Sujeong sis bit her lip, her conviction growing like some cafe regular.
"We sleep in the same room, and lately we've even been having breakfast together. So, like it or not, I notice things."
"Like what?"
"The way she looks at you... it's changed a lot. Her eyes sparkle like a girl in love."
"...Sis, aren't you embarrassed saying that in real life?"
"I-I'm super embarrassed too, okay?! But there's no better way to describe it!"
Sujeong sis spouted dialogue straight out of a shojo manga, and I endured the cringe by pinching my arms and legs.
But cheesy as the line was, the grilling itself wasn't something to brush off lightly.
"That day Geumbi said she liked you... Of course, it's not set in stone or anything."
"Yeah."
"Probably started then. I've been anxious ever since... but lately, it's gotten worse."
"Worse how?"
"No idea. Even when I subtly probe or straight-up ask, she dodges every time."
"Geumbi sis did that?"
"Yeah. She used to answer even tough questions somehow... So it has to be about you, right? No reason to hide from me otherwise."
Spot-on reasoning.
Given Geumbi sis's personality, if she was hiding something—especially from Sujeong sis—the odds it was about me were 99%.
'No point banking on that 1%. She didn't come straight to the changing room for nothing.'
Her showing up right after getting home meant Sujeong sis was that on edge too.
It was also her way of not giving me any room to escape.
Backing up her resolve, Sujeong sis cornered me with nowhere to run. Pushed to the changing room wall, I raised both hands to show I wasn't resisting.
Licking my lips, I turned the tables and asked her for advice instead.
"Truth is, Geumbi sis did confess... sort of."
"Eek?! W-what?!"
"Not a full confession. Just kinda mumbled something like it."
"H-huh? How'd that even...? Why'd things suddenly...?"
"You can guess, right? Things have been messy lately, and there was that living room incident not long ago."
"Ugh, yeah, but... talking about it outright is a whole different storyyy."
Once I came clean, Sujeong sis stomped her feet and tugged at her hair in frustration.
Of course, I didn't spill the naughty details with Geumbi sis, but that part... we'll skip for now. Not the priority.
'We didn't go all the way, so no need to mention it. We've done steamy stuff with Sujeong sis multiple times anyway.'
Her stomping sent vibrations through her legs, making her breasts jiggle enticingly.
We were pressed so close our bodies nearly touched, so my eyes were inevitably drawn to the quivering flesh.
While I was lost in the cleavage peeking from her blouse, Sujeong sis was suddenly staring right at me.
"Jigu?"
"Y-yeah? What, sis?"
"In this situation, your eyes go there?"
"N-no, that's unavoidable... Sorry. My bad, okay?"
"I get it, boys will be boys. But hold back for now, got it?"
"Y-yes, got it... Sis."
Sujeong sis poked my chest with her finger, like a warning.
She let out a deep sigh and shook her head, looking just as headache-y as I felt.
"Back to it—Geumbi... ended up doing that, huh?"
"Yeah. ...This stays secret between us, right sis?"
"Jigu, we've got so~ many secrets between us lately, don't we?"
"It just happened... Cut me some slack, I'm confused too."
"Sigh, yeah, I know. I know way too well, that's the problem. If I didn't, I'd chew you out... Ugh."
Sujeong sis's sighs grew heavier by the minute.
With her two little siblings on the verge of getting intimate, no wonder. She probably knew she shared some blame too... I scratched my cheek and held back.
"Anyway, in that situation, what's your take, sis?"
"What're you asking? Want me to cheer you and Geumbi on?"
"Not that. You're the eldest in our house right now... Just wanted your opinion."
"You mess everything up, then treat me like the big sis only when it suits you? And Mom's the actual eldest, you know? Why leave her out—and you're taking Geumbi's side already?"
"Obviously among the people here now. ...Besides, Geumbi sis wouldn't ignore Mom like she's not there."
"Picking sides already? You two are that close now?"
"That's not what I mean! Haven't even decided what to do yet... Ack?"
Mid-ramble, Sujeong sis pressed down lightly on my shoulder.
It wasn't hard, but the mood made me lower my upper body to her eye level without protest.
"Jigu."
"Y-yeah."
"You haven't decided yet... You mean you don't know how to respond to Geumbi's confession?"
"C-can't help it. We've lived as family our whole lives, and we don't even know who's adopted... You think I'd just snap to a decision overnight?"
"Hmm~ Fair enough."
"That's why I'm consulting you now—Urk? Sis?"
"But you know, Jigu. One thing I'm curious about popped up."
"W-what?"
