292. Scandal (19)

Startled by the loud alarm, I got up, enduring the splitting headache, only to find the sun already piercing through the curtains and lighting up my eyes.

Normally, I would have gotten up and prepared for work, but… I was in no condition to do so.

My body wasn’t completely immobile, but mentally, I felt like all my motivation had been drained away.

…Right, I’m the boss anyway, fuck.

No one would say anything if I didn’t show up for a day.

Still, I should let them know in advance, so I called the part-timer who should have been at work by now, speaking in a dying voice.

-Hello? Boss?

“Uh, Soo-ah. I can’t make it today, so if anyone asks, tell them I got hurt.”

-What? So suddenly?

Our part-timer was startled the moment she heard my voice, but my condition wasn’t good enough to care about such things.

Assuming she understood enough, I quickly hung up, then stumbled my way to the living room, holding my throbbing forehead, and wet my parched throat.

…Even if I don’t go to work, I still have to clean, stock the empty fridge, there’s so much to do.

The more I thought about it, the dizzier I got, and just as I was contemplating going back to bed and resting peacefully.

“Ah, Oppa….”

“…Slept well?”

“Yes.”

Hinami, wearing only a loose t-shirt, happened to emerge from her room alone and walked towards me with heavy steps.

The moment I saw her strangely mundane yet erotic appearance, the desire I thought I had completely purged and thrown up was stirring again.

“I want water too….”

“….”

She snatched my cup and gulped down the water, glug glug, and seeing it trickle down her skin, spilling slightly around her lips.

My brain, which had been whining that it didn’t want to do anything, suddenly snapped back to normal, now spinning so fast I could almost hear my blood rushing.

“Phew…. Ah, ugh. My head feels dizzy, I drank way too fast….”

“You should have drunk it slowly.”

“Ehehe….”

Handing back the cup she held with both hands, she wiped her wet mouth and gave me a bright, Hinami-like smile.

Unlike on the bed, her youthful face, fitting for her age, was pleasant to look at, and as I stared intently, she tilted her head slightly, blinking her big eyes, before returning to the Hinami I knew, a meaningful smile playing on her lips as she snuggled up next to me.

“…Are you horny already, Oppa?”

“I’m not, so get off me.”

“You couldn’t get enough even after yesterday? …I really thought I was going to die.”

“I don’t remember.”

“Ehh, you went ‘pang, pang’ on my super precious and sensitive spot until it felt like it would get crushed? …You really don’t remember?”

“…I remember the possibility of having done such a thing, but I don’t recall the exact duration.”

“Hmph….”

I mentally debated whether I should scold her again for poking my side and tickling me despite her small size, but

she eyed me suspiciously, then suddenly stood on tiptoe and dangled precariously from my neck.

“Your eyes are so sunken, it must be true.”

“That bad?”

“Yeah. Even in Japan, I never saw you look this exhausted.”

“Back then, I at least ate expensive meals every day.”

“Heheh….”

As I leaned down slightly to meet her eye level,

she unreservedly rubbed her cheek against my slightly stubbled one, then gave me a peck.

“…Why don’t you take the day off work and we can sleep more? You’re the boss anyway. It’ll probably take a while for unnie and Jia to wake up too.”

“I was already planning on it if you weren’t here.”

“Such an irresponsible Oppa.”

“Then what does that make you, trying to tempt me into slacking off?”

“I’m an irresponsible idol too. …A delinquent idol who prefers secret friends over fans.”

She tried desperately to crawl into my bed, seducing me with languid eyes.

…I wasn’t the type of heartless person to cruelly kick away a bird that woke up early.

“Ah……♡”

With my body not feeling too stiff, I scooped her up and carried her back to my room, tossing Hinami onto the bed.

Then, covering her navel and underwear, which had adorably peeked out thanks to the slight disarray, with the blanket.

“If you do anything weird, I’m kicking you out.”

“Yeees.”

I used her soft body as a pillow,

tightly embracing the squishy girl’s body, and closed my eyes, seeking a deep sleep where I couldn’t even dream.

…Surely, the outside world was chaotic.

But none of that mattered as long as I didn’t look at my phone,

it was completely irrelevant.

**

The moment I woke up, I frantically searched for my phone.

Not to find something, nor to check for messages.

Simply out of habit.

