Chapter 65 : My Twenties (1)

The lost pieces of memory would return someday.
That fact was weighing heavily on me.

Someone had cooked ramen for a hangover cure, but my chopsticks didn’t touch the noodles.
Gu Yuri, who had taken the seat next to me, was showing me a video with a devilish smile.

[Okay, look at the camera and introduce yourself.]
[Hiccup, I’m Lee Haram.]

The video she was showing me revealed my face, sitting on Gu Yuri’s lap with my eyes half-closed.
I bit my lip and said,

“…This is inappropriate.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind.”

I’d shown that side of myself last night?
I really wanted to hide in a mouse hole.
Hyelin’s voice could be heard in the video that was playing.

[Y-Yuri Sis?]
[What?]
[W-We have to order p-pizza here too!]
[Pizza?]
[Ah, never mind.]

‘What was she trying to order?’

I frowned and looked at Hyelin.
Hyelin was pointedly avoiding my gaze and eating her ramen.
I’d felt this before, but Hyelin seemed to be timid while also showing a sinister side in minor ways.

Hansongi’s playful voice could be heard in the video.

[Haram. I’ll ask you first.]
[Yes.]
[Do you have a crush on anyone?]

At her question, I made a displeased face in the video and answered,

[…No.]

Hansongi looked disappointed.
This time, Yuri sister opened her mouth.

[Now it’s my turn to ask. Who do you like the most out of the three of us?]
[Hehe, I like all of you?]
[Oh my, listen to her talk. Hansongi, get more alcohol.]
[S-Shouldn’t we stop feeding her more?]
[We won’t be able to see this side of her if she sobers up. You can ask her something if you want.]

A face with half-closed eyes and a silly smile was visible through the video.
I pressed the pause button, my hands trembling.

“Stop… this is assault.”
“The highlight hasn’t even come out yet? I didn’t know our daughter-in-law was such a charmer until yesterday.”
“I-I don’t need to see it. Please delete it.”
“I’m not going to delete it.”
“…”

I glared at Yuri for a moment, then reached out to grab her phone when she was distracted, but she lightly dodged and hid the phone in her pocket.
We were at a standoff when Hyelin, lacking any tact, added,

“H-Haram, you were c-cute, though.”
“You be quiet.”
“U-Um.”
“You should be thinking about taking care of someone when they’re drunk. Is it something a person should do, feeding them more for your own amusement?”

Hansongi chuckled at my impassioned speech, then drank some water and said,

“Well, would you be able to stand it?”
“I would definitely be able to stand it.”
“But I’m not you, am I? Too bad, I guess.”
“Th-That’s… you’re right.”

Hansongi’s reply was so infuriating that I almost lost my temper.
I drew the character for “patience” in my heart and slowly took a deep breath.

“I’m never, ever drinking again.”
“Okay. Do whatever you want.”

Just then, Hyelin placed a bowl of ramen in front of me.
I brushed the hair that was blocking my vision aside with one hand and ate the ramen little by little.
I had a sudden question, so I covered my mouth with my hand and asked,

“By the way, why did you dye your hair back?”

Unlike when we first met, Gu Yuri’s hair was dyed black instead of yellow.

“Oh? Because of the drama I’m going into.”
“A drama?”
“The role I got is a high school student, what do you think, do I still look the part?”
“You know you’re not going to get a good answer if you say that with a hangover face, right?”

She glared at me at my dispassionate reply, then continued,

“Ugh… if I couldn’t at least talk, anyway, watch ‘My Twenties’ on TV later.”
“Oh, that one?”
“You know about it?”
“Director Kim Dohyung contacted me a few days ago. He asked if I wanted to audition for a project that someone he knew was doing. That’s that project.”

The offer that Dohyung had given me a few days ago… I had put my answer on hold, saying that I would decide after looking at the script. To think that someone I knew was participating in that project, I really felt that the world was small.
Yuri sister‘s face lit up and she snuggled against me.

“If things go well, we’ll be eating out of the same pot?”
“The schedule shouldn’t be a problem, so I’m still thinking about it.”
“It’s an audition, right? You don’t seem worried about failing. Well, maybe our daughter-in-law can afford that much leeway?”
“I’m honestly pretty confident.”
“Ew, you’re so annoying.”

Working with Gu Yuri would be a pretty good experience.

