Chapter 71: Break (1)

As the first half of the season came to a break, I returned to Korea for the first time in a while.

Thanks to my manager’s thorough security, I was able to enter the country quietly, avoiding the eyes of reporters.

The airport was bustling with travelers as usual.

No one knew that the goalkeeper for Manchester City had returned.

“Ah, the air in Korea. It’s been so long.”

“What’s with the weird comment? Let’s hurry home. Your sister is coming today too.”

“Mina? Isn’t she really busy these days?”

“It’s her brother’s first visit in a while, of course she has to come.”

My younger sister, Mina, and my girlfriend, Damin, were part of the girl group Queendom.

Their song ‘First Crown’ had earned them the title of a powerful rookie group.

They were on a winning streak, taking first place on music shows for two consecutive weeks.

Their schedule was even busier than mine, so I thought I wouldn’t be able to see them even though I was in Korea…

‘If I’m going to see anyone, I’d rather see Damin…’

As if reading my mind, my mom threw out a comment.

“Oh, Damin is coming too.”

“Mother, shall we hurry home?”

“Aigoo, you rascal. You’re so happy to hear Damin is coming. You were so indifferent when I mentioned your sister.”

My face flushed red at my mom’s teasing, despite myself.

“I’m just excited to see my sister after so long.”

“Aish…”

I pretended not to see the laughter hidden in my mom’s sigh.

Since Mina and Damin were roommates, I wondered if Mina knew about our relationship.

But so far, Mina had never mentioned Damin in front of my mom, and she hadn’t shown any signs of noticing.

She probably didn’t know.

The fact that we were dating.

We arrived home in my mom’s car.

“Is Mina here already?”

My heart beat a little faster as I watched my mom punch in the passcode at the front door.

Honestly, I didn’t care much about seeing my younger sister after so long, but the thought of meeting Damin seemed to make me more nervous.

We had talked and texted a lot, but this was practically the first time we were meeting in person since we started dating.

Click-

As the front door opened, a familiar scent wafted out.

‘Ah, home.’

Growing up in this house since I was young, it immediately put me at ease.

I could hear someone cooking inside.

“Is Mina already here and cooking?”

My mom called out as she took off her shoes.

“Mina!”

At my mom’s call, footsteps sounded from the kitchen.

“Mom!”

Mina emerged from the kitchen, wearing a white apron.

“Mom, it’s been so long!”

‘This is ridiculous. Can’t she see me?’

“Hey, I’m here too.”

“Oh, you’re here too, Oppa?”

Mina’s voice, though teasing, was full of welcome.

“What are you doing cooking? It doesn’t suit you.”

“What’s wrong with me? I’m practicing because I’m going to be on a cooking show with Damin-unni and a chef soon!”

“Ha~ I thought I’d get to eat something delicious now that I’m back in Korea after so long, but I have to be your test subject… my life is so pathetic.”

“Ha, ridiculous. Don’t worry. Unni is a good cook.”

Before Mina could finish her sentence, my ears perked up.

My heart skipped a beat at the word ‘unni’.

“Hello.”

Damin peeked her head out from the kitchen.

“Oh, Damin, it’s been a while.”

Damin responded to my mom’s bright voice.

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

As Damin and my mom talked, my gaze was fixed on Damin.

‘Still as pretty as ever.’

“You like her that much?”

Mina came up beside me and asked with a look of disbelief.

“Well, I like her more than you.”

It was then.

Damin’s and my eyes met for the first time.

A moment of silence flowed as if time had stopped.

My reflection appeared in her eyes, which I hadn’t seen in so long.

Damin’s white cheeks blushed faintly.

I felt the corners of my mouth lift unconsciously.

Seeing this, my mom said with a laugh,

“Come to think of it, it’s been a while for you two as well. One is abroad, and the other is in the hottest girl group right now. Aigoo, my son is so lucky. Getting to see a member of the hottest girl group.”

“Lucky…”

I said it like that, but I was certain.

There was no man happier than me right now.

Entering the kitchen, I saw cream pasta and tomato risotto beautifully set on the table.

“Ta-da! What do you think? Italian food made by me and Damin-unni!”

A soccer player who has been playing abroad usually craves Korean food when they return to Korea, but since Chan-gyu hyung was so good at making Korean food, I didn’t have that worry.

My only concern right now was one thing.

Which of these two dishes did Damin make?

‘I don’t want to praise Jeong Mina’s food… but what if I say it’s bad and it turns out Damin made it…’

It was scary just imagining it.

Damin could be scary when she got angry.

“Wow, you did a great job! Which one did Mina make and which one did Damin make?”

“Ah, we just made it all together. Helping each other out.”

