episode_0056

After my youngest aunt left, I watched TV with my family and fell asleep.

I woke up from a long nap at 6pm.

I ate and went to sleep, but when I woke up it was time to eat again.

Thinking that this might be my fate, I got out of bed and went into the living room, where Ye-eun was playing a game on the living room computer.

“Are you playing games again?

”

“My classmates are all higher level than me!”

“Okay, work hard.”

When I looked around at what the other family members were doing, my mom was working on the computer in the living room and my dad was taking a nap.

When I see my mom smiling brightly while working on the computer, I think she’s doing something similar to revenge.

I had nothing to do, so I sat on the living room sofa.

Since Sae-ah hasn’t come home yet, I wonder if she heard that I’m going to study abroad.

I don’t know how to deal with a situation that is sure to cause chaos.

Would it be okay to just tell them to be careful and have a good trip?

For a country that has always been distant from women, this kind of relationship, which was its first as a single life, was the most difficult.

And honestly, I wonder if I could go abroad and meet a guy I like more than I do.

I might be overreacting, and I have no idea how Sae-ah will react. Shouldn’t I just stay still?

As I sat on the sofa and closed my eyes, the prickling sensation in my chest disappeared and I began to feel much more comfortable.

“What are you doing, son?”

“Just meditation? Mom, is your revenge over?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“Just a feeling?”

As expected, it was revenge. Mom, who seemed happy that it was over safely, went to the kitchen and started preparing dinner.

As I was sitting on the sofa meditating as usual, my dad woke up and came out of the room to sit on the sofa.

“Do you care?”

“What?”

“Sae-ah. You always come on weekends but you don’t come anymore.”

“No.”

“Well, you can tell just by looking at him that he cares.”

“No, I said no?”

“Son. But 3 years will pass quickly?”

“After…”

“Even so, it’s just the time I’m coming back from the military.”

“…..”

Feelings that are more turbulent than usual for some reason.

Still, I couldn’t let these feelings out on my father, so I tried to hold back my wavering emotions. I closed my eyes and stopped thinking about the inexplicable frustration that I felt again, and I began to feel more at ease again.

Maybe it’s because I spent two years with my new sister.

Maybe it’s because he’s the first person I’ve ever met since I was born into this body.

I clearly thought that he didn’t like his 12-year-old sister as a romantic interest.

Now I don’t even know myself.

“Eat some rice~”

Still, I had to eat, so I got up from my seat and headed to the table.

A quieter dinner than usual followed.

The meal was quiet, except for the occasional questions Ye-eun asked her mother about the game.

For some reason, my dad didn’t diss me, and my mom didn’t really talk to me either.

After eating like that, I got up and headed to my room.

Finally today, after a very long time.

Sister Sae-ah didn’t come home.

***

A morning like any other.

I opened my eyes and got up to start getting ready for school.

It’s probably just another morning, but I don’t know what kind of expression I should make when I go down and see Sae-ah.

Should I treat him like I always did or should I feel sad?

Just treat me the same way.

I left the house with Ye-eun, who was waiting in the living room to say hello to her mother.

“Hi guys.”

Eyes swollen from crying so much.

Ye-eun also noticed and quietly greeted me, and I greeted her as usual.

“Hello, sister.”

“Hello, sister.”

The way to school was quiet, without much conversation.

All we did was greet each other when we met and say hello when we left for our respective classes.

I don’t know what I was thinking as I entered the classroom, sat down, listened to the lecture, ate lunch, and waited for school to end.

As I was just sitting there, school naturally ended, so I got up, picked up my bag, and headed to the school gate.

I guess I must have arrived first today because there was no one there.

As I stood still and waited, Ye-eun approached me with her friends.

“Brother!”

“”Hello.””

“Okay, hi guys.”

“I’m just going to chat with my friends for a bit today!”

“Huh? Aren’t you going right away?”

“Okay. I’ll be in shortly!”

“Okay, I got it. Come home safely.”

“Okay, see you later!”

As I was watching the back of Ye-eun leaving school with her friends, Sae-ah came and we headed home.

“Jaehoon.”

“Huh?”

“Did you hear I’m going to study abroad?”

“Did you hear that?”

“Nothing to say?”

“When are you going?”

“One month later.”

“Take care on your way back.”

“…..”

I don’t know what I was thinking when I said those words. They just came out of my mouth and I spat them out.

To be honest, we’re not girlfriends, but we’re not just friends either. It’s an ambiguous relationship.

I really don’t know what to say.

We walked in silence, and when we reached the front of the house, we quietly said goodbye and went our separate ways to our own homes.

“Son~ Are you here?”

“Yeah, I’m back.”

