My Younger Sister Was My First Love

93. Who Am I

“Ah, I don’t have money. Isehwa said she’d treat us, so I came out today.”

Jihee’s hand was still grasping Iseho’s wrist.

As if to show off.

It seemed like Iseho didn’t mind, not shaking off Jihee’s hand.

“Welcome!”

Minju let go of my sleeve and immediately returned to her professional demeanor as a waitress.

Her unique business smile greeted her younger brother and his friends.

“Oppa! Long time no see!”

Sehwa, who was sitting next to me, gave me a sly smile.

I didn’t expect her to greet me so openly.

“Ah, ah…”

“Long time no see?”

Sehwa naturally greeted me like an old friend.

It was as if she was trying to act cute in front of Jihee.

She was pulling off the “Park Saerom operation” flawlessly.

“Ah, so what are we going to eat?”

Iseho, who was sitting next to my younger brother, asked Jihee with a whine.

“The most expensive thing.”

“Get lost.”

“Hey, I’m buying for you, how much is it?”

Fortunately, the two of them let go of each other’s hands.

But my mood was still at rock bottom.

Just witnessing that one moment was enough.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you guys going to drink?”

“Unnie!”

At Sehwa’s words, Jihee smiled brightly and made eye contact with Minju.

“Yes, hi.”

“I came with Oppa to work part-time and help increase sales! Did a good job!”

“Ahaha, I may not be the boss, but anyway, come on in.”

It meant that no matter how much sales went up, the amount we received remained the same.

“So, do you have any recommended menu items?”

“It’s summer, so let’s have something cool. Something cool.”

“Then I’ll have a hot café latte.”

I thought Demi would lose her smile at such a blatant disregard for advice.

Pros are pros, after all.

“Yes! One café latte! Have the others placed their orders?”

“I’ll have a mango smoothie.”

“I’ll just have a regular-sized A for now!”

Jihee and the twins received their drinks and started chatting away in the innermost seat.

According to Jihee’s schedule, it was time for her afternoon studies.

Although she was working part-time, she didn’t bother to nag or send threatening texts, but she did plan to give me a piece of her mind later.

“Joonho.”

After handing me my drink and finishing her tasks, Demi called out my name.

“Yeah?”

“Are you not studying, little brother?”

It seemed like someone who wasn’t a Korean university student would have the same thoughts as me.

“I don’t know. It’s time to study, but you’re just hanging out. I’ll scold you later.”

“You need to come here and work sometimes. It’s annoying. Tell them not to come if they can’t handle it.”

“……Yeah.”

We received customers who came in dribs and drabs for over an hour.

As a morning timer, my official work hours ended at 5 pm in the afternoon.

Jihee and the others had a lively conversation, but now they were all staring at their phones.

“Jihee.”

As I tidied up my apron and grabbed my bag, Jihee stood up from her chair.

“Yeah, I’m leaving?”

“Jihee, take care~ and you too, Joonho Oppa!”

Seho nodded towards me instead of saying anything.

I was going to ask when we would head home, but my little sister left with me before I could even say anything.

We walked side by side, but an awkward silence hung in the air.

What was she thinking?

It wasn’t the time for scolding yet.

Let’s ask about the main issue instead.

“……What brought you here?”

“I wanted to cheer you up since you seemed to be struggling.”

“It’s just a part-time job, what’s there to cheer about? And what about your studies?”

“It does seem like I came for nothing, just like you said.”

Jihee’s cold gaze sent chills down my spine.

“What’s wrong.”

“It seems like I’ve disturbed your leisure time, oppa.”

“That’s not it, I was just teaching you about coffee.”

“I was just bored, so I grabbed your wrist, Lee Se-ho style.”

Ji-hee stopped in her tracks.

“Doesn’t it bother you at all?”

I couldn’t answer.

“Friends do that kind of thing, don’t they…?”

I couldn’t be honest.

No, I thought it was too selfish to express my true feelings here.

I’d done that kind of thing with Min-ju too.

It was unfair to scold Ji-hee for doing it just once when I’d done it too.

“That’s a wrong answer.”

“Huh…?”

“That’s something a guy without a girlfriend would say, oppa.”

“Ji-hee.”

“I’ll be honest with you. Even if it makes you feel bad, it’s okay if you do whatever you want with Min-ju unnie, oppa.”

A sly smile began to form on Ji-hee’s lips.

“Let’s make this clear between us.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re mine, oppa.”

The fireworks exploding in my head.

The dopamine flood in my brain started to paralyze me.

“I’m yours too, oppa.”

A perfect and clear settlement.

Ji-hee’s words gave me a sense of permanence, like an unchanging mathematical formula.

“So, this is why I can get attached to you every time you act like this, oppa.”

Ji-hee grabbed my collar and pulled me towards her face.

The loud noise of a passing bus.

My brother and I, who didn’t resemble each other at all, would never be recognized as siblings by others.

–

Our lips, which had been pressed together, parted.

This was the first time we’d kissed in such a public place.

I could feel my heart pounding like crazy.

“…… Yeah, yeah, here.”

“I can do this, it’s my right. Lee Jun-ho.”

Ji-hee didn’t stop.

The space between my fingers was filled with Ji-hee’s fingers without a gap.

“So, you do the same, oppa.”

“What do you mean by doing the same?”

