Side Story 22: Their Unfinished Story
“Yo, piglet~! Get up!”
“Ugh, five minutes…”
“What do you mean 5 minutes?! You told me to wake you up early today! I have a date myself, Get up!”
The familiar voice that was forcing me to wake up this early in the morning belonged to the second sibling, the one I despised the most in the world.
He was poking my butt with his feet.
Half awake, I rubbed my eyes to see the second sibling’s face. His expression was beyond description.
His nostrils flared in excitement, and his face was uncharacteristically red.
That punk was busy sending messages to someone, seemingly the girlfriend he managed to make for the first time in his 23-year-old life.
Supposedly, he confessed to her after falling for her on first sight at college freshmen orientation day…
But why would a freshman girl who just started college have to lose to be dating a dude like him… my second sibling, may look good on the outside but his mind was messed up.
‘I’m sure he’ll get dumped in no time. When she finds out what kind of guy he really is, she would make a run for it. It’s obvious.’
‘Please run for your life!’
I wished for her safe liberation in my head.
“Lee Hwan~! Did you wake up Seol? Come on out and get breakfast!”
“Piglet is being a total slowpoke! She thinks she’s some kind of sleeping beauty!”
“Dude! I’m up!”
“Ack! You want a piece of me?!”
I pinched hard on the flank of that second sibling who tried scolding me while being unable to take his eyes off the phone and came out of the room to find…
“You up? Hurry and eat up. You said you want to go to school early today.”
“Uuuun…”
My dear older brother looking dashing in his apron had just put down boiling Doenjang stew on the table and called for me.
I took a seat, barely removing sleep from my eyes. As always, it was a meal a little overboard to be called breakfast.
“Bro, can I have 50 thousand won for pocket money?”
“Ah, you said you have a date today, right?”
Hearing that second sibling punk asking for money the moment he sat down, my brother naturally took out his wallet from his back pocket.
“You gave him 50 thousand yesterday too! Stop giving him money, you’ll make him grow bad habits!”
“Huh… people will think it’s your money he’s giving me if they hear it. What does it matter to you?”
Raising his chopsticks, the punk winced as he glared at me.
“That’s enough. Eat up, Seol.”
“Heh heh… I love you bro~!”
That devil ended up scraping out 50 thousand won from my brother’s wallet in the end…
“Here, some pocket money for you too, Seol.”
My dear brother put another 50 thousand won bill next to my bowl of rice as well.
“I’m fine…”
Though I said so, my body was being honest. My finger sneaked up to take in that yellow bill.
“It’s her who’s going to grow bad habits! Don’t give her allowances! Don’t you know she spends all her money on GPS or BPS or whatever?”
“It’s BPS!”
It’s an idol group I stan.
How dare he confuse my oppas’ sacred group name?
“Don’t be like that, Lee Hwan. Why are you being mean? Seol likes them.”
As I said, my affectionate eldest brother is the best.
The second sibling punk, a college kid who requires the most money for education, and I, who is going to college starting this year, were both under the care of my elder brother but there was nothing to worry about.
Why?
Lee Shin, my golden eldest brother, is a famous author.
I glanced at his bank account at the payment from the royalties he received but the amount is good enough for me to receive allowances without a guilty conscience.
“But why are you heading out so early today? The graduation ceremony is in two days…”
Today was two days before my graduation. After a long lazy winter vacation after my SAT tests.
It was the last day of school for me to round up this and that, there was a reason I was in such a hurry to go on a day that most don’t even attend.
“You know my friend Anna, right? The one you said had cute freckles.”
“Yeah, I remember. I gave her a lift with you last time, right?”
“Yeah yeah, there was a boy in Anna’s class, who’s only there in name, see? Heard he went to study in the States. But I hear he came back to Korea to take the SAT tests and was coming to school after being away for so long.”
“Hm? And what does that have to do with you going to school early?” My brother asked as he tilted his head.
“Heh heh… I’m going to take a look at him. From what Anna said, he was so handsome that all the girls were losing their minds. Not just that, he got into the same school and even majors in the same thing.”
Let me just point one thing out before we proceed, I am someone who got a full score on this year’s notoriously difficult SAT. I even had an interview with national television.
A freshman at Hankuk university, department of economic management!
“Whoa, he’s good-looking and good at studying too?”
“I’m pretty and good at studying too.”
“Like hell.”
That second sibling punk butted in, chilling my grill.
“So you asked me to wake you up early in the morning just to see some guy’s face?”
“What about it?”
“You lost your mind on thinking you’d have fun now that you’re of age, huh? What’s with your hair?”
“Ack!”
Tugging at the tips of my hair, the punk was trying me.
The moment the SATs were over, I bleached my hair to look cool just like Shin…
This punk is being absurd. He himself bleached his yellow the moment his hair got long enough after serving in the army.
“Get your head straight. All men apart from bro and me are wolves. Especially!”
The second sibling shoved his face right at me and I backed away about a few inches in disdain.
