Chapter 86
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Continuing the Conversation
A bewildering—no, utterly shocking—situation.
Mokhui's eyes trembled, her face flushed with a clueless expression, yet she refused to let go of the phone clutched tightly in both hands.
I stared at the screen on that phone, speechless, and tried to snatch it back first.
But she gripped it like it was irrefutable evidence, putting up a desperate struggle even as I held her from behind, and I failed.
"……."
"……."
And silence fell again.
Our pointless tussle had only made the air in the bedroom feel even stuffier and heavier.
'Words aren't getting through, and I can't take it by force... What now? Ugh.'
Deep down, I wanted to grab the phone quick and bolt—to the bathroom or the balcony, anywhere.
But with her as my hostage, I couldn't even take a step. It was a truly pitiful and agonizing predicament.
I felt like I was dying.
Trapped in the prison of shame, where even death might be preferable.
In the long, heavy quiet, Mokhui murmured softly, her lips barely moving.
"Um, Oppa... I know it was wrong to unlock your phone without permission."
It started with an apology.
But as she slowly turned her face toward me, I could tell the real bomb was coming next.
Her eyes stayed downcast, avoiding mine, hinting at the weight of what she'd say.
"So... does that mean you have that kind of... relationship with all the 'sisters'?"
One sentence, and I could picture exactly how she'd redrawn my image in her head.
From a trashy guy who messed up with his little sister in a drunken haze, I'd plummeted to some adopted scum groping all his sisters without even knowing for sure.
"It's... not like that."
I sighed deeply from the heart, rubbing my eyelids as I denied it.
But my voice trailed off, and now I couldn't even look straight at Mokhui.
Because, as unfair as it was—and it really wasn't on purpose—
I couldn't swear 100% that her words were a total lie.
...To put it simply, my conscience was pricking me hard.
If she asked if they were all like with Hwayeon, no—but similar situations had happened... Ugh.
"Sure, there've been mistakes like with Hwayeon, but it's not the kind of relationship you're thinking."
"What kind of relationship am I thinking of?"
"Don't play dumb when you know. That thing popping into your head right now. The one you imagined alone in the bedroom while I was showering."
"Ack?! I-I didn't have any weird fantasies like that! What do you take me for, Oppa?"
"I didn't specify what kind of imagination. So what were you really thinking, little sis?"
"N-No! I didn't imagine anything like that with you and the sisters! I didn't, Oppa!"
I'd skirted around it—dating, just physical, too embarrassing to say outright.
But Mokhui flailed her hands wildly, shooting herself in the foot somehow.
"Hey, it doesn't really matter that much... Like I said, you're at that age. It's natural to think that way sometimes, right?"
"Argh, I told you it's not! And you—you're the one actually doing stuff with the sisters in real life... Wuuh."
"Mokhui, let me say it clearly now: I haven't had anything like that with anyone else. Sujeong Noona and Geumbi Noona are totally fine."
"...Fine how?"
"Meaning... I haven't gone all the way with the noonas. Haven't slept with them separately."
"But you said you sleep together every night?"
"That was just sleeping! Hey, Mokhui, you keep this up? You freak out and go wild when it's you getting teased, but teasing others? Like a fish in water."
"Hehe, you do it too, Oppa. Guess that's what makes us siblings."
Maybe it was the rebound from the long silence and heavy air.
We laughed freely at petty complaints and reactions, both trying to lighten the mood.
Despite the awkward position, we gradually relaxed on the bed.
I twisted halfway around, letting Mokhui pillow her head on my arm as I gazed at the ceiling, slowly breathing out and in.
"Nice air purifier. No need to open the window tonight."
"You were gonna sleep with the window open? You'll catch a cold, Oppa."
"Army was way colder than this."
"Ugh, guys always brag about the military when showing off. Wait till you get a bad flu."
"Little sis, I'm not like other guys. Ever heard of the front lines in Gangwon Province...?"
"Agh, if you're gonna tell stories, hold me properly first. I'd be up all night otherwise, wuuu~."
"Tch, had forty-five army tales ready to drive girls wild."
"They'd go wild alright—just not how you think. I'm living proof right now, haa."
My army story for a mood shift didn't even get started.
Mokhui stared at the ceiling like me, blinking repeatedly before suddenly turning her head.
