Chapter 16
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 16 – Compromise is the Shortest Path to Reconciliation
—–CROW—–
The power of the word “noona” is truly greater than you might think.
There are quite a few men who harbor vague fantasies about older sisters.
And for reasons unknown, there are also quite a few women who have a strange obsession with being called “noona.”
“Hey, Lee Si-woo. Call me ‘noona’ too.”
“…”
“You call Yujin unnie ‘noona,’ so why can’t you call me that?”
And the current, crazed Han Seo-ah perfectly fit the second category.
I should have known from the time she insisted on being called “noona” despite only being a month older.
I never imagined her obsession with the word would be this intense.
It wasn’t completely unfathomable, though.
As I said, there were more people than you’d think who were strangely fixated on being called “noona.”
If that’s what Han Seo-ah really wanted, I could swallow my pride and do it once.
“Now? Here?”
“Yeah, now.”
“…With Yujin noona right next to us?”
Only if there was no one else around.
I didn’t have the mental fortitude to call Han Seo-ah “noona” with someone watching.
Hearing my answer, Han Seo-ah raised her finger again.
“See? You call Yujin unnie ‘noona’ just fine.”
“That’s because she’s actually older…”
“I’m older than you too!”
“Is one month older really that much older?”
I tried my best to hold back, but…
I couldn’t help but get irritated at the argument that she was older by just one month.
Our childish bickering continued, and…
Yujin noona, unable to watch any longer, stepped in to mediate.
“Guys? Don’t you think we need to calm down a bit…?”
“One month older is still older!”
“That’s ridiculous, you crazy woman.”
“Guys…”
“Crazy woman? Did you just call me a crazy woman?”
“Yeah, I did. What are you going to do about it?”
“You stupid idiot…”
“…”
It was a futile effort.
Even our parents had given up on stopping our fights.
It was practically impossible for Yujin noona, who had only known us for less than an hour, to stop us, or so I thoug…
“Hey, you crazy idiots! If you’re going to fight, go outside!”
“…”
“…Unnie?”
But lo and behold, nothing was impossible.
As if rehearsed, we both shut our mouths at Yujin noona’s thunderous roar.
“Are you guys in elementary school? Fighting over something like this.”
“…”
“I thought our Seo-ah was a well-behaved and calm girl. Looks like I was wrong.”
“…But unnie…”
“Do you have any excuses, Seo-ah? Unnie doesn’t think so.”
“…”
Han Seo-ah closed her mouth again at the question.
We were engrossed in our fight, but even Han Seo-ah must have realized.
That we were acting like elementary school kids, just as Yujin noona said.
Yujin noona’s finger naturally pointed to me next.
“And Si-woo. We haven’t known each other for long, but I thought you were a calm and nice guy.”
“…”
“You’re too old to be fighting over something like this.”
“…I have nothing to say.”
I really had nothing to say.
It was undeniable that we were causing a scene in someone else’s cafe over nothing.
Hearing my answer, Yujin noona nodded, seemingly relieved.
“At least you guys know you’re wrong, unlike my mom’s son. That’s good.”
“…You have a younger brother, unnie?”
“Don’t call him my brother. He’s my mom’s son, okay?”
Yujin noona emphasized the phrase “my mom’s son” repeatedly.
But wasn’t it the same thing?
What was the difference between “my mom’s son” and “younger brother”?
The question popped into my head, but I didn’t say it out loud.
“Got it? My mom’s son.”
“Yes.”
Because Yujin noona’s expression was even more serious than Han Seo-ah’s earlier.
I wasn’t foolish enough to do something I didn’t have to do just to get scolded.
“…Anyway, again. It’s good that you both know you’re wrong.”
“…Yes.”
“That’s a good start. It means you’re not as foolish as my mom’s son.”
“…”
“So, how should we resolve this? Who’s going to compromise?”
“…Compromise?”
“…Unnie, compromise?”
