My Younger Sister Was My First Love

13. If He Was My Boyfriend

A peck on the cheek between siblings.

In the case of close siblings, this was not a punishment at all.

The numerous “real sibling” moment videos in various media proved it.

For them, excessive displays of affection were always considered taboo.

In that context, me giving Jihee a peck on the cheek was a punishment that was extremely unpleasant.

And I was an adult, not a kid.

Moreover, the fact that I, who had confessed, would give her a peck on the cheek without even shaving was an unimaginably unpleasant thing for Jihee.

But why was her expression like that?

The teacher, who had a face like a child eating cotton candy at an amusement park, was exuding a soft and fluffy atmosphere.

“What’s wrong? Is it okay?”

“How about 20 minutes on a transparent chair instead?”

“I don’t like that. It’s too barbaric.”

“Is my non-existent beard attack okay?”

“Yes!”

I don’t know what the standard is.

“Don’t you think I should consider my own position, which requires me to take care of my image?”

We should respect the opinion of the person giving us a hard time!

“What about you, then?”

“What’s up.”

“Do you have any thoughts on me getting a peck on the cheek?”

As someone with a past, I couldn’t show an ambiguous attitude.

At times like this, I had to be sharp.

“I dislike it.”

“…Is it that serious?”

“Yes, I absolutely dislike it. I won’t do it.”

If I said it wasn’t bad to give a peck on the cheek, Jihee would surely scream and say she couldn’t live under the same roof as me.

Are you crazy, filling your heart with selfish desires like that?

“I dislike it. You decide, then. But I don’t like transparent chairs. It’s a waste of energy to study in a weird direction.”

“Then let’s make up for it by studying more on our days off.”

“…Are you saying we should break our agreement and study on Sundays?”

When adjusting our schedule with Jihee, I suggested having one day a week as a recharge day.

Of course, the best thing would be to study every day without fail, but even students need to rest sometimes.

We need to clear our minds and relieve stress occasionally.

Although I didn’t take any days off during my college entrance exam prep, Jihee’s goal wasn’t to get into the top university, but to get into a university in Seoul.

I didn’t think it was an impossible goal to take a day or half a day off a week.

But it was under the condition that we would be diligent on weekdays.

“Yes, we need to make up for it.”

“Then we can’t just sleep in!”

“There’s a penalty for sleeping in, so we can’t do that.”

The conversation ended there.

As we were finishing our meal, Jihee suddenly remembered something and spoke up.

“Isn’t the semester starting next week, oppa?”

“That’s right, it’s March 2nd.”

“Did we plan to go shopping? Are you going alone without me?”

“I was going to go on Sunday. You don’t have any time except on Sundays anyway.”

I realized I hadn’t told Jihee about it beforehand.

I was only thinking from my own perspective, taking it for granted.

“Did you have another appointment?”

“No? I haven’t gone shopping in a while, so it’ll be fun. Whatever.”

Jihee was smiling brightly, looking pleased.

I guess I would have a similar reaction if I thought about having a day off during the week.

“Let’s go shopping on Sunday morning and come back quickly.”

“Yes!”

As a new student, I hadn’t felt like a college student until now, with only a week left.

I was invited to a group chat targeting freshmen, but I didn’t bother to participate in the conversation.

It didn’t seem appealing to me, watching people who didn’t even know each other’s faces trying to act overly friendly.

I mean, isn’t that what they call being an “influencer”?

But I didn’t think I needed to become one.

I still didn’t know much, but I thought that if I went to the shopping mall next week, I might get a sense of things.

* * *

And so, Sunday arrived!

Before going to the shopping mall, I was searching online for various things.

Although Ji-hui would pick out clothes for me, I thought it was time for me to pay attention to my fashion sense myself.

In middle school, I only wore uniforms.

In high school, I only wore athletic wear.

I didn’t want to get swept away by the wave of freedom, so I needed to establish my own sense of style.

Of course, I was looking for something like “If you don’t know, just learn! Newbie fashion for getting a girlfriend!” but…

Don’t people usually start from the basics like this?

“Ji-hui, are you ready?”

As the clock struck the hour, I knocked on Ji-hui’s door.

“Just a minute! I’m just doing my hair!”

It didn’t seem necessary for both of us to get our hair done, but there was no reason to stop her either.

I had heard somewhere that makeup was a form of self-satisfaction, not just about looking good to others.

“Have you been waiting long?”

As I looked up from my phone, I let out a surprised cry.

“What’s up? Do you look okay?”

Whoa, what’s going on?

It wasn’t like my mom’s empty flattery, but the phrase “You’re really pretty” almost slipped out of my mouth.

Just looking at her, I could tell she was wearing full makeup.

Her outfit, a simple-looking knit sweater and skirt, didn’t seem too flashy.

And her coat wasn’t the padding she usually wore, but a wool coat.

Just looking at her, it seemed more believable that Ji-hui was the college freshman, not me.

Anyway, walking around like this would make our temperature difference too obvious, wouldn’t it?

There was a clear gap between us, and it was worrying me.

“……You look pretty.”

“Look properly and then talk, oppa?”

It wasn’t right to stare at my sister with a foolish gaze.

I glanced at Ji-hui and then nodded vigorously up and down.

“Yeah, you look great. The outfit really suits you.”

“……You’re not sincere.”

“Let’s go if you’re ready!”

I, who was overwhelmed by Ji-hui’s model-like behavior, quickly escaped out the front door.

We arrived at the downtown area, a hotspot for young people.

It was Sunday, so despite the weather not being fully cleared, the streets were bustling with people.

