Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Male Sibling (1)
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That was close to a disaster.
If I hadn't shared this memory with Yoon-seul, she would have witnessed a scene too much for a five-year-old to handle.
Fortunately, I held her tight in my arms and covered her ears.
"Yoon-seul-ah, you really didn't see anything, right?"
"Hm? Oppa blocked it all!"
"Yeah? Then that's a relief."
I'd guessed Kwon Su-an-ssi had a congenital disability from the surgical scar near his eyes, but I never imagined he'd have a past this severe.
Even to me, it was somewhat shocking.
The scene of violence is so brutal that no one could keep their eyes wide open, no matter how close they were.
I wanted to intervene, even if it was just a fragment of a memory.
But for some reason, I couldn't.
Yoon-seul and I.
We were treated as third parties in the memory, unable to reach either Kwon Su-an or Kwon Su-young.
There might be a rule that you can't arbitrarily distort a confirmed past—or one you must confront.
All I could do was comfort Kwon Su-young, who was crying at the edge of the memory, but in the end, I think it turned out okay.
Kwon Su-young, not too cowed, with teary eyes, a smile on her lips, cautious, fists clenched tight, said she'd go to Kwon Su-an.
She stepped out of the shop with stiff steps.
- Joo-hyun Oppa, thanks for the meal. Something's weird. Eating tteokbokki suddenly brought up memories that weren't even there. Who cries like an idiot while eating tteokbokki? .... Me, I guess. Anyway, I'll come again. If possible, with my brother.
[O-nui Tycoon!]
[J High School sophomore Kwon Su-young]
[Satisfaction: 100%]
[J High School sophomore Kwon Su-young – Registered as family!]
I can't exactly gauge Kwon Su-young's feelings.
"But I hope they talk it out well. As siblings."
That's all I can hope for.
Watching siblings who cared for each other tragically drift apart hurts, even from an observer's standpoint.
"Hm? Yunseul-i and Oppa are siblings too."
"Yoon-seul knows that?"
"Yunseul-i knows everything. Smart, right?"
"Yeah, super smart."
"Hee-heeng— I know! That's why Oppa's my little brother."
After Su-young left, we did business as usual.
Customers trickled in sporadically, and the day's sales were decent.
On the way home with Yoon-seul.
I suddenly felt anxious.
I couldn't be sure my little sister wouldn't face something like that if I looked away for a moment.
I'd try to keep her in my sight as much as possible.
But people's lives don't always go as planned.
The Kwon siblings' situation proves it.
Su-young had suspected that devilish man at first.
But there are more ways to kidnap a child than you'd think. Though that man's case was special.
He was the father of the Kwon siblings, and a coworker.
No one could have guessed he'd harbor a grudge and go that far.
The point is, we can't guarantee it won't happen to our siblings.
"Yoon-seul, if a strange uncle comes and tells you to follow him, what do you do?"
"Hm? Strange uncle?"
"Yeah."
"If he says follow, I go with Oppa."
"What if Oppa's not there?"
"Then Yunseul-i calls Oppa first."
"When you're not with Oppa, you must never, ever follow anyone. Promise?"
"Hm... Got it. Pinky promise then."
Like last time with Rui, she hooks her pinky.
A five-year-old's finger is so thin and precious. Short and small, it barely hooks onto mine.
It makes me want to protect her even more.
"Oppa, but why not follow? What if he gives chocolate?"
"You could be in danger."
"Yunseul-i can win!"
Yap! Yap!
She punches the air with sound effects and shows a front kick.
Even if it landed squarely, the damage would approach zero, but she thinks it's threatening, her tiny lips twitching.
"Yoon-seul, look at Oppa for a sec."
"Hm..."
It could pass as play.
But this time, I want to talk seriously.
"You don't know what happens if you follow a stranger when Oppa's not around, right?"
"Nope."
"Then Oppa gets really hurt bad?"
My heart would hurt so much I couldn't stay sane.
"Eek! Oppa hurt? Not Yunseul-i?"
"Yeah, Oppa could hurt a lot. But Yoon-seul protects Oppa."
"Right! Yunseul-i protects Oppa."
"So what should Yoon-seul do?"
"No one but Oppa. Won't follow anyone."
"Good girl!"
A bit exclusive conclusion.
But talking it out like this makes it safer.
At least until she's old enough to judge for herself, I have to look after her well.
Keep her close, cherish her.
**
We were already home.
The walk from school always felt long, but today, wanting to go slow, it felt too fast.
