New Semester – 2

[Seo Ye-rin]

-Oppa, I’m in the same class as Se-ah. (cat happy emoticon)

“Haah…”

I let out a sigh of relief.

Although she wasn’t the same Ye-rin as before, I still couldn’t help but worry about her as if I’d left a child by the water’s edge.

Ye-rin must have felt the same way, as I could sense unmistakable joy in her simple message. She probably sent it with a smile on her face. Who would have thought the day would come when I’d imagine such things from just a one-line text?

Life is full of surprises.

“What’s with that expression? Looks like you’ve caught middle school syndrome.”

“Shut up.”

This guy never gives me a moment to enjoy my thoughts.

Before first period started, after having a pointless argument about our families becoming linked by marriage, I was heading to the school store with Seo Jin-hyuk to cool my head.

“Hey, Ye-rin says she’s in the same class as Han Se-ah.”

“…Really? Whew, that’s a relief. Seriously, what a relief…”

When I passed on the hot news I’d just received from Ye-rin, Jin-hyuk muttered “thank goodness” and sank down where he stood.

…So he’s definitely an overprotective brother too. I understood how Jin-hyuk must be feeling right now, so instead of teasing him, I just waited for him to get up.

“Huh… Hey, that’s all well and good, but why am I hearing this news from you…?”

I should have kept walking.

As soon as he got up, he started picking a fight as if he genuinely couldn’t understand, and I thought I should have kicked him when I had the chance.

“Dude, maybe you should check your messages more often.”

“…Hey. I sent her a message as soon as I got to the classroom. See for yourself.”

Jin-hyuk shoved his phone screen in my face, and sure enough, there was an unread notification next to the message.

“…Oh.”

“Is it still my fault? Tell me.”

“…You should have gone to her classroom.”

“Damn, being an older brother is so hard. Shit…”

As Jin-hyuk grumbled about how raising a sister was pointless while putting his phone away, I secretly checked my own phone. As expected.

The notification next to the message I sent to Han Se-ah hadn’t disappeared either.

“…Hey, did Se-ah not reply to you either?”

“…Huh? No? We’re talking right now. She says she’s happy to be in the same class as Ye-rin.”

…Han Se-ah, you’re dead.

I had an ominous feeling that I would find myself increasingly sympathizing with Jin-hyuk in the future.

It can’t be. It shouldn’t be…

**

“…By the way, why did you bring up the ‘families linked by marriage’ thing earlier?”

After exchanging texts with our (each other’s) little sisters, we started walking again when Jin-hyuk suddenly asked as if he’d just remembered.

“…Like you don’t know?”

“I never said I’d give you my Ye-rin, you jerk.”

“…Is that really your decision to make?”

A sad silence fell between us.

“Hey, now that I think about it, it’s funny. I never said I’d give you our pig either, you jerk.”

“…Is that really your decision to make?”

Silence.

A painful silence followed our fight with no winner.

In the quiet where we both had a lot to say but couldn’t refute each other, Jin-hyuk was the first to speak.

“…And what’s with calling her ‘pig’? Se-ah needs to eat more.”

…Look at this guy? Getting upset as if he’d heard something offensive and defending Han Se-ah—I couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey. Let me ask you one thing.”

“Don’t ask, jerk.”

“What do you think of Han Se-ah?”

Hearing my question, Jin-hyuk made a face of genuine disgust.

“Do you really want to hear that?”

“What can I do? I’m curious.”

“…Doesn’t Se-ah tell you anything?”

“Would siblings talk about that kind of stuff?”

That’s true… he nodded as if he understood, and that ominous thought from earlier crossed my mind again.

“To be honest…”

“To be honest?”

“I don’t… dislike her, I guess?”

“You bastard, what’s wrong with Han Se-ah? Do you want to die, asshole?”

“Whoa! Are you crazy or something?”

This jerk dares to say that about our pig?

Han Se-ah is someone only I’m allowed to tease, and when Jin-hyuk’s ambiguous words came out, my biceps, pumped from working out, tensed up.

“Come on, stop overreacting and listen, you crazy bastard. Your eyes look terrifying right now, so relax a bit.”

“…Go on.”

“Do you remember how I got tons of confessions last year?”

How could I forget? The confessions I witnessed personally were in the double digits, no, maybe even triple digits.

“I know. Thanks to you rejecting all those confessions, rumors even spread that you and I were gay.”

“……Seriously?”

“Would I lie about that?”

Jin-hyuk made a gagging sound as if he was about to throw up, which I found ridiculous.

“Hey, I dislike that even more, jerk.”

“Who started that kind of rumor? That’s really unfair… I really like girls. I watch a lot of adult stuff too.”

“I didn’t need to know that.”

“Anyway, the reason was… my parents got married from their first relationship. Even now, whenever they talk about old times, they’re always proud. That their judgment wasn’t wrong. That they’re happy to be each other’s first love.”

