15. Blonde Siblings
15. Blonde Siblings
15. Blonde Siblings
After sending Yoon Seo-ah home, it was finally time for myself.
Thinking of playing a game, I stepped out the door to buy some snacks to eat at home.
As I went down the stairs, I heard a man and a woman talking on the first floor.
"Let's go buy ice cream."
"Oh, I don't want to."
"Then at least give me your oppa's card."
"You have your allowance, don't you?"
Familiar voices could be heard.
'Ah, they're back.'
It was clear that the blonde-tanned woman I had bumped into earlier had gone home and returned.
Judging by the voices, did she come with her oppa?
Suddenly, I felt something was off in my head.
'But why is the male voice calling her oppa?'
As that thought crossed my mind, I stopped walking. The siblings below looked up at me.
"Hello."
The blonde-tanned woman, holding a bag, greeted me, and the man next to her—
"Huh?"
"Oh!"
The boy I had bumped into on the street earlier that evening pointed at me, his eyes wide.
The blonde-tanned woman, unable to understand the situation, simply alternated her gaze between our two faces.
***
"It's humble, but please come in."
Before I knew it, I had ended up inside their house.
"It is humble, isn't it?"
When the blonde-tanned woman glared fiercely at the boy, he averted his gaze.
"Um... there..."
"Would you like a can of beer?"
"Uh... yes."
It was an unexpected invitation, but what could I do? Since we had made a promise last time, I decided to sit in the middle of the room for now.
"Hyeong."
"Hm?"
While I was watching the blonde-tanned woman prepare snacks in the kitchen, the boy sitting opposite me spoke.
"What's your relationship with my nuna?"
"Hmm..."
Friend? No... victim, perpetrator...? Maybe just an acquaintance.
"I think we're acquaintances."
"Is that so?"
"Do you perhaps like my nuna?"
Haha... As I laughed it off, the blonde-tanned woman came over and nudged the boy's leg with her foot.
"Hey, stop talking nonsense. I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine."
"I haven't prepared much, but please eat."
On the set table was a rather luxurious lineup for a home meal: beef brisket and bean sprout stir-fry, fish cake soup, snacks, and more.
"Ohh... that looks delicious, doesn't it?"
At that moment, the boy next to me opened a can of beer with a *chiik-* sound.
"Huh? If you drink already..."
*Beolkuk- beolkuk-*
"*Keuha-*"
The boy, who had been gulping down the refreshing drink, picked up a snack.
Seeing the boy act so familiar, I asked the blonde-tanned woman.
"Is it okay for him to drink? He's a minor."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
The siblings both stared at me, dumbfounded.
"Ah! No, he's 20 years old."
*Peuhut*, the woman burst out laughing.
The boy glared at me disapprovingly, as if it was a misunderstanding he often received.
"Really??? I naturally thought he was a high school student..."
"I'm 20, hyeong."
"I'm 20 too."
"Really????"
This time, the siblings were surprised to hear my age.
"Wow... you don't look like it at all."
"That's a compliment, right?"
"Of course."
The nuna kept chuckling.
I politely asked the nuna, pointing my fingertips towards her.
"And your age, perhaps...?"
"I'm 20 too, I'm his twin."
"Wow, you're all the same age?"
"Since it's come to this, let's just speak informally."
"Alright."
I opened a can with a *chiik-* sound and extended the beer can, clinking it with everyone else's.
"*Jjan*!"
The sharp carbonation flowing down my throat gave me a pleasant, refreshing sensation.
"Haa... now that I think about it, we don't even know each other's names yet."
As I said that, looking at the two of them, the nuna started speaking first.
"I'm Lee Hye-yeon."
"I'm Lee Hyeon-seong."
I nodded, as if hearing their names for the first time, and then spoke my own.
"I'm Park Ga-ram."
"Okay, Ga-ram-a."
She grinned and extended her glass again, and we clinked glasses once more.
And so, the conversation continued, flowing from school life, hobbies, games, movies, webtoons, anime, manga, and web novels.
Contrary to her appearance, she was quite an otaku.
Her interpretation of the work overlapped considerably with mine, and the conversation grew deeper.
Perhaps because it was an otaku conversation after a long time, it was genuinely fun.
It was a different feeling from Joo A-ra, somehow.
"Ah, so really, when I was climbing the tower..."
Lee Hye-yeon, who had been talking, looked to the side.
Wondering what it was, I looked too and saw Lee Hyeon-seong nodding off, seemingly tired.
I stood up from my seat, slipped both hands under his armpits, and lifted him straight up.
He blinked, slightly woken from his sleep, and turned his head to look at me.
"You're awake? I was just about to move you to bed."
Since he had a rather slender build, I was practically holding his torso from chest to back with my hands.
His face instantly flushed bright red, and he began to struggle.
"Put me... put me down!"
"Uh... uh-huh."
When I put him down, he covered his body and looked at me with a mortified expression.
'What's wrong with him?'
After that, he went into his room, closed the door, and it became quiet.
"Don't mind him, he's always like that."
Lee Hye-yeon waved her hand as if to say it was fine.
"I just met him today, did I get too close?"
