episode_0172

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Drunken Truth

A sincere heart spilled out under the influence of alcohol— words one couldn’t utter sober.

There was only one thing I was after.

…She said nine times out of ten, when we drank together, I’d be the first to pass out and become a nuisance.

Ji-yoon, my initial target, had already slipped into her room with that excuse.

So instead of Ji-yoon, I’d aim for Woo-jin—the one who’d dropped that loaded remark.

Just confirmation.

No more, no less, just confirmation.

So I wouldn’t keep entertaining foolish thoughts.

Just confirmation.

“Because of you, I ended up asking Ji-yoon something weird…!”

“I’m sorry. You suddenly said something like that, so I got a little confused too.”

“Ugh… …Ah, right. I forgot about snacks….”

“It’s fine. It’s not strong alcohol, and if we really need something, we can always order in.”

“Isn’t it a bit too expensive to order delivery just for snacks…?”

“Don’t worry about it. Even if we do order, I’ll just get something cheap.”

“Hmm….”

“Should I order? Or not?”

“…Just whatever’s cheap.”

“Then I’ll at least make the delivery fee worth it. What do you feel like eating, Noona?”

“I’ll just… have some rolled omelet….”

If I counted, this was already the third time.

Stepping into a man’s living space on my own, I noisily lined up beer cans.

But my eyes weren’t on the cans—they swept across Woo-jin’s apartment as a whole.

Would it be better to call it “lived-in enough”?

Or should I say he keeps it surprisingly neat for a guy?

The unfolded bedding.

The slightly ajar bathroom door, not properly closed.

The empty water bottle left carelessly on the table.

As I lined up the beer cans, I scanned Woo-jin’s surroundings one by one.

There were no strange traces.

…For example, things that would feel out of place in Woo-jin’s home.

Like lipstick, or foundation.

You know, that kind of stuff.

“…”

Come to think of it, Ji-yoon doesn’t wear makeup, so there’s no way she’d leave anything like that behind.

Realizing this belatedly, I tilted my head and rolled it side to side.

Things Ji-yoon might’ve accidentally left at someone else’s place…

…

…Nothing, I guess?

Her phone?

Wallet?

No. If she’d left something like that, she’d have come back for it already…

Ah—

Should I just look for a stray long hair instead?

Especially since hers is white—it’d stand out.

“At this point, should we just call Ji-yoon to join us?”

“Huh? Wh-what?”

“Noona, last time you passed out after just one can. This seems like a lot for you.”

“Th-that time, I was just pretending to pass out…! And the reason I didn’t call Ji-yoon is, well….”

“…”

“…You know why I came alone….”

“…Then just have one can. I’ll handle the other five myself.”

“…Okay.”

…Thank goodness. He took it the dirty way.

If Woo-jin drinks it all himself and gets wasted, all the better for me.

I forced a bright smile to keep things from getting awkward, then plopped down on Woo-jin’s bed for a moment.

At a glance, there wasn’t a single strand of hair in sight.

Not Ji-yoon’s snow-white hair, nor Woo-jin’s pitch-black strands—nothing.

Honestly, that’s only natural.

At first, I hid our relationship because Ji-yoon seemed oddly averse to Woo-jin…

But hasn’t it been obvious for a while now?

And in that time, she’d do something shady with her sister’s boyfriend?

Yeah, right. No way.

Ji-yoon might have a sharp tongue, but she’s not the type to pull something like that behind my back.

“…”

She’s not that kind of person.

Lost in thought, my fingers brushed against something as I pressed into the bedsheet.

…The distinct, coiled sensation of hair.

Hah. His hair’s kinda long.

Maybe a loose thread from the blanket?

Holding my breath, I turned my gaze—

And there it was.

A single strand of hair, glinting under the fluorescent light.

“Huh.”

A strand.

One that couldn’t possibly belong to Seo Woo-jin.

Snow-white.

172

Too shiny to be black.

Even under fluorescent lighting, when does hair ever glow pure white from root to tip?

This is just…

100% white hair.

“…”

Strangely, I didn’t feel anger.

More than anything, I was stunned.

Like—why is this actually here?

I was just checking on a whim.

Because it was the first time I’d heard Ji-yoon call someone “handsome.”

Because it was the first time Ji-yoon had made a male friend.

Because it was the first time she’d stayed out late to hang out with that male friend.

Because the girl who always holed up in her room gaming had come home past 1 a.m. for the first time.

I’d only looked into it thinking, “No way, right?”

So why—

Why is it here?

“…”

Glancing at Woo-jin, who was still ordering food on his phone, I carefully placed the strand of hair coiled around my finger onto my palm.

I don’t know for sure yet.

It could just be a random gray hair.

“……”

If it hadn’t stretched

far beyond the width of my palm,

I might’ve thought that.

“Noona. I’ve ordered everything.”

“Huh?! Oh, cough… You’re done? Okay….”

“…Why so jumpy? I didn’t do anything.”

“Y-you suddenly got right in my face. Ugh….”

