My Feisty Sisters Are Coming After Me

Chapter 20

—–CROW—– 

I woke up in the morning, not knowing when I had fallen asleep.

I twisted my body, searching for the digital clock that should have been on the table, but no matter how much I groped around, I couldn’t find it.

‘Ah… this isn’t my room.’

Only then did I realize I was in Geum-bi Noona’s room.

Pulling back the covers and looking around, it was quiet, as if everyone on the second floor, including Geum-bi Noona, had gone out.

“What time is it… Ugh? It’s almost lunchtime already.”

Even though I was on leave from school, this was a bit much.

Until recently, I used to wake up naturally at 7 a.m., but to think I’d become this decadent in just a few weeks.

“Noona should have woken me up… No, wait.  It’s probably better if I don’t see her face today.”

I went downstairs to the living room, double-checking that no one was there.

Relieved to find the house empty, I went into the bathroom and gathered my thoughts while washing my hair with lukewarm water.

‘Yesterday was really… cursed. I was completely out of my mind.’

Looking back, even more unbelievable scenes flashed through my mind.

Especially the sequence of events from the living room sofa in the middle of the night to Geum-bi Noona’s bed… *Bang*.  I hit my forehead against the bathroom wall mid-shower.

“Crazy, crazy, am I really going insane?  Even if I was pent up, how could I do that to Geum-bi Noona… Ugh.”

I had somehow managed to hold back twice that night.

Why did I get aroused again less than a day later… and why did Geum-bi Noona take care of it again? No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t find the answer.

“…Forget it. Forget everything, and pretend it never happened. Yes.”

Squatting down on the bathroom floor, I let the shower water wash over me.

Too drained to even shampoo, I rinsed my body with water and stumbled out to the dressing area.

‘Geum-bi Noona said it was just for yesterday, so that’s that… Right.’

My vision was still blurry, but my body moved on autopilot, drying my hair, wiping myself down, and putting on fresh clothes.

This was my routine.  Since I acted normally from the daytime, there shouldn’t be anything different at night.

…It had to be that way.

‘Should I go work out or something?  Now that my busy schedule is gone, maybe I have too much energy.’

I didn’t really want to analyze the cause, but if I left it alone, things might head in a strange direction.

Blaming my body for everything, I opened Instagram and searched for nearby gyms with ongoing events.

“Why did so many ads bother me when I was scrolling in bed, but now that I’m actually looking, there’s nothing decent?”

I searched using hashtags, but most places were all flash and no substance.

Some weren’t even gyms.  Why were restaurants and cafes showing up in my workout search results?

“Damn algorithm.  I should just search on a blog… Huh?”

Sipping my grain shake instead of breakfast, I scrolled through various feeds.

A familiar face caught my eye, and I stopped scrolling.

“…Since it’s my first workout in a while, I should start with a light walk. I found a good walking course too.”

I washed and dried my empty tumbler.

Quickly finishing my preparations to go out, I grabbed the still-damp tumbler and headed outside.

I didn’t put anything in it.

Because there was someone waiting at my destination, ready to fill it up.

* * *

– *Ding-a-ling~*.

“Welcome~ Huh?!”

After walking for about thirty minutes, I arrived at a cafe in a slightly distant neighborhood.

I opened the door cheerfully to the sound of the chime, and the cashier greeted me warmly.

“Excuse me~ What are your popular menu items?”

“…What, what are you doing here?”

“Tsk tsk, calling a customer ‘you.’  Our little sister’s customer service skills are terrible, aren’t they?”

The employee who blushed upon seeing me enter the cafe was Yang Hwa-yeon.

A cutie whose grumbling was charming, and our always-loved fourth youngest.

She was so cute that I could easily toss her 100,000 won just for saying a few words.

“How did you know about this place… I didn’t tell anyone.”

“It popped up on Instagram.  Maybe it got caught in the algorithm, it got a lot of likes.  Everyone’s saying you’re a goddess-level part-timer~.”

“Don’t say such weird things! There weren’t any comments like that!”

“Hmm, so you’re checking every single comment? No wonder there are replies to all of them.”

“No, that’s, for cafe promotion… only when I’m working…”

“Then you know.  Goddess-level might be an exaggeration, but all the comments are full of praise.”

“…It’s because the cafe has a good atmosphere.  Stop being noisy and just order something, quickly!”

When I praised my hard-working younger sister, she became shy and whined.

Her flushed cheeks and subtly averted gaze were a satisfying reaction, and the contrast between her neat uniform, tied-back hair, and her attitude made it even more amusing.

‘Her hair color faded a lot too. She made such a fuss about dyeing it, but she did a good job herself.’

It was a little frizzy, perhaps because she was flustered, but the natural reddish-brown color was a nice touch.

Thinking that my effort and money contributed to this finished product made me want to tease her even more.

Besides, there were no other customers waiting at the moment.

I should play with her a little longer.

“Any menu recommendations? Did our Hwa-yeon make it herself?”

“No, there’s someone else who makes them in the back.”

“That’s a relief. I almost wasted my money.”

“Hey, what are you talking about! I make good coffee too! …At least Americano.”

“What about cappuccino or cafe latte?”

“…I’m learning. I just need to get used to adjusting the milk.”

Aren’t those two all about the milk?

In other words, she couldn’t make them at all.

“Sigh, and you’re getting paid regularly for this… Is the owner the landlord? Or do they have a hobby of volunteering?”

“Geez, why are you here just to pick on me? Just order something already!”

“Alright, alright. Then I’ll test our little sister’s sense. Make me anything you’re good at.”

“…Tsk, give me your card. I’ll ring you up first.”

“Thanks for the treat, Hwa-yeon~.”

