Suspiciously Close Siblings (Going Up)

In the blink of an eye, the SAT is exactly one week away.

In the meantime, nothing really happened.

Of course, I had no reason to know what my brother was thinking,

At first glance, it seemed fine.

With the exam right around the corner, he seemed to have no other thoughts besides studying.

I pretended to be fine on the outside.

Although the dream place was wild.

Look, you're still having nightmares.

Why are my cousin and my friend wearing the hibiscus and craving me?

Even looking at the bling bling diamonds on my military uniform, it seems that I was commissioned as a second lieutenant without my knowledge.

But why are the officers sleeping in the dormitory?

If you realize that it's an ordinary dream, shouldn't you be able to do whatever you want?

Why is there nothing that goes my way?

"Son, aren't you awake?"

"⋯Uh, yes?"

I woke up in a cold sweat, and when I looked at my wrist, it was already 9:00.

Wow, it's a weekday and it's been a while since I woke up at this time.

Even though I slept for a long time, I was not tired at all.

The dream was a bit scary.

"It's morning."

"⋯ Mom, don't you go to work?"

"Sometime after class, he's talking in his sleep."

"⋯I want to sleep more since I don't go to school even in winter from today."

"Mom knows that. Aren't you eating breakfast?"

"I'll sleep a little longer and eat…"

"With this in mind, can you take me to my sister for the exam?"

"Then I wake up on time… Mom's not going to wake you up anyway."

"Seeing how well you talk, I woke up. Be lazy and eat."

Thanks to her mother who kept pulling the blanket over her, she lingered up and headed to her table.

Well… It's good that I woke up from a nightmare.

When I went to the table, my brother, who had risen earlier than me for some reason, had finished eating first.

"Good morning."

"Yeah, brother too."

"How does it feel to rest at home with a week left for the exam?"

"Stuffy."

"After all, you can play even if you don't like it, so rather enjoy it. There won't be many things in your life to be that nervous, right?"

"Huh."

"But don't be too pressured. The exam isn't that important anyway. If not, see you next year."

"…Isn't it too easy to say that you are not a party?"

"The employee's daughter is taking the test, but if she's an employee, she's right enough."

"⋯Don't feel pressured."

"It sounds like it should be done in moderation."

Before leaving her seat, I gave her a few words of advice as a senior, and she seemed to understand her well.

Because she can't be nervous at all.

She made a decent joke, and she nodded and ran away to her room.

She sat down at an empty table and emptied her bowl as she alone ate each spoonful of rice and soup.

As she was putting away the dishes and washing her dishes, her mother, who had been answering her phone from a distance, hurriedly approached her sink in surprise.

⋯ There are times when mom is embarrassed.

"Why is that, Mom?"

"⋯ I heard that one of the inmates in my mother's class came out with a confirmed case?"

"Yes?"

"Because she is a close contact, her mother also needs to self-quarantine."

"Wasn't the class non-face-to-face?"

"She has changed for a while."

"That, well ⋯, isn't she okay because she didn't get sick?"

"You never know again. What if her mother also got the virus, what about winter?"

"By the way ⋯, she can't get out of bed. Shouldn't she be at home?"

"Uh… I'll think about it, too, Mom."

Her mother was busy sending her messages here and there, and she soon started calling.

No, at this important time, they said it was a lightning strike.

"Uh, yes. Ok, thanks. Yes yes I'll just pack up and go. Hang up."

"⋯Who are you?"

"Youngest aunt."

"Why is my aunt again?"

"It's a big deal if you stay here and your mother is also confirmed. Then, even in winter, I won't be able to take the SAT in my physical condition. Go and quarantine your aunt."

"⋯What about your youngest aunt?"

"He said he went on a business trip. My eldest aunt has a lot of people, so it's a little hard to go."

"Hey, are you going to your youngest aunt?"

"I will only live there for two weeks. Oh look at my mind I'll have to wear a mask autumn. Sit on the sofa for a minute. You wear a mask too."

After covering his mouth as he said, he quietly sat down on the sofa.

Her mother made a fuss over her, put on her mask, hurriedly packed her things, and pounded on her brother's door.

"Would you like to come out for a second?"

"Why?"

"Look at me once. Mommy has something to tell you."

I dragged my younger sister, who only poked her head out, to my side, sat her down, and began to give her one-long speech.

"Because there is a confirmed case at the academy, and her mother has to self-isolate. But she can't let winter infect her."

"Yes."

"So I will go and live with my youngest aunt for two weeks."

"Huh."

"So, in the meantime, pamper your brother instead of mom."

"⋯ Yes?"

I was dumbfounded for a moment, so I interrupted.

Why did you come to the conclusion like this?

"Son, can I take care of the housework for you?"

"⋯Originally I was almost done?"

"So I'll trust you and leave it to you. Whether you order or serve the rice, you do it yourself."

