My Younger Sister Was My First Love

90. Family, but…

“Was the part-time job okay?”

As soon as I entered the house, Jihee greeted me with a curious face.

“Uh… it’s not easy.”

“Why? Are there a lot of customers?”

“There are a lot of customers when it’s busy, but none when it’s not.”

“Oh. Then, can you make coffee too?”

“That’s something you’ll learn later.”

According to Minju’s explanation, if a beginner makes coffee, there’s a high probability it’ll be ruined.

To be more precise, if you’re not skilled, the taste won’t be consistent, and I’ve also heard that handling the steam for milk is particularly tricky.

“Hmm. Then, let’s just give up. I’ll ask Dad for more money. He’s really good at that kind of thing, and if I ask for more living expenses, he’ll give me 100,000 won, right?”

“It’s okay. I’ll say it again – this isn’t about the money; I just want to try it.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to do something like a private academy or tutoring instead of a cafe?”

I’ve already said I’d do the cafe, so there’s no backing out, but what Jihee said could be another option.

“Uh… do you think I could be a tutor, Jihee?”

It was a casual question, but…

“No way? You’re too kind, Oppa.”

“Is being kind a bad thing?”

“No, a teacher needs to be strict sometimes.”

“That’s for students who don’t have motivation.”

Jihee let out a snorting sound.

“You’re only saying that because you’ve been living in Taehak-dong, but about 70% of students in Korea don’t care about studying.”

“Is that really the case?”

“Don’t you see my grades going up? If you have a little interest in studying, you can rise quickly like me.”

That’s because your hardware is exceptional, though.

You’re from a prestigious university family.

Even Jihee’s mother has a Ph.D. from MIT, so it’s not a problem with their parents’ IQ.

“No, so what’s the teaching technique? Explaining things, solving problems, and making it understandable?”

“Uh, about the level of your kiss?”

I started to think about Jihee’s answer.

Is my kiss level?

Do I do it well?

Do I do it poorly?

In the past, when I rarely kissed, Jihee’s letter had a sentence that seemed to tease me about not being good at kissing.

Yeah.

Back then, I was a bit of a novice.

But now, I’m a seasoned professional (although I still haven’t had any romantic experience).

“If it’s that level, you could even be a teaching assistant at a private academy.”

As I came to my own conclusion, Jihee let out a ridiculous, mocking laugh.

“Seriously, what’s with that?”

“Why.”

“Who kissed oppa so well?”

I felt a slight sting, but since there was no witness, I made a bold statement.

“……It was Min-ju.”

“Hahaha.”

The laughter that burst out from behind, shaking her head, felt like a dark witch breaking a taboo.

“A~ Did Min-ju unni really kiss oppa that well? She must have done it so well that she wants to do it again?”

“No, it’s not like that. She’s just really good at it, that’s all.”

“Seriously, does that unni not know how to meet a good person because she’s never met one?”

“What about you, then? Who have you met?”

You’re the same as me, after all.

With a innocent face, Ji-hee glared at her younger sister, then walked up to me and wrapped her arm around my neck.

“Want to see?”

“No way.”

“A, are you scared of oppa’s teasing? You should have stopped teasing.”

“No, when did I ever tell you to kiss me?”

“It’s not that. Why are you so against it, I Jun-ho.”

Sometimes, when she suddenly called me by my real name, I felt a shiver run down my spine.

“I Jun-ho uses informal language.”

“Do you know that? I Jun-ho and I Ji-hee have really good name compatibility?”

For some reason, Ji-hee suddenly let go of me and ran into her room.

She brought out a practice notebook and a sharpie.

“Look at this.”

[LJH ♥ LJH]

The English initials are the same, right?

I was surprised that I had never thought of writing our names like that before.

“There’s a matching one, too!”

[ㅇㅈㅎ ♥ ㅇㅈㅎ]

This one is the same, too.

“We can make a couple ring later and put it in.”

“Oh, but if we break up, it can mean I love myself, right?”

-Pow!

A strong kick to the back of my knee.

The power was so intense that I reflexively jumped up, my knees trembling.

“Ow!”

“You did that on purpose and now you’re acting like that towards me.”

Ji-hee, with her arms crossed, let out a puff of air.

“No! Why did you hit me so hard?”

“Did I say something wrong, and now you’re saying this to me?”

“No. It’s just that’s what people say!”

And it’s not even a false statement.

Even if we weren’t, wouldn’t couples with the same initials be like that too?

“Anyway, we’re the invincible JH siblings.”

“Really, you two are like real siblings.”

“Almost like Ichika and Iroha level.”

“Pfft.”

You don’t give me a chance to breathe.

How do you come up with such thoughts so quickly?

My younger sibling’s quick wit was truly astonishing.

-Wheee-

The sudden ringing of the phone made Jihee’s chin quiver, as if telling her to answer it.

There’s no one to contact. Who could it be?

Minju’s probably busy with her part-time job, so it’s not her.

