My Feisty Sisters Are Coming After Me

Chapter 15

—–CROW—– 

I calmed myself down and tried to figure out how much Geum-bi Noona knew. If Hwa-yeon had told her everything from the start…I’d have to confiscate her allowance and teach her about family loyalty.

‘I should have just sent her 50,000 won, tsk.’

As I frowned, Geum-bi Noona, sitting next to me, pursed her lips.  Since she wasn’t at fault, I put on my brightest smile and asked,

“It’s okay, just tell me. What did that Hwa-yeon brat…I mean, our little sister, say?”

“Well, she didn’t say much. I came back and was washing my hands and feet, and she was annoyingly brushing her teeth next to me, so I told her off.”

“Yeah, and?”

“She was giving me this irritating look, so I asked her if she had something to say, and she just brushed it off, saying it was nothing.”

“Yeah, so?”

“She looked even more suspicious, so I pressed her, and she told me to ask you.  She said to tell you to…tone it down with the…you know.”

“…Huh? That’s it?”

“Yeah.  So, I naturally assumed you got caught by Hwa-yeon while…you know…wasn’t that it?”

After hearing the story, I wasn’t sure if I should be angry.  As expected, it was Hwa-yeon’s loose lips that caused this, but she hadn’t broken her promise completely.

‘At least she kept the bathroom incident a secret…well, it wasn’t peeping, it was an accident.’

I had bribed her to keep quiet about the whole thing, including the…you know…but I hadn’t checked if she had actually understood.  If I confronted her, it would only make things worse, but if I did nothing, I’d be the only one embarrassed.  This was awkward.

I weighed my sister’s malice against her intelligence, but it was hard to tell which one was greater.  But the fact remained that my reputation was being tarnished in real-time, and as my contemplation dragged on, Geum-bi Noona looked at me with pity and comforted me.

“You know, Ji-gu? I understand.  You must have a lot of pent-up…you know…it can’t be helped, being a guy, right?”

“No, it’s not like that…but…um…”

“It’s okay, it happens.  I understand everything, so don’t be embarrassed.  Okay?”

Her words only made me more embarrassed.  But I couldn’t just deny Geum-bi Noona’s comfort.  It was true that I had been feeling stressed, which led to the incident.

‘If I had to pinpoint the cause, it would be because the Noonas kept calling me to their rooms and taking up my time.  But using that as an excuse…let’s stop. It’s too pathetic.’

My embarrassment meter was already full.  If I said anything more, I wouldn’t be able to hide my shame even if I crawled into a hole.  So, I wished Noona would stop talking.  And stop looking at me like that.  And why did she keep putting her hand on mine?

“Ji-gu, um…uh…”

“Geum-bi Noona, I’m really okay. You don’t have to comfort me anymore.”

“No, it’s not that…if you don’t mind, could you tell me how you got caught?”

“Huh?”

“No, no, I don’t mean it in a weird way!  I’m not asking if you were having weird thoughts about us, but if we were taking up your time…and you couldn’t…you know…take care of it in time. Don’t misunderstand!”

Was Geum-bi Noona an extreme T personality type?  I thought it was unusual for her to be so comforting, but as soon as I seemed better, she went straight to the heart of the matter.

‘Right, this is her usual personality. This is our second eldest Noona, yeah.’

I should have just kept saying I was embarrassed.  I should have quickly gone back to my room when she was blushing and stuttering.

“Um, you don’t have to tell me if it’s too embarrassing.  I was just asking out of concern.”

Geum-bi Noona seemed aware that it was an embarrassing question, as she fidgeted, giving me an out.  But her fidgeting hand was on top of mine, so I could clearly feel her hesitation.  And beneath that hesitation, the hidden curiosity and courage.

“Ha…what are you curious about?  Just tell me what you want to know, and I’ll tell you how I got caught.”

“Oh, yeah.  Just tell me what you’re comfortable sharing, Ji-gu.”

“To summarize, I was so focused on…you know…that I didn’t notice Hwa-yeon was there.”

“Huh?  So…um, and then?”

“I finished and went to the bathroom to wash up, and that’s when we ran into each other.  The end.”

“I-I see.  That must have been so embarrassing…”

She was good at saying that.  The person who made me confess such an embarrassing story with my own mouth.

‘And why is *she* the one who’s more embarrassed?  *She’s* the one who should be blushing and looking away.’

I looked at Geum-bi Noona, who seemed flustered after asking the question, with disbelief.  Oblivious to my expression, she flinched and shook her head every time our eyes met.

“Geum-bi Noona.”

“Y-yes?  Wh-what is it…Ji-gu?”

“Can I go now that we’re done talking?”

“Huh? Eh?”

“Confessing something like this…it’s pretty tiring, you know?  It’s embarrassing and shameful, and I just want to run away.”

“Oh, I see!  Of course you would. Okay, sorry for keeping you…!”

I wasn’t sure what she wanted.  Geum-bi Noona continued to fuss over me even as I was leaving, and I got up with a deep sigh.  After that long and awkward interrogation, as I was about to open the door and leave—

I felt something touch my hand, and when I looked back, Geum-bi Noona was holding onto me with her head down.

“…Noona?”

“Um, Ji-gu.  What if, just what if…”

“Yeah? What?”

“What happened today…it wasn’t because of me or Su-jeong Unnie, was it?”

“Huh?  Wh-what?”

