Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Why Don't You Call Me Oppa?
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"Hey, so what happened?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Why'd you show up at our house with Yerim? No way you two already knew each other, right?"
"You think? We just met for the first time today."
"But seriously, why...?"
Seo Jinhyuk stared back and forth between Seo Yerim and me like he couldn't believe it.
Was it really that shocking?
Well... if my little sister suddenly walked in with him one day out of nowhere, I'd probably react the same way.
Still, explaining how we met felt awkward.
If I said, Your little sister was crying on the street—who knows what kind of reaction that guy would have.
And from just a moment ago, the way Seo Yerim was lightly clutching the hem of my uniform... it felt like she was silently begging me not to say anything.
If it had been my little sister, I'd have smacked her hand away and told her not to touch me with those filthy paws.
But since it was Seo Yerim, even that small gesture made me feel like we could keep it a lifelong secret. Just between the two of us.
"Just bumped into her on the way home. She caught my eye. You know, special like you said."
It wasn't a lie. Not a lie at all.
"......You expect me to believe Yerim just went along with that?"
"What's not to believe? She seemed really sweet."
"Hey, come on. Yerim is so... uh..."
"...So what?"
".........Sweet."
The way he immediately backed down when Seo Yerim shot back coldly told me everything I needed to know about their sibling hierarchy.
And I had a pretty good idea what he'd been about to say.
Thinking back to her reaction when we first met, "sweet" didn't quite cover it. Yeah, she was seriously hard to approach.
We exchanged a silent look of mutual understanding, and I felt her fingers tighten their grip on the hem of my clothes.
"...What are you two doing?"
"...Agreeing with Jinhyuk. Must be my F-type side."
"You're T-type though..."
"Hey."
"Yeah, Woojin must be F-type or something—he gets it so well."
Seo Yerim shot me a sullen look, clearly displeased with our little bromance.
Why me? Jinhyuk was the one who brought it up.
I glared at Seo Jinhyuk with all my grievance, and the damn guy suddenly remembered something urgent and opened his mouth.
"Oh, you guys thirsty? I'll grab some drinks and snacks."
"Hey, I'm not thir—"
"...I'm thirsty, Oppa."
"Right away!"
You bastard...
I watched the jerk hightail it to the kitchen and desperately wanted to yell, Take me with you!
But the gray-eyed glare shooting from beside me had me frozen in place.
"...Did you not think I was sweet?"
"...No, not at all. I've thought you were sweet from the first moment I saw you. Like Mother Teresa or something."
"...Then why are you avoiding my eyes?"
"I'm kinda shy..."
"...But you sure talked to me a lot for someone shy?"
"W-well, you reminded me of my little sister..."
"'Like my daughter, like my little sister'... That's what creepy old guys always say..."
Gasp. What the hell, Yerim?
How could she compare my pure intentions (or lack thereof) to those perverts? It was so unfair.
I whipped my head around to give her a piece of my mind, but—
"Hee, just kidding."
—that was cheating.
The moment our eyes met, she smiled brightly at me like she'd finally deigned to look my way.
Seeing that made all my lingering resentment vanish in an instant.
My bad. Yeah, call me a bad uncle or whatever.
"So... you do think I'm sweet, right?"
"Yeah, obviously."
"How sweet?"
"......As sweet as my little sister?"
"......Didn't you say you fight with your sister all the time?"
".................."
Wait. Hold on a second. She remembered that?
The casual toss I'd made without thinking came rocketing back as a brutal inside fastball, slamming right into my mouth.
I was at a complete loss for words.
This is weird. The mood was great just a second ago... Was it all in my head?
Why did this turn into a thriller out of nowhere?
I should've just brazened it out, but since I panicked and couldn't continue, Seo Yerim's gray eyes started darkening.
"Hnnn..."
Jinhyuk, I'm seriously dying here...
Please save me...
**
Did my desperate prayer actually work?
Thankfully, Seo Jinhyuk soon returned with snacks, letting me escape the suffocating pressure.
Seo Yerim was still shooting me pouty glares, of course.
But when I smiled at her like please, just once, she finally gave a faint smile and started munching on the snacks.
"Why don't you stay for dinner since you're already here?"
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble? Won't your parents be home soon?"
"...Ours come home late, so it's fine."
Their parents were dual-income too, huh.
Seo Jinhyuk said it with a slightly shadowed expression.
I glanced at Seo Yerim to double-check if it was really okay, and our eyes met right away.
She nodded quickly, looking a little flustered—one cheek puffed out from the snack in her mouth.
"Then sure, why not. Wanna make some fried rice?"
"You can cook?"
"Parents are dual-income, so I cook a lot at home. We've got bacon."
"Oh, same here? Yerim can't cook at aaaall—!"
Seo Jinhyuk clutched his thigh mid-sentence, clearly punished for spilling the truth.
The scene felt so familiar—like something straight out of my house—that it almost brought tears to my eyes.