As soon as she enters her room, Kwon Su-young unbuttons her uniform and sighs softly.
"What do I say to Oppa."
On the way home.
She thought hard.
Gratitude toward her brother.
And guilt.
Both were true.
"Oppa, you saved my life!! I didn't know it was because of me. I'm really, really sorry! And so thankful!"
She practices out loud, bowing deeply, but it feels off no matter what.
No clear trigger, and too much time had passed.
Back then, Kwon Su-young was in elementary school, her brother in middle school.
"Saying it now would feel so out of the blue."
Still, Kwon Su-young wanted to convey her feelings.
It felt like a new sibling bond could start only then, and she wanted that.
As long as it wasn't too cringy.
"I didn't even ask you to protect me that much! Hmph... Not that I'm not grateful. Just... moderately thankful."
She tries tsundere lines.
But no matter what, acting 'tsundere' is trashy.
She'd mimicked her favorite webtoon character from break time, but quits.
Kwon Su-young practices more lines.
"I'll devote my remaining life to you, Oppa!"
It turns into a proposal.
"So how much will that be?"
Like an overzealous Gangnam 8th school district parent.
"Ahh, for the rest of my life, I'll be the pupil in your eyes."
Third-rate love poem.
The problem? There was an audience.
A rough tongue licks Kwon Su-young's thigh from behind.
No need to scream.
Rui does it sometimes.
But the issue is Rui entered Kwon Su-young's room.
Meaning the door was open.
High chance.
"Su-young-ah... What're you doing?"
Oppa walked in.
I'm screwed.
"Oppa... You can't just barge into my room. I'm changing."
"True, but you should close the door when changing. Rui wanders in."
"Ah... I didn't close it."
No retort.
No words at all.
But something to ask.
"Oppa, how much did you hear?"
"'I didn't even ask you to protect me that much!' from there."
She felt it again.
Screwed.
He heard only the weird parts, tsundere to third-rate poem.
Struggling how to salvage, she sees Oppa's pitying smile.
Having a sister reciting tsundere to love poems hurts his heart!
Not for that reason, though.
"Something happen today?"
"Ah... No. What would happen."
So gently.
She brushes off Oppa's question about what's wrong.
Anything she said would sound like an excuse, and it would be.
So she has to be honest.
About her feelings.
"Oppa, actually..."
The long story begins.
The long confession begins.
The long atonement begins.
The long gratitude begins.
When it wraps with "So thank you so much, Oppa."
Oppa hugs Kwon Su-young tightly.
He was a bit surprised hearing her recount the past.
He thought she didn't remember, but she knew.
Pulling it up now feels off, but her words' sincerity is clear.
Kwon Su-an offers two sentences.
Equally sincere.
"Su-young-ah, keeping my promise to protect you is the best thing I've done in life. Thank you for thanking me—I'm grateful too."
The siblings hug and sob.
Rui guards beside, worried.
For a while.
But emotion overflowed; snot stains Oppa's short-sleeve.
Needs washing.
He'd even washed and dried it this morning.
"Sorry, Oppa... I got snot on your shirt."
Kwon Su-young apologizes in a stuffy voice.
"Yeah? Let's sneak it to the laundry. Mom might scold."
"Yeah, sneak. Sneak."
Mom doesn't notice; siblings quietly laugh after stuffing the tee into the washer.
That small laugh lingers long.
**
After that, from the next day, the Kwon siblings visit our shop often.
Rui and the Kwon siblings.
Sometimes Song Ji-a joins, making a set of four.
The sight's so cute, I snap a photo in front of the shop.
- Joo-hyun Oppa, sales booming thanks to us lately?
"Pretty good. Thanks. The best."
- Joo-hyun-ssi food's the best, that's why we come.
"I know. We got quite a few regulars."
"Worth it. All your food's delicious. And..."
"And?"
- Something beyond food, a magical vibe? Makes us keep coming back. Onui Restaurant.
"I think I know why."
I pick up Yoon-seul, standing blankly below.
She goes "Hm?" at the suddenness.
"Our Yoon-seul's the mood maker. Little sis is a lucky charm."
"Thanks to Yunseul-i?"
"Yeah, thanks to Yoon-seul."
Yoon-seul lifts her chin high; Kwon siblings and Ji-a laugh happily.
This warm vibe is exactly the shop I wanted.
For these warming customers, the Kwon siblings, I decide a bit of meddling.
Like with Uncle Kang and Ho-yeon Hyung.
Small, meaningful.
I pull out my smartphone and connect to O-nui.