Chapter 430 - Side Story. Lily Of The Valley (4)

Da-in and Han Seo-eun's house.

This house looks like an ordinary detached home, but it actually hides a big secret.

There's a massive facility hidden underground.

In this basement filled with numerous cutting-edge equipment and state-of-the-art devices.

Seo-eun was staring at the monitor with an anxious expression.

["Really? Then Da-in, would you like to try a blind date?"]

Su-bin's voice came through the speaker.

Suddenly witnessing this attack to steal her brother away, Han Seo-eun trembled like a squirrel robbed of its acorn.

The reason she had planted bugs at the Association was simple.

She couldn't trust when the Association might betray her brother, so she had hacked all the CCTVs and such.

...When she installed the bugs, she never expected to hear this kind of conversation.

'Brother... no way, right?'

As Seo-eun trembled with anxiety.

Her brother Da-in's voice came through the screen.

["Hmm... I'll pass. I don't think I have time for that right now."]

Hearing his gentle voice firmly declining the offer,

Han Seo-eun unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew..."

Right.

There's no way her brother would do that...!

After hearing that much, Seo-eun smiled with relief, turned off the screen, and leaned back in her chair.

It wasn't her intention to eavesdrop on their conversation anyway.

"Oh right. Brother should be home soon."

With that thought, Han Seo-eun hurriedly got up and turned off the computers.

Come to think of it, she had rushed straight to surveillance—not eavesdropping, but Association monitoring. Yes, Association monitoring—right after school, so she was still in her uniform.

After Seo-eun showered and changed her clothes.

Da-in had already arrived home.

"Oh, Seo-eun. Did you shower?"

"Yes, brother. Whew... it's hot these days."

Back on the first floor, in the living room.

Da-in was sitting on the sofa, doing something on his tablet.

And Seo-eun.

She stood there for a moment, staring at her brother.

...To be honest.

The truth is, Han Seo-eun liked Da-in.

'Well... honestly, how could I not like him...'

Seo-eun mumbled to herself while gently playing with her silver hair.

When she was fleeing from the Han Group and feeling desperate about the world,

it was Da-in who opened the cage she had locked herself in and approached her.

So in truth, she had liked her brother for a long time, even before she realized it herself.

The problem was.

The problem was that her brother showed absolutely no interest in her...!

'I mean... honestly, a man and woman living together under the same roof(?), and yet...'

Han Seo-eun muttered while looking at the glass window.

Her reflection showed in the glass.

Honestly, if she were still the little kid she used to be, she could understand her brother's attitude.

But now she was quite tall compared to other girls at school... and fairly popular too...

Was being a high school student the problem?

'But still... I'm legally an adult now...'

Her birthday had passed long ago, so what exactly was the problem?

Actually, Seo-eun had made a grand(?) plan to confess to her brother when she became an adult on her birthday, but she gave up due to an uneasy feeling that it would fail.

Lost in these thoughts, Seo-eun unconsciously puffed her cheeks.

There were two problems now.

First, her brother still saw her as a little sister who needed looking after.

And second...

'Wait, is brother currently...'

"Brother, what are you doing?"

As Seo-eun quietly approached Da-in, her eyes grew cold when she saw what was on his tablet.

She wondered what he was so focused on...

[Stardust Fan Cafe Staff Management]

"......"

Right.

The second problem was this person.

The greatest rival in Seo-eun's life and Da-in's favorite.

'Stardust...'

Hah.

Watching Da-in manage the Stardust fan cafe, not even noticing she was behind him, Seo-eun let out a small sigh.

...Come to think of it, if the ability loss incident hadn't happened and her brother had continued being a villain entangled with Stardust?

Perhaps she wouldn't have even had this opportunity, which was a frightening thought.

"Hmph..."

Annoyed that Da-in didn't notice her feelings and was just tapping away at the Stardust fan cafe.

Seo-eun quickly ran to the sofa and flopped down on it.

"Hey."

She buried her face on her brother's lap like it was a pillow.

"Seo-eun? What are you doing..?"

Her action couldn't help but get a reaction from Da-in.

Looking down at her with a puzzled expression at the weight on his lap, Seo-eun just smiled up at him and spoke.

"Nothing. I'm just tired. Let me lie here for a bit."

"...Good grief. Alright."

After saying that, Da-in focused back on his tablet.

Thanks to that, Seo-eun could enjoy the time lying in her brother's arms.

"Sigh... brother, your legs are hard and uncomfortable."

"...Then please use that cushion over there?"

