Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: A Sister's Tears
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I think I've felt something like this before. It was like the genre was shifting. As if a peaceful rom-com slice-of-life had suddenly flipped into a thriller...
"......"
The gulp as I swallowed felt thankfully drowned out by the downpour raging outside.
"Hoo."
Once the mood had chilled completely, Han Aebom didn't try to lighten it with more drinks or anything. She just continued her story in a calm voice, stuffing down every emotion.
"Hyunwoo."
"Yes!"
"What image comes to mind when you think of a 'genius'?"
"A genius?"
"Yes."
Genius, genius, genius...
I repeated the word in my head a few times and voiced the first image that popped up.
"Someone who feels different from ordinary people, right? The kind I could never aspire to. They do anything you ask with total confidence. And with skills like that, they might come off as a bit arrogant sometimes."
To be honest, the first person who came to mind when I heard 'genius' was Han Aebom herself.
Wasn't she the real genius? Not just her performance at the bowling alley today, but if anyone set the bar for 'perfect' in people, she'd be the closest. I'd thought something like that before, too.
"I... used to think that way once. But it wasn't true."
"...?"
"People have different types, sure. But the genius I knew actually seemed worse than average on the outside. Never gave off an arrogant vibe. The only thing that fit was producing results beyond imagination, no matter what you gave them."
Hearing Han Aebom speak in such a sad voice...
Probably...
"My brother... was quite the genius. Maybe too smart, so he hid himself. He was so passive it even made his little sister think he was pathetic."
If he hid himself that much... yeah, he must've been a genius. Ordinary people couldn't pull that off.
"He had a weak heart, too. His only hobby and solace was writing novels alone at home."
"......"
"Hyunwoo."
"Yes..."
"What do you think happens to a genius born into a family like that?"
No idea. Never experienced it. But... they'd probably like it?
A dragon rising from a slum.
If he succeeded big, the family would be proud, and they'd get some scraps too.
"They'd call him amazing, right?"
"Some do."
But some don't, from the sound of it.
"He got all the jealousy, but the funny thing is they started expecting even more... Ha!"
Han Aebom swept a hand over her face, flashing a bitter smile. The saddest, most pained smile in the world.
"Human greed has no end. The funny part? Once they knew he was a genius, they started demanding from him nonstop! The standards for him became the harshest in the world. Their looks, his personality... sometimes even breathing was too much."
Listening to her, my own breath caught for no reason. Her words alone made military life sound like a joke.
'Come to think of it, I saw something like that when I was a kid...'
Top of the school, first or second place?
Ah, second.
In my second year of middle school, there was this kid from another class always in the English library with me during lunch. Smart, nice guy.
One day, he showed me his thigh after rolling up his pants—beaten by his mom for coming second school-wide. The image was still vivid, shocking. Both thighs were purple with deep bruises.
When I freaked out and said something, what did he say?
'It's okay. I won't get hit if I'm first. My fault.'
Something like that.
Remembering that made me think geniuses might not be as tough as I imagined.
In a way, the real idiots were... clueless, so they could bulldoze through.
"For my brother, struggling like that... I must've been his only breather."
Her voice went flat again. But why?
That flat tone felt scarier than all her shaky ones before.
"So they told me not to act spoiled and......"
Rumble. Lightning flashed again.
Her voice cut out for a moment.
"......take responsibility for it. My brother..."
"Aebom!"
[Quest: Investigate the purposes and circumstances of cohabitation with people living in the studio apartment - Partially cleared.]
[2/3]
[Reward: 1,000,000 won deposited to main account. Stamina +1, Virility +1, Strength +1 granted. You can now exude a plausible intimidating presence.]
The quest completion I'd been waiting for appeared, but it didn't feel good at all. In that brief moment, Han Aebom's face had gone deathly pale.
She was forcing herself to stay composed when she should be crying her eyes out. Like self-punishment.
"Guess I need to add another reason for writing novels. Maybe to purge his guilt. Pretty selfish, huh. Heh."
"......"
"......"
An uncomfortable silence flowed. Normally, I'd break it first.
Not this time.
"Hoo! I didn't plan to say this much. Alcohol must blur judgment. Sorry. I made the mood all gloomy for no reason......"
"It's fine."
Han Aebom flinched.
"It's fine. I brought up the depressing stuff first, made this mood. You even gave me kind words."
"I didn't really......"
