Revelation
Revelation
None of us spoke.
Honestly, anyone would have reacted that way after hearing something this insane.
"Are you being serious right now?"
In the end, I was the one who broke the silence.
Victoria answered with a composed expression, as if I'd asked something completely obvious.
"Is there a problem?"
"It's nothing but problems. Let me just ask one thing first. Do you actually like me?"
"Yes, I do like you?"
An answer so breezy it was almost refreshing.
The first one to jump in was Aria.
"No, Victoria! You've only known my brother for three days?!"
"I'm aware without you telling me. But is the length of acquaintance really so important when it comes to becoming lovers?"
"It's not always the deciding factor, sure, but there's still an order to these things!"
While Aria and Victoria bickered back and forth, I turned Victoria's words over in my head.
Something felt off.
The best way to describe it was like reading through the clauses of a scam contract.
I didn't have any solid proof yet, so I decided to probe a little.
"What do you mean when you say you like me?"
"Exactly what I said. It means I have a favorable impression of you."
"Fine. Let me rephrase the question. Do you love me?"
Victoria's expression didn't change.
She just didn't answer right away.
I was starting to get a rough sense of Victoria's personality.
She fundamentally preferred fair play and honesty, so she tried not to tell outright lies if she could help it.
Instead, her way of speaking seemed built on the idea that anything short of an outright lie was fair game.
I'd seen it when she talked with Aria before, too. She had a subtle way with words—the kind that was dangerously easy to take at face value and be misled by.
"Is love really a requirement for becoming lovers? I've heard that these days, plenty of couples start with a casual relationship first and let love grow if they're compatible."
"You're not wrong. But with that mindset, you'll never win me over."
"Why not?"
"Because I've seen it countless times. Women who confess to me because they want a shiny trophy, not because they love me."
Not every woman had been like that.
I was aware that my own views on romance were old-fashioned.
Even so, I wanted to be careful about who I dated—not just in terms of character or integrity, but whether we could genuinely give each other love.
That was the one thing I couldn't compromise on.
Because if I did, I might end up walking the same path as my father.
"But I am different from women like that."
"In what way? Let me say this upfront — telling me you're pretty or rich doesn't mean anything."
If I were the kind of man who could be swayed by conditions as shallow as those, I'd already have had a wedding ceremony with Aria back in Sweden.
But what Victoria said next was, in fact, different from other women.
"Because I would never be the first to betray the man who becomes my husband. Isn't marriage that kind of vow?"
Well, she was a woman who kept her promises, if nothing else.
Victoria's words carried credibility.
She might not love me, but she wouldn't betray me—that was such a Victoria thing to say.
"Still no."
"May I ask why?"
"It's simple. There's no reason for me to choose you over Aria. By my standards, you don't surpass her in any way."
Put another way, if she seriously wanted to win me over, she'd have to beat Aria first to even have a chance.
A woman who was beautiful, wealthy, capable, loved only me, and stood at the top in every one of those categories.
"Hmm, isn't my figure better?"
Victoria lifted her chest with both hands.
Victoria wasn't wearing a glamorous dress like last time, just ordinary clothes, but even that couldn't hide the weight of her chest.
Aria glared at Victoria at that gesture.
Honestly, I saw no need to compare them, but this wasn't a private conversation between the two of us, and talking about a woman's chest size in a situation like this felt inappropriate.
So instead, I sided with Aria in a different way.
"That's not what matters in a relationship."
"Oh my, isn't it important to men? Personally, I find it uncomfortable since I feel eyes on me wherever I go."
"You should drop the prejudice that all men are like that."
That was what I said, but honestly, I wasn't in any position to talk.
When Victoria gave that sincere apology last time, my eyes had definitely drifted there.
But Victoria, surprisingly, nodded in easy acceptance.
"You're right. My thinking was narrow-minded."
"Right, then—"
"Then let's table this discussion until I've fallen in love with you, Si-hyeon. I have no intention of giving up as things stand, and my favorable impression of you is sincere."
Should I have counted it as a win that the persuasion was at least half successful?
While I was thinking that, Seo-yeon, who had been silently watching us with a cold expression, spoke up.
"You said 'husband' earlier. Don't tell me you're already thinking about marriage?"
