My Feisty Sisters Are Coming After Me

Chapter 23

—–CROW—– 

Fortunately, Su-jeong Noona’s misunderstanding was quickly cleared up.

I had experienced a similar situation with Geum-bi Noona, and more importantly, my earnest expression seemed to have been persuasive.

“A-Actually, I thought it was strange too. There’s no way Ji-gu would do that to his younger siblings…”

“And yet you interrogated me like that until just now?”

“But as the oldest sister, I had to confirm the truth…!  I was worried too, you know? I called you out separately because I was trying to be considerate.”

“I’m grateful for that. If you had asked me at home, someone would have overheard and it would have become a big deal.”

Indeed, I had been subjected to a similar interrogation by Geum-bi Noona, which led to a long conversation that lasted until late at night, and then I ended up sleeping in her room, which Hwa-yeon and Su-jeong Noona found out about, making things worse.

Since today’s incident was an extension of that, it was much more comfortable to resolve it privately like this.

‘It wasn’t just Hwa-yeon, either. For the other things… I wasn’t entirely blameless.’

Spending the night in Geum-bi Noona’s room without telling Su-jeong Noona.

Getting caught with a morning erection… well, that was a bit unfair. It was an involuntary instinct, and I didn’t know Su-jeong Noona was so clueless about men.

‘But when did Noona notice that? Didn’t she always wake up later than me?’

On the way home from the park, a question suddenly popped into my head.

Turning my head to look at her, Su-jeong Noona was still fidgeting, glancing at me as if she still felt guilty.

“Noona.”

“Mm? What is it? Are you… still mad, Ji-gu?”

“No, I’m not mad anymore. You apologized properly after we talked.”

“But… still, it must have felt unfair to be suspected like that, Ji-gu.”

“I’m actually glad to know that Noona cares about our family this much.  Of course, I already knew that, hehe.”

“D-Don’t tease me. It’s just that we’re family… I care about you guys as much as anyone else would.”

Perhaps embarrassed by being praised while she was trying to gauge my mood, Su-jeong Noona blushed, twirling her wavy side hair.

Seeing her like that put me at ease, and I almost decided to let it go, but… I still needed to address some things.

“But, how did you know?”

“Huh? About Hwa-yeon?  I definitely didn’t hear it from her! I overheard you and Geum-bi talking and just assumed…”

“No, not that.”

“Huh? Then what?”

“About me waking up in the morning… with my lower half awake too.  You always woke up later than me, so when did you see that?”

“Huh…? Ah, uh.  That is, when was it, haha.”

Su-jeong Noona was mistaken and defended Hwa-yeon, but I could deal with her later.

The problem now was Su-jeong Noona herself, and the way she was waving her hands around made her look even more suspicious.

“Noona.”

“Uh, ah, mm? Did you call me, Ji-gu?”

“Say… were you awake first in the morning?”

“Huh? Th-That’s impossible. You know I’m a heavy sleeper, hehe.”

“No, now that I think about it, that’s the strange part. The most diligent Noona in our house is a heavy sleeper?  Really?”

“I-It’s true… Everyone has their weaknesses.”

Su-jeong Noona trailed off, avoiding my gaze.

I stopped walking and cornered her against a wall.

“Ah! Ji-gu? My back is against the wall…”

“Come to think of it, you always woke up on time for work, right?  You even knew how to be quiet enough not to wake me up.”

“D-Did I?  Maybe it’s just a habit from being a working adult…?”

“Even before that, when Geum-bi Noona called me to the kitchen.  You woke up alone in the room and even exchanged messages with Mom.”

“Ah, maybe I woke up because you got out of bed, Ji-gu… maybe?”

“And most importantly, you said it yourself at the park. That ‘every time’ I sleep with you, I have a morning erection. You wouldn’t be so sure if you only saw it once or twice, would you? Normally?”

“I-I’m not normal… I’m smart, so…”

Su-jeong Noona tried to make excuses, but her logic was falling apart.

I placed my hand on the wall, creating a kabedon pose, and looked down at her with a sharp gaze.

“Since when?”

“Wh-What?”

“Since when have you been observing my… down there?”

“I-I wasn’t observing! I just looked to see if you were putting something in your pocket… Ugh!”

“Is that so?  That’s how you saw it for the first time?”

“Ah, n-no… *Sob*, I’m sorry! I didn’t do it on purpose!”

With no escape route, either verbally or physically, Su-jeong Noona finally gave up, clasping her hands together and lowering her head.

“Really, at first I didn’t know what it was… but then I realized. But I was too embarrassed to say anything, so I pretended not to know… but you did it every day.”

“So you got to admire it every day?”

“Not admire! I-It was just… visible because we were sleeping so close… I couldn’t help it.”

Su-jeong Noona teared up, expressing her frustration.

The circumstantial evidence was enough for a guilty verdict, but seeing her desperation, I decided on probation.

“Ouch. Why did you hit me… *Sob*.”

“Are you in a position to complain? Be grateful I’m letting you off with just a flick.”

“B-But I listened to everything you said even though you were acting suspiciously.”

“After testing me by hugging me.”

