After the night of two women, it’s time for the man to change.

,I’m out. What were you two talking about so much?”

Even when I came back and handed out the stuff, they were surprisingly not paying attention to me and just chatting.

I thought they’d greet me with smiles as soon as I got back, but what were they talking about that made them treat me like yesterday’s rice?

They glanced at me for a moment, then nodded and spoke to me sweetly.

,Oppa, there’s something I want to talk about for a second…”

,Just a second… It’ll just be a second.”

,If you say anything weird, I’m flipping both of you over.”

They both approached me with an eerie feeling, so I sat down on the floor to listen to what they had to say.

The story my younger sisters told me was so surprising that I even forgot I had bought condoms.

–

,It’s nothing much. Unni allows you to meet other younger siblings, right? Then Oppa, you get to decide whether you have sex with them or not. No matter how much Unni yells and gets angry, it’s about your body, so she can’t do anything about it. That’s what we talked about.”

Jua, is she a genius or just a fool pretending to be one?

After worrying and falling asleep without sex at the PC bang, I sent Jua home first and sat on a swing in a nearby empty lot, thinking.

Actually, if they had found the condoms I bought, it almost turned into 2:1 sex, but they both willingly gave up when I asked them to bear with me just for today.

I guess if they had told me to decide about sex and then tried to force me, their credibility would have dropped, right?

,The end of a meeting is usually sex, but I get to decide that?”

If Ji-hye allows a date, I get to decide the conclusion at the end… huh.

Honestly, I never imagined it. If I forced myself on them and they refused, I thought it would be my karma, but surprisingly, Jua and Se-ah respected me.

Forcing myself on them was my fault. Forcing them was also my fault, but now they’re respecting me? What am I supposed to do?

I couldn’t tell if they were really respecting me or if it was because of their own desires.

,…Still, the fact that they brought it up means it’s for me, right?”

On the one hand, I also thought a little bit about the “if I can’t have it, neither can you” idea.

Ji-hye has the right to exclusivity, and since there’s no way to get it from her, it was a perfectly plausible idea to come out with a “neither of us can have it” mindset.

But I also worried that I was trying to take back control too irresponsibly for what I had done.

I touched them because I liked them, I did things because I liked them. I don’t need a trashy mindset of irresponsibly taking it all back like before.

I couldn’t even figure this out, and I wanted to talk to someone and find a clue to solve it, but there was no one to talk to.

I couldn’t talk to my younger sisters, and I certainly couldn’t talk to my parents.

If I really had to, there’s only one person…

“…”

I took out my phone and hesitated for a moment.

But if I just stayed in the same place without making any progress after deciding to change, there was nothing I could gain.

Right now, I desperately needed outside help to fix what I had done.

,…Uh, hello? Uncle?”

I called my uncle.

–

,Uncle, I’m here… in…”

,…What is it, you little punk.”

,…….Um, are you suffering from your wife? Does she not feed you or something?”

I waited for my uncle at a nearby cafe, and I had to greet him as soon as he arrived, looking so gaunt that his bones were slightly visible.

I don’t know what he did during the time I didn’t see him, but even though his physique was the same, his face was so thin that I couldn’t even drink the coffee I had ordered.

,I just have a lot on my mind. So, what’s the reason you called this uncle? It’s about your younger sisters again, right.”

,It’s good that you’re quick on the uptake, but this time it’s… well, just listen.”

I didn’t make it difficult to talk about.

I had been changing since I decided to change, but the visible results were still the same.

In the meantime, my younger sisters told me to hold the right to allow sex.

Ji-hye is holding the right to allow dates, and I asked what I should do about it.

Of course, my uncle looked troubled and just drank his coffee on the table without saying a word.

Since it was a problem that couldn’t be easily answered, I just waited for his lost eyes to reflect me.

,Seon-ho-ya.”

,What.”

,I shouldn’t say this, but why don’t you move out? It seems like you could make a living just by living with the younger sisters you seduced.”

,Is moving out going to solve the problem? That’s not it, what are you going to do after you move out?”

Before my uncle could speak, I took a sip of coffee and inhaled.

Then he gently grabbed my hand and nodded.

,…You little punk, you’re just thinking too easily about having… sex with your younger sisters, right?”

I flinched reflexively at those words.

I didn’t even have the strength to answer those words that hit the nail on the head, so I just nodded.

,Hoo, well, I won’t ask any deeper. It’s a relief if you’re not caught by your parents. But, are you just going to abandon the younger sisters you seduced with your lower body later?”

Before I could answer, my uncle reached out and stopped me, continuing to speak.

,I’m saying this because you seem a little more mature than before. Eventually, you’ll have to choose one of those younger sisters, well, let’s just say cousins are okay. The law is also being discussed.”

,…Then what are you going to do with the two younger sisters you live with? Are you just going to be satisfied with living together?”

,That’s… uh…”

I had no choice but to listen silently to my uncle’s barrage of questions.

,This is also a secret, but I’ve contacted Ji-hye a few times.”

,What?”

,This is a big secret, you little punk. She told me not to tell you under any circumstances.”

,So what did you talk about with Uncle? You can tell me that, right?”

,…It was just about worrying about you, you rascal.”

,She’s worried about me? What’s she worried about?”

It was a little unexpected.

I could understand her holding onto me because she loved me, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her worry so much.

When my uncle said that Ji-hye was worried about me, I made an incomprehensible expression and waited for an answer.

