Alteration
Alteration
"Hey, Lee Suah! Did you drink water out of the cup I used again?"
"So what? Don't make such a big deal out of it."
"Hey, Lee Suah! Stop tossing the clothes you wore after showering just anywhere!"
"......Ah, fuck. I was gonna clean them up anyway."
"Hey, Lee Suah! You're the one who didn't flush the toilet, right!?"
"Fuck, you crazy bastard!"
There is a beast in our house.
A beast that can't even act like a human despite stuffing her face with twenty-four years of age.
Lee Suah.
My noona, who is two years older.
Right now, we're like sworn enemies who get disgusted just by running into each other's faces, but when we were kids, we were famous around the neighborhood for getting along really well.
- 'Hey, Lee Siwoo. Don't argue with noona's words.'
......Mm.
Looking back now, it feels like that might not have been the case.
- 'I heard you made sergeant? You'll be discharged soon, then...... Special class? What the hell is that, is it good? I'll buy you beef so hurry up and take a leave.'
Still, pathetic as it is, we're the only siblings each other has.
Looking back, it's not like there weren't good memories.
- 'Sigh...... Hey, fuck. That's why I told you to just fool around moderately with that bitch and study instead. Crying just because you got dumped like a loser.......'
The day I was unilaterally dumped by my first girlfriend.
Noona ended up bursting into tears while comforting me without even realizing it.
God knows what she was so heartbroken about, she cried so damn much.
Our noona, who has so many tears and so much affection.
"......Where did my chicken breast go?"
Therefore.
That pig who stole and ate her younger brother's protein definitely had to be a beast, not our precious noona.
I immediately kicked open Lee Suah's bedroom door.
Kung!
At the sudden inspection, the criminal's shoulders startled and jumped.
"W-What is it...?! "
"You're the one who chowed down on the chicken breast in the fridge, right?"
Look at her sweating ppijil-ppijil.
With this much circumstantial evidence piled up, she wouldn't have anything to say even if I just jumped to a conclusion.
Even more, this bitch's record isn't just once or twice.
"......I thought it was some big deal. You can just buy me a pack later."
Since she probably has no intention of worming her way out anymore, she doesn't specifically deny the fact.
Huu....
Yeah, this much was worth closing my eyes tight and letting slide just once.
She said she'd buy it later anyway, so what's one piece?
However, that damn mouth of hers was always the problem.
"It wasn't even that delicious, you're being so petty....J"
Lee Suah, that crazy bitch.
I barely managed to grab hold of my reason, which was about to snap in a split second.
"......Who the hell eats it for the taste?"
"Ah, fuck. You're whining so damn much. I got it! I'll just buy you one later!"
"That was the last one!"
"Then just eat something else today!"
"Why the fuck is a bitch who doesn't even work out chowing that down?! Eating that won't──"
Umjil.
The words pouring out in unfairness came to an abrupt halt.
As the commotion suddenly died down, Lee Suah finally stopped the hand she was using to play games and turned toward me.
"W-What."
"......"
"So I ate a little chicken breast...... so what."
The words I was about to spit out linger around my throat.
Ah, fuck. The atmosphere got weird for no reason.
"......Lee Siwoo, are you not going to answer?"
"It comes off....J"
"What?"
"Eating that won't make you lose weight!"
At those words, Lee Suah let out a breath as if she found it absurd.
Her gaze naturally drifted downward.
"Hey, where the hell did I gain weight......"
And just like me, Lee Suah was at a loss for words.
There was no way belly fat or anything like that could be visible from Lee Suah's perspective.
In the first place, it didn't even exist, and even if she lowered her head, what she could see was.......
"You crazy bastard."
"......"
In the end, I had no choice but to leave the room while meeting Lee Suah's stinging gaze.
Why is it that whenever that bitch is in the wrong, I'm the one who has to feel awkward?
It's seriously unfair.
*
"Puhuhu... So?"
The convenience store where I work part-time.
I was lying facedown on the counter, feeling dejected for no reason, when a sweet, teasing giggle kept waking me up.
"......What do you mean 'so'."
"Nooo, I mean what happened! Did you apologize?"
"Apologize, what kind of freezing-to-death apology? The one who did wrong is noona."
"And you just came out like that?"
"I didn't even look in that direction, you know."
Kkyareureu, the boss burst into a girlish laugh.
Whatever was so funny, there were even tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.
"Ah, come on....J"
"It's so fun, why?"
"I'm genuinely distressed here."
I'm dead serious.
How am I supposed to go home like this and look at noona's face? For the next few days, she's gonna be sulky and refuse to even talk to me.
"Aren't you guys going to ruin your relationship like that?"
"We're not kids, no way."
"You never know. Families usually drift apart over trivial things. Don't you even remember when you two said you'd marry each other when you were little?"
