My Feisty Sisters Are Coming After Me

Chapter 26

—–CROW—– 

I placed my hand on Geum-bi Noona’s shoulder.

It was such a light touch, like a butterfly landing, that it could hardly be called touching or even brushing.

“…What are you doing?”

“…”

Geum-bi Noona lowered the pillow so that only her eyes were visible and asked me.

But I didn’t say anything, just quietly met her gaze in the light of the stand lamp.

Her voice was sharp, but there was no irritation in her eyes.

They were like the eyes of a child in the dark, trembling with anxiety. My face was clearly reflected in her pupils.

“You’re not strange, Noona.”

“…Then? Who is?”

“Well. What’s certain is that neither of us did anything wrong.”

Instead of refuting Geum-bi Noona’s words, I chose to comfort her gently.

It was a thought that came after much deliberation.  No matter how much I thought about it, none of us were bad people.

“You worrying about Su-jeong Noona and me, me encouraging you, none of that was wrong, was it?”

“…But what about yesterday? Can that be called worry or encouragement?”

“I don’t know for sure. But there’s nowhere we can get an objective evaluation of this kind of thing, is there?”

“Of course… that’s true.”

“Then let’s just talk about what we, the people involved, think.”

“What we think?  You and me, Ji-gu?”

“Yes. At least at that time, we didn’t think it was a problem, and I still think that way. Isn’t that enough? Our intentions were pure, and the result wasn’t bad, either.”

Only the process was a bit messy.

The atmosphere, worry, desire, getting caught up in the moment, and so on… many factors mixed together and led to that, and therefore, I understood Geum-bi Noona’s complicated feelings.

‘It wasn’t something siblings should do, anyway.  Whether we’re blood-related or not.’

But she couldn’t keep herself locked in worry forever.

More than anything, it was Geum-bi Noona who said let’s end it with yesterday, so I hugged her to return those words to her.

“Ugh?!”

“I told you earlier, on the street, that I wasn’t completely fine either.  You weren’t the only one struggling with this.”

“B-But… and yet you’re still going to keep sleeping with Su-jeong Unnie…!”

“That and this are separate issues.  Wouldn’t it be more honest of us to not dwell on the past?”

“…The way you’re talking, Ji-gu, makes it seem like I’m the only one who’s been worrying about this. You’re too nonchalant.”

“We promised it was just for one day, right? Because Geum-bi Noona said that, I was able to calm my complicated feelings.”

Right now, it might be awkward, embarrassing, and unsettling to face each other,

But as time passed, this too would become just another embarrassing memory we’d want to forget.

‘We’ll probably be drinking beer at the convenience store again and using this as a conversation starter.  Knowing Geum-bi Noona, she’ll shift the blame onto me and tease me about how much of a jerk I was.’

Then I’d have to bring up what happened today and counterattack.

Smiling at the thought of having a good weapon, I felt Geum-bi Noona’s arm stroking my back.

“Tsk, idiot. Because of you, I was so distraught until I got home.”

“Hey, I was the same! If I hadn’t run into you on the street, we would still be awkward.”

“At that time… I was really flustered. I didn’t expect to run into you on the street, and I couldn’t talk about it loudly outside.”

“And yet you were smiling and laughing at the end?”

“That’s because things worked out somehow after we talked… Anyway! Now that it’s okay, let go. I’m the older sister, don’t be so impertinent, tsk.”

Going in circles and returning to square one seemed to be our family’s tradition.

Geum-bi Noona and I arrived at a conclusion that wasn’t much different from before, but our faces, looking at each other, were much more relaxed.

“So, you and me, Ji-gu. We’re back to normal now?”

“Says who. I wasn’t even thinking about receiving that kind of strange help in the first place.”

“Oh my, you came just fine in your pants yesterday, and now you’re saying this?”

“Ugh?!  Noona, are you the same person who was so embarrassed earlier?  Are you teasing me?”

“Heheh, I was just spacing out for a bit, this is how I usually am. Well, if you need it again, just tell me.  I might help you if I feel like it.”

“I think that kind of comment is quite inappropriate right now.  We just neatly closed the lid on this matter.”

We were just talking, this kind of thing shouldn’t actually happen again.

I tidied my clothes as if to make sure the closed lid wouldn’t open again.

“Haa, seriously. You, Ji-gu, and Su-jeong Unnie, everyone’s having a hard time in their own way, so why do I keep prioritizing my own feelings?”

“Sudden self-reflection? It’s good that you realize it now, huh.”

