3
3# The Beginning of Change
The next day, I deliberately woke up early, washed up, and headed into the living room.
“Ugh... I’m dying.”
Getting up early was seriously no easy task.
Fortunately, Seo Arim’s bedroom door was still firmly closed.
She seemed to have stayed up all night working yesterday, so it made sense that she was tired.
Every now and then, I could faintly hear her singing. Her voice hadn’t been polished yet, but it was so beautiful that I almost couldn’t fall asleep.
Come to think of it, she had said that after debuting, she had handled all the songwriting and composing herself without a single person helping her.
Her talent was impressive, but her hard work was admirable too.
“Good.”
Shall I get started?
The very first step of the Seo Jae-hoon Rehabilitation Project.
Act One.
First, I opened the refrigerator to check the ingredients.
There were some vegetables... and eggs.
There was also some sliced bread and butter tucked away in the corner.
‘There’s more here than I expected.’
This was perfect.
Recalling the days when I had lived alone, I began cooking as diligently as I could.
I toasted the bread and fried the eggs. With the vegetables, I made a simple salad.
Just as I was nearly finished preparing breakfast—
Bang!
The bedroom door opened right on cue.
Seo Arim emerged from inside, still wearing her pajamas.
The moment our eyes met, she flinched and stopped walking.
Narrowing her eyes, she stared at me suspiciously.
But I paid no attention to that gaze and flashed her a bright smile, dramatically raising one hand.
“Good morning!”
“......?”
Hmm.
If I were to interpret Seo Arim’s expression, it was roughly this:
‘Has this bastard finally lost his mind?’
That was probably the gist of it.
I understood.
Until the day before yesterday, her brother had been incapable of behaving like a normal human being, and now he had suddenly become a completely different person.
Of course she would be confused.
But the important thing was to act as naturally as possible.
I maintained my calm expression and placed two plates on the dining table, each holding some bread, eggs, and a little salad.
“Let’s eat breakfast~.”
The slight—very, very slight—awkwardness in my tone wasn’t just my imagination.
My acting skills were lacking.
That was what happened when you got to this age. I hoped she would cut me some slack.
“......Oppa.”
“Hmm~?”
“Did you perhaps eat something strange?”
“No~?”
“Are you doing this because you’re planning to leave the house? Are you trying to be nice to me one last time?”
That was a surprisingly realistic question.
I couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment.
‘...What kind of bastard was he?’
For her to think that far...
It was rather pitiful seeing her so guarded when this was nothing more than a simple act of kindness.
Of course, I probably would have reacted the same way.
When someone who had never behaved like this suddenly changed, it could be a little frightening.
“It’s not like that. I’m going to start living a more wholesome life from now on. I think I’ve been living recklessly for far too long.”
“......No matter how I look at it, something’s off.”
Although Seo Arim clearly wasn’t convinced, she cautiously sat down at the table.
Then, as she spread butter over her bread, she added,
“Well... even if that’s true, you’ll probably give up after one day anyway. Whatever. I’ll eat.”
I had expected her to refuse to eat altogether, but she accepted it more readily than I thought.
Just like she had said, perhaps she really didn’t think much of it.
I stopped overthinking it as well and sat down across from her.
Seo Arim’s small mouth bit into the bread.
Soon, she began chewing on the salad as well, then gave a small nod.
“It doesn’t taste bad. But the bread is too dry. You didn’t put butter on it when you toasted it, did you?”
“Ah, right... I forgot.”
How did she know?!
She really was sharp. This was what you called a ninth-dan housewife... right?
For some reason, I felt annoyed that she had found my weakness.
Next time, I’d show her what I was capable of.
Just when it seemed like we might actually have a conversation, silence descended once again.
I scratched my head and took a sip of juice.
What was I supposed to do about this awkward atmosphere?
I had prepared breakfast partly to show her that I was changing, but also to create an opportunity for us to sit face-to-face and talk.
Yet now that Seo Arim was actually sitting right in front of me, it was difficult to start a conversation.
“Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
“Ah, no.”
I had nothing appropriate to say.
But if I tried making some stupid joke, I felt like the atmosphere would only become even more awkward.
I rolled my eyes around for a moment before coming up with a decent topic.
Ahem.
After clearing my throat once, I gathered my courage and spoke.
“Um... Arim, how’s the work you’re doing going?”
“What work? My part-time job?”
“No, I mean the music you’re doing.”
“...Huh?”
Seo Arim slightly furrowed her brow at my question.
