Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Date (14)
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Big Sis had been our family's disciplinarian ever since we were kids.
If anyone in the family messed up, she was always the one to scold them.
She worked hard to keep our family—orphaned without our parents—from going astray and growing up right.
Because of that, my little sister and I were close to Big Sis, but childhood memories still made us a bit afraid of her.
Little Sis, who used to get into all sorts of trouble, had been under Big Sis's close watch, so she feared her even more.
"What? What's going on?"
Seeing my sour expression, Little Sis started feeling uneasy too, her face darkening.
I hesitated for a moment before telling her straight.
"Big Sis is awake right now..."
"Wha... Sis is?"
Little Sis's eyes trembled.
Still, she hadn't given up hope yet.
"If... if she just woke up, can't we say we went for a walk?"
She could probably guess from my face, but Little Sis was desperately trying to spin a happy fantasy, unwilling to believe it.
Feeling a pang of mixed emotions, I shook my head.
"She's been up since last night, hasn't slept at all."
"..."
"She waited for us the whole time."
Little Sis's hands began to shake.
She was starting to realize the storm waiting for us at home.
"Th-that... are you sure? For real? Please tell me you're lying..."
Feeling sorry for her, I showed her the chat history with our sister.
Little Sis skimmed through it frantically, then muttered in a soulless voice.
"Little bro..."
"Yeah?"
"Should we... write a last will and testament...?"
Tears welled up in Little Sis's eyes.
Looking at her, I nodded slightly.
"Yeah, let's write one just in case..."
The elevator rose smoothly.
I felt a sense of dread as home drew closer.
We'd stayed out all night without a word.
And with Little Sis, no less.
How on earth were we supposed to explain this?
Of course, Big Sis wouldn't think we'd formed some weird relationship.
It'd be strange to suspect siblings of anything improper just from one overnight stay.
Still, even if not that, we needed an excuse ready.
No denying we'd vanished all night without contact.
What excuse could we use...
-Ding.
Lost in anxious thoughts, the elevator stopped.
"Hoo..."
I let out a deep sigh and stepped out.
Little Sis, all huddled up, trailed timidly behind me.
-Beep beep.
I punched in the code and opened the front door.
"..."
A heavy atmosphere hit us as the door swung open.
Little Sis felt it too, trembling behind me.
I gently took her hand to reassure her.
She seemed to calm down a bit, getting my intent.
"..."
The fluorescent lights were off, and with the sun not yet up, the house was dark.
I scanned around, looking for Big Sis.
"Oppa..."
Our younger sister came scampering out.
Oversized boxy tee and gray shorts.
Seeing us in her comfy clothes, she alternated glances and sighed deeply.
"What on earth kept you out so late?"
"..."
I could never say we'd been kissing and more.
So I went with the excuse I'd just thought up.
"I was giving her a massage... and we both fell asleep."
"What?"
At the word "massage," she flinched.
Probably remembering the one she'd gotten before.
"No way, you gave Sis a massage?"
"Uh...? Y-yeah..."
Catching on when I mentioned it, Little Sis panicked briefly but played along after glancing around.
"..."
Our younger sister looked like she had a lot to say, lips twitching, before sighing heavily.
"Fine, whatever. Big Sis is in her room, so just go there."
"..."
"Not my problem. It's all your fault, oppa, so deal with it."
"Sorry..."
She must've been exhausted because of us.
With a sincere apology, I headed to Big Sis's room.
A room I visited every day, but today it felt insanely tense.
I took a short deep breath and knocked.
"Come in."
"Y-yeah."
I cautiously opened the door and entered.
Big Sis sat at her desk, staring right at us.
"..."
Her gaze stabbed at my conscience; I looked away.
An awkward silence stretched on.
"Haa..."
Big Sis's heavy sigh broke it.
Hearing that made my heart sink.
"Sit down, both of you."
"Y-yeah..."
Little Sis and I knelt side by side across from her.
With Big Sis looking at us pitifully, kneeling like this felt oddly like we were there to ask for marriage permission.
Big Sis stared for a bit, then asked.
"What were you two doing?"
Her voice sounded ice-cold at first glance.
But having lived with her my whole life, I could tell.
She wasn't as mad as I'd feared.
Gaining a bit of confidence, I spoke up.
"W-well, first we went to the Han River...?"
"Han River?"
"Yeah..."
Big Sis pondered, tapping her desk with a finger.
"What'd you go to the Han River for?"
"To ride the swan boats..."
"..."
"Just the two of us?"
"Yeah..."
"Don't people usually do that as a couple?"
