Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Because She's Too Cute to Leave Alone
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Is it because she's so cute I can't just leave her alone?
Hwangtae hangover soup.
In reality, there's no such thing as a healing potion from fantasy, but when it comes to the hangover status ailment, hwangtae soup is practically an elixir.
The twisted feeling in my stomach settled right away as I ate it.
I could have grabbed some retort pouch from the convenience store or ordered delivery, but Seol-yoon personally boiling it up made her all the more endearing and precious.
As I gazed at such a Seol-yoon, our eyes met, and her lips parted.
"Sis, is your stomach feeling better now? If you're still rough, should we go to the hospital?"
"I'm all good, all good. It's not even painful—what would we need the hospital for?"
Overprotective to a fault.
Not a bad feeling at all.
Especially since I'd had the exact opposite experience of being neglected.
A childhood memory flashed by—of times when I'd catch a cold but keep it to myself, toughing it out without a word.
I didn't want to draw attention by being sick.
"Our son is so sensible, handles everything on his own—he's such a good boy, we're so proud."
I thought I had to live up to those words of praise.
Compared to a little sister who was constantly on death's door, a mere cold was nothing.
'Thanks for surviving.'
If my little sister had ultimately died, I never would have escaped her shadow my whole life.
I never could have run from those ugly memories and guilt of envying her for hogging all the attention while she was sick.
Because she's alive, I can brush it off as "there was a time like that."
Thanks for surviving.
"Thanks for the hangover soup. Thanks for worrying. Thanks for coming to stop me from causing trouble."
"You're my beloved big sis—of course I had to come!"
Seol-yoon executed a back hug on me as I sat there.
When we first started truly living together after I got out of the hospital, things felt a bit awkward and distant, but at some point, she started clinging like this nonstop.
What changed?
'Like a dog.'
Just like a large breed— if she had a tail, it'd be wagging like crazy for sure.
A fox-faced beauty like a nine-tailed fox, but acting like a puppy! That's cheating too much!
......I wonder if she thinks I'm the cat who's always trying to escape her skinship.
If that suspicion crosses my mind, I'd be in the late stages of paranoia, right?
'I'm a wolf tamer.'
Considering the size difference between Seol-yoon and me, it felt a bit like being friends with a wolf.
Thinking of it that way made me seem kinda cool.
This is totally not a mental victory! Hey!?
Don't say I'm tiny! Hey!?
'Will she do this to her husband after marriage too?'
If Seol-yoon got married, she'd spoil her husband rotten, no doubt.
I could totally picture her whining, "Ugh, work suuuucks! Don't wanna go!" and clinging to him, only for him to go, "Aww, okay then, skip work. I'll take care of you."
'Seol-yoon, marriage......'
I felt a murderous impulse toward this imaginary husband who didn't even exist.
I won't give away my Seol-yoon!
Is this the feeling those big brothers with cute little sisters talk about?
"Sis, could you stop scratching your chin like that? I'm not a cat, you know?"
"Gasp! You're not!?"
As if I'd sing you a purring song or something!
Since I stopped scratching her chin, this time she shoved her head in from behind, rubbing her left cheek against my right one.
Did Seol-yoon grow up so rich in affection because our parents showered her with attention?
Snap out of it!
Dwelling on gloomy thoughts and wallowing in the past won't let you take even a single step forward.
Live in the now.
So if I focus only on the present, just the present—I'm gonna die of embarrassment!
How does she even think of sticking her cheek to someone else's cheek?
How is the distance between people zero like that!?
Thank goodness she's a girl.
It suits her perfectly.
After finishing the hwangtae soup, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and Seol-yoon came over to brush my hair.
Long hair can tangle up big time if you don't manage it properly, so it's good to comb it regularly.
Especially before washing—definitely comb it first.
Wet hair snaps easily.
Wash it tangled, and strands will break right off.
"Sis. Animals groom each other to take care of their fur, right? So in a way, humans brushing each other's hair is grooming too."
What brought this topic up?
No clue.
"Uh, yeah, I guess."
"They say if you put a cat and a rabbit together, they surprisingly get along well. In cat world, higher ranks groom lower ones first, and in rabbit world, lower ones groom higher ones first. So if the cat licks the rabbit first, they both mistakenly think they're top dog and everyone's happy."
"......So which are you? Cat? Rabbit?"
"What do you think?"
If we're talking animals, she's not some small critter like that......
No, I didn't think anything trashy like that.
"Sorry for being a hopeless big sis......"
"Why apologize all of a sudden?"
"Sorry for being a shut-in with no life skills......"
