My Sister's Boyfriend | Yeonbin

f o r t y s e v e n

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Soobin had been avoiding it for days, pretending that everything was fine. But Kara wasn’t easily fooled. She’d known him too long and too well, and she could see the tension he tried to hide.

They were sitting in the living room, Kara flipping through a magazine while Soobin stared blankly at the TV, barely aware of what was on the screen.

Kara glanced over, studying his expression. She set her magazine aside and turned fully toward him. “Soobin,” she said gently, breaking the silence. “You’ve been looking tense lately. What’s going on?”

Soobin blinked, quickly averting his gaze. “Oh, it’s nothing,” he replied, trying for a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Just… a lot on my mind, I guess.”

Kara didn’t buy it for a second. She knew him too well. She leaned in, giving him a pointed look. “Soobin, I know you better than that. This is more than just ‘a lot on your mind.’ Talk to me.”

He hesitated, the words on the tip of his tongue but refusing to come out. Part of him wanted to keep it to himself, to protect himself from judgment—or maybe just to keep his feelings buried, where they couldn’t hurt him.

But he couldn’t hide from Kara anymore, not after all they’d been through together. She’d been by his side through everything, and he knew she deserved to know.

Taking a deep breath, he glanced down, feeling his heart race. “Okay,” he said quietly. “It’s… about Yeonjun.”

"What about him?"

"We...we met again."

Kara’s eyes widened slightly, a spark of surprise flashing across her face. “Yeonjun? Wait… how did you guys meet each other?”

Soobin let out a shaky laugh, running a hand through his hair as he recalled the unexpected encounter. “I don’t even know, honestly. One day, I was in this little café near campus, just trying to unwind. And then, boom! He’s there, right in front of me. It was… surreal. Like he just appeared out of nowhere.”

Kara’s eyebrows rose, and she leaned back slightly, clearly processing the information. “Wow. That must have been… unexpected.”

“Yeah,” he admitted, his voice dropping to a whisper. “It was. I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to just turn and walk out, and part of me…” He trailed off, swallowing hard, his gaze drifting to the floor. “Part of me was… relieved to see him.”

Kara’s expression softened, and she reached out, placing a comforting hand on his arm. “Soobin, that’s normal. You went through a lot with him. It’s okay to have mixed feelings.”

He sighed, rubbing his hands together nervously, still unable to meet her eyes. “I guess… it’s just that things didn’t stop there. We ended up talking for a bit, and before I knew it, we’d agreed to hang out. It was… nice, in a way. Familiar.”

Kara tilted her head, curiosity in her gaze. “Hang out? Like… more than once?”

He nodded, the memory making him feel both anxious and strangely warm. “Yeah. We went to a movie last weekend. And then we grabbed dinner after. It was like… for a little while, everything felt the way it used to. Like nothing bad had ever happened between us.”

Kara’s face softened further as she listened, her gaze never leaving his. “And… how did that make you feel?”

Soobin’s fingers fidgeted, his hands twisting together as he struggled to find the right words. “Confused. Guilty, even. I mean, I shouldn’t even be thinking about him like this. He was your boyfriend, Kara.” He swallowed, his voice thick with guilt. “I feel like… I’m betraying you somehow.”

Kara’s expression remained gentle, her hand steady on his arm. “Soobin, you don’t have to feel guilty about that. Yes, Yeonjun and I were together, but that’s in the past now. I’ve moved on. You’re my brother, and I want you to be happy, even if it’s with someone from my past. I care about you, Soobin. If Yeonjun is who you want to be with, then that’s okay.”

He looked up, still hesitant. “I don’t even know what I want,” he admitted. “There’s this part of me that feels drawn to him, but then there’s this other part that’s terrified. I don’t want to get hurt again… and I don’t want to hurt you either.”

Kara gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “Soobin, I appreciate you caring about me. But you don’t have to protect me from this. Whatever happened between Yeonjun and me, that’s over. You don’t have to apologize for how you feel. And you don’t have to hide it from me, either.”

He took a deep breath, feeling a weight he hadn’t realized he was carrying begin to lift. “Thank you, Kara,” he murmured. “It just… it’s complicated, you know? Being with him again, it brought back a lot of old feelings. Some of them good, and some… not so good.”

Kara nodded, her expression thoughtful. “So, you’re worried about things going wrong again? About going back to how things were?”

Soobin nodded, rubbing his hand over his face. “Exactly. I keep thinking… what if it doesn’t work out? What if all of this is just going to hurt me again? I mean, we have this connection, and it feels so real, but what if it’s all just… temporary?”

Kara listened, a thoughtful look in her eyes. “You won’t know unless you try, Soobin. Feelings are messy, and they don’t always make sense. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a chance if it’s something you want. Just… take it slow. Trust yourself.”

They fell silent for a moment, Soobin lost in thought as he took in her words. He felt a strange sense of comfort, a feeling that perhaps he didn’t have to have all the answers right now.

After a pause, Kara gave him a small smile. “And hey, who knows? Maybe this time, things with Yeonjun will be different. Maybe you both needed this time apart to figure yourselves out.”

A faint glimmer of hope sparked within him, though his voice was still hesitant. “Maybe,” he said softly, almost as if trying to convince himself.

Kara’s smile grew, and she pulled him into a warm hug, her voice gentle and reassuring. “Just remember, whatever happens, you don’t have to face it alone. I’m here for you, Soobin. Always.”

They stayed like that for a while, Soobin feeling the weight of his worries lift just a little. With Kara by his side, he knew he could face whatever came next, even if it meant confronting the parts of himself he’d been afraid to face.

As they pulled back, Kara gave him an encouraging smile. “So just… take it one day at a time. You’ll know what to do when the time comes.”

He nodded, a small, grateful smile finally breaking through. “Thanks, Kara. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

And as he sat there beside his sister, he realized that, for the first time in a long time, he was ready to find out.