My Feisty Sisters Are Coming After Me - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

—–CROW—– 

Twice in one day, Geum-bi Noona was knocking on my door.  I managed to get away with it in the morning, but now, I didn’t see a way out.

“Yang Ji-gu, aren’t you going to open the door?  I’ll call the others if you keep stalling.”

“Alright, alright. I’m opening it…”

At her threat to escalate the situation, I reluctantly unlocked the door.  With a creak, Geum-bi Noona entered the room, and Su-jeong Noona, perched on the edge of the bed, subtly averted her gaze.

“Unnie, what are you doing here?”

“Hmm? Just…watching what our Ji-gu is up to.”

“Hmm~?  Just the two of you, with the door locked?”

“Well, we had a lot to talk about…”

“What did you talk about?”

“Just this and that.  How we’re doing, any worries…that kind of stuff, right Ji-gu?”

“Just that?”

“What else…what else is there to talk about between siblings? Hehe.”

Unlike Su-jeong Noona, Geum-bi Noona stood with her arms crossed, the door half-open.  She didn’t come closer to the bed, as if emphasizing that she could leave at any moment, and also that she was standing her ground.

A stark contrast to Su-jeong Noona, who was shrinking back as if she had done something wrong.

“Um, Geum-bi Noona. You seem a little agitated, why don’t we all sit down and…”

“You be quiet, Ji-gu.”

“Ah, okay. Sorry…”

I tried to intervene but was immediately shut down.  It felt unfair to be silenced in my own room, but I couldn’t defy Geum-bi Noona’s glare.

‘I’ve never been able to disobey her, ever since we were young.’

Perhaps it was because of her black t-shirt and her hair tightly pulled back with a black hair tie, but she exuded an intimidating aura, as if she would drag me away somewhere if I talked back.

As I backed down, Geum-bi Noona turned her attention back to Su-jeong Noona.  Su-jeong Noona, who had been avoiding her gaze, seemed to make up her mind and turned to meet Geum-bi Noona’s eyes.

“You shouldn’t scold Ji-gu. He didn’t say anything wrong, and this is his room.”

“Right. Ji-gu didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why…”

“But he didn’t do anything particularly right either.”

Geum-bi Noona glanced at me and took a step towards Su-jeong Noona, a step she hadn’t taken before.  It was just half a step, barely a step at all, but for some reason, both Su-jeong Noona and I fell silent.

“After what happened yesterday, does it make sense to let Unnie into your room and lock the door?  Is that the right thing to do?”

“That’s…I locked it.  Ji-gu didn’t lock the door.”

“Regardless. I know you two are close, but given the situation, you should be more careful.”

“…What are you trying to say, Geum-bi?”

As Geum-bi Noona’s questioning intensified, Su-jeong Noona’s attitude also sharpened.  It was rare for Su-jeong Noona, the eldest, to show such an attitude, so Geum-bi Noona flinched momentarily but quickly counterattacked by bringing up the morning incident.

“Unnie, you disappeared this morning too, didn’t you? Where did you go?”

“I told you I went to wash up on the first floor. I said we must have passed each other on the way.”

“There’s only one staircase, how could we have missed each other?”

“Maybe you were in the kitchen or knocking on Ji-gu’s door while I was coming up from the bathroom.  Didn’t we already talk about this this morning? Why are you bringing it up again?”

“Right, that’s it. At first, I thought, ‘Oh, okay,’ but something felt off.”

“What?”

“How did you know I knocked on Ji-gu’s door this morning? You said you didn’t see me because you were going up to the second floor.”

“…Huh?”

Su-jeong Noona’s response stopped, and her face was clearly flustered.  Geum-bi Noona smirked at her reaction, then frowned and looked at me.

“I know I’m overreacting. I know I’m being nosy from early this morning.”

“Geum-bi, you see, actually…”

“But the situation is a little…sensitive, isn’t it? We’re all confused because of what Mom said yesterday, and you’re acting suspicious, Unnie…I’m worried and concerned. Is that wrong?”

“No, that’s…of course you can be, yeah.”

“Then understand me too, Unnie. I’m not asking you to do anything, just act normal.  Like we always do…can’t you just do that?”

“I…thought I was acting normally…”

“Yeah, I saw you trying. But to me, it’s not even close, and that’s the problem.”

Although she was talking to Su-jeong Noona, Geum-bi Noona’s eyes were scanning me.  Her gaze moved from my head to my toes, as if silently warning or reprimanding me.

“You answer like a robot when I talk to you, you roll your eyes and run away when I greet you.  I try to talk to you, but you keep going into Ji-gu’s room…Is it all just me being sensitive, Unnie?”

“…Sorry. Now that I hear it, I guess I was being too suspicious.”

Finally, when Geum-bi Noona’s gaze returned to Su-jeong Noona, Su-jeong Noona was looking down at the floor.  Even the assertive Geum-bi Noona couldn’t maintain her momentum at that moment.  Her lips trembled, and she squeezed her eyes shut before turning towards the door.

