My Younger Sister Was My First Love

5. ……I can’t get up.

“……Say it again.”

“No. This guy is the one who went to English academy with us and is a year older!”

Sehwa’s expression and atmosphere didn’t seem like she was joking.

Did this guy really confess to me?

Really?

“You don’t remember? You said to me with a super serious face, ‘Do I look that easy to you?’ and I really laughed my ass off.”

My hands and feet started trembling with anxiety.

“……Sehwa, are you kidding me?”

“How can you not remember? You got so upset and said you wanted to die back then.”

Sehwa suddenly covered her mouth and burst out laughing.

“Puahahaha…… Wow. I’m crying. Can I use this as novel material? It’s going to be a huge hit.”

The intersection between the guy’s past testimony and Sehwa’s story implies that the content is not fiction, but a true story.

My mind was rapidly becoming a mess, so I quickly gulped down my coffee.

The roadmap I had carefully drawn to seduce the guy had completely turned into a blank sheet.

The unfamiliar family framework!

My perfect plan, which I had been slowly building up step by step, had been ruined!

The memory of the day the guy came into my room flashed through my mind like a panorama.

Ah.

So that’s why my expression was like that back then?

I slapped my forehead with a loud thud.

* * *

The criteria for determining real estate prices are not just one or two!

It’s about the floor area, number of floors, surrounding business district, transportation rights, and more.

In that context, our family’s residence in Taehak-dong can be seen as an area heavily influenced by the school district.

There’s nothing fun to do, but the overwhelming atmosphere of the private academies is suffocating.

As soon as summer vacation starts, students from the countryside come pouring in for on-site lectures, and by 10 pm, the roads are packed with cars and minivans driven by parents who came to pick up their kids.

Jihee returned at 10:30 pm.

It was right after the peak time for students returning home.

“Jihee’s back?”

The sound of the door lock opening was followed by Mom and Dad coming out of their room.

“Yes! I’m back!”

I had something to say, so I went out to the living room to greet her.

Jihee, who was exchanging greetings with me, trembled her body as soon as our eyes met.

What can I say?

If I had to describe that reaction, it was similar to the one I had when I first met Jihee.

It felt like I’d encountered an existence that shouldn’t be seen.

“I’ll go take a shower first!”

Jihee tossed her bag into her room and headed straight to the bathroom without saying a word to me.

Mom and Dad left, saying they were tired, and returned to their room.

The sound of the shower lasted longer than I’d expected.

I knew girls took a long time to shower, but 50 minutes was too long, wasn’t it?

I played with my phone, waiting for Jihee to come out, my ears perked up.

It was around midnight when it seemed like she’d finished showering and getting ready for bed.

The sound of Dad’s snores came through the wall from their room.

I left my room and headed to Jihee’s room across the living room.

Tap, tap, tap.

“Jihee.”

I called out her name in a low voice.

“Can I come in?”

Instead of responding, the door creaked open with a faint sound.

After receiving permission, I entered and caught my breath.

A thin, white tank top.

Her belly button line was barely visible.

Below that, her snow-white thighs and calves were fully exposed.

The black hot pants from a famous sports brand didn’t cover much of Jihee’s body.

“I still haven’t dried my hair.”

A playful smile was on Jihee’s face.

The atmosphere was completely different from when we got home.

But it wasn’t hard to guess the reason.

Jihee was an idol trainee.

And for an idol trainee, this kind of situation was daily life.

“Will you dry my hair for me? I have something to tell you too.”

If I were a real older brother, I’d say, “Are you crazy? Why would I dry your hair?”…but…

Today, I had to be obedient and ask for favors.

And honestly, I didn’t feel any resistance to drying Jihee’s hair.

She’d just showered, so what was there to be dirty about?

“…Okay.”

Jihee sat down in the small, round chair in front of the dresser, like she was at a hair salon.

Our reflections in the mirror looked like a hairstylist and customer.

The hair dryer turned on with a “whoosh” sound, and I began to dry Jihee’s hair for the first time in my life.

I didn’t have any romance about doing this, but it felt strange.

If this kind of situation were to occur, the target would undoubtedly be a girlfriend, wouldn’t it?

“So, what did you want to tell me on the phone?”

Jihee looked up at me slightly and asked.

“It’s because Dad is going to the US, and I wanted to discuss something with you.”

“Dad, why?”

I was trying to have an important conversation, but the sound of the hair dryer was annoyingly loud.

“Let’s talk about this first.”

It was my first time doing it, so I wasn’t very skilled.

Sometimes, Jihee would even give me instructions in the middle of it.

“Do the inside too!”

“It’s okay if you don’t do the bottom, it doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, if you do it like that, what’s the point!”

…Why did I have to do it?

If I had done it myself, I would have done it much faster and better.

Still, I successfully styled Jihee’s hair and sat down next to her, pulling up a chair from her desk.

