My Younger Sister Was My First Love

29. Don’t Touch.

The Park Sae-rom sitting across from me looked eerily like our family’s teacher.

Even just looking at her face, I thought, “Lee Ji-hee?” and when she opened her mouth, I was 500% sure.

We lived under the same roof, so there was no way I wouldn’t recognize her as family.

I lost my words for a moment, staring at her with a ridiculous expression.

What are you doing here?

Where did the person who said they were going to study hard for the mock exam go?

“Shall we all let our hair down?”

The beautiful short-haired girl sitting next to Ji-hee, Se-hwa, was leading the atmosphere with a bright smile.

“Yes! No, yes! Let’s all let loose! Let’s talk!”

Ji-hoon’s voice tone had already risen a key, and it seemed like he had had a few drinks.

If it were just the two of us, I would have dragged her out right away, but now we had colleagues and people who seemed to be Ji-hee’s friends.

Ugh.

Why do I always get stuck with the worst seat?

“Just a minute?”

I took out my phone and sent a urgent message to my teacher.

My fingers flew across the keyboard.

[What are you even doing here?]

[Why are you here.]

[Yeah.]

[No, why are you.]

“……Excuse me.”

Unlike me, who was getting increasingly frustrated, Saerom on the other side seemed to be enjoying this situation.

Her phone was on silent mode, and she didn’t even think about checking it.

“Who are you contacting? Is it your girlfriend?”

You! You!

“Wow, Junho oppa. Are you trying to do something behind Saerom’s back? Saerom is the most popular person in our department, you know?”

He’s never even been to college!

These frauds!

They were openly calling her Saerom, and even her friends were doing it, as if they were in on some kind of scam.

“Ah, oppa, don’t be like that. Let’s have fun together today, okay?”

The guys sitting next to her started making fun of me, mixing in with Jihee’s playful tone.

“Woo~ Junho hyung! What’s with your phone?”

“Hyung, manners!”

“Ah! Atmosphere!”

In the end, I ended up breaking the atmosphere by drinking a half-filled glass of soju.

I was getting drunk, and my hands were shaking.

This situation was ridiculous, but it was also funny, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

Mom… I’m on a blind date with my younger sister…

“How about we play a drinking game?”

Jihee and her friends were in high spirits.

“Drink~ Drink~ Eat and die~”

Their voices were much louder than before.

The seven of them, excluding me, were genuinely enjoying themselves.

Well.

It seemed like Jihee was determined to keep up this act, and there was nothing I could do about it.

If I continued to call her Saerom and dragged this on, the atmosphere would only get worse.

I didn’t know what kind of rumors would spread at school.

In the end, if I had to scold her, I should do it after we’re done here and go home.

No. What would I even say when I got home?

Half-distracted, I continued playing the drinking game.

And then, the incident happened.

“Eye contact game, go!”

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

“Four!” “Four!”

The two of them simultaneously shouted out the number four.

My younger sibling, Saerom, and Jihyun sat next to me.

When a guy and a girl get paired up as a penalty at a meeting, it’s a national rule to take a love shot.

The kids naturally started chanting slogans for their own romantic actions.

“Love shot! Love shot! Love shot! Love shot!”

Jihyun just held his glass, not taking any action.

Although we were both penalized, Teacher’s eyes were fixed only on me.

It seemed like he was testing what I would do, with a gaze that seemed to be examining me.

“Hmm… Ah, Saerom, we should just do this quickly and get it over with.”

Jihyun’s lips curled up into a faint smile, as if he was embarrassed but still wanted to take the love shot.

His dark intentions were evident in his eyes.

Wow, why is he being so X-like?

For a moment, I thought about punching Jihyun’s face.

I bit my lip with my front teeth and declared loudly, so everyone could hear.

“…I’ll be the dark knight.”

I snatched Jihyun’s glass and poured the soju into my mouth.

“Wow! What’s going on, Junho oppa?”

“Is this already happening?”

“What’s wrong, Junho hyung?”

What am I even doing?

Meanwhile, Jihyun, sitting next to me, looked at me with a ridiculous expression.

His gaze seemed to be asking, “What are you doing?”

What’s up, man.

You can’t do that to your younger sibling, man.

“If it’s like this, Saerom will have to grant Junho oppa’s wish! Do you have a wish, oppa?”

“…Later.”

“Oh~”

Jihyun, who was at the center of the storm, just smiled faintly and tapped my foot with his shoe.

You should go home and think about it.

After that, whenever Jihyun got penalized as a couple, I volunteered to be the dark knight every time.

“Let’s mix things up a bit!”

It was the moment when the next stage, which I couldn’t overcome with the girls I met for the first time, was unfolding.

Redistributing the seats was like climbing a ladder.

The guys and girls each climbed the ladder, and those who got the same number sat together.

“Who’s number one?”

“Where’s number two?”

“Four!”

I got number three.

“Oppa, I’m number three.”

Sehwa, who was the most talkative, sat down next to me.

Jihyun was paired with Kyungho, diagonally across from me.

Even though it wasn’t too far away, I felt relieved that it was within sight.

It was a place where I could immediately notice if the guys did something weird.

“How about we stop playing games and take a break for a bit?”

In other words, it was a suggestion to take a break and do a regional broadcast with my partner.

It wasn’t a meeting where we could only play drinking games.

My partner, Sehwa, was quite enthusiastic about conversations.

“Oppa, you’re an English major, so you must be really good at English?”

“Everyone who comes out here is good at it. And you won’t be bad at it either. We all learned the same thing in college.”

“Eh, but I think it’s cool when people with good pronunciation speak English.”

“Ahaha, but my pronunciation isn’t that great either.”

