episode_0028

“Jina suddenly locked herself in her room and won’t come out. Is there something wrong?”

When I got home, Yuna asked me with a worried face.

Just as she said, Jina had not even tried to make eye contact with me since what happened at the arcade, and even now she had no intention of leaving the room.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

But I couldn’t really guess anything.

I had some fun going out today.

If I were to guess the cause, it would be a sticker photo?

I honestly don’t know what kind of letters were drawn that they are trying so desperately to hide.

“It’ll be okay. Because I had quite a bit of fun.”

“Then I’m glad.”

To Yuna, who sighed in relief, I returned the envelope I had received from her in my arms.

I was embarrassed and didn’t want to accept it, so I reluctantly accepted it when I was told that I couldn’t spend more even if I wanted to since I was hanging out with Jin-ah anyway.

“Even if you don’t think of anything in particular right now, there will be a day when you will need it. I keep it well.”

“…I understand if you say that.”

“More than that, didn’t something happen in the house while I was away?”

“What should I say…Um, that is.”

It was just a question asked as a casual greeting, but it got an unexpected response.

Yuna’s eyes glanced somewhere, so I followed her, and there was a quite unexpected person standing there.

“…”

It’s the second time I’ve seen this disapproving expression since the ice cream incident.

Normally, Ran would have whined and begged me to hold her in my arms as soon as I got home, but she was looking at me as if she was observing me from afar.

Why are you doing that to Yuna from an angle that Ran can’t see? He cast his eyes with that meaning in mind.

Then Yuna made an apologetic face.

“Oppa, I heard it!”

“…What are you again?”

I followed the voice that called me with salty, cold eyes.

As expected, Sujin was there with an angry face.

Maybe he was really angry, but the sound of footsteps coming this way was loud.

Why is he like this again?

“Jina and I played outside all day today. It’s not fair.”

“Why is that?”

“Every time I ask you to play, you always refuse!”

“That’s right…”

Feeling prickly, I slowly turned my head.

Even if I go with everyone else, there is a reason why I can’t go with Choi Soo-jin.

That’s right, outside of this thing, it sticks to you so much that it can’t be compared to home.

His mental age seems to have degenerated to that of a toddler, and he often whines about his legs hurting.

I’m not going to lie, when we go together, I feel really mentally exhausted.

If anything, I wouldn’t have given up on being tied for first place as a person of interest along with Han Chae-yeon.

After shaking off Sujin, who was being annoying as usual, with appropriate words, I looked at Ran.

Sujin gets upset because it happens all the time, so it’s okay to ignore it, but Ran’s story is a little different.

“Did you get upset because your brother came back from playing with Jina?”

“…”

Nod.

It was a simple yet clear expression of intent.

“What should I do?”

“Hmm…”

After thinking for a moment, I took out some Jjjuba ice cream from the refrigerator.

It was Ran’s favorite strawberry flavor, which had previously been banned by Han Chae-yeon.

Originally, it wouldn’t work, but since Han Chae-yeon is away right now, at least one thing would be okay.

“…”

“I don’t like it?”

It looked like he was going to rush in with a bright expression at any moment, but surprisingly, Ran was steadfast.

Judging by those small, wriggling hands, it’s not like he’s not interested in ice cream.

But now it seemed like he wanted something more than that.

I had a guess as to what it was.

That’s why I deliberately pretended not to know.

It was because I was a little mentally tired after going out with Jina today.

If you give in to Ran’s request, you will have to play with her tomorrow until she is satisfied, and if that happens, Sujin, who was left out on her own, will definitely join in later.

Then it will be the twins’ turn again, and a chain that will not end unless my stamina runs out is born.

I didn’t want to go through the same hell I had experienced before.

“Hayun and Younha…”

I went to the room to find the two twins who were not visible in the living room, and found them in a dreamland, side by side.

Should I say that it is fortunate?

If they had intervened in this situation, it would have made an even bigger mess.

After confirming that there were no twins to interfere, I began negotiations again.

“It’s a feeling. Ice cream and chocolate cookies.”

“…!”

