There were no more poses to squeeze out, and even Iseul, who had been smiling brightly, started to look serious.
But before there was time to get annoyed, they left for the beach villa with the Gong family, minus Gong Pyeonghwa.
It was a day for a private weekend picnic celebration.
As soon as they arrived, a more elaborate barbecue party than expected was underway, and it was chaotic. For something hastily arranged, the quality was excessive.
As he had felt since the first day, the Gong family were big eaters. The meat couldn’t cook fast enough to keep up with how quickly they ate.
They were all big eaters and outdoor enthusiasts, so Saebyeok was barely able to keep up. He wanted to secretly contact Pyeonghwa, but it wasn’t easy.
After being dragged around by the Gong family without Pyeonghwa, night had fallen before he knew it.
How could it be so hectic?
How could there be four adults with more energy than a one-year-old baby?
Exhausted, Saebyeok sent Pyeonghwa a message about his depleted energy and collapsed onto the bed.
***
❤MyLove❤
I’msotiredtodayI’mgoingtosleepfirstgoodnightㅡㆍ
What had happened? What had they done to make him unable to even use spaces? He left his tears half-shed.
Today, he had firmly resolved to have a hotter night than yesterday and had even planned the concept and situation…
Struck by this bolt from the blue, Pyeonghwa also collapsed weakly onto the bed.
Pyeonghwa relied on yesterday’s memories to comfort his loneliness.
***
Pyeonghwa was humming from the morning as he made egg jidan. He was in a good mood as they were cooked as thick as egg rolls.
The rice was also perfectly cooked, just right for making inari sushi.
Today was picnic day.
Today was the day Iseul was coming.
Excited, Pyeonghwa shyly asked his mother-in-law who was stir-frying carrots.
“Can we use sausage instead of ham? Can we also add flying fish roe? Can we make seaweed-cucumber kimbap too?”
“You can add whatever you want.”
It was amazing how such small things could make him so happy. Mrs. Lee now found it awkward if the kitchen was quiet.
“Good thing we bought salmon yesterday, right? Salmon-cucumber-seaweed kimbap. It’s going to be delicious, don’t you think? We’ll eat all the end pieces. After all, whoever rules the kitchen gets the end pieces.”
As Pyeonghwa happily rolled the kimbap, Mrs. Lee cut it into uniform sizes.
Noeul, who had just finished washing up, carefully moved the kimbap into the lunchbox with chopsticks.
The lunchbox was filled with inari sushi on the first layer, beef rice balls and fried shrimp on the second, various kimbap on the third and fourth, sandwiches on the fifth, barbecue on the sixth, and fresh fruits on the seventh and eighth.
Looking at the lunchbox, too heavy for four adults, Noeul wondered if the priorities had been reversed. He was certainly capable of it. He was that kind of person.
Pyeonghwa was the type of person who would suggest a picnic because he wanted to eat a picnic lunch.
“We have to make baby food for our Iseul too. Noeul, when is Iseul coming? After breakfast?”
“She’s almost here.”
In truth, Noeul had been too excited to sleep at the thought of seeing the cute baby. She wasn’t just a stranger’s baby; she was clearly her niece!
“It’ll take about 10 minutes.”
“Oho.”
Thinking he needed to quickly prepare the baby food, Pyeonghwa picked up speed.
“Nine minutes left.”
“Right.”
“Eight minutes. Eight minutes.”
“Mmm.”
“The traffic must be bad. Five minutes left.”
She must be really looking forward to it. Pyeonghwa inwardly smiled at Noeul, who suddenly became talkative and checked outside every minute.
Five minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Noeul opened the door faster than anyone else, at a different speed entirely.
“Yo. Sister-in-law.”
Was wearing unfunny sunglasses a family tradition? Whether the siblings shared the same taste in sunglasses or not, Gong Sarang, wearing similar sunglasses, greeted them with Iseul in her arms.
“Yop.”
Imitating Sarang with a hip hand greeting from her tiny hand, Iseul was fortunately wearing extremely cute clothes even by normal standards.
“Come in.”
There’s nothing awkward about it. Although Sarang firmly refused, Noeul forcefully dragged her in.
She had seemed unlikely to act this way, but the reason soon became apparent.
“Hey. Orangutan.”
The familiar profanity between family members landed precisely in the ears.
With arms crossed and shooting lasers from his eyes, the second Satan, Gong Pyeonghwa, the son of his mother, appeared.
“…”
“Come over here right now.”
The Satan in a cute apron wiggled his finger.
“No. I’ll come to you. Stay where you are.”
Having much to be guilty about, Gong Sarang tried to escape, but it was impossible to get away from Gong Pyeonghwa, a core muscle rich man who would even climb walls to see his omega.
“My. Dear. Loving. Sister. Let. Me. Show. You. How. I’ve. Been. Doing.”
Pyeonghwa put his arm around her shoulders, something he would never normally do, and escorted Sarang to his room.
“Mother-in-law, is it okay if I go resolve our reunion for a moment?”