“Hey, are you ripping off your hard-working little sister?”

When I shrugged and didn’t even pretend to take out my wallet, Hwa-yeon glared at me, fuming.

But I had a lot to say now too, didn’t I, my cute little sister?

“Hwa-yeon, did you tell Geum-bi Noona?”

“Huh?! Wh-What… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Geum-bi Noona told me everything. And you have the nerve to take allowance after that?”

“Told you… everything? Ugh, geez. I kept it a secret that you came into the bathroom…”

“Considering that, I’ll only take back half.  Either transfer me back 50,000 won, or give me ten free coffee coupons.”

“Are you seriously blackmailing your own sister? You still have to pay for the cafe menu anyway.”

“I don’t think the one who blackmailed me first has the right to say that.”

“…Give me your tumbler. I’ll fill it up nicely for you.”

Having lost the argument, Hwa-yeon chose the free coupons over the refund.

Good.  I should stop by often when I go to work out. I could relieve stress by teasing her.

“Don’t spit in my coffee, okay? I’m watching you.”

“I wouldn’t! This is my workplace, I wouldn’t do that.”

“So you do it at home?”

“…Just sit down.  I’ll bring it over.”

“It says you don’t do table service.”

“Huh, where does it say that?”

“On your Instagram post.”

“Ugh, geez… Stop staring at me. It’s embarrassing.”

Hwa-yeon turned stiffly and started making coffee, fumbling with the machine.

Still, perhaps because she had been doing it for a few weeks, her Americano-making skills didn’t look bad.

‘Is she bad at making milk-based drinks because she’s been a picky eater since she was young?  Maybe she has trouble adjusting the taste because she doesn’t drink it herself.’

Perhaps because of that, despite sharing the same genes, Hwa-yeon was quite thin compared to my older sisters.

…Although she was quite tall, like most kids these days. If she was lacking in other areas, she should at least build some muscle.

“Here you go. …What? Why are you looking me up and down?”

“Nothing, nothing. Do you want to go to the gym with me sometime?”

“Ugh, absolutely not. Why should I spend my money and sweat working out?”

“Sigh, that’s why your body is like that.”

“Body…? Ugh!  Wh-Where are you looking when you say that?!”

“Huh? …Hey, hey, what are you thinking? I’m saying you don’t have much muscle compared to our older sisters, so it must be hard to stand for a long time.  Cafe work requires you to stand all the time.”

“That… wasn’t the look you were giving me. You definitely glanced at my… chest.”

“Well, my eyes might have brushed past it while I was looking you up and down.  I’m not interested, okay? Don’t nitpick everything.”

“N-Not interested, my foot.  Someone like that would barge into someone’s bathroom while they’re showering.”

“Are you still on about that? I explained it was all a misunderstanding.”

“Hmph, misunderstanding, my foot. Because Oppa acted so shamelessly, I warned Geum-bi Unnie.”

“Warned her? About what?”

“…To be careful of Oppa.  That your recent behavior has been suspicious.”

“Huh? When did you say that… Ah.  Was that what you meant by ‘telling her’ yesterday?”

Hwa-yeon turned her flushed cheeks away, avoiding the answer.

But her silence was an affirmation, and I was dumbfounded as I recalled what Geum-bi Noona had said yesterday.

‘Geum-bi Noona… said it as if Hwa-yeon had told on me for masturbating? What, which one is true?’

Did Hwa-yeon say it out of concern, and Geum-bi Noona took it as teasing?

I felt like they had fought over something similar before.  What did they think of each other?

‘They’re like cats and dogs. …But right now, more importantly, I should scold this girl, shouldn’t I?’

To discipline my younger sister, who was spreading absurd rumors, I took a sip of coffee to wet my throat.

“Pfft?!  *Cough, cough*, what is this? What did you put in this?”

“Syrup and a whole lot of love for Oppa. Why? You like sweet things, Oppa.”

“Hey, who likes it this sweet? And I drink coffee for its bitterness.”

“Oh, really~?  I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

“You’re really… Haa. Yang Hwa-yeon, are you seriously doing this?”

“What?  Hee?”

Her feigning innocence, acting like a naive little sister, was infuriating.

That expression was reserved for our youngest.  It’s not cute, it’s creepy, you know.

“That aside, what’s this about telling Geum-bi Noona? What suspicious behavior did I do?”

“It’s true. You hugged Su-jeong Unnie and did a kabedon on Geum-bi Unnie.”

“What?! Wh-When?”

“Don’t play dumb after I saw it all.  I saw it in your room, the bathroom, and the dressing room.”

“Hey, that’s… It was all a misunderstanding….”

“Then what about sleeping in Geum-bi Unnie’s room this morning?”

“…Huh?”

“Is that a misunderstanding too?  I saw you sleeping in there when Unnie’s door opened.”

I was supposed to be on the offensive,

But her sudden counterattack left me speechless.

“And you know what?  Su-jeong Unnie… looked really dejected when she saw you sleeping in there this morning.”

“Huh? Uh? Wh-What?”

“She only scolds me, but it’s all Oppa’s fault. What are you doing between the Unnies?”

The tables had completely turned, and Hwa-yeon glared at me with her arms crossed.

That look reminded me of Geum-bi Noona with her sharp gaze, and I unknowingly gasped.

‘More than anything… Su-jeong Noona saw me this morning? And she was dejected because of it?’

A bigger problem, one that churned my heart, wouldn’t leave my mind.

With the *ding-a-ling* of the chime, another customer entered the cafe, and I hurriedly ended the conversation and left.

My feet carried me back home instead of anywhere else.

The walk… ended up being less of a mood booster than I had hoped.

—–CROW—– 

Yang Hwa-yeon