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Chapter 01
“You’re not Han Gyeoul, are you?”
Was this what it felt like for your heart to drop?
I had always thought that maybe, someday, this moment would come.
Even though I had wished so desperately for him to recognize the real me instead of my sister,
the moment arrived so unexpectedly that it drove me to the edge of a cliff.
“…Taewook.”
“Be clear with me. Stop making a fool out of me.”
His low voice, scraping out through clenched vocal cords, sounded like the cry of a wounded beast.
The gaze fixed on me was sharp enough to pierce through skin, yet at the same time it looked painfully broken.
I bit down on my lip and forced myself to meet the eyes he had sharpened to keep himself from getting hurt.
“Han Yeoreum.”
“….”
“That’s who I really am.”
Despair mixed with emptiness spread across his face as he looked at me.
Ah… how did we end up like this?
Five Months Earlier
“Where’s your husband?”
“He had to go to Hong Kong for work for a bit.”
“He canceled your honeymoon and went to Hong Kong? At that point he should’ve just married his job instead.”
The sarcastic reply burst out before I could stop it.
Even while talking about the husband who had abandoned his bride on their wedding day to go on a business trip, my sister was smiling brightly as if she couldn’t be happier.
“He’s an incredibly busy man. It can’t be helped. And it’s almost the end of the year…”
Only after noticing my stiff expression did my sister nervously dart her large eyes around.
I took a gulp of cold water from the table and asked as calmly as I could,
“…Is he going because of that awards ceremony in Hong Kong?”
“Yeah, that’s right. You know, those ceremonies with famous actors and idols…”
Afraid I might start badmouthing her husband, my sister launched into a long explanation about how important the ceremony was.
But even as I listened to her gentle voice trying to explain the situation, my complaints slipped out anyway.
“Still, why does the company CEO have to personally attend something like that?”
“….”
“No, forget that. Before he’s a CEO, he’s the groom who got married today. Why is he going on a business trip alone instead of taking you with him?”
My frustration exploded despite my earlier resolve not to ruin such a happy day.
My sister only smiled awkwardly.
As if trying to soothe a child, she came and sat beside me, gently stroking my hand.
“So you really don’t like him, huh?”
“Yeah. Not even a little.”
My blunt evaluation of my brother-in-law made her laugh sheepishly.
The warmth of her hand trying to calm me down drew a shallow sigh from me.
Thinking about it, though, I couldn’t blame only him.
I hadn’t taken proper care of my sister either, always hiding behind the excuse that I was busy.
The realization came late, bringing guilt with it.
Still watching my sister nervously gauge my mood, I tossed out an awkward joke instead of an apology.
“…Honestly, I think oppa was better.”
“Hm? Who?”
“Jihoon oppa. Didn’t he film a movie recently? Why, don’t you keep in touch anymore?”
“W-Why are we suddenly talking about Jihoon?”
“Well, when you suddenly announced you were getting married, I naturally assumed it’d be to Jihoon oppa.”
“W-What are you talking about? Jihoon has work to do!”
“And you don’t?”
Embarrassed, my sister threw out a ridiculous excuse, and I teased her for it.
She lightly bit her lip, flustered.
Her awkwardness was cute enough that some of my irritation started fading.
Turning fully toward her, I grinned mischievously.
“You remember, don’t you?”
“…What?”
“When we were kids and Jihoon oppa followed you around saying he liked you!”
“Yeoreum, that was—!”
“Well, of course I assumed you two would get married someday. I grew up watching that.”
My sister fell silent, apparently at a loss for words.
I giggled at her panicked expression, then another thought crossed my mind.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t see Jihoon oppa at the wedding today.”
“…Huh?”
“You sent him an invitation, right? Maybe I was too distracted, but I don’t think I saw him.”
At my question, she nervously bit her lip.
Something about her reaction felt strange, making me frown.
“Unni.”
“…Jihoon had a schedule today, so he couldn’t come.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. He contacted me separately to congratulate me. Said he was sorry he couldn’t make it.”
“Hm. Is that so?”
“It is! And why are you bringing up ancient history? It’s been over twenty years since Jihoon followed me around saying he liked me.”
Leaning back against the sofa, I quietly watched her avoid my eyes as she spoke casually.
Even though she sounded nonchalant, something about it felt odd.
“Unni, you never know with people’s feelings.”
“What?”
“I mean, you can’t be sure. Jihoon oppa’s secretly the loyal type. How do you know he hasn’t still got feelings for you?”