"No, no, he's always like that. Seriously, don't worry about it."
Perhaps my worried expression was funny, as Lee Hye-yeon let out a *peuhuhu* giggle.
"Want more snacks?"
"What are you making?"
"Just gim."
Lee Hye-yeon pulled out some Yangban Gim from below.
A dumbfounded chuckle escaped me. And Lee Hye-yeon, looking at me as if amused.
Anyone would think we were childhood best friends.
"Ah, I really like you."
"Even if you like me, I can't accept a confession."
"It's not like that."
Lee Hye-yeon, who had gulped down her beer *beolkuk beolkuk*, gazed thoughtfully at the spot where Lee Hyeon-seong had been sitting.
"Hyeon-seong, he's been having a pretty hard time lately."
"Is something wrong?"
"It's just... a situation I can't talk about. He hasn't been smiling much lately, but he seemed a bit happy today."
The nuna's expression as she looked at her younger sibling.
It held the warm affection of family.
"But you said you're twins, and you're the nuna?"
"Even if it's just a few seconds earlier, a nuna is a nuna."
"My inner Confucian spirit won't forgive that."
I spoke to Lee Hye-yeon, who was *silsil* grinning.
"It's strange, talking like this, it feels like we've known each other for ages."
"What, you too? I was feeling the same way."
"What is it? Are we actually childhood friends?"
Seeing Lee Hye-yeon *heuhu* laugh, I also *kideuk kideuk* giggled.
Of course, we couldn't be childhood friends.
Because I had come to this Reversed World alone.
Whenever I thought about things like this, I felt a sense of loneliness.
Perhaps my feelings showed on my face, as Lee Hye-yeon looked at me worriedly.
"What about you? Is something wrong?"
"I also have a situation I can't talk about."
"You're not just copying me, are you?"
"I really do have a situation I can't talk about."
"*Heueung*..."
Lee Hye-yeon nodded slightly and averted her gaze.
"What if... you could go to another world?"
She slowly began to speak.
'I'm already in another world.'
Well, it's not a typical fantasy otherworld, but a Reversed World.
"Another world, huh..."
I exhaled a deep sigh, letting out the rising alcohol fumes.
"How do you go? Do you get hit by a truck?"
"Exactly, the otherworld truck is the standard, isn't it?"
"That would... hurt quite a lot. I'd rather not go."
Memories of the first day resurfaced. The feeling of my body floating through the air and then sprawling on the ground.
The tingling sensation, like needing to urinate, and the terrible pain that belatedly rushed in, were sensations I never wanted to feel again.
"Are you worried about the pain?"
"It would fucking hurt, seriously."
"You're focused on a strange point."
*Peuhu*, Lee Hye-yeon chuckled.
"What about you?"
"Me?"
I looked at the faintly glowing full moon through the small window on the right.
"I might want to go back."
"Go back where? To another world?"
I countered her with a bewildered expression.
"Yes, to another world. To go on a rampage and become king."
"You really shouldn't go to another world. You'd become a tyrant."
"*Puhat*. I had a friend who said the exact same thing as you."
Perhaps seeing her joyful expression, I felt happy too.
"Who was that?"
"His name is Kim Myeong-won, a friend I've been close with since childhood."
*Deolkuk-*
My heart sank instantly, and I doubted my ears.
"What did you just say...?"
"Huh? Kim Myeong-won. I can't meet him right now due to circumstances, but that *saekki* is a fucking funny *saekki*..."
My original name isn't that common. Though there's no guarantee there aren't others with the same name.
Cold sweat streamed down my cheeks.
I didn't know what my expression looked like, but Lee Hye-yeon was staring at me worriedly.
"Why are you suddenly like this?"
Suddenly, a hypothesis flashed through my mind.
It made no sense. It couldn't be. Even as I kept denying it, one possibility slowly crept up.
"Is that Kim Myeong-won the Kim Myeong-won who got into Nopi University this time?"
"Uh... yes, that's right... but you couldn't possibly know him..."
"What about Lee Yu-hyeon? Do you know Kim Seo-jun and Park Do-yoon too?"
"Huh? How do you know those names...?"
Her mouth began to gape open, as she stared blankly at me, blinking her eyes.
She continued to speak.
"Do you know about the mischief we did in 8th grade?"
"Yeah. Lee Yu-hyeon, Kim Seo-jun, and I went up the mountain, played around, and almost burned the whole mountain down."
Her eyes began to tremble slightly.
"Th-then... what about what happened on Jeju Island during our 11th-grade school trip...?"
"I know. We secretly brought alcohol, and Park Do-yoon got wasted and went out, so we got caught by the ssaem."
"Then... this is the very last one..."
I nodded.
"In 3rd grade... confessing to the same girl and then fighting... do you remember...?"
"Choi Yu-ri... right?"
The ones who confessed to Choi Yu-ri at the same time were Lee Yu-hyeon and I. Bingo, you're Lee Yu-hyeon.
Lee Hye-yeon—no, Lee Yu-hyeon—covered her wide-open mouth with her hand, as if unable to believe it.
"Yu-hyeon-a, it's been a long time."
I slowly extended my hand to her, who was too flustered to do anything.