"Did you cry?"
"What do you......"
Han Aebom kept trailing off, unable to finish cleanly. Her breathing was ragged. She kept biting her lip.
"You went through the world's saddest thing. Did you at least cry?"
I smacked my lips and gave a careful smile.
"Why do I feel like even then, you didn't cry? That must've made it sadder. If you'd just cried......"
"Me!!"
Clatter. Han Aebom shot up so hard she knocked her chair over.
I watched her quietly.
"Me... how dare I cry. On what face! Look, Hyunwoo."
"......"
"Just because I spilled my guts! Because we slept together! Doesn't mean you can talk like you get it. Do you know that feeling?"
I didn't want to see this new side of Han Aebom like this.
But watching her heaving shoulders, I spoke carefully.
"No."
"......"
"I don't. How could I? Never been through it. But I just heard your story."
"......"
"You listened to mine, empathized, gave advice, right? Might sound ridiculous coming from a loser like me at life's peak. But the time I've spent crushing down the pain, the depression... it's way longer than yours."
In that damn studio apartment that felt huge alone.
From college, realizing my life was twisting, I'd sobbed under the covers countless times.
Please, no tomorrow morning. World end tomorrow. Meteor hit me.
If I fell asleep like this, never wake up.
Please... prayed to God who knows how many times.
Yet 'tomorrow', 'tomorrow morning' always came without fail...
Despair every time. Cursed innocent God, the world.
"Hearing this from a pathetic loser like me must be absurd. Even I'm shocked saying it."
"......"
"But weirdly, after shedding some tears in that mess... it got a bit lighter. If I'd pretended to be strong instead... I wouldn't have lasted."
Her head drooped with a thud, and I said,
"So. Cry. Just do it."
"......"
"I'm not telling Oh Hana about today. It'll stay secret......"
Plip, plip. Tears fell on the table.
"Hic, eu-hic......"
Han Aebom's shoulders shook a few times, then she lifted her head slightly, voice trembling as she spoke to me.
"......Can I borrow your shoulder? Just a little."
"Of course."
Han Aebom buried into me and burst into sobs. While she wept loudly amid the rain for a long while,
I just quietly patted her back and stared at the ceiling.
Even people who seem utterly reliable, with no hardships in life... everyone has their own baggage.
With her sorrowful cries and flashes of Han Aebom I'd watched all day, that thought hit me.
Life's no joke.
We're all just scraping by somehow.
The rain stopped.
Right when Han Aebom's sobs cut off like a lie, so did the rain. At this point, was the quest giver making it rain on purpose? Seemed reasonable suspicion. Hmm.
"Aebom?"
"......"
"Aebom, you can let go now!"
Her sobs had stopped, no more shaking, but she wouldn't detach from my shoulder. Did she glue herself?
"...Not now. Can't let go."
"We've had sex, seen each other naked—what's embarrassing?"
"This is more embarrassing than sex or nudity. No."
Guess Han Aebom's a girl after all. Well, it'd be weirder if this beauty wasn't.
Damn. The gap from her usual self is cute as hell.
"Jeez."
Had to keep talking like that.
After hearing her story today, all her past behaviors clicked.
"Reading books a lot?"
"For novel references."
"So happy about the study cafe job?"
"Plenty of time to read and plot stories."
"Typing at night."
"Novel writing."
And depressed at computer? Rejected from contests.
"Picked an unpopular movie today on purpose..."
"'Unpopular works have their reasons.' Only comment I ever got."
Han Aebom whispered uncertainly.
"Read plenty, wrote hard. But results weren't what I expected. Worst case."
"......"
"First time wondering if effort even works. Been on edge lately. Still scared now. For my brother, for me. Revenge on family. Gotta do it, but what if I can't."
Finally seemed her 24-year-old self.
Han Aebom always felt way more adult than Yoon Sua. Today, it really hit she was early twenties.
"Isn't life like that? Fails and wins. No one succeeds every time."
"I did."
Brat.
I debated spanking her butt, held back, and said,
"Then I'll guarantee it this time."
"......"
"You'll succeed. I'll help as much as I can. Let's do it together. You with novels! Me with a job! Big company if possible!"
Han Aebom hugged me tight and said,
"Feels like what my brother would've wanted."
"......"
"Because it really energizes me."
My back got damp again, then she whispered in my ear.
"Can I... kiss you?"