“That’s enough! Don’t you dare say things like that in front of my husband!”
“What do you take me for, an idiot?”
I had only meant to tease her, but her unusually stern warning made the words die on my lips.
My sister was always serious about these things.
Muttering that she was “no fun,” I frowned at the awkward title she kept using.
“But why do you keep calling him ‘Representative’?”
“Hm?”
“You’re married now and you still call your husband ‘Representative’?”
“W-We got married today!”
“Exactly! That’s why I’m mad. That bastard who left his bride on their wedding day for a business trip.”
“Yeoreum.”
At last my insults toward her husband made her expression harden with anger, and only then did I realize I’d gone too far.
More than twenty years ago, after our parents died in a car accident on a rainy road, my sister—only one year older than me—had become obsessively strict about manners, terrified people would point fingers at me and say I lacked upbringing because I had no parents.
Seeing that she still wasn’t relaxing, I cautiously apologized.
“Sorry.”
“….”
“I was wrong.”
“….”
“I mean, how upset do you think I am? Is your husband looking down on us because we don’t have parents or something?”
“It’s not like that.”
“….”
“He’s really just busy. He felt terrible about leaving today, but I told him it was okay and that he should go.”
As if trying to make excuses in her husband’s place, my sister hurriedly defended him.
She smiled as though nothing was wrong, unaware of how heartbreaking that smile looked.
Watching her made me sigh again.
No wonder I couldn’t like him.
No—there wasn’t a single thing about him to like.
A hollow shell with nothing but looks and ability.
God, I hate him.
“Why him of all people?”
Pushing aside the countless complaints swirling in my head, I asked the question quietly.
My sister gave a bitter smile before answering.
“I can’t say for sure he’s a good person.”
“….”
“But in the situation I’m in right now, there’s no one more perfect.”
The bitter smile on her face left an unpleasant feeling in my chest.
“What situation are you in?”
At my question, she weakly curved her lips upward.
That lifeless smile suddenly gave me a bad feeling.
“Did something happen?”
“…No. Nothing happened.”
“Don’t hide things from me. If something’s wrong, tell me. What’s the point of having a prosecutor for a younger sister otherwise?”
“I’m serious, nothing’s wrong. You should focus on your own work.”
Her gaze darted around restlessly.
Her suspicious behavior made me narrow my eyes, and she abruptly stood up from the sofa.
“Oh! I can’t believe I haven’t even offered my guest a cup of tea.”
“Unni.”
“Yeoreum, do you want rosemary tea? Ah, no, you don’t drink tea. Then how about coffee?”
“….”
“The representative likes coffee, so we even have coffee beans at home. Wait here, I’ll make you some.”
As if begging me not to ask any more questions, she desperately changed the subject.
Seeing her avoid even my gaze, I swallowed back the questions I wanted to ask and answered gruffly.
“Forget it. What coffee?”
“Why not? You like coffee. And the representative likes it too, so we even have an espresso machine.”
The way she proudly showed off the espresso machine was like a child bragging about a fancy new toy.
Even though she couldn’t drink coffee herself, her eyes sparkled brightly.
I let out a soft laugh and stood up.
“Even if you have one, do you even know how to use it?”
“I learned. I thought there might be times I’d need to make coffee for him.”
“You learned?”
“Yeah. The representative’s tastes are similar to yours. He never drinks tea, only coffee. So now I can make it pretty well.”
“….”
“Just wait till you try it. You’ll be surprised.”
Teasing me proudly, she fumbled awkwardly with the electric grinder while I leaned against the kitchen island and watched.
Then I slowly looked around the huge, empty house.
Even in the large newlywed home she supposedly shared with her husband, my sister somehow looked like she didn’t belong there.
She moved around awkwardly, like a guest in someone else’s house.
The bitter taste in my mouth deepened.
The only thing in the kitchen that seemed to belong to her was a small box of tea bags tucked away in one corner.
Another sigh escaped me.
“H-How do you use this again…?”
Maybe she thought my sigh was criticism toward her fumbling with the grinder, because she glanced nervously at me.
Shaking my head at her awkward smile, I suddenly noticed her phone light up.
“Unni, I—”
“Oh! Ah, yeah. Wait a second. I’ll take this and come right back.”
Before I could even finish speaking, she quickly grabbed her phone.
Hiding the screen from me, she hurried down the hallway and entered the room at the very end.
The door slammed shut behind her.
And with that loud bang, an unshakable sense of unease crawled down my spine.
