episode_0087

After giving up on Siwoo, I wondered if she wanted to see my face.

“Hello. Unni.”

Since there was no explicit request for me not to come, I went to the professor’s house as usual, only to be surprised to find Baek Cheongha waiting for me in the living room.

“Oh. Hello.”

It felt strangely difficult to face Baek Cheongha now that I had decided to avoid her. I thought I would be the one to avoid her first, but I never expected her to be so proactive in initiating a conversation.

Despite the conversation starting, I didn’t turn my head towards Baek Cheongha. I just kept staring at the TV in front of me.

I wondered if she wanted me to sit across from her, so I moved, but her head turned in the opposite direction as I did.

Why is she acting like this?

“Do you hate me that much? Well, I guess I am hateable…”

Even though Baek Cheongha was like a stubborn gorilla, she was also a precious younger sister I had grown up with.

Even though we weren’t born to the same parents, we had relied on and cared for each other under the busy professor couple’s care.

So when I saw her completely dejected like this, I couldn’t help but worry.

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then why are you turning your head like that?”

Her neck twisted like a ghost from a horror movie. Feeling uneasy, I approached Baek Cheongha and quickly met her gaze—

“Ugh.”

I was startled when I saw her swollen face and quickly retreated to the opposite seat.

Did she cry all night? How else could a person change so drastically?

When I didn’t react much to her face, Baek Cheongha let out a long sigh and slowly spoke.

“I just wanted to talk today. You don’t have to tutor me anymore.”

“… Huh? Really?”

“Yes. I’m going to learn from Dad now. He said it’s okay.”

Even though the professor wasn’t neglectful enough to refuse his daughter’s request, I didn’t see any problem with quitting tutoring.

“Okay. Well… I have some free time, so it’s fine.”

“Do you know why I accepted your tutoring?”

“I don’t know…?”

“Mom told me. Siwoo likes your piano playing. So I thought I could steal your attention by playing the piano.”

I already knew that.

“But before I could try anything, it turned out like this. Well, if I could have won over Siwoo’s heart with piano playing, there would have been plenty of time to fix it while living together.”

Even though I thought I would say something like, “After we break up, Siwoo will be mine!” even if I lost in our love war.

The kid suddenly became an adult. No, she became a master beyond an adult.

“So now I’ll just keep the piano as a hobby. It wasn’t fun anyway.”

Upon hearing that, I unintentionally muttered like Jungsioo, “It wasn’t fun?”

“Honestly, I started playing the piano because I wanted to see Siwoo often. I never thought I would be good at it like this.”

I should be thankful to the professor who passed on good genes, right? I almost unintentionally lectured.

I need to calm down. I’m only 15 years old, and I don’t have to become a pianist just because I have talent in piano playing.

Geniuses are chosen, but careers shouldn’t be chosen solely based on talent.

“Honestly, I wanted to be an actress more than a pianist.”

“An actress…”

I found myself sympathizing with Baek Cheongha’s story to some extent.

She couldn’t hide her true feelings, and so she knew how to express rich emotions.

Of course, I couldn’t just wish for Baek Cheongha’s success when all I could see were her resentful, unjust, and angry sides.

“Can you show me a bit of your acting?”

“Why do you want to see that? I haven’t even shown Siwoo yet.”

“Still. I’m curious.”

Anyway, if I marry Siwoo, I’ll become my brother-in-law’s wife. We’re not blood-related siblings, but since I consider her my younger sister, that’s how it is.

Why did I just start thinking about our future after getting married? Min Chaewon, is that you again?

“Hah. Yeah. It doesn’t seem like the two of them will easily break up. My brother will probably come to introduce you to me. You’ll see it eventually anyway, so might as well show it to you now.”

As expected of Baek Cheongha. She knows Siwoo so well.

“Hmm.”

Baek Cheongha, with a voice I’ve never heard before, surprised me.

“Sister, are you having some kind of misunderstanding?”

“Uh… uh?”

“Did you think I would give up like this? No way. I will never give up on our brother. I will follow him to the ends of the earth. I’ll annoy you until you give up. You underestimated me too easily.”

Lines that seemed like they came from a drama poured out. She said she watches dramas when she’s bored, and it seems like it was true.

