002. Summer Night
002. Summer Night
"...Oppa."
"...Why."
"I guess it's all a lie that alcohol tastes sweet."
The younger sister muttered quietly.
"......."
Where on earth did she hear something like that?
"Everyone says so, though. That alcohol you drink when you're having a hard time tastes sweet."
"......."
I didn't say anything.
If a friend of mine had said that, I would've laughed and told them to stop acting tough, but the people Haeun knows are mostly elite athletes.
They're people fiercely competing to become national athletes, so what would a mere unemployed bum like me say to judge them?
And... if I were to just laugh that remark off lightly,
it felt like I'd be disparaging my sister's hard work and the fierce way she'd endured there all this time along with it.
I quietly got up from my seat and brought more beer.
"...Do you want one more drink?"
And then I popped one open and handed it to my younger sister.
When you're feeling this depressed, it's better to just drink yourself to death.
That way, those fucking thoughts won't keep dragging on.
"...Didn't you say no a minute ago?"
"Just for today."
"......."
The younger sister gazed at me blankly before cautiously accepting the beer.
"Instead, drink this one a bit slowly. If you chug it fast, your head's gonna hurt tomorrow."
"...Yeah."
I popped open a new can, too.
"Cheers."
A light toast.
I poured the beer down my stifling throat, beolkeok-beolkeok.
The refreshing fizz filled my esophagus.
Before I knew it, we'd eaten all the peanuts, so I brought some new side dishes from the kitchen.
The younger sister was sipping her drink a little bit at a time, just like I told her to.
...Her cheeks are red.
Beyond just a rosy glow, a bright crimson flush was plastered across them.
I'm not that great at holding my liquor either, but she's seriously bad.
I'll have to tell her never to drink outside.
The younger sister quickly put down her beer can and rubbed her cheeks with her hands.
"...I feel weird."
"You're drunk."
"No way. I barely drank anything?"
"You are."
"No, I'm not."
"Your face is super red right now."
"...I'm naturally kind of a red person."
"Since when?"
"Since I was born."
"Judging by the bullshit you're spouting, you're definitely drunk."
"...Tch."
The younger sister jutted out her lower lip and gave my arm a light tuk punch.
Now she's acting a bit like a kid.
It makes me uneasy when a twenty-year-old wears such a dead, miserable expression, as if she's lived through all the troubles of the world.
The younger sister threw a couple more light punches and let out a soft sigh.
"...Oppa. Pretending I'm drunk... can I ask you one thing?"
"Yeah."
"Back then, at the hospital. Why did you ask me to live with you?"
"...Why are you suddenly asking that?"
"Just... I was curious."
The younger sister pulled her knees to her chest,
burying her face slightly as she glanced up at me hilkkeut.
"...What reason? Because we're family, that's why."
Truth be told, I don't really know either.
It's just... when I saw my younger sister crying in the corner of the hospital room,
I just felt like I had to do something.
"...But."
"What about 'but'?"
The younger sister hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly.
"...You weren't really interested in me to begin with, Oppa."
"Hey, that...."
I couldn't even object because it wasn't particularly wrong.
A six-year age gap between siblings is a bigger deal than you'd think.
When Haeun started gymnastics in earnest, I was already a high schooler.
An age when friends your own age are your whole world.
To me, Haeun was nothing more or less than a younger sister who was rarely home.
I was even annoyed at times about having to go pick up my younger sister instead of our mom who worked overtime.
Not that I actually disliked my sister.
When we were together, I played nicely with her, and when Haeun made the national reserve team, I bragged about it all over the neighborhood.
And then... I went to university.
After moving out of the house and starting to live on my own, well....
...I was so crazy about booze and video games that I really couldn't pay any attention to my sister.
After all, I barely visited our family home once a year.
"So honestly, I was a little surprised when Oppa first came to visit me."
"...Was it really that much?"
"Yeah. I didn't think you'd come see me while on military leave."
I remember.
It must have been around when I was a private first class.
"Honestly, it was a bit... scary."
The younger sister picked up her can, shook it slightly, and continued.
"Your head was shaved buzz-cut, you'd lost a ton of weight... and you went around glaring fiercely with your eyes."
"...Did I?"
"Yeah. With a super scary expression, you just said what you had to say and dashed off hwik...."
"......."
At that time, my mind and body were exhausted from various things.
Right after holding our mother's funeral, I had to enlist immediately, and even after arriving at my base, I never had a moment of peace.
Relatives on our maternal side kept contacting us about inheritance issues, and I had to visit a lawyer's office several times.
Amidst all that, the reason I went to visit my sister was...
Well. I don't really know either.
I just felt like I had to go.
Because the thought kept flashing through my mind that now, without Mom, I was the only family Haeun had left.
I silently chugged the remaining beer.
My face felt hot as the alcohol buzz slowly crept up.
