# Chapter 13
Originally, Yeomin wasn’t the type to frequently invite people over.
He didn’t want to bring anyone to a place like this, and nobody wanted to come anyway. Occasionally, some classmates had stayed over when they missed the last train after drinking, but…
Anyway, he had planned to absolutely not let anyone in while Jiho was staying here.
But plans are always subject to change.
After his exam ended, Yeomin headed home alone. Jiho had said he had an exam late this evening.
‘I’ve never seen Seol Jiho studying, I wonder how he’s going to take the exam…’
Yeomin arrived home while needlessly worrying about someone else even after finishing his own exam.
His steps halted abruptly in front of the building.
“Joo Yeomin, long time no see?”
In the shabby common entrance, there was someone who shouldn’t be there.
Yeomin rubbed his eyes.
‘Is that… really Joo Yeojin in front of me?’
Joo Yeojin. She was five years older than Yeomin… and his sister who had left home when he was still in middle school.
It had been so long since they’d last seen each other face to face.
“Aren’t you going to pretend to be happy to see your noona? I’m a little hurt.”
Not worth responding to. Yeomin ignored her words and asked coldly.
“How did you know where I live?”
“I asked Dad.”
She hadn’t contacted her family for years, and suddenly why?
What’s more, Yeojin was carrying a huge suitcase.
“Why are you here?”
“Wanted to see your face before I leave the country.”
“Leave the country?”
“I’m going to America.”
Yeojin had always done whatever she wanted. Yeomin thought of it as her ‘nature.’
She was good at studying, so she went off to a university in Seoul, and never answered when their parents called.
It’s not that he didn’t understand Yeojin. He wouldn’t have wanted to come back to that miserable home either.
After spending that first summer vacation of her twenties that way, Yeojin never came back home again.
She changed her phone number without telling her family. The family of four became a family of three.
Their parents cursed her as a heartless girl, but Yeomin felt more sad than angry.
Yeomin… had at least thought she would give him a heads up if she was leaving. No, deep down he had hoped she would take him with her.
But that hope had been shattered a very long time ago.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I’m going to America?”
“Why should I know that?”
I absolutely won’t be curious. Even if you tell me, I won’t listen.
“I got a job there. I might never come back. I thought I should see you once before that.”
“Now that you’ve seen me, you can leave.”
“Come on, we haven’t seen each other for years. You should at least offer me a cup of tea, little brother~ Is that how I taught you?”
Her reproaching face was unbelievably shameless.
‘Joo Yeojin is so annoying.’
Yeomin looked at his sister resentfully before saying coldly.
“Follow me, then.”
* * *
Yeomin poured her a glass of flat cola from the refrigerator.
After scanning the studio apartment at a glance, Yeojin asked perceptively.
“Who are you living with?”
Asking whose shoes those were in a different size. She’d always been observant.
“Just a friend.”
Yeomin answered tersely. He didn’t want to have a long conversation with Yeojin.
“Is it okay living here?”
“There’s no such thing as ‘okay’ or not. This is the best I can do, so I live here.”
It’s not like he had other options.
If you start finding one thing unsatisfactory and uncomfortable, there would be no end to it. He was just pretending to be indifferent.
“How’s school? You’re so smart like me, getting into a prestigious university on your first try. I’m so proud of you.”
“You seem so interested in my school life. When you didn’t even contact me once during my college entrance exams.”
“Oh my. People would think I’m a heartless person.”
‘You are.’
Yeomin shot her a reproachful look.
Yeojin grumbled that the soda had gone flat. Showing up without notice and being so picky. She was insufferable.
Perhaps it was fortunate that his sister had been absent during his teenage years.
“How do you manage the rent?”
“I barely cover it with my part-time job wages.”
“Are you dating anyone?”
“Do I look like I am?”
“Of course not. You were never popular when you were younger. You were always too sharp and prickly—”
How much attention did she pay to her little brother back then? She doesn’t even know what he’s been like since fifteen, yet she acts like she knows.
In contrast to Yeomin’s miserable appearance, Yeojin looked quite well-off. Her clothes were luxurious, her nails were colorful, and her dyed hair had a healthy shine.
It seemed she had lived well after leaving home. Well, Yeojin was too good to waste away in the countryside.
She was smart, pretty, and above all, had a strong sense of reality. She knew all too well that nothing could be accomplished there, in that home.
“When are you leaving?”
“I was about to go now. But, Yeomin, I tore my stockings. Could you buy me one pair? I need to change and go straight to the airport.”