Then she asked in a somewhat curt tone,
“How does Oppa know about that?”
“Huh, huh?”
I realized my mistake in an instant.
Had she not told her brother?
‘Well...’
If the two of them had mostly stayed shut up in their respective rooms, they probably barely talked at all.
There would have been no reason for her to tell him that she was making music.
I had simply assumed she had.
I hurriedly tried to come up with an excuse, but the damage had already been done.
Just as I was desperately racking my brain to clean up the mess, Seo Arim nodded as though she had already figured it out.
“Well... I guess there’s no way you wouldn’t know.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m always singing while recording late at night... Even if the room is well soundproofed, there’s no way you wouldn’t hear it. Right?”
“Uh, yeah... I guess so.”
“Haa... I actually didn’t want to tell you. But since it’s already come up, I’ll just tell you everything.”
Seo Arim let out a small sigh before continuing in a resolute voice.
“I actually make music. I’ve already released a few songs, and I even have a few fans, though there aren’t many. I have a separate stage name, so don’t bother trying to find out what it is. And I’m not going to quit just because you tell me to, so don’t interfere. Just know that’s what I’m doing.”
As though she had rehearsed it beforehand, Seo Arim rattled off the announcement.
Her gaze remained cold as she looked at me.
It would be a little cliché to add some unnecessary words, so I decided to simply support her quietly.
After thinking about my answer for a moment, I nodded obediently.
“I know. I’m not going to stop you, and I’m not going to interfere. Just work hard. I really hope you succeed and make it big.”
“......”
Was my answer that unexpected?
Seo Arim blinked, and a somewhat bewildered expression appeared on her face.
“...You really are acting strange.”
She muttered that before stuffing the remaining bread into her mouth.
After finishing her food, she stood up.
“Anyway, thanks for the meal. I’m off to my part-time job.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
Perhaps my send-off had felt awkward, because Seo Arim, who had been heading toward her room to change clothes, suddenly turned around.
Then she gave a small, incredulous laugh and carefully closed the bedroom door.
I stared at the spot where she had disappeared and shrugged.
‘This counts as a success for today.’
I still had a lot more work to do, but I thought I had gotten off to a good start.
Let’s keep going like this.
Then someday, I’d be able to let her hear my song.
But first, I had to finish the song.
---
After Seo Arim left for her part-time job and I finished the housework, I sat down in front of the computer once again.
It was time to write the lyrics for the song I had made yesterday.
First, I played the song to decide on its theme.
It began with a soft yet somehow lively chord riff, then the drums and various instruments came in as the song moved toward its highlight.
And on top of that was the gentle guide vocal...
Or rather, my rather embarrassing humming.
As I listened to it, I wrote down everything that came to mind in order in my notebook.
Actually, I had already had a theme in mind from the moment I first wrote this song.
Family love.
There were already countless songs about the fresh, fluttering love between couples.
That didn’t mean there was anything wrong with it.
There was a reason certain themes were used so often.
Because they were the easiest way to evoke sympathy from a large number of people.
But I wanted to approach the theme a little differently.
I wanted it to feel like a message from me, as her older brother, to Seo Arim.
It might be a little childish, but I thought that was part of the charm of music too.
The title was “Salbaram.”
April.
The exact time when the cherry blossoms bloom and spring arrives.
Maybe it was perfectly suited to the weather right now.
I put down my notebook and opened a text editor.
Then, while repeatedly listening to the music, I slowly began writing lyrics that matched each syllable.
[At first, it might feel a little distant]
Starting with the first line, I began rapidly tapping the keyboard, swept away by the inspiration pouring out of me.
[That doesn’t mean we hate each other]
One line, then another.
[Slowly and warmly, like a gentle spring breeze]
I immersed myself in the emotions and poured everything in my head into the lyrics.
How much time had passed?
By the time the sunset had begun painting the sky red outside the window, I had finally finished writing all the lyrics.
“Phew.”
I leaned back into my chair and caught my breath.
I had done everything I could.
It was the first song I wanted to show Seo Arim, and more importantly, it was the first meaningful song I had created entirely by myself that I actually liked, despite having no talent in my previous life.
But the song wasn’t completely finished yet.
The lyrics were done, but my humming was still being used as the guide vocal.
If I wanted to let her hear it, I had to record it again with the actual lyrics.
“Hmm... No matter how I look at it, I think I need a microphone.”
I looked around.
Something I could use...
As expected, there was nothing.