“Are you teasing me again? Hmph… But thank you.  It must have been complicated for you too, but you helped me a lot.”

“Stop complimenting me.  It doesn’t suit you, Noona.”

“Do you want to die?”

“Heheh. …But Su-jeong Noona is taking a long time to dry her hair.  Is there something else she’s doing?”

“She’s probably applying toner, lotion, and doing her nighttime routine.  And sorting out her thoughts and calming herself down.”

“Hmm~ How was it when you bathed together earlier?  Did Su-jeong Unnie seem okay?”

“You’re worried about Unnie right after talking about me? Don’t act like an adult, you’re just a younger brother…”

She was already an adult by age.  She probably meant I shouldn’t act like I was older than her.

Geum-bi Noona grumbled and stared at the slightly open door.

“Unnie and I… had a bit of a moment today, didn’t we?”

“A huge moment. I seriously thought you were going to fight again.”

“Whose fault is that?  Mr. Culprit is talking too much.”

“Anyway, so?”

“We kind of made up on the way home… but we really resolved things in the bath.”

“Hmm, so that’s why you were in there for so long.”

“And then… Unnie, she cried a little at the end.”

“Huh? What?  Su-jeong Noona?!”

I was listening calmly, but I was startled by the unexpected news.

But as if telling me to calm down, Geum-bi Noona waved her hand, hugging her pillow and continuing.

“Not like bawling, but just a little.  Just a few tears.”

“Still… why would Su-jeong Noona cry?”

“She must have been having a hard time too. She fought with me often after Mom told us the news, and she acted spoiled with you, her younger brother. …And in the end, we still don’t know who was adopted.”

The last comment seemed to be a concern for Geum-bi Noona as well, not just Su-jeong Noona.

The pillow she was hugging crumpled as if it would break, and Geum-bi Noona shifted her gaze to the bedsheets and mumbled softly.

“It’s scary. What if it’s really me, what if it’s another sibling.  It’s a burdensome position either way.”

It was a monologue, as if she understood or was trying to understand Su-jeong Noona’s feelings.

I realized something and sat down at the edge of the bed, looking at Geum-bi Noona.

“Is that… why you agreed to sleep together tonight?  Because you were worried about Su-jeong Noona?”

“If it weren’t for that, I would have been completely against this weird setup. Do you know how much I agonized over it?”

That was right.

Unlike Su-jeong Noona, who readily accepted my suggestion to stop the fight, Geum-bi Noona had carefully considered it until the very end.

The reason she finally changed her mind was because she cared more about Su-jeong Noona than herself.

‘Such a foolish Noona. Fighting because she was worried about Su-jeong Noona, backing down because she was worried about Su-jeong Noona.  Geum-bi Noona is the biggest fool in our house.’

I felt like I could never be like that.

Impressed by her, I unconsciously reached out and stroked her hair.

“…Idiot, what are you doing?”

Geum-bi Noona pouted and looked at me, lowering her pillow.

But now, there was no trace of anxiety in her eyes, making my time spent by her side worthwhile.

“You’re getting bolder these days, Ji-gu. Your skinship is getting more daring too.  I won’t let you off easy if you cross the line.”

“Yes~ I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Just saying that again?  I should really put a leash on that mouth of yours sometime.”

“How?  What kind of leash would you use on this?”

“How, what.  The way to leash lips is obviously… uh?”

Geum-bi Noona, acting even more sharply as if to hide her embarrassment, was fun to tease.

I fully enjoyed teasing her and closed the distance between us.

…It was definitely a playful act.

Was it because it was dark and I lost my sense of distance?  I ended up closer than I intended.

“You, you’re too close… what are you doing?”

“No, well, I’m still a little drunk.  I couldn’t control my strength.”

“Idiot.  Did you drink the hangover cure for show?  You bought it with your own money.”

“W-Well, yeah. Anyway, sorry, I’ll move back.”

“…It’s fine.  You’re going to get in bed anyway, why bother moving.  Just stay there, I’m too lazy.”

“Huh? Ah… mm.”

As I was about to get up, embarrassed, Geum-bi Noona’s hand grabbed my sleeve.

She didn’t pull me, just held onto me as if telling me not to go… but perhaps I really was still drunk, as my body swayed about a centimeter closer to her.

“…Unnie is really taking a long time.”

“…Women have a lot to do.”

This time, Geum-bi Noona checked on Su-jeong Noona, but we couldn’t see inside the dressing room through the small gap in the door.

