Chapter 56
Chapter 56
—–CROW—–
As soon as our glasses were empty, we refilled each other’s drinks without a word.
It seemed like the soju ratio was higher this time, but I didn’t care, stirring the mixture vigorously with a spoon.
Hwa-yeon, across from me, tapped two chopsticks together inside her glass, mixing her drink.
After about ten taps, I cautiously spoke.
“So, to be clear… you’re just interested, right? Not like, romantically interested?”
“Yeah. We’ve lived together for over twenty years, it would be weirder if I suddenly fell for you.”
“…But you’re sexually curious?”
“That’s…! Well, *oppa’s* body got better after the military. And since I thought you were adopted… I couldn’t just ignore it.”
I sort of understood.
We weren’t drama characters, there wasn’t some dramatic development where forbidden love blossomed as soon as we learned about the adoption…
But on the other hand, since we had relied on each other for so long, maybe it was easier to talk comfortably about these things, even if they were of a sexual nature…?
‘But the “thing” she’s talking about is blatant sexual interest. Even if I *was* adopted, would she really talk about this kind of thing with her *oppa*?’
I didn’t know.
I didn’t think I had any friends from adoptive families. I couldn’t ask anyone about this.
‘Normally, you’d get angry or scold someone for saying something like this. Hmm… since I’ve had so many incidents with my *noonas*, I’m not sure I’m in a position to say anything.’
I had too much to hide to be calling anyone else crazy.
Yeah, way too much.
If I confessed everything, Hwa-yeon’s comments would seem like drunken babbling in comparison.
Troubled, I took another sip of my drink.
Hwa-yeon, seemingly aware that she had made an embarrassing confession, also drank and occasionally picked at the food.
It seemed like she was keeping her mouth and throat busy to avoid saying anything more than she was hungry or thirsty.
Her increasingly red face was definitely not just from the alcohol.
“Can I… think about it a little more?”
“Yeah. Um, *oppa*, don’t overthink it too much… It just kind of slipped out.”
“I know. Technically, it was my fault for touching your breasts when I was drunk. I was trying to smooth things over between us so things wouldn’t be awkward, and that’s how it happened.”
“Yeah. But then again, it was also because I touched *oppa’s* butt… ugh.”
“I’ll take that into consideration. Well, let’s take this as a lesson to refrain from going too far with our jokes.”
“Of course. I won’t do that kind of thing again… really.”
Since the two previous incidents were mutual offenses, we decided to consider them as jokes between us.
That settled, I wondered what there was to think about since nothing had actually happened yet.
‘It doesn’t hurt to be prepared. With my *noonas*, who knew things would turn out like that?’
Given the situation, I kept comparing Hwa-yeon to my *noonas*.
Maybe an objective analysis would be possible if I compared them, so I examined the two sides more closely.
‘My *noonas*… regardless of how things are now, their initial motivation was to help someone else, right? They were willing to sacrifice themselves rather than involve other family members.’
Although that had now turned into a murky, undefined mess.
But the initial essence was altruistic consideration for the other person.
‘On the other hand, Hwa-yeon is… purely driven by her own desires. At best, her goal is to satisfy her sexual interest and curiosity.’
She was truly honest, even at a time like this.
It was a selfish desire, but at the same time, it made me chuckle.
‘It’s ridiculous, but on the other hand, it means she trusts and relies on me that much. If she really thought I was adopted, she should be worried about what might happen… and yet she’s saying this kind of thing.’
I wondered if we really had that much trust between us, but it felt good to reassure my younger sister as her older brother.
‘In that sense, my *noonas* didn’t trust me? Whatever the reason, they thought I might touch someone else.’
Of course, relationships between men and women didn’t always develop that way, but their worry implied a lack of confidence that I would be able to firmly reject someone if they approached me.
‘Interesting. Hwa-yeon trusts me, even though it’s because of her own desires. And my *noonas*, out of concern, ended up doubting me.’
Maybe it was the alcohol.
Something that should have just been a brief chuckle kept bringing a smile to my face.
Hwa-yeon, watching me, seemed to get anxious and tapped her foot against my knee, scolding me.
“What’s up? Why are you laughing to yourself? It’s making me nervous.”
“It’s nothing. It’s just… amusing.”
“Amusing how? Don’t get any wrong ideas. It’s not like I have feelings for you or anything.”
“I know, I know. You’re just interested in my body, right? …Now that I’ve said it, *I* sound like the one with ulterior motives.”
“Ugh, I take it back! Pretend you didn’t hear that. It was a drunken mistake. That’s it! Okay?”
Hwa-yeon was now waving her hands, trying to rewind time.
Well, it was a futile struggle, considering we were already here, drinking together.
“Hey, do you think I’m just going to go, ‘Oh, I see~’ and let it slide? You just said something crazy about your *oppa* being seen as a man by his younger sister.”
“Ugh, it’s not like that! Why do you keep twisting my words?!”
“Oh? So you were seeing me as a woman? Should I start calling you *noona* from now on?”
“Eww… don’t ever do that again. It’s creepy, disgusting. I feel like I’m going to puke just thinking about it.”
