Chapter 76: Concerns (3)

Han Yuyeon had no chance to correct her mistake.

When Pureumi learned that Gyeonwoo had left without a word, she became dejected and chose to return home immediately. Naturally, Han Dayeon went with her.

Beep-

Despite swiping the keycard and bursting through the front door, the house was eerily quiet.

What’s going on?

Had she gone to bed already, claiming she was tired?

It was strange not seeing even a glimpse of Gyeonwoo, who usually came running at the sound of the door with an enthusiastic “Welcome home!” greeting.

Sure, that bitch Han Yuyeon might ignore even her own sister due to her terrible attitude, but Gyeonwoo wasn’t the type to ignore people.

Their footsteps quickened as they passed the shoe rack toward the brightly lit living room.

Then.

“Mama!”

Pureumi, who was also searching for Gyeonwoo, raised her voice loud enough to shake the whole house while holding back tears.

Though Han Dayeon worried about waking Gyeonwoo if she was sleeping…

That’s right! Good job, Pureumi!

Even though it was Gyeonwoo’s night to sleep with her and she didn’t strictly need that adorable “Welcome home” greeting that made her heart flutter, human nature was fickle.

Not receiving her usual greeting left her head spinning and limbs trembling like withdrawal symptoms.

“Mama! Where are youuu!”

Han Dayeon cowardly hid behind Pureumi, who was barely half her size, as they followed the lights through the mansion.

When they entered the study…

Both Han Dayeon and Pureumi broke into bright smiles and rushed forward.

“Mama!”

“Oh? You’re still awake, Gyeonwoo?”

Instead of sleeping as expected, Gyeonwoo was wide awake in Han Yuyeon’s arms.

How could she look so adorable like a doll even when just sitting still?

Though she wasn’t particularly religious, if God existed, He must have put extraordinary effort into creating Gyeonwoo!

“Hey, the kid said she was tired – are you making her study instead of letting her sleep?”

Of course!

I wondered why our Gyeonwoo didn’t greet me when I arrived, even though she wasn’t sleeping!

She must be completely drained from being held captive like that when she’s already tired!

“Gyeonwoo, come here. Let’s go to bed with sister.”

However, contrary to Han Dayeon’s expectations, Gyeonwoo showed no reaction whatsoever.

“Mama?”

“Oh, Pureumi’s back? You must need a bath after playing, right?”

“Yeah! Let’s wash together!”

“Hehe, shall we?”

While she chatted and laughed freely with Pureumi…

“G-Gyeonwoo…?”

She thoroughly ignored Han Dayeon as if she couldn’t hear her voice or sense her existence at all.

“Sister, we’ll head to the room after washing up.”

“Make sure to dry your scalp properly, okay?”

“With our Pureumi here, you don’t need to worry. She’s a spirit after all!”

“True. Still, wash thoroughly.”

“Okay!”

She even conversed naturally with Han Yuyeon.

Thud!

Han Dayeon could only gape as she turned to stone.

N-no way… Gyeonwoo is deliberately ignoring me…!

She felt breathless facing a situation she’d never experienced before.

Gyeonwoo left for the bathroom hand in hand with Pureumi without a backward glance.

Han Dayeon stared blankly at their retreating figures before collapsing in place.

Thump!

“I-is our Gyeonwoo going through puberty…? Ha, haha. Y-yeah, must be puberty? That’s why she’s rebelling. Or… maybe I made some mistake today…?”

Still on her knees, Han Dayeon seemed unable to accept reality.

Han Yuyeon, who had been watching Gyeonwoo’s reaction, quietly approached her sister.

“Sob sob, that bitch who has everything except breasts… I want combat-type Awakened powers too… I want to hug and talk with Gyeonwoo too! Why am I the only one being ignored! You must have said something weird to her?!”

The emotional swings were making observers dizzy.

If she wanted to be jealous, be jealous. If she felt wronged, feel wronged. But what was this behavior?

It wasn’t pleasant watching a grown woman crying like a child.

But even so…

“Haah…”

Left like this, she might actually fall into depression.

It was time for her to step in.

“Sister. You should have watched your words before.”

At first, she had enthusiastically welcomed Gyeonwoo’s declaration to punish her annoying sister.

But as she listened, that line…

It was too much!

No talking, no eye contact, no greetings, no eating together, no bathing together!

Any one of these would have been enough to make her frantically wonder what she’d done wrong to Gyeonwoo, but to do them all at once was beyond what anyone could endure with a mere “it can’t be helped.”

Right.

This was murder!

If Han Yuyeon and Han Dayeon weren’t in the prime of their youth, they might clutch their hearts and die from Gyeonwoo deficiency within half a day!