… But more than that, saying those lines with a puffy face, no matter how perfect her acting is, is a bit off-putting.

“Pfft.”

“Why are you laughing?!”

“It’s just… your face… it’s funny… heh.”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Baek Cheongha ran over and hit my shoulder with her palm.

“Ah, ow.”

“Don’t laugh! It’s all because of you!!”

After a while of sulking, Baek Cheongha stopped the light violence as my shoulder started to ache and went back to her seat.

“Haah. Since I showed you, don’t make me do anything else.”

Looking at Baek Cheongha, who was pouting with her lips pursed, I felt guilty for doing something quite harsh.

I shouldn’t say this, but I’m too kind. I’m not happy that the one who tormented me is leaving; instead, I feel sorry for her.

“Okay. But you’re really good at acting.”

“… Hmph. Really? You admit it too?”

“Yeah. I hope everything works out well.”

Blushing, Baek Cheongha slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

“Now that we’re done talking, go back.”

“No. I want to eat first.”

“Why is our mother so lenient? Let’s go!!”

“Baek Cheongha.”

With a sound effect as if she were appearing sneakily, our mother showed up. If the background music had been set properly, it could have been the entrance of the final boss, it was so natural.

“Surprise… don’t sneak up on me like that, Mom….”

“Why are you just leaving the guest like that? What kind of manners is that?”

“What guest… ack!”

A strong pinch knocked Baek Cheongha down.

Leaving Baek Cheongha sulking on the couch, our mother came over to me with a gentle smile.

“Let’s eat before you go. It’s such a hassle because of that brat’s whims.”

“Yi-yi-yikes.”

I ran to Baek Cheongha and massaged her back with a soft stick.

“Mom’s mean. Really mean.”

“Don’t act like a child in front of the teacher.”

“Waaaaah.”

Her eyes were swollen, and her cheeks were puffed up like a pufferfish.

She’s a cute kid. If she had acted like a little sister, I would have pampered her for life. But no matter how much she acted like a gorilla, it was all just misguided affection.

“Do our parents oppose your acting?”

Muttering, I followed our mother to the kitchen and back to the living room where Baek Cheongha arrogantly lay down on the couch.

“They don’t oppose it. In fact, they said it was a good idea.”

“A good idea?”

“Yes. They didn’t want to create another person obsessed with music like our brother.”

“They said it was a good idea?”

“Yes. They didn’t want to create another person obsessed with music like our brother.”

Well, the professor would probably say something like that. But I never expected the same from my mother.

“My mom’s childhood dream was to become an actress. But at that time, my mom’s family situation wasn’t that great. So she gave up on her dream and became a university professor, as her parents wished.”

However, she couldn’t give up on art completely, so she would often visit the music department or attend concerts after entering university.

Meeting the professor and getting married was also said to be a fateful encounter.

Well, if my mom had pursued a career in entertainment, I think she would have been very successful. Even now, she is famous for her beauty at the university where she works.

“She told me to do well in whatever I pursue. She said that if I work hard, I will succeed.”

Indeed, my parents are always supportive.

Since my parents passed away when I was young, I only heard about them from the professor, but…

“I don’t really know, but I think your parents would have done this… while taking care of the house and you.”

“They were really good people…”

Listening to their stories, it seems that the professor’s couple wasn’t that different from my parents. They always apologized for not treating me well, but I think they did a great job just by raising me this way.

“So, about the audition? When are you going to see it?”

Even when Song Sung-hyuk won the competition, we weren’t close friends, but I felt proud for no reason.

It must be very rewarding to become a famous actor and receive love from fans, rather than holding onto a boring piano.

This young soul, who wasted his life being obsessed with Jung Si-woo, seems to have grown up splendidly.

“Let’s go see it next week.”

“So soon?”

Baek Cheong-ha confidently handed me a business card. It was definitely the same card I saw at the cafe while waiting for Si-woo yesterday.

“You know, I was scouted on the street before, unlike you, who is so confident and firm!”

I chuckled and pulled out a business card from my wallet.

“This person approached me too, you know?”

Baek Cheong-ha’s fierce gaze hit me like a flurry of punches.

“What do you mean by that! What do you mean!”

“Oh, um, nothing.”