When Yeo Ri finished her shower, the sun had already set.
She was home alone since late evening, and Gun did not come back until it was nearing midnight, thus there was plenty of time for her to ruminate by herself.
As Gun entered the apartment, he noticed that the house was still lit up, and the television was switched on with the volume lowered.
"You're still awake?" he asked the girl lying down on the sofa.
"Mm. Welcome home, Oppa." Yeo Ri waved at him in greeting. She looked up at him with a smile, gesturing for him to join her.
Gun smiled at his languid sister. "I'll go wash up first." He placed his bag down and left to quickly get cleaned up.
Fifteen minutes later, he came back out, dressed in fresh, clean clothes with his hair still wet. A towel hung on his shoulders, of which he was using to stop the water dripping from his hair from dampening his shirt.
"I'll help you dry your hair, Oppa."
"Okay~"
As he approached his sister, he noticed the red patch of skin peeking out of her shirt. There were scratches on her neck. He paused, frowning worriedly. "What's wrong with your neck, Yeo Ri-ah?"
"Oh..." Yeo Ri instinctively touched the wound. "This? It's nothing. I got bit by a bug earlier and it was so itchy I ended up scratching myself."
"A bug? Was it venomous? Did you have an allergic reaction? Did you put ointment on it yet?" he fussed.
"Don't worry; it's not that serious. It'll heal soon enough," she laughed.
Gun frowned, "You're too careless." He proceeded to nag her about her health, causing the girl to sigh helplessly.
"Okay, okay. Come here, Oppa, before you catch a cold."
"Fine," he grumbled after being forced to stop his sermon.
Gun sat on the floor, watching the TV in silence while Yeo Ri helped with wiping his hair with the towel. Once she was done, she put away the towel and wrapped her arms around his neck, sighing as she laid her cheek on his head. She breathed in the familiar scent of his shampoo—the exact same scent she could smell from her own hair—and felt herself calm down. All the tension from the day unravelled from her body.
"What's wrong, Yeo Ri-ah?" Her brother patted her arm worriedly as he noted her silence. "Tough day at work?"
"Mm, I'm just tired."
Gun scrunched his brows. "You've been so busy lately... are you sure you'll be alright?" He had always thought that his sister had bitten more than she could chew with all of these jobs stacking on top of one another, but he couldn't say anything to her since she assured him that she was fine.
"I'm fine, Oppa. Really, I am." She laughed softly as she felt his concern graze her.
Gun tapped her arm, signalling her to let go for a moment. Once she did, he tugged her into his lap and held her like a baby. "My poor baby," he cooed. "Oppa is sorry for being so useless." He patted her back as he rocked her in his arms.
Yeo Ri found herself laughing and giggling. "Stop! I'm not a child anymore, geez!"
"What do you mean? No matter how old you get, you'll always be a little baby in Oppa's eyes," Gun stated righteously.
"Oppa!" Yeo Ri glowered at his babying and smacked him. "I'm already a working woman; you should treat me more respectfully," sue harrumphed, pouting cutely before reaching her arms out to hug him more tightly.
"Yes, yes~" Gun agreed with her indulgently.
As expected, Yeo Ri thought to herself, only her brother could make her feel so protected and so... normal. Yeo Ri smiled to herself. It was these little bits of happiness that kept her from going too crazy.