Since the hairdryer had stopped, I figured she’d be back soon after applying lotion or whatever.

“…”

“…”

Being this close on the bed, I couldn’t help but think of yesterday, even though I didn’t want to.

Perhaps because we had been talking about that kind of thing, I closed my legs, praying that nothing unnecessary would happen.

“Ji-gu.”

“Yes?”

“Come to think of it… I heard something while bathing with Unnie.”

“What?”

“You kissed Su-jeong Unnie, didn’t you?”

“Huh?  Wh-What?!”

I was trying so hard to control myself, but a surprise attack came out of nowhere.

As I turned my head in surprise, Geum-bi Noona’s face was so close that our noses would touch if I lowered my head.

Despite that, Geum-bi Noona was looking at me without any space between us.

“Ah, of course, on the forehead… Anyway, it just came up in conversation.”

“You two talked about everything in the bathroom, huh.”

“We had… a lot of time.”

“Mm, that’s true.”

“…Ah, uh.”

“…Ahem.”

Every time we spoke, our voices echoed in front of each other, and Geum-bi Noona’s lips trembled as she tried to say something.

I cleared my throat to break the silence, and finally, her lips uttered a small request.

“You said it was a ‘test,’ right? To see if there were any feelings between siblings.”

“Mm, Geum-bi Noona did something similar to me, didn’t you?”

“Was there… no problem with Unnie?”

“Of course… not. It would be a real problem if there was.”

“Then… what about with me?”

“Huh?”

“Unnie said it was okay, but I’m going to sleep together with you tonight too, right?  Shouldn’t we… test this side too?”

As she said that, Geum-bi Noona gently closed her eyes.

As if she had said all she wanted to say, as if it was my turn now, she clasped her hands demurely.

‘No way, right?  But since that kind of thing happened just yesterday, she might be feeling uneasy….’

Perhaps because we had just showered, the air was filled with the scent of body wash and shampoo.

If it were the smell of alcohol, I would have snapped out of it, but the relaxing scent made me close my eyes as well.

“Huh?  Huh?!”

“…*Kiss*.  Is that enough?”

I kissed Geum-bi Noona.

For about two seconds.  It was such a brief moment that it was hard to even count.

Our lips touched for a fleeting moment and then parted.

‘…Huh?  Did I kiss Su-jeong Noona on the lips too?’

As I opened my eyes, a hazy memory suddenly returned.

At the same time, Geum-bi Noona’s face came into view right in front of me, her face flushed, mouth open, speechless and stammering.

“No, ah, uh.  Who said… to kiss me on the lips…?”

“Ah…! Sorry, Noona. I didn’t mean to, it just happened…”

“Whew~ That took a while. I went to order delivery because we were out of side dishes… Huh? What are you two doing?”

As I was about to kneel and apologize, Su-jeong Noona returned.

Thinking that further explanation would only lead to complicated misunderstandings, we made eye contact and agreed to keep quiet about what just happened.

“Ah, it’s nothing, Unnie.  Good work showering.”

“Mm. So, how should we sleep?  Should the Noonass sleep on the inside?”

“Hmm~ No, Ji-gu, you come to the middle. You’re the owner of the room, so you shouldn’t have to worry about falling off the bed.”

“Sh-Should I? Then I won’t refuse… Huu.”

I lay down in the middle of the bed, Su-jeong Noona on my right and Geum-bi Noona on my left.

Su-jeong Noona, who had experience sleeping in my room, comfortably stretched out her legs,

But Geum-bi Noona turned her back to me, curled up like a shrimp, and wrapped herself in the blanket.

‘Maybe that’s more comfortable for her… Haa.  Why did you do that, idiot?’

We had just managed to resolve the awkwardness, but it felt like a similar situation would repeat itself tomorrow morning.

I silently shook my head and closed my eyes, praying that I wouldn’t have any bad dreams.

Keeping my legs together below my waist and clutching the blanket tightly,

I calmed myself down, determined not to get aroused… If I got caught, Geum-bi Noona might stab me instead of helping me.

Despite that, something kept throbbing along with my pounding heart, refusing to calm down.

Contrary to my hopes, my dreams were incredibly restless.

Su-jeong Noona’s hand brushed against my stomach as she tossed and turned in her sleep,

And Geum-bi Noona’s wriggling hips brushed against my thigh.

The three of us, slightly drunk, spent our first night together drifting off into dreams as turbulent as reality.

—–CROW—–