Christmas (6)
On the way home after eating pizza, Na-eun walked beside me with a happy smile on her face.
"Aah, Oppa. I'm so full...."
"So full?"
"Yeah, I'm so full I can't even move."
"Your legs seem to be moving just fine, though?"
Na-eun just giggled at my words.
"That doesn't mean I can ask you to give me a piggyback ride."
"Want a piggyback?"
"Huh...?"
At my question, Na-eun looked flustered and immediately shook her head.
"No, no...! I'm fine...!"
"Really? I'm totally okay with it."
"I... I'm heavy...! Like, really, really heavy...!"
"Come on, how heavy could you possibly be?"
No matter how heavy Na-eun was, she wouldn't weigh as much as a fully geared soldier.
Sure, her actual weight might be more than mine, but a conscious person doesn't feel that heavy.
"I'm really fine...! For real!"
"Alright, alright."
As I nodded, Na-eun finally calmed down and shot me a light glare.
"...You're such a tease, Oppa."
"I like playing pranks, you know that."
"Yeah, you and my brother used to pull so many pranks when you were kids."
Thinking back, yeah. The person I pranked the most with as a kid was definitely Seung-min Jeong. And the usual victims were Jisoo Kim and Na-eun.
"...Now that you mention it, that's true."
"But all the pranks you pulled on me were fun. They never made me mad."
"Didn't I prank you the same way I did Seung-min?"
"No, you did way more fun ones with me than with my brother."
Not really—as far as I could remember, every prank Seung-min and I pulled together was pretty mischievous.
With that thought, I asked Na-eun, my voice full of doubt.
"Na-eun, I'm asking seriously—what kind of pranks did I pull on you?"
"What pranks do you remember as mischievous?"
I pondered her question for a moment before recalling one.
"...The time I picked you up and tossed you into the air, then caught you?"
"Oppa, I loved that one. And if I got scared, you'd put me down right away."
"Seung-min didn't?"
"My brother wouldn't stop even if I cried. It's different."
I see.
As I nodded, Na-eun seized the chance to launch into a full speech about the differences between Seung-min and me.
"And that's not all. If you took my snack, you'd pretend to hide it but then give me yours too. My brother would just eat it all. And when I was too scared to come down the slide, he'd tease me, but you came down with me."
"...That doesn't even count as a prank."
Saying it out loud made me think back—she'd started sniffling, so I'd tried to make her laugh while riding the slide together to cheer her up quickly.
It was a prank, but also a way to comfort her.
Looking at it now, my past self really treated Na-eun well.
"Prank or not, what matters is that you always treated me preciously."
"I guess so."
"Right? Your pranks always had that consideration for making the other person happy too. Unlike some people."
There was a faint hint of resentment in her voice, but I decided to ignore it. That was between Seung-min and Na-eun—I was just an outsider.
"Still, I like now even more than back then."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You tease me more freely now. Back then, you'd always check my mood first, like you were tiptoeing around."
Did I? Thinking about it, yeah, probably.
Na-eun was so young—still is, really. Back then especially. When pranking someone much smaller and younger, I'd always been careful not to hurt her feelings.
As a backlash, I went harder on Jisoo. But eventually, Jisoo started fighting back against Seung-min and me.
Our Jisoo grew up so well.
"So, I didn't like my brother's pranks much, but I loved yours. I even secretly looked forward to them."
"I see."
"Yeah, they were so much fun."
Na-eun beamed, looking happier than usual, like she'd finally gotten something off her chest.
"Oppa, I have something I'm really curious about."
"What?"
"How did you end up becoming friends with my brother?"
"I told you before. It just kinda happened."
I remembered she'd asked the same thing once, so I gave the same answer.
It really did just happen.
"Then... why do you treat me so well?"
"...Huh?"
"You're my brother's friend, right? To you, I'm just his little sister... so why?"
Na-eun stared at me with such straightforward eyes that I nearly took a step back without thinking.
At the same time, a certain word popped into my head.
Naturally, I pushed it away. It wasn't something I could say to Na-eun yet.
As I stood there, unable to respond, Na-eun smirked and patted my back playfully.
"Hahaha! What's with that face~? I was just teasing~ Prank~"
"Prank...?"
"Yeah! A prank! Ah, I think I get why you tease me so much now. It's hilarious."
"...Right?"
With nothing else to say, I played along to hide my feelings.
Na-eun burst into laughter, then stopped and flashed that smile from earlier.
"Oppa, let's hurry home. It's getting cold."
"Yeah, let's go."
Na-eun urged me on, and we walked slowly toward home together.
But for some reason, even though she was smiling, she seemed a little less happy than before.
Why? Why did her mood seem off?
I subtly tried to gauge Oppa's feelings.
What does he think of me? How does he really see me?
I was so curious that I ended up doing something a bit reckless.
Why do you treat me so well? Aren't I just your friend's little sister?
Of course I had expectations—it'd be a lie to say otherwise. I hoped for a super positive answer.
But his reaction? Pure awkwardness.
Oppa couldn't even look me in the eye, averting his gaze with a forced smile.
There was only one meaning behind it.
He understood my intent... but couldn't give a positive answer.
...I know. I know to Oppa, I'm still just a kid.
I'm the little sister of his lifelong friend. And with our age gap, even if four years isn't huge, it's not nothing either. I get it.
Still, that awkward response was enough to crash my happy mood straight to the ground.
I forced a cover by calling it a prank, steering the conversation into teasing to end it... but
...Honestly, I wanted to cry. I wanted to sob so bad I could barely hold it in.
Once I got home, I'd probably bury my face in my pillow and bawl, I thought.
With those thoughts, vowing to 'cry it out and then win Oppa's heart again,' I dragged my heavy feet toward home.
Maybe my wish made time fly— the long walk home ended quicker than expected, and Oppa walked me right to the apartment entrance.
Seeing him like that, I bowed my head lightly.
"Thanks, Oppa. For seeing me all the way here."
"Sure, go rest up. Today was fun."
"Yeah, Oppa. It was fun for me too."
I waved and headed for the elevator... when
—Squeeze
...An unexpected hand grabbed mine.
"...Oppa?"
Oppa's big, rough hand squeezed mine tight, and just that made my heart race and my mood lift.
Ah, I really like Oppa. Realizing that all over again...
"...If you were just a normal friend's little sister, I wouldn't take care of you like this."
Words even more unexpected than his touch hit me.
"Well, see you."
Oppa bolted from the spot like he was fleeing... and
"......Huh?"
Left alone, I froze, unable to process his words.
The moment I did, I raced upstairs, hugged my pillow, and kicked my legs wildly on the bed.
Too happy, insanely happy, couldn't believe this was real.