Haah… but they couldn’t scold her with “Who told you to ignore adults!” when they were the ones at fault, nor could they break Gyeonwoo’s resolve.

So what? Only one option remained.

Help her foolish sister understand what she’d done wrong so Gyeonwoo might forgive her.

“Y-you, what do you know?!”

Han Dayeon jumped up at Han Yuyeon’s meaningful words, grabbing her collar and shaking her urgently.

But such weak force couldn’t possibly shake someone with physical enhancement abilities.

“Wow, you’ve really become an idiot.”

Though Han Dayeon was the one grabbing and shaking, she was the one rattling like laundry in a dryer.

Compared to her usual self who would steer clear of physical confrontations with her sister, this behavior seemed truly moronic.

In other words.

Her brain cells must already be deteriorating from Gyeonwoo deficiency!

“All that teasing about me being flat-chested.”

“What about it?!”

“You know what Gyeonwoo hates most. Hurting others, making others unhappy.”

At her kind sister’s advice, finally.

“Huh…? D-don’t tell me she’s angry at me because of that…?”

“Well, seems you still have a shred of conscience left if you figured it out this quickly.”

Han Dayeon belatedly realized the situation was more serious than she’d thought.

What could she say in her defense?

While teasing Han Yuyeon about being flat was half-joking, the other half had been genuine mockery.

She’d done it so naturally for so long that she hadn’t even considered it wrong.

She couldn’t even claim it was a mistake or misunderstanding!

To Gyeonwoo, it must have looked like I was constantly bullying Han Yuyeon?

It was already incredibly generous that she hadn’t accused me of being possessed by demons!

Drooop.

Han Dayeon’s shoulders sagged like slime.

How could she fix this?

No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t come up with a solution.

“M-maybe Gyeonwoo said something else? Just that she won’t talk to me…? Right?”

So she clung to Han Yuyeon’s legs as a last hope, but…

“She said she’ll only sleep with me now? Pfft. Won’t eat with you, won’t bathe with you. Seems like she plans to treat you like you don’t exist?”

That response shattered what little hope remained.

“Aah…”

My daily happiness!

My light has disappeared!

No.

I can’t… I can’t die alone like this!

“What now? Going to get on your knees?”

Han Dayeon stumbled to her feet and staggered up the stairs.

Not much time had passed, but with Pureumi there, they should be done bathing and in their room by now?

Sure enough, when she entered Han Yuyeon’s room, she found Gyeonwoo and Pureumi sitting fresh and clean on the bed.

“Mama, this! Present!”

“Oh? You brought this for me?”

“Yeah! Picked it for Mama!”

“…Pfft. Whose child are you to be so sweet?”

“Only Mama’s daughter!”

Though she couldn’t help smiling at their sweet conversation about the teddy bear…

The problem was that she could no longer join in that space.

So!

In the end, Han Dayeon chose not to seek forgiveness.

Gyeonwoo hadn’t left the house declaring independence, so living together meant she’d eventually be forgiven.

Until then, rather than let Han Yuyeon be happy alone, they should all suffer together!

Bear the family’s burden!

“Gyeonwoo! S-sister gets hurt too when she’s always called a pig…! It’s not fair to say only sister was wrong…!”

Unlike Han Yuyeon who minimized contact with others, Han Dayeon had handled interviews and external schedules.

Naturally, her persuasiveness and acting skills were incomparably superior to her sister’s.

Sob sob.

Her long eyelashes fluttered as tears fell.

For the finishing touch, she delicately wiped her eyes with her slender hand.

“…Both of you sisters are the same! You’re both so mean!”

Gyeonwoo wasn’t stupid.

She saw through Han Dayeon’s scheme to use her to torment Han Yuyeon.

“I… lost both my mom and dad… I never got to apologize for my mistakes…”

“Huh…? What?!”

“I don’t know. Don’t acknowledge me until you two make up! Let’s go, Pureumi!”

That made her even angrier.

Blood ties, family.

Many people thought of them as relationships given at birth, but for some, they remained forever unattainable.

Throwing tantrums about not wanting to go to the dentist.

Throwing tantrums for candy…

And in the end, never getting to tell her parents she loved them, that she was sorry…

I don’t want the sisters to have regrets like me.

Why do they want to fight when they still have family?

Can’t they just live happily together?

Though Han Dayeon and Han Yuyeon reached out in panic…

“Hmph! Don’t look for us!”

Gyeonwoo vanished instantly, still holding Pureumi’s hand.

“Ah…”

Since she’d teleported away, they couldn’t know where she’d gone unless they seriously searched.

Which meant Gyeonwoo was truly angry.

“…We’re fucked.”

Following behind, Han Yuyeon finally let out a curse she’d been holding back since Gyeonwoo arrived.

Author’s Note

Today’s menu is strawberry latte!

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