Chapter 66
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: The Sisters' Gazes
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Hwayeon and I got home and immediately shut ourselves in our rooms.
There wasn't anything particular to do. It was just the awkwardness and silence we'd felt on the way back, the embarrassment that flared up whenever our eyes met, making me shudder.
'Ugh, if it's like this from day one, this is gonna be a problem. How am I supposed to face everyone from now on...'
We'd summed it up in the motel as "more than family, less than lovers," but once we stepped outside, it hit me that it wasn't that simple.
The stinging sunlight jabbed at us mercilessly right away, and every time we passed people on the street, our walks turned awkward and sloppy for no reason.
'Should've just pretended it never happened... No, that wouldn't work. We're gonna keep seeing each other anyway—that'd be even weirder.'
Above all, we'd both concluded we didn't want to go back to how things were.
For now, I'd wait for time to smooth things over. I sent a quick message to my sisters saying we'd gotten home safe, then decided to catch up on some much-needed sleep.
Lying there, messages came in one after another from Sujeong-noona and Geumbi-noona, but dealing with them made my head hurt, so I just left my phone face-down on the drawer.
'Gonna rest first... Oh, forgot to text Mom. Sigh.'
Even though I'd put off work, the worries wouldn't stop piling up, so I pulled the blanket over me.
Closing my eyes, I fell asleep fast—probably because I'd barely slept the night before.
...In the dream, Hwayeon appeared and clung to me.
I was startled by her unusually clingy affection, but my body automatically hugged her and jumped onto the bed.
Normally, I'd have woken up disgusted, calling it a weird dream, but the sensation of holding her felt so vivid... It reminded me all over again that last night hadn't been a lie.
Recalling Hwayeon's body, it was incredibly alluring.
The urge to touch her again... well, it was a dream, so I chalked it up to a momentary lapse in self-control.
Mid-dream, Hwayeon suddenly collapsed onto my chest, her weight pressing down, but I casually held her tight so she couldn't move anymore.
...Even in a dream, doing that without permission was too much.
As her big brother, clinging to my last shred of conscience, I patted her struggling head to soothe her.
The dream went on for a while after that, and somehow, warmth spread from my chest through my whole body.
"Mm... Huh? Ah, what?"
How long had I been asleep?
Rubbing my eyes to check the time, my hand didn't even reach for my phone.
Something heavy was pressing down on me, so I wiped away some eye gunk and peeked under the blanket.
Inside the blanket, on top of me... Hwayeon was sprawled out, sleeping soundly.
"Huh? Hey, why are you sleeping here? Wake up, come on."
"Mm... What? Is it morning already?"
"Morning? It's almost evening now. Hwayeon, didn't you go up to your room? When did you come here?"
"Aww, I dunnooo. I felt stuffy alone, so I came to talk to you, but you were already asleep... Mmm."
"Asleep, so? You lay down with me too? Don't go back to sleep—up, rise and shine!"
"Ughhh... Why are you being so annoyinggg."
"You're the annoying one. If you're gonna sleep, go back to your room. Why sleep in someone else's? On top of me, no less."
Having pieced together the situation, I scolded her, but she mumbled back without even opening her eyes.
"I didn't do it on purposeee. You were the one holding me so I couldn't escape... Hmm."
"Huh? When did I...? Even if so, you should've shaken off a sleeping guy's arms and left."
"I told you, too much hasslee. Besides... I didn't hate being held by you."
"Eek?! W-what? Hwayeon, what did you just say...?"
"Mmm... Zzz."
"Sleep-talking? Gotta be sleep-talking. Wake up, you rascal!"
I panicked.
Not just her words—her face was way too close to my pounding heart.
Worried she might hear it thumping, I shook her awake in a fluster.
"Mm... For real. Stop bothering me, why keep shaking meee."
"D-don't look this way—look to the side. Talk like that."
"Ugh, whyyy? You're acting weird today... Sigh."
"Just do it! It's my room, so listen to me. Got it?"
The moment her eyes turned toward me through her messy hair, she saw my tomato-red face reflected in them and quickly turned her head away.
Ears apart, gazes averted.