"Of course. To me, dating and marriage aren't all that different to begin with."
"What does that mean?"
"I have the freedom to choose my husband, but there is no freedom to break up. Not for me — for the man who becomes my husband."
I had a rough idea what she meant.
From what I'd heard, she'd grown up quite loved by her parents and older brother.
They could accept their daughter, or younger sister, bringing home a man she loved.
But that man would have to shoulder a corresponding amount of responsibility.
If he came from a family of similar standing, the marriage could expand the business. Even if he came from a lower-status family, if their daughter or sister loved him, they could always parachute him into an executive position.
But that also meant taking on just as much baggage. A breakup or divorce would no longer be a matter between only the two people involved.
For some people, that alone might have been burden enough. But from where I stood, I envied it.
If my parents had had that kind of freedom, maybe they wouldn't have ended up divorced.
Seo-yeon seemed to feel similarly, because she turned her gaze away and muttered.
"I'm envious. That you have the freedom to choose your spouse."
"Is Hancheon Group strict?"
"Yes. At least while the Chairman is alive."
Seo-yeon didn't say anything more.
An uncomfortable silence hung over us for a while.
The only sound in the café was people sipping their drinks through straws.
Since some of what we'd discussed wasn't exactly meant for public ears, I glanced around the café just in case.
Fortunately for us — and unfortunately for the old owner — the café was empty. The few people who'd been there had left as lunchtime passed, and now it was just us.
I wasn't too worried even if the old owner overheard anything.
Even though we were regulars, he never acted familiar with us; we kept a strict customer-and-service-provider distance.
I didn't know how women felt about it, but for men, this was perfect. Once an employee started acting familiar with you, it made you not want to go back.
As I sat there enduring the silence with those thoughts, Seo-yeon was the one who finally spoke first.
"This time, I have something to ask you, big brother."
"What."
"Do you like Aria?"
A direct question.
Just like the one I'd asked Victoria.
And I, too, gave an ambiguous answer even though I knew exactly what Seo-yeon was getting at.
"I do. She's my precious little sister, after all."
"Right. Then let me rephrase. Do you like Aria as a woman?"
"...Yeah. At least far more than any other woman."
"Brother..."
Aria looked at me.
At the same time, Seo-yeon's hands began to tremble.
"I had a feeling last time too. You two seemed too close to be just siblings. But still, but still..."
Seo-yeon must have suspected it even back then.
I'd already braced myself for this to happen.
"But still, it's strange. You're siblings. Not even step-siblings—half-siblings."
"I know."
"Even if Aria liking you is one thing, you can't feel the same way."
"Even so, I'm not going to push Aria away over that. I made a promise to her."
Aria had come up with her own answers about public opinion and ethical concerns.
And she'd asked me not to reject her using those as excuses. I'd steeled my resolve in response to that side of her, too.
"Ha, haha... Really? I see. So you can endure all that for Aria's sake."
Seo-yeon let out a hollow laugh.
Her hollow gaze wasn't on me—it was fixed on Aria.
"If you care about your little sister that much, then why did you turn your back on me so easily? What makes me different from Aria?"
"Turn my back on you? What are you—"
"It's true, isn't it? At least that part was your decision! You stayed with Dad instead of me and Mom, even though we hadn't done anything wrong!"
She wasn't wrong.
Staying behind back then had definitely been my choice.
Even so, someone had to stay.
Even if all the fault lay with my father, he'd been pushed to his limit at the time.
I couldn't turn away from him.
Because he was still my father.
Because I was afraid of what choice my father might make if I disappeared too and he had no one left to lean on.
Even now, I didn't regret the choice I'd made back then. My father had pulled himself together and was living his life responsibly.
My mother had respected my choice, too.
No, rather, she'd been the one to ask me.
She said she didn't resent my father.
She said she was sorry to me, but asked me to stay by his side.
But to Seo-yeon, had it looked like I'd abandoned her?
I finally understood.
Why Seo-yeon had hated me.
"If only you, if only you had been there, I could have endured it. No matter how hard and painful it was, if only you'd been by my side."
"...I'm sorry."
I had no intention of using my father as an excuse, or my mother's request as an excuse.
