Ch.144My Stuff is Mine, Your Stuff is Also Mine (6)

“Ha-min, would you mind explaining in detail what exactly is going on here?”

“Um… ma’am.”

“Oh my, not calling me ‘mother-in-law’? Usually when hidden facts like this come to light, people naturally switch to calling me ‘mother-in-law’ or ‘mother.’ If not, does that mean you entered into that kind of relationship with Do-young without intending for it to become something serious…?”

“No, no, I think there’s some misunderstanding here…”

What should have been a dinner party table

had instantly transformed into an interrogation room.

The tearful petition of my small and precious youngest daughter, with large tears rolling down her cheeks.

What parent would dismiss such a petition as a mere joke or jest?

Especially when it came from the precious youngest daughter who had elevated the family’s generations-old kendo legacy to unimaginable heights.

Whether it was true or not, action proportional to her tears had to be taken.

“Please don’t misunderstand too much, Ha-min. I’m not opposing your relationship with each other. Including what might come after, of course. But don’t you think there’s such a thing as the right timing for everything?”

“Um… ma’am? Maybe if you could put down that bamboo sword first and then talk…”

“I understand completely… I met the kids’ father when he was still in elementary school. But you know what! I waited until he had grown to his full height and become a proper adult! Resisting all the many temptations that came in between…! But how could you two already, before even finishing the first semester of your freshman year in high school…!”

“That’s, that’s a huge misunderstanding…!”

Unintentionally, I also got to hear vague stories about Mom and Dad’s past.

“When exactly was it? During midterms when Ha-min stayed up all night helping Do-young study? Or was it during the school trip…?”

“Ah, we first did it during midterms, and yes, during the school trip too.”

“W-what…! Then… you’ve been keeping this from Mom and Dad for nearly three months! If it started during midterms… that’s at least over 3 months!”

“No, we kissed, just kissed! Not even a real kiss, just a peck! Are you really going to make this big a deal over one little kiss? There wasn’t even any tongue!”

“Don’t lie! You can’t get pregnant from just a kiss!”

“That’s what I’m saying, I’m not pregnant!”

This is where a person’s usual conduct becomes important.

My parents would listen to my youngest sister, who at fifteen had lived up to their expectations by winning a world championship trophy, even if what she said sounded completely absurd.

But the words of their second daughter—known at school and at home as the neighborhood troublemaker who relied solely on her pretty face and was unpredictable—rarely reached their ears.

If I had actually done it, I wouldn’t feel so wronged.

Nothing made my blood boil more than being treated as used goods when the seal hadn’t even been broken.

“Ugh, seriously…!”

“B-Ban Do-young! Where are you going?”

“To prove I’m still a virgin!”

“What?”

Whether it was caused by the past Ban Do-young or the current me taking the blame,

knowing I couldn’t fully escape the boy-who-cried-wolf mask, I immediately rushed out the front door.

.

.

.

“Welcome to TS25 convenience store… Oh, hello.”

“*pant pant* Hello, part-timer oppa.”

“I-if you came for the Zero Lime, I was just restocking it.”

“No, I’m here for something else right now.”

“Ah… What are you looking for?”

“Where are the pregnancy tests?”

“…Huh?”

If I couldn’t prove it with words, I had no choice but to prove it with my body.

.

.

.

“…”

“…”

After the brief commotion had passed, silence fell.

Si-young crouched dejectedly between me, Do Ha-min, and my parents.

With Si-young as the dividing line, an invisible red line was drawn between the four of us that couldn’t be easily crossed.

How do I know it was red if it was invisible, and how do I know it was just one line?

Well, because it wasn’t two lines.

“Scarlet-jjang. Want to try that? You know, that?”

“…Shut up. And I told you not to call me by that name.”

“Were you relieved that your only sister is still in the same grade? Or disappointed that having a niece or nephew is still far away?”

“S-stop it, Do-young. There’s no need to tease her like that. Don’t worry, Scarlet-jjang. I believed in Santa Claus until the second year of middle school too.”

“Whoa, be careful when you’re trying to comfort her. Our Scarlet-jjang might still believe in him, you know?”

“Ugh… Get away…! Before I bring a bamboo sword from the dojo!”

Si-young pulled the hood of her hoodie down low and buried her face between her knees.

“Sigh… How could this happen… So Si-young really has been… Of course, we never talked about it specifically.”

“I know, it’s shocking. I’m just as surprised as you are. She always acted so mature that I thought she already knew everything… It’s all my fault, Do-young’s dad.”

“It’s not your fault… As parents, we tend to be more cautious about these things. But what on earth were they teaching in health class at Si-young’s school? They call this a sexually advanced country? This is completely unacceptable!”

“That’s not what ‘sexually advanced country’ means… But Si-young spent most of her school days training. Even in elementary school. She probably skipped over non-essential classes like health education. Though I would have done the same.”

“So in the end, no one properly taught her about these things.”

*Ahem!*

With a rather serious face, Mom and Dad were discussing the current situation.