"Money?"

"My mom gave me a lot of pocket money."

"No, that's because I bought almost all of them, including the cost of gas and food for winter."

"Let's go talk about that later. Anyway, I'll ask my mother."

"⋯Yes."

"Both of you, don't go anywhere."

"Shouldn't I go see the chapter?"

"There is nothing that cannot be delivered these days. Don't go out, stay home if you can."

"⋯Yes."

"Even in winter. Understand?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry Mom couldn't be by her side when winter was so important, but she couldn't help it. Instead, have her brother do this and that."

"⋯."

"I'm going to go to my mom, so go in and do what you were doing again. Cheer up. Autumn. You take the car keys and let's go down together. I have to go to my aunt."

"Me?"

"If mom drives, who will bring the car back home?"

"⋯Yes."

Clad in only her outerwear, silently carrying her luggage, she followed her mother down her stairs.

⋯ What to do?

Should I study cooking?

Her head was confused, but her body naturally started the engine and held the steering wheel.

"Mom, can I just take this and go?"

"If you lack something, you can borrow it from your aunt. You can ask me to buy it."

"That's right."

"Do you know where it is?"

"I don't know."

"I'll take a picture."

30 minutes to destination,

One hour round trip.

I followed the address on the navigation and slowly stepped on the accelerator.

It was so sudden and panicked that I didn't think I should speed it up.

"Son."

"Yes."

"⋯Take care of winter. You've become very close with your sister these days."

"⋯Yes."

"Can mom trust her son?"

"Your shoulders are too heavy."

"It's okay because my son has broad shoulders."

"⋯I will try, but to be honest, I am not confident about rice. I can't order and eat all three meals…"

My food skills end with kimchi fried rice.

You should be able to do it if you learn, but…

First of all, the home cooked food was so delicious,

Since I lived in a dormitory even in college, I didn't feel the need.

It's the army, because there's nothing to say.

"Anyway, there are things like pickles and salted fish, so you can just take them out and eat them. Soup is not sold these days. They also sell rice. They also sell side dishes. Buy and eat Mom will give you money later, so take the receipt with you."

"⋯Yes."

"⋯When the winter gets anxious, you comfort me a little."

"I saw it in October and it looked fine."

"It's a mock exam. The exam is different again. My mom is also an academy instructor, and I haven't seen one or two kids who mess up because they're nervous."

It's tension

You must be nervous.

At least, if you are a person who has worked hard and prepared, it is impossible to not be nervous on the day of the test.

If even an adult you can rely on is away like this, the tension that wasn't there will spring up somewhere.

Perhaps because of that, even I am nervous.

Why?

I have no idea.

"Anyway, I will only trust my son."

"⋯Georeum is taking the test, aren't you expecting too much from me?"

"But you can't put a burden on Winter, can you? Please share and listen Because you are my brother."

"All right."

Heavy.

The eyes of my mother who believed in me.

Scary.

Myself.

It was so scary.

***

After taking her mother to her aunt's four, she headed home leisurely.

Stop by a cafe on the way.

It was strangely wasteful of money to buy an Americano, so I returned with two hazelnut lattes.

I opened the front door holding one in each of her hands, and her brother greeted me.

"⋯Shouldn't have studied in the room."

"Uh… Just?"

"Just what?"

"Just."

"Do you want to drink coffee?"

"Huh."

He handed the still warm coffee to his brother.

⋯I'm really curious.

Wouldn't it be cold if I dressed like that in winter?

Of course, the inside of the house is warm because the boiler is on.

Somehow, the clothes I wear at home don't seem to change at all from summer.

Except for the color of the pants.

"How about lunch?"

"Uh… I want to eat what my brother made."

"Aren't you going to eat it?"

"I want to eat homemade food."

"⋯Aren't you overestimating my cooking skills?"

"The fried rice was delicious. Same with ramen."

"That's because it's a simple dish."

"I don't expect difficult dishes from my brother."

"⋯ Then, just tuna fried rice?"

"Huh."

I don't know if I have to pamper myself that much to make my stomach feel better.

Isn't she listening to her mother too well, she thinks.

Well… It's fortunate that he acted normally.

"What time are you going to eat?"

"1 o'clock. Because I drank coffee."

"Okay, go in and study hard."

"⋯If you tell someone who works hard to work hard, you hate doing it."

"Then do it roughly. If you came this far anyway, it doesn't matter whether you study or not."

"Can't you give me some proper encouragement?"

"You've been working hard anyway, so you'll be fine even if you don't do anything for a week."

"⋯Thank you."

"If you're grateful, go in quickly and rest or study. Come out to eat at 1:00."

"Huh."

Drinking coffee, her sister went back to her room.

After seeing her disappearing back, I let out a big sigh.

Let's calm down.

You have to keep the words that come out of your mouth.

At least,

I didn't want to disobey my mother's request.