Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: 9. With My Sister's Boyfriend
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"By the way, I heard you've been playing games with Ji-yoon every night lately?"
A few days later.
During lunch bento time with Lee Ha-yoon, which had somehow become part of my daily routine.
She dangled her chopsticks idly, munching on some broccoli as she tossed out the comment.
"Yeah."
"I thought you didn't like games. That's unexpected."
I didn't like them.
I still couldn't figure out why anyone would play a game where you just clicked on character heads.
But Ji-yoon liked it... so what choice did I have?
As long as it meant building more points of connection with her, I could put up with that minor annoyance.
Well, lately it had gotten a bit more bearable anyway, watching that guy CZ freak out every time.
He was so obvious about butting into our chats under the pretense of "briefings."
Was he that desperate for Ji-yoon's attention just because of her voice?
If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to find a real girl instead of one in a game?
Anyway, thanks to him, I was hitting first place once a day, so maybe I should send a gift or something.
Like, your favorite Ji-yoon voice.
Or maybe overlap it with my voice.
...Would he hate that?
Who knows.
Filter it out yourself and jerk off to it all day for all I care.
"It was just occasional at first, but Ji-yoon keeps calling me to play every day."
"Sigh... She really needs to cut back on gaming... Oh, right. You two have been dropping formal speech lately?"
"She said since we'll see each other at the academy soon anyway, we might as well."
"Yesterday, I heard her say 'Woo-jin-ah' from behind the bathroom door when she was heading in. I thought I misheard at first."
She's not the type to do that.
Lee Ha-yoon muttered to herself, popping cherry tomatoes into her mouth like a squirrel.
I hadn't planned on hiding it anyway, so I wasn't flustered.
Using casual speech with someone the same age wasn't suspicious or anything.
It just made me realize Ji-yoon hadn't even shared that "trivial" bit with her sister.
"She still seems awkward about it. She keeps slipping back into formal speech."
"Still, it's kinda surprising. I've never heard her call a guy's name before."
So even "trivial" stories were off-limits for Ji-yoon.
Would she ever share something "important" with her sister?
I let myself indulge in that pleasant imagining for a moment, taking a swig from my water bottle.
"Here, ahh~"
The crispy aroma of croquette right at my lips snapped me back to reality.
"I can feed myself."
"That's not the point."
"Then what is?"
"Training."
"Training?"
"Yeah."
"......"
"Come on. Ahh~"
Lee Ha-yoon just kept smiling brightly, pressing the croquette firmly against my lips.
I knew asking what kind of training would just get me a rambling excuse.
The reason was obvious anyway.
She kept losing control in bed,
so she wanted to take charge and act like the big sister for once.
She should just give up and let herself fall apart properly.
"Good boy. Eat up."
I gazed steadily at Lee Ha-yoon, then obediently lowered my head and crunched into the crispy croquette without a word. She cautiously stroked my hair in response.
The height difference made it look a bit silly.
Stretching her arm out like that to pet me... was less natural than...
Like this.
"...Hey, stop...!"
"You're doing it to me too, sis. Can't I do it to you?"
Petting me lightly from above felt way more natural.
I swallowed the croquette with a gulp and smirked. Her brows furrowed.
"I'm the big sister! You're, uh..."
"What? I'm the teacher and you're the student? Mixing that up?"
"Ugh..."
"Embarrassed to be petted by your little brother?"
"Wouldn't you be embarrassed if it was you?!"
"Dunno. Never been with someone younger."
"...You've only been with older sisters, huh? Pervert..."
"Not like that... Anyway, you like it when I do this during sex, so why complain?"
"Wh-what?!"
"No?"
"......"
"No?"
I teased, and her jade-green eyes—identical to Ji-yoon's—started fluttering wildly.
Should I spend the next 20 minutes having fun with her like this?
"No! I mean no! It's not like that at all...!"
"Ugh..."
Her chopsticks poked at my chest, over and over.
Not just once or twice—poke, poke, poke, poke, poke. Relentlessly.
...It actually hurt more than I expected.
"I'm compromising for you too, you know?! I'm not really into that stuff, but I thought you liked it...!"
"Ah. Got it."
"Yesterday, when you made me brace against the wall and pounded me from behind until my legs gave out... The day before, on the new health room bed, when you lifted my hips into that embarrassing position for sex... When you ordered me to move my own hips and I buried my face in the pillow while taking you all the way down... Even when you kept calling my name casually like a brat... I didn't get mad because I thought you liked that stuff...!"