I crossed the line between them and cleared my throat right in their faces.

“Excuse me… you two? Don’t you have something more important to do before discussing countermeasures?”

“…”

“Don’t you have anything to say to me? Does virgin Ban Do-young have to come all the way to you herself?”

“Ugh… I’m so ashamed, Do-young.”

“Mom is sorry.”

Mom and Dad couldn’t look Ban Do-young in the eye.

They had tried to maintain a neutral stance.

They had shown as much respect as possible to Do Ha-min, who was under suspicion.

But while their attitude might have been neutral, deep down they seemed to have harbored at least a small suspicion that Ban Do-young and Do Ha-min might have done something.

“I’m sorry for not believing you right away, Do-young. If this had happened before the school trip… I would have believed that nothing happened between you and Ha-min.”

Mom and Dad finally bowed their heads apologetically to their daughter who was right in front of them.

“B-but we didn’t mean any harm! It’s just that we always saw you two together! Ha-min was always grinning from ear to ear like he was having the time of his life when he was with you!”

“M-mom heard from Dad that you were consistently practicing kendo with Ha-min… and I thought that might be why Ha-min suddenly matured so much. That’s how Mom and Dad got close too, you know. I thought there could easily be that kind of atmosphere between you two…”

“T-that’s right! We’re not saying it’s a bad thing, so don’t misunderstand!”

“I’m not the one who misunderstood, you two are.”

Perhaps this was the price I had to pay for casually joking about being a virgin.

One big misunderstanding had been cleared up, but at the same time, I got to see how my parents had been perceiving me all this time.

‘So even to my clueless dad, it looked like Do Ha-min was head over heels for me.’

I tried to view things from a third-person perspective,

like I was playing the character Ban Do-young in a game world,

trying to accept the events in this world that way, but it wasn’t easy.

Even when controlling a character that moves according to keyboard or mouse commands rather than your own hands, people inevitably become emotionally invested in the character they’re controlling as time passes.

In this daily life, I had to see everything with my own eyes, hear it with my own ears, and feel it with my own skin, without any devices or screens between me and reality.

Perhaps,

I could no longer maintain the mindset of simply enjoying the world of <Half of Ban-do>.

“Phew… I’m fine, but shouldn’t you apologize to Do Ha-min first? I can accept some misunderstandings since I’ve said things that could be misinterpreted, but how unfair must this be for Ha-min!”

I naturally went behind Ha-min and put my arm around his shoulders.

As the main heroine, my job now was to protect Ha-min’s reputation that had been damaged by this incident.

“If you believed what Ban Si-young said, you must have thought Ha-min was complete trash! A scumbag who pretended to help with studies while secretly targeting your daughter!”

“…No? Dad definitely thought it was you, Do-young, who secretly pounced on Ha-min while he was studying.”

“Sorry, Mom thought so too.”

“What kind of opinion do you have of your own child?”

The protagonist’s honor was more solid than I expected.

If anything, the one treated most poorly was the main heroine and the world’s most beautiful girl, Ban Do-young.

After all, Ban Do-young’s strongest weapon—her appearance—meant nothing among family members.

“A-anyway! Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, there’s no problem! Our family will remain a five-person system for the time being! Let’s move on and get back to the party!”

“Y-yes. The food I prepared must be cold by now. Everyone, please come and take your seats.”

*Click*

Just then, the sound of someone opening the front door was heard.

The solid echoing sound of military boots walking through the entryway.

Mom and Dad’s expressions immediately brightened.

“Oh, perfect timing. It seems today’s other guest of honor has returned home.”

“Indeed. Do-young, could you go upstairs and bring down one more chair?”

Mom and Dad rushed to the entrance in their socks, looking for the reliable eldest son of the Ban family to lift the current dampened mood.

“Our son! Welcome home! We’ve been waiting!”

“You have no idea how much we missed you! You look even more dignified than before!”

“D-Dad…? Mom? What’s going on? Why are you both coming all the way to the entrance?”

“Why? Because we missed you! Especially right now!”

Mom and Dad enthusiastically embraced Sol-young, who was standing at the entrance in his military uniform.

Surprised by the unexpectedly passionate welcome, Sol-young stepped back in his boots.

“Yo, half-civilian, you’re finally back. Now you have to treat us to your discharge celebration.”

“I nearly died yesterday, so cut me some slack.”

Following Mom’s instructions, I brought a chair from upstairs and greeted Sol-young at the entrance.

“Somehow the atmosphere at home feels a bit different than usual. Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened at all.”

Since in the end nothing really did happen, I wasn’t lying.

“Um… Mom, Dad. I know it’s shameless of me to say this after coming home late, but I have something very important to tell you both. Can you listen? It might be a bit shocking.”

“Of course. In fact, that’s perfect! Right now, I’m confident I won’t be surprised by anything!”

“Thanks to your siblings, we just experienced quite a shocking event. We won’t be surprised by anything ordinary, so feel free to speak.”

“I think I need to get married.”

I was greatly surprised.