Chapter 52: Better Than Unnie

I had no idea what was going on anymore.

Confused, I looked up at Yoon Bora as she gave me a sheepish grin and began patting my head.

“Harang, why do you suddenly want to be an unnie?” she asked.

“Well, it’s just…”

Because I’m actually older.

I didn’t care to be treated as an elder or anything like that. My appearance spoke volumes—I looked more like a teenager trying to act like an adult at best.

All I wanted was to acknowledge my age but live comfortably without the constant infantilization.

Yet, Yoon Bora seemed adamantly against even that modest wish.

“I get it, Harang. But you’re still small and fragile, aren’t you?”

“Ugh, yeah…”

She said it so bluntly, I couldn’t even be upset.

As much as my pride ached, she wasn’t wrong.

“So, Harang, you can’t be an unnie yet, right?”

“……”

I was at a loss for how to counter her argument. Bora wasn’t the type to stubbornly insist on something without reason.

‘What’s gotten into her?’

Since I couldn’t pinpoint her motives, all I could feel was confusion.

But standing there silently and looking lost wouldn’t get me anywhere.

I was an adult with autonomy, despite what she might think.

“Yoon Bora, do you remember how old I am?”

“Of course! You were born not too long ago!”

“No, not that. My original, mental age.”

Yoon Bora raised a hand to her lips, seemingly deep in thought.

“Well, originally, you were 24 years old, right?”

“Yes, exactly.”

At least she remembered. A small relief washed over me—until her next statement.

“So, since you’re technically not even a year old now… if we split the difference, you’re 12?”

“What? That doesn’t even make sense!”

Twelve years old? That was even younger than what was mistakenly listed on my new ID card.

‘What is happening with her today?’

I stared up at Yoon Bora in disbelief.

She smiled back at me—a soft, angelic expression that could have been saintly if the context weren’t so bizarre.

“Harang, let me see your resident registration card for a second,” she said, extending a hand.

“Sure.”

I handed it over without much thought. It wasn’t as though she could do much with it.

“Hmm, I think we need to fix this. Let’s adjust it to make you 12.”

“Wait, what? Yoon Bora!”

The idea of changing someone’s age at will sounded more like some cosmic horror than anything rooted in reality.

‘Seriously, what is going on?’

Just as despair began to creep in, the breakroom door creaked open.

Standing there was Jinhyang.

“What are you two doing in here?”

“S-sajangnim!”

Yoon Bora is acting weird, I wanted to say, staring at Jinhyang with a desperate plea in my eyes.

Jinhyang’s gaze flickered between Yoon Bora and me before finally landing on Bora.

“What’s going on, Bora?”

“I-I was just playing with Harang!” Bora stammered, waving her hands defensively.

Jinhyang’s sharp eyes returned to me. Sensing the opportunity, I frantically shook my head to convey that this was not normal playful behavior.

“Playing? Bora, can’t you see you’ve scared her half to death?”

“Eh…?”

Bora’s face turned pale as she finally noticed the lingering fear on my face.

“Bora…?” I called out softly, cautiously looking up at her.

Now seemingly aware of the situation, she glanced at me, her expression turning somber.

“Bora, follow me to the office,” Jinhyang said, her voice unusually stern as she led Bora away.

“Why did you do that, Bora?” Jinhyang asked, her tone calm but firm.

“I… I’m sorry. I just wanted to hear Harang call me unnie…”

“Didn’t she already call you that once?”

“Well, yeah, but that was just Harang trying to escape. It didn’t feel genuine!”

“You’re so particular,” Jinhyang muttered, resting her chin on her hand as she observed Yoon Bora’s increasingly guilt-ridden expression.

Yoon Bora sighed deeply, her shoulders slumping.

“I didn’t mean to scare her…”

Jinhyang finally spoke after a long silence.

“Yoon Bora, do you know what imprinting is?”

“You mean, like, with birds?”

“Yes.”

Imprinting: the phenomenon where a bird recognizes the first thing it sees as its parent upon hatching.

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”

Yoon Bora tilted her head in confusion.

“Think about it. When Harang transformed, the first person she saw was you. And you spent the most time with her that day.”

“……Oh.”

Yoon Bora wasn’t slow; she quickly grasped the implications of Jinhyang’s words.

“Wait, does that mean Harang sees me as her parent?”

“Not quite to that extent, but she probably sees you as a guardian,” Jinhyang replied calmly.

Harang thinks of me as her protector.

That one statement was all it took to light up Yoon Bora’s spirits.

“unnie, is that really true?”

“Of course. Don’t you remember the day you first met her? She listened to you better than anyone else.”

