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Cheol had faced many challenges in his life, but none quite like this. He had no idea how he was going to make it work, but he had to—his reputation as the best older brother ever was hanging by a thread, and failure simply wasn’t an option.
When Hwani had shown him a hairstyle from one of Sunjeong’s magazines, he’d agreed immediately. It looked so simple in the picture. How hard could it be? But now, as he fumbled with Hwani’s hair, Cheol was starting to realize he might have severely underestimated the task. Somewhere along the way, something had gone terribly wrong. That braid? That definitely didn’t belong there.
"Oppa?" Hwani’s voice broke through his concentration. She was sitting in front of him, munching on snacks while watching a kids’ show on TV.
"Hmm," Cheol mumbled, the hair tie between his teeth, one eye on the magazine and the other on Hwani’s hair. Maybe if he added another braid, he could tie them together and make it work.
"I like her," Hwani said suddenly, her tone casual.
"Who?" Cheol asked distractedly, still focused on the mess of hair in his hands.
"Miae unnie," Hwani replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Cheol froze mid-braid. "Why?" he asked cautiously, his tone tinged with curiosity. He had no idea why she’d bring something like that up out of nowhere.
Hwani shrugged, her eyes still glued to the TV. "She’s fun to be around."
Cheol scoffed. "Fun? You mean childish. Didn’t she play with you the other day? That girl loves to mess around," he said, shaking his head.
"Yeah," Hwani replied matter-of-factly, popping another chip into her mouth. "She’s really bad at hopscotch"
Cheol couldn’t hold back a chuckle. "That doesn’t surprise me. She’s always tripping over her own feet. But she’s fast. So if you ever play again, just make sure it’s not tag."
Hwani giggled and nodded while Cheol went back to untangling her hair, a small smile lingering on his face.
"She’s really brave, isn’t she?" Hwani asked after a moment.
"Who?" Cheol asked absentmindedly, unsure if they were still talking about Miae.
"Miae unnie, silly," Hwani replied, shaking her head like he was a hopeless case. Since when had his adorable little sister started acting so cheeky?
"Brave?" Cheol repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Hwani said, crunching another chip. "She stands up for people and doesn’t care what others think. I think that’s cool."
Cheol paused, thinking about what his little sister had just said, Miae did stand up for people, and definitely he could never forget the time she had stood up for him, making it clear that he was her friend in front of everyone. At the time, he was shocked that anyone would do something like that for him, and if he was being honest, he really admired her carefree way of looking at the world, and how at times how insightful she could be. Sometimes, Cheol thought she was even more mature than he was
"Yeah, I think so too," Cheol said quietly, brushing a stray lock of hair out of Hwani’s face. After a pause, he added, "But don’t tell her I said that, got it?"
Hwani smiled over her shoulder, her eyes twinkling. "Got it."
"Plus, have you ever seen her kill bugs?" Cheol asked suddenly.
Hwani shook her head, shuddering. Like Cheol, she wasn’t a fan of bugs.
"She’s the best," Cheol declared. "Anyone who can handle that is brave in my book."
Hwani burst out laughing. "Well, I see why you keep her around, Oppa," she teased, grinning mischievously.
"Who said I keep her around? She just—" Cheol cleared his throat. "She just follows me everywhere."
Hwani smirked knowingly and leaned back into his hands. "Sure, Oppa. Whatever you say."
Cheol frowned. What did his little sister even know? He hoped she’d drop this line of questioning. But just as he thought she was done, she spoke again.
"Do you think she’s pretty?"
Cheol froze, blinking. "Who?"
"Miae unnie! Oppa! Are paying attention?" hwani rolled her eyes.
Cheol gaped at her.
"Do you think she’s pretty?" Hwani looked back at him expectantly.
"What’s with all these questions?" Cheol fumbled for the hair tie that had fallen on the floor. "Are you bored or something?"
Hwani ignored him completely. "Did you notice her new style?"
Cheol had noticed, he never had saw her wearing clothes so short, or with makeup, or whatever she had done with her hair, Miae had looked... Different
"I guess so," he replied vaguely.
"And you don’t think she looked pretty?" Hwani pressed.
"Why you keep asking that?" Cheol asked, exasperated.
Hwani just raised an eyebrow.
Cheol sighed and rolled his eyes. He knew his sister wouldn’t drop the matter until he gave her some kind of answer. "Well..." he hesitated, his mind racing. "I don’t know. She’s... okay, I guess." He fumbled with the hair tie again, avoiding Hwani’s piercing gaze.
