Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Indeed, Just as Rumored, What a Guy with Filthy Tastes
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A day's routine basically starts with preparing breakfast.
Rinsing rice into the cooker, thawing meat if needed or marinating already-thawed meat with seasoning.
Side dishes made from seasonal vegetables are essential for nutritional balance.
The same routine as always.
The only difference was that she now prepared even more generous portions of side dishes, packaged them meticulously, and set them aside.
She handed over the neatly packed side dishes to Baek Ha-yan on her way out for morning jogging, wrapping up the morning chores.
After returning home, she did some cleaning and laundry, ate lunch, and then leisurely began preparing for her stream.
"Ah, that just reminded me."
Han Ye-eun suddenly blurted that out mid-makeup.
Her twitching lips already made me uneasy about whatever nonsense she was about to spout.
"Oppa, remember back when you got caught downloading porn on the computer?"
My worst fears came true.
Caught off-guard by the black history attack, I froze with a dot-like expression.
"Sis, didn't we agree to let that incident slide?"
She was the shameless villain unilaterally breaking our sibling peace treaty.
Now I had no choice but to invoke mutual assured destruction and dig deep into that mysterious yellow stain on the blanket from ten years ago.
Sensing my intent, she frantically waved her hands, denying it.
"No, hear me out. You lent your one-room to that new editor, Park Ha-yeon or whatever?"
"Not Park Ha-yeon, Baek Ha-yan. But why?"
"Just checking if you organized your folders this time."
"Huh?"
Her concerned voice echoed in my ears.
"You formatted the computer, right?"
"...Huh?"
*
"...Ceriri?"
Baek Ha-yan stared at the video folders on the monitor, unable to hide her bewilderment.
[Ceriri Special: Her Dizzying Postures]
She clicked it absentmindedly, then freaked out and closed it immediately.
What the hell.
Why is that on the computer?
Hyo-jeong unnie said she'd been away from home for a month—did it get hacked in the meantime...?
Just in case, she checked another video.
[Ceriri: Father-in-Law Arrives During Husband's Business Trip—Why Are You Doing This?]
[Hinako: The PE Teacher's Brutal Punishment, Her After-School Story]
[Hinako: Academy Pink Revolution, The Fiesta of Disciplining Delinquents That Day]
[Ceriri: Worst If Caught, Girl Racing Through the City]
"..."
Ah, got it. Definitely hacked.
Someone hacked it and stuffed it full of weird videos.
A pervert hacker who snuck them in to shame the owner upon discovery.
Proof: Aside from the hacker's sleazy folder, the desktop was completely empty—no games or anything.
"Cunning. They wiped all other programs and filled the space with videos."
The videos looked so filthy, she felt like touching the mouse might infect her with a virus.
Unable to bring herself to delete them, Baek Ha-yan just stared intently until she noticed the photo folder on her PC had a hefty size.
Her gaze naturally shifted there.
The photos were fine.
A quick glance showed more clothed shots than skin.
Not a weird collection—thankfully normal photos.
Relieved, Baek Ha-yan clicked the top photo.
"Military?"
It showed a man in uniform saluting.
Who was he?
She scrolled through with the arrow keys.
The uniformed man's photos shifted to casual clothes at some point, and further on, sweet couple shots with a woman appeared.
For a split second, she thought it was Hyo-jeong unnie.
"...Doesn't look like her."
There was an odd disconnect ruling her out as unnie.
Actually, unnie resembled the man more.
If the woman had fox-like features, the man was puppy-like.
Same canine family, but distinct differences.
"Hyo-jeong unnie's closer to puppy features."
That harmless vibe made her feel safe enough to get close.
Her pranks aside, she just seemed genuinely kind.
Clutching the rabbit plush she'd snuck out, she fell into thought.
She already knew Hyo-jeong's concept from Manager Park.
TS Hyo-jeong was Han Jeong-ho, a fictional male character turned female.
She'd wondered why such a contrived setup, but now it made some sense.
'She has an oppa.'
Han Jeong-ho's true identity: Han Hyo-jeong's real brother.
Easy to borrow his name as family.
The two-years-younger sister mention came straight from Hyo-jeong herself.
That made Hyo-jeong 22.
"Still unnie, though."
She felt relieved inwardly.
At least she hadn't been coquettish with someone her age.
A matter of pride, sort of.
Anyway, now she knew the man in the photos was Hyo-jeong's brother.
So who was the woman with him?
"Hmm, definitely not Hyo-jeong unnie."
She had Hyo-jeong's face memorized perfectly—could draw it eyes closed.
Forehead width, eye shape, nose perkiness, lip color, etc.
Everything subtly different from the photo woman.
Innate facial features no surgery could fake—she was certain it wasn't her.