,She said she was worried that she was holding onto you too tightly as much as she liked you. She’s been watching you from the closest distance, so she must have worried about you the most, but she talked about it calmly. She said she thinks about you as much as she’s worried, and she wants to worry as much as she thinks about you, but that’s too much of a constraint. So she’s been letting you go a little lately because you’ve been changing, and she’s wondering if that’s okay.”

,……I really didn’t know this. She said that? Really?”

,Does your uncle lie? The best thing is for you to do well enough that you don’t make Ji-hye worry. It’s something you can do well, but it’s not easy for a guy who’s only been changing for less than half a year to change drastically. Rather, if you change that quickly, the people around you will be more worried.”

My head was spinning.

Maybe it was obvious. It’s natural to love as much as you worry, and to worry as much as you love.

She kept me by her side by overpowering the other younger sisters, but I thought she was just controlling me too childishly.

She was thinking about me in a completely different way than I was thinking about taking the initiative, so there was too much of a difference between us.

I’m just like a child, but Ji-hye was even thinking about me and talking to my uncle?

I was so ashamed of myself for thinking about taking the initiative from Ji-hye until just now that I leaned back and sighed deeply.

,I guess I’m not trustworthy enough for her to say these things to me yet.”

I was in a daze after hearing these words in a state of being proud of myself for changing.

But I couldn’t just get a mental makeover and change, so I had to pay more attention to what my uncle said than to my own consultation.

,Then what should I do, Uncle? Will I get an answer if I ask like this?”

At my words, my uncle hesitated for a moment, then blew a strong gust of air through his nose and continued to speak.

,The best thing is for you to become trustworthy in the eyes of other people, right?”

,That’s not going to happen in the short term, that’s why I’m doing this. I would have done it a long time ago if that were possible.”

,What do you think is the reason why Ji-hye is worried about you? It’s nothing much, it’s because you’re the same age, but the person I love is standing on a precarious pillar.”

,She’s worried even though I’m gradually getting a foothold on that pillar.”

,Because there’s no result. If you do something noticeable, Ji-hye won’t worry, right? Like getting a job and settling down, or having the ability to get a job right away.”

,I’m trying to do that, but… it’s not a solution because I can’t do it right away.”

The ice in my uncle’s cup began to melt.

He swallowed some of the water that melted from the ice and nodded.

,If that’s the case, would you like to work somewhere my uncle knows?”

,Suddenly work?”

Getting a job itself isn’t a problem.

However, I wondered if I could adapt to it even if I got one, and if I could do it for a long time.

Of course, I doubted whether the jobs I was trying to get would be a good fit in the first place.

My uncle said firmly to me, who was hesitating and fidgeting with my hands.

,Decide. Try it and do what you were going to do. Or try it yourself, at least try it and give up. How worried is Ji-hye that she’s even contacting me, you little punk!”

He was right.

I, who had been pulling my feet out of concern about whether it would be okay without doing anything, was definitely not in a position to be picky.

I thought it wouldn’t be too late to try something first and then do what I had to do if it didn’t work out.

Whether it’s a video uploader, a webtoon-related person, or whatever.

It was like breaking my determination to use my connections as a last resort, but if Ji-hye was worried about my ridiculous pride and determination, that was a problem.

I swallowed hard and looked confidently at my uncle, who had scolded me.

,What kind of work is it? I’ll do it, honestly, I was determined not to use my connections, but…”

I drank all the remaining coffee and exhaled the breath I had been holding in.

,What’s the point if Ji-hye is sad? I’ll try it, so tell me, Uncle.”

Only then did my uncle smile contentedly and nod.

Yeah, let’s try something, whatever it is. My pride isn’t the problem if Ji-hye might be crying behind my back, right?

–

After finishing talking with my uncle, I called Ji-hye before moving to another place.

After the dial took a little longer, Ji-hye answered the phone.

,Hello?”

,…Ji-hye? Is it okay to talk for a moment?”

,What is it? Just get to the point.”

The point was simple, but it wasn’t easy to say.

After a moment of silence, Ji-hye asked me first, as if she had noticed something.

,You’re not calling to do something, are you?”

,…I’m going to try working somewhere my uncle knows. But it’s a place that provides accommodation, so I thought I’d call because I might have to go for a while.”

,If it’s a place that even provides accommodation, you’ll be working there for a long time. How long are you going to work?”

,Next winter is the minimum. I don’t know if I can come back sooner, but roughly that much, I’ve told my parents.”

,I thought you were doing well, are you going to leave all the women behind and rest alone? If that’s your intention, don’t come back, I really don’t want to see you.”

I could have said no. I wanted to say that it wasn’t like that, that I was trying to work and change so I wouldn’t worry you.

But if I did, it would be like giving strength to the things I had only said so far, so I gave up.

Actions speak louder than words. I, who had been living so glibly with words so far, wanted to take what might be the last chance for the woman I loved.

I didn’t answer those words silently and replied briefly.

,I’ll come back changed, please wait a little.”

,…I don’t know. Do whatever you want. My mom and dad know, so there’s no reason for me to stop you. Goodbye.”

I wanted to hear her say not to go or not to do that, but I quietly put my hand on the end button at her words that seemed to cut me off so sharply without saying anything like that.

If it hadn’t been for one word that I heard so faintly in a situation where it would be cut off with just a little force. I would have hung up right away and gone to work, but I couldn’t.

,…Come back healthy.”

After hearing that one word, I was stunned for a moment even though the phone had been hung up.

I came to my senses only after my uncle came and patted me on the shoulder, and I got into the car that my uncle had driven and headed somewhere.