My Feisty Sisters Are Coming After Me

Chapter 9

—–CROW—– 

We moved from the kitchen to my room. It was early morning, and we didn’t want to wake the younger siblings with loud chatter.

“Unnie, what happened? Tell me in detail.”

“I just got a text and talked to her on an international call, so…wait a minute. I’ll organize my thoughts and tell you.”

Geum-bi Noona was so anxious that her legs were trembling.  Seeing her with her arms crossed and frowning made my heart pound.

‘It’s understandable, given the situation. …Mom, I hope she’s not badly hurt.’

Su-jeong Noona had said it wasn’t a serious accident, but we were still waiting for more details.  Su-jeong Noona, also looking troubled as she rubbed her forehead, sat on the edge of the bed and spoke.

“The accident…Mom was crossing the street when a truck hit her.”

“What?!”

“Um, you said Mom’s hospitalized now?  What’s her condition?”

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like she’s seriously injured. The test results were normal, just some minor fractures in her arm and leg…that’s what she said.”

Geum-bi Noona was speechless at the word “truck,” and I couldn’t hide my shock either.  Thankfully, Su-jeong Noona calmly continued, and we were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Ha…I see…Did she get all the necessary tests?  MRI, CT, all that?”

“Right, isn’t hospital care expensive overseas?  I hope she didn’t skip any tests to save money.”

“Calm down, Ji-gu. It was clearly the truck driver’s fault, so there’s no need to worry about the cost.  Besides, we’re not exactly short on money, are we?  She probably has insurance there too, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”

“Ah, right…that’s true.”

When Geum-bi Noona mentioned MRI and CT scans, I panicked, remembering news reports about expensive medical costs overseas.  But Su-jeong Noona’s words calmed me down, and as I realized it was truly okay, my legs went weak, and I stumbled.

“Whoa.”

“Are you okay? You’re a guy, don’t faint over something like this.”

“S-sorry.  I was just so relieved…”

“It’s understandable if you were surprised. Don’t be too hard on him, Geum-bi.”

Geum-bi Noona caught me before I fell and supported me, grumbling but steady.  Su-jeong Noona comforted me while continuing to scroll through her phone, then put it down after a moment, as if there was no other news.

“That’s all for now…Phew. What a morning. You’ve all worked hard.”

“I feel like Mom keeps hitting us with one thing after another.  I’m scared of what news we’ll hear next.”

“Geum-bi, don’t jinx it.”

“I’m just worried. Honestly, if Mom’s going to live alone abroad, she should take better care of herself…tsk.”

As soon as Mom’s safety was confirmed, Geum-bi Noona, as always, expressed her disapproval.  Su-jeong Noona glared at her for clicking her tongue, but Geum-bi Noona didn’t stop.

“After dropping that bomb on us last time, we’re in chaos again. It’s giving me a headache.”

“Still, Mom’s the one who suffered the most. She said it was a minor injury, but she wouldn’t be hospitalized for nothing, would she?”

“You never know.  Why would she get into an accident at a crosswalk in the first place?  It means she wasn’t paying attention.”

“Geum-bi, that’s enough. I’m seriously getting angry.”

“…Okay, that was a bit too much.  But Unnie, you feel it too, right? How irresponsible Mom is being towards us?”

It started with worry for Mom, but the conversation had shifted to complaints about her. I tried to intervene, but it was awkward since Geum-bi Noona was still holding my arm.

‘She can let go now…or maybe not.  Maybe Geum-bi Noona is the one who’s still feeling uneasy.’

Since we were linked arm in arm, I could feel her trembling.  It seemed like the shock from the accident news had hit her belatedly, and her sharp words might have been a way to mask her reaction.  The problem was that her words, spoken in anger, were starting to sound genuine.

“I’ll just ask one thing, Unnie. Did Mom say anything else to you?”

“…No.  Nothing in particular.”

“See? She said that before, and now she only told us about herself.  Shouldn’t she have said when she’s coming back, when she’ll visit us?”

“She must be in shock after the accident.  Besides, this is also a way of letting us know that her plans are delayed…”

“Did Mom initiate that contact?”

“Ugh…!”

As if replacing her shock with anger, Geum-bi Noona’s words became increasingly sharp.  Su-jeong Noona was at a loss for words at her pointed questions, and Geum-bi Noona ruffled her hair, as if she had expected this.

“As expected.  That’s just like Mom, huh.”

“Geum-bi, that’s too much.  I told you, Mom must be out of her mind after the accident.”

“It’s not like the accident just happened.  If she’s already had tests and been admitted to the hospital, it must have been at least a few hours ago, right?”

“…She’s overseas. She probably didn’t think to contact us right away.”

“I would have.  If anyone in our family were hurt, I would tell them to contact me immediately.”

“Everyone…thinks differently.”

“I think there should be some basic understanding between family members.”

The two sisters’ views on Mom remained irreconcilable.  This happened occasionally, but this time, without the younger siblings around and with the recent news, the argument seemed to escalate.

‘I should say something…but it’s difficult.  If I take sides, the situation will only get worse.’

But I couldn’t just stand there as the atmosphere between them grew more serious.  Su-jeong Noona wasn’t backing down like she usually did, and Geum-bi Noona wasn’t about to give in either.

“I’ve been thinking this for a while, but you’re too lenient with Mom, Unnie.”

“And you’re too harsh on her, Geum-bi.”

“What did I do? Isn’t it wrong that she doesn’t even contact a single one of her five children properly?”

