Chapter 18
You should know how lucky you are.
What now…
What else would you call it when your pregnant wife even packs you lunch?
It's already been an hour since I got to work, and I've been hearing this nonstop.
Even worse, it wasn't just the manager saying it. Junwoo had joined in, too.
“Jiwoo was saying something about it, hyung. That your wife is really pretty…”
“W-wife?”
“Didn't you get married?”
What was this “wife” business now…
First “honey,” and now “wife”?
“Forget it. Just open your lunchbox already.”
“That's right, hyung. Why aren't you eating? Your wife packed it for you.”
“All right, all right. I'll eat it, okay?”
My sister had packed me a lunchbox again this morning.
Of course, I'd told her she didn't have to… but after what happened at the shop yesterday, she'd gotten a little excited.
Still, compared to last time, the menu was simpler, so she probably hadn't pushed herself too hard.
And once I left for work, my sister would go right back to sleeping soundly.
“Who confessed to whom, hyung?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Wow, Hyunjun's more shy than you'd think. Yesterday, in front of his girl, he was all—”
“Ah, ah! Manager, please.”
“Why? What is it?”
I was prepared for this, but this is way more embarrassing than I expected.
It's not exactly humiliating, but it's a little… much.
“…I did.”
“Oh…”
“Ooh…”
“To be precise… she asked me to, so I—”
“Noona?”
…I'm screwed.
No, no. You can call an older woman “noona” even if you're not related, right?
Stay as calm as possible. Keep a straight face.
“She's older than me.”
“I thought so. Not because of how she looks, but she had a mature air about her.”
“That's true. She's very… mature.”
“Hyung, are you bragging about your wife?”
“What's there to brag about…?”
“What's wrong with bragging? Come on, tell us. What's so great about her?”
Bragging about her?
If I had to brag about my sister, well…
“She's pretty.”
“Hyung, you're not shallow about looks.”
“…But I am?”
That's right.
I might as well insist I married her because she's pretty.
“See? He's shyer than he looks.”
“No, I am shallow about looks.”
“Come on, tell us one more thing, hyung.”
“…She's kind.”
“In what way?”
“She's always smiling… she's thoughtful, cute, and she's better at cooking than you'd expect…”
Uh-oh.
I belatedly shut my mouth.
He'd asked what made her kind, but instead I'd ended up praising my sister without even realizing it.
“Wow… you're practically dripping honey.”
“Hyung, you're more romantic than I thought.”
“……”
At this point, I didn't even know anymore.
I'd pretty much given up.
I'd just have to tell my sister when I got home.
That I'd spent the whole time bragging about her at the shop.
That my wife was pretty and kind, cute, and a good cook…
“All right, open your lunchbox.”
“It's pretty ordinary today. I packed it in a hurry this morning…”
“How can it be ordinary when your wife made it for you first thing in the morning, hyung?”
Sis, congratulations.
You even got called “sister-in-law.”
…Still, I'm glad no one suspects my sister and I are siblings.
Well, an ordinary person wouldn't have any reason to suspect that.
Anyway… today's lunchbox wasn't something my sister had prepared in advance. She'd just gotten in a good mood and made something really simple.
I even tried telling her it would be fine to make me one another time, but…
‘If a married husband goes around skipping breakfast, it reflects badly on his wife!’
…She'd insisted on packing me lunch with that ridiculous logic.
“Sandwiches, hyung.”
“Yeah. I said it was ordinary. Now that you've seen it, go away. You too, Manager.”
“I'm not gonna steal any, you punk.”
“If you keep staring at me like that, I'll choke.”
I shooed the manager and Junyoung away with a wave of my hand.
Naturally, I had no intention of sharing this.
It wasn't because I was greedy, of course.
My wife made it for me to eat, so naturally I should eat it all myself.
My sister had smiled just from seeing the lunchbox completely emptied.
***
“They say it's supposed to rain tonight. Did you bring an umbrella?”
“No, but I'm taking the bus, so it's fine.”
“Get home quickly. Your wife will be upset if her husband gets rained on.”
“…Yes.”
I'm not the type to check the weather forecast often.
As for my sister… well, I'm not sure.
Now that I'd thought of it, and since I was off work, I decided to call her.
But…
“Ring… ring…”
She didn't answer.
I was a little worried.
Still, there was no point assuming the worst, so I told myself she was just asleep.
I took the elevator, walked through the department store, and headed out the main entrance—
“Whooosh—”
“Huh.”
A torrential downpour, as fierce as rain in the middle of monsoon season, greeted me.
Could spring rain really be this rough?
I didn't have an umbrella… but buying one from the department store felt too extravagant.
It'd take two minutes to run to the bus stop… no, three in this rain.
That was a risk I could live with.
I was getting ready to dash out from the department store entrance, where people without umbrellas were gathering in little clusters, when…
“Bzzzt—”
My phone rang.
It was my sister.
“Hello?”
‘Honey~ Where are you?’
I could barely hear my sister over the sound of the rain.
I raised my voice a little as I answered.
“I got off work, but it's raining, so I might be a little late getting home.”
