Chapter 82
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: On the Way Out
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Unlike the chaotic night before, the morning of departure was surprisingly quiet.
Geumbi noona and Hwayeon, oblivious to the situation, had already headed off to work and school.
Sujeong noona even tried taking half a day off to see me off, but when I vehemently objected, she trudged to work with a crestfallen expression.
'She's already burned through so much of her vacation time lately. She shouldn't waste it on something like this. ...It's not like we'll never see each other again.'
I didn't voice it aloud, perhaps because a lingering 'what if...' nagged at the corner of my mind.
Sujeong noona had prepared breakfast for me before I left—insisting I eat it no matter what—but I couldn't bring myself to even open the fridge.
'If I see the side dishes, it'll just make me sentimental. Better to head out on an empty stomach.'
I packed only the essentials, starting with the bulkiest clothes into the suitcase.
Then the tablet, charger, and even the laptop I hardly ever used—just in case.
Once I stuffed in the miscellaneous items from the desk, the bag that had seemed spacious was now straining at the zipper.
"Ngh! Phew, barely closed. I thought it was nothing much, but there's more stuff than I realized."
"Stuff? Oppa, where are you going?"
"Uh, just stepping out for a bit to live on my own... Eek!? S-Surprise!"
"Live on your own...? Like a trip? Where to?"
The moment I dragged the suitcase to the entryway.
Someone out of my line of sight spoke up, and I startled, finally glancing downward belatedly.
The smallest, most petite presence in our home.
Our precious, adorable little sister, Mokhui, was rubbing her eyes in her pajamas.
"Maknae, when did you wake up? It's not even lunchtime yet—go back to sleep."
"Yaaawn~ Normal people get up before lunch, you know. You're the sleepyhead, oppa."
"And what about you? Can't even open your eyes properly, yet you're nagging me? Heh."
"This is... because I couldn't sleep well last night. Yaaawn."
Mokhui tried to defend herself, forcing her eyes wide, but her gaping yawn carried zero intimidation.
I nearly reached out to pat her head on reflex, but catching sight of the suitcase handle in my other hand made me rethink it.
"Ahem, anyway, oppa has somewhere to be. Guard the house well..."
"Where to? You've packed so much—it looks like you're leaving home for good."
"L-Leaving home? I'm way too young to go independent, haha."
"Then why? Trip with friends? Or... a family trip without me?"
"Huh? N-No way. What kind of trip would we take without you, Mokhui? It's with friends, yeah, friends."
Her unexpected guess flustered me into spitting out a lie.
But my limited social circle was common knowledge, so Mokhui's eyes narrowed suspiciously even further.
"Which friends? Oppa, since when do you have close friends you'd travel far away with? And why didn't I know?"
"Hey, even I have a friend or two, you know? They even visited me in the army a couple times."
"Hmmm~ Is that so? Then why didn't I know?"
"No one else knew either. We weren't close enough to broadcast it everywhere."
"But you've gotten really close lately."
"Ngh?! M-Mokhui? Why bring up recently all of a sudden...?"
"Just popped into my head. Sujeong unnie, Geumbi unnie, Hwayeon unnie—they're all stuck to you like glue these days. That's all."
She muttered it like it was no big deal, but twisting her head side to side and pursing her lips, Mokhui was clearly acting out of character.
The way she stepped back, tapping her toes on the floor, shot me sidelong glances, mumbled as if she had something to say but held back... It was like a mix of all our sisters' traits rolled into one.
'You're a Yang family kid through and through. Sigh, what now...? If she digs in here, it'll spell trouble later.'
Pushing through with more lies felt risky for the fallout.
But telling the truth would make the immediate future a nightmare.
As I hesitated, Mokhui's face darkened, and she hung her head low before asking,
"What if... it really is a family trip? You don't have to keep it secret from me."
"Huh?"
"Even if you all go without me, I'd understand. I'm not a kid anymore—I know I'm a little different."
"No, wait. Mokhui, what are you talking about?"
"Oppa, I already knew. That in our family... I'm the only adopted one. I'm not stupid—you can all drop the act."
"Hold on, what the hell? Seriously?!"
Mokhui seemed eager to brush it off casually, half-hiding her face behind her long hair as she spoke.
But I'd already spotted the tears welling in her eyes, so I tossed the suitcase onto the shoe rack and rushed to her side.