Couples walked hand in hand, and groups of friends strolled together in clusters.

Groups that seemed to have no connection to me were moving around like nomads.

“Oppa.”

“Yes?”

“What were you thinking of buying?”

“Just a few tops and a couple of pants?”

“What style do you want?”

“Uh, just something ordinary?”

“Hmm… then…”

Jihee glanced around and grabbed my hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“You don’t know the way, and there are a lot of people, so let’s just hold hands and go.”

“Okay.”

Jihee confidently led the way, and I followed half a step behind, watching her from behind.

This level of skinship with family members was really nothing special.

It wasn’t like there was any strange intention, and it wasn’t excessive either.

The only strange thing was that I couldn’t control my heart rate.

I sincerely hoped that this cold air would cool down the heat on my face.

“Here!”

Jihee took me to a crowded clothing store.

The prices didn’t seem too expensive.

At least, I didn’t see any price tags over 100,000 won.

“Is this place famous?”

“It’s okay, I guess. It’s a good place to find basic items. I come here sometimes too.”

“I see.”

“Do you want to look around by yourself for a bit, or do you want to shop together?”

“I’ll look around by myself for now.”

We decided to split up for a bit and started our own shopping sprees.

Alone, I took out my phone again.

I was thinking of matching the clothes I had captured in photos.

Jihee wouldn’t complain if I chose something like that.

After all, it was a recommended outfit by a famous YouTuber with N million subscribers.

As an MZ generation sister, she was more knowledgeable about men’s fashion, so I trusted her taste.

I browsed around the store, picked out a few items that looked okay, and stood in front of the mirror to try them on.

“Hmm…”

Was it okay?

As the saying goes, the biggest crisis is when you don’t know you’re in a crisis.

I had no idea if I looked okay in the mirror.

It looks like a college student, but…

“If you’re going to wear that, wouldn’t these pants go better with it?”

I was startled by the sudden voice behind me and jumped.

“Slacks aren’t bad either, but with a top like that, it’d be better to pair it with these wide-leg jeans. You can wear the sneakers you have at home.”

Jihee naturally brought out a light blue jeans from behind and held it up against my waist.

“How about this? Isn’t this better?”

“It does seem that way.”

“But, oppa, you picked out some pretty decent clothes. Did you get help from someone else?”

Jihee scanned the clothes I picked out, referencing external materials, and looked up at me with a surprised expression.

“No, I usually get help from my mom, so…”

“Yeah?”

A playful smile started to form on Jihee’s lips again.

“Then today, I’ll let oppa pick out something for me.”

“Why do I have to pick out something for you?”

“You just appealed to my sense of fashion, didn’t you? I’ll take a chance too. What’s the big deal?”

“It’s pointless for a re-taker like me to buy nice clothes. I just study at home.”

“Listen, I also go out on Sundays, you know?”

Do I really lack empathy?

“Just go try it on and come back out! Since we came all the way to the offline store, we should try it on before buying it.”

Jihee pushed me into the fitting room.

I took off the padding I was wearing and…

Ugh, this is already annoying.

Summer is definitely better than winter in cases like this.

Winter fitting rooms are too much trouble with all the taking off and putting on.

I put on the top I picked out and the pants Jihee chose, and walked out of the fitting room, wearing the shoes I had on.

I looked around for Jihee, but she was nowhere to be found.

It seemed like she had gone off to look at something else.

“……I said.”

In front of the wall with the pants on display, a tall man was talking to Jihee.

He didn’t seem like an employee, judging by his clothes.

Jihee’s expression as she faced the mysterious man was icy cold, with a chill that rivaled the Siberian wind.

“Ah, I really like that side of you, so please don’t say things like that, even if you’re a friend of a celebrity.”

“Haa…….”

Jihee, who had been letting out frustrated sighs, met my eyes at that moment.

“Oppa! Why did you come out now!”

Jihee quickly approached me, putting her arm around mine as if signaling me to go talk to someone.

No matter how you look at it, I could easily understand the situation.

It’s just that there’s no ‘Go xxmon!’ kind of phrase.

It feels like I’ve become a Pokémon or something.

“Do you have any business with my younger sibling?”

I didn’t lose my smile even as I walked ahead, worried that I might get caught up in some trouble.

“No.”

He gave me a rather unpleasant look, then turned around and left the store.

I saw the expression of someone who’s been defeated after trying to get someone’s number.

I learned something new.

After making sure he was gone, I naturally tried to relax my arms…

…Hmm?

“That person’s not going to bother us anymore…”

“No? What if some other weird guy comes and talks to me?”

“Was there someone else like that?”

“It’s not like that. It’s just that it could happen.”

Jihee didn’t seem to want to let me go, holding onto me tightly and pulling me in front of the mirror.

“Does it look okay?”

I was originally in the fitting room to get my new clothes checked.

I had just momentarily forgotten my role due to the sudden firefighter scenario.

“I have something to say before you do.”

“What is it?”

“Next time, call me ‘boyfriend’ instead of ‘oppa’. If a similar situation arises.”

“Why?”

“It’s because if you say ‘family’, those persistent people will just keep coming at you, saying it’s no big deal.”

Although I doubted if there were people who would do that, I nodded my head in agreement.

“Got it. If it happens again.”

“Okay. Now, let me see your ear.”

“Why my ear?”

“I’m the one who’s supposed to evaluate the clothes, remember?”

I tilted my head to the side, offering my left ear to Jihee.

“…If you were my boyfriend, you would’ve definitely made me wear it like this.”

My face flushed red and I couldn’t speak.