098. Secret (1)

Condition is the worst.

It’s fortunate that it’s just a broadcast recording and not some event.

I’m sleep-deprived.

…It’s all because of the downstairs neighbors.

“Can I crash at your place tonight?”

“Huh…? Suddenly?”

I lowered my mask slightly and spoke to Hinami, who was lying down, loud enough for the Manager driving in front to hear.

…I don’t want to sleep at home today, of all days.

It’s not that it’s particularly noisy or anything.

Every time I feel vibrations from downstairs, my annoyance doubles.

Yesterday, I even woke up in the middle of the night from a faint vibration.

Whether that was just my nerves or the real deal, I don’t know.

But it’s undeniably causing me insomnia.

Honestly, it doesn’t even matter anymore if it’s real or not.

…It’s just,

the fact that I think that way is the problem.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping at home lately. I’ll sleep at your place.”

“Why?”

“…I’d rather not say.”

“Hmm…. …Okay.”

I don’t have anyone to talk to about it, either.

Besides Hinami, who I can call a friend, there’s really no one else I can even ask this of.

Family? I can’t even sleep at night because of my sister right now.

Dad… well, he’s Dad.

And the Manager in front? …Unless I’ve lost my mind.

Or the group unnies? They’d be worse than my sister, not better.

“Uh, in that case…. We’ll head straight to Hinami-ssi’s place.”

“Yes, please do that.”

I gave the order to the Manager, who was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, and slumped back down, trying to rest my eyes.

I’m this sleepy even in this noisy car.

Why can’t I sleep soundly in my own bed, which is quieter than a mosquito’s buzz except for that one time before?

…Sigh. Should I have just kicked her out after all?

I wish I could, but realistically, it’s difficult.

Kicking her out is easy enough; it’s my house, I can tell her to leave….

But if my sister, who hasn’t saved any money and only owes me debt, gets kicked out, she’ll have no one to rely on but that guy, right?

That guy, who doesn’t look reliable even at first glance,

thinking about how he might manipulate my sister.

Even if I don’t have much affection left for my sister, I don’t want to kick her out.

Like it or not.

Family is family.

“Get some good sleep now. Jia.”

“…Mm.”

Maybe if those two got married, I could find them a decent place and tell them to live there….

…Ah, why do I have to think about things like this?

Because of people much older than me.

It’s annoying.

If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t care where my sister lived.

I kept her downstairs to prevent trouble, but I never expected the trouble to happen down there.

Stupid, really.

…To fall for just some guy like that.

If you’re going to date someone, at least date a good guy.

Not just some guy with a decent build.

**

I’ve been to Hinami’s place a few times.

The reasons varied, but every time I visit, I notice one thing.

It’s surprisingly neat.

It’s quite clean for Hinami, who complains about how hard and bothersome everything is every day.

The downstairs neighbors… even if they’re clean now, they used to be quite messy.

At least by my standards.

“Jia, want to wash up first?”

“Yeah. I’m going straight to sleep after washing, so can I borrow some clothes?”

“Should I have brought some?”

“…It doesn’t really matter.”

We’re not quite at the stage where nothing is off-limits, so I went into the bathroom and started taking off my clothes one by one.

I stepped into the shower stall and let the hot water soak my body.

Washing away the sweat from the whole day.

A moment to shed the pretense and return to being ‘Seo Ye-eun’.

“…Hoo.”

Looking at my soaked body, I wondered if I had gained any weight.

Or if there were any bruises.

…And why my breasts keep growing unnecessarily.

Thinking such trivial thoughts, I let the accumulated fatigue melt away.

“Jia, I left some clothes by the door. Put them on.”

“Okay.”

I answered Hinami’s voice from outside the door and lathered shampoo into my purple-dyed hair.

…Ah, I need a toothbrush too.

Just in case, I rummaged through the towel cabinet and found a new toothbrush, so I took one out and cleaned my mouth.

I rinsed the shampoo foam from my hair and the toothpaste foam from my mouth with the showerhead,

and just as I was about to hang the toothbrush on the holder.

“…?”

…Why.

Are there three toothbrushes?

One is the one I just took out.

This pink one is probably Hinami’s.

“Then this one….”

…Whose could it be?

This blue one.

“….”

An ominous intuition tickled my mind.

Hinami’s recent behavior being a bit suspicious.

Her randomly trembling legs about a month ago.

Her sometimes spacing out lost in thought.

“…No way.”

No way.

…I don’t think that.

Rather, I think, ‘It’s about time.’

Hinami was never the type to be wholesome or diligent.

Still….

“…No, no.”

…I couldn’t easily shake off this unpleasant feeling.

After all, we’re idols.

In places fans can’t see.

Leaving behind traces like this.

“….”

The fatigue that had momentarily melted away piled up again, layer by layer,

and though I tried to scrub it away with foam, it wouldn’t easily come off.

…I ran away to her place precisely because I hated this feeling.

With a feeling as damp as my hair, I slightly opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom.

Next to the mat, a small pair of pajamas and unwrapped underwear awaited me.

…When did she prepare these?

I just reached out, grabbed them, and changed into the prepared clothes.

Certainly….

They’re a bit small, though.

