Delusion
"So which one is Oppa's girlfriend?"
"Neither of them, so stop with the delusions. You idiot."
Bonk.
I smacked her on the head, and Ah-hyeon yelped in pain.
I hauled her over by the head and introduced her to the two of them.
"My little sister. Seon Ah-hyeon. Fourth-grade elementary schooler. Special skills: delusional thinking and begging people to play with her."
I grabbed her head and forced her into a bow.
Ah-hyeon, clearly awkward around the pretty older girls, carefully offered a greeting of her own.
"…Hello."
Her ponytail swayed gently as she dipped her head.
The Seon family's looks were solid enough on their own, so this kid landed firmly on the cute side of the spectrum. Maybe that was why the girls' reactions were so overwhelmingly positive.
"Oh my. She's adorable."
"Right? If you turned Woo-hyun into a girl and made him younger, is this what he'd look like?"
Nam Yu-ri, please stop reading so many novels.
How did a thought like that even occur to her? I felt a twinge of guilt, like I'd somehow corrupted an innocent child.
"Ehehe."
Apparently praise still worked on her. She was grinning just because they'd called her cute. Well, she was cute, so I'd let it slide for now.
"These are my friends. This is Han Si-ah, and this is Nam Yu-ri."
"I'm Han Si-ah. And your brother and I are… what, exactly? Mortal enemies?"
"At least call us friends at a time like this."
"Hi, Ah-hyeon~ I'm Nam Yu-ri. I'm in Oppa's class, and I've been helping him with his studies a bit. More importantly — who did your hair? It's so pretty~"
Nam Yu-ri seemed like the type who genuinely liked kids. Or maybe she was just better with them than Han Si-ah. Either way, Ah-hyeon lit up at the attention and answered shyly.
"…Oppa did it."
"Oh. Woo-hyun did this too? He's got good hands. He cooks well, and now this."
"He's always been good at everything. Or… maybe he's gotten even better lately."
"Seon Ah-hyeon. What kind of way is that to talk about your heavenly older brother?"
To be fair, the original Seon Woo-hyun had always been something of an all-rounder. His household skills were high-spec — a far cry from his school performance. I'd just improved on them a little after taking over.
Unlike the old Woo-hyun, I knew how to use modern resources. Looking up hair-tying tutorials on video platforms, putting a bit more care into looking after my siblings — that kind of thing.
"That's enough introductions. Hurry up and go. You're going to be late."
"Right — Driver Park is waiting. I'll head out, then? Ah-hyeon, see you next time?"
"Bye~"
Nam Yu-ri's goodbye was followed by Han Si-ah's, and Ah-hyeon found herself waving alongside me before she even realized it, seeing the two of them off.
Only after the door slammed shut did I let out a sigh of relief.
…There was never a peaceful day once those two got involved. Being around them was fun, sure — but maybe it was because they were the protagonists of the novel.
Trouble just seemed to follow whenever they were nearby. Even one of them was enough. Spending a whole day with both of them had left me completely drained. Just looking at everything that had happened today — it was all way too high-stimulus for me.
"Huh? Oppa, you've got a bandage on your cheek. Did you get hurt?"
"Ah. Earlier, while we were studying."
Even if she talked nonsense, a little sister who worried the moment she saw a wound was a good kid. I ruffled her hair and was about to head back to my room when Ah-hyeon called after me from behind.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"So which of the two do you like more?"
"What are you even talking about?"
"My friend Ah-yeon said so."
"Said what."
"She said there's no such thing as a guy friend or a girl friend in this world. If a girl hangs around next to a guy calling him a friend, she's definitely a girlfriend candidate. Same the other way around."
You are not allowed to hang out with Ah-yeon for long.
Where was a kid her age even picking up this garbage? The problem with kids these days was getting online way too young.
"That's not how it works."
"Liar. Ah-yeon said denying it is part of it too."
Ah-yeon. You little menace.
How thoroughly had she corrupted my pure little sister? Picking one of the two was weird to begin with — neither of them liked me in the first place. But my sister clearly didn't care about minor details like that.
"If I had to pick one… hmm. Personally, I hope Oppa dates the blonde unnie."
"What? Why?"
I didn't need to play along with Ah-hyeon's nonsense. But looking at it another way, Nam Yu-ri had been much kinder to her, and she had the kind of face that should have been popular with little kids. So I was curious enough to ask.
"She's pretty."
"She's pretty?"
"Her proportions are good."
"Her proportions are good?"
"Her chest is big. She looks just like a celebrity!"
Well, that is importan— no. This kid.