“Did she?”

Harang was naturally obedient, so Yoon Bora hadn’t thought much of it. She’d simply assumed Harang was a good kid.

“You even dressed her in women’s underwear when she used to be a guy. Did she resist at all?”

“Well… no, not really.”

Although Harang had been embarrassed and said she didn’t want to wear it, she hadn’t thrown a tantrum.

Despite being newly transformed, Harang had followed Yoon Bora home without much fuss.

“Now that you mention it…”

Thinking back, it was strange how easily Harang had trusted her and moved in. Yoon Bora had been too dazzled by Harang’s adorable demeanor to question it at the time.

‘I wasn’t just an unnie!’

Yoon Bora’s breath quickened.

She had a more significant role than that.

“Do you see now why I entrusted Harang to you?” Jinhyang asked.

“Yes!”

Yoon Bora nodded with such vigor it left an afterimage. Her heart swelled with maternal instinct, making her want to rush to Harang right that moment.

“I think I need to go see her,” Yoon Bora said urgently.

“Go ahead,” Jinhyang permitted with a small nod.

As Yoon Bora turned the door handle, she suddenly paused and looked back at Jinhyang.

“unnie, is it okay if I act as Harang’s mom?”

It was a serious question. After all, Jinhyang also held a parental-like position in Harang’s life.

“Not quite to that extent…” Jinhyang muttered dismissively, but Yoon Bora was too preoccupied to care.

“It’s okay, right? Right?”

“…Fine. You can do it,” Jinhyang conceded, albeit reluctantly.

“Hehe, thank you!”

With that, Yoon Bora darted out of the office, leaving Jinhyang to stare at the now-empty space for a long moment.

“Mom, huh…”

Jinhyang had no interest in filling such a peculiar role. At least not one as specific as being Harang’s “mom.”

Meanwhile, I lay on the breakroom bed, lost in thought.

Why had Yoon Bora acted so strangely earlier?

‘Was she bottling something up and finally snapped?’

Some people are like that—they hold everything in until it bursts.

Maybe I’d unknowingly been the trigger for her outburst. Though I had no idea what could have upset her so much.

“Agh.”

All I could do was sigh and stare at the ceiling.

The sound of the door creaking open snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Harang?”

“Huh?”

I turned to see Yoon Bora peeking her head through the door.

Her sudden appearance caught me off guard. I hadn’t had time to sort through my thoughts.

As I sat there, unsure of what to expect, Yoon Bora slowly began speaking.

“Were you scared earlier?”

To my surprise, her first words were an apology.

“No, not at all! I wasn’t scared one bit!” I quickly replied, swallowing hard.

“Really?”

Yoon Bora smiled and lay down beside me. This time, there was no trace of the unsettling energy from earlier.

It was just the warm and gentle Yoon Bora I was used to.

“I’m sorry, Harang. I guess I had some pent-up desires.”

“Desires?”

“Yeah,” Bora admitted, nodding while staring at the ceiling.

“What kind of desires?”

“To hear you call me unnie. It’s been a lifelong wish of mine.”

“Wait, what?”

It was hard to believe calling someone “unnie” could become such a grand wish.

What about being an unnie had caused Yoon Bora to lose her sense of reason?

As a guy—at least mentally—I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“Yoon Bora, should I give you a pass then?” I asked.

“A pass? You mean like the one Jinhyang unnie gave me?”

“Yeah, one per day, just like that.”

Yoon Bora turned to look at me.

Her large, sparkling eyes were practically glowing with excitement, suggesting she’d love the idea.

But then, to my utter surprise, she shook her head.

“Hm… Harang, thanks for offering. Really, I mean it—but I don’t need it anymore.”

“Huh?”

Her rejection caught me off guard.

This was the same Yoon Bora who had been so obsessed with being called “unnie” that it had practically derailed her earlier.

What was this about?

Confused, I stared at her, trying to make sense of the situation. Then, she reached out and gently touched my face.

“Forcing you to call me unnie doesn’t feel right anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Besides, I’ve realized I don’t need to be your unnie. There’s something even better.”

“Something better?”

Curious, I tilted my head, but she only laughed softly, refusing to elaborate.

‘Better than being an unnie? What could that possibly be?’

To me, nothing could top it—unless you counted Jinhyang’s position as “boss.”

Still, if Yoon Bora was happy with whatever she’d decided, then that was good enough for me.

Grinning, I wriggled closer to her like a little caterpillar, burrowing into her arms.

Whatever it was, it seemed like everything had been resolved.

In the safety of her embrace, I decided it was the perfect spot to take a well-deserved nap.