Baek Ye-rin’s mother, Lee Yeon-hee, passed away during her funeral, and Baek Ye-rin once told me this:
“I’m moving.”
“Really?”
“Mom told me this before she passed away. She said it’s enough to keep memories in photos and our minds. So, she wanted me to leave that house. She said if I keep staying there alone, my sadness will only grow.”
“…I see. Anyway, you should ask the CEO for help with the moving. It was a benefit you should’ve had earlier as a singer under RT Entertainment.”
At my words, for some reason, Baek Ye-rin smiled faintly and said,
“You haven’t heard yet, have you? It was a decision made quite a while ago.”
“Decision?”
“Oh, it’s just me talking to myself. Actually, the place I’m moving to is already decided.”
“That’s good. If anything difficult or troubling happens, let me know. Not only me, but the CEO and this manager are here for you.”
“Okay, thank you.”
At that moment, I felt relieved.
Though it must’ve been tough, it seemed as if Baek Ye-rin wasn’t lingering in her sorrow but instead moving forward.
But, well…
“Wow, Ye-rin, you’re really good at cooking?”
“Thank you! Thanks to how well the kitchen was organized by you, the environment was great for cooking.”
“Oh, now that we’re living under the same roof, why call me ‘aunt’? Just call me freely, like ‘mom.'”
“Mom…?”
Baek Ye-rin looked slightly embarrassed after saying it, her face turning red.
Her mother looked at her with affection.
…What is this?
I couldn’t understand this situation at all.
“What happened?”
“Didn’t I tell you? Your father and sister already knew, but…”
“When you suddenly went to RT Entertainment claiming you’d compose music, you probably didn’t hear, right?”
At that moment, my sister who was eating the meal prepared by Baek Ye-rin said beside me,
Apparently, it started when my mother injured her ankle and was hospitalized for about two weeks.
During that time, Baek Ye-rin’s mother and my mother became quite close.
The reason they grew close might be because of me and Baek Ye-rin.
Indeed, our lives as ordinary junior high students were a bit distant from normal.
There were many things we could relate to, and especially in this life, Baek Ye-rin became a singer because of me, which might have been the turning point.
…Yeah, that’s true.
I knew all of this.
But one day, Baek Ye-rin’s mother asked my mom a favor:
If possible, would she let Baek Ye-rin live with us?
“Did she give a reason?”
“Of course, I asked.”
“What was it?”
“That’s a secret for you.”
…?
Isn’t that a bit hurtful?
Anyway, it seemed my mom happily accepted the request, leading to this situation.
“The room will be next to mine, since it happens to be available.”
“The luggage has been moved since lunch.”
“Since everyone, except me, already agreed, isn’t it fine as long as Ye-rin is okay with it?”
Of course, I am not fine with this at all.
With that thought, I looked at Baek Ye-rin.
For some reason, she gave me a soft smile.
It was as if she was saying, “It’s not at all inconvenient.”
Living with the most popular singer now!
…Would anyone believe me if I said that?
“Still, if we’re talking, you’re a prodigy composer as well, aren’t you?”
Lying comfortably on the bed in my room was Ryu Se-ah, my older sister, who continued with a curious look.
“Actually, Ye-rin, who is now living next door, said this in an interview. She owes all her fan base and attention to you, Ha-on.”
“What, are you and Ye-rin on first name basis now?”
“Just had a conversation in my room. Turns out we get along quite well.”
“Getting along well?”
“You don’t need to know.”
…Is she for real?
Am I the one being isolated in this house?
“Even so, aren’t you in a situation a teenage boy should be happy about?”
“It might be. But not for me.”
“Why?”
“To me, Baek Ye-rin is way too amazing.”
And that’s exactly what I feel.
Baek Ye-rin is someone who made me dream, someone I look up to.
Living in the same space with someone like that……
“Honestly, it’s an honor, but there’s also a lot of pressure.”
“Such a dumb answer. But your dumbness makes you amusing.”
“Hardly the words I should hear from a sister who joined Seolhwa Arts High School.”
“Seolhwa Arts High?”
I nodded.
Seolhwa Arts High School.
Currently the best and most well-known art high school in Korea.
