Chapter 16
I've gotten myself into a pretty difficult situation.
Of everything that's happened to me this year, this ranks among the five most awkward.
“No... Manager? Just hear me out fi—”
“Hyunjun.”
The manager places a hand on my shoulder with a serious expression and pats it, pat, pat—
“A man takes responsibility.”
“What?”
“For the baby.”
In the blink of an eye, I'd become some lunatic who got his older sister pregnant.
And my sister, standing beside me,
“……”
is just gripping my arm tightly, desperately trying to hold back her laughter.
No, say something, anything.
Is this funny? I-I right now...!
“Still, congratulations on getting married.”
“Th-thank you.”
How did I end up being framed with such an absurd accusation?
…Should I quit my part-time job?
***
Our outing had been peaceful.
There had been no problems, just an ordinary outing between siblings and an ordinary day.
The fact that we were holding hands and occasionally calling each other “honey” as part of our little married-couple act wasn't particularly important.
“You brought the medicine you'll need at lunchtime, right?”
“Mm-hmm. I brought both my before-meal and after-meal medicine.”
“From now on, just in case, bring your evening medicine whenever you go out, too.”
There hadn't been a single problem from breakfast until we arrived at the department store.
If anything was slightly concerning, it was that she'd only brought the medicine she'd need at lunchtime.
But we'd be home before dinner, so it should be fine.
“Let's buy a planner... and some books, too.”
“Books? What kind?”
“You'd get bored staying home all day. What do you do after I leave for work?”
“Sleep.”
“And when you wake up?”
“Eat lunch?”
“And then?”
“Sleep.”
I'd heard that giving someone who'd worked hard all their life an unexpected vacation could leave them more confused than anything.
But there are always exceptions. Like my sister right here.
Confused? Not at all. She's thoroughly enjoying the life of an unemployed person at her leisure.
Enough to make me restless just watching her.
“Let's buy a few books.”
“Then... one cookbook, and, oh! How about a travel guide?”
“Travel? To live vicariously?”
“No~ To go someday! Hmm... how about Japan? I've always wanted to visit Japan.”
What kind of talk is that? Traveling?
What if she needs to go to the hospital in a foreign country where she can't even communicate, when walking for five minutes is dangerous for her?
“...I'll think about it.”
“Really? Then our honeymoon will be in Japan?”
I'd decided to do as much as I could for her...
If her condition doesn't get any worse, maybe it's possible.
I can look into the precautions later.
“Picked everything out? Let's go pay.”
“Okaaay~”
Now that we'd picked out books for her to read at home, it was time to pay.
I sometimes felt this when I watched my sister walking quietly beside me and answering obediently... at times, she seemed like a younger sister.
Especially when she spoke politely like this.
“By the way, do siblings usually speak politely to each other?”
“Who knows? Maybe if there's a big age gap?”
“What about married couples?”
“Hmmmm... Try it once. Look at me while you do!”
She wanted me to speak politely?
Uh... the words weren't coming as easily as I thought.
All I had to do was change the ending a little, but it felt kind of awkward.
Unable to meet her eyes, I lowered my head slightly and barely managed to get one sentence out.
“B-books... give them to me.”
As I took the books from my sister, I murmured a few words.
This was harder than I expected. A lot harder.
But judging by my sister's broad smile, she seemed to like it.
That's a relief.
“And? Anything else?”
“No. Just talk the way you usually do.”
“Aw, whyyy~ Just for one day! Do it for me just today!”
“One day?”
“Mm-hm. Should I do it too? Speak politely.”
“...Do as you please.”
She said she liked hearing it.
So I had no choice. What else could I do...
What did it matter if my face was burning?
“Yeees~ Then hurry! Let's pay and go eat.”
“Don't run... please.”
“Why? Are you worried about me?”
“...Yes.”
“Pff, pfft...”
My sister was the first to burst out laughing.
And the moment I saw her laugh, I found myself laughing along.
For the first time in a while, I laughed purely, without a care in the world.
***
We finished what we came to do at the bookstore in the basement, then went up to the third floor, where the shop I worked at was.
We got off the elevator and walked together toward the shop.
“I'm excited!”
“You said you'd speak politely.”
“R-right... I mean, yes.”
Is this what they call that heart-fluttering half-polite speech?
I don't know if it's heart-fluttering, but it's definitely half-polite.
“And it's just an ordinary burger place, so don't get your hopes up.”
“Why? I'm not allowed to be excited?”