‘That's not what I asked! Where are you?’
“Where else? The department store.”
‘Where in the department store?!’
What was she going to do if she knew…?
Still, I answered honestly.
“At the main entrance on the first floor.”
‘The main entrance? Wait there!’
She hung up before I had a chance to answer.
Wait there? Had she come here?
Someone who couldn't walk for even five minutes was coming all the way here?
I looked around, but I couldn't see my sister.
Before even a minute had passed, a cheerful voice behind me confirmed my suspicions.
“Honey~”
“Sis?”
I turned around to see my sister looking at me with her usual radiant smile.
She was holding a large umbrella in her hand.
“Well? Hm? What do you think?”
“What do I think of what…? Did you take your medicine before coming out? You didn't run here, did you? It's chilly in the rain, you should've put on a jacket or—”
“Suuup… I don't want to hear you nagging, you know?”
Right… I knew what she wanted to hear.
But this was too, too… dangerous.
It was incredibly hard to swallow all the warnings I wanted to give her, the things she would only hear as nagging.
Still, I had to do it.
“…Thanks.”
“Hehe… right? I wanted to try this, too!”
“You wanted to try what?”
“Going to meet my husband when he forgot his umbrella.”
My sister proudly held up the umbrella and gave it a little wave, looking very pleased with herself.
I had a wife who packed my lunch in the morning and came to meet me with an umbrella when it rained…
Manager, I think you were right earlier.
“All right… let's go home first.”
“Let's go!”
“…?”
“Hm? Let's go!”
“Why are you going that way?”
She was facing outward, toward the way I'd been about to leave, instead of back toward the department store where she'd appeared.
Wait… now that I looked, the umbrella was wet.
Had she not come by car?
“Sis, don't tell me…”
“I-I couldn't find the car keys! You do all the driving these days… ahem.”
…Right. I was partly to blame for that.
Where had I put the car keys after I last drove?
Honestly, even I couldn't remember.
“Okay. Let's hurry. We'll take a taxi.”
“Mm-hmm!”
We stood in front of the glass doors again.
Beneath the sky thick with dark clouds, the rain was coming down fiercely.
The taxi stand was a little closer than the bus stop, but the sudden downpour had drawn a crowd.
“Honey, give me the umbrella.”
“Here you go.”
“We're going to run all the way over there. See it?”
“Mm-hmm!”
I opened the umbrella and waited for the line of people waiting for taxis to get shorter.
Taxis pulled away one after another, while more came to pick up passengers.
Now.
“Let's go.”
“Let's go!”
Holding the umbrella in one hand, I wrapped my other arm around my sister's shoulders and pulled her close.
Even if I couldn't keep her completely dry, I pulled her as close to my side as possible, keeping her under the umbrella.
Then we ran.
“There, there! That one coming. Let's take that one.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Just as we ran toward the taxi at the front of the line, after the last taxi had picked up its passengers and pulled away…
The gloomy sky and murky view were suddenly filled with a brilliant flash of light—
“KABOOM—”
“Eek!”
Startled by the thunder that followed, my sister pressed herself against my side.
Good. I took the chance to tilt the umbrella firmly toward her and hurry along.
“We're here. Get in first.”
“Huff, huff…! Th-that scared me…”
“Quickly.”
I opened the taxi door and helped my sister in first.
I held the umbrella over the door to keep the rain off her until the last moment, then climbed in after her.
At last, I could catch my breath.
“Haaaah…”
“Driver! Could you take us to Rodeo Castle Apartments?”
“Sure thing~”
The taxi pulled away smoothly.
My sister beside me was completely dry.
Her shoes might've gotten a little wet, but her legs were almost completely dry.
There was room between us, but she sat right up against me and stared at me intently.
“Honey, arm pillow!”
“This arm's completely soaked.”
“It's okay, it's okay.”
I wasn't sure what was okay about it, honestly.
Still, I couldn't refuse my sister's request.
I lifted my rain-soaked arm and draped it over her shoulders.
She immediately rested her head on my arm and leaned against me.
I saw the dampness spreading in dark patches across my sleeve, but said nothing.
“You like this too, right, honey? Where else are you gonna find a wife like me~ Hm?”
“Yeah. I do… I really do.”
I wish you wouldn't go this far next time.
I felt like I should say it, but I hesitated, wondering if she'd just think I was nagging again.
…For now, I should just say the things she wants to hear.
“You really do what?”
“I really do… like it.”
“What do you like? Honey, do you like me?”
“Of course I do.”
It's only natural for a husband to love his wife.
Nice things to hear.
The words my sister wanted to hear.
I thought little expressions of affection like this had to be among them.
“What about you, honey? Do you like me?”
“…I do.”
My sister's eyes were closed as she quietly leaned against me.
There was no need to look outside at the pouring rain.
As I caught my breath, I happened to meet the driver's eyes in the rearview mirror, but…
Unlike the day I proposed to you, I was able to pull my sister a little closer.
When our fingers touched, our hands naturally intertwined.
Holding my rain-soaked hand tightly, my sister spoke softly.
“I like it.”
“What?”
“Right now.”