247. Are You Really Going to Embarrass Me?
247. Are You Really Going to Embarrass Me?
***
Silence. Stillness. Quiet.
If you had to describe what filled the space, those words would do, but Serin was setting all that aside and realizing one crucial fact.
Seoyun and Sua were not anything like close.
She'd assumed that since they already seemed to know each other, introducing them would be easy, but in reality things had only gotten more tangled.
That was only natural, since the two of them had little interest in each other.
'Why is this so awkward?'
The conversation itself seemed to flow smoothly, but inside it, I felt like a stepping stone.
A stepping stone that existed solely to connect two opposite ends.
Unless I brought up a topic first, there was, almost miraculously, no conversation between the two of them at all.
It genuinely felt like a bridge with its middle section missing, enough to make it hard to breathe.
......
In that strange atmosphere, Sua, who had been drinking water, glanced over at Seoyun.
"..."
Sua's gaze held none of the goodwill or warmth she showed when looking at Serin.
It was pure indifference.
A cold look that simply observed the other person objectively.
"..."
And receiving that indifferent gaze, Seoyun had no particular intention of speaking to her either.
Because Seoyun, aware of Sua's gaze, was feeling something anew.
'Her appearance has changed a lot, but that distinctive air about her is the same.'
Back in school, other people had looked at Sua and said they couldn't figure her out, but Seoyun had never been able to shake an inexplicable sense of unease around her.
Because Sua's unfathomable, indifferent eyes—the ones that had made her keep her distance on purpose—were still the same.
It was like facing someone wearing a mask that never showed their true feelings.
Even now, with their eyes meeting like this, she couldn't tell whether that was Sua's real self or just an act on the surface.
Someone whose depths couldn't be read was, by Seoyun's values, someone she couldn't get close to.
So an even bigger question arose.
'With Serin's personality, could she really have felt nothing at all from Sua?'
Her sister's instincts were as sharp as her own, so Seoyun couldn't understand how Serin could be close with someone like Sua, of all people.
......
And while the two of them were exchanging glances, ironically, the person feeling the most awkward was someone else entirely.
"..."
Serin watched the two of them and swallowed a sigh inwardly.
'Are they on bad terms?'
Neither of them showed it outwardly, but there was something about the way they exchanged looks that made it hard to speak up.
And so, while the three of them each harbored completely different thoughts.
It was, of course, Serin who spoke up first to clear the air.
"It's dinner time now. Shouldn't you two get something to eat first?"
Opening her mouth cautiously, she chose the easiest possible topic.
That since it was dinner time, they should sort out dinner.
At Serin's words, the two women who had been exchanging glances moved their lips warmly, as if nothing had happened.
"Now that you mention it, you're right. Seoyun, you haven't eaten dinner yet, right?"
"Yeah. Not yet... You said you just had porridge, so then we just need to sort out dinner for ourselves."
"Then for dinner, should we order delivery or something?"
When Sua, who had no cooking skills to speak of, naturally brought up delivery food, Seoyun let out a small laugh and shook her head.
"No delivery. I'll put together something simple for dinner. It won't take long."
The moment Seoyun rose from her seat, Sua got up as well, following her.
"Want me to help a little?"
"Sua, you... do you know how to prep ingredients?"
When Seoyun asked, as if mildly curious, Sua awkwardly shook her head.
Faced with Seoyun talking like an expert, Sua couldn't bring herself to claim she knew how.
"Then never mind. Just keep Serin company in the living room so she isn't bored. I'll handle dinner."
"Got it. Then I'll leave it to you."
"Yeah."
Watching Sua return to her seat after that brief exchange, Serin thought the situation was truly peculiar.
'Looking at this, they seem to get along fine.'
Because on the surface, the two of them really did seem perfectly normal.
Just now, their conversation had flowed so smoothly that you could even say they got along well.
'But why do they only talk like this when I bring something up?'
Because in that process, it was almost mandatory—I had to speak first for the two of them to continue their conversation.
She genuinely couldn't understand why.
Slide.
Having sat back down, Sua looked at Serin with warm eyes, unlike when she had looked at Seoyun before.
"So, how are you feeling right now?"
Serin, leaning back against the sofa, answered calmly.