What kind of position was this? But the half-asleep girl followed orders without complaint.
'Dodged the immediate bullet... But how'd it end up like this? That hug in the dream—wasn't just a dream after all?'
No wonder it felt so real.
The heaviness on my chest midway through wasn't guilt—it was actual weight.
"Oppa? If you have something to say, spit it out. I'm still sleepy."
"Ahem, yeah. Really sleepy? Go back to your room then... Hey! Don't flop over, Hwayeon?"
"Ugh... My room's messy. Didn't clean yesterday, can't sleep comfortably."
"That's on you to handle. Doesn't mean dump it on me."
"You're mean. The sisters always let you sleep in their rooms. Too harsh on me."
"Guh?! No, I explained that. The noonas had circumstances, it just happened that way..."
"We had circumstances too. Or... not? Wasn't circumstances—we were the ones getting it?"
"Hwayeon!? You're half-asleep babbling nonsense. This is home! Mokhui's probably still around... Snap out of it."
Her chilling joke sent a shiver down my spine as I glanced nervously at the door behind her.
Thankfully, no footsteps in the living room, but I couldn't relax like this.
"Alright, fine—I'll carry you over. Can't get up? Cling to me, okay?"
"Mm... You'll clean my room too?"
"Hey, you're wide awake, aren't you? Sneaking out of your chores?"
"Aww... So sleepy. Feels like I'll crash right back down."
"Okay, okay! I'll tidy up to the bed. That good? Up you go—wheee!"
"Hehe... Wheee! Oppa best, love you, muah."
"Always like this when it suits you. Ugh, no real kisses, gross."
"Tch, you jumped me first last night saying it was good."
"...That's why I said watch your mouth. What if someone walks in... Huh?"
Just as I precariously lifted her to carry...
Like my words had summoned it, the door creaked open as if on cue.
I gulped, wondering if it was really Mokhui coming down from upstairs.
But who appeared were sisters with an even more ominous vibe.
"Jigu...? What was that just now?"
"Jigu Yang, what were you doing with Hwayeon? 'Jumped because it was good'—what did you two do?"
They must've rushed straight from work—their suits slightly loosened, faces flushed.
Ragged breaths suggested exhaustion-heated skin, but...
The fire wasn't dying down; it was blazing hotter, the cause of the flush shifting before my eyes.
"W-we were worried, so Geumbi and I took a cab right away... Jigu? What were you two doing...?"
"Jigu Yang—no, Yang Hwayeon. Say it yourself. You sent that text yesterday, so what did you do? Huh?"
Sujeong-noona stammered at me with trembling eyes.
Geumbi-noona stormed in, glaring at us alternately.
Pushing past flustered Sujeong-noona...
Geumbi-noona's excited hand grabbed Hwayeon's shoulder firmly.
"I said answer! And how long you gonna stay stuck together, you brat!"
"Aww... What? I'm tired—can't we talk after more sleep?"
"M-more sleep? Where? Here? Sleeping together?"
"Nooo... Not here, going upstairs to my room... With oppa, mmm."
"W-what?! You two really lost it? Yang Hwayeon, Yang Jiguuu!"
Hwayeon, facing away, hadn't grasped the situation and mumbled vaguely to Geumbi-noona's questions.
Every word she picked was perfectly primed for misunderstanding.
And she dozed off again, leaving me to handle the fallout.
"N-noona, calm down first. It's not like that—she's sleepy and messed up. Hear me out, okay?"
"Hear what?! Still sleeping in your room, now heading upstairs to sleep more. Said you even kis—kissed? That's the whole story!"
"No, no, no. Yeah, slept here, but really just slept. Di-didn't hold hands, just hugged and sle—Eek? Noona?!"
"Hugged to sleep? Just hugging here, full deed in Hwayeon's room? Jigu Yang, come here. Drop the kid roughly and now!"
"I-if I drop her, you'll hit me—Gah?!"
"Won't hit if you don't drop? You punks—what the hell did you do yesterday..."
"Both of you, stop!"
""...!""
Mid my terrifying game of keep-away with Geumbi-noona using Hwayeon as shield...