“What did you think when Iseho touched you? Tell me. Or should I try to guess what you thought?”

Jihee’s lips touched the edge of my ear.

“Oppa, I thought I wanted to break Iseho’s fingers.”

……It was a violent remark, but it was not wrong in terms of content.

* * *

It had been a few days since Jihee’s surprise cafe visit.

Sunday had finally arrived, circling back.

The day of the highly anticipated swimsuit shopping had finally come.

I knew it had been a while since I finished showering.

But for some reason, Teacher wasn’t coming out of the room.

We were supposed to leave at 10, but the clock had already passed 10:20.

-Ding ding ding-

“Jihee, when are you coming out?”

“Just a minute~”

The door opened with a creak, and Jihee emerged in a sky-blue one-piece swimsuit.

Her eyes sparkled like stars after finishing her makeup.

“You look beautiful!”

She didn’t seem embarrassed saying that.

Her hair was styled like an air conditioner model, and she looked stunning.

“Yeah, you do.”

“Today’s makeup is perfect.”

Honestly, I didn’t know what had changed, but I nodded in agreement from the side.

I hoped she wouldn’t ask what had changed.

“Oppa, I’m a little different today.”

“Jihee.”

As expected, that phrase popped out, and I had to change the subject quickly.

“Hmm?”

“What color swimsuit do you think we should get?”

Jihee looked at me with a big, silly expression, blinking her eyes.

“Hmm, did you think about it? Why? Do you have a preferred color, Oppa?”

“I just thought whatever looks good would be fine.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll wear them all, from red to blue, and show you.”

A playful smile spread across Jihee’s face.

“Just get whatever you want to wear. What’s the big deal?”

“Aah~ We’re getting couple swimsuits, so it can’t be just any color! You have to participate too, Oppa!”

“Are you really getting couple swimsuits?”

“Yeah! What’s wrong with that?”

Her confident tone made my response awkward.

“Ah, we’re going to a neighborhood where no one knows us. A place where people think we’re family, just you and I.”

His words, which seemed to tempt me into doing something bad, made my mouth dry.

There’s no way it won’t work.

That’s a fact.

But the feeling…

The feeling is…

A couple’s swimsuit with my younger sibling?

My first couple item, a swimsuit, felt extremely awkward.

If we’re going to do this, it would be better to have something more ordinary.

I thought it would be a more everyday, trivial item, but…

“…What are you thinking?”

Jihee approached me, poked my side, and asked.

“The probability of a couple being in a swimsuit for their first item is quite low.”

“Hmm. It’s not like it’s impossible. But we’re not even a couple, so it doesn’t apply to us!”

Jihee tilted her head, as if wondering what I was worried about.

“We’re not just an ordinary couple, are we, oppa?”

To me, who thought the relationship between a man and a woman was the most dramatic, her statement was quite shocking.

“Is a couple’s relationship boring?”

“Yes. It’s so cliché. It’s so…”

“You’re crazy.”

My honest, unfiltered feelings spilled out.

“Do you like me being crazy?”

“You’re crazy, indeed.”

“I love stories about a psycho-like younger sister being loved. I have a separate folder for those kinds of works. Want to read them?”

I, who had already understood my younger sibling and had reluctantly consumed some R-rated content, hesitated for a moment before shaking my head.

“…Forget it. Let’s go.”

“Why are you refusing? It’s fun, Jihee,”

“I’m going with you.”

I reluctantly dragged my younger sibling, who wanted to see new R-rated content, outside.

The weather was so hot that sweat dripped down my face after just 10 seconds of walking.

It was clear that if we went swimming, it would be a great day.

We headed towards a large shopping center in the city.

It was enormous.

“Is there a swimsuit store here?”

Since Jihee was the one who led the way, I glanced at her to see her reaction.

“Yes. The store is huge.”

“Really?”

As soon as we stepped inside, we were greeted by the cool air-conditioned wind.

“Wow. I’m saved.”

“Oppa, are you hot?”

Jihee suddenly clasped her hands together and started flapping them at an incredible speed.

“Is it getting better?”

“It’s okay even if you don’t do it. It’s fine.”

“This isn’t what you mean by ‘cooling down’, is it?”

“What’s the point of this goal if it’s not this?”

“Because oppa likes this kind of thing.”

“Me?”

“Aren’t you cute? Oppa says you’re hot, so you’re trying to cool him down like a little sister?”

Jihee gave me a look as if asking how I could do such a thing.

“Cute! Not cute!”

“It’s cute, but the effect of the fan itself is minimal, so stop it. The air conditioner is working just fine, anyway.”

“You’re only picking out the bad words to say.”

Jihee slipped her arm into mine, her fluttering hand still.

“I’ll make your face flush so much with my fan that you’ll be desperate. Let’s go quickly.”

“Don’t do anything weird when we get there.”

“Oppa, aren’t you overestimating yourself a bit?”

Jihee raised an eyebrow, as if asking what I meant, and chuckled.

“What’s up?”

“You don’t need to do anything weird to make oppa’s face turn red.”

“Explain it so I can understand.”

“Just seeing you in your swimsuit is enough to get oppa excited.”

Jihee’s hand slowly slid down my thigh.

“Who am I? I’m Lee Junho’s first love!”

I hit my forehead at the sight of my sister, who was thrusting out her chest.