Chapter 51: A Proper Sibling Relationship?

“Cough—this… this is!”

Fen nearly choked.

He shot up from his seat as if electrocuted, his teeth that had been biting the straw letting go in shock.

‘Th-that drink from before… was actually Elena’s!’

‘This misunderstanding is really huge now…’

‘I really didn’t notice!’

“Mr. Fen… you really didn’t mean it, did you?”

“After all, you just admitted it—”

Masha leaned in closer, practically cornering the trembling “siblings.”

“That drink…”

“The one your little sister drank from… it tasted good.”

The seductive words echoed in his ears over and over.

“Did you get a secret thrill out of it…?”

‘Who… who would be happy about something like this…’

Even though he looked more mature, Fen felt that Masha was no different from the gossipy female students he used to see in school.

He really couldn’t handle someone like her.

Unable to bear Masha’s probing gaze, he could only look to Elena for help.

The girl remained silent, just hanging her head like a child who had done something wrong.

Her face was terrifyingly hot.

This was definitely the most embarrassed Fen had ever seen Elena.

Elena’s mind had already drifted far away.

‘I… just now…’

‘I had an indirect kiss with Fen, right?’

She nervously counted on her fingers.

‘No doubt about it… that was definitely…’

‘Exactly like the plot in those novels…’

Elena remembered the romance novels she used to sneak a peek at when Lila was reading them.

Yes, even though Elena looked like a proper paladin, she actually had some shameful little hobbies.

For example, she loved secretly flipping through the romance novels her little sister read.

According to stereotypes, boys her age usually liked stories about heroes leveling up, fighting monsters, and eventually defeating the demon lord, but Elena was an exception.

She preferred the romantic entanglements between the male and female leads, their daily bickering and playfulness.

She had read quite a few.

Now the scene before her was eerily similar to those novels…

‘But it’s different…’

‘I used to be a man…’

In the novels she read, the male and female leads were usually set as a perfect match or already had an emotional foundation.

For example, an ambitious young man from the countryside and the girl next door who had a crush on him, or a hero burdened with saving the world and a saint…

But she and Fen were colleagues… and brothers…

That relationship was undoubtedly special…

‘Would Fen really mind?’

Wait…

Elena gradually came back to her senses.

‘Between good friends, drinking from the same cup isn’t that big a deal, right?’

She didn’t have any germophobia.

Strange…

Why was she reacting so strongly?

Realizing she had an indirect kiss with the male lead… feeling embarrassed…

This shy, silent behavior…

Wasn’t it exactly like the love-struck female protagonist in those books!?

Elena swallowed hard, very dissatisfied with her own performance.

Because she realized she was no different from the heroine in the novels.

Thump-thump—

Elena could feel her heart pounding anxiously.

‘It’s different…’

‘In the novels, the male and female leads were alone… but now there’s a third person here…’

‘I’m not embarrassed because I like him or anything…’

‘It’s just awkward because Masha is here!’

She convinced herself again.

‘Yes!’

‘That must be it!’

The girl nodded, as if to solidify her own reasoning.

“Mr. Fen.”

While Elena was having a mental storm, the woman before her didn’t let up and continued her assault on Fen.

“The feeling of indirectly mingling lips with your little sister…”

She made a kissing gesture with her hands and licked her lips.

“How was it?”

“Hey! You…”

“Don’t make this sound so perverted!”

But even as he said that, the grape juice really was good…

Though he inwardly screamed “awful,” Fen’s mind had clearly been led astray by Masha.

‘No wonder… when I drank it, I felt something different, a sweetness beyond just grapes…’

His brain was already honestly recalling the taste.

Unlike other grape juices with a sour tang, that drink had only a perfectly balanced sweetness.

If he had to describe it… it was probably like the jasmine tea he used to love…?

His gaze uncontrollably drifted to Elena’s cherry-red lips.

‘So… so Elena’s lips taste like that…?’

Under the dim restaurant lighting, her moist lips made him stare blankly.

They were like a forbidden fruit from mythology, tempting him to taste.

What the!?

‘What am I thinking again!’

Even he found it outrageous.

He had clearly taken advantage of her, and yet he shamelessly continued to imagine…

‘Too pervy…’

If Elena found out, she would definitely get angry and cut ties with him.

Fen quickly looked away and suppressed his evil thoughts.

If he fantasized any further, he feared he would never be able to face his former brother again.

“E-Elena!”

Fen quickly clasped his hands together in an apologetic gesture.

“I… I really didn’t mean it.”

At least apologizing first was right, wasn’t it?

“Ha… haha!”

Elena forced an awkward laugh.

Right now, it was best to quickly clear up the misunderstanding with Masha.

“It’s… it’s fine! Brother!”

She nodded cooperatively.

“I… I don’t mind.”

“I’ll just order another cup.”

The two of them secretly glanced at Masha, waiting for her reaction.

She seemed taken aback by their response, then looked at them with a suspicious gaze, reassessing.

That scrutinizing look made the already guilty pair even more uneasy.

Hopefully she wouldn’t notice anything…

“Pfft—”

After a moment of silence, Masha finally couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“Wh-what?”

Was she still misunderstanding their relationship?

“Miss Masha… it’s not what you think—”

Elena started getting flustered.

“Not what? And what is ‘what I think’?”

Masha wiped away her laughter tears.

“Alright—I’ll stop teasing you.”

“Miss Elena… and Mr. Fen…”

Her tone became a bit more serious, but still laced with gossip and curiosity.

“You’re not siblings at all, are you?”

“Well… at least not blood-related!”

She tried to leave some room for them to backtrack.

But the two before her remained silent, which made her less confident.

“Wh-why are you looking like that? Am I wrong!”

“Look at how awkward you two are. That’s not how real siblings act!”

Seeing their incredulous expressions, she grew indignant.

“And since when do siblings apologize so formally!”

“Even if you’re pretending, it’s way too obvious!”

“H-how did you figure it out?”

The two thought they had been acting pretty convincingly.

“After something like this, real siblings would be yelling ‘Disgusting!’ and ‘You idiot, don’t ever share drinks with me!’ or something like that!”

“I figured it out last night!”

“Your relationship is definitely not normal!”

“Uh… we really aren’t siblings…”

Fen reluctantly admitted the truth.

Masha’s eyes gleamed with a “I knew it” triumph.

“Aww, you should have said so earlier—”

That burning gaze practically screamed, “You must be lovers!”

“B-but… we’re not what you think either…”

Halfway through, Fen got stuck.

He couldn’t very well say that he and Elena were brothers, could he?

Not daring to meet Masha’s eyes, he fumbled for a lame excuse.

“We’re just—”

To his surprise, he felt a warm current around his wrist.

His hand, at some point, had been quietly grasped by the girl.

Then he felt a pulling force, but he didn’t resist.

Because the strength in her grip, the tight hold of her hand, was clearly telling Fen—‘Leave it to me.’

As if she had made up her mind, Elena deliberately lifted their joined hands from under the table.

“E-Elena…?”

Now, their overlapping hands were fully displayed in front of Masha.

“M-Miss Masha.”

“You guessed right…”

The blush on her face hadn’t faded yet.

“We’re not siblings…”

The silver-haired girl’s palms were slightly sweaty, and her trembling form told Fen that she was also panicking.

“Fen is…”

She paused for a clear moment, as if hesitating.

It was obvious that Elena had gathered all her courage.

“He’s the one I have my heart set on.”

The girl’s words landed like a bomb on the table.

In a moment, it would stir up thunder.