Chapter 84
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: While Talking
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Talking in front of my sisters and Hwayeon felt like some kind of confessional rite,
but opening up to the youngest... well, it came out sounding like I was just reciting someone else's gossip.
I wanted to be a brother she could look up to without any shame, at least when it came to Mokhui.
And that's why the more I blabbed on, the more I grew disgusted with my own spineless reflection.
"...So that's the gist of it. You get it, right? Why I had to sneak out of the house like a fugitive."
"Yeah, I get the rough idea."
"Good. Relieved you caught on so quick."
"So basically, you bolted because your sisters were fighting over you?"
"Yeah... Wait, what? Hold on, that wasn't the story at all."
"Huh? That's exactly what you've been saying this whole time~?"
In my desperate bid to seem upright, I'd apparently beaten around the bush too much.
Mokhui had listened to the whole thing and pinned the blame squarely on the sisters, which only stabbed at my conscience even harder.
"Mokhui, think it over again. There was way more to it than that, right? Like how Sujeong came to my room because she was anxious, or how Geumbi called me over for those counseling sessions over several days, or Hwayeon... well, let's skip her. Point is, it's not something to view through that lens."
"But that's the conclusion, isn't it? You said Sujeong said at the restaurant, 'This can't go on, so Jigu, stay out until Mom gets back'."
"Sure, that's how it ended up, but you can't just chalk it up to some petty sibling rivalry..."
"But bro, there's something that's been bugging me now that I think about it."
"Huh? What?"
"If things went down like you said, the sisters started fighting over who was closer to you... But come on, they're all grown adults. Does that really warrant kicking someone out of the house? Why?"
"Uh, well, you see..."
It was a sharp observation.
Mokhui had zeroed in on the core from my vague ramblings, and the topic I'd been dodging hammered at my heart.
"When you put it that way, a lot of other stuff seems off too. The eldest sister who was so anxious she slept in your room every night, the second sister who kept calling you to her room for 'counseling'. The third... well, Hwayeon's always been weird anyway."
"Yeah, Hwayeon's always been like that."
"But it never got to the point of fighting over you before... There really wasn't any other reason? Like some big incident that would make the sisters dead serious?"
"An incident? Can't say there was, haha..."
Any other time, I'd have mumbled some excuse.
But my chest had been aching since the conversation started, and I couldn't string words together.
Seeing my reaction, Mokhui grabbed my chin and started piecing together the missing puzzle.
"You were alone in your room with the eldest and second sisters. With the third at the cafe. Plenty of chances to meet one-on-one, and if it was about competing over you..."
"Uh, Mokhui? Let me explain again. Just hold on a sec."
"This whole mess stems from our family's adoption issue in the end. If it meant you had to leave home to resolve it...!?"
"Mokhui, Mokhui? Want more tea? Sit tight, I'll brew some fresh..."
"Brooo?"
"Yeah? Not into tea? Should I grab some snacks from outside?"
"Sit back down."
"Huh? No, if you don't want snacks, I can get juice too..."
"Now."
"Okay, sitting. See? Back in my seat. Haha, ha... haha."
Mokhui's eyes narrowed, soon flashing with contempt.
I scrambled back to the table, but the youngest's expression didn't brighten.
"I've thought it was weird from the start."
"You did? Whatever it is, jumping to conclusions is a bad habit..."
"Hearing your side sealed it for me."
"I was rambling anyway, so just let it slide. No need to dwell..."
"Bro, you slept with one of the sisters, right? Or wait, did you rotate through several...?!"
"Khup?! W-what are you saying, Mokhui? No way. We're family. Family. Siblings who've lived together over twenty years, haha."
"Yeah, family. The kind that might not even share blood, sleeping together every night, counseling on the bed, or taking late-night strolls after the cafe closes."
"...One thing I do know—we never took night strolls with Hwayeon."
"What about evening walks?"
"...Her shift ends late, right around then. Ahem, ahem."
There was no escape.
With all the circumstantial evidence locked in, Mokhui closed in, inching toward the truth.
"From what you're saying, this wasn't a one-off. And yet you got kicked out overnight? Why?"
"G-gosh, I dunno..."
"Brooo?"
"M-Mokhui. Feels like we've covered everything. Ready to head home? I'll walk you."
"Be honest."
"Huh? Honest about what?"
