X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the Server‘It should take about a week, right?’
Noona considered for a moment. ‘Let’s see. You should have plenty of time if you finish by the day after tomorrow. The person in charge won’t even check their emails until after the New Year holiday anyway.’
‘But I’m going out tomorrow and staying overnight!’ I protested. ‘I won’t be home until the day after tomorrow!’
‘Then just finish it before you leave tomorrow,’ Noona said dismissively. ‘Starting now, you have more than enough time.’
‘That’s only if I pull an all-nighter to read it,’ I thought, exasperated. ‘Are you telling me to make my club debut tomorrow with bloodshot eyes and a rapidly aging face after staying up all night? Who exactly are you trying to embarrass?’
‘Haeseung,’ Noona continued, ‘you need money to have fun. So you can go out and enjoy yourself without feeling inferior, if you read and finish the review by tomorrow, I’ll give you an extra hundred thousand won. Wow, why am I so kind? Where else in the world would you find a sister like me? I’m giving my little brother money so he can go out and drink to his heart’s content.’
‘If there were another sister like her in this world, wouldn’t that world be on the brink of apocalypse?’ I mused.
The words that had risen to my throat were abruptly choked back by the promise of a hundred thousand won. It truly felt like a crime to be poor. This goddamn world despises those without money.
‘Alright,’ I conceded.
‘Make sure you read it thoroughly,’ she warned. ‘I’ll ask you questions to see if you actually did.’
‘Geez,’ I muttered, ‘it’s not like I’m writing a book report.’
‘You could just skim it and claim you’re done,’ Noona retorted.
‘I wouldn’t!’ I insisted.
‘Of course, I trust my Haeseung. But the world isn’t as easy as you think. Do you imagine it’s simple to earn someone else’s money? Your sister is just giving you a taste of this harsh reality in advance.’
‘If the world is harsh, it’s probably because Noona exists,’ I thought. I let out a long, slow breath. A surge of hot indignation welled up inside me, but as always, I painfully swallowed it down, reminding myself that sometimes, losing is winning.
‘What are you doing? Not reading? Time is ticking, Haeseung. You need to read quickly and then rest so you can go out and play tomorrow. Haven’t you been waiting for tomorrow? You know I’m meticulous about money, right? I’ll send you the payment right before you leave tomorrow.’
I was about to retort, ‘If you know that, why are you dumping this work on me?’ but the words died on my tongue. Noona was indeed reliable with money. Wasn’t that the sole reason I was grudgingly opening the Hangeul file right now?
Thanks to Noona giving me half of my part-time pay as an advance, I had already bought clothes for tomorrow night’s outing. Although I didn’t have much money left, now that Noona had made such a promise, completing the task by tomorrow would ensure the rest of my pay came in immediately.
‘Stop sighing,’ Noona commanded.
‘Yes, yes,’ I mumbled.
‘Did you tell Mom you’re staying out tomorrow?’ she pressed.
‘…I’ll tell her when I leave tomorrow,’ I replied vaguely.
I opened the file, gauging the page count as I gave my evasive answer. The document neared 500 A4 pages, without a single empty line break. She was truly merciless, not even bothering to split it into two or three files. ‘Cruel, as expected,’ I thought, clicking my tongue internally, just before a sharp smack landed on the back of my head.
‘Ow, why?!’ I exclaimed.
‘That’s just telling her, you brat,’ she retorted.
‘I’m not your brat, so why do you keep calling me that? I’ll tell Mom!’ I threatened.
‘Then I’ll tell her too,’ Noona shot back. ‘That you’re planning to stay out all night tomorrow.’
She was truly being petty. She was closer to thirty than twenty, a mother with a child, yet she was so immature. ‘Tsk, tsk,’ I clicked my tongue inwardly, only to be struck again because she didn’t like my expression.
‘Don’t go getting drunk and passing out just because you’re a legal adult now, …huh? You can’t even drink tomorrow anyway. Not until the New Year…’ Noona began.