“Sure.”
They seemed to have such good sibling affection.
With high regard for Pyeonghwa, Mrs. Lee could only see it in a positive light.
“Let’s go. My dear sister.”
If you don’t want to die.
Sarang was captured by Satan and dragged to hell.
***
“Hey. Should I hold a press conference about your dating that idol? Should I tell Mom and Dad who that guy is that you’re dating now?”
“Go ahead. Do it. We’ll break up, and that’s it. I was planning to end it soon anyway.”
Since she had started dating him just based on his looks, it was about time to end it, so Sarang wasn’t too concerned. Not feeling guilty at all…
“Should I organize and report on all the scandals you covered up for that bastard? Should I prepare a report detailing down to the last won how much money was spent covering them up? Should I make a presentation?”
Not considering her cartilage that would suffer in her later years, Sarang immediately knelt down.
“And every time you date a boyfriend, you cross-dress…”
“Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh! I can’t hear! I can’t hear! I can’t hear!”
“Give me your phone.”
What is family? A group of people in a kinship relationship centered around a married couple.
Then what are siblings? People who know each other’s shameful secrets better than anyone else but keep those secrets out of loyalty due to shared blood. But couldn’t they also be defined as blood relatives with affection that can be used at any time, depending on the circumstances?
Pyeonghwa made a video call to stir up Gong Jeong’s shame as well and calmly…
“You trash!”
He couldn’t be calm.
Listening to the story, it wasn’t because of some great grudge, but simply because they were butthurt.
Because he got married before his older brother, and to someone close to his sister’s ideal type. Well, incidentally, to appease both sets of parents. It was just a casual suggestion, but they didn’t expect it to be adopted.
Honestly, if in the same situation, Pyeonghwa would have done the same thing. Because the misfortune of one’s kin is one’s own joy.
But I’m the one suffering right now. It was unforgivable.
“Sigh…”
Pyeonghwa rubbed his face with dry hands to suppress his anger. Since it had started and wasn’t likely to stop now, he needed to think rationally.
Ninety-three more days. How should he use these despicable family register mates?
Right. Use them as a bridge.
“When I give the signal, somehow get Saebyeok out. Then I’ll make sure to bury both of your shameful secrets. If not, I don’t know what I’ll do. Whether I’ll hold a press conference or send a letter to Mom and Dad…”
On the video call, Gong Jeong and Gong Sarang standing before him wore identical expressions of dismay, as if to prove they were siblings.
Gong Jeong said he understood and hung up. Gong Sarang was dying of envy for Gong Jeong.
“Ugh… But the more I think about it, this is super outrageous? What kind of sister meddles when her brother is trying to be happy?”
“Siblings are programmed that way from birth…”
“I want to put you in an arm bar, so shut up.”
As if she wouldn’t have done the same in my position… When Sarang grumbled, Pyeonghwa opened his eyes wide.
“Me? No way! I would never have done that! I would have completely supported you! My character is different from yours! How did we grow up in the same womb and environment but develop such different personalities? It’s scary. Scary. Are you perhaps a psychopath? You should get tested.”
He lied without even wetting his lips.
“You? You’re saying that? Don’t lie. When a family member who showed no signs of romance suddenly brings a baby, of course I have to tease them at every opportunity.”
“That’s absurd. I was showing signs of romance everywhere. You saw it too.”
In fact, when Pyeonghwa was in high school, secretly dating, he had once been caught by Sarang.
“Me? What? When?”
“In high school, you saw my phone. You saw all the texts with Saebyeok.”
“Me?”
No matter how hard Sarang tried to recall, she had no idea what he was talking about.
Instead of looking at her sibling’s phone messages, she preferred to spend that time looking at the faces of idols she raised with her heart and wallet.
And Pyeonghwa’s texts would have been either about a chicken place or Oppa Seonwoo Jeong… Huh?
“Don’t tell me it was ‘Beloved Chicken’ something?”
“Yeah.”
Sarang traced her memory from 10 years ago.
By coincidence, they had the same phone model, so thinking it was hers, she had looked and…
[♥Beloved Chicken♥]
‘This crazy guy is now dating chicken. Look at the hearts on both sides.’
That’s what she remembered thinking.
Ah… So they’ve been dating since then.
But that’s not it.
“How was I supposed to know ‘Chicken’ was Oppa Saebyeok, you lunatic? I just thought you were so fond of eating chicken that you had some weird sexual attraction to it.”
“Are you insane? What kind of crazy person would be sexually attracted to chicken?”
“I thought it was you. So, as a dutiful sibling, I didn’t tell Mom and Dad about your weird sexual fetish.”
“Are you free from prejudice? Or just thoughtless?”
At a loss for words at his prejudice-free, thoughtless sister, Pyeonghwa simply handed her the lunchbox.
Adding that it was for Saebyeok to eat.
Though it wasn’t voluntary, he had at least made a bridge, so Pyeonghwa prepared for the picnic with a peaceful mind.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
