Chapter 5
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Misunderstanding
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Who would've thought Geumbi noona would knock on my door twice in a single day.
We somehow got past the morning incident, but now there was no other way out.
"Jigu Yang, you gonna open the door? If you keep holding out, I'll call the others?"
"Ah, okay. Opening it now..."
Her words made it clear that staying put would only make things worse, so I had no choice but to unlock the door handle.
With a creak, Geumbi noona stepped into the room, and Sujeong noona, who had been perched on the edge of the bed, subtly averted her gaze.
"Noona, what are you doing here?"
"Huh? Just... I came to check on our Jigu, you know?"
"Hmm~? Checking him out all alone, with the door locked and everything?"
"Well, we just started talking, and before we knew it, we had so much to say to each other..."
"What kind of talk?"
"Oh, just this and that. How we've been doing lately, if there are any worries... stuff like that."
"That's all?"
"Yeah... Conversations between siblings are pretty predictable, right? Hehe."
Unlike Sujeong noona, Geumbi noona stood there with her arms crossed, the door half-open behind her.
She didn't come any closer to the bed, as if signaling she could leave at any moment. It also seemed like a declaration that she was staying put without a shred of guilt.
A stark contrast to Sujeong noona, who was shrinking back like she'd committed some grave sin.
"Hey, Geumbi noona. You seem a bit worked up. How about we all sit down and talk calmly..."
"Jigu, you stay quiet."
"Ah, yeah. Sorry..."
I tried to butt in but got shut down right away.
It felt unfair since this was my room, but I couldn't stand up to Geumbi noona's glare.
I've never been able to handle that look since we were kids. Ugh.
Maybe it was the black t-shirt and her hair tied back tightly with a black scrunchie.
I could practically feel this eerie aura, like she'd drag me off somewhere if I pushed back.
As I backed down with my tail between my legs, Geumbi noona turned her head back toward Sujeong noona.
Sujeong noona had been avoiding eye contact the whole time, but after hearing me get scolded too, she seemed to steel herself and finally met her gaze.
"You don't have anything to say to Jigu. He was right, and it's his room anyway."
"True. Jigu didn't do anything wrong."
"Then why..."
"But that doesn't mean he did anything great either."
Geumbi noona shot me a side-eye before finally taking a step toward Sujeong noona—half a step, really. It wasn't much, not even enough to call a proper stride, but for some reason, both Sujeong noona and I clamped our mouths shut at the same time.
"After what happened yesterday, does it make sense to let noona into your room and lock the door? You think that's okay?"
"That... I was the one who locked it. Jigu didn't close the door."
"Either way. I know you two have always been close, but the situation's different now. We all need to be more careful, right?"
"...Geumbi, what exactly are you trying to say?"
As Geumbi noona launched into her full interrogation, Sujeong noona started sharpening her tone too.
It was rare to see our eldest sister like this, so Geumbi noona flinched for a moment, but she quickly countered by bringing up the morning incident.
"Noona, you disappeared for a bit this morning too, remember? Where did you go?"
"I told you, I went downstairs to wash up. I must've crossed paths with you on the way back."
"There's only one staircase. How do you cross paths?"
"When I was coming up from the bathroom, you were probably in the kitchen or knocking on Jigu's door. We already talked about this in the morning, didn't we? Why bring it up again?"
"Yeah, exactly that. At first, I was like, 'Oh, okay,' but the more I think about it, the weirder it gets."
"What does?"
"How did you know I knocked on Jigu's door this morning? You said you didn't see me because you were heading up to the second floor."
"...Huh?"
Sujeong noona's response ground to a halt, her face clearly showing her fluster.
Geumbi noona smirked at the reaction, then quickly frowned and turned to me.
"I know I'm overreacting. I've been nosy from the crack of dawn till now."
"Geumbi, there's something about that, actually..."
"But the situation's a little off, isn't it? We're all confused after what Mom said yesterday, and then noona keeps acting suspicious... It worries me and gets on my nerves. Is that so wrong?"
"Yeah, you're right... Of course it is. Yeah."
"Then try to understand me a little, noona. I'm not asking you to do anything specific—just act normal, like we always have. Can't we do that?"
"I've... been trying to act normal..."
"Yeah, I can see the effort. But to me, it looks nothing like normal. That's the problem."
She was talking to Sujeong noona, but Geumbi noona's eyes kept scanning me from head to toe.
Like a silent warning, or maybe supervision, her gaze didn't let up for a second.
"You answer like a robot whenever I talk to you, roll your eyes and bolt when I greet you. So I try to have a proper chat, and you're always holed up in Jigu's room... Is this all just me being sensitive? Noona?"
"......Sorry. Now that you mention it, I must've been really off-putting."
Finally, when Geumbi noona's face turned back to her fully,
Sujeong noona had her head bowed toward the floor.
