Ch.186186. I Didn’t Cheat

“What are you doing right now?”

I froze as I was playing with Nari’s hair. I heard a very displeased voice from behind me.

I turned around thinking “no way,” but sure enough, Hwa Nabi was looking down at me, already changed into shorter clothes. It seems she finished changing in less than a minute after saying she would.

“…What am I doing? I was just taking care of Nari.”

“I asked you to watch her so she wouldn’t say unnecessary things, not to make marriage promises. Did you just cheat on me? Right in front of my eyes?”

“I was just joking around with the kid, how is that cheating…?”

She’s not just anyone, she’s your sister. I awkwardly put my hands down and observed the situation, when Nari, caught in the middle, pointed at Hwa Nabi and added a comment.

“Oppa, who is this unnie? Was it just a joke with me?”

“Nari, where did you learn to say things like that?”

“I saw it in mom’s drama!”

“…”

Mom, excuse my rudeness, but I think you need to put more effort into educating your daughters. It seems like both Nari and Nabi are suffering from watching too many dramas.

As I was awkwardly caught in the middle watching the situation unfold, suddenly Nari grabbed my right arm and clung to me. Watching this, sparks flew in Hwa Nabi’s eyes.

“Nari, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Mom said all men are weak to aegyo!”

“You should use aegyo on your own boyfriend, why are you using it on someone else’s husband?”

“You and oppa aren’t married yet. So he’s not a husband right now, is he?”

It was such a logical statement that it was hard to believe it came from a preschooler. Hwa Nabi seemed momentarily speechless, then she suddenly hugged me from behind.

“Siwoo, this won’t do. Let’s get married quickly.”

Her breath on my ear was very ticklish. I shuddered for a moment, but she seemed to misinterpret it as rejection and clung to me even tighter.

“What? Do you not want to get married?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Oppa, is it me or that unnie?”

“Siwoo. Is it me or Nari?”

Beautiful sisters fighting over me. Normally, one should be happy in this situation, but I could only sigh deeply.

One is too young to even be considered a woman, and the other is my original marriage partner. Fighting has no meaning here; it only wears down my sanity.

“…Even if Nari can be childish because she’s young, why are you acting like this too?”

I wonder if Solomon felt like this. If I weren’t directly involved, I could suggest splitting me in half, but that won’t work here. I first tried to separate the immature sisters and mediate.

“No, seven years old isn’t young at all.”

“Twenty years old is still a child. Can’t I be a little childish?”

But they both countered with their own logic. Whether this can be called logic is… let’s set that aside for now. Arguing will only give me a headache.

Anyway, it didn’t end there as they both hugged the arm and back they were holding again. Thanks to that, I was embraced from both front and back, unable to move either way.

Ah, this is quite an awkward position. I can’t use force since they’re both women. What would my future in-laws think if they came out and saw this?

“Did I do something wrong…?”

“Yes, you did. You cheated, didn’t you? Making marriage promises behind my back.”

“If that’s cheating, half the people in the world have cheated before.”

“That’s right, unnie has done it too!”

“W-when? When did I ever do that?”

“Last year! When you came to tell us you got accepted to university!”

As I was quietly listening, something I couldn’t ignore came out of Nari’s mouth. Hwa Nabi came to her family home last year and said something? I’d like to hear more about that.

Curious, I gently stroked Nari’s head and asked in a subtle voice.

“Nari, what do you mean? What did your sister say last year?”

“Well, dad asked unnie what she was going to do after graduation. And unnie said she hadn’t decided yet, but after graduation she would marry her boyfriend first… mmph, mmph!”

Just as Nari was about to tell the important part, Hwa Nabi rushed over like lightning and covered Nari’s mouth.

Nari struggled in surprise, but Hwa Nabi calmly and quickly muttered.

“Nari, don’t you want to receive the JuJu doll set as a gift?”

“…Puha! Y-yes, I want it!”

“Then keep that story a secret until you die. Got it?”

“Yes, I got it!”

“…”

I feel like I just witnessed something no different from an illegal transaction, or is it just my imagination?

Dumbfounded, I stared at Hwa Nabi. But she met my gaze with a calm expression, as if nothing had happened.

“What? Is there a problem?”

I only heard the part about getting married right after graduation, and it made me curious. Is she really going to play dumb at the exact moment that makes people most curious?

If that’s the case, I have my own plan. I held Nari’s tiny hand and spoke to her.

“Nari, should oppa buy you two JuJu doll sets?”

“Huh, two? Really? Really?”

“Yes, but Nari, when you receive a gift, you should say thank you, right?”