Ran’s eyes widen.

Big, transparent eyes… really? It seemed like he was saying that.

If you get caught by Han Chae-yeon, you will be criticized, but this is something you can tolerate.

When I nodded my head in affirmation, Ran’s hands, which had been fidgeting earlier, began to get even busier.

“…”

slap.

Nevertheless, Ran’s head turned in denial, as if to say that this was not enough.

It was clearly a breakdown in negotiations.

I think it will take more time to appease Ran.

After the negotiations went awry, I had no choice but to pretend not to notice Ran, who started behaving strangely.

[Please play with me too.]

She wrote that on the tablet she always used and started wandering around me.

It was an action called a ‘protest’.

Ran’s protest continued even during dinner time.

It was dizzying to see him holding a tablet with one hand and using chopsticks with the other.

For a moment it looked like it was in danger, so I tried to help, but Ran firmly shook her head and refused to help.

Then he showed me a tablet with a courtesy message written on it.

It looks like he was really determined this time.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”

“No. don’t mind. Because it was always an award.”

Yuna, who was sitting next to me, quietly apologized, so I waved my hand to show that it was okay.

Perhaps because they did not grow up in a normal family, my younger sisters tended to crave affection more than they needed. Complaining like today is part of that.

Fortunately, this was much less than before.

“Wouldn’t this be enough to be self-employed?”

As I turned my eyes towards the only person in power in this house who could stop the current run, those words came back to me.

That probably means that I stayed out without permission with the previous twins.

There was also a basis for Ran to proudly protest like this.

If it was just Jina, Ran would have already had a lot of fun with the twins.

So now it’s your turn! He was openly appealing.

“I’m fine. Because I had a lot of fun last time.”

“…me too.”

At times like this, the two twins, who always agreed with Ran and acted like a nuisance, were surprisingly calm.

If this happens, is there only one person who needs to be appeased?

I did my best to ignore Sujin, who was sitting across from me, continuously giving me dissatisfied looks.

“…I can’t help it.”

“…!”

Ran’s face brightens when she hears what I say.

I decided to think of it as the fate of an older brother who had younger sisters who lacked affection.

“Let’s go out and play together tomorrow. So that’s it, right?”

Nod.

Ran was so happy that she kept nodding her head without even letting go of the chopsticks she was holding.

If I had known you would be so happy, I would have listened to you a long time ago.

**

The next day, Sunday morning.

The day of the second date dawned.

In fact, the other party’s age is a little too young to be called a date.

Ran, standing in front of the front door, urged me on with an excited look on her face.

Should I say that Ran’s outfit today is a spring outing style?

Wearing a large straw hat, a white dress, and pink sandals, Ran looked like a child actor from a commercial.

There’s no way he could have decorated it like this himself, but Han Chae-yeon probably did it for him.

Surprisingly, I am sincere about these things.

“I will go.”

I left the house, holding the hand of Ran, who was very flushed and her eyes were sparkling.

I decided in advance where I would go today.

It would have been obvious to say that it was a place that third graders would enjoy.

As I entered the entrance, I saw a huge crowd of people, incomparable to yesterday.

Sparkling sunlight, smiling clerks, and cute doll masks seen here and there.

Yes, this was an amusement park.

“Free pass, please give one adult male and one child.”

Even while purchasing tickets at the ticket booth, Ran’s eyes were busy looking around.

For Ran, it was the first time she had ever been to an amusement park. It might be fascinating.

“Aaaagh!”

As I passed the entrance and entered the square holding Ran’s hand, I could hear the screams of thrill-seekers coming from all over.

“…?”

Then, Ran looked at me with a questioning look.

Could it be that he was brought to a strange place? It was like that.

“It’s not like that. I just do it because it’s fun. After a while, Ran will become similar, right?”

Ran’s height is around 110cm.

Although he was very short for a third grader, there were enough rides that even he could ride.

Perhaps Ran, who is startled while riding a ride, might actually scream with her voice?

A thought suddenly occurred to me, and a little bit of anticipation arose.

“Then, shall we go? Princess?”