The Snake Emperor's Debut
Congratulations on Snake's debut stream. Right after it ended, Haram went live and mentioned it directly, sending the related communities into a frenzy over Suhyun's new lore.
- lololol
- What the hell is this └So who is Snake Hwang └She's an S-rank beauty from the neighborhood with ultimate cuteness └At least I know you're insane;;
- Snake Hwang is cute though └Fr
- Is that her? This round's KariKari daughter? └Yeah KariKari's daughter └She must've spent a ton └I heard Bitmul basically did it for free └She does that when she likes someone
- lololol
- Not sharing the good stuff with just us again? └What └Holy crap
- "We're done for" my ass, mine are bigger └Whoa └I'm dizzy
- She's sooooooo cute link └Search vam └? Isn't that the old account from the neighboring stream? └Fr?
The internet was filled with such positive reactions. After checking them, Suhyun smiled smugly in front of her siblings.
"Hehe… delicious."
"Unnie, is it that good?"
"Yeah, it's good."
"Big sis, what are you looking at? Something fun?" Minwoo asked, handing her a chicken leg. Suhyun smiled happily at the two of them, then started fidgeting. She looked exactly like someone who really needed to pee.
"Uh, um… hey, you guys…"
"Yeah, just say it comfortably, unnie."
Jiwoo smiled gently at Suhyun and wiped the corner of her mouth, telling her to speak freely. Suhyun took a deep breath.
"…I-I love you."
"…!!"
"…!!"
She instantly killed both her siblings with that line.
"Ugh… unnie. If you say it while smiling like that…"
"J-Jiwoo?!"
"Kuh! Kugh…!"
"Minwoo?! Breathe!"
The two of them collapsed dramatically. Suhyun could only stare at them in utter panic.
The siblings had been eating chicken when they suddenly collapsed, startling Suhyun.
"H-hey… I'll call 119! Just hold on!"
She immediately grabbed her phone and started dialing 119, but the two of them frantically stopped her, saying not to report it. Suhyun froze in confusion.
"Huh…?"
"Unnie, we're fine!"
"You were really surprised, weren't you, big sis? Sorry."
"We just did it because unnie is too cute."
The two of them burst out laughing. '…They're completely fine?' Only then did Suhyun realize what had happened. The confusion faded, replaced by a mix of indignation at being tricked and relief, and she felt her eyes start to sting.
Her breathing came out ragged, her startled heart pounding hard as she let out her shock. She had really been scared. So scared she thought her heart would shrivel up.
"I-I'm so glad…! You really scared me…!!"
Thinking they had actually collapsed, Suhyun tore off her plastic gloves and pulled the two of them into a tight hug.
"I'm so glad… hic! I-I thought you were dead… I thought I'd never see you again… I, I… hic!"
Tears and snot poured out on what should have been a good day. Her voice cracked again as she muttered how relieved she was to the kids. Startled, the siblings quickly hugged her back and apologized.
"Sorry, sorry, unnie. Are you okay…?"
"Jiwoo… don't play around like that… I-I get scared when you do that, don't go…"
"Okay, I'm sorry."
"Big sis… sorry, are you okay?"
"Minwoo, you too… don't do that either…!"
She scolded them through her tears. These were kids she had never scolded before. She hated herself for even saying anything now. It wasn't like she was that surprised; they had just been in a good mood and played a little joke. She felt like she had ruined the atmosphere.
"Hic…!"
"Unnie, cheer up, cheer up."
"Khuuu… uhe……"
"Are you okay?"
Jiwoo asked kindly with a smile. Beside her, Minwoo patted Suhyun's head and told her it was fine.
"Noona, I'm sorry."
"…It's okay."
"We made noona feel bad because of us."
Minwoo blamed himself. Suhyun just looked up at him silently.
"Unnie, the chicken's getting cold. Eat up."
Jiwoo told her to eat quickly. Suhyun, already full from what she had eaten earlier, refused and apologized.
