My Younger Sister Was My First Love

64. Younger Sibling and Friend

* * *

I knew Jihee wasn’t a normal kid.

If she were normal, she wouldn’t even think about liking her own oppa.

But this attitude…

“……What?”

Jihee’s words had shattered the poker face I had been maintaining.

“Oppa doesn’t really like the model student type.”

“Why did you suddenly say that?”

“Hmm, you know.”

Jihee’s fluorescent pen spun around in a circle on her hand.

“I’m telling you because Unnie keeps making the same mistake.”

Her laughter was ambiguous, as if she was mocking me.

It was like a student who wanted to take off their gloves and fight.

“I’m not going to back down.”

“Jihee-ya.”

“Yes.”

“People who can’t even reach the hurdle are the ones who try to reach it.”

I can reach it, too.

You, who are not even biologically related to Junho, are trying to connect with him, which is absurd.

“Hmm… can’t I just figure it out without trying?”

Jihee’s tone was so sly it was hard to believe.

“Unnie, I’ve never confessed to oppa before.”

It was infuriating.

I was starting to wonder if we could even have a proper conversation.

“……So?”

“Is it easy?”

Jihee, who seemed uncertain, shrugged her shoulders, and I felt like hitting her on the head, she was so infuriating.

“Our oppa is an idiot, anyway. As long as he’s good-looking, he’s fine with it.”

“Junho, it’s not that bad, is it?”

From a young age, he’s been thoughtful and…

He takes care of others well, too…

“Is that so? Then I guess I liked him because of his good personality. Hehe.”

Jihee was blatantly ignoring me, as if she had received a badge of honor from Junho.

“What’s the point of telling me this?”

Despite everything, I was here to teach, after all.

Even if we put Junho in the middle, we were basically maintaining our boundaries.

“Why do you keep wanting to drag your reluctant oppa to the MT, anyway?”

Ah.

That’s what was bothering me.

This kid right now…

She wasn’t going to let go of Junho for even a day.

Her deep, dark brown eyes, which seemed to hold an unfathomable obsession, were fixed on me.

“Jihee, Junho also has the right to enjoy university life.”

I said firmly.

“You promised to take responsibility, oppa. What’s with you meddling in our family business, talking about others’ rights?”

Jihee, who had turned her chair towards me, crossed her legs and looked at me with contempt.

“What’s wrong with you, anyway?”

Ha.

I came to tutor, and what I got to hear was “What’s wrong with you?”.

I couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly.

At the same time, a fierce competitive spirit was boiling up inside me.

I was confident that I wouldn’t lose, no matter how stubbornly she acted.

University students in Korea were basically devils who had staked their lives on studying.

Most of them were owners of a personality that would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.

“I guess I need to become something, then.”

“What?”

“What’s wrong? When you become my sister-in-law, will you show some respect then?”

Jihee, who had already shed her mask, perfectly revealed her true nature with the word “sister-in-law”.

Her face was so twisted in anger that it was almost pitiful to look at.

It was a rare sight to see Jihee, who was usually so pretty, with her lips trembling in rage.

“My… sister-in-law…? You’re going to marry our oppa or something? You couldn’t even accept a single confession from him?”

“What can’t I do? My face and abilities aren’t that different from Junho’s, are they?”

While standards of beauty varied from person to person, objectively, my appearance wasn’t bad.

My academic background? I had graduated from Korea University.

I was confident in my job prospects, too.

It might be a reckless remark, but our family wasn’t that bad either.

Mom and Dad’s retirement was already secured.

Considering everything, I thought Junho wouldn’t be too bothered if I said I was getting married to him.

“Can you really get married like that?”

“What’s the problem?”

Jihee slowly raised her index finger and slowly covered her face.

“You need family approval, too, Unnie. If you’re going to become a member of our family, you should respect my opinion, of course.”

The idea of getting married at 20 or 21 was laughable, but it was already a done deal.

We were going to see it through to the end.

“Why do you need Junho’s permission? If the people involved are okay with it, that’s all that matters.”

“Unnie.”

“Ha. Let’s talk about it later. Today, let’s focus on solving problems, okay?”

The chair creaked as it was pushed back, and I escaped Jihee’s room in just 20 minutes.

The main character, Mr. Junho, was standing in front of the sink, staring blankly at his phone.

“What’s up? Do you need something?”

“I’m trying to focus on my studies today.”

“What happened?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Don’t tell me it’s about Jihee again.”

As soon as I heard my younger sibling’s name, I bit my lip tightly.

“Let’s talk about it on the weekend.”

It wasn’t a good idea to continue the conversation in this excited state.

Jihee didn’t come out of her room or try to stop me, which was surprising.

“Did you guys fight? No, if Jihee was being rude, she should at least say something. I’ll talk to her.”

It was too embarrassing to honestly confess my feelings.

“You didn’t accept my confession, so I got angry and broke up with you,” or something like that.