If Seol-yoon didn't check in periodically, my room would've turned into a trash heap.
It's an undeniable truth that I even look human thanks to her.
That I haven't died of loneliness is thanks to her regular calls and visits.
That I haven't become a full-blown alcoholic boozing alone every day.
This incident was a slip-up—I got too stressed seeing the eyewitness accounts online.
'What about me moved Seol-yoon so much? Is it really because I'm too cute to leave alone?'
Looking in the mirror, I could see why people won't leave me be.
And that makes me anxious.
Back when I was a guy, unless it was a real brawler, I had the confidence: I'll win against anyone! At least I'll protect my body!
With this body, I couldn't even beat a grade-school boy.
Whenever I struggle with a 1.5L plastic bottle feeling heavy, I want to die.
'Even if I exercised.'
Seol-yoon keeps pushing me to work out, but as a girl now, it feels pointless.
No matter how hard I try, I couldn't beat a scrawny anchovy of a boy.
If it were Seol-yoon with her build, sure, but for someone my height and frame? No hope.
To understand a woman's feelings like this, just imagine for a second:
You step out, and 85% of people are tattooed, muscled-up gangsters and gym freaks.
If you're convinced you'd lose to anyone, wouldn't you naturally become more humble?
Embarrassing to admit, but when I was over 180cm, I had that cocky confidence.
A tall, big teenage guy.
The solid confidence that 90% of the world was weaker than me.
Even in our peaceful society where fights are rare, that instinctual sense was part of my self.
And now? I'm sure I'd lose to any passing elementary kid.
Run into some psycho who ignores words or law? I'm screwed.
That's why the outside world scares me.
Who knows what'll happen if I go out.
In that sense, the internet's way safer.
No fists flying through the monitor, right?
Even harsh words are just words.
They can't actually harm me.
"What do I do about the scam?"
"What scam?"
"I wore a cosplay suit and pretended to have big boobs."
Drunk, I turned a crazy idea into action.
On stream, faking big boobs means no one would spot me from voice or hand shape in real life.
That was my thinking behind the fraudulent act.
Something I'd never do sober.
"Drinking's this dangerous, sis. Gotta cut back, yeah?"
"Sorry."
Seol-yoon's gaze sharpened noticeably.
This is bad.
That's the prelude to her 30-minute lecture routine.
But luckily, she let out a sigh and said,
"It'd been a while since you drank, so I'll let it slide this time. But bingeing and causing incidents? Big no-no."
"Yeah."
"If you wanna drink, don't do it alone—call me. I'll keep you company. Watch you so you don't cause trouble."
"......"
For someone who handles it fine on her own, I'd already caused an incident at dawn.
But whining to my little sister would bruise my pride as the older one.
"Gonna drink alone and mess up again?"
"No."
"Good, good. Don't drink alone—call me for sure."
Huh? Her tone shifted a bit, didn't it?
Seol-yoon finished brushing and smoothed my hair with her fingers.
"Don't stress too much. Streams can't spill the full truth anyway. You're not gonna share your address, bank account, or password, right?"
"That's a bit different."
"I'm scared of stalkers, so I pretended to be someone else." Say that—who's gonna blame you? Streamers have to be so careful these days. Robberies, stalkers, all those scary incidents—how many do you think there are? Ignore anyone griping about lies. They're not gonna take the danger for you."
"R-Really?"
"Dad thought it through perfectly. If you lived somewhere sketchy like a rundown studio district with bad security, I wouldn't have let you stay a single day in peace."
R-Really.
Hearing Seol-yoon say it like that, it sounded utterly reasonable.
Having your identity doxxed is annoying and dangerous, so mixing in a little lie to avoid it seems natural.
"But sis, you were jealous of big boobs too, huh? Want a growth massage?"
"D-Don't be ridiculous. Even family has lines."
"Ridiculous? That's too harsh. You've wounded Seol-yoon's heart."
"Sorry."
"Kidding, sis."
Don't make that face while pretending to be hurt.
I'd give you my liver and gall bladder!
"No need to explain anyway. Everyone lies. On stream, just play a character."
R-Really?
* * *
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I turned on the stream, and viewers piled in even faster than usual.
No doubt—the dawn drunken mukbang blew up.
It's all over every community site.
Might hit 30k viewers again today.
I placed this text smack in the center of the broadcast screen.
ON-SCREEN NOTICE [The dawn drunken mukbang was NOT me.] [No such person exists.] — Friendless donated 1,000 won "Hello, Jeon Jeonseol with no friends." Seeing the first donation, I knew right away.
Ah, today's gonna be a beating.