“I don’t mean it in a weird way! I’m not asking if you were having weird thoughts about us, but if we were taking up your time…and you couldn’t…take care of it in time.  Don’t misunderstand!”

“Ah, uh, I see…yeah.”

I was extremely flustered by Geum-bi Noona’s ambiguous question, and thankfully, she hurriedly added an explanation.  But even her clarified question was difficult to answer, and seeing my reaction, she mumbled, still looking down,

“If…I was the one who interrupted you, I’ll try not to do that again.”

“…”

“I don’t know how, but I’ll be more careful.  So don’t worry too much…okay?”

She was the one who was worried and flustered more than anyone, yet she was trying to comfort me, her younger brother, with her trembling hands.  Her words weren’t reassuring at all, and her gesture wasn’t one I could rely on, even as a joke, but—

“Ugh?!  Huh? Ji-gu?”

“…Thank you.  I was so embarrassed, but you made me feel better.”

I turned around, knelt in front of Geum-bi Noona, and gently held her trembling hands in mine.  Looking up at her, I could clearly see her tomato-red face, but I pretended not to notice, smiled at her, and thanked her.

“The Noonas’ issues didn’t take up so much of my time that it interfered with…that. But…if something like that happens again, I’ll talk to you first, Geum-bi Noona.”

“R-really?  Me?”

“Yeah.  Can I rely on you then, Noona?”

“Of course! Anytime…if you need anything, just tell me.  I’ll help you with anything!”

The first thing she asked when I came in was if I got caught…you know…  How did we end up like this?  Thinking back, it seemed like we were both destined to spend the night tossing and turning in bed.

“Thank you. I feel reassured having you as my Noona.  I love you, Geum-bi Noona.”

“Gah?!  Ah, um, yeah.  I…I like you a lot too, Ji-gu.”

Since we had come this far, I heated up the atmosphere with the cheesy words I had hidden deep in my heart.  My face must have been as red as hers by now, and I hurriedly escaped from her room before I completely melted from the heat.

“See you tomorrow.  Goodnight, Noona!”

“Y-you too.  Have a good evening…no, night, Ji-gu.”

After closing the door and taking a deep breath, I finally felt like I could see clearly.  In other words, I couldn’t remember what had just happened or what I had done.

‘Later…when I’ve calmed down, I’ll think about it slowly.’

Looking out the window, it was almost nighttime, just like Geum-bi Noona had said.  I decided to shower on my way downstairs and headed to the bathroom.  I had been there many times today, but this was the first time I was taking a proper shower.  Perhaps because of that, my evening bath took longer than usual.

By the time I returned to my room, it was completely dark.  And inside…was a guest who had arrived before me and was sound asleep.

* * *

“Huh? Su-jeong Noona?”

“…Mmm.”

When I finally returned to my room, Su-jeong Noona was already there, eyes closed.  She didn’t respond when I called her, and the lights were off, so she must have been very tired.

‘She left the stand lamp on.  Was she worried about me?’

I had my phone’s flashlight, so she didn’t need to be so considerate.  The lamp was on the right-side drawer, so she could have at least slept on the left side of the bed.

‘Is it because I always make her sleep on the right? I didn’t have a particular reason…never mind.’

Su-jeong Noona was always considerate, even when she was tired, and I awkwardly brought over a blanket.  Since she never seemed to take care of herself, I approached her to cover her with it.

“Ugh?! What, Noona, have you been drinking?”

“…Hmm.”

Flushed cheeks and restless movements, I thought it was just her bad sleeping habits, but…now that I looked closer, it seemed like she had kicked off the blanket, not just failed to cover herself with it.  Her body was probably warm from the alcohol.

“I didn’t hear about a company dinner, did she have some canned beer in the kitchen?”

I touched her cheek to check her temperature.  She didn’t seem too drunk, so I finished tidying up her sleeping area, feeling relieved.

“She’ll probably kick off the blanket anyway, so I’ll give up on that, and her phone…she has it next to her.  Nothing else to worry about, right?”

I was a little concerned that her tight tank top had ridden up, slightly exposing her lower abdomen.  But it was warm, so she probably wouldn’t catch a cold from that.

“She’s wearing long pants instead of dolphin shorts…though they’re still skin-tight.”

After checking everything, I lay down to get some sleep.  I put some distance between our pillows, just in case, and as I was about to turn off the stand lamp—

“Hmm, Ji-gu…”

“Whoa?! N-Noona? Noona?!”

As I reached over Su-jeong Noona to turn off the lamp on her side, she suddenly tossed and turned, perhaps due to her bad sleeping habits, and I fell right on top of her.

“Noona? Ugh, the smell of alcohol. Let go, Noona.”

“Mmm, Ji-gu…hehe.”

She just mumbled incoherently, as if she was talking in her sleep as well as tossing and turning. I had somehow ended up on top of Su-jeong Noona, and I carefully tried to get off without waking her—

“Um, Ji-gu? Are you in there? I left my phone in your room, so I came to get it…uh…?”

“ …!”

Stupidly…

I had just been talking about using my phone’s flashlight, but I must have left it in Geum-bi Noona’s room.

‘I didn’t realize because I went straight to the shower, damn it.’

Cursing inwardly, I mechanically turned around.  At the end of my gaze, Geum-bi Noona, frozen with the door half-open, slowly started to glare at me.

—–CROW—– 

Illustration