“That’s right. Mom said children who don’t say thank you are bad children!”

“Oppa would like it if Nari said thank you and also told me the story you were about to tell earlier. What do you think?”

“Um… but unnie told me not to talk about it.”

Her hesitant answer and glances at me showed she was already halfway convinced. I spoke even more gently than before, almost whispering.

“You can just tell oppa secretly. Pretend unnie isn’t here and tell me, and oppa will buy you two JuJu doll sets. How about it?”

“Hmm… okay! I’ll tell you. So at that time, unnie told dad…”

“Nari, what kind of child did we say doesn’t keep promises?”

Hwa Nabi cut in at the perfect moment when it was almost done. With a face that shouldn’t be shown to a young child, she stared expressionlessly at Nari and asked.

Seemingly scared, Nari shrunk back with a high-pitched voice.

“B-bad children…?”

“Yes, we said they’re bad children, right? But now, Nari is trying not to keep her promise with unnie. Is Nari a bad child?”

“N-no! Nari is a good child!”

“Should good children keep promises or break them?”

“Keep them!”

“Then, even if oppa says he’ll buy you JuJu doll sets, should you tell or not tell?”

“Not tell!”

“…Heh.”

After finishing what was almost brainwashing education, Hwa Nabi glanced at me. Then she slightly raised the corner of her lips and smiled quietly, as if saying ‘I won, didn’t I?’

“Are you going to keep doing this?”

“What did I do?”

“…”

“…”

The gazes of us two, a man and a woman, collided in mid-air.

I was saying with my eyes ‘What is it that you’re hiding so desperately?’ and Hwa Nabi was answering ‘Do you really need to hear it that badly?’

“…Nari. Unnie will call you later, so could you go to your room for a bit?”

“I want to stay with unnie and oppa. Can’t I go later?”

“I’ll play with you later, not now. Unnie and oppa have something to talk about. Okay? You understand, right?”

At her quiet but firm voice, a declaration that would accept no objections, Nari gulped. Though still young, she seemed to sense that the atmosphere had turned strange.

“O-okay. I’ll stay quietly in my room…”

“Good, come out when unnie calls you later?”

With Hwa Nabi seeing her off with a friendly smile, Nari tottered off toward her room.

Click, thud.

As soon as we heard the door open and close, we both spoke at the same time as if we had been waiting.

“What is it? What story? Is it something I shouldn’t hear?”

“Let me tell you in advance, it’s not what you’re thinking.”

How can our thoughts be so similar? I was about to interrogate her but awkwardly pulled back my upper body. Hwa Nabi sat directly in front of me.

“So don’t misunderstand in a weird way.”

“If it’s not what I’m thinking, then what is it?”

“…It’s just, an embarrassing story I said in the heat of the moment. That’s why I didn’t want her to tell you.”

I don’t understand what kind of story would make her say it was said in the heat of the moment. The explanation is so cut off that I can’t comprehend it at all.

It would be better if she just explained it clearly. But she’s firmly against that, so I just feel frustrated.

“So, you’re saying you can’t tell me?”

“Yes. I can’t tell you.”

“I’m starting to feel a little hurt.”

I grabbed Hwa Nabi’s hand and muttered. This is half sincere and half joking. We’ve never had something like this before. We’re human, so we’ve had conflicts of opinion from time to time. But we’ve never deliberately hidden things or deceived each other like this.

We would resolve misunderstandings immediately and try to understand each other through conversation. That was natural, and I thought we would continue to maintain a good relationship that way.

“…”

So, to be honest, I’m a bit surprised right now. I didn’t expect Hwa Nabi to draw a line with me so decisively. How should I put it, it’s like discovering a side of her I didn’t know existed. I can’t explain it well, but anyway, it’s a very unsettled feeling…

“Ah, no!”

Goodness! Hwa Nabi suddenly raised her voice and shouted. What does she mean by “no”? When I asked with my eyes, she hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Really, really, it’s not the kind of weird misunderstanding you’re thinking of. You shouldn’t feel hurt by me!”

“What kind of misunderstanding do you think I’m having?”

“…A-anyway, it’s not. Really.”

She shakes her head vigorously in desperate rebuttal, as if she really feels wronged. It seems genuine, but I still can’t shake off the lingering uneasiness inside me.

“…Then, you just need to explain it in a way that makes sense to me. Can’t you do that?”

I looked directly into Hwa Nabi’s eyes, trying to convey my feelings as much as possible. It seemed to have some effect, as her shoulders trembled when she met my gaze.

“W-well, that…”