My Younger Sister Was My First Love - My Younger Sister Was My First Love chapter 76
76. Part-time Job
[Study buddies! I’ll keep the study room open tonight, so come join us!]
The message from the study group leader was followed by a cute hamster emoticon rolling around on my phone screen.
“Joon-ho hyung!”
I looked up from my phone at Ji-hoon’s call.
“What’s up.”
“Hyung, are you going to the study room tonight after dinner?”
“I’m still thinking about it.”
To go or not to go.
The reason for my hesitation was simple.
If I went, there was a 200% chance that Min-ju would be there, and if we were in the same space, I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on my studies.
I knew this, but I couldn’t just stay home either.
“What’s wrong, hyung? The seniors are saying they’ll give us a blessing, so why aren’t you going? Let’s go receive it!”
“Ji-hoon, if we receive the blessing, can’t you just take a capture of it tonight and send it to me?”
“Huh? Why? Do you have something going on tonight, hyung?”
“No, it’s not that. Just… yeah.”
Ji-hoon seemed to sense my hesitation and dug deeper.
“Hmm, is it because of Min-ju noona?”
“No, it’s not that.”
As I frowned, Ji-hoon pounced on me like a hunting dog on the scent.
“So, what’s going on with Min-ju noona?”
Ugh, I should have just said I was going home quietly.
“What’s going on? We’re still friends, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, just go and take a look, and then just accept it, okay?”
“No, I already explained why I didn’t accept it back then!”
I repeated myself again and again.
Since entering college, I’ve been feeling like I’m becoming a parrot.
The things I usually say to Ji-hee are “don’t do that” and “it’s not like that.”
The things I usually say to Min-ju are “I know, too” and “no, it’s not like that.”
Now I have to repeat myself to my fellow students as well.
A sigh automatically escaped my lips.
“What did I explain again?”
At the familiar woman’s voice, I almost jumped out of my skin.
“Whoa! You scared me!”
“What’s wrong? Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost? Lee Joon-ho.”
Min-ju smiled wryly, looking a bit disappointed.
“Was it the right timing for gossip?”
“What excuse did I give to the kids, anyway? I’m curious.”
I confirmed Ji-hwan’s figure, who had quietly moved behind me, and grabbed Min-ju’s wrist, taking a step forward.
“Ji-hwan, can I go with Min-ju first?”
“Yes, hyung! See you tonight!”
As I saw Ji-hwan’s face, full of mischief, I had a feeling that another strange rumor would spread.
“Where are we going?”
I only had the thought of taking Min-ju away from Ji-hwan, but our destination was undecided.
“Park Min-ju.”
“Why.”
“You’re not thinking of saying something weird in front of Ji-hwan, are you?”
Honestly revealing the reason for my rejection felt like a knife pointing at me.
“There’s nothing. But I’m curious. What did you tell the kids?”
“I just told them I didn’t have that kind of feeling when I was young. That’s all. So, there’s no need to confirm with other kids.”
“Seriously? You’re not going around telling people about me, are you?”
Min-ju shook off my hand and grabbed it again.
“Let’s go get some coffee.”
“I had some earlier, this morning.”
“Then, let’s go watch me buy coffee.”
“Okay.”
It was a 1-hour break, anyway.
We naturally headed down to the café on the first floor.
“I’ll have an iced Americano. What about you, really not drinking anything?”
As Min-ju turned her head towards me, her short, straight hair moved smoothly in sync.
“I’ll have lemonade.”
Coincidentally, we sat down at the same spot where I had failed to return the bracelet.
“Are you going to study in the academy room?”
“No, I’ll do it at home this time.”
“Why? Because of me?”
“No, it’s not that. I just prefer studying alone.”
This wasn’t just something I said; it was true.
“I have a schedule tonight, so if you want to come with me, I’ll tell you to make it convenient.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You’ll just get anxious if I’m there, and you won’t be able to study.”
Min-ju seemed to see right through my thoughts as she sipped her coffee.
“I don’t know. Let’s talk to Ji-hwan about it.”
“Okay.”
Strangely, the lemonade I ordered was more sour than I expected.
“Do you have a lot of subjects to take the exam for?”
As the silence flowed, I, feeling awkward, opened my mouth first.
“It’s half and half, I think. This semester is all about reports and exams.”
“There’s a lot to do.”
“Only listen to the kids’ recommendations for liberal arts. If you listen to weird professors, you’ll get nowhere. Seriously.”
Min-ju stirred the ice in her glass with a straw, as if something had come to mind, and looked up.
“Ah, right. Did you see Ji-hui’s 6th-grade report card?”
“Yeah, just yesterday at home.”
“How was it? Did she do well? I heard it was tough this time.”
“She got a lot better, so I gave her praise.”
“What’s her grade?”
It felt like prying into someone’s family life, but Min-ju had helped Ji-hui with her studies, so she thought she had the right to ask.
“National language and English were each 1st and 3rd place.”
“Wow, I thought you were just playing around, but it seems you’re not.”
“I do everything I’m told. If I’m told to study, I study, and if I’m told to solve problems, I solve them all.”
Talking about Min-ju and Ji-hui felt like walking on eggshells.
“You’ll get into a university in Seoul. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“I said the same thing. You’re doing well.”
“But if you keep this up, getting into Korea University will be tough.”
It didn’t sound like she was trying to belittle Ji-hui.