And not that ridiculous public opinion survey either.

[Mom]

“Mom’s calling. Can I just answer it here?”

“Whatever you want?”

Jihee shrugged, and I started the video call right away.

[Joonho.]

Looking at the door in the background, it seemed like Mom was in her own room at home.

“Yes, Mom. Why?”

“Hello!”

Jihee snuggled up beside me, creating a two-shot on the screen.

[Ugh. Was Jihee there too? Were you resting?]

“Yes! I just finished studying!”

[So that’s how it was. Jihee, I wanted to talk to Joonho about that thing, just the two of us.]

“Ah! Yes! Then I’ll go study in my room!”

Jihee quickly struck a pose, showing off her palm, and then dashed into her room.

The sound of her door closing.

My heart felt uneasy, and I scratched my cheek.

“So, Mom, what did you want to talk about?”

[Jihee, did you go in?]

“Yes.”

[Joonho, you said you wouldn’t go on that school MT trip because Jihee didn’t want to.]

Ah. That’s what it was.

Summer vacation.

“No. But I don’t know how Jihee explained it, so I’ll just say it myself.”

[Mom had already made the reservations.]

“You made reservations?”

“Yeah, I told Seonghak about it, and it’s really great, so I think it’s okay.”

“What did you do there?”

“Just a minute.”

The sound of rustling and Mother’s silhouette disappeared.

And then, I arrived at a single link.

[Domestic Hotel – Reservation confirmed – Grand Leminion]

I didn’t know many hotel names, but this one was unfamiliar.

“Is this it?”

“I wish you had told me a bit earlier.”

Mother looked at me with a slightly disappointed expression.

“No, it’s okay not to go. Why?”

“Junho.”

I was about to add something, but I returned to being polite and attentive.

“Why?”

“You might not understand what I’m saying, but at your age… you’re in early college, you know…”]

The atmosphere became very serious.

Mother seemed to be choosing her words carefully.

“You won’t come back again.”

“I know that too.”

“That’s why you should cherish even playing around. Mother is completely against you staying in your room, not even going out with your friends. You’re worrying too much and not having fun. You won’t get a day like this again in your life.]

“No, it’s not like that.”

Mother said, as if it was obvious, “Jihee is precious too, but you’re even more precious to me, Junho.”

One more word, and I’d be confirmed as a disobedient son.

Mother had perfectly cornered me.

Haa… this wasn’t even about forcing me to study, but about forcing me to have fun.

It was ridiculous to struggle and make a fuss about it.

“Okay, thank you.”

“Can you take care of yourself and come back safely?”

“But where is this place, Gangneung?”

As I seemed to be listening, Mother finally smiled.

“It’s really hard to find a good place on a weekend during peak season. This is okay.”

“Eh, it’s not like it’s a one-star hotel or anything. Ah, but it’s better to have two separate beds, though.”

I still hadn’t clicked on the link.

I didn’t even know exactly where this place was.

“Ahaha, did Mother not do that either?”

“Ah, what’s going on? Is it a room with two beds?”

“No way! Mother and Father put in some effort, especially for you two!”

It didn’t take long to figure out what was going on.

The answer was already there when I clicked on the link Mother sent.

“……Are we supposed to sleep together here?”

[Is the reaction really that bad? Son?]

“No. That’s… um.”

After flipping through the photos, it seemed like there were at least three rooms, each with a queen-size bed or larger, and the luxurious ocean view was truly a sight that could only be seen with a hefty price tag.

“How much does this cost?”

[Hey, the kids know, right?]

“No. We’re going as a couple, but they’re providing this kind of service!”

[It’s like they’re taking the money for a 2-night, 3-day family trip and splurging it on us for one night, two days.]

Mom seemed pleased, but my concerns were on a completely different level, about 1 billion light-years away from what she had predicted.

First of all, the bed was ridiculously huge, a definite NG.

It was a given that we’d be sleeping together.

Even if Jihee didn’t make it explicit, I could already tell.

I’d crawled into single beds multiple times before, but this size was on a different level.

And what about the indoor pool?

What was it called again? A Jacuzzi?

With that, the chances of not doing it were zero.

From my perspective, it was like a poisoned chalice, but from the adults’ point of view, it was a special present.

“……Thank you.”

[Have fun, Mom. I saw that there’s a shuttle bus from the bus terminal, so it’s better to take that.]

“Okay, I’ll take care of it.”

[Joon-ho.]

“Okay.”

[I miss you, son.]

My heart felt like it was crumbling at Mom’s one sentence.

Of course, Mom missed me, but what scared me was how much my feelings for Jihee would hurt her.

“……Me too.”

The conversation ended with another phrase to have fun.

I stared blankly at the ended call screen.

This was definitely going wrong.

-Click

As soon as the call ended, Jihee’s door burst open with a loud creak.

Jihee approached me with light, airy footsteps and sat down on my lap.

“……You’re not planning to get condoms?”

Is it possible not to like this kind of thing?