Perhaps the word “compromise” was unfamiliar to us.
We both voiced our confusion simultaneously.
“One of you has to compromise to resolve this uncomfortable situation.”
“…”
“Compromise is the shortest path to reconciliation.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Actually, she was very right.
“…I don’t want to, unnie.”
“I don’t want to compromise either.”
But those wise words weren’t enough to persuade us.
We were both incredibly stubborn.
There was a reason why our parents had given up on mediating our fights.
“Is there a reason why neither of you wants to compromise?”
Yujin noona frowned, as if she hadn’t expected to be rejected so easily.
“I told you, unnie. I’m annoyed that he won’t call me ‘noona’.”
“…Calling her ‘noona’ is a bit…”
“See! He’s being so stubborn even though he just needs to call me that once.”
“…Hmm.”
Yujin noona pondered for a moment, then asked Han Seo-ah again.
“Seo-ah.”
“Yes?”
“Is there a special reason why you need Si-woo to call you ‘noona’?”
“Of course there is!”
“Could you tell me what it is?”
“…I can’t say.”
Han Seo-ah’s cheeks flushed red, as if there was a reason she absolutely couldn’t say it.
At the same time, the sentences that had been invisible until now started appearing again.
[Sorry, unnie. I can’t say it in front of Si-woo.]
[How can I say that I want to pat Si-woo’s head like a younger brother while he calls me ‘noona’?]
“…”
So that was her intention.
She wanted to treat me like her younger brother?
It was certainly something to be angry about.
Han Seo-ah was forcing me to call her “noona” not for any special reason, but for her own selfish desire.
A normal person would get angry at such an unreasonable demand.
‘…Why is it so hot?’
But why was my face so hot?
Instead of being angry, why was I feeling embarrassed and hot?
I just saw Han Seo-ah’s thoughts about wanting to pat my head like a younger brother.
It was no different from usual.
Han Seo-ah was just being her usual, nonsensical self.
But my face kept burning.
“Hmm…”
Yujin noona was watching us quietly.
As if she finally understood the situation.
As if she finally found a solution.
After watching us for a while, she quietly spoke.
“Okay. Unnie finally figured it out.”
“…Unnie, can I ask what it is?”
“Of course. You two are going to call each other ‘noona’ and ‘oppa’ for the rest of the day.”
“…What?”
“…Wait, what did you say, unnie?”
Once again, our voices filled with questions erupted simultaneously.
And this time, the questions were even stronger than before.
Because Yujin noona’s suggestion was that shocking.
“Should I repeat myself? I said, call each other ‘noona’ and ‘oppa’ for the rest of the day.”
“That’s ridi… No. What are you talking about, unnie?”
“…”
I thought Han Seo-ah just called it ridiculous.
It seemed like the words slipped out before she could stop herself.
I was pretty sure that’s what happened.
But I agreed with the sentiment.
“…Wouldn’t that be a bit difficult, Yujin noona?”
“Why? Unnie doesn’t understand why it would be difficult for our Si-woo.”
“Like I said, how can I call her ‘noo…”
“…Si-woo oppa.”
…What was that?
What did I just hear?
My ears must be playing tricks on me.
There was no way I’d hear the word “oppa” with three people present.
I looked at Yujin noona’s face, hoping I’d misheard, or rather, ‘wanting’ to believe I’d misheard.
“Hehehe.”
“…”
Yujin noona was already smiling slightly, clearly amused by the situation, and looking at the source of the voice.
“…Si-woo oppa. Call me ‘noona’ now.”
“…”
“Hurry up. I called you ‘oppa’.”
[I called Si-woo ‘oppa’… I’m so embarrassed I feel like my face is going to explode.]
Han Seo-ah’s face was as red as her inner thoughts described.
It was incredibly, unbelievably, astonishingly hard to believe, but…
The person who had just called me “oppa,” the person with such incredible mental fortitude, was undoubtedly Han Seo-ah.
—–CROW—–
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