episode_0001

“Thank you for your hard work today!”

“Yeah. Thank you. I’m grateful every time.”

“Hey, we’re helping each other out. Since it’s tonkatsu today, if you shower and come out, it’ll be ready right away. I’ve prepared your clothes!”

Our brother, who not only has a very handsome face but also a kind heart.

“Thanks!”

Even as he goes into the shower room, my brother, who never forgets to say thank you, is not actually my real brother.

He’s my sister’s husband.

In other words, he’s my brother-in-law.

“Um, okay.”

I’ve already raised the oil temperature according to when my brother is coming.

I check the oil temperature and put in the tonkatsu that I made in advance.

As soon as the tonkatsu goes in, you can see the white bread crumbs that were initially pale starting to cook with a sizzling sound.

“Phew.”

I skim off the ones that don’t stick to the tonkatsu and rise above the oil, repeating the process until the tonkatsu floats up.

Using this much oil is wasteful since you use it once and throw it away.

No matter how much money my brother makes, if he wastes it unnecessarily, he’ll end up spending more money.

There’s a person who earns 700 a month and another who earns 200. If the person earning 700 spends 500 a month and the person earning 200 divides and saves, spending 50… Roughly, the person earning 700 will have 200 left, and the person earning 200 will have 150…

The analogy was wrong… Earning more money is the best, right?

Anyway, ultimately, you shouldn’t waste.

You should also think about saving and putting money into savings accounts.

While I’m at it, I also take care of my salary.

The reason I do this is partly to atone and partly to earn pocket money. It’s more than what you’d get from working at a convenience store, but that’s why I save a lot.

I don’t really know much about accounting, but I have a general understanding, and I mainly focus on cooking since I feel like a housekeeper who cooks and cleans. Cleaning is actually just a side thing, but it’s something I enjoy.

“Ahh… feels refreshing.”

“Eat it while it’s hot. It turned out quite tasty today.”

My brother, who just finished showering, sat in front of me.

His roughly dried hair somehow suits him well.

Why would someone like him be taking fashion photos? There are some women who like men with wet hair, after all.

Well, it’s probably because of his face.

“Hehe, whatever you make, Jiyu, it’s delicious.”

My brother cut the tonkatsu into big pieces and took a bite as it is.

The crispy sound was heard, and a smile formed on his face.

“Oh… this is really good.”

My brother dipped the tonkatsu in sauce and placed it next to him before eating, as the best part about tonkatsu is its crispiness, which I also acknowledge.

“How is it? Delicious, right!”

“Yeah, it’s really delicious.”

This brother really loves tonkatsu.

When I first started living with my brother-in-law, there wasn’t much time, so I had to settle for frozen tonkatsu, but it was tear-inducing.

How difficult must it have been…

It’s all because of my sister.

Not only does she not clean, do laundry, or wash dishes, but she spends all the money my brother earns on luxury goods, behaving like a crazy woman who doesn’t do any housework despite being a housewife.

And then she cheats with other men and disappears.

It’s been three months.

Since I lived with my brother.

It’s only been six months.

Since my sister married my brother and lived together.

During those six months, my brother went through such a hard time that even his good looks faded momentarily.

“Hmm? Aren’t you eating, Jiyu?”

“Oh. I am. Just reminded of the old days.”

“The old days?”

“You know, back then. When you didn’t have abs and your face was skinny.”

The old memories I wanted to look back on for a moment were getting deeper like a swamp, and I couldn’t escape, so even smaller memories started coming to mind inside Matryoshka.

It was a year ago.

“……”

“Ha. Why are you here?”

My sister came back home.

Found… would be the right word.

Even as we were eating dinner, both my brother and father had quite surprised expressions.

Yet my sister crawled into the house.

For several years, we didn’t know anything about her, no calls or messages. But we lived forgetting.

Although we said we forgot, just like finding an impossible matryoshka in South Korea, our relationship with my sister was at its worst, so the house without her was actually more comfortable.

She acted as if she truly didn’t exist and continued that atmosphere.

“I’m getting married.”

“…What?”

What the hell?

Marriage?

The words that couldn’t possibly come out of that mop-like sister’s mouth slipped out.

I had only heard the words “mop’s sister” all throughout school, but who on earth would this mop be marrying?

Even though she had dyed her blonde hair back to black, the traces that hadn’t disappeared were plainly visible everywhere.

Embarrassed, she hid her arms with long sleeves, but the tattoo visible at her wrist remained, and amidst the overpowering sweet yet dizzying perfume smell, there was a hint of cigarette smoke.

No matter how much you wash or disinfect a mop, even if it gets holes and needs mending, in the end, a mop is still a mop.

“Ha… So.”

“Just give me the marriage funds.”

And her foolishness remained unchanged.

“Ha. Haha… What the hell? Are you crazy?”

My brother Jihyeok slammed his spoon down and cursed, something he rarely did next to our father.

“Shut up. I wasn’t talking to you.”

“……”

Asking for money wasn’t something my brother Jihyeok said. Obviously, it wasn’t me either.

Father quietly scooped some soup and drank it down in one gulp.