"Yeah."
"I prefer being treated like the mature big sister, not some little brother toy..."
"Sis."
"...?"
"Lunch break's almost over. Wanna lock the door?"
"......"
"Ah, I'll clean up the bento. Just lock the door. No one else can interrupt."
"......"
"...Don't wanna?"
"......"
......
......
......
......
......
......
-click
A few hours before the health room echoed with creaking, creaking, and all sorts of noisy sounds.
Cafe opening time.
"Sales have been up a bit lately, right? Subtly?"
"...Huh. Now that you mention it, yeah, they have."
Lee Ji-yoon paused her stockroom organizing to listen to the cafe owner's happy dilemma.
"Why? We didn't change the interior, no new part-timers... Customers aren't coming for my face, that's for sure..."
"Hmm..."
Definitely, there had been more people than usual lately.
Not based on stats, just a gut feeling.
Not just lingering customers, but takeout orders had been steadily increasing for days.
Regulars I'd only see in the morning were popping in during lunch too.
What was it?
YouTube? A drama?
Was coffee trending somewhere?
Or were jobs so tough people needed massive caffeine hits to survive?
"Especially opening and mid-morning sales are up. Must be because you're so pretty, Ji-yoon."
"No way. It's because you're pretty, boss."
Embarrassed, she blurted out her customer-service line and quickly pulled her mask up higher.
Me, pretty?
No chance.
She'd started part-time around winter break of her senior year—about two months now—and sales picking up because of her? Absurd.
As she counted the remaining milk cartons,
the boss's fingertip poked her cheek.
"Don't say stuff like that casually. Especially pretty girls need to watch their words."
"Huh?"
"Ugly people trash-talking each other is one thing, but otherwise it kills self-esteem. Like, 'Is this bitch mocking me?'"
"...N-no, that's not what I meant... Boss, you really are pretty..."
"Stop. I'm not."
"...Okay."
"Anyway, even if it was, I'm only here at opening?"
"Still, you're here till lunch."
"Pfft, no one's coming to see a 30-something auntie's face. So probably... Ah, your expressions have gotten more varied lately."
"My expressions?"
Lee Ji-yoon tilted her head.
"Yeah. You always took orders with that constipated look. I let it slide 'cause you're pretty."
"......"
"What? Didn't know? The blank face thing?"
"...No, I knew that since forever..."
"But lately you've been smiling a bit. Didn't notice?"
"...No."
Smiling?
I didn't remember that.
Just like always...
......
Uh, um.
Maybe not for sure, but
thinking about gaming with Woo-jin in the evening,
I might've
grinned a little...
"Hmmm..."
"...?"
The boss suddenly smirked slyly.
"Boyfriend?"
"No."
Lee Ji-yoon immediately denied it and stiffened her expression.
If anything, a guy friend.
Precisely, her sister's boyfriend.
Guy friend or sister's boyfriend,
she couldn't afford to miss a few letters by accident.
...That would make it really bad.
"Then why the brighter face all of a sudden?"
"......"
"From experience, it's always a guy."
"......"
The boss pierced her unexpectedly with that offhand remark.
She actually suspected the reason, so she stayed quiet.
"Win the lottery or something?"
"N-no way."
She shot a playful glare at the boss and moved to prep for opening.
So... low on milk and green tea.
Clear the box trash.
Check expiration dates...
And...
And...
"......"
Did I really smile?
While thinking of Seo Woo-jin?
Sister's boyfriend... while thinking of him?
Grinning like an idiot at work?
For real?
"......"
...F-fine. If I smiled, I smiled. So what?
He's her sister's boyfriend,
but he's my friend too.
At the same time, my promising student.
It's fine to smile about gaming with a friend.
Fine to smile seeing Seo Woo-jin's skills improve bit by bit.
What's weird about smiling at a friend's improving game skills?
It's normal, right?
It's only weird because I'm framing it as "sister's boyfriend."
I smiled because gaming with "sis's boyfriend" felt good.
No.
I smiled because gaming with "my friend" felt good.
End of story.
Don't twist it weirdly. This is right.
Why'd the boss even bring up boyfriends...
He's just a new friend...
Having wrapped up her internal debate, Lee Ji-yoon leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
Damn... Got mad over nothing, now my head hurts...
"......Haa..."
I should ask Seo Woo-jin.
If tonight works.
...Ah.
To sis...
......
Whatever.
That'd just make it seem like I'm overthinking.