"‘Okay’?" Hwani repeated, unimpressed. "That’s all you have to say?"
Cheol glanced at her, flustered. "What do you want me to say? She looks fine, alright?"
"You think she’s pretty, don’t you? You just don’t want to admit it," Hwani said
"I... I..." Cheol’s cheeks turned pink.
"Admit it!" Hwani pressed, laughing. "Admit it!"
"I’m just trying to do your hair, alright? Stop asking me these things!" Cheol snapped, his patience wearing thin.
Hwani’s eyes widened, and her smile faltered. Cheol immediately regretted raising his voice. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry," he muttered. "I shouldn’t have snapped at you."
Hwani didn’t respond, she just pouted making him feel even guiltier. After a pause, he sighed and conceded "Fine. I think she looked pretty, okay? But I’m not supposed to say stuff like that, alright? Happy now?"
"But why not?" Hwani asked curiously all sadness forgotten.
"Why not what?" Cheol replied, confused.
"Why can’t you say your girlfriend is pretty?"
Cheol nearly choked. "My girlfriend?! Hwang Miae?!"
Hwani tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. "Isn’t Miae unnie your girlfriend?"
"No, she’s not my girlfriend!" Cheol exclaimed, his voice climbing an octave. "Where on earth did you get that idea?"
Hwani frowned. "Then why are you always with her?"
"Because we’re friends," Cheol replied, bewildered.
"But you always take care of her. You make sure she does her homework."
"That’s because she’s lazy!" Cheol retorted quickly.
"You stay up late talking to her on the phone and send her messages through your window," Hwani added.
Cheol’s eyes widened. "How do you even know about that?"
Hwani ignored his question. "And you’ve gone on dates. I saw you eating ice cream with her the other night."
"You saw us? You were supposed to be asleep!" Cheol said, his voice rising in disbelief.
"That’s not the point!" Hwani countered, crossing her arms. "You always pick her up and give her rides everywhere."
"Because we go to the same place—to the academy!" Cheol defended, feeling cornered.
"And you’ve given her gifts," Hwani added smugly.
"Not that many! Just a couple—" Cheol cut himself off, realizing he was justifying himself to a ten-year-old. "What are you even talking about?"
"I’ve seen her wear your favorite cap. The white one," Hwani said, raising an eyebrow.
"She grabbed it and never gave it back!" Cheol exclaimed.
"You didn’t ask for it back because you like seeing her wear it, don’t you?" Hwani asked, her grin widening.
Cheol stared at her, speechless. Was she right? Maybe. But he wasn’t about to admit it—not to her. "That’s not—whatever! We’re not like that, okay? We’re just friends."
"But everyone says you are together! I heard Dad tell Mom that you two are going to get married someday."
Cheol heart stopped "What?! Dad said that?" his own father…
Hwani nodded and continued
"And the other day, when I tried to wake you up, you were mumbling Miae unnie’s name," Hwani pointed out "I asked Sunjeong unnie about it, and she said it’s normal for boys of your age to have those kinds of dreams. What does that mean, Oppa?"
Cheol felt his face burn. What in the world...he was going to kill Sunjeong. "It doesn’t mean anything! Noona just says dumb stuff sometimes, okay?" Cheol exclaimed panicked.
Hwani smirked. "No, Unnie says boys are dumb. Maybe that’s why you haven’t noticed that you and Miae unnie are basically a couple."
Cheol groaned, unable to believe how closely Hwani had observed his interactions with Miae. When she put it like that... it did kind of sound like they were a couple. But they weren’t. Right? They were just... what the hell even were they?
He sighed in exasperation. "Look, Hwani. Miae and I, we’re not a couple. We’re just... friends. That’s it."
"If you say so." Hwani didn’t look convinced, but she seemed to let it go. She turned her attention back to the TV, and Cheol took the opportunity to focus on finishing her hairstyle. For a few moments, the room was blissfully quiet, and he started to relax.
But Hwani, being Hwani, wasn’t done. She broke the silence again.
"Do you think she likes you?"
Cheol groaned and dropped his hands in defeat. "Hwani, seriously—"
"I’m just curious!" Hwani said, spinning around to face him. "Because she always looks at you like that guy in Sunjeong unnie´s drama. What’s his name again?"
"I don’t know, and I don’t care," Cheol grumbled, flustered, trying to turn her back around so he could finish the hairstyle. He knew for a fact that Miae did like him. She had told him herself. Not that it mattered right now. "I told you, you’re too young to watch stuff like that."