"...Still, I didn't hate it. Thanks to that, I could catch my breath sometimes, too."
"...What's with that."
"I'm serious. You know I don't have many friends."
"......."
"I wanted to become a national athlete and proudly show it to Oppa, but...."
"......."
"...It ended up like this in the end."
Her tone was calm, but a bitter smile hovered around the younger sister's lips.
"......."
My chest ached.
It wasn't like the younger sister's scores had been poor from the start.
I heard that starting around when she entered high school, her body changed from before, and the sensations she'd grown accustomed to in her hands began to go wrong one by one.
Because of that, she couldn't get good scores in interim evaluations, and she failed the national team selection trials every time.
As peers and juniors began to pull ahead one by one, the younger sister gave up even her holidays and ruthlessly clung to training.
Thanks to that, she managed to avoid getting pushed off the reserve team, but... of all things, an accident happened during practice.
As if trying to change the subject, the younger sister spoke in a strained, bright voice.
"Still, I'm glad I have Oppa."
"......."
"Even if you're a clueless, cooking-incompetent idiot of an oppa."
"Hey. You always have to phrase things like—"
When the younger sister chuckled kook-kook, a reek of alcohol rushed over hook.
"Ah, now it finally feels like I'm home."
"...Is that so."
"Yeah. The athletes' village dorms were a bit, how should I put it... bleak."
"......."
If I hadn't asked her to live with me back then.
What would have happened to my younger sister?
...I don't know for sure, but given her personality, she would've never contacted me first.
"Oppa."
"Yeah."
"...What should I do with my life now?"
"...Well."
I replied, popping open a new beer can.
"Well, you were a national reserve athlete after all, aren't there a lot of things you can do? Like a coach...."
"Not just anyone can do that."
"...Really?"
The younger sister wore a pensive expression for a moment before muttering, bending her fingers one by one.
"Pilates... Ah, I also know how to do myofascial release massage. Should I do this? They say it makes a lot of money."
"That's not bad either."
"Right? Isn't it good?"
"Well... think about it slowly."
There's still the money Mom left behind, and the house we got from the maternal side of the family.
It's not a fancy city apartment, but it's not bad for the two of us to live in.
Because both of us are still young.
If we look around, there'll be plenty of paths.
The younger sister nodded, then suddenly looked at me and said.
"What about Oppa?"
"Me?"
"Haven't you thought about what you're going to do in the future? Like something you want to do?"
Hm.
I haven't really thought about it.
"...Well. Shall I farm?"
"Farm?"
"We have Grandma's rice paddy and fields, too. Or maybe I could do something like a smart farm. I heard those make pretty good money, too."
The younger sister stared intently at me for a moment before letting out a pik chuckle.
"I really can't imagine Oppa farming."
"...Then I don't know either."
At my answer, the younger sister simply nodded without saying much else.
"I'll worry about it later, whatever."
I said, finishing off the remaining beer.
"We've got plenty of time anyway."
"...That's true."
The younger sister replied softly, then rested her chin on her knees and stared at the TV screen for a while.
"...Oppa."
"Why."
"...Thank you."
"For what."
"Just, for everything."
"......."
Looking from the side, the corners of the younger sister's eyes were red.
I don't know if it was because of the alcohol, or because of something else.
I chugged the very last of the beer in one go.
"...Well, isn't that what family is all about?"
At that, the younger sister let out a put laugh.
"What is this. Suddenly acting cool?"
"I'm not."
"Like hell you aren't. Your mouth is smiling."
"You keep getting cheeky, huh?"
"It's because I'm drunk, just drunk."
The younger sister replied like that, then
stealthily leaned her head against my shoulder.
"...What's this all of a sudden?"
"I'm sleepy."
"Then go inside and sleep."
"I'll just sleep like this."
"Hey."
"......."
The younger sister kept her eyes closed and didn't answer.
Even when I shrugged my shoulders and shook her body, she pretended to be asleep to the bitter end.
So that's how it's gonna be, huh.
"...I don't know either."
My head is dizzy.
By the time I came to my senses, I'd polished off six cans of beer all by myself.
It was nice to have an honest talk with my younger sister after a long time, but at this rate, tomorrow's hangover is guaranteed.
I pulled the blanket left beside the sofa and covered both of us with it together.
I leaned my body back slightly to make it comfortable for the younger sister to use as a pillow.
And I leaned my head atop the younger sister's head as well.
Beyond the bitter smell of alcohol, a familiar body wash scent drifted up.
I couldn't tell if it was coming from my body or the younger sister's body, though.
"......."
A night breeze blew softly through the slightly cracked window.
...I feel languid.
The humid air characteristic of a summer night,
the sound of grass insects chirping from far away,
and... even the even breathing of my younger sister.
My heartbeat slows down bit by bit.
My eyes close slowly.
"......."
And so, on the first night of the younger sister returning home.
We fell asleep leaning against each other.