"Just don't talk. You're so cute when you keep your mouth shut."
Looking at those sparkling eyes, she was clearly enchanted by Han Si-ah's glamorous looks. Then again, flashy beauty was always going to win with girls that age. There was nothing to be done about it. Nam Yu-ri's pure, delicate charm was the real treasure, if you asked me — but that was neither here nor there.
I clamped Ah-hyeon's snout shut and shook her head side to side so she couldn't spew any more nonsense.
Mmph-mmph-mmph.
Watching my little sister make muffled protests and tell me to stop, a thought crossed my mind.
…So even among girls, chest size really did matter.
"Shall I take you home, or straight to the academy?"
"Home first, please. I'd like to change clothes."
"Yes. Then we'll be on our way."
The rear door clicked shut on its own — one of those features only found in the back seats of expensive cars. After giving Driver Park a polite answer, she carefully pulled out a paperback novel.
She'd been studying herself half to death. A little rest wouldn't hurt. Once she arrived at the academy she'd be back at it anyway, so she wanted at least the ride over to feel like a break.
I should change into something comfortable.
That was why Nam Yu-ri had asked to stop by home in the first place. Knowing she was going to see Seon Woo-hyun and Han Si-ah, she'd picked out the prettiest outfit she could manage.
Fortunately, her father had brought home plenty of gifts over the years — clothes she rarely wore because they were uncomfortable for everyday use — so she'd never had to worry about having nothing nice enough to go out in.
But she'd already parted ways with Woo-hyun, and she had no desire to stay dressed up in something restrictive just to go to the academy. The hair she'd carefully styled that morning to look pretty would be let down into something comfortable and neat as well.
"Miss Yu-ri."
"Yes?"
"Lately… how should I put it. You seem happier."
"…Do I?"
"Yes. In the past, whenever you got in the car, your expression was always tense or rigid. These days you seem to smile a lot more."
"…"
"I'm glad."
Driver Park was the personal chauffeur her father had assigned to her. He had been driving her since elementary school, so it had been well over ten years now. He wasn't normally a talkative man — but that didn't mean he wasn't paying attention. Every so often, he would strike up a conversation like this.
Am I? Am I happy?
She hadn't given much thought to how she'd been feeling lately. But hearing it from him, it really did seem true.
In the old days, school had been a blank, indifferent stretch of days. She'd walked on thin ice, constantly afraid of making a single mistake and exposing some weakness. Work and study, over and over, with no room for the stress to ease.
But what about now?
Nam Yu-ri felt that her life had changed quite a lot since meeting Seon Woo-hyun. More precisely — since starting Cluster with him.
Just today, for instance.
If she hadn't met him, none of this would have happened. Studying for exams with friends, having fun like that — she'd never believed something so enjoyable would ever be allowed to her.
Today was fun. Really fun.
There had been plenty of chaos and accidents, but every single moment had been a joy for her. Visiting a friend's house, learning more about him, playing and studying together.
…And that had been genuinely moving. The notebook with her words written down, and even the novel.
She'd told him so out loud — but she still worried whether her feelings had truly gotten through. She liked those things that much. The way Woo-hyun treated her as someone precious. The way he never let a single word of a boring lecture go to waste. How could she possibly dislike any of that?
I did cause some trouble in the middle of it, though.
Knocking over the bookshelf and injuring him had hurt her heart — but afterward, she'd also learned how to offer gratitude instead of just an apology. And when she'd thanked him, the satisfied look on his face had made her want to thank him all over again, even though nothing new had happened.
…And, well. That other thing. If you can call it a memory.
The scene still floated through her mind, shockingly vivid. Woo-hyun's face plunging into her best friend Si-ah's chest. That strange, breathless sound filling the room.
Just recalling it sent heat flooding into her face until she felt her cheeks might burst. And then, without meaning to, she started imagining.
What if it had been her in that position instead of Si-ah?
…I'm definitely not as big as Si-ah, so his face probably wouldn't have buried itself quite like that.
Woo-hyun's large body pressing down on hers. What would it feel like — his face sinking into her chest?
The thought sent a faint, tingling sensation climbing up from the soles of her feet, and she snapped back to herself with a jolt.
…What on earth was I just thinking.
She couldn't even understand why she was having thoughts like this in the first place. Strange, perverted imaginings she would never have entertained under normal circumstances.
I think I've been getting a little weird lately. Is it because I've been reading too many novels?
Maybe she was devouring them a bit too freely just because they were fun. Maybe it was time to start practicing some restraint.
With that thought, she turned her gaze out the window.