‘It’s easy enough to just hold out until midnight,’ I interrupted. ‘And besides, there are ways around it even if the year hasn’t changed yet.’
Without needing to hear my ‘methods,’ Noona sighed softly, clearly imagining I would find a way to drink regardless. ‘Drink in moderation. Be careful. If you get caught drinking before the New Year and the police station calls, you’re really dead.’
‘I’ll handle it myself,’ I snapped.
‘And make sure you take condoms,’ she added.
‘Ugh, seriously! This old lady!’ I exclaimed.
She had no shame, brazenly trying to meddle in my s*x life. I glared at her, determined not to tolerate this, but under her unwavering gaze, I subtly averted my eyes.
‘It’s obvious without you even saying anything,’ Noona declared. ‘Looking at your older brother, who used to date every girl under the sun in his early twenties, I can pretty much guess what you’re up to.’
‘Are my older brother and I the only ones with this family’s blood?’ I countered. ‘You got pregnant with Yerini and married before you even graduated college, didn’t you? They say you and Brother-in-law had an ‘accident’ right after you started dating.’
‘Hey, who told you that? We took our time and nurtured our love…’ she began defensively.
‘Time, my ass,’ I scoffed. ‘Brother-in-law already told me everything! He said you got drunk and dragged him to a motel. Oh, not right after you met, I guess. It was right after your second date. Ugh, I wonder if our Yerini knows her mother is such a woman, bursting with carnal desires.’
‘You scoundrel, really. Do you have no shame, blabbering about this all over the neighborhood?’ Noona hissed.
‘Why should Brother-in-law be ashamed? You’re the one who should be,’ I shot back.
‘Shut up,’ she growled.
Noona grabbed the nape of my neck and shook me fiercely, her hands pulling me back and forth until my head thrashed like I was headbanging.
‘You’re so brazen,’ she snarled. ‘I don’t even need to hear your intentions; it’s obvious you’re dead set on staying out tomorrow, isn’t it?’
‘An experienced person truly is different,’ I remarked. ‘You hit the nail on the head.’
‘You’re all talk, that’s what you are. I know you won’t listen if I tell you not to, so I won’t. Instead, don’t get involved with any weird guys. Choose a good one. A decent one, and if they’re also a virgin, even better.’
‘Forget it,’ I scoffed. ‘Who wants to see blood if we’re both virgins? I’m going for someone with absolutely amazing technique!’
‘Ugh, you little punk,’ Noona groaned. ‘You have no idea how scary the world is.’
Noona continued her ‘nagging,’ which wasn’t quite nagging, about how I was trying to shed my virginity as soon as I shed my minor status. ‘Anyone would think she was my mother,’ I thought. ‘I’ve waited until twenty, which was already a huge feat of self-control. Noona doesn’t understand. She doesn’t know my heart, welcoming my twenties while preserving my virginity out of a last shred of conscience. If I listen to the older guys around me, they say they lost their virginity in middle school. Compared to them, how exemplary of a gay man am I? If there’s a more Confucian gay man out there, I dare them to show themselves!’
‘Anyway, make sure you definitely bring condoms,’ she reiterated. ‘Don’t bring home any diseases.’
‘Wow, it’s not like gay people are the root of all diseases or anything,’ I retorted. ‘You’re disrespecting gay people.’
‘It’s not disrespecting gay people; it’s being wary of promiscuous sexual behavior, you dolt,’ Noona corrected.
Releasing my neck, she lightly tapped the back of my head with her fist. People say you shouldn’t hit someone’s head. I was sure at least a hundred million brain cells had died because of Noona. If not for her, I might have gotten into Harvard instead of Hankuk University. Being born as this woman’s brother, my life had clearly been twisted by about 110 degrees. I must be paying for the karma of having sold my country in a past life.
‘Still not reading? Just playing around? Do you want to go out with an empty wallet tomorrow?’ she challenged.
‘Who’s the one constantly picking fights and hitting the back of my head, disguised as questions?’ I thought. ‘She can’t even create a situation where I can concentrate.’
