By Some Unbelievable Twist, I Became the Villainess’s Older Brother

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READ ONLY AT VANISHINTOFICTION.COM

‘So bright.’

The sunlight was dazzling. It felt as if he might go blind, so Jaeyi kicked off the covers in irritation.

The moment he jerked upright and got out of bed, his legs nearly gave way. It was because he had drunk himself senseless the day before for his birthday.

The mere thought of alcohol seemed to bring his headache surging back. It was still this bad even after taking something for his hangover.

Only now did Hyunwoo’s warning that he ought to worry about his liver truly hit home. From now on, he really would drink in moderation. Honestly.

“My head is killing me.”

Clicking his tongue at his own sorry state, Jaeyi yanked the curtains shut and roughly scratched his head. His head hurt, but not badly enough to miss school.

Jaeyi turned to look at the clock on the wall. …9:40? It was late enough to make him doubt his eyes. After staring blankly at the clock and blinking, Jaeyi rubbed his eyes and looked again.

Of course, the clock couldn’t be wrong. Naturally not. He had bought it only a week ago.

“Damn it, I’m late.”

The curse escaped him automatically, but he had no time even to feel anxious. The instant the words left his mouth, Jaeyi ran to the bathroom.

He washed his hair in a hurry and splashed water over his face. And since he couldn’t risk smelling bad, he brushed his teeth thoroughly as well.

By the time he finished rushing around and emerged from the bathroom, it was already 9:52.

Imagining the face of his strict major professor, who would take attendance the instant the clock struck ten, Jaeyi hurriedly dressed and pulled on his socks. Drying his hair was out of the question.

He tossed in books for his remaining classes and checked the time again. 9:54. If he ran at full speed, he might just avoid being late.

Jaeyi hastily put on his shoes at the entrance, dashed outside, and ran as though his life depended on it. The problem, however, was not his legs. It was the crosswalk in front of the school.

Jaeyi liked that his rented room was close to campus, but he was always dissatisfied with this blasted crosswalk. That was why he usually left with as much time to spare as possible despite living nearby.

Standing before the crosswalk, Jaeyi watched the signal anxiously. A fair amount of time seemed to have passed, but the light stubbornly remained red.

“When is it going to change?”

9:56. When he looked up from his watch, the light had finally turned green.

Jaeyi drew one quick breath and broke into a run. Fortunately, he was quite fast.

If he hadn’t seen an old woman crossing from the other side as she picked up the tangerines she had dropped, bag and all, Jaeyi might already have been standing outside his classroom.

“Oh dear. What am I going to do?”

Jaeyi passed the old woman as she slowly put the fallen tangerines back into the bag, but before he had gone far, he stopped in place.

Sigh. This damned compulsion to meddle.

Jaeyi let out a long sigh as he looked down at himself, his mind racing ahead while his body stood still.

‘Can’t be helped.’

Muttering inwardly, he walked over to the old woman. Perhaps because it was morning, every passerby merely glanced at her before quickly turning away.

The sight made indignation well up in Jaeyi for no good reason. As naturally as though he had never hesitated, he bent his knees and swiftly gathered the fallen tangerines.

“Oh dear, how can I ever thank you for this…”

“It’s no trouble.”

After the short reply, Jaeyi glanced at the signal and quickly resumed picking up the fruit.

Only after gathering the final tangerine and looking around to make sure none remained did he stand.

“Ma’am, the signal is almost—”

Before he could finish, the old woman suddenly seized Jaeyi’s hand. The crossing signal kept chiming beside his ear, urging them to hurry because the light was about to turn red.

“Young man! Thank you, truly.”

“Yes. But first, ma’am, we should cross and―”

“Hm? What did you say? It’s only natural? Oh dear, how could this possibly be only natural!”