Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Is it a Girl?
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After receiving the fierce message from my one and only younger sister.
Eating dinner all alone in solitude and then idly checking my phone, I soon heard the beeping of the passcode being entered, followed by Yerim walking in.
"I'm home...."
"You're back?"
Should I be happy or sad that my younger sister, who never needed a curfew, was coming home late?
Thinking that this kind of thing would happen more and more from now on made me feel just a little—a very little—melancholy.
As I got lost in pointless sentimentality, Yerim stopped by her room for a moment before coming over to me.
"Oppa."
"Yeah? Why? Didn't you say you already ate?"
"No, I did say that...."
But the reason you always call for me around this time is mostly because of dinner.
She was strangely great at everything else, but her cooking was disastrously bad.
I'd just responded out of habit, but it seemed to irk her.
"Then what is it?"
"Well...."
...Running low on allowance?
Yerim was always so resolute with me, so it was strange to see her hesitating like this.
As I racked my brain with a few guesses while waiting for her answer, I noticed her eyes tinting sky blue.
Han Woojin, huh.
What the hell did that guy do to someone else's little sister?
Her eyes, which had barely changed at home, started sparkling like rainbows whenever it came to him after they met—just a little, very little—made me jealous.
"Oppa, why did you tell Woojin oppa about me?"
"Huh? What about you?"
"About my eyes. You never talked about me to anyone, Oppa...."
Ah, right, that.
I recalled how they were able to recognize each other the first time they met because of what I'd said about her.
Ha, where do I even start?
It's not that hard to say.
But if I did, whatever scraps of dignity I had left as her big brother would come crashing down.
Still, I didn't want her thinking I was the kind of brother who blabbed her secrets around carelessly.
Sigh. I took a deep breath before revealing the secret.
"...Yerim-ah."
"Yeah...?"
"Do you know how many friends I have?"
"...? No idea...?"
My little sister answered honestly, puzzled by my out-of-the-blue question.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
"The answer is... none, kiddo...."
"......?"
..........Ah, I'm gonna die of embarrassment.
This is exactly why I didn't want to say it.
Staring into her pure eyes, which screamed "what does that mean?", my heart felt like it was tearing apart.
"D-Didn't you have friends, Oppa...? You chat with people while gaming and stuff...."
"Those are just people I met in games. Never actually met them IRL...."
People exist in the monitor, you know....
This confession of being friendless in front of my sister was more agonizing than I'd imagined. I wanted to die.
So embarrassing I couldn't even lift my head.
"I-I've seen you go to their houses a few times...."
"...Maybe once or twice at the start of the semester or right after we moved. It didn't last."
...We're actually a friendless sibling duo.
Yerim shut her mouth in shock, as if she never imagined even her big brother oppa was friendless too.
A suffocating silence passed between us for a moment.
Soon, Yerim spoke up.
"Why...?"
That single word carried a world of questions.
"N-No way it's because of me...?"
"Wait, hold on. Calm down. It's definitely not that."
As if she'd jumped to the conclusion that she was the reason I had no friends, her eyes rapidly turned gray.
"For real. It's not like that. Well... how do I put it. It's kinda awkward for me to say it myself, but I'm pretty popular?"
"Yeah, I figured something like that."
Yerim nodded as if something clicked.
"'Figured something like that'? Anyway, as you know, being popular isn't all good."
"...Yeah."
Others might call it a first-world problem, but for us siblings, it was a curse.
"That's why. Guys are no different. Sure, a few approached me at first... but the girl my friend liked, the girl dating someone, all the girls in class. After rotating through confessions, suddenly no one was around."
My sister nodded in understanding.
We're siblings, after all.
"At least I never got bullied, so that's a relief, right?"
I tried to lighten the mood with a goofy tone.
But it was too late for my kind-hearted little sister.
Seeing her bow her head sadly hurt my heart.
"After getting so much attention, at some point, I could tell just from their looks."
Ah, she likes me right now.
She hates me.
She's jealous.
She's envious.
Of course, learning to read people's eyes so well was largely thanks to Yerim, but I kept that buried deep in my heart.
No need to make her sadder on my account.