“Dad is going abroad, right?”

“Yes.”

“What do you think about it?”

“What do you mean, what do I think? Are you asking if I’m sad that Dad is going far away?”

“It’s just…I’m a bit disappointed that Dad isn’t at home, or maybe a bit anxious.”

Jihee nodded as if she understood.

The answer was clear-cut.

“Not at all!”

Although I was smiling, my response was unexpectedly firm and cold.

“I’m not disappointed at all, and I’m not anxious at all. And, as you know, our dad wasn’t the type to come home often anyway. Now that Grandma is here, it’s just how it is.”

It felt like I was explaining that our relationship wasn’t good, but to me, this was a relief and a bit of a happy feeling.

It was weird.

Our relationship wasn’t good, but I was like, “Okay! The plan is working out!”

“Was that what you were curious about?”

“No, it’s about our mom.”

I got straight to the point.

“I want Mom to go abroad with Dad.”

The corner of Jihee’s mouth twitched slightly.

It looked like she was trying hard not to laugh.

“…Why?”

“Because if they get divorced right after remarrying, it’s like the meaning of their remarriage disappears.”

I rattled off the words I had carefully prepared while Jihee was at the academy.

The news of Dad’s transfer, and how Mom’s recent condition wasn’t good.

How Mom hadn’t told me about her dating, and how I personally felt guilty about it.

How I was capable of taking care of the house on my own, so Mom could do well.

Jihee listened to my explanation with a serious expression, her arms crossed like a survival program judge.

“So if I oppose it, Grandma will stay in Korea, right?”

“That’s right.”

“You want Grandma to follow our dad, right?”

“……Yeah.”

I had no idea what was going through Jihee’s mind.

Her expression changed in real-time, like a kaleidoscope in her head.

“I have a condition for accepting Oppa’s proposal.”

Jihee presented her estimate as if she had finished calculating.

“It’s not a difficult condition, nor an unusual one.”

“Tell me. If it’s within my capabilities, I’ll cooperate to the best of my abilities.”

Jihee got up from her chair and moved to the bed.

As her weight pressed onto the soft blanket, it made a rustling sound.

“Come here.”

“Yeah?”

“Sit down here, Oppa.”

Jihee patted the spot next to her.

She was telling me to get on the bed and sit next to her.

“Can’t we just talk here?”

“Hmm, it seems like our Oppa isn’t interested in listening to my story.”

With a coercion that wasn’t coercion, I had no choice but to get on Jihee’s bed.

Not just sitting, but deeply.

Jihee was leaning against the wall, so I did the same.

“Come closer.”

As Jihee asked me to come closer, I slightly tilted my head towards her.

Soon, Jihee’s hand touched the end of my cheek, and she began whispering her conditions into my ear.

“I think I need an adult I can rely on at home.”

At first, it sounded like she was going to reject my proposal.

“Even if our survival rate is high, as Oppa said, I don’t think I’m mature. I’m just a high school graduate who’s still studying for the re-take. It’s not unusual to feel stressed and anxious 12 times a day, right, Oppa?”

It was undeniable.

Just a few months ago, I was a student at a re-take academy, and I couldn’t help but agree with Jihee 100%.

Does studying hard and getting good grades bring peace of mind?

No.

Absolutely not.

Structurally, that’s not possible.

Paradoxically, the ones who struggle the most are those at the top.

There’s only one way to fall from that position.

A single mistake can lead to victory or defeat.

In the end, students who are serious about entering college have to live with anxiety and self-doubt until they receive their admission letter.

“You’ll receive a lot of stress, and emotionally, you’ll be unstable. At times like that, the most important thing is the support of your family, who are closest to you. Oppa said so himself. He received a lot of care from his mom.”

Jihee continued to speak the truth.

“There’s only one thing I want.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“I want Oppa to perfectly fill the void left by my mother.”

Jihee paused for a moment before continuing.

“If you promise to take care of me like Mom and Dad, I’ll convince Grandma.”

As soon as I heard the words “Mom’s role,” I felt suffocated.

Maybe I had underestimated the weight of those words.

I thought it would be easy, just cleaning and cooking, and occasionally helping with studies.

But when those words came out, the first thought that came to mind was “Can I really do it?”

“I.”

I couldn’t back down.

Giving in here would mean putting more burden on Mom.

“I promise.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ll do my best to help you get through this year safely.”

Jihee smiled brightly, seemingly satisfied with my answer.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Oppa.”

—

My eyes couldn’t keep up with what I saw.

The sensation was still vivid.

The soft, gentle texture on my cheek.

I stared blankly, my eyes blinking foolishly, as I tried to ask Jihee for an explanation.

“Hey, no, I mean, Jihee, just now, that…”

Jihee’s hand gently stroked my cheek.

“Don’t I often give kisses to my family members too?”

The real crisis was not her actions, but my reaction.

…I couldn’t get up.