And my sister is attending that prestigious school on a full scholarship.
I heard it’s extremely competitive, and apparently, she entered as the top scorer.
“I worked hard on it. Just to sing the songs of a certain dumb guy.”
“Wait a minute. Is that dumb guy me?”
“In the meaning that you should definitely keep your promise, little brother. It feels like a good opportunity is coming up.”
“…?”
“In any case, I’m leaving now!”
Like that, she left my room after saying what she wanted to say.
I could only dumbly look at her as that exclamation escaped from me:
“What the hell…?”
I swear, I haven’t made any kind of promise with my sister in recent years. I had no such intention.
Could it be…?
–Alright. Let’s put this talk on hold for now.
Was it the time when I played her ‘Cantabile’?
My head started throbbing.
My sister is someone I can’t ever fully grasp with my own logic.
That’s why I started to sense that something related to her will probably happen soon.
So, what can you do about this?
That description perfectly fit my current situation.
“Just sleep quickly…”
Sighing, I laid down on the bed.
I concluded that it’s healthier for my mental state to just sleep for now.
To be honest, a lot happened today suddenly.
Because of that, I feel a wave of fatigue.
When I lay down on the bed to sleep, a sound came from the door.
Tap, tap.
It was a knock.
Could it be my sister coming again?
No, that can’t be it.
My sister doesn’t knock before entering my room.
Then is it Mom or Dad?
That also seemed off.
Sometimes they knock but enter immediately without waiting for a response.
Ah, how true it is that privacy doesn’t exist in this house.
That’s why I could immediately understand who was knocking.
“Come in.”
After my permission, the door slowly opened, and just as expected, Baek Ye-rin in her pajamas appeared.
Then,
“Can I… sleep with you tonight?”
…?
Huh?
“Who am I, and where am I?”
Ryu Won looked at the ceiling of his room, lost in deep self-reflection.
He fell into this contemplative state due to the presence of a girl lying beside him.
Baek Ye-rin.
“Can I… sleep with you tonight?”
When he heard those words a while ago, Ryu Won couldn’t believe his own ears.
There was nothing but provocative implications in them, so how could you not have doubts?
However, Ryu Won ultimately couldn’t reject Baek Ye-rin’s plea.
It wasn’t actually a polite “request”; it was close to an “entreaty.”
Ryu Won saw it – the slightly melancholic and lonely expression on her face as she asked him.
When their eyes met at that moment, Ryu Won couldn’t help but soften his heart.
Think about it.
Baek Ye-rin is only 16 years old.
She lost her precious mother not long ago, and she doesn’t have any other family.
In other words, she’s been left completely alone in this world.
How lonely would that feel?
Ryu Won couldn’t even begin to imagine.
And no matter how well his family treated Baek Ye-rin, it’s still an entirely unfamiliar environment.
Probably, she just needed a place to lean on for a night.
“But do I mean that much to her…?”
Ryu Won once again fell into a dilemma.
Until now, he couldn’t deny the fact that he had taken good care of Baek Ye-rin.
But those actions were what he considered absolutely natural, so he never felt any strange way about them.
Still, Ryu Won realized one clear fact.
If the world learned that Baek Ye-rin had slept in the same room, and even the same bed, with a boy her age…
“Seriously, I’d probably be torn apart by her fans.”
With that chilling thought, Ryu Won slowly closed his eyes.
Meanwhile,
Baek Ye-rin turned her head and quietly looked at Ryu Won’s face.
Thanks to the moonlight filtering in, she could see his features clearly.
His eyes were closed, and he looked as calm as if nothing unusual was happening.
She knew it well.
There was no way he would reject her request.
That’s why Baek Ye-rin had deliberately used this to create the current situation.
The reason was simple.
She just wanted to get closer to him.
However, paradoxically, she didn’t want to reveal the true extent of the feelings she carried inside.
Because if it grew too massive and he got scared (…?),
It would ruin everything.
That’s why,
“Just a little longer.”
There would definitely be a time.
Baek Ye-rin was sure she would face him in some significant way, in whatever context.
And until that day, she decided to carefully suppress these overwhelming emotions within her.
To release them all in that one moment.
