Chapter 7

"Shin, can I talk to you for a moment?"

It was a weekend morning. I had woken up early, posted the latest chapter, and was about to leave the house.

If I stayed in my room for too long, my stepmother and stepsister would come to bother me.

I usually spent my weekends at the park or in the food court of a shopping center.

"Sorry, I have plans with a friend..."

Of course, I had no friends. If I had plans with someone, I would give up, thinking I would be a burden to them.

My stepsister's face suddenly appeared behind my stepmother.

"Hey, hey, big brother. I feel like something shocking happened, but I have no memory of it. Do you know anything about it?"

"…I don't know."

How could she forget only the inconvenient parts…? What a scary kid.

My stepmother sighed and said to my stepsister.

"Really, you're such a fool. You should learn from Shin. He's good at both studies and sports."

"Hehe, I know. He's my pride and joy now! …Oh, right, we're all going shopping today! I'm looking forward to eating out!"

"Then get ready quickly. Shin is already ready."

"No, I'll just be a burden. You two enjoy yourselves."

My stepmother's face turned sour.

"You… There's no such thing as being a burden when the family goes out. …Forget about the past. You're a high school student now, so stop sulking."

—Just because I'm a high school student now, huh.

I don't think I'm sulking. Those words don't make me feel anything.

The resentment I felt in middle school has long since faded.

Rather, why are they suddenly paying attention to me now?

At my middle school graduation, they went out with just my stepsister without saying a word to me.

I went straight home. My stepsister and stepmother came back late at night.

"Oh, I heard from Haruka that you went out with friends… So, you were alone…"

"There's no problem. I want to work part-time until I start high school. Please give me permission."

"You, part-time work… Well, if it's on your days off—"

"Thank you."

"Well, Shin, since it's a special occasion, let's celebrate—"

"It's a waste of money. Good night."

My stepmother's personality hasn't changed, then or now.

People's personalities don't change.

They can't be changed.

I emphasized my words again.

"—I have a friend waiting, so I can't suddenly go out with you."

My stepsister interjected.

"B-big brother… Stop pretending to have friends… How about we go out together? It'll be fun. Let's eat meat? Hehe, I want to hold hands with you~"

I see, since we go to the same school, she knows a lot about me.

"Shin, grow up. You're the eldest son of this family. With your academic abilities, you can go to a good university, get a good job—find a good partner and live a happy life. What you lack is communication skills. That's why we should—"

I do want a peaceful life.

But it's not the life my stepmother envisions for me.

Even if we're family, we're still individuals. We're strangers living together.

I'm very grateful to my stepmother for raising me. I want to work as soon as I graduate from high school and pay back the money I owe.

My stepmother's words were hollow.

After hearing about my incident through my stepsister, she said,

"It doesn't matter what the truth is. The rumors are your fault. How could you… make me go through this… at the women's association… it's a hassle…"

My stepmother's issue wasn