“…I needed to confirm.  Of course, I trust you, Ji-gu, but there’s always a ‘what if?'”

“Oh, then can I test you for a ‘what if?’ too?  To see if my Noona has any lewd thoughts about her younger brother?”

“Huh? What?  Wah?! Wh-What… why are you coming closer again, huh?”

I moved my face closer to Su-jeong Noona, whose forehead was red.

Even though I hadn’t hit her anywhere else, her face was similarly flushed. After checking that no one was around, I gently pushed her bangs aside.

And then.

*Kiss.*

I lightly kissed her forehead and pulled away.

“Hyaa? Huh? What did you just do…?”

“A siblingly skinship. We’ve done this often before, haven’t we?”

“I don’t think we’ve done it… that often.”

“It felt often to me.  Well, mostly I was on the receiving end from you, Noona.”

“That’s because…! You rarely initiated this kind of thing, Ji-gu.”

“So it’s a test. Hmm, let’s see~?”

“Wh-What? Why are you coming closer again? Not the lips!”

“You’re overreacting.  I’m a bit… you know, about that too. Hmm, is this enough?”

“Huh? What?”

“Checking my Noona’s reaction.  Indeed, there doesn’t seem to be any difference from usual. Okay, you pass!”

“Pass, what are you talking about… Uh? Ji-gu, don’t tell me!”

“Yes.  It’s been proven that our Su-jeong Noona doesn’t get aroused by her younger brother. I can rest easy now, haha.”

“Hey! Of course I didn’t! Who’s suspecting whom? How dare you, to your Noona!”

“You guys made such a fuss over me. This is my cute little revenge.  No double standards in our house.”

It was funny how they jumped at me when I turned the tables on them after they had made such a fuss over me.

But since I had deliberately teased them, I ruffled Su-jeong Noona’s hair as an apology.

“Hyaa?! Hey, don’t mess with my hair!  No, I just styled it this morning… Ugh.”

“We’re almost home. You’re going to shower anyway, so what are you worried about?”

“Still… it’s embarrassing for my younger siblings to see.”

“I’m your younger sibling too, you know?  Let me see, mm, you look pretty. Natural and lovely, so don’t worry.”

“D-Don’t give me weird compliments, Noona… It’s embarrassing.”

Normally, Su-jeong Noona would have giggled and been happy with such compliments.

Perhaps because of everything that happened on the way home, she now turned her head away, covering her face with her side hair.

‘But I can still see her red ears.’

I chuckled and walked with Noona towards the street where our house was visible.

It had gotten quite dark, and I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to contact Geum-bi Noona.  I stopped walking for a moment.

‘Mm, but it’s too late to call now, isn’t it?’

I checked my phone belatedly, but fortunately, she hadn’t contacted me either.

As I was thinking that it wasn’t that late, Su-jeong Noona, who had been walking slightly behind me, peeked her head out.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem at home?”

“No, I was just wondering if we were too late.”

“Is it bad if we’re late?  Did you promise to have dinner with someone?”

“Not really. When we were going to the park, Geum-bi Noona asked me to contact her if we were going to be very late.”

“…Geum-bi? Why?”

“I didn’t ask… Maybe she was just worried?”

“Hmm~ Really? Hmm~.”

What was this?  Her eyes narrowed when Geum-bi Noona was mentioned.

She was protective of Hwa-yeon like a child, but Geum-bi Noona was still a person of interest?

‘This is troublesome. If things get awkward between the Noonass, I’ll be the one stuck in the middle.’

Half the reason I got involved with Geum-bi Noona in the first place was because of Su-jeong Noona.

Even last night, I had to change where I slept because Su-jeong Noona was drunk.

“…Ah, come to think of it, I forgot.”

“Mm? What?”

“Noona, why did you drink yesterday? There wasn’t a company dinner, and you don’t usually drink alone.”

“Ah, about that, actually…”

Before entering the house, I decided to resolve my last remaining question.

It was just a simple question, but for some reason, Su-jeong Noona hesitated, dragging her feet.

“Noona? Is there a reason why it’s hard to tell me?”

“No, I think… it’s okay to tell you, Ji-gu.”

“To me? …What is it?”

“You see, it’s not certain yet…”

Su-jeong Noona blinked a few times, then lifted her head resolutely.

“There’s a… pretty high chance that you’re adopted too, Ji-gu.”

“Huh? What?”

“I’m not sure, but I remembered something from the past.”

Su-jeong Noona’s words were quite shocking, and I understood why she drank alone.

But the fact that she told me this must mean she trusted and relied on me-.

“What are you talking about, Unnie? Ji-gu?”

“”……!””

I didn’t know what the person behind us, who had opened the front door and was looking at us with sharp eyes, would think.

“Ji-gu is adopted?”

Su-jeong Noona and I turned our heads at the same time.

There stood Geum-bi Noona, holding onto the wall, her legs trembling slightly.

But her eyes were fixed on me.

As if she couldn’t believe it, as if it was hard to accept.

Even so… her wavering pupils were directed at me, as if asking what we should do if it were true.

—–CROW—–