My Younger Sister Was My First Love

66. Her Confession

Cause and effect.

The x and y of a function.

The x that Minju had inputted didn’t reach the y value she had set.

“So you want to date me?”

“Yes.”

Minju’s overly serious face made me lose my words for a moment.

Dating? With Minju?

Why would she want to date me?

After all, dating is when two people who are attracted to each other establish a relationship.

There was no such atmosphere between Minju and me.

“Don’t you think it’s weird for you to date me, considering Jihee isn’t normal?”

“Why do you think that?”

Minju’s hand slowly and gently wrapped around my wrist.

Her fingers moved with a sense of vitality.

Although we had touched like this before, the air itself felt different now.

Dim lighting.

Minju’s skin, which seemed to glow slightly.

My saliva flowed back.

“Why do you think that?”

“Do you think I don’t like you?”

“Of course. That’s……”

Even when I was young, who would treat someone they liked so harshly?

It was still hard to accept the fact that Minju liked me romantically.

“Hey, think about what you did to me as a human.”

“I was so mean to you back then, you didn’t seem to care about me. Is that it?”

“That’s also true.”

I knew it was a weird expression, but…

To me, Minju felt more like family than Jihee.

An old friend from childhood.

A girl who was like a boy I used to be friends with in the past.

Reuniting with her brought back feelings that were hard to describe, like running into an old friend from the neighborhood.

“……I’m not like that.”

Minju’s hand, which was holding my wrist, began to sweat slightly.

“You might think that, but I’m not like that.”

“Okay.”

It was clear that she didn’t have the same feelings as me.

“Do you really like me?”

“Is that not allowed?”

In the past, we had a connection, but it didn’t seem like Minju had any reason to like me romantically.

Minju had become prettier.

She had received many confessions.

Perhaps if there was a complicated history like Jihee’s, it would be understandable.

My mind was in a daze, like I had just heard someone say, “1 + 1 actually equals 3!”

“……Yeah.”

“What?”

The small, peaceful studio apartment was quiet, but Minju’s voice was too soft.

“I liked you from before……”

Before. Before what?

“Since we met in college?”

“……No.”

“Then?”

“I liked you even when I was in elementary school.”

It’s hard to put a name to emotions.

I was taken aback by Minju’s unexpected confession, which was unlike anything I had expected from Jihee.

“But why did you do that?”

“I was young.”

“So you hit me on the back until it was bruised?”

“Oh, that was because I liked you too. Did I answer correctly?”

Minju’s face was flushed to the point where it couldn’t get any redder.

Minju, who had bowed her head, took a deep breath and continued.

“So, Jihee is out of the question.”

Min-ju’s other hand overlapped mine.

“You can’t get swept away by that weird kid and get ruined.”

Ji-hee was the devil trying to push me into the abyss.

Min-ju was the angel trying to protect me from her.

Two people standing at opposite poles.

But I couldn’t readily take the angel’s hand.

“But, Min-ju.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve never thought of you… in that way…”

It was beyond good or bad, and suddenly felt awkward.

All my excuses to Ji-hee seemed to lose their meaning at that moment.

Min-ju couldn’t be like that with me.

Min-ju was really just a close female friend.

Maybe girls are better at understanding this kind of thing.

Leaving Ji-hee’s problem aside, this confession felt like it couldn’t be accepted.

“So, what’s it like to get to know someone while dating?”

“What’s with that?”

“You didn’t see me like that until now, so can’t you start seeing me like that from now on?”

I looked at Min-ju with new eyes.

If I set aside our long-standing friendship and saw Min-ju as just another person…

“Doesn’t it just happen naturally?”

-Ding dong-

The doorbell rang loudly, making me jump.

I stood up, brushing off Min-ju’s hand, and went to the door.

The delivery person must have already left, as I only heard footsteps on the stairs.

I picked up the vinyl bag on the floor.

Hmm. Maybe it’s better to have more things at Min-ju’s place.

I had doubts about whether it was right to eat with Min-ju after rejecting her confession.

“I’ll get the dishes.”

Min-ju got up, seemingly unaffected, and brought the dishes and utensils.

The plastic container was filled with potato stew.

Surprisingly, there were also soju glasses at Min-ju’s place.

“Do you have soju glasses at home?”

“Ah, I got them as a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes, I received them when Seon-ah and Kyung-in came to visit last year.”

Min-ju’s colleagues were my seniors.

They were friends of the same age, but I only knew them by name.

I had never spoken to them before, which was why it felt that way.

“That’s right.”

“Are you going to drink?”

As Minju shook the green glass bottle from side to side, I nodded my head up and down.

It seemed like the conversation topic was exhausted, so I also felt like having a drink.

“Cheers.”

The toast sound was calm, without much tension.

We paused our conversation for a moment and took a sip of our drinks.

“I Junho.”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you tell Jihee that you met me?”

“I didn’t tell her because I thought it would cause a fuss.”

“Did she not say anything after you left?”

Jihee’s words came to mind, and I seriously considered whether to mention it or not.