"......Stop joking around."
"I even have a video, should I show you?"
Has this ahjumma lost her mind?
I glared at the boss... no, imo, with utter disgust.
Han Dohui.
This meddlesome woman was the mother of his childhood friend whom he'd been close with since they were little.
Because our parents were close with each other too, I had plenty of chances to see her face.
Given her personality, she was the type to turn your stomach upside down just by being next to you.
Above all, she knew way too much about us siblings.
Maybe even more than noona and me.
"Suah has always been a bit of a delicate person, you know. Since you're the man, Siwoo, you should go up to her first and comfort her."
"Ugh, it's not like we're dating or anything... whatever."
"Why? Siblings can date, you know?"
Imo tilted her head as if she had just blurted out something obvious.
She's so confidently spouting nonsense today of all days.
"What the hell is that... Me? With Lee Suah?"
"Men and women naturally hold hands and kiss the moment their eyes meet. Neither of you is even married, so what's the big deal about being family?"
Crazy talk.
"Ah, come on. Stop talking nonsense and go inside if you're not going to help."
"There aren't even any customers, so what is there to help with?"
That's true, though.
"Anyway, you better think carefully, Siwoo? I'm saying this because I raised a daughter, but where else are you going to find a girl like Suah?"
"......What's so pretty about noona."
"Hey, you keep saying stuff like that."
Imo's lips twitched, unable to hold back a leaking smile.
What the hell is so funny to this ahjumma.
"A man shouldn't make a habit of lying, you know?"
"......"
"Young kids should date and roll around with each other's bodies, but they don't know how precious that time is! There aren't even any suitable partners around, wouldn't it be great if siblings just released each other's urges?"
Is this ahjumma serious?
For some reason, she's acting way more meddlesome than usual today.
'Noona is pretty... though....'
.......
Crazy.
Lee Siwoo, you out-of-your-mind bastard.
'......What kind of disgusting thoughts am I having.'
I almost got swept up in ahjumma's bullshit.
No matter how starved for women I am after coming back from the military, I gotta pick and choose what I consume.
With Lee Suah? Me?
Leaving aside the fact that we're siblings, it was physiologically impossible.
"If you're just gonna keep disturbing me, go away."
"O-Oh my! You brat...! Wait a second...!"
As I chased imo out of the convenience store, peace finally seemed to return to my heart.
Yeah, it was only because she kept talking useless nonsense.
Otherwise, there's no way I'd want to do that kind of thing with a woman like Lee Suah......
There's no way.
Yup, absolutely.
*
Maybe because I went through that kind of thing during the day.
A weirdly awkward current seemed to flow over the dinner table.
"......"
Glancing sideways at where Lee Suah was for no reason and then concentrating on eating again, repeating it several times.
Since it was hard to ignore even when our eyes kept meeting, Lee Suah heavily opened her mouth.
"What are you looking at?"
"......I wasn't looking?"
"My, what a load of bullshit."
"Suah, won't you mind your language?"
Mom, finally sensing the mood flowing between the two of us, joins the conversation.
Glance.
Lee Suah looks at me as if dodging Mom's stinging glare.
Well, what do you want me to do about it.
"You guys fought, didn't you?"
"......We didn't fight."
"It shows all over your faces, what are you talking about. How come you two keep getting worse terms with each other?"
That's wrong.
We've never gotten along well in the first place, so how could it possibly get any worse than this?
"When have we ever acted that close......"
This time, Lee Suah seemed to be having the exact same thought as me.
Whether we did or not, Mom didn't care about our opinions and showed a frustrated expression.
"Sigh, Omma is really worried about you guys. Young punks aren't doing anything, aren't dating either. Just fighting to the death with each other."
"......That's why I'm at least doing a part-time job."
"What a great thing to brag about."
Lee Suah snapped back as if she found it absurd.
And that arrow bounced right back at Lee Suah.
"That's right, Siwoo at least went to the military and works hard at his part-time job. Suah, how long are you just going to play games?"
"Ah, omma......"
"Omma isn't asking for much."
At the unexpectedly serious voice, even Lee Suah, who had been prickly all along, adjusted her posture a bit.
I don't expect some famous workplace or anything like that. If you guys were kids who could do that well, I wouldn't even be worried.
"......"
"I'm telling you to do well when you're young. Back when omma was Suah's age, men lined up asking to meet me once? Though that's all in the past now since I got married and your father passed away."
Don't regret it when you're old.
Omma added that.
Neither I nor Lee Suah could even think of saying anything.
Because a feeling of apology must have definitely existed in a corner of our chests.
"And yet you two...... sigh, you just fight all the livelong day."
It was then.
"......Yeah, if going out and dating is hard, you two might as well just have sex."
"?"
"?"
That our sibling pair perceived an anomaly in the world.