He slightly nodded his head.

It was a sign that it tasted good.

Is my miso soup going to waste in this situation?

I made it well but…

“Is that all you have to say?”

“I clearly heard you. You said Mom left some money for me. She hid it. I want that.”

Grrr—

The metal chair made a loud noise as it scraped against the floor. Father stood up.

After glancing at my sister for a moment, he went straight into the room.

“…Crazy woman.”

“I said shut up.”

Could the statement about getting married be a lie? Is there really someone out there who matches her, unlike those kinds of people?

My brother Jihyeok threw away the leftovers into the trash bag and left the dishes in the water before entering his room.

Then father returned. In his hand, he held a passbook worn by time, faded in color, with creases almost dying off.

“Take it. Don’t ever come back.”

Though my sister seemed to try to snatch the passbook away, Father’s strong hand didn’t even flinch.

“I get it. I understand. Let go!”

“You clearly said you understood.”

“Ha. I really didn’t want to come. Let go!”

Only then did Father release his grip, and the passbook in my sister’s hand went smoothly into the luxury bag.

Father probably hates it to death and treasures money.

But I don’t recall Mother working.

Naturally, the source of the money is Father.

As if saying her business here was done, my sister left without even saying goodbye.

She didn’t even say thank you.

It seemed to forcibly remind me that the existence of my sister was a reality.

This human trash was still trash until the end.

*

“Phew….”

Damn it.

I got annoyed for no reason.

The dishes were already done while lost in thought, clothes were all laid out in advance, and there wasn’t much laundry to do, so it felt a bit awkward to start the machine.

“Jiwoo.”

Again. There must be more household chores. Should I tidy up the dressing room after a long time, or should I take out autumn clothes in advance, or…

“Jiwoo!”

“Yes. Yes!”

“Are you feeling unwell? You’ve seemed a bit off since earlier…”

“Oh. I’m fine. I’m fine… There’s no problem.”

Where did I leave my mind?

Doesn’t the water purifier worry about me?

“Um… Is it because of what we talked about earlier?”

“…Honestly, that might be it. I brought it up, but I don’t know why I felt gloomy…”

Just thinking about my sister puts me in a bad mood.

I got hurt by words casually spoken.

When my sister comes around, chaos ensues in the house; how can anyone like that?

Even when walking to school, if a stranger comes up and talks about random things—clean handwriting, a bit messy, leaving a wallet behind—it’s usually my sister.

Why is he telling me such things when I’m not interested?

Whether he wants to brag, vent, or annoy someone, whether he hits or misses, leaves something behind, what does it have to do with me?

I had a tough school life because of my darn family.

“Wanna… play a game together?”

“I have to go to work tomorrow. What game is it?”

“It’s okay. Our younger sibling is feeling down, just for a bit. If you go to the lounge and have some coffee in the morning, you can endure until lunch. Then you’ll be busy and won’t even feel sleepy.”

What kind of guy did I meet despite being kind-hearted and handsome?

He’s not gay, but he likes guys.

Even if it weren’t me, anyone else would definitely fall for him.

“Let’s play. Let’s~ Why~ I feel like taking the bus~”

“Ugh… Fine. Let’s do it.”

Though I didn’t want to say it, deep down, I was honestly grateful.

Of course, even he had flaws… He was really bad at games.

“Ugh.”

“Argh.”

“Oops.”

I could understand if he cursed, but he lost in the aiming battle due to picking and aiming oddly.

“Geez.”

The worst swear word he could come up with was “Geez,” “Damn,” “Darn,” just about that level.

He might become a characteristic of someone who loves books.

It was the first time he used such language in reality.

“Phew~ Feels refreshing.”

In the end, I caught everything and won the game.

“As expected, Jiwoo. You’re really good.”

“Aren’t you tired of dying all the time?”

He suggested playing the game first, and even though the chosen game was his favorite, he couldn’t play well.

Is the game fun when deaths outnumber kills?

“Um… My goal was to cheer Jiwoo up. You’re good at this game. I can also find satisfaction in that.”

“Hyung…!”

Behind my brother, it seemed as if there was a halo shining.

A person who couldn’t be found evil even as tiny as an eyelash.

Although I don’t believe in God, with this brother, I felt like I would go to heaven even if I died.

“Hehehe. Jiwoo, your reactions are really good.”

“If this kind of brother was really my brother, how nice would that be?”

“Really? Jihyuk seems nice too.”

Jihyuk hyung or whatever. Sometimes he comes over, gives pocket money, buys delicious things, and does the duties of an older brother, but this brother goes a bit overboard.

Even with sunglasses on, he had the level of light coming in.

“Yawn… I… I’m going to sleep now. I really can’t get up tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Right. Goodnight…”

“Good night.”

Turn off the computer.

Adjusting the bedtime slightly to lower the brightness, I lie down on the bed to melt away the fatigue.

Hyung fell asleep right away, clearly exhausted.

This is definitely pushing it, isn’t it?

“Sigh….”

I too yawned heavily, feeling my eyelids grow heavy.

I should work hard again tomorrow.