Just then, Dojun woke up and came out as the door opened.
I said to him as he poured water into a cup and gulped it down,

“Hey, Han Dojun, eat some ramen.”
“…I don’t like ramen. I’m going to order some pork belly.”
“This early in the morning?”
“Yeah. And please clean up what you ate before you leave.”
“I’ll take care of it.”

He gave me a disgruntled look, then ordered delivery with his phone.
Hansongi watched us with a chopstick in her mouth.

“You guys are getting along again?”
“We made up.”
“No forgiveness?”
“Yes. No forgiveness, but making up.”

I gave an accurate definition to her question.

Forgiveness is forgetting the wrong that was done.
Making up is putting each other’s responsibilities aside.
We had definitely made up yesterday.

‘They drank a lot.’

I gathered the trash that was scattered everywhere and sorted it for recycling.
Since we had borrowed someone else’s space, we had to make sure to clean up before we left.

Hyelin went up to Yuri and was saying something.
I pretended not to be interested and strained my ears to listen.

“Y-Yuri sis?”
“What?”
“Could you send me the v-video you took yesterday by text?”
“I’ll send it to you later.”
“Hehe, thank you. I’ll s-send you something else in return.”

It seemed like I had discovered an illegal transaction.
I wondered what other video Hyelin had.

I suddenly thought that it would be better not to know the truth.
I pretended not to know and left, but Hyelin’s laughter of satisfaction lingered in my ears for a while.

***

When I returned home, my parents were out and only Lee Hayul was watching TV.
She looked at me as I came in, frowned, and went into her room.
Then, she came back and started spraying Febreze on me.

“Cough, what are you doing, sister? Stop spraying.”
“Lee Haram, did you already fall into the gangster pit and start drinking?”
“Huh?”
“You’re making it obvious. You reek of alcohol.”
“Does it smell that bad?”
“Yeah. Hurry up and put your clothes in the washing machine and go shower.”

You can’t smell the scent coming from your own body.
I was horrified and quickly finished showering.

“I already started the laundry. What would have happened if Mom was here?”
“Wouldn’t I just get hit a few times…?”
“I would let you off with that. But Mom dotes on you. At the very least, she would have grabbed the back of your neck.”
“Really?”

Hayul gave me a fruit drink that she had prepared.

“Drink this, you must not feel good. “
“Thanks. But why are you being so nice to me?”

I was feeling uneasy about Hayul being so nice to me.
A real older sister isn’t an existence from a fantasy.
At my words, she looked around, then stammered.

“Um… are you still talking to Hankyul lately?”
“I do sometimes, yeah?”

Hayul took out her phone and showed me an interview article with Baek Hankyul, saying,

“You filmed a movie with him, and this is his interview, but from what he’s saying, it seems like he’s feeling doubtful about his acting skills. C-Could you leave a message saying that I’m supporting him as a fan?”

Sure enough, there was an ulterior motive for being nice to me.
Hayul wanted to become a “successful fan” and send a message of support to her favorite idol through me.
But still, an interview related to Hankyul was news to me.
“I didn’t hear anything like that.”
“Of course not. Are you and him the same?”

I felt strange, but it was true.
I nodded and looked for my phone.

I thought that my connection would have been cut off soon since he was such a famous person, but Hankyul was more talkative than I thought and kept sending me texts first.
I turned on the app, found Hankyul’s profile, and clicked it. The last message we exchanged was visible.

[Picture]
[Baek Hankyul (Actor + Idol): I came to a Japanese restaurant with the members. Looks tasty, right? Hehe]

• That looks good. But why did you send me a picture of food…?

[Baek Hankyul (Actor + Idol): Why?]

• Eat quickly. It’ll get cold.

[Baek Hankyul (Actor + Idol): …Okay]

I glared at Hayul, who was expecting so much, and said.

“What should I send?”
“Wait, just type that in and send it to him.”

What Hayul showed me was a wall made of text.
I sighed and suggested a compromise.

“Can I just send him a message saying that my sister is supporting you as a fan?”
“O-Okay!”

I simply sent a message saying that my sister was supporting him, and the “1” next to the message immediately disappeared.
I thought that he would reply later and was about to press the lock button when a reply came immediately.

I checked the message and tilted my head, confused.
Hayul looked uneasy at my reaction.

“Did he get mad, by any chance?”
“It’s not that, it’s just that this guy has nothing to do these days.”
“Huh?”
“He’s asking if I want to meet up and hang out tomorrow.”