“…I was too harsh.  Sorry for sounding accusatory.”

“No, it’s understandable that you felt that way, Geum-bi.”

“Anyway, be a little more careful.  Both of you, Unnie and Ji-gu.”

Geum-bi Noona left a short apology before leaving, adding one more warning.  I held my breath and remained motionless until her figure disappeared up the stairs.  When even her shadow was gone, I turned to check on Su-jeong Noona.

“Noona.”

“Ji-gu, was I…that awkward?”

Su-jeong Noona’s face, when I looked closer, was even darker than Geum-bi Noona’s had been.

* * *

I closed the door again but didn’t lock it. I didn’t lean against the wall next to Su-jeong Noona like before, but sat on the edge of the bed, keeping a slight distance.  I just reached out and placed my hand on top of her trembling one.

“I thought I was acting normally…but I guess I wasn’t.”

“Geum-bi Noona might be a little sensitive. It’s only been a day since Mom brought it up.”

“But on the other hand, it means I was acting so suspiciously that she noticed something was off in just one day.”

“That’s…um, well…”

I wanted to comfort her, but my logic failed me.  Honestly, I couldn’t be certain since I wasn’t directly involved. Su-jeong Noona was the one acting strangely, and Geum-bi Noona was the one reacting, but what could I say, having not even witnessed the situation?

As my clumsy attempt at comfort trailed off, Su-jeong Noona lowered her head further.  I hesitated, unsure of what to do, and finally gave up on conversation, deciding to hug her instead.

“…Don’t do this. What if Geum-bi catches us again?”

“It’ll be fine.  It’s just normal skinship between siblings, isn’t it?”

“…Ji-gu, is this kind of skinship common between siblings for you?”

“Let me rephrase that, only with Su-jeong Noona. I don’t do this with anyone else.”

I sometimes hugged the youngest and spun her around when she was in a good mood.  But if I hugged Geum-bi Noona like this now, she would freak out, and if I tried to hug Hwa-yeon, she’d probably punch me before I even got close.

“Anyway, if you want to act normal, you have to accept this too. Okay?”

“Being normal…is really hard, hehe.”

Su-jeong Noona laughed self-deprecatingly, but I couldn’t comfort her immediately.  Because I, myself, had thought she was acting strange yesterday.

‘Back then, I was worried that *I* was the adopted one…Could Geum-bi Noona be feeling something similar right now?’

Suddenly, with that assumption, Geum-bi Noona’s aggressive behavior made sense. If she felt like Su-jeong Noona was hiding something from her but wouldn’t talk about it and kept avoiding her, it would be natural for her to feel frustrated…that explained everything.

‘And with Su-jeong Noona clinging to me in the meantime, she must be imagining all sorts of things.  Like I’m conspiring with Su-jeong Noona to kick her out…no, that’s ridiculous.’

I felt like I needed to ask Geum-bi Noona directly to understand the situation. I waited for Su-jeong Noona to calm down, planning to visit Geum-bi Noona later.

“…Ji-gu.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I…secretly come here again tonight?”

“Huh?”

But my plan was scrapped before it could even be considered.  My empty schedule was suddenly filled with appointments to talk to other people.

“Sorry for relying on you so much. But after hearing what Geum-bi said…I don’t think I can relax on the second floor.”

“If you avoid her, Geum-bi Noona will be even more suspicious.”

“Right now…I don’t know how to face her.”

I understood how Su-jeong Noona felt. She treated all her siblings well, but she was especially considerate of Geum-bi Noona.  Last night, she even cried, suspecting herself or Geum-bi Noona of being the adopted one.  But all she got back from Geum-bi Noona was resentment and hurt feelings.

On top of that, I was dragged into it and became the subject of suspicion, so it was natural for her to be shaken.

‘This is complicated.  If I say what I was thinking earlier, she’ll just get more depressed, thinking I’m only worried about Geum-bi Noona.’

I, too, couldn’t easily judge, seeing Su-jeong Noona’s vulnerable side for the first time.  After much deliberation, my response was a passive one, simply nodding while holding her.

“Thank you. I love you, Ji-gu.”

“…Me too. I love you a lot, Noona.”

Su-jeong Noona smiled, tightening her grip on my arm with each nod, and I whispered “I love you” in her ear.  Hoping it would give her some strength.  Hoping that her shaken composure would recover before nightfall.

“Oppa~! Geum-bi Unnie asked me to see where Su-jeong Unnie is…so I came…but…”

Ah, we almost made it. I was just going to pat her back twice more and then let go.

Geum-bi Noona, at least, had the decency to tell me before opening the door.  

But Hwa-yeon, our fourth sibling, just barged in and yelled, then stopped dead in her tracks at the doorway.

“Ah, um, well…I found Unnie, so I’ll go tell her.  No, I’ll just go…!”

Unlike Geum-bi Noona, Hwa-yeon didn’t even take a step inside, fleeing back up the stairs.  Watching her go, Su-jeong Noona and I both let out a deep sigh.

—–CROW—– 

*Geum-bi*