Chapter 11 : Sister Rice Bowl (5)

A few days ago.

Hami was sipping on her Americano while composing music when,The door suddenly burst open.

“Hamimi! There you are!”

“Hayu unnie. What’s going on?”

Her older twin sister, Hayu, stormed into the room noisily.

Hami took off her headphones and asked why her sister was so excited.

“Bam-ba-bam! The time has finally come for us to lose our virginities!”

Ahem.

Hayu cleared her throat proudly and showed her phone screen.

Hami’s eyes narrowed into thin slits.

A cracked phone screen displayed an unfamiliar app.

“[Rental Papa]? Isn’t this an app to rent a dad?”

Thinking she might’ve misread, she looked again.

“I’d Like to Rent a Dad <Papakatsu Helper>.”

Heh.

So this is an app for those ‘papa con’ girls to rent a dad?

Whether the service itself was clever or not.

It didn’t seem very related to losing one’s virginity.

Hami kept sipping her coffee with a blank expression.

“Exactly. Dad = another word for a male who’s already had VAG### access.”

“…Eh?”

Her sister was always up to weird stuff, but…The shock made Hami spill her Americano from her mouth.

She was thankful for the app’s built-in censorship filter that beeped out the vulgar terms.

“If he’s a dad, that means he’s done it a bunch with mom—so he’s probably good at it.”

“Mmm… is that how it works?”

No matter how she looked at it, it was just nonsense.

Hami tilted her head in confusion.

Hayu began to persuade her reluctant younger sister.

“Hamimi. How long has it been since we formed [TWINZ]?”

“Two years.”

It had been two years since the twin sisters started their YouTube subculture music duo channel, [TWINZ].

The older sister handled vocals.

The younger, guitar, composition, and editing.

They became popular for their cool vocals and “wandering youth” utattemita-style emotional tracks.

Their income from [TWINZ] surpassed that of department heads at major companies.

They could blow money on mobile game gacha pulls, rare mesos from riceball streamers, or top-tier rare cards without worry.

But even [TWINZ] had one weakness.

“Our love songs were always underrated. People say we sound like virgins.”

“Well, people who’ve never dated are always the harshest critics…”

Critics claimed they couldn’t capture the sweet feelings of lovers.

That their lyrics lacked the sorrow of real heartbreak.

Any song about romantic love got bashed.

As expected, love-deprived otaku fans always think they know better.

“Let’s break through our limits as non-virgins and become the neo-[TWINZ]!”

“Just go to a brothel, Hayu unnie.”

“Th-those places are illegal and kinda scary… but if it’s a ‘papa’, maybe… he’d be gentle and not make it hurt…?”

Hayu, usually so bold, suddenly mumbled like an innocent girl.

She had all the initiative, yet would chicken out at crucial moments.

“Ah… unnie’s been reading too many ‘Tag: Incest, Dilf’ doujinshi. The world isn’t some H-manga.”

Well, her sister was a “romance-virgin otaku” herself, so blaming their fans felt pointless.

Not that Hami was any different.

“So, what’s the plan? Let’s hear it.”

“First, we rent a ‘papa’ through [Rental Papa]. We call him to a secluded karaoke room and play the King’s Game.”

“King’s Game? Are you going to ask ‘Dad’ to do it if you become king?”

“You’re talking about that game where you draw lots and follow commands, right?”

Hami nodded half-heartedly.

It meant, “Go ahead, continue if you want.”

“No no. There’s an order to these things. First, we’ll have our first kiss with the Pepero Game.”

Hayu declared triumphantly, hands on her hips.

Pepero Game.

Two participants bite opposite ends of a Pepero stick and eat toward the middle.

It’s a game that always ends in a kiss, making it embarrassingly suggestive.

“Wow. That’s surprisingly tame of you, sis.”

“And next, I’ll command you to touch, and then it’ll get mechakucha.”

A ridiculous plan, as if she saw the world through rose-colored glasses.

I nodded along, pretending to agree with Hayu.

‘No way I’m giving my sister’s first time to some pathetic call boy.’