‘I am reading,’ I shot back. ‘Don’t you think that every time I try to read, you’re the one bothering me?’
‘So, how many lines have you read?’ she asked.
‘I’ve read up to the part where someone bids farewell to the world via a truck,’ I replied. ‘Ugh, so cliché.’
I couldn’t be the only one suffering stress. For every physical assault I endured, I decided to inflict an equal amount of mental anguish on Noona. I considered myself quite reasonable. Noona attacked me without reason, but my attacks were, after all, based on logical and rational justification.
‘Every time it’s regression, reincarnation, or possession, it’s always this damn truck,’ I grumbled. ‘Do you even know that the ‘reincarnation truck’ is a Japanese cliché when you use it?’
‘Traitor, a true traitor,’ I thought. In response to my jab, Noona’s fist swiped at my side.
‘It’s not!’ she snapped. ‘I chose a truck because it’s the most reliable way to send someone off in one go. If they get hit by a regular car or a motorcycle and then possess someone, they’d wonder what’s going on. It takes being hit by a truck for them to realize, ‘Ah, I’ve left this world in one swift blow.”
Noona argued that while she wasn’t sure about regression, for reincarnation or possession, leaving any possibility of returning was the most unsettling thing. In my opinion, it was simply cruelty that left no room for dreams or hope.
‘So, what do you think? Are you getting a feel for it in the beginning? Does anything really grab you?’ Noona asked.
‘I haven’t even read a full chapter yet, so what ‘grab’ could there be?’ I retorted. ‘Just leave me alone. I won’t be able to finish this by tomorrow even if I read all night.’
‘Is she telling me to read, or not to read?’ I fumed. ‘Can you really interrupt someone who’s working like this?’
‘Ugh, you brat. Always so irritable,’ Noona muttered.
‘Mommy! Uncle!’ a voice piped up.
Behind Noona, who was still poking my head and picking a fight, the door peeked open, and Yerini poked her head in. The four-year-old girl, with her hair tied in pigtails, was utterly adorable. My mother claimed Yerini looked exactly like Noona did as a child, but there was no way our cute Yerini could resemble my wicked sister.
Being my only niece, she was incredibly cute, and the way she’d crinkle the corners of her eyes every time she giggled was utterly charming. Just thinking about her growing up and bringing home some dark-haired boy to marry made my fists clench even now.
‘Our Yerini will marry Uncle when she grows up, won’t she?’ I asked, scooping up Yerini, who had toddled over, and embracing her tightly, rubbing my cheek against hers. From above my head, Noona’s snort of derision sounded. It was a sneer laden with the clear implication: ‘You, a gay man? As if!’
‘Yerini’s going to marry Daddy,’ the little girl declared.
‘…Hmm. Right. If it’s Brother-in-law, I’ll concede,’ I said, pausing. ‘Even to Brother-in-law, Yerini is more… than your mother…’
‘Hey, you punk,’ Noona cut in sharply. ‘Stop spouting such disrespectful nonsense and get to work if you want your money.’
‘Yerini,’ I said to her, ‘Mommy’s being mean to Uncle. Our Yerini shouldn’t grow up as wicked and fierce as Mommy. You need to be a kind person, alright?’
I managed one more word before receiving another smack on the back of my head, and Yerini was snatched away. Holding Yerini in her arms, Noona pointed at the laptop, telling me to hurry up and read, then exited the room.
‘What a venomous woman,’ I thought. ‘My poor Brother-in-law, for marrying someone like that. If I had sold my country in a past life, then Brother-in-law must have been born with the karma of having destroyed the world.’
Offering my condolences to Brother-in-law, who would undoubtedly rush here after working overtime just to pick up Noona and Yerini, I finally turned my attention back to the laptop screen.
Loving this chapter? You'll be hooked on I Just Wanted An Ordinary Life This Time! Click to explore more!
Read : I Just Wanted An Ordinary Life This Time