To be honest, I was also a bit angry with Junho.

Why did he have to fall for someone like that?

Why did he have to confess to someone like that and create this situation?

“Later.”

The index finger remained still, unlocking the door.

I didn’t even look back and repeatedly pressed the elevator button.

“Hey, Minju.”

“Let’s talk about it later.”

As I managed to escape the apartment building, I gazed at it with a mixture of emotions.

Jihee’s voice echoed in my ear.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?”

My heart, which had been wavering like a rippling wave, became a sharp point at that moment.

* * *

“Tell me.”

Is this twenty or two years old?

Jihee, whose mouth was as sharp as a blade, was blatantly ignoring my words.

“What did you talk about with Minju that made her act like that and leave?”

“I didn’t say anything weird.”

“Then just tell me quickly.”

I, who had been handcuffed and had my phone taken away for not joking around, had to dig into the mess between the two people whose relationship had gone sour.

I didn’t know the details, but the probability of Minju doing something strange was extremely low.

It may seem like I’m being too harsh on Jihee, but I thought Minju was a very rational person.

“…Minju unnie said.”

“Minju said.”

“That she’s going to do something with oppa, so.”

“What?”

I had to question my own ears.

What was Minju talking about?

“Minju unnie said she’s going to be my new sister-in-law.”

“No. Why would Minju become your sister-in-law? I didn’t even marry her.”

“My words! She’s acting like she’s gotten something, and it’s infuriating?”

Jihee suddenly burst out in anger, as if a switch had been flipped.

“No. She can’t even accept one confession and is already getting angry. What’s wrong with her?”

“…Did you really have that kind of conversation with Minju and come out?”

“Yes. Unnie was being so annoying, so I just said something and it ended up like that.”

Jihee was fuming, her arms crossed.

To be honest, this was also a bit abnormal, but I, who was used to my younger sibling’s antics, didn’t think it was a big deal and just shrugged it off.

What was really worrying me was Minju’s side.

Did Minju really say that she… did that?

Was it not a joke?

“What kind of conversation would make it flow like that? What was the context?”

“…Oppa’s MT.”

“MT?”

“The university people were going to go somewhere in the summer, but I really don’t know why I had to hear it from unnie’s mouth instead of oppa’s.”

Ah. That thing.

Even I had forgotten about that story in my memory.

The tearful persuasion of the university president was something that didn’t leave any impression on me.

“I was hesitating about whether to go or not.”

“I know. You’re not the type to leave me behind and go off to have fun for a few days, are you?”

Jihee, who was still fuming, glared at the TV that wasn’t even turned on with a fierce gaze.

“I’ll stop here.”

“It seems like Minju would also want to give up in this atmosphere.”

“That’s good. It’s better to see your face for one more minute than to be with that person.”

Is this really a good thing?

“And, oppa.”

“Yes.”

“Is there a schedule like that which I have to consult with someone else first, not you? Do I have to hear it from that auntie’s mouth?”

I felt like I had to apologize for this, but I decided to compromise for now.

“Alright. And anyway, it’s not like I can talk about it with anyone else but you.”

“And did you think about it carefully after listening to what that auntie said?”

“Yes.”

“It seems like you also need a summer break or something.”

……A break?

“You mean a vacation, not just staying at home or somewhere else to clear your mind or get some fresh air and have a new experience?”

“So?”

“Let’s go together.”

Jihee was rearranging my summer schedule as if it was her own, like she had something invested in it.

“Let’s take a 3-day, 4-night trip together.”

“What about your studies? You’re not even going to MT because I said I couldn’t go.”

“We can do it when we get there. It’s not like we’ll do anything big at night anyway.”

“That’s forcing it.”

“Minju said that to me too. As a college student, you have the ‘right’ to enjoy yourself with oppa.”

The more I listened to the story, the more I felt that Minju had spoken very strongly.

“I don’t like only receiving from oppa. Oppa should also enjoy himself.”

“I’ll enjoy it next year. Next year.”

“If I’m worried about it, it means I can have fun properly if I’m there.”

Jihee, who had gotten up from the sofa, came over to my side and leaned her forehead on my arm.

“Let’s go together, oppa.”

“No way.”

“If you say no, I’ll call Ajumma and ask her to book a travel package for us.”

Considering Mom’s personality, she might actually book it.

I was getting a headache, so I pressed my temples hard.

“Aren’t you too focused on being a student and lacking a basic mindset?”

“A student is only for a year, but family is for a lifetime. I think taking care of my family is more important.”

“A college diploma is also for a lifetime.”

“Yeah, having a degree and being pressured by it does feel kind of suffocating.”

……What kind of fight was going on inside?

If there was a black box, I would definitely check it.

“Seriously, do I have to take care of you like a junior, oppa?”

Jihee looked up at me with her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on me.

“Do you like the Korean CC better?”

……They’re telling me what to say.