So annoying.
“You buy them.”
“I don’t even know the area well.”
“…Sigh.”
“Buy them with this, and get whatever else you need.”
Yeojin handed over a 50,000 won bill. Yeomin reluctantly took the money.
Fine. If she’s going to America, he could do this last errand for her.
“What kind of stockings should I get?”
“Just regular pantyhose. Any beige one.”
Yeomin started feeling anxious as it was almost time for Jiho to arrive. He needed to send her off before he came…
As he was putting on his slippers at the doorway, Yeojin said.
“Joo Yeomin.”
“What? What else do you need?”
“Don’t live like me.”
“…What are you talking about?”
I couldn’t live like you even if I tried. Compared to Joo Yeojin, Joo Yeomin is an absolute angel.
Yeomin left the apartment with annoyance. The walk to the convenience store felt strangely uneasy.
Seeing his sister after so long gave him a strange feeling. Yeomin couldn’t tell if he was angry or hurt.
After 5 years, she appears only to say she’s leaving for good.
‘Would it have been better to remain ignorant? Or should siblings at least keep in contact…’
Yeomin bought the stockings and returned. Since she was going to America, he thought he’d at least wish her a safe trip.
But when Yeomin got back home, all he found was the glass of drink Yeojin had been sipping. Her suitcase and shoes were gone.
“What the hell. She asked me to buy these and then…”
He wanted to call her but didn’t know her number.
“Why did she even come if she was going to leave without saying anything?”
As Yeomin was grumbling, a chilling feeling suddenly struck him. A partially open drawer caught his eye.
‘No way, it can’t be.’
Yeomin frantically opened the bottom drawer of the wardrobe. It was where he had hidden the watch Jiho gave him.
In that drawer full of messy odds and ends, only the spot where the watch had been was conspicuously empty.
“Damn it… Joo Yeojin.”
‘Joo Yeomin. Don’t live like me.’
His sister had been stealing things since they were young. She’d never been caught, but Yeomin had witnessed it several times. His sister’s wrongdoings.
It was amazing how she never got caught, and now he realized he should have reported her back then. But back then, he’d been bribed into silence with candy.
‘Now she’s stooped to robbing her own brother’s home?’
Yeomin’s world went black.
It was his mistake to forget that misfortune always visits in the form of someone familiar.
For about two minutes, he just stood there blankly, unable to think.
When he finally came to his senses, Yeomin hurriedly took out his phone.
‘But who do I call?’
He first called his parents. After a few rings, his mother’s voice came through.
“Mom. Do you know Joo Yeojin’s number?”
– Why do you need Yeojin’s number?
Yeomin’s lips moved. He simply couldn’t tell his parents that his sister had backstabbed him and stolen his property. Just couldn’t…
– I don’t know. How would I know that girl’s number?
“Dad told Joo Yeojin where I live, right?”
– Yes, but I don’t know it either, honey. She just asked when she came home… And do you think she’d give us her number if we asked?
“Haa…”
Yeomin held his head.
“I’ll hang up now.”
After ending the call, he frantically searched through other drawers just in case. He practically turned half the room upside down.
That’s when he heard the sound of someone entering the door code outside.
“…”
Yeomin’s heart sank. In that moment, he hoped and prayed it was Yeojin returning.
But it was a futile hope. The one who entered was Jiho with an ice cream in his mouth.
“Seol Jiho…”
“Hyung?”
The moment he saw Jiho’s face, Yeomin felt something surge up inside him.
The watch he received from Jiho flashed before his eyes.
‘I wonder how much that was worth exactly. I should have pawned it earlier. No, I should have sold it and kept the money in my bank account…’
“What’s wrong? Why is the house like this? Are you looking for something?”
Jiho asked, rushing in with surprise.
“…I’m in big trouble.”
Yeomin’s voice trembled. Though usually emotionless and not easily swept away by feelings, Joo Yeomin couldn’t stay calm when it came to ‘money matters.’
Ah… I shouldn’t have let that thief into my home.
“Why are you about to cry? Hmm? Did you fail your exam?”
Looking at Jiho who was examining his expression, Yeomin burst into tears.
“Fuck… The exam isn’t the issue,”
“Hyung…”
“I got your watch stolen…”
With those words, Yeomin began sobbing like an elementary school kid.
Feeling like a beaver who lost its home, with the empty feeling of losing an expensive item that he’d never owned before and hadn’t even gotten to properly enjoy.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I would have at least worn it on my wrist a few more times…’
That’s what really broke his heart.