“Watch out for those boys returning from the army with ulterior motives. They are aiming for freshmen just like you.”
“Whoa, true words from your own experience. I better listen up.”
Telling me to be aware of boys returning from the army with ulterior motives to snatch up innocent freshmen, he might as well introduce himself.
I shook my head as I raised my spoon once more.
“That poor girlfriend of yours better find out what a punk you are and flee from you as soon as possible.”
“What now?!”
Though he was an ill-mannered punk who wouldn’t listen to a word he is told at home, he manages to pull off that act of a considerate looker somehow.
It creeps me out that even his major is psychology. No way, seriously.
“Come here, you little piggy, wait until I get my hands on you…!”
“Yeah? Come at me, come at me!”
“Now, now. That’s enough fighting, let’s eat up.”
Brother arbitrated between the two of us in a fight as always. This was a common morning scenery in our house.
* * *
On my way to school.
After the hugely successful Shin drove his fancy supercar to drop off the second sibling who said he’ll be watching an early morning film with his girlfriend, he came to a stop at my school’s front gate.
“I’ll see you later!”
“Yeah, should I come get you when it’s over?”
“No, it’s fine, I’m going to karaoke with Anna today. Thank you for the pocket money.”
“Sure sure. Call me after you’re done. It’s dangerous late at night.”
“Yeah!”
My brother looked at me amused as I hastily got out of the car.
“Lee Seol!”
As I was about to go, my brother lowered the window to the seat next to him and slightly extended his neck to call out to me.
He gave me a grin as I looked back. He was dashing enough to be my brother. How lucky would my brother’s bride be?
“It must be nice seeing him after such a long time. Have fun meeting that handsome friend.”
“Hm?”
I haven’t even seen that kid before he went to study abroad. Did my brother misunderstand what I said?
Well… no need to correct him when I’m in this much hurry.
“Okay!”
I gave a loud answer and waved my hand in a huge arc before moving on.
My class was on the 3rd floor. Perhaps because it was the last day of school before graduation, or perhaps it was because I was looking forward to seeing that handsome kid that Anna so eagerly spoke of, my feet were light.
With giddy steps, I was stepping up the stairs in twos, threes at a time.
“Oh my!”
Unable to notice someone coming down and around the stairs, I bumped into them and my body stumbled.
This is bad. I would hurt my head at the least.
Thinking that I was about to fall back down the stairs,
I was barely able to regain my balance due to someone holding on strongly to my arm.
“Oh my… S-sorry. I wasn’t looking what’s in front of me…”
Patting my surprised chest, I raised my head at the person who held me. I was startled out of my wits.
Really, it was just as my best friend Anna said,
I was surprised enough to ‘lose my mind’.
The most handsome man I knew was my elder brother, and though I hate to admit it, the second was that punk second sibling…
Starting today, I had to say, everyone would have to step down a rank.
And I thought perhaps… I may have to let go of staining my BPS oppas who I’d been stanning for 2 years already.
His facial features looked as if he was crafted micron by micron by god with the utmost care,
He also had a perfect build and a tall height, an ideal fit for the typical school uniform I had seen to death for the last 3 years.
That boy was the most handsome face I’ve seen since I was born. I could say for certain.
But was there someone this good-looking at our school before? There is no way I wouldn’t have known if he was here…
Ah, could he be…
“Are you mad? You almost died,” he said with more surprise in his eyes than I.
“S-sorry.”
“Hah, for real…”
Though he looked quite arrogant as he combed his hair back looking tired, even that matched his handsome features way too well.
“I’m sick of this. Please, if you want to speak to me just speak to me normally.”
“…Huh?”
Unable to understand his words that came from nowhere, I slightly tilted my head.
“Is it really necessary for you to try with all your will and might like this, throwing yourself at me? You only have one life.”
“What on earth are you talking about…”
“Just say it if you like me. Don’t pull off stunts like this.”
Wait. I got an A on my language on the SAT, but I don’t get what he means.
Slowly attempting to understand his words, I freaked out.
‘No way… does he think that I’ve put on a show on the stairs just to talk with him once?’
What kind of ridiculous notion was this guy having?
Blaming myself for considering betraying my BPS oppas for even a moment, I was about to resolve his misunderstanding, when…
My best friend Anna’s voice ran through my head.
-He really is handsome, but I don’t care for him all that much. He gets off on how cool he is too much. He thinks all girls fancy him, see?
-He has a 200% overinflated ego.
That’s when I realized.
Ah, this must be him.
-I’m getting more curious when you say it like that. What’s his name?
-Right, his name. Pahaha… he even studied abroad in the states but his name was so lame. Totally out of fashion. Ha Dae…
Musing over Anna’s voice fading within my head, I stared at the chest of the boy’s uniform jacket to check his name tag.
[Ha Daesu.]
That was him, handsome but overly self-important…
This was my first encounter with him in high school, who is now my husband.