"Why would you think that? It's a total misunderstanding—no, it's not true at all!"
"But... isn't it? Otherwise, why exclude just me after that incident? And why was I the only one stuck in the hospital as a kid?"
"No, listen—that was because you were sick back then...!"
No matter how much of a baby she was, the reason noonas and I doted on Mokhui especially.
Why, despite growing up in the same house, Mokhui alone kept a distance from us and mixed in formal speech.
It was because... Mokhui had been frail since childhood, spending more days in the hospital than at home.
"So that's why Mom and Dad adopted me, right? They pitied the sick kid during volunteer work and decided to take me in...?"
"No, that's not it at all! My memories from back then aren't crystal clear, but you were definitely with us since you were a newborn!"
"What if they brought me home as a tiny baby, or from the incubator? You wouldn't remember that far back, would you?"
"Well, if we're going that far... yeah, I couldn't swear to it."
I dredged up memories from when I was three or four to refute her, but...
She'd clearly mulled this over deeply, countering every reassurance with another doubt.
"If that's the case, it could apply to me or anyone else too, right? Memories from childhood are fuzzy for everyone."
"But I'm the most likely. It'd be easy for you all to conspire and keep quiet, fooling just one person... "
"Why do you keep going there? No, you're definitely one of us! Mokhui!"
Words weren't cutting it, so I grabbed her slender shoulders and shook her gently, trying to convince her.
But up close, through the strands of her bangs, Mokhui's eyes—
"Then why did you all talk about everything except me? At home, outside—always. What's that been about all this time, huh?"
Her gaze pierced me, shifting from gloom to seething resentment.
Only then did I realize how much our secrecy had fueled her suspicions.
And with more than one thing we'd hidden from the maknae, excuses didn't come easy.
'Even without hiding... some things just can't be said. How do I explain this? All the stuff with the noonas and Hwayeon... Ugh, argh!'
To clear the misunderstanding, I'd need to explain—but there was nothing explainable.
Sujeong noona, Geumbi noona, Hwayeon—thinking about any of it just grew more hopeless.
Mokhui, as if expecting this, lost the last flicker of hope from her face and slumped her shoulders.
"Hey, maknae. It's really not like that. We're not excluding you because you're adopted or holding secret meetings behind your back."
"You say that, but... you still can't tell me what you were talking about."
"No, it's just, well, ugh."
"It's fine—I told you, I already knew. I just... got a bit annoyed seeing you pack openly to go have fun. Sorry for snapping, oppa."
With that, Mokhui turned to head back to her room.
But my gut screamed I couldn't let her go like this, so instead, I grabbed her arm and dragged her out the front door.
"Eek?! O-Oppa?"
"Damn it, fine! Let's go together! You can see for yourself where I'm headed, right?"
"Wait, oppa? I'm still in pajamas... Eep?! Oppa, oppa!"
I really hauled her outside, and Mokhui panicked, covering her face with one hand.
But with the other caught in my grip, she couldn't flee—and her weak strength couldn't halt or redirect us.
When we hopped into the pre-called taxi, the driver eyed us a bit suspiciously.
"Mokhui, you okay? If you don't wanna come check it out, you can get off now."
"Ugh... After dragging me here? Fine, let's go! Wherever you're headed, I'll stick it out to the end. Hmph!"
Was Mokhui a true Yang family member after all?
She took the obvious bait, boldly linking arms and leaning against me in the seat.
'I'll text Sujeong noona anyway. She can pick her up around evening. Ahem.'
The wheels rolled, and the taxi pulled away. Only as we hit the main road did I groan inwardly at how things had spiraled.
But the climbing meter couldn't be stopped now.
"No traffic, so it'll take about an hour. Get comfy."
"No traffic and it still takes an hour? Where the heck are we going...?"
Time would answer Mokhui's question.
Pretending to gaze at the scenery, I dodged replying.
She wasn't the prying type anyway, so she gradually fell silent, resting against the window to watch the blue sky.
About 40 minutes in, as the dense buildings thinned out below the sky.
Spotting the massive aircraft overhead, Mokhui finally pieced it together.
"...I didn't bring my passport. Waaah."
I'd had zero plans to go abroad.
Mokhui's mutter—whatever she was expecting—I met with steadfast silence, eyes closed.