Because this was the decision I'd made.
If Seo-yeon hated me, then that hatred was entirely mine to bear.
"I thought about you every day. I hated that you weren't by my side, but I still wished you'd come see me. But you vanished from in front of me!"
Tears were streaming down Seo-yeon's face.
Her voice was thick with sobs.
"I know. I know you didn't do anything wrong. I know I'm the ugly one. But still, but still, I wanted you by my side."
I didn't know what kind of pain Seo-yeon had gone through.
So I couldn't easily open my mouth.
By all rights, I should have been the one to bear Seo-yeon's responsibilities. I had no right to speak lightly about what she had endured.
If only I had been the sole target of that hatred.
"Aria, I can say it honestly now. I hate you."
"Seo-yeon..."
Even Aria, who until then had never backed down from anyone in an argument, could not readily respond this time.
That made sense.
From Seo-yeon's perspective, Aria was the very person who had taken everything Seo-yeon believed should have been hers.
"You asked me last time if I was jealous. Yes. I was. I hated you more than anyone—you, his half-sister, who took the place that should have been mine as his full sister. I was so jealous I could have gone mad. And on top of that, you're the daughter of the two people who destroyed our family."
"Han Seo-yeon. There are things you can say and things you can't."
I understood how Seo-yeon felt.
If that hatred were directed only at me, I could take as much of it as she needed to give.
But this wasn't that.
At the very least, I wasn't going to let Seo-yeon call Linnea one of the people responsible for destroying our family right in front of Aria.
"Even now, you take that woman's side. Not mine."
"That's not what this is about!"
My voice rose before I could stop it.
Seo-yeon flinched at my shout, but then wiped her tears with her sleeve and spoke.
"I know. I'm the ugly one. But I'm the only one with the right to say this. The only one!"
Seo-yeon's words were close to a scream.
Just as I was about to say something, Aria held up a hand to stop me.
"You're right. Seo-yeon has the right to say those things."
Aria answered calmly.
She had every reason to be angry at the insult that dragged Linnea into it, yet she was not just composed but utterly unruffled.
"Let me ask you one thing. It's the same question my brother and Victoria received. Seo-yeon, do you love my brother?"
Aria asked the question as if leaving no room for wordplay — she asked directly about love.
Seo-yeon shook her head with a confused expression.
"No. I just... wanted my brother by my side..."
"That could be true. No, at first, it probably was. But can you swear it's still the same now?"
"I..."
Seo-yeon couldn't finish her sentence.
Aria didn't wait.
"You said it earlier, didn't you? That it was strange for siblings to fall in love. You were really saying that to yourself, weren't you?"
"What do you know...!"
"Because if this were nothing more than jealousy toward the little sister who took your place beside my brother, there'd be no reason for it to explode only now."
Seo-yeon swallowed hard.
As if Aria had struck a nerve.
"No, I..."
"I know how you feel. You probably didn't see him as a man from the beginning. It was just love and resentment toward your brother, and you probably didn't even recognize it yourself until recently. Isn't that right?"
"No. I just wanted my brother to come back—"
"Is that so? Then I'm fine even if the two of you go back to being close siblings. The problem disappears once I become your sister-in-law."
Aria answered breezily.
Seo-yeon, understanding what those words meant, let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Ha, you're saying you'll marry your own brother?"
"Yes. In Sweden, marriage between half-siblings is legal with state government approval. I didn't just confess to my brother on a whim, you know. I thought it through thoroughly and confessed only after finding an answer that would make things as easy as possible for him."
"..."
Seo-yeon didn't answer.
Aria, as if driving the point home, asked Seo-yeon.
"So tell me honestly how you feel right now. Were you relieved that you and my brother could go back to being siblings? Or do you feel even greater jealousy toward me?"
If Seo-yeon felt even more jealous, it would be little different from admitting to herself that the feeling was love.
Because no country in the world recognizes marriage between full siblings. There was an enormous gap between a taboo that would never be accepted anywhere and something that, even if frowned upon, was legally recognized.
Seo-yeon rose unsteadily from her seat.
Then she looked at me.
"You're right. I'm jealous."
It was clearly an answer meant for Aria, but her gaze was fixed on me.