My Younger Sister Was My First Love

28. The Meeting. With My Younger Sibling.

Tuesday.

The morning of the long-awaited meeting had finally arrived.

I took my time to pick out my outfit and styled my hair neatly.

There’s no dramatic difference.

It’s not like drawing a line on a pumpkin and expecting it to turn into a watermelon.

I opened the door to prepare breakfast, and Jihee was already sitting at the table.

“Did you wake up early?”

“Yes.”

“Is there something good happening?”

The atmosphere was different from other mornings, with Jihee humming and swinging their legs.

“Anything in particular?”

“That so?”

Breakfast was bread.

After putting two slices of bread in the toaster and making a fried egg, I took out the milk from the fridge.

“Do you remember that you said you’ll be late today?”

“Yes! I’ll have fun and come back late!”

What’s going on with them.

The person who used to complain or make sarcastic remarks suddenly became like this, giving me the chills.

Is this not weird?

Am I overreacting too much?

There are people who can’t take a favor as a favor.

I didn’t think I was one of them, but…

“Don’t slack off on your studies just because I’m not around.”

“And don’t think you can just take a mock test on the weekend. I’ll make sure you do it.”

I decided to set aside time on Saturday to take a mock test on my own at home.

One test-taker, Lee Ji-hee.

One proctor, Lee Jun-ho.

Of course, Ji-hee’s basic skills were still severely lacking, but experiencing a mock test in a checking capacity was crucial.

The only disappointing thing was that it was hard to recreate the atmosphere of the actual test site.

Of course, it wasn’t 100% the same as a real school, but taking a test with other people had a unique feeling that got worse the more you got used to it.

“Oppa, do you think I’ll get an average score this time?”

“That’s too greedy, expecting to jump up after just one month of studying.”

“But won’t I at least get an average of… 5? Honestly?”

“If you make sure to cover all the material you’ve studied, you might be able to get that score.”

“Wait and see! Korea University!”

I almost said something that would crush her hopes, but I managed to hold back.

“You’ll be able to get much higher scores if you prepare steadily.”

“That’s right. I’m smart, after all.”

I tried to comfort her, but Ji-hee refused my help and said she’d do it herself.

“I have to play with the pretty unnie today, so you can take it easy, Oppa.”

“Is it right that you’re working hard studying, and I’m taking it easy going out to play?”

“Yes! That’s right!”

What kind of calculation was that?

Even now, it’s a mysterious idol.

After waving goodbye to Ji-hee and arriving at school, the guys I was supposed to meet up with gathered around me.

“Ah, hyung. I really like that girl.”

“No way, you idiot. Don’t trust girls’ photos.”

“No, I got a good feeling.”

Their over-the-top reactions made me expect something too.

I thought maybe there would be someone who really matched with me.

If I could just get into a relationship, I wouldn’t need anything else.

Although there was no significant progress, the meeting itself was fun, so I was willing to go a few more times.

As I spent the afternoon socializing with the guys and building camaraderie…

“……Is this it?”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Hah… I’m getting nervous.”

“What’s wrong? Just go in quickly.”

7 pm.

We finally entered the bar.

We ended up going to a room saloon for the meeting, and as we entered, we could hear the sounds of drinking games coming from the tables that had already started.

“Hyung, is my hair okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Those who were already there started to add more.

Among us, Ji-hoon, who was the most visually appealing, asked me with a stiff face.

“Oh, it’s there! It’s there!”

As we approached the designated room number, the silhouettes of the girls sitting inside began to appear.

“Go in, go in.”

My colleagues, who were extremely excited, went in.

I was the last to enter and took on the role of gatekeeper.

“Hello!”

“Hello!”

The atmosphere was lively and cheerful.

We exchanged greetings as we entered.

The visuals of the girls I was meeting for the first time were, in my opinion, quite ordinary.

There was someone with a long face.

Someone who was cute when they smiled with their rounded cheeks.

Someone who looked relatively tall for a girl.

Someone who was quiet and only observed.

Suddenly, I remembered what Ji-hee had said at the Han River.

“There are almost no people prettier than me, right?”

Indeed.

It seemed like there was no one at this meeting who could rival Ji-hee in terms of looks.

Of course, it wasn’t like our lineup was made up of people who were as exceptional as Ji-hee.

But I thought we were just average in terms of looks.

“Shall we start with self-introductions?”

A person who was good with words volunteered to be the MC, and the meeting somehow got underway.

“Hello! I’m a 20-year-old nursing student!”

“I’m a 21-year-old English major!”

As we finished our self-introductions in a way that fit the atmosphere, an awkwardness-breaking game was hastily introduced.

“Hyun-seung set!”

“Hyun-seung! Hyun-seung! Hyun-seung!”

Although it was a painful conversation, I had never done a game like this so seriously before.

As a result…

“Wow, Jun-ho oppa, are you okay? You’re already on your fourth drink?”

“Eh, Jun-ho hyung, aren’t you being too loud in front of the girls?”

“I’m not being loud on purpose. Can you just have one drink with me?”

When I asked Ji-hoon, who was sitting next to me, he just laughed and said there was no way.

Damn.

At this pace, I might end up passing out and going home before we even get started.

