Chapter 429: Lily of the Valley (4)

Chapter 429: Lily of the Valley (4)

Dain and Han Seo-eun's house looks like an ordinary single-family house, but it hides a big secret.

There is a huge facility hidden in the basement.

In the basement, there are tons of high-tech equipment and the latest gadgets.

Seo-eun is now looking at the monitor with an anxious expression.

[Really? Then, Mr. Da-in, would you like to go on a blind date with me?]

Soo-bin's voice came through the speaker.

Suddenly realizing that she's trying to steal her brother away from her, Han Seo-eun can't help but squirm like a squirrel who's been robbed of an acorn.

In truth, her reason for bugging the Association was simple.

She didn't know when they would betray her brother, so she hacked into the CCTV and all that stuff beforehand.

...When she installed the wire, she hadn't expected to hear this conversation.

'Brother... right?'

At that moment, Seo-eun was shaking with anxiety.

Da-in's voice came from the screen.

[Mm... no, I don't think I have time for that right now.]

He said no with a gentle voice.

Hearing that voice, Han Seo-eun let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Huh..."

Oh, right.

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

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

She hadn't meant to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"...Right. My brother will be here soon."

Thinking that, Han Seo-eun quickly stood up and turned off the computers.

Now that she thought about it, she realized that she had rushed home from school and started eavesdropping....She hadn't even changed out of her school uniform before she started monitoring the Association.

Seo-eun washed up, changed her clothes, and went out.

By then, Da-in had arrived home.

"Hey, Seo-eun, did you wash up?"

"Yes, brother. Phew... It's hot these days."

Back on the first floor, in the living room.

On the couch there, Dain was doing something with a pad.

Seo-Eun stood and stared for a moment.

...Now that I think about it.

In fact, she liked him.

'No... Honestly, I can't not like him...'

Seo-Eun muttered to herself as she ran her fingers through her white hair.

When she ran away from the HanEun Group and despaired of the world, it was Da-in who opened the cage she'd locked herself in and came to her.

So, in truth, she'd had a crush on him since before then, even before she realized it.

The problem was, he wasn't interested in her at all...!

'No... Honestly, a man and a woman living under the same roof(?) like this...'

Han Seo-Eun muttered to herself and looked at the glass window outside.

She saw her reflection there.

Honestly, if she were a kid again, her brother might say that.

'Now, I'm taller than most girls in my school... I'm also quite popular...'

Is it a problem that she's still in high school?

'No, but... I'm an adult now...'

His birthday has long since passed, so what's the problem?

In fact, Seo-eun had made a grand plan to confess to her brother when she became an adult on her birthday, but she gave up because she felt like she would fail.

Thinking about that, Seo-Eun puffed up her cheeks.

She had two problems now.

The first was that her brother still saw her as a little sister who needed to be taken care of.

And the second was...

'Wait a minute, what exactly is Oppa doing right now...'

"Oppa, what are you doing?"

Han Seo-eun's eyes turned cold when she saw the screen on his pad.

What the hell were you doing so hard...

[Stardus Fancafe Staff Management]

"......"

I see.

The second problem was her.

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

'Stardus...'

Hah.

Looking at Da-in, who was managing Stardus fan cafe without realizing she was behind him, Seo-eun sighed softly to herself.

...Now that I think about it, if the incapacitation incident doesn't happen. What if my brother had continued to be a villain and gotten involved with Stardus?

Maybe I wouldn't have even gotten this chance, and that's the scary part.

"Hmm..."

Seo-Eun became annoyed at Da-in, who was pounding away at the Stardus fan cafe, oblivious to her feelings.

She rushed over to the couch and flopped down on it.

"Awww."

She buried her face in her brother's lap like a pillow.

"Seo-eun, what are you doing?"

And to her behavior, Da-in couldn't help but react.

Looking up at her brother's gaze, bewildered by the weight on her lap, Seo-eun simply smiled and opened her mouth.

"It's just, I'm tired, I'll just lie here for a while."

"...Oh. I see."

After saying that, Da-in concentrated on looking at the pad again.

That allowed Seo-Eun to lie in her brother's arms and savor the moment.

"Hah... Your legs are hard and uncomfortable."