“Did Sae-ah greet you well?”

“I told you to be careful when you go there, didn’t I?”

“The end? Nothing much to say?”

“Yeah, there wasn’t any?”

“Sigh.”

I came into my room, took off my bag like I always do, turned on the computer, and checked the stocks.

It’s the same routine as usual, but why don’t my feelings feel the same as usual?

A feeling of suffocation that continues.

I don’t know what to do to relieve this frustration.

However, it is not possible to tell someone who wants to study abroad not to go, and it is not possible to tell your father-in-law to quit his job.

I just lay down on the bed, closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

***

It’s been confirmed that my older sister will go study abroad.

Our daily lives haven’t changed one bit.

Nothing has changed in our actions or attitudes toward each other.

We woke up in the morning, met, went to school, came home after school, came over to my house to play, and ate together, and everything was the same.

A week passed, a week passed, and then the third week came.

The last weekend my sister’s family spent in Korea has arrived.

As I was sitting in the living room with my family watching TV as usual, my mom came up to me and spoke to me.

“Son. Did you know that I have dinner with Sae-ah at her house later tonight?”

“I know. Where do you eat it?”

“Let’s eat at the meat restaurant in front.”

“The menu looks good.”

I guess we’ll have meat for dinner tonight.

In fact, this might be the last meal that my mother-in-law and father-in-law will have together before they go abroad.

I woke up from a light nap and started getting ready to go out.

I guess I can prepare by just washing up and getting dressed, but I guess I can’t wear my usual workout clothes on a day like today.

I came out into the living room wearing jeans and a neat-looking T-shirt, and everyone was ready to go out and watching TV there.

“Are you ready to go out, son?”

“Yeah, Mom.”

“Still, on days like today, we should go out earlier and wait.”

I left the house with my family and waited in front of the apartment for about 5 minutes.

Sae-ah’s sister’s family came over.

“”Hello.””

“Haha your in-laws are here?”

“Why did you come out so early?”

Even though we were both living in front of each other’s houses, we met 15 minutes earlier than the appointed time.

We all headed to a meat restaurant and sat down at a table with two grills.

A strange seating arrangement where the father and father-in-law sit on one side, the mother and mother-in-law sit on the other side, and the children sit in the middle.

My mother was talking to me as if she was sad that her mother-in-law, with whom she had been close for several years, was leaving.

My father started drinking and talking to his father-in-law without seeming to think much of anything.

On both sides, parents grilled meat and left it for the children to eat.

I just ate the meat quietly.

Sometimes my mother-in-law would look at me with a wistful look, as if she felt sorry, but I didn’t know what to say in these situations.

The starting point of my memories in my previous life was an orphanage. In the orphanage, everyone seemed like family, but we didn’t trust each other.

As my body and mind grew, most of the people around me looked at me with sympathy.

Even when I became an adult, left the orphanage, and entered a college dormitory, everyone around me was a competitor to me, for whom scholarships and grades were the most important things.

It was hard just to support myself because I had to earn money in advance to pay for living expenses and to rent a place to live after graduation.

Unlike others, I didn’t go to the military, so when I graduated, I didn’t have many classmates and of course, I didn’t have any friends.

Although I studied so hard and got into a large company, I was younger than others and was often ignored by my peers and had no concept of factions.

I tried to be kind to everyone, but my kindness was not repaid.

As my career progressed, I started to gain recognition within the company and my life was starting to become a little more enjoyable.

She was assigned to be Mangnani’s secretary, and lived each day holding a letter of resignation in her arms, until she ended her life in an unjust manner.

At that age, I was awkward at dealing with people and interpersonal relationships were extremely difficult for me.

So I didn’t know what to say or how to say it in this situation.

In that place where everyone was gathered, Sae-ah and I ate meat in silence, and the meal ended.

***

There were only a few days left until Sae-ah left for overseas, but we were still the same.

Even five days before going abroad, four days before, three days before, and even when we parted ways for the last time, we were the same.

Mom must have found that sight strange.

I asked him if we were really going to break up like this without saying anything, but I couldn’t say anything until the very end.

He must have left for the airport by now.

While I was lying in bed trying to calm my stuffy mind, my older sister Sae-ah suddenly opened the door to my room and came in.

“Jaehoon.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll use the wish ticket.”

“…..”

I never imagined you’d remember that.

“Don’t forget me and wait until I come back, okay? ”

“…Okay, I got it.”

Sister Sae-ah suddenly came up to me and gave me a short kiss on the lips.

“See you later Jaehoon!”

He just smiled and opened the door and went out.

It was only my second kiss in my past life.

It was my first kiss in this life.