"How many sisters did you sleep with? You already dating one officially?"
"Cough, cough! N-no, nothing like that. Never dated or promised anyone."
"So you did sleep with them?"
"...You haven't had lunch, right? If we wanna eat dinner on time, shouldn't we head out now?"
I tried every trick to send Mokhui home, but she clung tenaciously to the clues.
In the end, with the incriminating sentence laid bare, she tapped her fingers, hunting for the subject to slot in.
"The eldest... not Sujeong. She's the most upright in our family—too responsible to do something like that."
"Mokhui? Those tissues on the table aren't for tossing..."
"Plus, she'd never kick you out after doing it herself. She'd leave instead... So she's off the list."
Mokhui flung the neatest tissue on the table straight to the floor.
I considered scolding her for littering, but one glare from her locked eyes, and I stayed put.
"Second sister... not Geumbi either. She'd have apologized profusely or declared she'd take responsibility first."
"Responsibility? Between family, what..."
"Exactly because we're family, she'd lock it down—dating, engagement, marriage. So she's out too."
Unlike her usual meek demeanor, Mokhui had clearly been observing the family closely.
She was right—if it had been Sujeong or Geumbi, they'd have shouldered the blame themselves.
Which left only one suspect.
"Third... Hwayeon. Clumsy but bold, friendly in the best light—or boundary-crossing in the worst."
"But Hwayeon holds back plenty, and she's got a deeper side..."
"You defending her makes it even more suspicious. You stayed quiet for the other two."
"W-well? Anyway, she's your little sister, so maybe I was just being considerate..."
"Bro."
"Yeah, Mokhui."
"Did you sleep with Hwayeon?"
"...Sleep, you know we shared a bed as kids tons."
"Not that kind. Time to stop dancing around it."
"...Couldn't say."
"Fine, just one thing. When Sujeong asked you to leave, how big a part did Hwayeon play?"
"...Probably not small, ugh?!"
Thud.
Mokhui's hand clenched the last tissue like she might shred it,
but something below rattled the floor, the vibration climbing the table to my hand.
"M-Mokhui? You okay? Did you bump your foot?"
"I'm fine. Just startled... made it shake."
"No, that sound wasn't from shaking..."
"More importantly, bro."
"Yeah? What?"
"Earlier, you said we don't know who's adopted yet, but the odds point to the sisters."
"Yeah, that's right..."
"So why Hwayeon of all people...? Bro, are you insane? Actually crazy?!"
As if proving the earlier noise wasn't a fluke, Mokhui slammed both hands on the table and shot up.
I barely steadied the wobbling table, but she didn't care, shoving her face closer.
"How could you—with someone who might be blood-related...? How'd it happen? Why her?!"
"Wait, wait, Mokhui? Calm down. It wasn't on purpose, just a drunken mistake... Ugh?!"
"A mistake? You 'mistakenly' had sex with your little sister... Kyah! Augh, ugh, forget it! Pervert bro, idiot, trash!"
She'd dodged that word till the end, but in her agitation, she spat it right in my face.
Her face flushed crimson instantly, and unable to contain herself, she yelled and bolted.
...Though this was a hotel room, so
her options were bathroom or bedroom. After a split-second hesitation, she leaped onto the bed.
'Haa, that's why... I didn't want the little one finding out. Ugh, damn it all.'
I knew it too.
That of all people, Hwayeon made it the biggest problem.
I'd crossed the line with someone almost certainly my blood sister in a reckless surge, so Sujeong sending me away and Mokhui freaking out both made sense.
"Still... what's done is done. Can't undo it. What now, sigh."
The more I confessed, the deeper my worries burrowed.
Right on cue, my flipped phone buzzed—missed calls, texts, and chat notifications galore.
Sujeong: 2 calls, 3 texts.
Geumbi: 8 calls, 6 texts.
Hwayeon: 22 calls, 14 texts, 38 chats.
No one was slacking, but a quick preview showed
unlike the relatively tame pair, Hwayeon's chats overflowed with curses, so I snapped the phone shut.
Glancing at the time, it was about time to wrap school and head to the cafe.
Shift starts soon, that'll quiet things down, I figured, and chugged the last of my coffee.
Wiping a spill with the table tissues,
the half-torn one from how hard she'd gripped it earlier sent a inexplicable chill down my spine.