"You keep blaming family ties, the situation... But what about your feelings? Hearing a confession would've shaken you one way or another. Gotta clarify that first."
"My feelings? Ugh, sis, your grip on my shoulder's getting tighter... Grk?"
Our talk wasn't progressing—in fact, we were just piling on more questions.
But with the physical pressure, I was forced to answer first.
'My feelings... toward Geumbi sis? Tough one. I always thought I shouldn't even consider it.'
Same reason I hadn't crossed the line until the truth came out.
If I picked a side and then we turned out to be blood-related? The fallout would dwarf all my current worries.
"...Yeah, can't pick right now."
"Won't accept Geumbi's feelings?"
"Can't decide that. Might not even be something to consider."
"Even if I just ask how you feel right now?"
"Same thing. Saying yes or no decides it on the spot."
"Hmm, less 'cautious' and more 'holding back because you shouldn't,' huh?"
"For now, yeah. And looking at my sisters that way is disrespectful anyway—Hng?!"
"Disrespectful? After staring at my chest the whole time."
"S-Sujeong sis? Ack?"
Dodging again, Sujeong sis slid her arm from my shoulder to my back, pulling me into a gentle hug.
We hugged plenty before, but never quite eye-to-eye like this. Her eyes and lips so close to my face rattled me more than usual.
"If you'd answered carelessly, I would've been so mad."
"R-really?"
"Obviously. With all the flirty stuff lately, if it was just Geumbi's body... or your guy urges, I'd have cut it off right there."
"Eep!? S-sis?"
"Though Geumbi would've grabbed the scissors first anyway."
"Y-yeah, she might actually... Haha..."
For a split second, I pictured my two sisters debating what to do with my lower half.
If I'd slipped up, I'd probably wake up tomorrow tied to the bed. I gulped dryly.
"But seeing you agonize this seriously... kinda weird for me as your sis."
"Y-yeah. Sorry for weird family fantasies..."
"That's fine. We're not kids, and given everything, acting normal would be the weird part."
"True... We've got a lot going on with you sisters, sigh."
"But what pisses me off is something else."
"W-what? Hic?"
"Can't tell? I warned you, yet you fool around with Geumbi every which way, right up to the end... and you only care about her. That's annoying."
"S-sis? Your breasts are too close—Ngh?"
"And now you're hard because of me."
"Sis?!"
Sujeong sis glanced downward, then shot me a sultry side-eye.
That look pierced my heart like a finger, making me want distance equal to her hot breath.
"Jigu. Mind if I check just two things?"
"W-what?"
"First, that you're not hesitating from a momentary impulse."
"How do you check th—Ngh?"
"You made it this far—need me to spell it out?"
"N-no, I get it. ...So what's the other one?"
"If it's not impulse, I'm curious how seriously you're shaken."
"...So both checks are the same method, huh?"
"Kinda? Two birds, one stone. Convenient, right?"
No need to say it.
With our bodies this pressed, her breath alternating between my neck and cheek—what else could it be?
'Using her body... to test me? If I react, proves it was impulse. And... it'd mean I'm shaken by Sujeong sis too.'
First was bad enough; the second was worse.
Wavering between two family members? Scissors between my legs awaited.
'Just claim it's the first... No. Hold back the excitement? Why give up before starting... Ngh!'
I steeled myself, but my ironclad resolve crumbled to dust in seconds.
The weapon right in front of me was too formidable. Hold back against this? That ain't a man.
"Came straight from work, so I wore a proper bra... Hmm? You like these better, Jigu?"
"S-sis. You're bolder than usual today... Isn't this pushing it?"
"Think I wasn't built for this? You and Geumbi sneak off the second I look away."
"Can't argue with that—Whoa?! T-trying to strip to your underwear already?"
"Quiet, don't make a fuss over every little thing. ...I'm dying of embarrassment pretending otherwise."
Figures.
Acting bold for her siblings' sake, but Sujeong sis's true nature couldn't hide.
Her slightly turned head revealed flushed ears and cheeks, and her tough-talking lips were now bitten hard to steady her nerves.
And yet... her hands steadily unhooked her bra and tossed it aside.
Then they slid downward, to her pants too... Huh? Why there?
"Eek?! W-wait, sis?"
"Dunno how far you went with Geumbi... but this much is needed for a proper check... Hnng!"
"Ugh, whoa, wowww..."
Whoosh—Sujeong sis's pants dropped.
The sleek black slacks hid everything when on, making the reveal all the more striking.
'White panties... she's wearing those, sis.'
I'd figured black suited her bold approach better.
But then Sujeong sis's hands slowly tugged down the last piece of underwear too.