Suddenly, I Am Rich

Gray pulled his phone from his pocket. He thought that it was a message from work, but it wasn’t.

Instead, the message was from Selina.

His eyes immediately flicked down to read it.

[Selina]: Hey. I just wanted to say I had a good time today. Your expression when my grandfather ambushed you was priceless.

[Selina]: Hope we can hang out again sometime—without the setup this time.

Gray stared at the screen for a second. His lips tugged up slightly.

”Ohh,” he muttered under his breath. ”She sent a message.”

It was short and simple, but something about it lingered in his mind. Maybe it was the fact that she messaged first, or the way she phrased it like they were already familiar.

Either way, it brought back flashes to what happened earlier. For a moment, Gray remembered her smile, the way she raised an eyebrow at him, and the way sh smiled.

”Hah...” he let out a breath and tapped out a reply with his thumb.

[Gray]: I had a good time too. Thanks for not running away the second you saw me. Hopefully we can meet soon too.

He hit send, then paused.

For him, his message was nice and simple. There was no malice in his words, and his intention was only of pure friendship.

After sending the message, he pocketed his phone again. He proceeded to their apartment’s building and took an elevator. He was quiet the whole time.

Gray’s body felt heavy. His eyes were also tired, Yet, he wasn’t done for the day just yet. He still has a little sister to take care of.

When Gray opened the door to his apartment, the scent of their home hit his nose. He might be tired, but the familiarity of it made him comfortable.

A small smile appeared on Gray’s face. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he heard it.

A sound of steps coming into his direction.

”Brother!”

Gray looked up and saw her. Lily was poking her head out of the hallway with a piece of tomato still in her mouth.

”Oh. You’re home early, Brother.” Lily muttered, but there was a huge smile over her lips as she said those words.

”Lily, it’s close to 6. I’ve been going home at the same time for days.” Gray said as he dropped his keys into the tray by the door.

”It’s still early, brother,” she repeated, then disappeared right back to the dining area where she was eating some snacks.

”You’re eating tomatoes again?”

”Yes, brother.”

”...”

Weirdly enough, Lily likes tomatoes. She eats it as if it was a piece of apple. For Lily, raw tomatoes was the best. For Gray, it was just disgusting.

Who in their right minds would even bite from a whole tomato? Only Lily.

Still, he can’t judge.

It seemed like they were just weird in their own ways.

He can’t particularly say he was normal, when he got a system.

”Did you enjoy school today, Lily?”

Gray set his bag down and walked to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water. He took a few slow gulps before leaning back against the counter, eyes flicking toward Lily who kept on eating.

”Yes, brother.” Lily smiled widely.

Gray gave a small nod as he watched Lily chew through yet another tomato like it was candy. He didn’t understand it, and he probably never would—but then again, there were a lot of things he didn’t understand about his little sister.

”Did anything fun happen today?” he asked, twisting open a new bottle of sola and taking a long sip from it to relieve his dry throat.

Lily perked up immediately. She nodded like an excited kid.

”Mhm! We started practicing for the talent show next week.”

Gray raised an eyebrow. ”Talent show? What talent show?”

”Yes!” she grinned and smiled widely. ”I’m going to sing. Ms. Yoon said I had a nice voice!”

Gray blinked. ”You’re singing?”

”Yes, Brother!” Lily gave a confident nod, then dramatically cupped both hands to her chest like a diva. ”I’m going to be the star.”

Gray chuckled, leaning an elbow on the counter.

”Just don’t sing here at full volume again. My ears almost fell off last time.”

She stuck out her tongue at him but was clearly enjoying the teasing.

”What do you want for dinner, Lily?” Gray asked, turning toward the pantry. ”Do you want to order or do you want your oder to cook?”

”Cook brother!” Lily said immediately. ”It’s been so long since we ate together!”

That made Gray pause. He turned back and saw her looking at him with those wide eyes and that tiny smile she always gave when she was genuinely happy.

”...Alright,” he said with a small nod. ”Your brother will cook it is.”

Quickly, he rolled up his sleeves and began pulling things from the fridge. It was nothing fancy. It was just some marinated beef he bought from the store, greens, eggs, and leftover rice he could turn into fried rice.

Lily practically bounced around the kitchen as he cooked. At the same time, he set up plates and utensils for them.

By the time everything was plated, she was already sitting and humming to herself.

”Here,” Gray set down a steaming bowl in front of her. ”Beef stir-fry and egg fried rice. Hot and fresh.”

”Yay!” she cheered. ”Thank you, brother!”

They both sat down, and for a while, the only sound in the room was the clinking of cutlery and their quiet chewing. It was simple, warm, and oddly comforting.

”You’re a really good cook, Brother” Lily said through a mouthful of food.

”You always say that when you’re hungry,” Gray replied with a snort.

Lily laughed out loud.

As they ate, they talked a little more about school, classmates, and some random show Lily was obsessed with. But after they finished eating and cleaning up together, Gray finally stood and stretched his arms.

”I’m going to change,” he said, grabbing the water bottle from the table. ”Don’t fall asleep on the couch again.”

”I won’t!” she replied quickly. ”I’m going to finish my math worksheet first.”

Gray gave her a small wave and headed to his room. He took off his blazer, kicked off his shoes, and sat at the edge of the bed with a long, low sigh.

The day had felt endless—but strangely, it didn’t feel bad.

It was just... full.

He reached for his phone to set it on the nightstand, but as he glanced at the screen, a thought flickered on his mind.

Chloe.

His brow furrowed slightly as he remembered.

’Right. Her exam was today.’