“She’s working overseas, that’s why.  We’re all together here, so she can work without worrying.”

“That’s true now. But what about before?  When Dad passed away, the eldest was only in middle school. We had to grow up on our own since then.  Wasn’t that practically neglect?”

“Think about it the other way around. How difficult must it have been for her to raise five children alone without Dad? She had no choice but to trust us, even though we were young. Why can’t you see it that way?”

“Unnie, you said we don’t have to worry about money. I think it’s been like that since a long time ago, am I wrong?  If that’s the case, she could have focused on us more instead of money.”

“Money doesn’t grow on trees.  You never know what might happen, so she probably wanted to save as much as possible while she could, just in case.”

“Even if it meant neglecting her children?”

“She worked hard for us.”

Listening to them, I felt heartbroken, understanding both sides.  Su-jeong Noona, as the eldest, seemed to empathize with Mom, having taken on a maternal role herself.  And Geum-bi Noona, having witnessed Su-jeong Noona’s struggles, seemed to harbor more resentment towards Mom.

‘I…don’t know. I grew up without much difficulty thanks to my older sisters, and I wasn’t lonely thanks to my younger siblings.’

Until puberty hit and we all retreated to our own rooms, I had a relatively complaint-free life. It was only recently, after being discharged from the military, that I felt lonely due to the increased distance between us, and even that couldn’t compare to the emotions of my two older sisters.

So, I understood both of them.  But they didn’t understand each other at all.

“Yang Geum-bi, that’s enough.  There’s a limit to how much I can tolerate your careless words.”

“Ugh…!  Don’t you think it’s too much that you always end the conversation like this whenever we talk about this?”

“It’s better than not knowing what you should and shouldn’t say to your family.”

“What?  Because of you, because of you I’ve been living with these thoughts…ugh!”

It was Geum-bi Noona who shed tears first in the ongoing argument.  But as if she didn’t want to cry in front of Su-jeong Noona, she turned sharply and tried to leave the room.

“Whoa?! N-Noona, wait, calm down.”

“Let go of me, idiot.”

“Don’t be so emotional…”

“Let go, you brat!”

Geum-bi Noona’s escape was blocked by me, as I was still holding her arm.  She cursed, shook me off, and pushed my shoulder.

“Ugh.”

“Hey, Yang Geum-bi!”

It didn’t hurt much, but I stumbled back, and Su-jeong Noona yelled at the sight.  Geum-bi Noona, unable to bear it any longer, ran up the stairs to the second floor without looking back.

“Ha, she really…ha…”

Su-jeong Noona stood up in anger, then frowned and sat back down on the bed.  I stood awkwardly at the doorway, looking back and forth between Su-jeong Noona, rubbing her forehead, and the direction Geum-bi Noona had disappeared in.

“…Ji-gu.”

“Y-yes, Noona.”

“It looked like Geum-bi was crying at the end. Can you go and comfort her?”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

Su-jeong Noona, who seemed relatively calmer, waved me away.  I carefully closed the door and walked towards Geum-bi Noona’s room on the second floor.

‘I’m here, but…how should I comfort her?’

I stopped in front of the door with [Geum-bi] written on it, my hand raised to knock.  I thought for a moment, but I couldn’t come up with any ideas that I hadn’t already thought of during the argument.

‘Okay, let’s just talk honestly.  That’s what a younger brother should do.’

Comforting someone maturely was a skill for older siblings; it was better for younger siblings to simply empathize.

With that shallow judgment, I lightly knocked on Geum-bi Noona’s door.

“Get lost, asshole.”

“Ah, um…sorry.”

Geum-bi Noona not only refused to let me in, she wouldn’t even show her face.  I considered just going back, but it didn’t seem right, so I slumped down in front of her door and whispered,

“Um, tell me when you feel better. I’ll wait here until you want to talk.”

I felt like a pathetic boyfriend clinging to his ex-girlfriend’s door, but since I wouldn’t be reported for stalking within my own family, I sat there with my knees together, blankly counting the patterns on the ceiling.

One row, two rows…ten rows, twenty rows.

How much time had passed? I counted around 350 rows, which, assuming one second per row, would be about six minutes.

“Idiot.  Come in, dummy.”

The door creaked open, and Geum-bi Noona, her eyes red, greeted me.  There were two insults in that short sentence, but I ignored them and accepted her invitation.

Click.

Click.

It had been years since I’d been inside Geum-bi Noona’s room.  She also seemed awkward, closing the door tightly and locking it, as if afraid someone would see.

…Did she really need to lock it?

“Hey.”

“Yeah.”

“Sit there.”

“Ah, okay, here?”

“That’s the bed.  Sit on the floor, idiot.”

When Su-jeong Noona came to my room, I immediately offered her the bed.  But Geum-bi Noona made me sit on the cold floor and brought a cushion for herself, sitting comfortably next to me.

‘If I ask for a cushion…she’ll probably tell me to leave.’

I gauged the atmosphere, searching for something to say.  But even after coming inside, I couldn’t think of anything, and my younger brotherly skill of empathy was useless if she didn’t talk first.

“…”

“…”

Time passed meaninglessly, seemingly wasting my effort to come inside.  Just as I was starting to regret it, Geum-bi Noona hesitantly spoke.

“Yang Ji-gu.”

“Yeah.”

“Can you…hug me too?”

“Huh?”

Surprised, I turned my head.  Geum-bi Noona was sitting with her knees pulled up, her cheek resting on them, looking at me.  Her eyes were still red from crying…and my hand unconsciously reached towards her.

—–CROW—–