My Younger Sister Was My First Love

12. Deciding on Punishment

Since I was young, I’ve been sensitive to others’ gazes.

It’s a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but objectively, I’m a good-looking person.

It’s more accurate to say that I’ve become sensitive rather than trying to be sensitive.

People who secretly peek at me.

People who openly and brazenly stare at me.

If I keep facing such people, I can make an estimate just by observing them a little.

I can tell where the person looking at me is gazing right now.

“Oppa, what are you looking at?”

The question, which I already knew the answer to, caused Oppa’s pupils to shake.

“Huh? What?”

“Where were you looking just now?”

It was more of a playful remark than a serious inquiry.

Even this was a meticulous plan.

“……Stomach.”

So, that’s the excuse he came up with – stomach.

Oppa’s face had already turned bright red with guilt.

……How satisfying.

Seeing Oppa’s embarrassed expression made me want to tease him even more, and my mischievous desire began to sprout.

“What’s with my stomach?”

“Just… my stomach…”

“My stomach?”

“Does it look like it’s sticking out?”

The atmosphere was both warm and sweet.

“You think my stomach is sticking out?”

“Mm… maybe?”

Even if he makes excuses, what’s the point of choosing that?

And what’s the big deal about my stomach?

I can confidently say that I don’t have an ounce of fat.

Of course, I’ve been eating Oppa’s cooking with gusto lately, and I haven’t left any leftovers.

No way. Could it be that I really look like I’ve gained weight just because I ate a lot for a few days?

As I thought this, I pressed my head against Oppa’s thigh, almost crushing it.

“……Oppa.”

Oppa was trying to hide his bright red face with one hand, covering his mouth.

“Yes?”

“I didn’t gain weight, did I?”

“It looks like it right now.”

Even though I knew it was just a joke, the feeling of resentment wouldn’t go away.

“Come here and stand in front of me.”

Oppa looked puzzled but stood in front of me without a word.

I’ll get my revenge.

I’ll show him how it feels to be teased by a sibling, with a heart full of malice.

“Remember this well. If you feel like you’ve gained more weight than this, then you’re the one who’s gained weight.”

I grasped both of his hands and pulled them into my shirt.

His eyes, seen through his glasses, were enormous.

I successfully guided his hands to my sides.

But I didn’t intend to stop there.

“You have to touch me more to remember, right? You need to dig deeper and explore every nook and cranny to make it memorable.”

That was the moment.

“……Hah!”

His fingers began to mercilessly tickle my sides.

This was no ordinary skinship between siblings, overflowing with affection.

It wasn’t even a device to heighten the atmosphere.

What followed was an onslaught of merciless tickling, beyond words.

“Oh, oppa! Stop! Just for a moment!”

As his short fingernails touched my skin, I could feel my breathing quicken in real-time.

It was as if my limbs were being twisted.

His fingers and toes curled in.

“Uh-huh……! Uuuuuuh……! Not that! Please, not that!”

Despite my tearful pleas, oppa didn’t stop.

I was on the verge of losing my mind.

It had been too long since I’d experienced such intense tickling, and I was pushed to the edge of sanity.

“Haah…… Haah…… Haah…… Haah…….”

When oppa’s hand finally emerged from my shirt, I collapsed to the floor, drained of energy, like a soulless person.

My breathing still hadn’t returned, and my eyes were moist from laughing too much.

Wow, it had been a while since I’d been treated like this.

It wasn’t a joke; it might have been the first time since kindergarten.

“……You. Don’t play like this. This is a real warning.”

The astonishing fact was that my face wasn’t the only one that had turned red.

Sweat dripped down his neck, and his lips were tightly pursed, as if holding back something.

Oppa looked even more flushed than before.

“Let’s go in. It’s time to start studying.”

Before I knew it, our break had exceeded the scheduled time by three minutes.

“……Okay.”

Already exhausted, and having reaped a sufficient harvest, I managed to get up with trembling legs and return to my room.

Unlike our agreement, my destination wasn’t the chair, but the bed.

As I lay down, still reeling, I couldn’t help but replay the memory from a little while ago.

It was a monumental moment, after all.

Was he going to look at me like that and wrap up the situation with that kind of remark?

In fact, oppa had seen quite a few Ince#stuous works, hadn’t he?

“Heh-heh…… Heh-heh-heh…….”

Even I thought my laughter sounded quite dark.

But it’s okay to be like this.

When I hear that kind of talk, I……

“Ha. Mr. Lee Jun-ho.”

I want to play a more severe prank.

* * *

I’m caught.

I peeked at my younger sibling’s chest.

It’s really messed up, but I can’t help but feel like a total trash.

There’s no wrong in what I said, but it’s making me feel even more ashamed.

Why do these things keep happening to me?

I try to be careful and make sure nothing uncomfortable happens with Jihee, but variables keep popping up from unexpected places.

Last time, it was 100% Jihee’s fault, but this time it’s not.

My eyes, even if only for a moment, were directed at her, and it’s not Jihee’s fault, but my own responsibility is much greater.

