Chapter 49: That’s embarrassing

As soon as the break started, I turned toward Seo Yuna.

“Did Harin message you?”

Seo Yuna fiddled with her smartphone for a moment.

Then, startled by my words, she looked up at me.

“Oh, what the— How did you know?”

She really did message her.

I swallowed a curse inwardly and asked as naturally as possible.

“Just… you exchanged numbers earlier, right? So I was just wondering.”

Seo Yuna chuckled and held out her phone screen to me.

[Kim Harin: Unnie~ Who are you having lunch with?]

This…

‘Could it just be casual girl talk?’

No.

This was clearly a message meant to confirm something.

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

This was dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Kim Harin was trying to gauge just how deeply Seo Yuna was embedded in my daily life.

This wasn’t just a simple chat.

‘If Seo Yuna answered truthfully…?’

I’m done for.

From being seatmates to watching a movie together, even carrying her home on my back…

If all of that got exposed, I’d be in serious trouble.

There were already rumors floating around that Seo Yuna and I might be dating.

I’f Kim Harin found out the truth?’

Just imagining it sent chills down my spine.

I bit my lip as I watched Seo Yuna holding her phone.

I needed to stop this. Now.

If Seo Yuna answered too honestly, Kim Harin would dig even deeper.

And then?

It would be out of my hands.

I grabbed Seo Yuna’s wrist.

“Of.”

Seo Yuna flinched and looked at me.

“What? What’s up with you all of a sudden?”

My brain went into overdrive.

I had to stop her from continuing this conversation with Kim Harin.

“It’s just… do you really need to get close with my sister?”

Seo Yuna blinked at me, then smirked.

“I mean, it’s nothing serious? She just asked who I’m having lunch with.”

That’s not the point.

I understood just how dangerous this was, way more than Seo Yuna did.

This wasn’t about lunch.

This was a question meant to check how close she and I were.

Thankfully, I didn’t usually eat lunch with Seo Yuna.

Most of the time, I just grabbed bread and milk with Jinyoung at the snack shop.

Seo Yuna gave me a look of disbelief.

“What’s with you? You’ve been acting weird since yesterday.”

“It’s just… you might not get along. Your personalities are different.”

Seo Yuna let out a short laugh.

“What are you talking about? Stop being so nosy, it doesn’t suit you.”

‘Because I could literally die from this!!!’

I screamed internally.

But Seo Yuna was still as carefree as ever.

And then, she started typing.

[Seo Yuna: Probably with a friend?]

Good. That’s neutral.

At least she didn’t say she was eating with me.

‘Okay. This should be fine.’

But the moment I let my guard down—

Ding!

[Kim Harin: I see! By the way… who does Oppa usually eat lunch with?]

I froze on the spot.

‘Is she out of her mind…??’

This was an even more direct question.

At first, she was just checking Seo Yuna’s role in my daily life.

Now, she was targeting me directly.

I stared desperately at Seo Yuna.

“Hey, can’t you just ignore this?”

Seo Yuna smirked at me.

“What the— You’re such a siscon.”

Then she joked, “She must really worry about how you’re doing at the academy. You must have an awful personality if she’s this concerned.”

I quickly shot back, “I do not.”

But Seo Yuna had already started typing.

[Seo Yuna: Kim Dohyun? He usually eats at the snack shop with Jinyoung.]

My brain raced frantically.

‘Kim Harin’s questions are only going to get more specific from here.’

Right now, she was just checking my lunch habits.

Soon, she’d start digging into my entire daily routine—who I was close with, what I did, everything.

And if that happened?

If Seo Yuna made even one careless slip-up, things would spiral out of control.

I had to stop her.

“Hey.”

Seo Yuna blinked at me.

“Huh?”

I tried to sound as casual as possible.

“Don’t tell Harin anything about me and you.”

Seo Yuna laughed in disbelief.

“What? Why?”

I tried to make up a reasonable excuse.

“It’s just… as her older brother, it’s kind of weird talking about my personal life with my little sister.”

Seo Yuna blinked at me.

“…Huh? What?”

Then she chuckled and playfully nudged my shoulder.

“Wow, Dohyun. What, are you embarrassed?”

Embarrassed, my ass.

She could think whatever she wanted—just as long as she didn’t tell Harin anything about me.

I kept my tone as natural as possible.

“No, I’m serious. It just feels weird as a brother. Sharing my private life with my little sister?”

Seo Yuna still had that teasing look on her face.

“What the— You’re such a siscon.”

Then, with a slightly amused smile, she added, “But Dohyun, were you always like this?”

I stiffened for a split second.

‘What do you mean?’

