Chapter 36
"......"
"......"
Once things had settled down, the woman sat in front of me without saying a word.
Even though Hyuna was different from Hyunwoo in both height and appearance, it was strange how the atmosphere she gave off was somehow similar to his.
"I'm Lee Hyuna. I'm eighteen, and I'm Lee Hyunwoo's younger sister."
The woman started introducing herself without any prompting.
I was relieved to learn she wasn't Hyunwoo's girlfriend.
At least it seemed like any misunderstanding would be cleared up quickly once we talked.
I knew Hyunwoo had a younger sister, but I never imagined she would be such a wealthy-looking woman...
"Hello..."
Unable to think of any way to respond naturally to her introduction in the current atmosphere, I offered a formal greeting.
Hyuna nodded in response.
It felt awkward. Her violent, domineering behavior just moments ago had been so different from her appearance.
"Hey. You're scaring the kid. Are you going to take responsibility if she kills herself?"
And across from Hyuna...
That is, Hyunwoo, holding me tight in his arms as he watched her warily.
He grabbed my arm and waved it around as if he were playing with a doll.
His actions, eyes, and words seemed so mismatched that I couldn't tell whether he was serious or joking.
"Hyunwoo, I promised I wouldn't die anymore..."
"......"
Feeling as if he were bringing up how weak I'd been just a few days ago, I gave Hyunwoo a reproachful look. He stopped moving and firmly shut his mouth.
"Sorry. I was joking..."
So it was a joke. That was what that was.
I still couldn't understand Hyunwoo's thought process or what he meant by the things he said.
"Pfft..."
"...?"
For much the same reason, I couldn't understand why Hyuna suddenly burst out laughing at the sight of us, after being so serious a moment ago.
Even though we were clearly in the same world, they felt like beings cut off from it, subject to completely different rules...
With both siblings focused on me, I felt like a monkey in a zoo.
"Ahem... Anyway, who is that cute kid? You didn't kidnap her... right?"
Hyuna calmly returned to the point at hand.
Her first impression must have been completely ruined, but she casually sipped her water as if it were some expensive tea. It felt strange.
But what should I say?
If being his pet was out of the question... the only excuse I could think of was the versatile one that I was Hyunwoo's younger sister.
But the Hyuna right in front of me was actually related to Hyunwoo, so that wouldn't work.
I had no choice but to insist that I was something like a pet, then embellish the explanation a little so she would accept it...
"That's... mmph... mmmph..."
"We're friends."
Hyunwoo's palm lightly covered my mouth as I tried to answer.
It was frustrating that he had to take the long way around when I could have explained it simply.
"Bleh."
"Aaaagh...!"
In the end, I stuck out my tongue and wormed it between Hyunwoo's fingers to tickle him. He yelped in shock and pulled his hand away.
See? This is the most effective way. It's childish, so I don't use it much, but...
"Why did you cover my mouth? I was trying to explain..."
"You'd only make things worse. If that disaster of a mouth of yours gets me sent to prison, you won't have anywhere to go, either."
"Mmm..."
As far as I could tell, I still couldn't see what was wrong with the way I expressed myself...
"Isn't it a little shameless to insist you're friends...? That kid looks like she's in elementary school..."
Hyuna continued speaking, stealing glances at me.
...This is sad. Being treated like a little baby and then having people worry about hurting my feelings is pretty depressing.
But it's also sad that I can't deny reality, since I know what I look like.
I couldn't suddenly say, "Haha. I'm actually a 21-year-old man who woke up one day and turned into a woman!"
"This kid is actually a 21-year-old man who woke up one day and turned into a woman."
"...?"
The worst possible introduction I'd been imagining just came out of Hyunwoo's mouth.
He was revealing it like that, out of nowhere?
No... There's no way anyone would believe that.
"Oppa, I know it's been hard since you ran away with no money..."
Hyuna's gaze changed to one of genuine concern.
Her eyes no longer held the glare from before. They were filled with nothing but pity for Hyunwoo.
Maybe it wasn't my mouth that was going to ruin everything. Maybe it was Hyunwoo's.
"It's true. This is Minseo. Kim Minseo."
Hyunwoo proudly told her my name, then lifted my arm again to introduce me as if he were playing with a doll.
No, it's not like she'd know who I was just because you said my name...
"...That's a lie. This kid is Minseo Oppa...?"
"Yeah."
...?
How did she know? We'd never even met once in our lives.
"This cute kid?"
"Yeah."
"This adorable, lovable little doll that makes you want to protect her?"
"That's right."
"This tiny angel who's so irresistibly cute you want to hug her, pinch her cheeks, and raise her forever?!"
"You know it."
The praise that came spilling out was so embarrassing I wanted to hide.