Finally looking straight at my face.
Her eyes stopped fluttering, meeting mine.
"So, Oppa."
"Yeah."
"In the end... what's your relationship with the other sisters?"
"I told you, no mistakes like with Hwayeon."
"Then what's with this photo on your phone?"
"...Not like Hwayeon, but other mistakes happened."
"What kind?"
"More like accidents than mistakes. Considering their positions, I shouldn't blab."
"Just sum up the results then."
"Results... Haven't touched Sujeong Noona at all, got one-sidedly toyed with by Geumbi Noona. End."
"What...? So First Sis won't let you touch her but snaps pics like this, and Second Sis plays with you instead? Doesn't make sense..."
"Hm, shockingly 90% correct. Even I struggle to understand, so don't dig deeper."
It was a context-free ramble, but amazingly, she nailed it.
She believed because she's family; anyone else would've slapped me for bullshit.
I chuckled ruefully, dry-washing my face with my free hand and squeezing my eyes shut.
"Truth is, I don't even know what to do. That's why I bolted here today."
"It wasn't just First Sis... Sujeong Noona forcing you."
"Even summarizing results is like this; the process is way more complicated. ...Not something I can figure out alone."
"If you can't solve it solo, shouldn't we all talk it out at home?"
"Not that. There's still the big one, right? When Mom comes back... that talk."
"Aah...! Got it, I forgot."
"It's fine, I forget sometimes too. With everyone nagging, I wonder if they've heard something without telling me... Haha."
"Hmph. Sounds obnoxious, but I get the worry."
As Mokhui sharply put it, it was a full-belly gripe that sounded absurd at first.
Maybe sensing my feelings, she stopped teasing or judging, just fidgeting with her fingers while watching my reaction.
She still wouldn't give the phone back.
Fine, keep it. Nothing more to expose anyway.
"...Oppa."
"Yeah."
"That worry... you have to pick an answer eventually, right?"
"Yeah, someday."
"Worrying means you don't know who to choose yet."
"Not sure I'll ever be in a position to choose. ...But yeah, need to sort my own feelings first."
"Right on. ...But what if feelings and reality don't match?"
"...You stay quiet, then bam—right to the core?"
"Means I've thought about it deeply."
"Fair. True enough."
It was blunt, lacking tact on one hand, refreshingly straightforward on the other.
'She's right. But that's exactly what I can't control... Sigh.'
Maybe that's why I'm delaying the conclusion.
If paths cross wrong, it's not just family discord—total collapse.
...Excuses again.
Good thing the phone's with her. Can't answer calls? Blame her.
"But Oppa."
"Yeah."
"Can I ask just one more thing...?"
"What? We're this far; nothing off-limits."
"Did you always have those feelings for the sisters? Or did this mess suddenly spark them?"
"Hm, probably the sudden bloom type? Thought we were blood siblings, so harboring that... too high difficulty. Right?"
"Ah, yeah, makes sense."
"But not super important anyway. Gotta face the now, the present."
"...Might not be totally unimportant."
"Huh? What?"
"Nothing. Just curious. Question time over!"
Maybe knowing the backstory felt like a soap opera plot.
She grilled me like charting character relations, then flipped away, ending the talk.
'Image management with the little sis failed... but not a total loss. Better than being branded trash.'
A fumbling dork beats a sister-groping thug.
Even if I look dumb, no hate or disgust.
"Easier to stick close if I seem approachable."
"Huh? What?"
"Just mumbling. Hope we keep hanging like this, me and my little sis."
"...I'd like that too. But in this context, sounds a bit suspicious."
"Don't worry. This bro likes glamorous types... Ow!"
"N-Not like that! Pervert Oppa, trash! What are you imagining?!"
I'd just patted her head meaning she's cute, but she startled and smacked my arm.
Her hits stung like Hwayeon or Geumbi Noona's, but it reassured me, letting me soothe her.
'Feels normal. Yeah, this is proper sibling vibes. The rest was the weird phase.'
Savoring this brief peace, I rolled around on the bed longer.
Mokhui, tired from smacking, lay down properly too, and we chatted amiably more.
-Bzzz.
Mid-conversation, her distant phone buzzed.
But we on the bed let time slip by, oblivious.
Unaware my own phone was flashing just as often.
Let alone how many missed calls had piled up.