“Ah, fine. I’ll have to make do with you, phone.”
Well, a phone microphone was still a microphone, wasn’t it?
As long as I could record it properly, that was all that mattered.
There was probably a microphone in Seo Arim’s room, where she worked on songs every day...
But I didn’t particularly want to go in there.
I had to respect her privacy.
Going in without permission would make me a bad older brother.
I chuckled and picked up my phone before opening the recorder.
I put in the earphones I had found underneath my bed before going to sleep yesterday and played the instrumental.
Then, very slowly, I began singing the first verse with emotion.
---
“What’s going on? Oppa, you haven’t been smoking lately?”
Seo Arim asked suspiciously after coming out of the bathroom.
I was leaning against the sofa watching TV and answered confidently.
“Yeah. I told you before, didn’t I? I’m going to live a wholesome life from now on. So I quit smoking too. I threw everything I had into the trash.”
“......Are you really okay? You’re not sick or anything, are you?”
“No way. Won’t you believe in your pure-hearted Oppa’s determination?”
“Ew. That’s disgusting.”
“Disgusting...?”
That hurt.
It really did.
I was working so hard here.
Fortunately, perhaps because I had spent the past few days diligently helping with the housework and being friendly toward her, Seo Arim’s gaze had softened a little from the cold look she had initially given me.
“Still, it’s nice to see you seem a little more cheerful than before.”
“What was I like before?”
“Hmm. You’d get irritated, swear, and sometimes throw things when you got angry... Something like that?”
“That’s just being a piece of trash...”
“At least you know that much.”
From the sound of it, he had been even worse than I imagined.
I suddenly felt impressed by Seo Arim for having lived with someone like this for several years.
If it had been me, there was no way in hell I could have lived with him.
I probably would have had a huge fight with him, basically saying, “If you die, I die too.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll never do that again.”
“I don’t believe you. Should I make you sign a contract or something?”
“I’ll do it. Where do I sign?”
“...I was joking. You’re awfully eager.”
Seo Arim gave a small laugh and shrugged.
If she could naturally make jokes like this, I suppose she had become fairly comfortable around me.
It felt good knowing that all my efforts hadn’t been in vain.
Let’s keep going like this.
“Great, I’m in a good mood! I’m buying chicken today!”
“Huh? But Oppa, you don’t have any money.”
“Of course I have enough money for chicken. It’s in my bank account.”
“...You have money? Where did you get that?”
“Huh?”
Had I made a mistake?
“Oppa doesn’t even have a part-time job, so why do you have money? Don’t tell me you...”
I could tell exactly what she was thinking.
I hurriedly waved my hands and interrupted her.
“N-No, it’s not like that! It’s, uh... Right! I sold some things I wasn’t using a while ago, that’s why...!”
“You sold things you weren’t using? You?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Hmm...”
I had managed to come up with an excuse, but the suspicion in her eyes showed no sign of disappearing.
Just as I nervously bit my lip, Seo Arim slowly raised her head as though she had made a decision.
Then she met my gaze with the faintest smile in her eyes.
“Well, judging by how you’ve been acting lately, I don’t think you’d do something like that... I’ll make an exception and believe you this time.”
At that moment, I felt like my heart had been dealt a tremendous blow.
She was already beautiful, but adding that eye-smile was seriously dangerous.
So I cleared my throat for no reason and pretended to be interested in something else.
“Ahem... Yeah. Thanks.”
“What? Something feels weird. Don’t tell me you’re lying...”
“I absolutely am not...!”
“Pfft, okay. I’m going to work now, so don’t bother me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll kill you if you come in.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Seo Arim quietly giggled as she went into her room.
Only then did I let out a sigh of relief and relax my body.
‘...I need to be more careful with what I say.’
Since the original owner of this body had done all kinds of strange things, even the smallest mistake made me suspicious.
Why should I have to suffer for Seo Jae-hoon’s mistakes?
Oh, right.
I was Seo Jae-hoon now.
I’d forgotten.
“Whew.”
I sighed, but there was a faint happiness hidden within it.
Perhaps soon, I would be able to let her hear my song.
I was already curious about how she would react.
Just then—
Ding!
A message suddenly arrived.
I tilted my head and turned on my phone.
[Best Friend: Hey, wanna hit the club tonight?]
“Nope. Not going.”
I blocked him immediately.
I’ll keep the same spellings for Seo Jae-hoon, Seo Arim, and SEY in the next chapters as well.