"Then I got to middle school, walked into the classroom, and it was the same old story. Or maybe worse? I thought high school life wouldn't be easy either~."
I still remembered it vividly. In that unfamiliar scenery, only.
That one guy was different.
"Exactly one. Out of all of them, one guy looked at me normally. Blandly. Even a pro loner like me didn't want to start middle school solo, so I figured nothing to lose and talked to him."
The result?
"Jackpot, obviously. Guess who? Han Woojin."
The story was getting long, so I took a sip of water.
"Not that I wanted it that way, but girls kept confessing nonstop, even ones whose names I didn't know, and they'd go to Woojin asking him to introduce me. But he never once resented or got jealous of me."
Sure, he grumbled about it being annoying each time, but just brushing it off like that was big-brother energy.
One or two times? Fine.
But piled up, even shallow friendships crumble fast.
"Then one day, I got a confession from some girl whose name I didn't know, and turns out she was the one a bully liked. Got called out, obviously."
It wasn't my first rodeo, and I wasn't exactly scared of a fight, so I went confidently.
"But the moment I saw him, I thought, 'Yeah, I can't win this.' So I figured take a quick hit and end it."
Remembering that moment made me chuckle involuntarily.
"Then Woojin pops out of nowhere, goes 'What the hell are you doing?' and blocks for me. You know he fights really well? Turns out he followed me 'cause he was worried."
"...Did Woojin oppa get hurt back then by any chance?"
"I was the one who almost got hurt. He was the one doing the hurting."
"So did Woojin oppa get hurt?"
"This is so unfair...."
They say raising a daughter is pointless.
Seeing her worry only about someone else's oppa and not hers made my eyes sting.
"Anyway, how could we not become friends after that? I thought he'd fit right in with our family, so I told him about you. Figured it'd be nice if you hung out together someday. ...Never imagined you'd meet before then."
Finishing the long tale, I took another sip of water as my throat was parched.
The beginning was a bit tragic.
But now, both Yerim and I were starting to feel a little happiness, so isn't that good?
I just hoped the ending would be a comedy.
"...Thanks, Oppa."
"Huh?"
"Thanks to you, I got to meet Woojin oppa...."
Watching her gaze at me with relieved orange eyes and a warm smile, as if it truly was a blessing, I thought.
Hmm. Really?
I used to scoff at fate or connections.
But seeing those two connect so quickly from the little thread I tossed out, getting tangled up fast.
Made me think maybe connections do exist.
I just sped it up a bit.
They probably would've met and fallen for each other anyway.
Or maybe it's just me wishing, seeing my precious little sister happy right now.
Wishing those two important people to me were connected—
"Anyway, Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"Don't you ever think about getting a girlfriend?"
"......Out of nowhere?"
Puzzled by Yerim's sudden question, I asked back, only for an even more sudden declaration to follow.
"You should think about it...?"
...What the hell does that mean?
First off, let me say I'm definitely not a pervert or anything.
I have zero interest in weird sexual tastes...
Okay, maybe a tiny bit, but I proudly claim to have perfectly normal tastes.
The reason I'm insuring myself like this late at night?
—Sigh.
As I cautiously lay down on the bed, instead of the usual minty scent, a sweet strawberry fragrance wafted up faintly.
This, okay(?).
No, you can't blame me for this.
For some reason, Yerim had rolled around in my bed a ton during the day.
So my bed and blankets were soaked in Yerim's scent.
So good.......... Yeah, so nice.......
I'm definitely not a pervert....... This is just, yeah, you know....
For some reason, even the pillow carried Yerim's scent, not just the bed and blankets, but whatever.
Feeling an indescribable coziness, I threw myself fully onto the bed and hugged the blanket close, and it felt just like Yerim was in my arms.
Like Yerim was right there beside me.
As I drifted off, intoxicated by her scent and my eyes growing heavy, my phone buzzed beside the pillow.
Damn it, I was just getting comfy.
Who's this? I irritably opened my phone, and my half-closed eyes snapped wide open.
Two emotions hit me at once.
The joy that Yerim messaged me first.
And WHY of all times.
The moment I read the message, a call came in.
Dang it, Yerim. At least give me time to reply....
In a completely different way from before, it felt like Yerim was right there beside me....