“So—” Jin-hyuk continued, seeming a bit embarrassed.

“Maybe because I grew up watching my parents, I have some kind of fantasy about first love… I don’t want to think casually like ‘why not try dating, it’s no big deal.’ I want to meet someone I can cherish, someone I wouldn’t mind giving my all to.”

After finishing, Jin-hyuk scratched his head as if embarrassed, and I couldn’t speak.

Was it because I was dumbfounded? Because his embarrassed look made me want to throw up?

No.

It was because I empathized too much. Because I could understand that feeling one hundred percent.

I wanted to have that kind of love too, and wanted to be that kind of person.

For Ye-rin.

“…So you’re saying my sister isn’t that kind of person?”

When I finally came to my senses and asked playfully, Jin-hyuk jumped as if scared someone might hear us.

“When did I say that, jerk? Honestly…”

“Honestly, what?”

“……”

“One of the two ways to make someone angry is to stop in the middle of a sentence…”

“I like her looks. Happy now?”

“Just her looks?”

“…Her personality too, jerk.”

Huh.

The guy who used to reject confessions without batting an eye, always with a cold face.

Seeing his face turn bright red as if he was dying of embarrassment while talking about my little sister, I honestly thought it was disgus—no, fascinating.

“…Come to think of it, why did you go out that time? Last Christmas, when you and Han Se-ah first met. I thought you would have refused.”

“…I was actually planning to bring it up first. Ye-rin talked a lot about Se-ah, and I owed a lot to your family. I just didn’t expect to meet her alone on Christmas.”

“What do you mean ‘owed’? How did you manage to go?”

“How could I not go…?”

Right. With Ye-rin asking, and although we didn’t mind, from his perspective, he probably couldn’t help but be concerned, so he had to go.

“At first, I thought maybe she just wanted to meet her friend’s good-looking brother.”

“Are you stupid? Why would she ask to eat with just the two of you?”

“…Maybe she wanted to order three portions of food.”

“Are you insane?”

“…Anyway. I’m glad I went that day. Now I enjoy hanging out with Se-ah too.”

“You have unusual taste.”

“…It’s not unusual, jerk. You just don’t realize because she’s your sister.”

I wanted to tell him, “Do you know that you get defensive every time I tease Han Se-ah?” but I swallowed my words, thinking it would be too meddlesome.

“Well, was there some kind of turning point? Or did you just get close while hanging out?”

“Turning point…?”

For me, who had fallen head over heels before I knew it, I didn’t think you needed a reason to fall for someone.

But I asked casually, thinking this guy might have one, and seeing him actually considering it made me curious.

“I guess at first I felt a bit burdened since she’s your sister and Ye-rin’s close friend. How should I put it? Like I shouldn’t make a bad impression?”

…Is Han Se-ah his in-laws or something?

But since I could understand Jin-hyuk’s feelings, I listened quietly.

“But I think she noticed I was being cautious. She couldn’t have missed it. I’m not good at hiding my emotions, and Se-ah is pretty perceptive.”

“Very perceptive.”

I nodded unconsciously.

“One day, she smiled at me and said something. She asked if I could see her as Han Se-ah, not as Han Woo-jin’s sister or Seo Ye-rin’s friend.”

Jin-hyuk smiled at the corners of his lips as he recalled that moment, as if it was still pleasant to think about.

“I think we’ve been comfortable since then. Yes, that’s right. Since then.”

…Han Se-ah, pretty smooth? I thought she was only good at eating.

I couldn’t help but admire my little sister who had managed to conquer Jin-hyuk, who had rejected confessions well into the triple digits.

“Sigh, just start dating already. Stop pretending to be innocent when you admit to watching adult stuff every day.”

“…Friend, you have a talent for speaking like a dick? Anyone would think you don’t watch it yourself.”

Jin-hyuk looked at me with an expression of disbelief, as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have.

“Hey, good timing. I’ve been debating whether to ask this, but held back thinking it was your business. Let me ask now. Hasn’t it been almost a year since you and Ye-rin met?”

“…Eleven months.”

“Dude, that’s basically the same thing. You two talk on the phone every night, right? I pretend not to notice, but I can hear all the whispering when I pass by Ye-rin’s room.”

“…It’s not every day.”

About 5 days a week?

“You’re lying. Anyway, you two also hang out every day after school and on weekends.”

“…I told you it’s not every day.”

This isn’t a lie either since it’s about 6 days, hmm.

“Why aren’t you dating yet? Are you impotent or really gay or something?”

As I watched this crazy bastard jumping up and down in front of me, shouting nonsense about our Ye-rin being some kind of smoke screen.

—…I’m screwed.

Until just a moment ago, I was happily tormenting Jin-hyuk like he was a doll that spilled secrets when beaten up.

But now it was my turn to confess, and I felt my breath catch.