For some reason, a nauseating feeling crept over me. She reminded me of Hyunwoo when he got weird.
Was that something they'd inherited as siblings, too...?
"I can't accept this...! How does this kid look anything like Minseo Oppa?"
Hyuna seemed stunned for a moment, then did her best to deny it.
No... How did you even know what I looked like in the first place?
I'd never even taken a single selfie, so there shouldn't be any pictures of me at all...
Just listening to Hyuna, you'd think we'd been close for ages.
"Minseo. You're Kim Minseo, right?"
"...Yeah."
The conversation had gradually turned toward revealing and proving my identity, so I simply nodded.
Honestly, I had no idea how else to explain my relationship with them.
"Then... what color underwear does Minseo Oppa wear most often? If you're really him, answer that!"
"...Pardon?"
"If you're really Minseo Oppa, you should know! Which do you wear most often: black, gray, or blue?"
"B-Black..."
A ridiculous question that seemed a lot more like sexual harassment than proof came out of nowhere, but...
Under pressure from Hyuna, I ended up answering anyway.
At this point, it felt less like she was trying to prove who I was and more like she was sexually harassing me...
"...Why was that right? Is this really Minseo Oppa...?"
Hyuna didn't seem to be joking. She genuinely looked like she believed me.
Though the biggest mystery was how she'd known that in the first place...
Anyway, I'd proved it, so maybe things had worked out?
"So why did you suddenly show up at our house?"
As the two of us stared at each other in a daze, Hyunwoo spoke up and returned to the point at hand.
"Oh, about that, Oppa..."
Hyuna hesitated for a moment.
Then she cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and spoke as if she were about to make an important request.
"Umm...! Could you let me stay here for just a week, Oppa?♡"
"Don't put on that cutesy voice. It's not cute at all anymore."
"Come on, I'm your only little sister! You can't even do this much for me? Why are you so stingy?"
That seemed to be Hyuna's secret weapon. She tried to act cute by raising her voice at the end, but Hyunwoo was so cold he could've been called indifferent...
He rejected her without a moment's hesitation, insulting her as he made his refusal clear.
"H-Hyunwoo. Still, shouldn't you hear her out...?"
"No."
He was firm. So firm I wondered if he really needed to make his position known that strongly.
I thought it was a little harsh, even if she was his younger sister, but...
"Do you have any idea what could happen if you and her were in the same house?"
Hyunwoo's explanation immediately made me understand a little.
He had a point... Even though Hyuna was Hyunwoo's sister, she was still a complete stranger to me.
Even if I'd turned into this, the fact that I was an adult man hadn't changed.
For Hyuna, too, living together could easily become an extremely uncomfortable situation.
"Minseo Oppa's someone I can trust, so it'll be fine! Just one week... okay?"
Even so, Hyuna seemed desperate for somewhere to sleep right now.
That probably didn't mean she wasn't conscious of me...
There must have been some unavoidable reason...
"What are you talking about? I'm saying no because I'm worried you'll do something weird to Minseo."
"Huh...?"
It was the other way around?
"No...! What would I do to soft, squishy Minseo Oppa after he turned into a girl...?"
Wasn't Hyunwoo being a little too harsh in his assumptions?
I couldn't understand why he was so adamantly refusing to let his own little sister stay.
"Then can you promise not to touch Minseo at all?"
"Well, I mean... if we live together, our bodies might touch sometimes. That's unavoidable..."
"Can you promise?"
"......"
What? Why wasn't she answering?
Hyuna turned her eyes elsewhere, pretending to be distracted.
I couldn't understand why she was acting in a way that would make people misunderstand her.
Like a thief caught red-handed...
"H-Honestly, he's cute! You're hugging him right now, too! Since he's a girl now, isn't it safe?"
"You ignorant little sister. Usually, just thinking that makes it not safe."
"Minseo Oppa...! Unlike Lee Hyunwoo, I have lots of money and can buy you all kinds of clothes. Wouldn't it be better to stay with me...?"
The way she said it was so fanatical that I was a little... overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
Scary...
"No..."
Thinking she might eat me alive, I burrowed into Hyunwoo's arms again.
"Minseo says she doesn't like you."
"No way..."
Hyuna looked at me as if her whole world had collapsed.
I felt a little sorry for her, but I couldn't exactly overturn the decision Hyunwoo, the owner of the house, had already made.
"Wait! What about you, Oppa?! You were about to pounce on Minseo Oppa! Can you promise not to touch him?"
"......"
When Hyuna counterattacked with the exact same question, Hyunwoo turned his eyes away, too.
...Why aren't you denying it?
"Ha... Just for a week."
And why are you suddenly agreeing to that, too?