003. Was that joke too much?
003. Was that joke too much?
"......!"
I woke up to the loud ringing of the alarm.
The numbers on the screen pointed to a much earlier time than usual.
"...Ah."
I set the alarm yesterday because I was going to pick up my sister.
I forgot to cancel it.
"Hwaam......."
I let out a yawn and stretched.
My neck felt stiff because I had fallen asleep with my head drooped.
My sister wasn't visible, so she must have already woken up.
"...Did she go wash up?"
The drinking table had already been neatly cleaned up.
She could have just woken me up.
I got some water from the water purifier and lightly wet my dry, cottony mouth.
My head hurt as if someone was squeezing it tightly.
How long has it been since I felt a hangover like this?
I went out to the yard and casually pulled out a cigarette.
With the jjaek-jjaek chirping of birds as accompaniment, I smoked a cigarette blankly and returned to find my sister drying her hair in the living room.
"...Good morning."
"Yeah. Did oppa sleep well too? When did you wake up?"
"Just a little while ago. How's your stomach?"
"I'm fine except for a bit of bloating. ...Though my head hurts a little. How about oppa?"
"Need you ask? I'm dying."
At that, my sister let out a puup and laughed.
"And you're the one who told me to drink slowly?"
"......."
...Um.
It was true that I had gulped it down recklessly by myself, so I had nothing to say.
"...Anyway, why are you doing this here? Couldn't you find the outlet in your room?"
Slipping the conversation aside, I looked at the hairdryer plugged into the multi-tap behind the TV.
Next to it, a small hand mirror was leaning against the wall.
"Because there's no dressing table."
"......."
I hadn't thought of that.
No wonder her room felt so spacious.
"...Let's order one together after eating later. Is there anything else you need?"
As for food, I bought pretty much everything yesterday, so that's fine.
I also brought a multi-tap, blankets, and a mattress.
When I lived alone, that was enough for me,
but from my sister's perspective, it might be a bit different.
"Um...."
My sister seemed to hesitate slightly while drying her hair with the cool breeze.
"...There are a few things, though."
"Really? Then let me know. I'll buy them."
I turned on the app and got ready to order,
but my sister was actually hesitating, reading my expression.
"Why? Is it, like, expensive?"
"N-no, it's not... that."
"......?"
Since she kept stammering, I told her it was fine so she could speak comfortably, and then.
"It's just... a bit hard to ask."
"What is it? You have to tell me so I can buy it for you."
"...I'll just text you."
With those words, my sister grabbed even the hair dryer and swept into her room.
"...What's with her, all of a sudden?"
A moment later, my phone vibrated.
[Tampons]
[Just one for now]
"......Ah."
Only after seeing the message did I grasp the situation.
Come to think of it, Haeun was a girl too.
I don't know why I only realized this obvious fact now.
Is it because we lived apart for over 6 years?
Haeun still feels like just a little kid to me.
"......."
I don't know the brand or the size, so what should I buy?
I roughly know about pads... but I don't know much about tampons.
For now, I typed 'tampon' into the search bar.
...There were a lot more types than I thought.
Something about absorbency,
something about sizes,
ones with applicators and ones without....
"...What the hell is an applicator anyway?"
...Should I ask my sister?
She'd probably be even more embarrassed if I did.
After pondering for a moment, I sent a message.
[Sorry]
[Tell me the size too]
After a long silence, a short reply came.
[Regular]
[The one with the applicator]
"......."
I was about to ask for the brand too,
but I just put one with high ratings and lots of reviews into the cart.
Just in case, I also threw in a few types of pads.
When I tried to checkout, all sorts of feminine products popped up as recommended items.
Feminine washes, menstrual cramp relief patches, even heating pads....
"......."
So things like this exist too.
The screen was full of items I wouldn't normally spare a glance at.
Wondering if she might need any of them, I clicked on a few.
My face inexplicably burned as I read the descriptions.
"...No, why the hell am I even looking at this?"
Muttering to myself, I put my smartphone down, then picked it up again.
"......."
I don't really know if her menstrual cramps are severe, but...
Still, it wouldn't hurt to buy at least one.
After adding the cramp relief patch and checking out, I went to my sister's room.
My sister was sitting on the bed, just staring at her phone.
"I bought it all."
"...Uh."
"It says it'll arrive tomorrow afternoon. Just in case, I ordered a pain relief patch together with it."
"......."
My sister stared at me silently.
"...Why, don't you need it?"
"No, it's not that...."
My sister averted her gaze and replied in a crawling, tiny voice.
"...Thank you."
"...Yeah."
For some reason, things got a bit awkward, so I went straight back to the living room.
When I slumped onto the sofa, my head throbbed.
"......."
If we're going to live together from now on...,
I guess I'll have to get used to things like this too...?
After washing up briefly and vigorously shaking my hair with a towel, I checked the fridge.
I bought new side dishes, and stocked it up with plenty of fruit and meat, so it feels reassuring.
Indeed, a person needs to eat well.
"...However."
ㅡIsn't ramen the best for a hangover after all?
As I was about to take out ramen from the cupboard, a voice suddenly came from behind.
"Are you going to eat ramen?"
"Ah! ...You scared me."
Before I knew it, my sister was standing right behind my back.
What's with her, not making a single sound....
"What... why are you so startled?"
"Well, you popped out of nowhere, of course I am. I thought my heart dropped."
"...I was startled too because oppa suddenly yelled, you know?"
"...Anyway, make some presence known when you walk around."
Instead of answering, my sister pouted her lips.