Geumbi noona had been confident the whole time, but even she faltered in that moment.
Her lips trembled, and she squeezed her eyes shut before turning toward the door.
"...I was too harsh too. Sorry for coming at you like that."
"No, you had every right to think that."
"Anyway, just be a little more careful. You too, noona. And Jigu, both of you."
She left with a brief apology and one last warning tacked on.
I held my breath in place until Geumbi noona's figure vanished up the stairs.
Once even her shadow was gone, I turned to check on Sujeong noona.
"Noona."
"Jigu... Have I really been acting that awkward?"
Up close, Sujeong noona's face looked even more drained than I'd thought—worse than Geumbi noona's had been moments ago.
I closed the door again but didn't lock it this time.
I didn't lean against the wall next to Sujeong noona like before either; instead, I sat lightly on the edge of the bed, keeping a bit of distance.
Still, I reached out with one hand to layer mine over her trembling one.
"I thought I was acting pretty normal... Guess not."
"Geumbi noona's probably on edge too. It's only been a day since Mom brought it up yesterday."
"On the flip side, that means she picked up on something weird about me in just one day."
"Well... Um, yeah..."
I wanted to comfort her coolly, but my logic fell apart quick.
Honestly, as someone not directly involved, I couldn't say for sure. Sujeong noona's the one acting out, Geumbi noona's reacting— and I didn't even witness it firsthand. What could I add?
With my clumsy reassurance stalling out, Sujeong noona hung her head even lower.
I hesitated, unsure what to do, then finally gave up on talking and just pulled her into a hug.
"...Don't do this. What if Geumbi catches us again?"
"This much should be fine. It's just normal sibling skinship, right?"
"...Jigu, is this kind of skinship normal between siblings for you?"
"Correction: only with you, Sujeong noona. I don't do this with anyone else."
I'd occasionally scoop up the youngest and spin her around when we were in a good mood.
But hugging Geumbi noona like this? She'd freak. And Hwayeon? She'd probably punch me before I even tried.
"Anyway, if you wanna act normal, you gotta accept this too. Got it?"
"'Normal' is... harder than it looks, huh. Heh."
Sujeong noona laughed self-deprecatingly, but I couldn't cheer her up right away.
After all, even I had thought yesterday's Sujeong noona was acting strange.
Back then, I was the one worried if I was the adopted kid. ...Could Geumbi noona be feeling something similar right now?
Suddenly, that idea made Geumbi noona's aggressive behavior click.
If Sujeong noona seemed to be hiding something from her but wouldn't say it and kept dodging—that could boil over into frustration. Everything lined up.
And with Sujeong noona clinging to me like this in the middle of it... No wonder wild thoughts crossed her mind. Like I'm conspiring with Sujeong noona to drive Geumbi noona out...? Nah, that's ridiculous no matter how you slice it.
I'd have to ask them directly for the full story.
For now, I waited for Sujeong noona to calm down while planning to talk to Geumbi noona later too.
"...Jigu."
"Yeah?"
"Can I... sneak in here again tonight?"
"Huh?"
But my plans got scrapped before I could even review them.
My empty schedule suddenly filled up with back-to-back sibling meetings.
"Sorry for leaning on you so much. But after hearing what Geumbi said... I don't think I can relax on the second floor anymore."
"Dodging her like that will just make her more suspicious, though."
"Right now... I don't even know how to face her."
I got where Sujeong noona was coming from.
She'd been especially considerate toward Geumbi noona out of all of us.
And last night, she'd even broken down crying, pinning herself as the prime suspect between her and Geumbi noona.
All she'd gotten back from Geumbi noona was resentment and hurt feelings directed at her.
And now even I was dragged into the weird suspicions. No wonder her mental state was shaken.
This is getting complicated. If I bring up what I was thinking earlier, she might just get more down, thinking I'm only worried about Geumbi noona.
Seeing this vulnerable side of Sujeong noona for the first time left me at a loss too.
In the end, all I could manage was a nod while holding her—purely passive support.
"Thanks. I love you, Jigu."
"......Me too. Love you tons, noona."
A few nods, arms squeezing tight as she smiled, and I whispered "I love you" softly into her ear.
Hoping it'd give her even a little strength.
There was still plenty of time till night, so maybe her rattled nerves could settle a bit in the meantime.
"Oppa~! Geumbi unnie asked where Sujeong unnie is and I came to tell yooouuu..."
Ah, and now there's barely any time left.
I'd just patted her back twice more and was about to let go.
At least Geumbi noona had warned me before opening the door.
Our fourth sister, Hwayeon, yelled first before stopping dead at the threshold.
"Ah, um, hey... I found unnie, so I'll pass it on. Or, uh, I'm going...!"
Unlike Geumbi noona, Hwayeon didn't step even a single foot inside before fleeing back down the stairs.
Watching her go, Sujeong noona and I both let out deep, profound sighs in unison.