"But Oppa—"
"Don’t," he interrupted her firmly. "Stop asking me these things. Miae doesn’t like me."
Hwani raised an eyebrow. "So that means you like her?"
"I—I don’t... That’s not the point," he stammered, avoiding her gaze.
Hwani tilted her head, her expression far too knowing for someone her age. "If you don’t like her, why do you get all weird when we talk about her?"
"I don’t get weird," Cheol muttered defensively.
"You’re acting weird right now,"
Cheol gave Hwani a pointed look. "Enough. Let me finish your hair. I have things to do."
"With Miae unnie, you mean. I know you’re going out with her later," Hwani teased.
Cheol gaped at her. "How—? You know what? It doesn’t matter how you found out."
Hwani giggled, turning forward again. She patted Cheol’s leg in a mock-consoling way. "You like her, Oppa."
"I... don’t," he muttered weakly.
"You do," she said confidently. "And like I said, I like her too."
"What? Why this again?"
Hwani shrugged. "She makes you happy. You’re different when you’re with her. Anyone who makes my big brother smile like that is the best in my eyes."
Cheol’s heart skipped a beat as her words sank in. Had he changed that much? That even his little sister was aware of it? "Hwani..."
"It’s okay, Oppa. Your secret is safe with me," she said with a sweet smile. Then, with a knowing glance, she added, "Just don’t make Miae unnie wait too long, okay?"
After that Cheol didn't say anything and neither did Hwani, she just continued watching T.V as Cheol finished her hairstyle. All the time thinking what she had just said.
"There," he said gruffly as he tied off the last braid and patted her shoulder gently. "All done."
It wasn’t perfect; Cheol had to make some small adjustments, but he hoped Hwani would like it. His little sister jumped up immediately and dashed to the mirror, her eyes lighting up as she admired the intricate hairstyle.
"Oppa, this is amazing!" she squealed, flashing him a radiant smile.
Cheol couldn’t help but smile back, his heart swelling with pride. "I told you I could do it, but—"
Whatever Cheol was about to say was cut off by a sudden knock at the door. His eyes widened as realization hit him. "Hwani, what time is it?"
Hwani glanced at the clock on the wall. "It’s 3:30, Oppa. Why?"
Cheol’s stomach dropped. He shot up from his spot on the floor, panic creeping into his voice. "Oh no, that must be Miae. I didn’t realize so much time had passed, and I still need to change!" He scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over scattered hair ties and combs, as the knocking continued.
"Kim Cheol!" Miae’s familiar voice called from the other side of the door. "Is someone there?"
Cheol and Hwani exchanged panicked looks. Before he could figure out a plan, Hwani whispered, "I’ll go open the door and distract her. You go change as fast as you can!"
Cheol exhaled in relief, nodding quickly. "Thanks, Hwani. You’re the best."
Hwani smirked. "I know. Now go!"
She darted toward the door while Cheol bolted to his room. Just as he was about to shut the door behind him, he paused, spun around, and shot Hwani a pointed glare.
"I know, I know," Hwani groaned, rolling her eyes. "I won’t say anything."
Cheol let out a sigh of relief. He trusted her, but just to be safe, he made a mental note to buy her favorite snacks later.
What should he wear? he wondered frantically as he rifled through his closet. He needed to look good, but wait—they were just going to the library. Still, he couldn’t help but think about what Miae might be wearing. Was she wearing his white cap again? Maybe they’d grab something to eat after studying...
As these thoughts swirled in Cheol’s mind, he stood in front of the mirror, slipping into his favorite jeans. It took him a while to decide on a shirt, but as he pulled one over his head and caught sight of himself in the reflection, Cheol froze. He looked okay—not too formal, not too casual. But that wasn’t what made him stop and stare. It was the small, undeniable smile on his face.
"Anyone who makes my big brother smile like that is the best in my eyes."
Hwani’s words echoed in his mind... And for the first time, Cheol realized something: he was happy. Really happy. The thought of spending time with Miae, of seeing that little weirdo—it excited him.
He, who months ago had dreaded leaving the house, who had thought it was better to be alone, was now looking forward to going out.
"Cheol really did that!?" Miae’s voice carried through the door.
"Yes!" Hwani replied enthusiastically. "Isn’t it perfect? He’s the best brother ever!"
"Oh, let me see!"
Cheol snorted, amused, as he listened to their chatter. He put on his coat and blue cap, finishing getting ready. He was about to see two of his favorite people in the world.
With one thought in his head: His little sister was right.