I listened to the conversation next to me, and eavesdropped on Jihee’s chatter from across the room.

To be honest, if this gathering didn’t consist of Jihee’s friends, I might have really focused on Sehwa and been interested in her.

But then…

“Junho oppa.”

“Yes?”

Sehwa, who had been talking, suddenly stopped and whispered in a small voice, tapping her palm.

“Just a minute, can I talk to you?”

I tilted my head, wondering what she wanted to say.

“Oppa, are you only interested in Saerom?”

Her whisper, mixed with a hint of sadness, tickled my ear.

“Huh…? No, why?”

“It’s just that you keep talking to me, but you keep looking at her.”

I couldn’t say that I was worried about Jihee as my dongsaeng (younger sibling), so I temporarily shifted my attention to Sehwa.

It was because Jihee was creating an atmosphere where she was being protected by Kyungho.

“That’s not it.”

“Really? You even did a bold and daring black knight act earlier?”

“That was just… no one else did it, so I thought it would be fun to do it as a concept.”

I didn’t even know what I was saying.

“Hehe, then do you want to go out for some fresh air with me for a bit?”

Her voice was sugary sweet.

When I was invited to go out with just the two of us, I was at a crossroads of hesitation.

It wasn’t difficult to talk to Sehwa alone.

The problem was Jihee.

As I glanced at Jihee, Sehwa pressed her index finger onto my thigh once.

“Look, you’re looking at her again.”

“I’m not, I just looked straight at her.”

“Ah, you’re hurt. Do you want to switch seats?”

I was going crazy.

“But oppa, there’s a source (rumor) about this place.”

I searched for a tissue at Sehwa’s words, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

It was because the tissue in her hand had swiftly wiped my mouth.

I don’t know why, but my head naturally turned around.

Jihee, who had made eye contact with me, was watching us two with an infinitely cold face.

“Ah, thank you.”

“Hmm, so I’ll leave. I’ll say something.”

“Leave. Let’s leave.”

I don’t know why, but I felt like I’d been caught cheating on my spouse.

“Who needs something from the convenience store? We’re going there!”

Sehwa, who had stood up from her seat, raised her voice, and orders came from all around.

“Choco milk!”

“I want ice cream!”

“Wow, me too!”

Kyung-ho, who was sitting next to Jihee, flashed a sly smile at his younger sibling.

“Sae-rom, do we want something? Do you want to eat something?”

“No? We should leave too. I’ve been sitting for too long, and it’s getting suffocating.”

……Are you following me?

“Ah, how about that? I like taking a stroll outside too. Heh heh.”

Whenever I see the kids talking behind Jihee’s back, I feel nauseous.

“Yeah, let’s go! Sehwa.”

As soon as we left the room, Jihee grasped Sehwa’s arm and pulled her forward.

The distance between the male and female groups naturally grew as we walked at an excessively fast pace.

Kyung-ho and I followed the two from behind, going down the stairs.

“Hyung……! Hyung……!”

Kyung-ho whispered in a voice that only we could hear.

“Today is seriously crazy. Wow, what is this?”

I responded by nodding my head slightly.

“Ah, Sae-rom isn’t that pretty? I mean, she resembles that celebrity…”

Don’t mess with students.

They have to study.

Even though I was annoyed, I thought Jihee might accept their after-party invitation.

Ji-hoon and Kyung-ho both seemed to want to get their numbers without fail.

Ugh, why do I have to deal with this.

“Pretty kids are worth their face value, you know. Don’t mess with them and get hurt.”

That’s experience talking.

Don’t take it lightly; it’s serious.

“Ah, what are you talking about? At that level, it’s worth calling them! We definitely have to go to the after-party!”

“Just do what you want.”

“Hyung, but why are you in such a bad mood? Didn’t you have fun with Sehwa? Sehwa’s face is top-tier, you know.”

Looking back, Sehwa seemed to have sent quite a few signals that could be considered provocative.

They also enthusiastically harmonized with me.

And the subtle skinship was also like that.

If only Jihee weren’t there, I could’ve enjoyed that strange atmosphere.

As I watched Jihee and Sehwa, who were running around with their arms around each other’s shoulders, I let out a deep sigh.

“No way. It was fun.”

“Is that not a fun person’s reaction?”

“My head hurts a little.”

This isn’t a joke.

“Didn’t Hyung Saerom play the role of a black knight just for me earlier? Is that why you’re doing this to me?”

“No way.”

And so, we arrived at the nearby convenience store.

We, who had entered late, joined up with Sehwa and Jihee.

“What was it that we got earlier? Ice cream and…?”

“Chocolate milk. Chocolate milk.”

After buying snacks for the kids, Kyungho pulled me into a narrow alley, saying he wanted to smoke for a bit.

-Weeeeing-

My phone vibrated with an incoming call.

I thought it might be Jihee, but it wasn’t.

My teacher still hadn’t read my message.

[Hyung! Bring some hangover remedy when you come!]

The vomiting emoji was a bonus.

Ugh. It seems like I’ve been overdoing it since earlier.

“Kyungho, I’ll just go back to the convenience store for a bit.”

“Why?”

“The kids want to buy hangover remedy.”

“Ew, those kids are so annoying.”

As we exited the alley, Jihee and Sehwa’s backs came into view.

I was about to ask if they needed anything, but I couldn’t help but stop in my tracks at their conversation.

“Can you please refrain from skinship? You’re doing it in front of someone else’s oppa.”

“Why? Oppa seems to like it too.”

“I’m being serious.”

Jihee’s eyes had turned cold.

“Our oppa. Don’t touch him.”

……My footsteps came to a halt.