“The more you expect, the more disappointed you'll be.”
“It's okay! I won't be disappointed.”
This conversation wasn't all that different from the ones I usually had with my sister.
It was just that speaking politely to each other made it terribly awkward.
I kept feeling like I might start laughing for no reason; it was awkward and a little embarrassing.
Curious what she thought, I asked.
“Isn't it awkward for you, honey? This... speaking politely.”
“I like it, though. Besides, you were the one who started, honey.”
“I was?”
“Yes! At the wedding, when we had our wedding—”
Thud—
Suddenly, a loud noise rang out behind us, cutting off my sister.
Startled, both of us turned around at the same time, and...
“...Wedding?”
“M-Manager?”
“You... you got married?”
The manager stood there with a box of ingredients dropped on the floor, looking as if he'd just been hit in the back of the head.
He stared blankly at me, then my sister, then back at me.
Of all times, he'd apparently overheard us while we were talking about the wedding.
What... should I do?
“Well, um... it just sort of happened...”
“You just sort of ended up getting married...?”
“It w-wasn't planned, so it happened kind of suddenly... yes. We suddenly got married...”
I had no intention of introducing my sister as my wife.
Explaining the circumstances here would be way too complicated.
No, to begin with, I wasn't even sure he'd understand how my sister and I ended up married.
For now, I had to make up some excuse and get past this.
“You suddenly got married even though you hadn't planned to.”
“Uh... yes.”
“Don't tell me...?”
Uhh... w-wait a second.
That's not it. It's not what you're thinking at all, Manager.
Here, it'd be better if my sister, the person involved, explained instead of me.
Even in the middle of all this, I gave her hand, which I was holding tight, a little shake to signal her.
“Ah! Um... to clear up the misunderstanding...”
Right. Tell him that's not what happened.
I'll handle the aftermath, so just say we suddenly got married, that's all.
“...I was the one who suggested it!”
“What?”
“...?”
Sis...?
Well, it was true that she was the one who asked me to marry her.
But if you ended the sentence like that...
“Hyunjun.”
“M-Manager. Just hear me out fi—”
“A man takes responsibility.”
“What?”
“For the baby.”
Should I just tell him the truth instead?
My sister has a terminal illness... and she wanted to get married before she died...
...No. That's boring. Too much of a sob story.
It'd be much simpler to just be a no-good guy who got married in a reckless shotgun wedding... right?
“Still, congratulations on getting married.”
“...Thank you.”
“You came to eat together, right?”
“Yes.”
“All right. Take your time. I'll head back first.”
The manager picked up the fallen box of ingredients and strode back toward the shop.
A brief awkward silence fell between me and my sister...
“Pff, pfft... he said take responsibility...”
“You think it's funny?”
“Y-you're supposed to speak politely, honey... Ah, that's so funny...”
“Is it funny?”
“Yeees. Hilarious.”
Right... my part-time job would just change a little from now on.
Until a few days ago, I'd been a lifelong single who'd never dated, but today, I'm a married man.
No? I'm a dad. At least at this shop.
I open the shop door, let my sister in first, then follow her inside.
“Sit over here.”
“Yeees, honey~”
“...Could you say that a little more quietly?”
“What was that, honey~?”
I sit across from my sister and naturally take her hand across the table.
This is bad.
My sister is really enjoying this situation...
Was “making a scene at my husband's workplace” on her list of things she wanted to do after getting married?
Just as I was about to pick up the menu, which was so familiar to me, and explain it to my sister,
Jiwoo, who'd come in for her part-time shift today, approaches us.
“Are you ready to order?”
“Kim Jiwoo, you...”
“Oh, all the burgers here are safe for pregnant women, so please take your time choosing.”
“……”
It seemed the manager had spread the rumor in the meantime.
My sister, sitting across from me, didn't seem to mind at all that people were mistaking her for a pregnant woman.
If anything, she couldn't stop laughing as she watched me squirm.
“Ha... the manager's paying for this, right?”
“Probably?”
“Give us two of the most expensive items on the menu, as combos.”
“Order taken~”
This was the only revenge I could manage.
I'd probably get bombarded with questions when I came to work tomorrow, so I should enjoy today.
After Jiwoo took our order and walked away, I...
“...Take your medicine before the food comes, honey.”
“Yeees~”
I tear open the medicine packet I'd brought from home.
Still... at least no one suspected that my sister and I were siblings, right?
That's good, right?