My Younger Brother Is Salivating After Me - Chapter 0: Prologue

Her body felt as heavy as if it were pinned under a boulder. Yeohee forced her stubborn eyelids open. Her mind was so clouded that her vision was hazy and unfocused. After blinking a few times, she finally saw the moon hanging outside the window.

A gentle night breeze slipped through the open window, making the sheer curtain flutter weakly. She drew in a shallow breath, faintly catching the scent of flowers. Instead of sitting up, she just turned her head slightly to survey her surroundings. Though no candles were lit, the moonlight pouring into the room was bright enough for her to make out the shapes of objects.

The room was very different in size and structure from the modest quarters she was used to. It wasn’t familiar, yet it didn’t feel entirely strange either.

This was Wonrak, a wing newly arranged by the Lady Dowager who managed the affairs of the household while Lord Jaeyeon, the head of the Jang family, was away. It had been prepared for Hong Juhwa, the eldest daughter of the Hong family, who was to marry into the Jang family once Lord Jaeyeon returned victorious from the war against the invading forces of Jo Yeo-guk at the western border. The Lady Dowager had ordered Yeohee to personally decorate the room that would house the new lady of the house.

And yet—why was she here?

“Ugh…”

A sharp pain throbbed in her head as if someone were wringing her brain dry. Grimacing, Yeohee pressed her arms against the floor and managed to lift herself up. Her mouth was so dry that no voice came out. She scraped her parched palate with her tongue and swallowed, the bitter taste filling her mouth. She rarely drank, but even she could recognize the lingering taste of alcohol.

Had she come here drunk?

Yeohee shook her pounding head. She was never fond of drinking and barely knew her own limits, much less what kind of drunk she might be. Whether it was the alcohol or sleepwalking, one thing was clear: if the Lady Dowager found out she was here, there would be hell to pay. She had to get out before anyone saw her.

She shifted her body toward the edge of the bed. As she swung her legs down, a soft fabric brushed against her calves, feeling utterly different from the rough daily clothes she usually wore. She glanced down at her outfit.

When she raised her arm, wide, flowing sleeves swayed before her eyes. Unlike her usual coarse garments, she was wrapped in a gown layered with thin, delicate gauze. There was no mistaking what this was: the wedding robe the Lady Dowager had forcibly sent her through the servants to prepare her for a marriage she had no say in.

“What on earth is going on…?”

Her voice trembled with bewilderment. Why was she dressed in a wedding robe, lying on the bed prepared for the new lady of the house?

Pressing her aching forehead with the palm of her hand, Yeohee tried to piece her memories together.

She clearly remembered resting in her room when Jaeyeon had come to visit. He had said he heard rumors that her marriage had been arranged. When he asked if she truly wanted it, Yeohee had answered yes, even though she didn’t mean it. Jaeyeon, fiddling idly with the wedding robe that had been left on the table, had then urged her to try it on.

In truth, Yeohee’s marriage had been forced upon her by the Lady Dowager without her consent. Even when she begged to return to her hometown instead of marrying, her pleas were heartlessly ignored—the marriage negotiations with the Seo family were already too far along.

Not only was it an unwanted marriage, but the groom was not the man her heart yearned for. So no matter how beautiful the wedding robe was, she had no desire to wear it. Especially not in front of Jaeyeon.

She had initially refused, making the excuse that she couldn’t wear a wedding robe in front of a man who wasn’t her husband. But Jaeyeon had draped the red ceremonial robe over her shoulders himself, saying he wanted to see her looking like a bride. After all, he said, if the sister who had cared for him was finally getting married, she should be the most beautiful bride in the entire nation.

Yeohee didn’t know why his words had made her heart ache so suddenly.

Jaeyeon even summoned a maid to help dress her properly. Overwhelmed, Yeohee eventually gave in. Meanwhile, Jaeyeon had his attendants bring jewelry and fine flower wines from the Jang family treasury—gold hairpins intricately carved, coral necklaces, pearl ornaments—piling them onto the table. But none of it seemed real to Yeohee. It all felt too extravagant for her.

When she protested, Jaeyeon picked out a single gold hairpin himself and pinned it in her hair.

Satisfied with how she looked, Jaeyeon handed her a cup of wine, calling it a celebratory drink for her marriage. Watching him drink so easily, Yeohee, overcome with melancholy, also drank in one gulp.

Her memories ended after she drank a few more cups he offered.

Everything until she passed out had happened in Yeondang, her own residence. But now she was in Saerimwon, the wing closest to the lord’s quarters.

Unless she was a sleepwalker, it meant someone must have moved her here. Given how weak she still felt, it was unlikely she came here herself.

The most likely person who could have brought her here was Jaeyeon, who had been with her last. But if he simply wanted her to sleep off the alcohol, he should have left her in Yeondang, not brought her all the way to Saerimwon.

Creak.

The sound of hinges breaking the heavy silence made Yeohee’s shoulders jolt. As the approaching footsteps grew louder, her breath caught in her throat.

She clutched the hem of her skirt tightly. If it were the Lady Dowager’s servant coming to find her, it would be disastrous. She considered hiding at the edge of the bed, but before she could move, the footsteps stopped right beside her.

A tall shadow loomed over the bed. Slowly, Yeohee turned her head.

A thin night robe fluttered in front of her eyes. A flash of relief crossed her mind—this wasn’t the Lady Dowager’s servant—but it vanished the instant she recognized the man before her. She swallowed hard.

His front was loosely open, revealing a firm abdomen. The sash around his waist was barely tied, hanging dangerously at his hips.

“Ja… no, my lord,” Yeohee stammered, hurriedly correcting herself.

Her voice trembled badly. She needed to ask if he had brought her here, but the words stuck in her throat.

Bathed in the blinding moonlight, the man standing before her seemed so different from the Jaeyeon she used to know. She had sensed the subtle changes in him for a while now but had kept turning a blind eye.

The boy she once protected had grown into a young man—one with the eyes of a beast capable of devouring her whole.

Jaeyeon, his clothing disheveled, approached Yeohee. The moonlight that had filled the room was blocked by his figure, plunging her world into darkness.

“Why am I here…” she began, but her words trailed off as Jaeyeon pushed her shoulder, making her fall silent. He climbed atop her, caging her with his arms.

His hand, which had been pressing on her shoulder, now tenderly cupped her cheek.

“Because tonight is our bridal night.”

Before she could protest, his fingers slipped between her parted lips, gently pressing down on her tongue.

“Mmgh.”

A muffled whimper escaped Yeohee’s mouth as he pinned her tongue down. Her soft tongue instinctively curled around his finger in protest. Jaeyeon licked his dry lips, a predatory glint in his eyes as he looked down at her.