My Friend’s Little Sister is Special

Ye-rin, who had entered my room, naturally approached my bed.

After sitting down gently, she looked around the room with curious eyes and her small mouth slightly open.

Is there anything to see?

It was cute how she looked around in all directions like a baby bird that had just hatched, but.

Cute is cute.

I had confirmed there were no traces of me in the trash can, but I was still a bit nervous, and even though she had already seen everything, I was still embarrassed to show her my room as it was, so I gently tried to persuade her to wait outside for a moment.

But as if that wasn’t going to happen.

Seeing Ye-rin turning her head this way and that, pretending not to hear me, and firmly planted in the middle of my bed without budging, I was dumbfounded.

…She’s a bit stubborn, isn’t she?

It was nice to learn a new side of Ye-rin, but I didn’t particularly want to discover it now, in my room.

Finally, I let out a small sigh and said:

“It’s probably not that different from Jin-hyuk’s room…?”

I’d never been in Jin-hyuk’s room, but aren’t all guys’ rooms pretty much the same?

I couldn’t understand why she was doing this when there was nothing special to see in my ordinary room.

“It is different…?”

My comment was met with a response that sounded slightly displeased.

…Did I just upset her?

When I looked at Ye-rin with that thought, her mouth, which had been slightly open in wonder until just now, was now firmly shut with her cheeks slightly puffed up.

“…What’s different about it?”

I’m screwed.

This new expression of hers was cute, but I needed to get her back to normal before those cheeks puffed up even more.

“Oppa.”

“Yeaah.”

“How do you think you’d feel if you came into my room…?”

Oh.

How would I feel?

Just imagining Ye-rin’s room, which I’d never seen before, somehow made me feel like the fragrance of flowers was tickling my nose.

“…I think I’d like it.”

“…Even though my room isn’t much different from Se-ah’s?”

Ah.

The flowery scent that had been tickling my nose until just now suddenly disappeared.

I felt like I understood how Archimedes must have felt when he shouted “Eureka.”

It’s not about the place or the appearance…!!!

“Well? It’s different, isn’t it…?”

Ye-rin asked as she watched me fumble in the shock of realization.

Her slightly puffed cheeks had returned to normal, and in their place was a mischievous smile.

As if asking if I now understood what she meant.

…I can’t win.

“…You’re right, it is different.”

If she asked me what exactly was different, I probably couldn’t give a definitive answer right now, but.

I had no choice but to agree that it was different.

**

After that, I spent some time answering Ye-rin’s questions as she pointed to various things in my room.

At one point, I briefly left to bring some snacks, and when I returned, trying to surprise her by tiptoeing back in,

“Huaaaaa……huh?”

“……What…are…you…doing?”

I froze in place at the sight that made me doubt my eyes.

An overturned pillow. Messy bed sheets.

My eyes met with Ye-rin’s, who was rolling around wrapped in my blanket on my bed with a limp face.

Silence.

Even though neither of us was speaking, it felt like a scream was coming from somewhere, loud enough to hurt my ears.

This was like a silent cry—

“Uh,”

Breaking the silence, Ye-rin spoke with a trembling voice.

“Wh-when…did you come in…?”

“…Just now. Well, I wanted to surprise you like you did to me earlier…”

Ye-rin’s face, peeking out from the blanket, was so red I wasn’t sure it could get any redder, and within that face, her pink eyes were deeper than I’d ever seen before, sparkling as if begging to be noticed, completely opposite to what their owner wanted.

“H-how much did you…see…?”

Ye-rin struggled to utter each word as if even asking was torture.

But wait, what does she mean by “how much”? My brain couldn’t follow.

What I saw was shocking enough, but was there something more before that?

My limited imagination couldn’t dare to conjure it up.

“…Should we pretend I didn’t see anything?”

“……..”

I meant it as a considerate gesture, but.

After hearing my words, Ye-rin closed her eyes tightly, trembled as if struck by lightning, and.

Pulled my blanket over her head, curled up into a ball, and burrowed deep into the bed.

Ta-da.

On the bed, a small pillbug had formed.

“Sniff. Oppa, I want to be alone for a while……”

That’s my bed, though.

But I was smart enough not to say what came to mind.

I quietly closed the door, leaving behind Ye-rin who was sniffling while wrapped tightly in my blanket.

…With the thought that Ye-rin would be deeply on my mind when I went to sleep tonight.

My worry about when I could go back to my room was fortunately resolved from an unexpected source.

“I’m back~!”

Se-ah’s bright face as she opened the door had never been more welcome than at this moment.

“Oppa, why are you alone in the living room? Where’s Ye-rin? Did she already go home?”

While I was pondering how to answer Se-ah’s puzzled questions,

The door clicked open and Ye-rin emerged from the room, looking a bit more haggard than before.

“Huh? Why is Ye-rin coming out of oppa’s room? And why are you out here?”