A loud bark unfit for the voice came from the door, making us whip around.
There... Sujeong-noona glared fiercely at us.
"Jigu, put Hwayeon on her bed and come to the living room. Geumbi, out first."
"O-okay, noona..."
"No, unnie! But they're right now..."
"Not saying twice. Gonna disobey?"
"...Fine, coming now."
At Sujeong-noona's gesture, I quickly laid Hwayeon on the bed.
Geumbi-noona resisted briefly but folded under the firm tone.
'We're screwed. When Sujeong-noona's this mad, no glib words fix it...'
The face she only showed during brutal sibling fights or harsh words...
Geumbi-noona and I lowered our voices meekly and sat on the living room sofa.
"......"
"......"
Sujeong-noona stood before our cautious selves.
She glanced at the ceiling, then beckoned me.
"Where's Mokhui? Sleeping? You check, Jigu?"
"Uh, y-yeah. Seems like it, didn't check properly."
"Geumbi, go peek in Mokhui's room."
"What? Why me..."
"Please, unnie?"
"Ugh... Fine, back quick."
My vague answer backfired onto Geumbi-noona.
She shot me a fierce glare—including for earlier—and left.
For a moment, only Sujeong-noona and I remained in the living room.
With a long sigh, she spoke as if demanding answers before Geumbi-noona returned.
"Gonna check before this blows up. Jigu?"
"Yeah, noona."
"You and Hwayeon... what were you doing in the room?"
"N-nothing. Really just slept. Was gonna send her to her room after waking."
"And yesterday? Where were you two last night?"
"That’s... um, noona..."
What to say?
All honest? Half-lie? Hide it all from the start?
Considering Hwayeon's side, hard to decide alone.
Sujeong-noona's crossed-arm face darkened.
"Jigu, why can't you answ—"
"We went to a motel. Slept there one night and came back."
"...!"
"...?!"
As Sujeong-noona's face drew slowly closer, a heavy fact bomb dropped from behind.
Turning in shock, Hwayeon approached, scratching her messy bedhead.
"Yawn~ I already messaged everything—why grill me more? You sisters are too much."
Her expression clearer now, fully awake from the commotion, but...
That sly eye-smile... Made me wonder if coming to her senses was a good thing, an inexplicable unease prickling my skin.
"Figured you'd worry, so I told Geumbi-unnie more details. Didn't hear?"
"From Geumbi? She didn't say much on the way..."
Sujeong-noona eased off at Hwayeon's testimony, but...
Geumbi-noona's descending footsteps and Hwayeon's cheeky grin proved my hunch right.
"Hey, Yang Hwayeon! When'd you wake up..."
"Unnie, didn't tell Sujeong-unnie? I even sent pics."
"Huh? What sud—Eek?!"
"No way you forgot~ Sent yesterday, like this."
This part was news to me too—I blinked wide-eyed like Sujeong-noona.
Hwayeon boldly zoomed in on a saved photo.
It was... a selfie of me passed out on the motel bed and Hwayeon in just a bathrobe.
"Oppa was blackout drunk and crashed—proof pic so don't worry~ What if you didn't pass it on? Sujeong-unnie was worried~."
Said smiling, but the attached pic was no laughing matter.
Clearly a motel room, me on the bed, Hwayeon barely covered by a bathrobe over her bare body.
Now I got why Geumbi-noona charged in so furious.
And Sujeong-noona's face, looking next... Far harsher than any sibling spat.
"Jigu."
"Y-yeah, noona...?"
"Care to explain? What the hell is that pic?"
"Well, I don't remember but... Guh?!"
"Noona wasn't mad at all~. So... tell the truth, okay?"
"Noona, hurts. Pressing thigh like that—Agh, noona...!"
Sujeong-noona pinned my thighs to trap me, drawing close.
Her eyes right in my face, I rolled mine desperately, nowhere to look.
Behind, Hwayeon smirked at Geumbi-noona's face.
Geumbi-noona glared fire at her, then back at me, biting her lip repeatedly.
Total disaster.
Wish I could faint for relief, holding my breath praying to sleep again—but...
Of course, no such dream would come true.