"I'm making the mild flavor, okay? You said you hate spicy things."
"Yeah."
While putting the water on to boil, my sister sat on the dining chair and tapped her legs.
"Ah, add eggs too."
"How many?"
"Three. No, just two."
"You eat quite a lot."
"...Everyone eats that much normally."
When the water boiled, I added the noodles and soup base, cracked four eggs total including my portion, and stirred them in.
As the yolks spread into the broth, the color turned milky.
This is the first time I've ever put this many eggs in.
"It's done."
"Let's dig innn."
Without saying a single word, we focused on our meal.
As the hot broth went down, my stomach felt a bit relieved.
"Oppa, you really know how to boil ramen."
"I've lived alone for that long, it'd be a problem if I couldn't even cook ramen."
"That's true."
With a satisfied look, my sister put down the bowl after scraping up even the broth cleanly.
"I'll do the dishes. Since oppa cooked."
"...You want to?"
I was already starting to think about having a post-meal smoke anyway.
While my sister was doing the dishes, I went out to the yard to water the flower bed.
While dragging the hose and spraying it over the flower bed, I bit down on a cigarette.
Ssutsutsutsuㅡ
...As expected of midsummer, cicadas are in season.
As the stream of water fell onto the flower bed, a subtle scent of soil rose up.
While blankly staring at the flower bed, I heard a presence from the wooden porch.
Before I knew it, my sister had come out and was sitting on the edge of the porch.
With her eyes rounded like a puppy, she just watched me water the plants.
"...What are you doing?"
"Just watching. Oppa watering things is fascinating."
"What's so fascinating about this?"
"I've never done anything like this before, you see."
...True, she probably had never lived in a house with a flower bed.
The house we lived in before was an apartment, and the athlete village is... I don't know what it's like inside, but
at least they wouldn't be growing potted plants with the athletes, right?
"Do you want to try?"
"...Is it okay?"
"Of course."
My sister took the hose with sparkling eyes.
Then she sprayed water all over the flower bed this way and that and smiled brightly.
"Wow! Oppa, do you see this? A rainbow appeared!"
"Yeah, I see it."
Peaceful.
Seeing my sister enjoying herself brings a smile to my lips all on its own.
"Hoo......."
Sitting on the porch, I took a deep drag of the cigarette.
Yesterday... I did tell her to try various things and all, but.
Actually, I just want my sister to go to college.
Because in our country, whether you graduate from college or not makes a huge difference.
She's only twenty yet, so I also have this desire for her to enjoy life a bit more.
...If push comes to shove, I can pay for her tuition.
If I cash out my saved military installment savings, that much should be covered.
Right as I stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray with those thoughts, my sister abruptly spun around.
The sudden stream of water soaked the t-shirt I was wearing thoroughly.
When I stared at her in absurdity, she was giggling away.
"I wanted to try something like this at least once. How is it? Is it refreshing?"
"...You started it first, remember?"
The weather is hot anyway, so this works out well.
Wringing out the moisture roughly, I got up.
"Kkyaak!"
"Get over here!?"
I tried to snatch the hose, but since my sister had exceptional athletic instincts, she wasn't easily caught.
We ran around the yard like fools, scattering water everywhere.
And then.
"......!"
I tripped over the hose and pudak fell down.
...Not my sister, but me.
"......."
I was lying there covering my face out of humiliation when my sister approached and held out her hand.
"Oppa, are you okay? Should I pull you up?"
"......Gotcha."
Without missing the opportunity, I quickly snatched my sister's hand.
My sister momentarily lost her balance, staggered, and collapsed right on top of me.
"Hey...! I worried about you, where do you get off doing this!"
"The person who gets fooled is the fool. Who asked you to reach out a hand, huh?"
Even if you call me cowardly, it can't be helped.
The world of competition is inherently cruel, after all.
"L-Let go...!"
"Nope, don't wanna?"
My sister struggled as if trying to wriggle out of my embrace, so I intentionally held her even tighter.
Still, perhaps because of her past athlete days, her strength was quite formidable... but even so, no chance.
I hit the military gym hard back in the unit, you know.
Tossing away the hose I was holding and hugging her tightly with both arms, her resistance gradually subsided.
And so, a few seconds passed.
"......."
My sister stopped moving altogether.
Instead, she just buried her face in my chest and stayed still.
"...Haeun-ah?"
"......."
Finding it strange that there was no reaction, I called out to her softly, but there was no answer.
The body of my sister hugging me was blazing hot, and thinking she might be sick somewhere, I quickly sat up.
My sister kept her head deeply bowed, fidgeting only with her own calves.
"Haeun-ah? Are you okay? Is your leg hurting or something?"
"......No."
My sister shook her head side to side.
Now that I look at it, perhaps because we were hugging, her clothes and hair were slightly damp.
Her body also seemed to be trembling a bit... and her ears were a bit red.
"Are you cold right now? Are you shivering with chills or something?"
Did I really make a mistake giving her alcohol yesterday?
She didn't catch a cold from sleeping with the window open yesterday, did she?
I tried to check her forehead, but she gently pushed my hand away.
"I'm f-fine. Just... my muscles must have been a bit startled."
"Really...?"
If so, that's a relief.
My sister slowly stood up and patted off the dirt clinging to her clothes.
"...I'll go wash up and change first. Oppa, take your time coming."
"Ah, yeah."
Leaving only those words behind, my sister slipped right into the house.
I stood up from my spot and turned off the hose.
Puddles had formed all over the yard.
"......."
Sigh....
Was my prank too much...?