"...Then why don't you use the cushion over there?"

Shrugging off her brother's minor discomfort, she stared at the ceiling with her silver hair hanging down between Da-in's legs.

Truth be told, she didn't want much.

She only wished that this time would continue like this.

And so it was.

She was uneasy about the situation now.

The next day at Shinha High School two of her friends were giggling and talking to her on either side of her as she walked down the hallway with an unhappy expression.

"Hoo hoo. Why does our Seo-Eun look so unhappy?"

The woman with the long black hair who smiled at her with a coy gaze was named Shin Do-yeon

"Hmph. The reason is simple, isn't it? Of course it's because of that brother!"

The girl with short red hair who speaks to her with a smirk on her face is named Ma Yeon-ji.

They were the first friends Seo-Eun made since her first year of high school, and they are her best friends.

...Currently, they were making fun of Seo-Eun.

"Haha... That's not true... Well, that's true, but..."

"Hehe, I knew it. The reason you have that look on your face has always been the same."

"Hee hee hee, that cold Han Seo-Eun has such a loving brother, the other kids would be surprised if they knew."

"What did you say..."

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

...As much as they teased her, they were all good friends, enough to let them know about Da-in.

When they first heard about it, they were shocked that she already had an older brother living with her...but it's been like this ever since they realized that their relationship wasn't what they thought it would be.

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

With that thought, Han Seo-Eun turned the corner of the hallway....before almost colliding with a small boy running in front of her, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Be careful."

"Hehe...I'm sorry..."

Seo-Eun words, spoken in a stern voice while looking down at the boy, startled the boy who looked up and ran away with a red face.

"Fufu, is he a first grader? Seo-eun, why are you scaring a junior?"

"Puh-huh. He looked up at Han Seo-eun and blushed, then ran away in embarrassment. Seo-eun must be pretty."

"Yeah. Usually, if she makes a face, guys will line up for her, but now they're all getting scared. Is she only showing that face to her brother? When will she show it to us?"

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

When Seo-eun said that, Do-yeon, who had long black hair, smiled slightly.

"You know that expression you still have on your face. You actually look cold because of it, Seo-eun. That's why everyone misunderstands you. If people spent a little time with you, they'd realize how ridiculously funny you are."

"Of course! She's a beautiful girl with mysterious silver hair and the top of her class...Who wouldn't want to meet her? Phew, I wonder if she only shows her honest expression in front of him..."

"No!!! Oh really, everyone, stop it...! Ma Yeon-ji, do you want me to tell everyone how you entered the basketball team dressed as a man...?"

"No, no, no, no... That's foul play~"

"Haha..."

With that, she pushed away the red-haired girl who was pressing against her, and another school day passed.

Finally, Dismissal time came.

It was the end of an uneventful day.

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

'Yes, brother. But, heh. You know who I am, of course.'

"Ah."

So that was the end of an unremarkable day.

The rain, which had been light until morning, was now pouring down like a ton of bricks, except she'd forgotten to bring an umbrella today.

"No... What a mistake..."

Han Seo-eun muttered to herself in disbelief as she watched the rain.

She had packed an umbrella in advance using her own local weather forecasting system, even if Da-in didn't tell her it was raining, and now she made this mistake?

'I was so focused on Stardus this morning on that blind date...'

Somehow, today seemed to be an unlucky day.

Seeing Seo-eun sighing like that, Shin Do-yeon asked her from the side, shaking her head.

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

"Yeah..."

"What's wrong with you, Seo-eun? Let's share my umbrella until we get home. Let's go together."

"Puh-ha! You, the great Han Seo-eun, didn't bring an umbrella? ...I didn't either, let's share it between the three of us!"

"No..."

"Hee hee, let's do it. Sounds fun."

"Mmm... is it?"

Seo-eun couldn't think of anything but an uneasy future, but she decided to do it anyway.

And so the three of them devised a way to get out of the rain as much as possible under one umbrella, and set off, until they were halfway to the school gates when they realized that this was seriously wrong.

"Seo-eun."

From the school gate the all-too-familiar voice came from behind the rain.

Seo-Eun looked up, startled out of her reverie.

"Brother...?"

It was Da-in, holding an umbrella and smiling brightly, picking her up.