My Friend’s Little Sister is Special

Her eyes, which had been pink until just now, seemed to have calmed down as they had returned to black at some point.

Tsk, that’s a shame. It suited her well. So much that I wanted to ask to see it again.

I thought our conversation would end there, but surprisingly, it was the girl who grabbed the tail of the conversation.

“…Did my brother say I was special?”

“Huh? Me?”

“……”

“Sorry. You meant Seo Jin-hyuk. I got it, so please don’t look at me with those eyes….”

Shit. Han Woo-jin, you stupid bastard…!

If my eyes were special too, they’d probably have turned pink right now.

If the girl had just grimaced and reacted with disgust at my words, that would have been one thing, but when she stared into my eyes with a cold gaze as if saying “What is this guy talking about?”, I felt even more like dying.

Please, please don’t look at me with those eyes….

I am older than you, so it was a situation where misunderstanding was quite possible….

It’s not like I felt good hearing you call me ‘oppa’, or wanted to hear that word from you… well, maybe just a little bit.

“Ahem. Seo Jin-hyuk was talking about you during lunch today. Said his little sister was special. When I just heard it, I thought it was just fascinating, but seeing it in person…”

Ah. Come to think of it, being special wasn’t just because of her eyes. When I asked if she was pretty, didn’t he say that even he, as family, thought she was pretty?

At that time, I’d let it go in one ear and out the other, but after seeing her in person, I realized it. Seo Jin-hyuk had been speaking without any exaggeration.

When I paused in the middle of speaking, recalling that conversation, the girl tilted her head toward me as if wondering why I had suddenly stopped talking.

“…Seeing it in person?”

“…Seo Jin-hyuk was right.”

“……Really?”

“Yes, really.”

After I finished speaking, a familiar silence flowed again.

I thought she would ask about what specifically felt special to me.

Wondering if she was upset that we had talked about her when she wasn’t there, I kept my head facing forward and just slightly glanced to the side.

There, I saw the girl looking in the opposite direction from me, twirling the hair that had gently settled on her shoulders.

…Could she be feeling embarrassed?

Honestly, seeing her trying to hide her happiness from me when she should just be happy, she looked exactly like a cat, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Ah. The silence that was suffocating earlier might be a bit enjoyable now.

“I thought Seo Jin-hyuk was just saying that because she’s his little sister. You know, I also have a little sister at home.”

“…You have a little sister?”

“Yeah. We fight all the time.”

“…How old is she?”

“One year younger than me. 13 years old.”

“Hmm….”

“…?”

“……”

“……?”

After hearing about my sister’s age, the girl stared at me silently.

What is it? What’s going on? Eye candy?

Not knowing what she wanted, I stared back at her, meeting her gaze, and the girl’s eyes gradually turned a light crimson.

…Is she angry now?

As if my guess was correct, the girl frowned her delicate eyebrows.

“…Aren’t you curious?”

I was about to reflexively respond with “About what?” but something told me that was a phrase I shouldn’t say, so I quickly closed my mouth.

It felt like the worst choice among many options, a direct ticket to the bad ending.

Sh…shit. What is it? What am I suddenly not supposed to be curious about? Why her eyes change? If she knew the reason, wouldn’t she have tried to fix it? Ah, is this too blunt?

Help me, Se-ah, who’s probably already digesting all my snacks at home…!

‘Bro, when talking to girls, always follow up on the end of their sentences. They like it because it feels like you’re showing interest. Got it?’

‘Got it?’

‘……That’s not what I meant. This won’t work, oppa should just live with me forever.’

‘Isn’t this right? And don’t say things that make me want to throw up.’

I managed to filter out Se-ah’s nonsense and extract only the necessary memory.

If I go by the end of the girl’s sentence just now…

“Ah, of course I’m curious…!”

“…About what?”

“Huh?”

Ah shit. It was an essay question?

Shouldn’t I be given choices, humanely speaking?

Is this the infamous “Do you know what you did wrong?”

Damn it, little sister, you’ve made it even harder…!

What could it be? Among our conversations, what I might be curious about…

Ah.

Could it be.

Her age?

But as a “middle school (1st year)” student, I thought it wouldn’t be right to ask an elementary school student I just met

— Hehe, how old are you? What’s your name?

I had been holding back my curiosity about my friend’s little sister until now, thinking it would be inappropriate.

Could it be… is it okay to ask that question?

“Um… how far apart in age are you two?”

But since she had set the stage, it wouldn’t be manly to run away, so I asked in a somewhat roundabout way.