I was secretly relieved at Damin’s words.

‘Phew~ I’ll just eat it thinking Damin made it all.’

“Alright, let’s sit down and eat.”

At my mom’s words, we sat down.

Damin sat across from me.

“How are Queendom’s activities going? I saw you on a music show recently, and you were amazing. I never thought our tomboy Mina could show such a professional side. And Damin, you were as pretty as ever.”

My mom started the conversation.

“Wow, just thinking about it now makes me so nervous… but I think we did well because we were with the unnis.”

Mina said, reminiscing about their first broadcast.

“Thank you.”

Damin replied calmly.

“Taewoo, don’t you have anything to say to your sister and friend whom you haven’t seen in a while?”

At my mom’s words, everyone’s eyes turned to me.

“Ah… you’re right. To be honest, I was also surprised watching the ‘First Crown’ stage. Especially Damin’s part… that…”

I trailed off as my eyes met Damin’s, and her face was slightly flushed.

We had been dating for a while, but we couldn’t see each other often due to our respective circumstances, so we were still as fresh as the early days.

“Mina was just so-so… but she worked hard, within her limits.” I deliberately changed the subject to Mina to break the awkward atmosphere with Damin.

“Hmph, so ridiculous. I’m telling my fans that my brother is bullying me.”

“Oh, really? But why don’t you reveal that your brother is Jeong Taewoo?”

“Do I have to? Our fandoms are different.”

“What’s so different? Do you think any of the male fans you like don’t know me?”

“Wow, you’re so full of yourself.”

It’s a fact.

After Park Seo-joon hyung, I had the most Instagram followers among soccer players in Korea.

There were countless enthusiastic comments from men like ‘Hyung, you’re so cool’, ‘I want to be like Jeong Taewoo’.

Wouldn’t there be at least one Mina fan among them?

And the female fans were even more numerous.

‘Oppa, please give me your autograph’, ‘Oppa, you’re so handsome’, ‘Please marry me’—confessions of love poured in from all over the world, not just Korea…

To be honest, it was overwhelming.

“It’s true, do you really think there are no soccer fans among the guys who like you?”

“You think all soccer fans like you?”

“Of course. Where else would you find a player who is so good at such a young age?”

“Heesung-oppa.”

‘Ah, here we go again. She’s been going on about Heesung for a while now…’

“Hey, Heesung hasn’t even come to Europe yet. Anyway, the probability that your fans like me is 100%. So next time you’re on a variety show or something, just say it, that your brother is Jeong Taewoo.”

“Do I have to?”

“Hey, think about it. What if I was walking around with you…”

“Stop! It’s already weird from here. Why would I be walking around with you?”

“Ah, I’m just saying ‘what if’. Anyway, if you and I were walking around and a picture was taken by reporters and a rumor started that we were dating, could you handle it?”

After hearing my words, Mina imagined it for a moment and then said with a truly nauseated expression, “Wow, I really hate that.”

“Right, you punk. Think about it carefully.”

In fact, if Mina was revealed to be my sister, it wouldn’t be strange at all for us to walk around together.

Of course.

Who would say anything about walking around with your sister?

And then, I could naturally walk around with Damin too.

Under the natural excuse of being ‘friends’.

Of course, it would be more natural if Damin and Mina were together…

As that thought crossed my mind, I glanced at Damin.

How nice would it be if our relationship could be publicly acknowledged?

But that was a very distant story.

Soccer players are relatively free when it comes to dating, but for a girl group… especially a rookie girl group that has just debuted, dating would cause a huge stir.

‘Ha… the world keeps trying to pull me and Damin apart.’

We finished our dinner at home after a long time, chatting like that, and then we went to our separate rooms.

Damin, of course, went to Mina’s room.

Lying on my bed, I stared at the ceiling and got lost in thoughts of Damin.

Her bright smile, her playful eyes, and the shy expression she sometimes showed…

Seeing all of her after so long was like a powerful magic.

Then I heard a knock on the door.

Knock, knock-

“Taewoo, can I come in?”

It was Damin’s voice.

“Come in.”

The door opened slightly, and Damin carefully entered the room.

Dressed in pajamas, she closed the door without a sound, as if she were sneaking in.

“Where’s Mina?”

“She’s showering.”

Damin whispered in a small voice and sat on the edge of the bed.

Her cautious actions, as if she were sneaking in, were cute.

Come to think of it, this was also a first.

I had been to her room before, but for some reason, this was the first time she had come to my room.

“I think this is the first time you’ve come to my room. How do you feel? I like it.”

When I asked with a smile, Damin, with a red face, said carefully in a small voice, “I like it… I like you, and I like being in your room.”