I was about to answer, but Little Sis, who'd been holding her breath quietly, spoke first.
"I suggested it."
"Why?"
"I... wanted to ride one, but had no one to go with... You know I'm single..."
"Hmm..."
From her reaction, thankfully, she didn't seem about to make an issue of the swan boats.
"So, after the swan boats, what kept you out till dawn?"
"..."
"They don't run swan boats till dawn, do they?"
I swallowed hard.
Now came the real issue.
The big question: what were siblings doing out till dawn?
I repeated the excuse I'd given our younger sis.
"Little Sis looked so tired, so I gave her a massage."
"Massage...? Where?"
"We got a hotel room."
"..."
Big Sis, who'd been staying calm, changed abruptly.
Her eyes sharpened. Her aura turned menacing.
I felt an invisible pressure on my shoulders.
"Hey, Ha-seong Jeong, Da-jeong Jeong."
"Yeah..."
"Are you crazy? Siblings booking a room for a massage?"
"..."
Yeah, it was understandable to get mad.
Blood siblings in a hotel room for a massage?
Impossible not to misunderstand.
"..."
Little Sis shot me an anxious look amid Big Sis's anger.
I tried staying as calm as possible despite shrinking back, answering steadily.
"It was really just a massage."
"Giving a massage is weird enough, but a room? All night?"
From her reaction, if she found out about anything more intimate, Little Sis and I might not survive.
Thank goodness she didn't seem to suspect that far.
"Hey, Da-jeong."
"Yeah..."
Big Sis turned her ire on Little Sis.
"Was it really a massage?"
"Uh? Y-yeah..."
"Who suggested it first?"
Little Sis hemmed and hawed, then answered in a tiny voice.
"I suggested it first, but..."
Big Sis shot up from her chair.
This was bad.
I quickly stood and hugged her from behind.
A faint soap scent wafted from her.
"Wait... c-calm down a bit..."
"Does this look calmable?"
"Big Sis, you trust me, right? Just hear me out once."
"..."
Whether my earnest plea worked or not, Big Sis quieted a little.
Keeping my arms around her, I started explaining step by step.
"There's a reason for all this."
"Wh-what reason?"
I took a slow breath, glanced at both sisters, then spoke plainly.
"I've awakened. To a massage-related ability."
"...Huh?"
Big Sis, who'd been furious moments ago, sent a bewildered look.
Little Sis's eyes went wide in shock too.
She was supposed to know I'd awakened, so she shouldn't react like that.
But luckily, Big Sis was too focused on my revelation to notice Little Sis's slip.
"I really awakened. I can demonstrate if you want."
"..."
The awakening news shocked her so much, no anger remained on Big Sis's face.
Good, the plan to reveal it as my excuse worked.
Of course, it was risky.
The tip said the ability vanishes if discovered by family.
Depending on interpretation, even without exposing the skill itself, just the effects or awakening fact might kill it.
But I was convinced it wouldn't.
My skill's effects were so potent that recipients would inevitably realize I'd awakened something.
Our younger sis hadn't noticed, but she's dense; anyone else would.
If the ability vanished just from that realization?
It'd be a one-use dud.
I didn't believe an S-rank ability was that lame.
So I took the gamble.
Thankfully, it didn't disappear.
"..."
Stunned by the awakening, Big Sis nodded blankly.
"Go rest for now. We'll talk tomorrow."
Whew, we survived.
"..."
Alone after her siblings left, Se-yeon Jeong rested her chin on her hand at the desk, lost in thought.
Ha-seong's awakening was shocking enough, but what truly stunned Se-yeon was the night-bloom flower scent wafting from him when he'd hugged her from behind.
It seemed washed off with body wash, but as an S-rank warrior, Se-yeon's sense of smell far surpassed a normal human's—she knew.
Ha-seong had ejaculated.
And not long ago, just hours earlier.
No chance it was a mistake.
It matched exactly the smell from the tissues in his room's trash sometimes.
And the faint scent that occasionally lingered on him in the mornings.
"Haa..."
A simple massage would've pissed her off.
But suspecting it went beyond that killed her anger.
Just bewilderment.
That was all Se-yeon felt.
So disorienting that she couldn't recall a word of what Ha-seong said after revealing his awakening or their conversation.
Her mind had gone blank, blurting whatever.
"..."
Verifying her suspicions was simple.
Just get close to Da-jeong and sniff.
But she hadn't chosen that.
Perhaps instinct warned that smelling Da-jeong would shatter their family beyond repair.
Se-yeon Jeong's sigh deepened.