Casually ignoring her brother's slight discomfort, she spread her silver hair between Da-in's legs and stared at the ceiling.

In truth, she didn't ask for much.

She just wished this time could continue like this. That was all.

That's why.

She felt uneasy about the current situation.

The next day.

Shinhan High School.

Walking down the corridor with a displeased expression, Seo-eun had two friends on either side of her, snickering and talking to her.

"Hehe. I wonder why our Seo-eun looks so unhappy?"

The girl with long black hair who spoke with a subtle smile was Shin Do-yeon.

"Hehe. The reason is simple, isn't it? It must be because of that brother!"

The girl with short red hair who spoke with a face full of mischief was Ma Yeon-ji.

These were Seo-eun's first friends since her freshman year of high school and her closest friends.

...Currently, they were thoroughly teasing Seo-eun.

"Sigh... it's not like that... well, it is, but, sigh..."

"Hmph! I knew it. The reason you make that face has always been the same."

"Hehehe. To think that the cold Han Seo-eun has a brother she loves so much. Other kids would be shocked if they knew."

"What are you saying..."

Hearing her friends teasing her, Seo-eun swallowed a small sigh.

...They teased a lot, but they were good friends. Good enough that she had told them about Da-in.

When they first heard about it, they were shocked that she was living with an older brother, but after learning that their relationship wasn't what they thought... it had always been like this.

Well, she did get quite a bit of advice from them.

Lost in these thoughts, Han Seo-eun turned the corner of the corridor.

...Just before she almost bumped into a small boy running from the front, she stopped abruptly.

"Be careful."

"Eek... I-I'm sorry..."

Looking down at the boy with a cold voice, the boy looked up, startled, and then ran away with a reddened face.

"Hehe. A freshman? Seo-eun, why are you scaring the junior?"

"Pfft. Scaring? That kid looked up at Han Seo-eun, blushed, and ran away because he was embarrassed? You must be pretty, Seo-eun."

"Yeah. If you showed some expression normally, guys would be lining up for you, but now they're all scared~ Do you only show that expression to your brother? Oh, when will you show us your brother's face?"

"What are you saying. Be quiet. And when did I ever make a scary face..."

As Seo-eun chuckled and spoke, Do-yeon with her black hair smiled slightly and said.

"That expressionless face you're making right now. I'm telling you, that's why you look cold, Seo-eun. That's why everyone misunderstands, really... If they just spent a little time with you, they'd know how clumsy and fun you are."

"Exactly! The top student with mysterious silver hair and beauty... who wouldn't be intimidated? Pfft, do you only show your honest expressions to your brother?"

"No!! Seriously, stop it...! Yeon-ji, should I tell everyone about how you disguised yourself as a boy to join the basketball team...?"

"No no no wait wait wait... that's cheating~"

"Sigh..."

And so, pushing away the red-haired girl clinging to her, another school day passed.

Finally. It was time to go home.

The end of an unremarkable day.

'Seo-eun, do you need to take an umbrella to school today?'

'Yes, brother. But, heh. Who do you think I am? Of course I know that.'

"Ah."

Swoooooosh

Yes. It was the end of an unremarkable day.

The rain that wasn't falling in the morning was now pouring down heavily.

Except for the fact that she had forgotten to bring an umbrella today.

"No way... I made such a mistake..."

Looking at the rain, Han Seo-eun muttered with an incredulous expression.

She who always checked her own neighborhood weather forecast system and brought an umbrella in advance without her brother telling her, making such a mistake?

'I was so distracted by that blind date and Stardust this morning...'

Somehow today seemed like an unlucky day.

As Seo-eun sighed, Shin Do-yeon tilted her head and asked.

"Oh Seo-eun, you didn't bring an umbrella?"

"No..."

"What's going on with you, Seo-eun? Hehe, I'll share mine with you. Let's go together."

"Hahaha! The great Han Seo-eun forgot her umbrella? ...I didn't bring one either! Let's share between the three of us!"

"No..."

"Hehe, let's do that. It'll be fun."

"Hmm... I guess?"

Although she couldn't imagine anything but an uneasy future, Seo-eun decided to go along with it.

And so the three of them devised a way to get as little wet as possible under one umbrella, and just as they set off and reached the school gate, realizing this might be a seriously flawed method.

"Seo-eun."

Near the school gate.

Behind the sound of rain, a very familiar voice was heard.

As Seo-eun snapped to attention and looked up, what she saw was.

"Brother..?"

It was Da-in, holding an umbrella, smiling brightly, who had come to pick up Seo-eun.