Seo Yuna rested her chin on her hand and stared at me.

“I mean, saying stuff like, ‘It’s embarrassing to talk to my sister about us.’ That kinda sounds like… I’m someone special to you, doesn’t it?”

“Oh.”

I opened my mouth, then shut it again.

Oh, shit.

She was getting the wrong idea.

Seo Yuna, suddenly finding my reaction amusing, tilted her head playfully.

“What, Dohyun? If that’s how you feel, you should just say so.”

My brain short-circuited.

“…What?”

Seo Yuna let out a playful laugh and patted my shoulder.

“Ah~ What’s this? So funny. Well, I guess it would be embarrassing.”

She was laughing like it was just a joke, but her eyes held something more subtle.

I forced myself to laugh along, acting as natural as possible.

I didn’t care what she thought, as long as she didn’t share anything personal with Harin.

Seo Yuna still had that teasing look in her eyes as she studied me.

Then, she picked up her phone and said, “Well, alright. Since you’re so insistent, I won’t talk to Harin about us.”

I let out a silent sigh of relief.

‘Good, I stopped it for now.’

From the first time I met Kim Harin, I thought she was really cute.

Her skin was pale, her eyes were big, and her voice was soft, but with a slightly lazy drawl that somehow made her even more charming.

On top of that, she was friendly.

Unlike someone.

Seo Yuna glanced at her seatmate’s stiff expression and chuckled.

Kim Dohyun.

‘Why was this guy always so expressionless?’

‘He and Harin were siblings, yet they didn’t resemble each other at all.’

In fact, judging by his personality, she almost doubted they were actually related.

She hadn’t thought much about it before, but from the moment Harin messaged her this morning, Dohyun had been acting strangely.

Like he was being… chased by something.

No, actually, he’d been weird since yesterday.

At first, she just assumed he was a siscon.

But now, it didn’t seem like that was the case.

“…So, don’t tell Kim Harin about us?”

Seo Yuna crossed her arms and gave Dohyun a sideways glance.

‘What is that supposed to mean?’

He usually didn’t care about anything, yet he was suddenly so against her getting close to his sister.

Seo Yuna quickly sorted her thoughts.

‘Could he be embarrassed?’

‘Not because he didn’t want Harin and her to be friends, but because he didn’t want his sister knowing about his private life?’

That made sense.

If she and Harin got close, then all of Kim Dohyun’s secrets would be exposed.

“…Ohh.”

Now she understood.

It wasn’t that he was a possessive brother who hated seeing his sister interact with others.

He just didn’t want his privacy invaded.

Seo Yuna swallowed back a laugh.

So, what he was really saying was—

“Don’t tell my sister about us.”

And what that actually meant was—

“I don’t want my sister knowing about my personal life.”

Seo Yuna smirked to herself.

‘…Oh, this is going to be fun.’

A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.

“Hey.”

She lowered her voice slightly as she looked at him.

“You.”

Kim Dohyun blinked at her, looking confused.

“What.”

Seo Yuna spoke slowly, drawing out her words.

“Are you really just embarrassed?”

Dohyun’s expression stiffened ever so slightly.

Ah, I see.

Seo Yuna was now completely convinced.

‘Seriously? That’s kind of adorable.’

She let out a playful chuckle and patted his shoulder.

Dohyun opened his mouth.

“No, that’s not—”

But Seo Yuna deliberately cut him off with a teasing smile.

“Ohh~ So you are embarrassed, huh?”

She bit back a laugh.

Of course, he didn’t want his sister knowing about his personal life.

But…

The fact that he said it that way made it sound so much more interesting.

Seo Yuna grinned at him.

“Alright then, I won’t tell Harin.”

Dohyun let out a tiny breath of relief.

Seo Yuna, watching his reaction, smiled mischievously.

Now she was sure.

Kim Dohyun wasn’t just being an overprotective brother—he was genuinely embarrassed.

He didn’t want his little sister knowing about his interactions with a female friend.

Which, okay, she could understand.

But the problem was…

The way he was trying to hide it was just too entertaining.

“Well, alright.”

Seo Yuna put her phone away and said, “If you insist, I won’t tell Harin about us.”

Kim Dohyun exhaled quietly, as if relieved.

But Seo Yuna smiled slyly as she looked at him.

“But.”

Dohyun immediately tensed and looked up.

Seo Yuna playfully wiggled her fingers.

“You owe me one.”

Dohyun stared at her, baffled.

“…What?”

“I mean, I did do you a favor.”

With that as an excuse, she was definitely going to make him go on a date with her this weekend.

Grinning mischievously, Seo Yuna gave him a playful shove.