"Ah! Maybe his girlfriend?"
But why childhood girlfriend photos?
Curiosity led her to flip through more, showing the pair getting progressively younger.
Through high school to middle school.
This went beyond casual girlfriend—straight-up childhood friends.
To pure-romance-loving Baek Ha-yan, the album felt like a beautiful youth drama.
Knowing it was rude, she couldn't stop.
Watching their growth stirred an indescribable thrill.
Time flew until the scroll hit bottom.
Realizing no more photos, Ha-yan murmured regretfully.
"No unnie photos..."
Mostly her oppa or presumed-girlfriend shots.
Wondering if hidden folders lurked, she scanned around—right then.
*Ding-dong*—the front door opened suddenly.
'Unnie?'
She'd stopped by with breakfast earlier, but why back?
Eager to brag about her discovery, Ha-yan dashed over.
"Uh...? Who are you?"
No Hyo-jeong unnie—instead, a middle-aged lady entered.
Spotting Ha-yan, the lady startled, voice shocked.
"Oh my! Someone's here!"
Face full of apology, she stepped back outside.
"Goodness, she said she went abroad to study, how'd she find another tenant? Should've said something."
"Study abroad...?"
"You're the one Jeong-ho student introduced, right?"
Jeong-ho.
Han Jeong-ho, probably.
"Yes."
"Sorry for barging in. Gotta maintain an empty house, you know? Thought no one lived here."
"Sure..."
After the landlady left, Ha-yan sat back at the computer to check photos.
"He's handsome."
Definitely.
Some subtle resemblance to Hyo-jeong unnie.
Theory confirmed.
This place belonged to Han Jeong-ho—Hyo-jeong's brother.
Explained the all-male photos.
Videos were his tastes, not hacked.
Figures. Way too macho—enough to make her frown.
The forceful, primal videos felt uncomfortable just viewing.
Hyo-jeong unnie struck her as more platonic-love type.
Zoned out browsing photos, her phone rang.
Her calls were usually one of three.
First: annoying insurance ads.
Second: Manager Park's work stuff.
Third:
"Yeah, unnie."
[Ah, Ha-yan. Can you talk now?]
Hyo-jeong unnie.
Hearing her voice over the phone instantly calmed her.
"Yeah, got time."
[It's just...]
Not her usual playful tone—cautious.
Something bad happen?
Unnie's voice carried uncharacteristic anxiety.
[Did you check the computer in the room?]
"Yeah."
[Ah...]
A soft sigh.
Her reaction suggested prior knowledge of the contents.
To spare unnie embarrassment, Ha-yan continued calmly.
"Unnie, I need space for editing tools—can I delete unnecessary stuff on the computer?"
A roundabout way to mention the filthy videos.
[Yeah, go ahead.]
Mutual consideration flowed over the line.
Gathering courage, Ha-yan brought up another topic.
"And about your oppa..."
Subtly spilling their secret.
[Oppa?]
"Yeah. Saw photos by chance. Figured I shouldn't delete those."
[Oh right! Those photos are super precious to me. Damn, got so caught up in the videos I forgot.]
Videos. She knew.
Unnie really loves her oppa.
The affection in her voice reached Ha-yan fully.
A twinge of envy bloomed in Ha-yan's heart.
Wished she could be that special to unnie.
[Don't delete the photos—wait for me. I'll come tomorrow, okay?]
Couldn't she just email them?
No reason to refuse unnie coming, so Ha-yan agreed readily.
*
"Holy..."
"What? She saw?"
"Seems like..."
Ending the call with Baek Ha-yan, I rubbed my face glumly.
With photos seen too, those blatant desktop videos were obviously busted—unless my brain was full of flowers.
If asked why I left it so carelessly, I'd say I never imagined anyone snooping.
"I'm done for."
Imagining Ha-yan's contemptuous look tore at my heart.
Couldn't abandon the sister-memoir photos, so I'd have to retrieve them.
But facing Ha-yan tomorrow felt daunting already.
'Wait. Didn't she say something about oppa earlier?'
No way.
Did she mistake my photo for someone else's oppa?
Breakthrough found.
"Han Jeong-ho, you bastard. Indeed, just as rumored, what a guy with filthy tastes."
From today, Han Jeong-ho and I were separate entities.
My name's Han Hyo-jeong; he's my half-brother.
Those computer videos are his—zero relation to me.
I mentally armored up.
"Honestly, tastes are fucked."
Ye-eun's quip from eavesdropping beside me.
I wasn't Han Jeong-ho now, so couldn't retort.
Forcing agreement, I nodded.
Then she landed the follow-up.
"Bet he doesn't even have a girlfriend?"
"Cut me some slack, punk."