“…Ah. Right, I haven’t showered yet. Sorry.”

“…”

“My bad. Do I smell sweaty?”

“A… a little….”

My boyfriend’s room.

My boyfriend’s bed.

A strand of hair, identical in color—

and length—to my little sister’s.

With every word I repeated in my head, my heart began pounding wildly.

How am I supposed to react to this?

Should I get angry first?

…I don’t know.

I can think “Why?”

But not “You bastard!”

Maybe my brain hasn’t caught up yet?

Ah—should I just ask what this is?

No. No need to ask, right?

It’s obviously Ji-yoon’s hair.

I’ve seen it countless times while vacuuming.

…But pretending I didn’t see it and letting it slide

would be even weirder.

What do I do?

“Maybe I should at least wash up quickly before the food gets here….”

“…”

“Noona?”

“…”

I tucked the “evidence” deep into my sweatpants pocket and tried to think—

as calmly as possible.

If—

just if—

Woo-jin and Ji-yoon did something inappropriate.

They might’ve just played rock-paper-scissors on the bed and left it at that, but still.

…Then how did it happen?

Ji-yoon knows Woo-jin is my boyfriend.

Woo-jin knows Ji-yoon is my little sister.

So why?

How?

“Noona?”

“…Huh?”

“You okay? You’ve been spacing out for a while.”

“I-I’m fine. It’s just… …nervous, maybe? Heh….”

Pretending I came here drunk to get frisky.

Pretending I had nothing else on my mind.

While feigning ignorance and fidgeting with my fingers, Woo-jin gave an awkward smile and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

The moment he left, I exhaled sharply—a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding—and flopped onto the bed.

I didn’t want to use the word “cheating.”

If it had been a stranger’s hair, I could’ve just snapped, “Are you cheating on me?” and grilled him without hesitation.

But the girl who likely lay on this bed was Ji-yoon, wasn’t she?

“……Ha.”

What if it wasn’t some ridiculous lesbian delusion—what if Ji-yoon actually had feelings for Woo-jin?

Once that thought took root, so many things suddenly made sense, and a hollow laugh escaped me.

I remembered Ji-yoon saying she wanted to watch, using my “weird taste” as an excuse after I’d slept with Woo-jin and returned home.

I remembered her following along without complaint when I suggested shopping for clothes with Woo-jin.

I remembered how, at some point, she’d started doing chores diligently, as if guilty about something.

I remembered running into her in the infirmary way too often, even though she had no reason to get hurt.

…Like

she had a crush.

Like

that crush had been reciprocated.

“…Did Ji-yoon make the first move?”

Now that I thought about it, of course.

Would Woo-jin have made a move on Ji-yoon while dating me?

And would Ji-yoon have accepted if her sister’s boyfriend confessed to her?

Probably…

…Ji-yoon, nursing her feelings, must’ve confessed to Woo-jin behind my back.

If Ji-yoon really bared her heart first,

even Woo-jin would’ve struggled to outright reject her.

“…”

Thinking this way eased the nausea churning inside me a little.

I knew Ji-yoon had no one but herself if she lost me as a friend, and if we grew distant, how would she face me?

Maybe they just kissed.

Or, well, went as far as kissing.

Sex…?

Hmm.

There’s Ji-yoon’s hair on the bed, but…

She did say she wanted to watch Woo-jin and me, so maybe they didn’t go that far?

Wanting to watch—maybe she just wanted to see Woo-jin naked?

…Ah, right.

Woo-jin did say he didn’t mind showing himself.

Hah. Maybe he’d known about Ji-yoon’s feelings for a while.

That’s why he gave such a weird answer back then.

“…”

The hair on the bed…

…

…must’ve been from when they sat here playing rock-paper-scissors or something.

“Ugh….”

Woo-jin sitting comfortably on the bed.

Ji-yoon kneeling demurely before him—

not playing rock-paper-scissors,

but eagerly licking his cock.

I shook my head violently, dispelling the image.

Woo-jin gripping Ji-yoon’s snow-white thighs, pressing his cock against her dripping slit.

Ji-yoon, usually so composed, lying tense on the bed.

…The wet, sticky sounds of skin slapping skin.

I like you,

I like you—

words Ji-yoon would never say,

words that didn’t suit her at all.

I shook my head again, forcing the fantasy away.

“Those two….”

For her hair to be on this bed, it means something happened here.

It means Ji-yoon touched Woo-jin.

It means Woo-jin might’ve refused at first, but ultimately gave in.

…In other words—

—click

The low table where I’d lined up the beer cans earlier.

Silently sinking down in front of it, I grabbed a can before Woo-jin even returned from the bathroom.

…Ah.

Getting mad over Ji-yoon’s personal life…

“……”

…isn’t it.

I’m mad.

Mad that they did something shady behind my back.

Before you came here again,

you left behind a few long, black strands of hair, didn’t you?

All over the apartment.

Every corner.

…And Woo-jin, too.

Like a dog marking its territory.

Thoroughly.