"I'm really fine now. By tomorrow, I think I'll be back to my usual condition."
Whether the porridge Sua had brought really was restorative food, or whether the medicine was just effective, she didn't know.
But compared to when she'd woken up, her body had improved a lot.
She had a vague feeling that if she slept and woke up like this, she'd be back to normal.
"That's a relief. So today, you should leave everything to us and just focus on resting, okay? From what I saw, Seoyun came over because she was worried about you too."
"...I am resting."
Serin, answering as if in agreement, stared at Sua for a moment.
'She's a really good kid.'
With her pretty face, bright personality, and the way she looked after the people around her like now, Sua must have been popular back in school no matter what.
It wasn't as if she had any flaws in her spending habits or anything else either.
'So why exactly are they on bad terms?'
Even thinking about it again, she couldn't understand why things were like this between Sua and Seoyun.
Whether for Seoyun or for Sua, it seemed like it would be wonderful if they got along.
"Why are you suddenly staring at me like that?"
When Sua looked puzzled, apparently because Serin had been staring too intently, Serin smiled softly.
"No, I just thought you're pretty all over again."
"...You're suddenly complimenting me?"
Though taken aback by the unexpected compliment, Sua didn't seem displeased.
After that, some time passed as they exchanged small talk.
Then Seoyun appeared, wearing pot holders and carrying a stew that was steaming gently.
Clunk.
As Seoyun set the pot down in the center of the living room table, the dinner menu came into view.
"It's sundubu-jjigae. That okay?"
"Perfect. I love sundubu-jjigae too."
Sua answered Seoyun's question with a smile, and once a few side dishes and spoons were brought over, a rather decent dinner spread was complete.
And Serin, who had absently glanced at the sundubu-jjigae, let out a hollow laugh.
Bright red chili oil was floating on top, and just looking at it made her mouth burn.
"Oh, should I bring you some rice too?"
When Sua looked at Serin and asked, Serin shook her head.
"I'm fine."
As the two of them began eating, Serin watched and found it rather fascinating. Watching her real sister and a close younger friend eating together at the same table was quite a novel feeling.
Clatter, clatter.
As small dishes were passed around, a few conversations began to flow.
"Seoyun, you're really good at cooking."
"Does it suit your taste?"
"Yeah. Everything suits my taste. Honestly, it's so good that anyone who tried it would say it's delicious."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"Did you make these side dishes yourself too?"
"Yeah. I made them myself to make side dishes for Serin."
The conversation that followed was quite warm and friendly.
Seoyun, who answered in short replies, still seemed to be keeping her distance from Sua, but since Sua was making an active effort, there seemed to be room for their relationship to improve.
So Serin didn't go out of her way to interject into their exchange.
She thought that at this rate, the two of them might naturally grow closer, and it was nice to see them eating well.
"..."
Serin, her expression dazed from the medicine, was resting her chin on her hand and watching the two of them.
Then Seoyun suddenly smiled softly and looked at Serin.
"Here, one bite."
She held out her spoon as if asking Serin to eat, and Serin opened her mouth before she knew it.
Chomp.
A fairly large spoonful of rice topped with braised beef went into Serin's mouth, and Seoyun smiled even brighter, as if pleased.
Then, at the savory, well-seasoned taste of the meat, Serin's lips curved up without her realizing.
"It's good."
"Right? I tried a new recipe for the braised beef this time, so I was confident."
"Want more?"
"I'm good."
Watching the sisters exchange words like that, Sua found her gaze drawn to them for no particular reason.
'So real sisters feel like that.'
They gave off the feeling of sisters who were very close, and at the same time, certain scenes flickered through her mind at the sight of them.
The image of her sister feeding her braised short ribs, or the image of herself feeding her sister.
I'd thought I was definitely the closest to my sister, but suddenly it felt as though that position had been snatched away right in front of me.
Biting her lip lightly, Sua immediately moved her hand.
"...?"
Unlike when Seoyun had held out food and Serin had accepted right away, Serin stared at Sua.
"Are you really... going to make me embarrassed?"
Sua's lips moved as if she were shy.
And Seoyun was watching Sua's behavior with eyes that clearly didn't understand.