Se-ah looked back and forth between Ye-rin and me, clearly confused.

“Ye-rin’s disheveled clothes…her bright red face…her pink eyes…could it be…?”

Se-ah muttered to herself, then with a dubious expression,

“What were you two doing…!? Kyaa!”

“That’s rude.”

I gave her head a flick to stop her wild imagination, and she protested with an indignant look.

“But looking at this atmosphere…!”

“It’s a misunderstanding. There are circumstances.”

“There are circumstances…?”

“Hey, Han Se-ah.”

As Se-ah continued with her dirty jokes, looking shocked, I grabbed her cheeks and pulled them. They stretched like rice cakes.

“Ubeebe- Oppa made it sound like a misunderstanding!”

“I did not!”

After some more bickering and a few more pulls, I let go, leaving red marks from my fingers on Se-ah’s cheeks.

“Tch…you two are ganging up on me. I walked for an hour to get back and nobody even asks why I’m late. I’m just a nuisance, right?”

As Se-ah rubbed her cheeks and spoke as if feeling left out, I couldn’t bring myself to say “Yes, that’s right,” so I kept my mouth shut and avoided eye contact.

The surprising thing was.

I thought Ye-rin would deny it, but she also kept her lips tightly shut and avoided looking at Se-ah, causing our eyes to meet instead.

…No way, you too?

“Wow, I was just joking until now, but now I’m really hurt. Fine, I hope you two live happily ever after!!!”

After leaving those words that could be either a curse or a blessing, Se-ah stormed off to her room showing how upset she was. It took us more than 10 minutes of holding her back and coaxing her before we could finally appease her.

Augh.

Only after we managed to cheer up Se-ah could the three of us finally sit together in the living room.

Se-ah suggested with a grin that we play in my room, but thankfully, Ye-rin shook her head vigorously, and the idea was abandoned.

…I’m not comfortable with my room either.

I couldn’t forget what I had seen earlier.

“Ye-rin, are you good at studying?”

“Me…? I think I do okay…?”

“What score did you get on last year’s final exams?”

“Um…I think I got one question wrong…?”

What?

Ye-rin, do you not know what “okay” means?

Those mean words almost came out, but I managed to swallow them with difficulty.

Is this some new kind of humble-bragging?

Looking at Ye-rin’s expression, surprisingly, she didn’t appear to be boasting at all.

As if she truly believed that she only studied moderately.

“…Do you like studying?”

I’m just average in my class.

Shrink.

I felt myself becoming smaller somehow.

“No. Not particularly…?”

She doesn’t particularly like studying but only gets one question wrong on tests?

Just as I was thinking it was too much that she was not only beautiful but also a genius, Ye-rin continued:

“There was nothing else to do at school or home except study…”

But now it seems a bit better… she said,

As she glanced at Se-ah and me while happily fidgeting with her fingers.

At those small gestures filled with excitement, as if looking forward to the future.

The feelings of inferiority I’d been experiencing suddenly vanished, replaced by a surge of emotion.

“Let’s… go out and play a lot. Definitely. Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“My oppa and I will corrupt you thoroughly. Make you forget all about studying.”

“I don’t think that’s quite right?”

“Oh, isn’t that right, oppa?”

Ye-rin just happily nodded at our silly conversation.

Her yellow eyes rippling with joy as she looked at us.

This is nice.

Spending time alone with Ye-rin was good, but.

I realized it was also nice to spend time with Se-ah, the three of us together.

It was satisfying because I could see a side of Ye-rin I didn’t know—what she was like when she was with friends.

“Ye-rin, is it okay if you stay for dinner?”

Before preparing dinner, since my parents said they would be late, I asked Ye-rin.

“Ah, yes. I’ll eat and th…”

“Is it not possible because Jin-hyuk is at home?”

After asking, I remembered that Jin-hyuk would be arriving home after his academy.

Wondering if siblings should eat together, I asked, and Ye-rin’s expression cooled slightly as she spoke.

“…I’ll talk to my oppa about it.”

“Oh, okay…”

Scary.

Thinking that Jin-hyuk would handle it, I was preparing the meal when my phone in my pocket buzzed.

[Seo Jin-hyuk]

-I prefer eating alone I prefer eating alone I prefer eating alone I prefer eating alone I prefer eating alone I prefer eating alone I prefer eating alone I prefer eating alone …see more

Whoa, shit. What is this?

Seeing the screen filled with messages as soon as I looked at it, I almost dropped my phone in shock, thinking it might be some kind of curse.

Wondering what Ye-rin could have possibly said to him to make him react like this, I looked up, and at that moment,

“Oppa said I can eat here!”

Seeing Ye-rin looking at me with a bright smile, as if she was happy, I couldn’t bring myself to ask what she had said to Jin-hyuk.

Jin-hyuk, I’m sorry….

Amen….