Haa…….

I’m a man before I’m an “oppa” (older brother).

Jihee was my first love, and Jihee is still pretty.

Men take two things to their graves, and I’ve got them both, so the destructive power is really formidable.

It would be nice if my heart followed my thoughts, but my heart doesn’t follow my thoughts, which is why it’s got a nice name.

So, people keep using the weird phrase “my heart tells me so” to justify their actions.

What’s more, just a little while ago, I was using these two hands…

Of course, it wasn’t my intention, but I was touching Jihee’s skin with these hands just a little while ago.

Someone might say, “What’s the big deal about touching someone’s stomach?” but for me, who’s never even held a girl’s hand properly, this is a huge incident.

If this isn’t a huge incident, then what is?

But this “incident” got caught in the amazing frame of “family” and became a huge “accident”.

Life…….

If I were a friend or a lover, I’d have some time to calm down, but as someone who has to prepare dinner in an hour, I’ve got no escape route.

Even when I fought with my mom, I had some cool-down time until I got back from school.

But since we’re both stuck at home, there’s no way to escape.

Ugh, I’ll definitely get 500% scorned.

If Jihee is a sensible kid, she’ll definitely do that.

Now that we’re family, she wants to get along and understand each other, and her words are making me feel so ashamed that I’m choking.

What have I done to Jihee, who expected a decent family and an older brother?

Am I going to become a trauma to Jihee, like I was to her when she was young?

Are we siblings who leave trauma for each other?

It looks like I’ve succeeded in revenge, but I didn’t want that.

From the start, Jihee rejecting my confession wasn’t wrong.

It’s only natural to reject someone you don’t like.

Whether that becomes the other person’s trauma or not, who knows?

I want to focus on our current relationship, leaving the past behind.

I thought it was amazing how some people could get along well with their older or younger sisters.

While fiddling with my phone, I couldn’t shake off the thoughts of Ji-hui and decided to go outside to prepare dinner.

I was thinking of making kimchi stew.

As I took out the cutting board and began to chop the kimchi, the rhythmic “chop-chop-chop” sound filled the air.

It’s true that doing something is better than doing nothing when you want to clear your mind.

If I were a student, solving a difficult math problem would be a great relief.

After finishing preparing the meal and side dishes, I turned on the TV and waited for Ji-hui to finish her afternoon study.

From my observations over the past few days, our teacher was not the type to add extra study sessions.

As soon as the study time was over, she would burst out of her room like a ghost.

But today was different.

It was 5 pm.

Ji-hui’s room was still tightly shut.

Surprisingly, even after 5 minutes, her door showed no signs of opening.

I started to feel anxious.

…Could it be that I did something to make her not want to see me?

Does she not want to eat with me either?

Does she not even want to see my face?

The thought crossed my mind, but I hoped it wasn’t true.

…Should I go and apologize formally?

In the end, I couldn’t do anything and just stood there, wasting time.

Ten minutes passed, and I finally stood in front of Ji-hui’s door.

– Knock, knock, knock.

“Ji-hui.”

There was no response.

My hand started to tremble.

“Il Ji-hui?”

There was still no response even after the second call, so I knocked on the door again and grasped the door handle.

Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked.

With a nervous heart, I opened the door and went inside, and what I saw was…

“…Just get up. Let’s eat.”

My younger sister, who was supposed to be waiting for me, was fast asleep, her face buried in her books.

Ji-hui, who was sleeping with her face hidden in her textbook, was breathing softly, looking more at ease than I was.

“Il Ji-hui. Il Ji-hui.”

“Umm…?”

“Let’s eat.”

Ji-hui’s eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Huh? Is it already time to eat?”

“When did you start sleeping?”

“…I don’t know.”

Judging from the depth of the pool of drool on her textbook, it seemed like she had been sleeping for 10 or 20 minutes, lightly.

According to our established rules, this was a situation where she deserved to be scolded.

However, the timing was a bit off now.

I, who had taken on the role of a teacher, had fallen to the bottom, and who was scolding whom.

After confirming that Jihee had gotten up, I went back to the kitchen and prepared a meal.

Jihee sat in front of the table with half-closed eyes.

I poured water for her and placed it in front of her.

“Are you very tired?”

“……Yeah, I was.”

“There are days like that.”

Jihee took a spoonful of the soup and savored it, then put the spoon down again.

“Why, doesn’t it taste good?”

“No, it’s not that….”

When Jihee stared at me, I naturally avoided her gaze.

“I, I deserve punishment.”

“……What?”

“Originally, we agreed to get punished if we didn’t study or slept during study time.”

That was the principle.

“I was thinking about what kind of punishment would be good, so it can’t just be overlooked.”

I nodded slightly, as if to say “go on”.

“Or, oppa can hit me with a ruler.”

That was out of the question.

Physically hurting someone was against my

Jihee smiled, looking a bit sly.

“How about oppa grows a beard and gives me a peck on the cheek?”

… I almost spat out what was in my mouth.