Fortunately, my answer seemed to match the examiner’s intention, as the crimson in the girl’s eyes soon smoothly disappeared and returned to its original color.

“…We’re also one year apart.”

So she’s 13 years old?

As soon as I learned the age of the girl in front of me, what came to mind was the image of her wearing a school uniform next year.

Oh……………….

Wow……………….

I could already see the future without even trying.

Just like her brother Jin-hyuk, or perhaps even more so. She’d be called out for confessions during every break time.

……Maybe I could be one of those people calling her out.

The thought that I hoped she would come to our school crossed my mind without me realizing it. Just from imagining her in a uniform.

No, let’s not do this to a friend’s sister, Woo-jin.

Conversely, if Seo Jin-hyuk were to look at my sister and confess… Ugh, fuck.

The mirror therapy was too effective, bringing me back to my senses.

Once I came to my senses, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Wait, was I the only one who was curious?

“What about you?”

“…Pardon?”

“Don’t you have anything you’re curious about me?”

I asked about your age. You could at least ask for my name.

Since I’d already asked about age, I could have naturally asked for her name too, pretending it was no big deal.

—It’s a shame.

Somehow ending it like this felt… disappointing.

Her expression, her voice, …her eyes.

Of course, if the girl had responded with a cold expression saying “I’m not curious about anything,” I would have created a dark history that would make me kick my blanket before sleep tonight.

“……Uh.”

There it is.

The girl looked at me with a bewildered expression, as if she hadn’t expected me to come out like this.

…I’m relieved. I wasn’t the only one curious about you.

“Nothing? …Well, forget it then.”

Ah shit. Should I not have said that? Is this a brain malfunction?

Seeing the girl’s expression as she looked at me with pursed lips, I couldn’t help but feel a chill and took another step forward.

While I was worried about what if she says she has nothing to ask while being upset,

“…Tell me.”

“Hm?”

In the midst of my internal dramatic monologue, the girl’s voice reached my ears.

“Your name… tell me your name……”

Whether she was frustrated or shy.

In a small, trembling voice that only I could hear.

With her face and even the small earlobe peeking through her side hair dyed as red as the sunset.

In that figure, looking up at me with tiny fists clenched tightly.

In that dazzling figure, I.

I couldn’t dare to take my eyes off those cherry blossom-colored eyes that held my reflection.

“Han Woo-jin. …I’m Han Woo-jin.”

Remember me. Me.

My name, which I never thought was special.

It felt like it became special when I conveyed it to the girl in front of me with a handful of hope.

“Han Woo-jin….”

The girl muttered my name softly, then nodded as if she understood.

“And your name?”

Even if I had stayed still, the girl would have told me soon.

But I couldn’t wait.

I want to know, your name.

“…I’m Seo Ye-rin.”

Looking at her, no, at Seo Ye-rin, who smiled softly with a “hee-” as if satisfied, I thought.

I might forget Seo Jin-hyuk someday, but I would probably never forget the name Seo Ye-rin for the rest of my life.

**

After finally learning each other’s names and ages, we soon arrived at Seo Jin-hyuk’s, no, Seo Ye-rin’s house, regrettably.

Ah, I should have asked faster.

Seo Ye-rin, Seo Ye-rin. Even her name is pretty. Living up to her name. How can a person’s name be Han Woo-jin?

Upon arriving at Seo Ye-rin’s house, I learned two facts.

First, Seo Ye-rin’s house was very close to mine.

Like the two paths in a maple leaf game, 90% the same, but if you go left at the end, it’s my house, and if you go right, it’s Seo Ye-rin’s house.

It had only been a month since we became friends, and since Seo Jin-hyuk would go straight to academy after school, I never knew until now.

Second, Seo Ye-rin’s house was an expensive officetel in this neighborhood.

Come on, these siblings have both good looks and wealth? That’s cheating. Isn’t that too much?

While I was grumbling internally about the unfair difficulty levels of life, we soon arrived at the front door of Seo Ye-rin’s house.

— Why am I here?

I clearly intended to say goodbye at the entrance on the first floor, thinking that it was enough to have come this far.

But Seo Ye-rin stared at me as if wondering what I was doing there, making me feel awkward and follow her up to the 7th floor.

Now I can really go, right? I looked at Seo Ye-rin, and

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-♩♪♩♪

As if to say not a chance, the door opened with a cheerful password entry sound.

When the door opened, there stood.

“Ye-rin, you’re back……huh?????”

“…Nice to see you?”

…Don’t look at me as if you’re wondering why I came with your sister.

I don’t know either, really.

The only thing I know for sure is.

……………your little sister is amazing.