“Ah, Jia. Are you done washing?”

“Yeah. But when did you buy the underwear? They’re new.

“Earlier. When you were sleeping after we arrived, I told the Manager to buy them from the convenience store.”

“…Really?”

“My underwear wouldn’t fit you, right? And I couldn’t exactly go buy them myself.”

As soon as I came out of the bathroom after changing, Hinami, who had only removed her makeup and was holding pajamas, greeted me.

Technically, it wasn’t a bra, so I figured the size wouldn’t be an issue, but

new is better than used.

If the packaging had been opened, it might have been a bit uncomfortable….

…No, no.

What am I thinking?

Even if I don’t like it,

the Manager… he’s not the type to do anything bad, right?

He’s not like that guy….

“Jia?”

“Yeah, uh. Yeah?”

“Why are you suddenly standing there blankly? Are you tired?”

“Ah…, yeah. I guess I was a bit tired.”

…No.

Come to think of it, even that guy probably wouldn’t do something so perverted.

Rather than being creepy…

He’s just openly shady.

While I can imagine that guy forcing himself on someone to some extent,

doing something with someone else’s underwear… that’s harder to imagine.

…And I don’t particularly want to imagine it.

“Anyway. So where are you going to sleep? Last time, the sofa….”

“…What are you talking about? The bed is big enough, we always slept together.”

“Ah…. Aaaah. Ah. Yeah. We did…?”

…Likewise.

I really don’t want to imagine the backstory behind Hinami’s blatant panic.

Like the unnies did…, well.

She probably lured some reasonably good-looking and popular actor or male idol and had fun for a day.

…I want to dismiss it as that.

If the other person was the Manager oppa.

Or a scoundrel like that guy.

Or someone high up…

That would be even more disgusting.

“Well then, I’m going to wash up too. You go sleep first. Your dark circles are no joke after removing your makeup.”

“Okay. I’ll sleep first.”

Leaving Hinami heading towards the bathroom, I went into the room first and carefully dried my hair.

With my hair now dry, I burrowed into the warm, fluffy duvet.

I laid my head on the pillow, which smelled faintly sweet, trying to shake off my subtly uncomfortable feelings, when suddenly…

“…Ah.”

Another vibration.

…Not the kind coming from downstairs.

Just a simple phone vibration.

For a moment, I thought it was mine, but my phone was definitely left on the dining table in the living room.

The one ringing now is….

Hinami’s, on the vanity.

“….”

An idol received a contact this late at night.

If I think positively, it might be a simple text saying ‘good job’ now that work is done, but

that phone isn’t the one Hinami usually uses.

It’s purely a personal phone.

One I’ve rarely seen outside of very occasional use.

The contact used for conversations she wants to keep secret from the agency.

“…Ah.”

I approached the phone, which vibrated again, as if drawn to it.

Hearing Hinami humming beyond the wall, I snapped back to reality for a moment.

What am I trying to look at?

It’s someone else’s privacy, isn’t it?

…There’s no way it’s wholesome, right?

“….”

Just as I was about to turn away with that thought.

…I saw the notification pop up on the lock screen.

The name is….

Joo-hyuk oppa.

The messenger is.

Something I don’t recognize.

The content is a photo.

Until the lock is opened.

I can’t see it.

“…….”

My breath caught in my throat.

…Was there anyone named ‘Joo-hyuk’ in the entertainment industry that I know?

I frantically searched my sleep-fogged brain, but couldn’t find a single person.

After that, the only one left is.

Just one person.

“No way.”

No way.

Maybe once or twice.

We only crossed paths briefly.

Besides,

…Isn’t he my sister’s boyfriend?

“….”

As if possessed, I picked up the phone and swiped up the screen.

I can’t unlock it with facial recognition, so I’d need to guess the password, but

…There is one password I know for Hinami,

just one.

“…Ah.”

The Wi-Fi password.

20150221hnm.

This one has six digits.

150221.

…Completely lacking in caution.

A password so typical of Hinami.

“…….”

I unlocked it.

Even though it would surely leave a trace that I saw it.

As if possessed.

The notification from an unfamiliar icon.

The message from the person saved as ‘Joo-hyuk oppa’.

I pressed it without permission.

“Hieek……”

….

A photo reflected in a mirror.

Two naked women.

One, a slender woman with silver hair clinging to the man, covering only her eyes with one hand.

The other, a haughty woman with beige hair, arms crossed as if showing off her body.

Sandwiched between those two people.

Taking a picture of themselves in the mirror with their phone, faces hidden.

A bulky man.

…Whose grotesque appendage I still can’t forget, even after months.

That man.

“…Gulp.”

The hiccups.

Wouldn’t stop.

That woman whose breasts were being groped while the man had his arm around her shoulders,

and that petite woman with hair color most people wouldn’t dare to have, clinging tightly to the man…

…I know them all.

“…….”

The humming stopped abruptly.

As soon as the sound of water, which had been wetting the women in the photo, ceased.

I placed my hand over my frantically pounding heart, put the phone back where it was, and burrowed under the covers, head and all.

…I’m crazy.

I must be crazy, what am I even doing?

You.

…And sister.

To a guy like that.

Seriously.

Why…?