Sister Series as Nayeon's Sister

When She Tried to Play Matchmaker

The Seoul afternoon carried that perfect combination of warmth and breeze that made you want to sit outside forever, watching the world go by.

Fairy lights twinkled overhead on the café's outdoor patio, casting a soft glow that would have been romantic under different circumstances.

Your light yellow sundress, dotted with tiny white flowers, peeked out from beneath a soft cardigan as you sat across from a stranger whose name had already slipped from your memory.

This was supposed to be a blind date. Supposed to be.

Instead, it felt more like you'd stumbled into a job interview for a position you'd never applied for, with a panel of judges you'd never agreed to meet.

The man across from you fidgeted endlessly, his fingers drumming an anxious rhythm against his iced Americano.

When he spoke, his voice came out soft and uncertain, sentences trailing off into nothing before they could find their point.

You tried to listen, you really did, for Nayeon's sake, but your mind kept drifting. Back to the mountain of documents waiting on your office desk.

The project deadline looming Monday morning.

The peaceful quiet of your apartment where nobody asked awkward personal questions or stared at you like you were some exotic creature on display.

The man mentioned something about marketing. Or was it accounting?

You nodded politely and smiled, though the expression felt hollow, never quite reaching your eyes. Another sip of your coffee.

Another glance past his shoulder toward the street where normal people strolled with shopping bags, where children tugged their parents toward the ice cream cart.

Why am I here?

A sigh escaped before you could catch it.

The truth was, you didn't hate the idea of dating. You just... didn't have the energy for it anymore.

At thirty-five, your schedule was brutal, your responsibilities heavier than you'd ever admit to anyone, including yourself.

Romance required time you didn't have, patience you'd exhausted, and optimism that had dimmed somewhere between your last relationship seven years ago and the endless cycle of work that filled your days now.

But your younger sister didn't see it that way.

When Nayeon first brought up setting you up on a date, you'd waved her off with a muttered excuse about being "too busy." That should have been the end of it.

But Nayeon was... well, she was Nayeon. Persistent didn't begin to cover it. Dramatic, scheming, and armed with an arsenal of methods to get exactly what she wanted.

Which led to the blackmail.

You could still hear her voice from two nights ago, sweet and innocent on the surface but layered with that smug undertone only siblings could master.

"If you don't go, Unnie, I'll just post that picture from New Year's. You know, the one where you looked like you walked straight out of a magazine? And once ONCEs see it... oh, I'm sure you'll have thousands of DMs before the day ends."

"It's not even that good of a picture," you'd say flatly.

"Mmhm," Nayeon had hummed, that mischievous smile practically audible through the phone. "We'll let the internet decide."

And so here you sat, trapped in this bizarre mix of polite conversation and secondhand embarrassment, while five strangers evaluated you like you were auditioning for the role of "girlfriend" in some low-budget production.