But there was nothing I could do to help, so I just pretended not to notice and looked away.
***
We finished dinner together with simple kimchi fried rice.
Kimchi fried rice is a miracle dish that's impossible to mess up.
After the meal, I couldn't help but give a mental round of applause when Seo Yerim stood up and insisted on doing the dishes herself.
I wanted to tell the two of them, who were looking at me like what's with you?
That somewhere on this planet lives a pig who doesn't cook or do dishes.
That being able to share the roles is a huge blessing in itself.
Once dinner was done, Seo Jinhyuk headed to the shower saying he'd wash up, and Seo Yerim went to the kitchen for dishes, leaving me all alone in the living room.
—What the heck is this?
Where am I? Who am I?
It was getting late anyway, so I figured I'd say goodbye to whichever one came out first and head home. I turned on my phone.
The moment I started mindlessly scrolling through SNS—
"What're you looking at...?"
"Whoa, you scared me!"
I seriously jumped because Seo Yerim had snuck up and peeked over my shoulder.
Like, I almost flung my phone away but barely held back.
"...Porn?"
What an insane misunderstanding right off the bat...!
"...No, what the hell? Why would I look at that in someone else's house?!"
"You got so startled..."
"Anyone would if you sneak up like that...? And I don't watch that stuff."
"You don't?"
"......Rarely."
"........."
"......Jinhyuk probably does. Maybe."
"................"
Sorry, Jinhyuk...!
Lying by clenching my eyes shut and saying I never do it wasn't hard.
But for some reason, I didn't want to lie to her.
And honestly, it doesn't even make sense. A 14-year-old who never watches that stuff?
I desperately held back the urge to say, You've seen it too, right?
"H-here, check this out."
To change the subject—no, to survive—I hurriedly shoved my phone screen toward her.
"Cat vs. dog...?"
"Yeah, I was watching this. Both are cute, right?"
"...Which do you like?"
"Huh?"
"Cats or dogs..."
I'm a dog person, normally.
A dog running out wagging its tail to greet me when I get home. Just imagining it feels great.
"Dog."
Swipe—
"...But cats are better."
But today, of all days, I felt like joining team cat.
No, maybe from now on. Forever.
"...You like cats?"
"Yeah. They're cute when they're all aloof."
"Hng, hnn..."
Seo Yerim let out a satisfied little hum at my answer.
Seeing that made me chuckle—I didn't even need to ask what she preferred more.
"But honestly, it'd be best if they were half-and-half."
"Half...?"
"Yeah. Normally... no, cold and aloof to everyone else, but wags its tail just for me...?"
...Too much info?
I got excited and trailed off, only to find Seo Yerim staring straight into my eyes.
"...Yeah, got it."
"...Got what?"
"You don't need to know..."
Wait, you said you got it...?
Her cryptic words made me want to ask what she meant, but...
Seeing her eyes dyed pink, I somehow couldn't bring myself to pry further.
If my guess was right, those eyes definitely meant... she was embarrassed.
What the heck was embarrassing about our conversation...? I wondered.
Then something popped into my head. Something I'd noticed all day but hadn't dared ask about.
Something I'd regret not asking before heading home.
"But... can I ask one thing?"
"I'm not telling..."
"No, not that. Something else."
Of course, I was dying to know what she "got," but...
With her >.< pout and lips pursed tight, she clearly wasn't going to tell me.
But since I said it was something else, she tilted her head toward me curiously.
"What...?"
"Why don't you call me Oppa?"
"...? But I do."
"No, not Jinhyuk. Me."
"......"
"I thought it was a mistake at first, but no matter how I think about it, I can't remember you ever calling me that."
"W-well..."
"Do you... not want to call me Oppa?"
It'd make me a little sad, honestly.
I hear it plenty at home anyway.
But for some reason, I wanted to hear her say it.
"It's not that..."
"Then why not?"
"........."
"Yeah?"
"I-it's embarrassing..."
Eh?
"You call Jinhyuk Oppa just fine...?"
"It's different...!"
...?
How is it different?
...Don't tell me it's my looks? Do I need Seo Jinhyuk-level handsomeness to qualify? What’s the difficulty rating here?
The moment I tried to ask what was different, she jumped up from her seat like the hint ended there.
She dashed dada-da to her room, then—
Bang!
—slammed the door shut and vanished.
......What's different? Why won't you call me?
In the end, my question went unanswered, so I packed up my stuff to head home. Wonder when I'll see her again, I thought.
Click—
I heard the door opening carefully.
I turned toward the sound, and there—
"...Come again... Oppa."
—the cat with intense pink eyes peeked out just her head.
She said her piece and ducked back in.
............This is bad.
My mouth corners refused to come down.
This was seriously bad.
I approached the door that had been open for just a moment, rested my forehead lightly against it, and whispered.
"...I'll come again."
Maybe... even if she told me not to, I'd still come.