"I-I'm… full. Sorry… you bought it for me and I couldn't even finish it."
The siblings told her it was fine as she sniffled. Suhyun smiled and thanked them.
"By the way, noona, what were you looking at earlier?"
"…Huh?"
"You were smiling while looking at your phone."
Minwoo asked with a curious face. Suhyun showed him the posts she had been reading and bragged, not quite bragging.
"P-people really liked it… ahah… ahaha……"
"Is all this real? Noona's getting tons of compliments."
"Y-yeah… hehe."
Minwoo smiled as he looked at her phone, his fingers moving busily as he scrolled through the comments. Suhyun was happy. Not just because so many people liked her, but because her siblings were smiling because of those reactions. It felt like a dream that someone as dark and worthless as her could be loved and bring smiles to others.
"I-it's all thanks to you two… thank you so much, guys……"
"What are you thanking us for? We're only alive like this because of you, unnie."
"…It's not because of me, it's because you two worked hard… I didn't even do my part properly."
When Suhyun said that, Jiwoo and Minwoo immediately denied it. Knowing she would just get refuted no matter what she said, she simply nodded.
'How am I supposed to tell them……'
She wished they would realize even a little that she was the one indebted to them.
"By the way, unnie, what are you going to do on stream now?"
"…I don't know… I decided to play a horror game tomorrow."
"Noona, will you be okay?"
Minwoo asked if she would be fine. Suhyun nodded.
"I-it's not scary, they said……"
"…They usually lie about that."
"R-really? Are they all black Jireongis?"
When she asked that, Minwoo told her to call if it got too scary. Suhyun nodded.
"By the way, unnie, the medicine, bandages, and disinfectant I saw last time looked kind of dangerous."
"Huh…?"
"…I figured you'd do it anyway even if I told you not to. At least use clean ones."
Jiwoo handed her clean medical supplies. Suhyun's eyes widened.
"…Huk, new bandages."
"……"
"Thanks, Jiwoo!"
When Suhyun smiled brightly and thanked her, Jiwoo smiled with a complicated expression, patted her cheek once, and headed to the bathroom.
"I-I'll use the bathroom for a bit, unnie."
"Use it however you want."
"…Thanks."
Jiwoo smiled and went into the bathroom. Suhyun stared blankly at the spot where she had disappeared, then looked at the pure white bandages.
"Noona, I hope you barely have to use those until they get dirty."
"…Huh?"
"You don't like being in pain."
Minwoo looked at the wound on her hand as he spoke. Even though she was smiling, she knew the emotion behind it was pain. This was the kind of person she was. Someone who hurt her family just by existing.
'Suhyun… I'm sorry for giving birth to you.'
Maybe that was why Mom had left too.
"……"
"You understand, right, noona?"
"…I-I understand."
Suhyun nodded with her head down and smiled. After about two more hours, Jiwoo and Minwoo went home.
The two of them waited for a taxi to go home. The sticky summer air tormented them even in the evening. A heavy, gloomy silence hung around them. Jiwoo was the one who broke it.
"It's hot."
"Yeah."
"We should get an air conditioner installed at unnie's place."
"She only had one fan……"
"Yeah, we should install it before it gets really hot."
Jiwoo said with a complicated expression.
"She likes it so much… it hurts to watch."
"……"
"She was so indifferent about the computer… but when we gave her new bandages, the way she liked it…"
It hurt. They wanted to save her so badly. They wanted to pull Suhyun out of the pit she was stuck in, where she could only look up at them with no strength left to climb.
"She's getting better, let's do our best, noona."
Minwoo said while staring into the air. Jiwoo, who had been blankly looking at Minwoo, let out a small laugh and sighed.
"Yeah, we have to."
"……"
"……"
Silence lingered between them again. Jiwoo broke it once more.
"…Don't act cool, it's cringy."
"What are you talking about."
"Haram hates people who act cool."
"I'll fix it, noona."
The two of them chuckled. And so, another day passed.