One morning, not long after the new semester had started...
"Bro, wake up! Mom says it's time to eat!"
Minji, his youngest sister, bounced onto Jinwoo's bed, playfully jostling him to wake him up.
"Argh!! What are you doing?"
Startled by Minji's sudden movement, Jinwoo stirred from his sleep. He shifted his body, trying to make space between them. Young girls have no idea what young men go through. The pressure of her playful weight made him acutely aware of a physiological reaction, and he quickly pulled his knees up, creating a buffer.
"Hey, didn't I tell you to stop doing this?" Jinwoo said, still half-asleep.
"Hehe~ You won't get up otherwise," Minji grinned innocently.
Jinwoo felt a wave of warmth and a familiar discomfort, and he pushed her gently to the side. "Get off, will you?"
'Wow, that was close,' he thought to himself, catching his breath.
Minji, now at the side of the bed, began pulling at the blanket. "Bro, you need to get up. Mom said to wake you up~ I'll keep bothering you until you do."
"Alright, alright, I'm up, I'm up." Jinwoo curled away from her, clutching the blanket to his body.
"You can't go back to sleep, bro~"
"Alright, I'm really up, I'll get ready and come down, just stop."
Jinwoo sat up, still holding the blanket close.
"Are you really up? Come down quick, breakfast is your favorite egg rolls and sausages." With a triumphant smile, Minji headed downstairs.
Her whiny tone and expressions remained childlike, but her body was beginning to show the subtle signs of a young woman's maturity. Not quite there yet, but on the brink of transformation.
156cm. Quite tall for an 18 year old. She'd always had good proportions, probably from their mom. Her face and personality were absolutely adorable. Even now, she was the kind of girl future boyfriends would fight over.
After Minji left, Jinwoo calmed his racing heart by silently repeating the national anthem three times.
Jinwoo's and his second sister Sohee's rooms were on the second floor. The first floor held the master bedroom, Minji's room, and the room that used to belong to their eldest sister, Yejin—who now lived on her own.
After washing his face, Jinwoo went downstairs. At the dining table, Sohee and Minji were already seated. Mom was on the living room floor, sewing a button on Sohee's school blouse.
"If you had told me the button fell off, I could have dealt with it, but just taking it off and leaving it in the laundry basket—what am I supposed to do with this in the morning rush?" Mom's gentle scolding had begun.
"I forgot to mention it~" Sohee said, turning apologetically towards their mom.
"You've been told so many times to clean your room, but you just keep buying cosmetics and clothes? You don't listen, but you still think everything is fine enough for mom to sew your buttons in the morning?"
"I'll clean it up later~ I've just been so busy~"
"Quit sports and still this busy? And why would a perfectly good blouse button suddenly fall off? You're not gaining weight, are you?"
"Mom, it's not like that~ Why bring this up over breakfast~~" Sohee looked hurt.
Last year, Sohee, now a freshman at the advanced school, had been a promising athlete. But she had decided to quit athletics upon moving up to the advanced school. Not long after dad's death, mom was understandably worried, connecting the sudden change to their family's grief.
-Luckily, there was another reason-
Later, through a friend, it was revealed that it was because Sohee's figure was developing too quickly for her athletic uniform.
Jinwoo casually glanced at his sister. Even just wearing a T-shirt, it was clear her development was beyond ordinary. The slim body, shaped by sports, seemed to be struggling to contain her growing curves, which had strained the buttons of her blouse.
The curve of her hips, rare for an Asian, continued from her slim waist. It was a trait inherited from the maternal side. Just by looking at their mother and aunts, it was clear where it came from. Sohee sitting there was a testament to how such blessed genetics could be sculpted through sports.
Her shoulder-length hair, tinged with a hint of red, was styled to part on the sides, giving a clear view of her forehead. Her dusky, tanned skin paired with well-defined muscles presented a refreshing and healthy appearance.
As Jinwoo joined the table, he teased his sister in a playful tone. "Seriously, you've been eating a lot more lately."
"What are you talking about? I eat the same as before." Sohee shot a fierce look at Jinwoo.
"That's the thing, you're not working out but eating just as much. You're bound to gain weight~" he continued, ignoring her glare.
"Hey! This isn't about getting fat, it's just natural growth! I still go jogging in the morning and do my workouts. You just stay up all night doing weird stuff and oversleep." Sohee's voice rose.
"Enough, enough~!! Sohee, why do you keep yelling at your brother?" As the noise escalated, their mother intervened.
"It's because Jinwoo keeps teasing me about gaining weight."
"To mom, it doesn't sound like teasing, just saying it as it is."
"Right, right, just saying it as it is, hehe."
"Damn it, look how annoying he is~! Why does mom always take Jinwoo's side~ See~?"
"Who's taking sides here? Jinwoo, stop pestering your sister!! Why do you keep provoking her?"
"Alright, alright, hehe."
"And why are you oversleeping again today?" Mom's nagging shifted to Jinwoo.
After a while of back-and-forth, mom finished her sewing and stood up, handing the blouse to Sohee. "Big brother should set an example for his younger sister. Ah, our Minji is the most adult-like, not oversleeping and always listening well."
Mom stroked Minji's hair as she giggled.
Sohee, seemingly annoyed, pouted. "That's because Minji has been sleeping with mom every night lately."
Since their father passed away, Minji had been frequently sleeping by their mother's side.
"Ah~ So sleeping in mom's room instead of her own at the age of an 8th grader is being adult-like?" Jinwoo spoke, finding their mom's attitude unfair.
"Oh my~ Jinwoo, you were clutching at mom's chest in your sleep until you graduated from junior school, and now you talk about others?" Mom, displeased with Jinwoo's sarcastic tone, exposed his past.
"Jeez! That was just sometimes when scary movies were on TV back then. And it wasn't like I was grabbing on purpose, it just happened in my sleep." Jinwoo was genuinely embarrassed.
"Kekeke, pathetic kid." Sohee spoke with a look of disdain.
"Hehe~" Minji still smiled innocently.
"Come on, you guys need to eat quickly and go to school~" Mom sat at the table, smiling as she watched her children.
This is just another chapter in the life of a loving family.
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