We played games mindlessly for about an hour.

“Let’s take a quick smoke break.”

“Ah, yeah! We’ll go to the restroom too!”

Before the meeting started, the guys got up from their seats in response to the agreed-upon signal.

Of course, only two of them were smoking, but we moved to the smoking room to have a “strategy meeting.”

“Ugh… it’s such a shame…”

“Ah, you didn’t believe the photo!”

“I told you, it’s a scam!”

“How about the older guy?”

Jihun asked me for a reaction, listening silently to the conversation.

“Just whatever.”

It wasn’t like he was asking if I had a crush on someone.

But I thought the atmosphere wasn’t that bad.

“Okay, let’s start voting now! Should we meet up with the other guys? Or not?”

I could understand why they wanted to end the business early, but it was the first time I’d heard that there were other girls involved.

“Huh? There are other girls?”

It wasn’t just me who didn’t know – all the other guys were hearing it for the first time too.

“That’s…,”

According to Jihun’s explanation, when they went to the restroom, a pretty girl in another room asked if they wanted to hang out together.

The context was unclear, and to be honest, it was a bit surprising.

“Is the number of people correct?”

“Yeah, there are four of them too.”

“No, but why would they want to hang out with us?”

“I don’t know! Ah, so I’ll go ask. I’ll give you an answer within 30 minutes.”

Jihun already looked like a person whose heart was stolen by an unknown fox.

I wondered how pretty she was to make him like that.

“Was she that pretty?”

“If you’re curious, you can go check her out in front of room 6.”

As soon as the answer was given, the guys quickly put their hands in their pockets and walked past room 6.

After making a round trip, they returned to the smoking room.

“…Let’s go. Let’s get out of here right now.”

“What’s going on? Is Jihun a wizard or something?”

“No, I’m not joking. Each one of them was pretty, and the one with the hat was hard to see, but you could tell by the atmosphere that they were pretty.”

I didn’t deny what the guys said.

Because even just looking at the silhouette of the girls in that room, you could tell they were beauties.

“But are they college students too? Did you ask?”

“Yeah, they’re freshmen at Hanbit University!”

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Jihun went to deliver the news and get their numbers, and the remaining members, who had agreed on how to escape, returned to their room.

“Ah, I… suddenly have something urgent to attend to…”

The embarrassing build-up for Patoo had begun.

“Really? What’s going on…?”

“Ah, my family…”

The interesting fact was that even the girls didn’t seem to care about the lame excuse.

No one was surprised when we said we had to leave early, and we parted ways without even exchanging numbers.

“Wow, this is quite a mood killer.”

As soon as we parted, I saw my fellow MC.

Gyeong-ho was grumbling beside me.

“I think they got a better table offer.”

“Ji-hwan, so where are we going?”

“Just a minute, I got a response.”

The second place we ended up at was another large room salon in the adjacent building.

It was a bit pricey compared to a regular pocha, but it was already decided.

There was no choice.

If I told Ji-hee about this, she would probably laugh at me.

I knew she would say something like “I knew it” and mock me.

Again, we went through the ID check and headed towards room 11.

“Wow, I’m more nervous than before.”

“Come on, take a deep breath. Breathe.”

“I’m going to make it till the end today. Don’t stop me.”

The door opened with a creaking sound.

“Oh, welcome?”

As soon as we entered, we received an enthusiastic welcome that was almost overwhelming.

The girl I had caught a glimpse of earlier from beyond the door was stunning up close.

It was Ji-hee.

I had found someone like her.

Of course, it didn’t seem like we would get along, but that was the reality.

This time, I ended up sitting in the innermost seat, and in front of me was a girl wearing a black beanie, her head bowed down so low that her face was hidden.

I could only tell that she had a small head.

Was she not interested in playing with us?

Why was she like that?

“Ah, we were going to have fun today, but she’s not enjoying herself!”

The beautiful short-haired girl with a bright smile poked the beanie girl’s forehead with her finger and shook her head from side to side.

“So, I tried to ask her if she wanted to join us, but… haha, thanks for coming!”

“No, we were also bored just a while ago! Ahahaha.”

Even though we hadn’t said much, the tension among the guys was already sky-high.

“Shall we have a drink first and then introduce ourselves?”

The same conversation repeated itself.

The self-introductions were nothing special.

“Hello. I’m Lee Jun-ho, 21 years old, from the Department of English Language and Literature at Korea University.”

The applause erupted like a tag match, with each person introducing themselves in turn.

“Sae-rom! It’s your turn now!”

Sae-rom.

Sae-rom, what an unusual name.

Until now, I hadn’t thought much about the girl with the baseball cap, except that her name was unusual.

That’s right.

At least, until she took off her cap.

“……wow.”

It was Ji-hoon sitting next to me who let out a loud cheer, while I was left speechless.

What’s going on?

Am I being pranked or something?

Or maybe my younger sibling has a hidden twin or something?

“Hello!”

The girl with the baseball cap stood up, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and the guys sitting next to me couldn’t hide their excitement.

“I’m Park Sae-rom, a freshman in the Department of English Language and Literature at Hanbit University!”

What are you doing here?

Lee Ji-hee.