On the contrary, it was a very reasonable statement.
A kid who was average 7th grade suddenly got into Korea University after just one year of studying.
Getting 3rd place was a miracle in itself.
But hearing those words, I felt a strange, scratching sensation.
“What’s the point of talking about it? We’ll know after taking the college entrance exam.”
“Hey, I’ve seen people who always get 1st place but fail on the exam day. No matter how family-like we are, that’s too optimistic, isn’t it?”
I said it to Ji-hui, but why does it feel so different when someone else says it?
I was puzzled myself.
It was literally “I can criticize you, but you can’t criticize me!”
Is this what people mean by “you can only criticize me”?
“Why are you talking trash about someone else’s younger sibling?”
“I didn’t say Ji-hui was going to fail. I just said getting into Korea University might be tough.”
“Anyway, Ji-hui is studying well. You don’t need to worry, so let’s just take care of it ourselves.”
It seemed like continuing this conversation would only make me feel bad.
“Il-junho.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have anything to do besides helping Ji-hui during the break?”
“Driver’s license test?”
Since it was the first break, I thought I should do something, but the exam right in front of me came first.
I had to take care of this before doing anything else.
“Is that all? If you don’t have anything else, let’s work part-time together.”
“Work part-time? What for?”
“A cafe.”
“Suddenly?”
“It’s the place I went to last winter, and the boss told me to come back during summer break. It’s not that far from your house, around the middle of school and our house.”
“Hmm.”
If Minju had confessed to me before, I would have considered it very positively.
Moreover, I had never earned money with my own hands before, so I had some fantasy about part-time jobs.
There’s something like that.
It’s not like it’s going to be a big deal, but I want to try it.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Yeah, stay at home for a long time. Will Jihee be able to study?”
“What are you talking about? If I stay at home, I’ll just be in my room.”
“Yeah, if you’re under the same roof with the guy you like, Jihee won’t be able to focus, right?”
Minju’s words made me blink like a fool.
It was an extremely obvious thing, but I was shocked as if I had been hit on the back of my head.
That’s right.
Of course, that’s right.
I’m the one who’s most likely to disturb Jihee’s studies.
I’m like a cat keeping a fish next to me, making it hard for Jihee to focus.
If I’m always at home, it’s like I’m constantly teasing Jihee.
It would be better for me to leave the house and focus on my studies.
“Do you agree?”
Minju checked me like a chessmate, poking my wrist.
“It’s not like we’re going to do something together. Let’s just go to a cafe and work part-time together. You’ve been studying non-stop until now, so try something new! Making coffee is surprisingly fun. Our cafe owner is also very kind.”
It was like a home shopping salesperson trying to sell an item that’s only available for a limited time.
“If the boss agrees, I’ll put in a recommendation for you. The boss said they’d look for someone 15 days ago, saying they didn’t have any friends.”
Let’s hear the conditions first.
“What’s the schedule?”
“There’s a morning shift and an afternoon shift. The morning shift is from 10 am to 5 pm, and the afternoon shift is from 3 pm to 10 pm.”
“What’s the hourly wage?”
“I think it’s a bit higher than the minimum wage. Let me check.”
Minju searched through her phone.
“Ah, it’s exactly 10,000 won. And sometimes we get bonuses too. We also get one free drink per day and a break in the middle. The days are negotiable.”
The more I heard, the more my heart wavered towards the reasonable conditions.
It seemed more appealing to me after I realized that staying at home wasn’t helping Jihee.
“What do you think?”
“I’ll go home and think about it.”
“If you tell Jihee, she’ll definitely oppose it. Just think about it here and make a decision.”
But if I say I’ll work part-time with Minju here, will Jihee let me go?
“Do you have to do that with that girl?”
“If it’s just for the money, why don’t you just quit?”
The voice that automatically plays back from the beginning.
In reality, I didn’t need to work part-time jobs because I had Uncle’s all-purpose card, which covered my living expenses.
But I had to do it with Minju.
“Just give me one condition, and I’ll do it.”
“What is it?”
Minju seemed to be saying anything, and clicked her tongue.
“Make sure our work hours and dates don’t overlap.”
Minju’s lips curled up at my impertinent response.
“…Why?”
“So there won’t be any noise at home.”
I had to speak firmly, just like the day I officially rejected his confession.
Besides, if Minju was really looking for someone to help with part-time jobs, I thought she wouldn’t fire me because of this.
If this condition was impossible, the negotiation would fall through.
If she accepted, I would readily agree.
It was a moment when Minju’s choice was curious.
“Alright. I’ll tell the boss that.”
“Really?”
“But even if it’s not the same time, we might overlap by about two hours in the middle. Would that be okay?”
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Minju seemed calm.
At least, she looked that way to me.
“Yeah.”
“Alright. I’ll tell him that. Can I have your number, boss?”
“Yeah.”
Minju, who had been fiddling with her phone, turned off the screen and looked me straight in the eye.
“I Junho.”
“Why.”
“Are you prepared for the part-time job, and did you prepare that thing?”
“That thing?”
“You told me to bring it next time, remember?”
I instinctively looked around to see if anyone from our department was nearby, wondering what the preparation was.
“It seems like you didn’t prepare it.”
Minju got up from her seat and sat down next to me, pulling my ear with her slender fingers.
A very small whisper that only I could hear followed.
“I’ll catch you after this semester, so prepare yourself?”
How much of it was sincere?