Without even realizing what I was wearing when I fell asleep, I groggily rubbed my eyes and picked up my phone, which lay neatly on the desk.

“…Haa.”

Realizing that it was long past breakfast time, and that no one had contacted me on this phone, I finally noticed that a mirror was reflecting me.

“Ugh….”

…Still dressed in unnie’s school uniform from yesterday.

I had taken off the skirt, wasn’t wearing a bra, just a thong, a button-up shirt, and a tie – a bizarre outfit.

Seeing that jolted me awake, so I quickly threw off the clothes I was wearing and grabbed whatever I could find from the closet.

“Mmmph…….”

As I rustled around changing clothes, unnie, whom I hadn’t even noticed was there, stirred in her blanket and started muttering strange things in her sleep.

…Right, I had done unspeakable things in this room yesterday.

It was a memory I had buried because I didn’t want to recall it, but since it happened just last night, it was incredibly vivid, making my already trembling hands shake even more violently.

Things I could never do sober, no matter how hard I tried… How many times did I do that yesterday?

And not alone, but in front of several people.

I wasn’t exaggerating when I say I felt like dying, the feeling rising to the back of my throat, but I held it in, afraid of waking unnie, and carefully left the room after changing.

“…Are they asleep?”

Unlike the messy room, the living room was impeccably clean and tidy.

I pulled up the straps of the hastily worn tank top and looked around, but sensed no presence.

Is he still asleep, that man?

Of course, after doing all that, it wouldn’t be strange if he passed out…

…Wait.

“….”

I realized someone was missing from the scene, so I retraced my steps and went back to unnie’s room.

I gently opened the door, careful not to make a sound, and peered intently at the bed where unnie was lying, but…

“…She’s gone.”

Hinami wasn’t there.

…What?

Did she go home alone?

No way, she wouldn’t just leave that easily…

Just then.

Faintly, I heard a subtle presence beyond the wall.

It sounded like someone tossing and turning under the covers.

…Or maybe like skin brushing against skin.

A subtle sound.

Drawn by that faint presence, I moved my feet cautiously towards the source of the sound.

“…Oppa….”

As I got closer, hearing the voice grow clearer,

feeling a strange, indescribable emotion.

I couldn’t help but sink to the living room floor and listen intently to the sounds.

“Oppa…….”

…The rustling of blankets.

The slight creak of the bed.

The sounds of a man and woman exploring each other.

The sound of soft skin meeting slightly rougher skin.

Each and every one of those sounds connected with last night’s events, painting a vivid picture in my memory.

“…Haa, hng……, hehe, Ah……♡”

In the middle of the day, when even birds weren’t chirping,

unable to bear the sounds of two little birds whispering their love, I plugged my ears and fled to the bathroom.

Frantically, I fumbled with my phone, trying desperately to erase those fresh and sweet voices.

“……”

But no matter which article I read,

or which community I browsed,

I could always see our group’s faces.

Only then did I realize this was reality.

“Ugh….”

I vomited nothing but bile into the sink.

Rinsing my mouth, filled with a bitter taste, with water.

I watched the public, who now clung to someone else instead of me, from a distance I couldn’t reach.

“……”

…So our agency did release a statement after all.

“We will take legal action against all reckless insults, sexual harassment, dissemination of false information, malicious slander, and criticism directed at our artists…”

So, does that mean Seo Yeong unnie is not spreading false information, and therefore deserves the hate?

Will I too,

become someone who deserves to be hated like that the moment I’m found out?

The answer… I knew it.

Whether it was something deserving of hate or not,

I would be hated regardless.

Because.

…The people who blatantly put my name in their nicknames were leading the charge in cursing Seo Yeong unnie.

“Puhuhu….”

It was so absurd that I touched my disheveled face and laughed alone in the bathroom.

…Honestly, I don’t really have any affection left for that unnie, but

she’s just too pitiful.

There’s only one difference between me, that unnie, and Hinami.

Choosing the wrong man.

Just one.

Of course, I never chose anyone,

he’s the one who latched onto me.

“……”

Only now could I admit the feelings I had upon hearing that faint voice earlier.

Of course, I couldn’t put it into words…

I couldn’t hide it anymore.

…What kind of feelings I harbored for him.

The moment I spoke it aloud,

he would hold my leash and control me forever.

Of course, even without saying it,

that future probably wouldn’t change anyway.