“You’re so serious after I was just playing along. Whatever, let’s just clink glasses. I’ve more or less made up my mind.”
Our soju and beer mixture sloshed in our glasses on the table.
Hwa-yeon seemed to hold her liquor quite well, matching me drink for drink without hesitation. It was a pleasant surprise.
“Phew. Anyway, the important thing is… you don’t know how to see me because you think I’m adopted?”
“Huh? How did the conversation go there?”
“Listen. Putting aside your curiosity, you would never have talked about this kind of thing with me before.”
“That’s true. I’d be crazy to talk about this with my real brother. We’d have a family meeting right away.”
“…I think that would be the same even if your brother was adopted. Anyway, your premise is wrong. It hasn’t been revealed that *I’m* the adopted one in our family.”
“What?! Wait, what are you talking about? You didn’t say anything when I asked you last time!”
“That’s because it was so absurd I didn’t bother responding. We agreed to keep quiet until Mom comes back, remember? It’s your fault for jumping to conclusions.”
I spun a finger in the air while nibbling on the dried snacks.
Hwa-yeon seemed to be retracing our past conversation, following my finger, but she still seemed unconvinced, clutching her head and groaning.
“But… then what about all those times…?”
“What times?”
“You were all over my *unnies*, touching them, doing all sorts of things. How could you do that if you weren’t adopted?”
“Uh, uh…? Me? When are you talking about…?”
“It’s not like it happened just once or twice. I’ve seen it multiple times, heard about it more than ten times.”
I almost dropped the snack I was holding.
Hwa-yeon was the one racking her brain, but it was *my* mind that was flooded with various scenes.
‘When did she find out? In my room? The changing room? In my *noonas’* room on the second floor? And since when did she know? Is that why she was talking to me about this…?!’
My heart pounded louder than a phone vibrating.
So that’s why she approached me so easily.
Not because she trusted me, but because she saw that my *noonas* were acting normal and felt relieved.
‘We haven’t been that close since we became adults… she came on too strong. So she really asked me those questions knowing all of this?’
I tried to maintain a poker face, but the alcohol made my eyes disobey.
Seeing my obvious panic, Hwa-yeon’s eyes narrowed as she looked at me.
“What’s with that reaction…? I was just talking about what happened, why are you so flustered? Did something happen that I *didn’t* see?”
“Um, well… what did you see, Hwa-yeon? And what did you hear?”
“Hear? You make it sound like you’ve made a lot of progress with my *unnies*.”
“P-Progress? I’m not even dating them, what are you talking about…?”
“Dating? You just said you didn’t even know who was adopted, so why are you talking about dating? You don’t even know if you’re real siblings, isn’t it strange to assume that?”
“No, that’s… ugh.”
The more flustered I became, the sharper Hwa-yeon’s gaze grew.
The flustered, blushing younger sister from earlier was gone, replaced by someone resembling my *noonas* with prey in sight, as she grabbed a soju bottle.
“This won’t do, let’s drink. Drink more and spill everything. I was honest with you, so you should be honest too, right?”
“Hey, hey, wait a minute. I’m already pretty drunk… Hey! Is this the right ratio? It’s almost one-to-one!”
“Fine, I’ll drink the same amount as you. First glass, bottoms up! Cheers!”
“First glass? We’ve clinked glasses more than five times… Ha… cheers.”
If I refused, she’d just press me for answers again.
I had no choice but to drink, eat, and stay quiet, and soon my glass was full again.
Four empty 500cc glasses of soju and beer sat on our table.
With the last of a new bottle of soju, my mind faded into a haze.
Later, I found out that Hwa-yeon had been pacing herself and leaving some alcohol in her glass.
And while I wasn’t looking, she had changed the soju-beer ratio in her own glass.
How did I know?
Right before I passed out, I noticed that the color of our drinks was different. The difference was too obvious. Hers looked like barley tea.
‘It’s too late now, though.’
Hwa-yeon helped me up as I stumbled.
It was pathetic, but I had no choice but to rely on her at this point.
“Ugh, I didn’t mean to get you this drunk… Can you walk, *oppa*?”
“Ugh, I can’t even take a step. I think I’m going to puke.”
“Then what about a taxi? Are you sure you won’t get carsick?”
“Ugh, no way, no way. I can’t, I’ll definitely puke.”
“Ah, what should I do? It’s a 30-minute walk home…”
Hwa-yeon was saying something, but I could no longer hear her voice.
I just had a strong urge to lie down somewhere, and I felt someone grabbing me and yelling, “That’s the street!”
Then I blacked out, and I don’t know what happened after that.
Fortunately, I woke up safely in a bed, without any injuries.
The problem was that the bed was in a sleazy motel room near the pub.
And for some reason… Hwa-yeon, wearing only a robe, was glaring at me.
“You really messed up, didn’t you? What are you going to do now, *oppa*?”
Seeing Hwa-yeon adjusting her robe and glaring at me, I considered pretending to be asleep because of my headache… but she pinched my nose and pulled me into her arms.
That was the beginning of my night with my very drunk younger sister.
—–CROW—–
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