[Minju’s older sister was going to do something with her oppa, so…]

Should I say it? Should I not?

It was true that I was curious about what had happened that day.

Minju wouldn’t usually use that kind of wording.

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“Did you tell Jihee that we…did something…?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“No, that.”

I wondered if Jihee had made up a story that wasn’t true.

“Just tell me. No one else is listening.”

Minju looked frustrated, clicking her tongue and tilting her head.

“You said you’d do that with me…”

“Ugh!”

Minju’s palm slapped the floor, making a loud noise.

“Are you crazy?”

I was torn between scolding her and holding back because she was my younger sister.

“So you didn’t say anything to Jihee about becoming her new sister-in-law? Jihee just made up a bunch of nonsense to me.”

“That’s…”

Minju’s expression changed at the mention of the word “new sister-in-law”.

Her face was changing rapidly, like a person who was mentally unstable.

“Did Jihee say that to you?”

“You’re the one who said it.”

“Wow, you really are something.”

Minju looked like she had discovered a question with no answer, shaking her head.

“But honestly, I did say that.”

“What’s with that kind of talk?”

“Did he ask me ‘What’s wrong with you?’ and I replied, ‘Am I going to be your new noona?'”

It was hard to believe they had such a conversation.

Why would a student and teacher have a conversation like that? It was absurd.

It was already a spilled water situation.

Instead of answering, I took another sip of my soju.

“Minnu.”

“Yeah.”

“Now, I don’t want you to worry about me and Jihee’s issues anymore.”

You’ve already done so much for me, even coming to my house, and giving me more than I needed.

I genuinely felt grateful.

I still think Minnu is a good person.

But it was uncomfortable for me to have Minnu caught up in Jihee’s issues.

This was a problem between Jihee and me, and only us.

There was no reason for Minnu to take the initiative to solve it.

“Why.”

“I’ll try to do something about it.”

“I already gave you a solution. Let’s date.”

“It doesn’t seem like the problem would be solved even if I dated someone else, so it’s not like it’s a problem that can be resolved.”

Let’s go home and declare to Jihee that we’re dating.

I couldn’t even imagine what would happen next.

Maybe I’d wake up with handcuffs on, imprisoned.

“Do you dislike the idea of dating me, excluding Jihee’s issues?”

Minnu crossed their arms and sat down, revealing a part of their white thigh on the table.

“Don’t I have any chance?”

The sound of their self-esteem hitting rock bottom echoed here.

“No. You’re not unattractive. It’s not that. This is…”

“Then why won’t you accept it?”

“I said it before.”

“Why do you have such strict standards for me, but not for your younger sibling?”

Minnu looked at me with an angry gaze, then poured another drink.

“Tell me honestly. Do you like Jihee?”

“No, I don’t.”

“You like them, that’s why you’re rejecting me now.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then it means you think I’m not good enough.”

What kind of options were these?

1. I like my younger sibling.

2. Minnu is crazy.

“Ugh, this is frustrating.”

Minnu buried their face in their knee.

The silence settled in.

I couldn’t do anything, just sitting there, staring blankly, and only managed to slurp the broth of the gamja-tang.

It wasn’t like I was going to accept his confession or anything, but somehow, I couldn’t help but babble on.

“But, Minju.”

“……Why.”

“You said you liked me since elementary school.”

“Hmm.”

“Why did you like me? I really don’t get it.”

The reason I liked Jihee was clear-cut.

On the other hand, the reason Minju liked me was as unclear as a foggy day.

No matter how I thought about it, I didn’t think I was that great or good of a person.

“You always took care of me.”

“Took care of me?”

“Yeah. Even when I was slightly hurt, you were always by my side.”

Minju, who had lifted his head from his knees, didn’t meet my gaze.

“I didn’t express it, but I really relied on you a lot.”

A story I had never known.

In fact, it was an old story, and I couldn’t even remember it properly.

Did I do that?

Did I do something that amazing?

I couldn’t hide my doubts, as I had many memories of being hurt and scolded.

“So, I liked you. You know how surprised I was when I saw you again?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I regretted not asking for your phone number back then.”

Just like Jihee couldn’t remember me.

I also didn’t have complete memories of Minju.

The lyrics of a song came to mind, saying that memories are written differently.

We were in the same time and space, but we felt different emotions.

“I thought you were still you when we met again.”

Swoosh.

Minju let go of his hand, and his knee dropped to the floor.

Minju slowly approached me and gently stroked my cheek.

“So, this time, I won’t let go.”

A strange yet familiar sensation.

As I felt the touch of his lips on my cheek, my pupils dilated involuntarily.

“……Yeah.”

“Can you show me your feminine side now?”

Minju’s white thigh was touching mine.

I froze, just like Jihee would have done.

“My younger sibling said so.”

The smile was not a kind and refreshing one that brightens up the mood, but rather a somewhat ominous and eerie one.

Minju let out a sly laugh and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“You. You don’t like the ‘odel student’ style, do you?”