Hami saw right through it.

What do they mean by “renting a dad”?

The [Rental Papa] app only pretends to sound wholesome.

In truth, it’s just an app to summon call boys.

She was planning to shame him and drive him off.

Even if he’s an adult man, a weak one can’t stand up to lively high school girls.

“Then let’s summon him to the Duel Shop.”

The shared hobby of the Hami & Hayu twins:

Duel Creatures, a card game that has survived for 25 years in the TCG scene.

Hami suggested calling the “Dad” to the official Duel Creatures shop.

“The Duel Shop?”

(0_0)

????

This time, Hayu looked genuinely clueless.

“It’d be a problem if we called him and he turned out to be a loser. But hey, there’s a new pack out. It’s the perfect excuse to scout him out.”

“Hamimi’s right.”

My sister’s so simple.

Will she ever get married at this rate?

Guess I’ll have to take responsibility.

For life.

Sunday.

Contrary to Hami’s expectation of a sleazy gigolo,the man who showed up at the Duel Shop was wearing a suit.

Tall and solid-looking.

A rare type of man these days—like a mythical creature.

He didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d do call boy work.

Was there some deeper story here?

But judging people by their appearance is a bad habit.

Hami decided to keep observing him.

He said he brought a “Duke Deck,” so she peeked at it.

It was a chaotic mix of old cards from ancient times.

[Eternal Dragon]?

[Trench-Guarding Pteranodon]?

[Demon Emergence]?

What era are these cards even from?

She tried to humiliate him by destroying his hand right from the first match.

But he kept playing duel after duel for nearly two hours with that deck,as if it were some kind of unbeatable deck.

“Father, want to try with a different deck?”

“I can’t switch until I win once with this one.”

She subtly suggested it, but like a shonen manga protagonist on fire, Joo Yeonho refused to back down.

‘Hmph. He’s really playing along. I thought he’d get annoyed.’

According to Hayu, “Yasu” is the ultimate game.

Even though it says “A dad who plays with you” on his profile, and he’s just someone selling smiles for money,he actually plays along sincerely with Hami, even reacting properly to her plays.

His duel knowledge seemed stuck in Season 1 when the game first launched, but…Would a real dad have played with me like this?

Even Hami, who knows he’s just a call boy getting paid to smile,found herself almost thinking that.

‘Unni looks like she’s having fun.’

Though she kept teasing the repeatedly-losing “dad” by calling him “weak♡,” she was clearly excited.

Hayu, the older sister, tends to act cocky or overly confident—but only toward people she’s close with.

Her true nature?

She’s either timid or putting on a front.

Either way, the real “weak one” is over here.

Originally, they only called him to the Duel Shop for a quick scouting session before the main event.

But they ended up playing for nearly two hours, completely losing track of time.

When “Dad” went to the bathroom, Hami felt a tap on her shoulder from Hayu.

“Let’s go now.”

“Huh? We’re really doing it?”

Hami adjusted her cap and double-checked her sister’s intentions.

“Why do you think I mapped out the optimal route in advance?”

She had even used web navigation to plan the route from the Duel Creatures Shop to a karaoke place in a remote location.

Hami, familiar with her sister’s overenthusiasm, often found it exhausting.

“That guy really came out to play the role of a dad. Even if you try to seduce him, he won’t fall for it, you know?”

“That’s exactly the point, Hamimi.”

Hayu confronted Hami’s realistic comment head-on.

“In otome games, players go wild when an ‘unromanceable’ dad character suddenly becomes available in the sequel.”

“Wow… I hate that I actually understand what you mean.”

Shaking her head, Hami decided to just go along with her sister for now.

And so, they arrived at the karaoke room.

But contrary to Hayu’s grand plan of losing her virginity through a game of King’s Game.

‘Haa… Unni, you’re totally a virgin at heart. I knew this would happen.’

As soon as she got to sing her favorite song, she got so hyped up she went all out.

And when “Dad” praised her and held her hand, she blushed bright red like a tomato.

She wanted to play the Pepero game—but ended up too embarrassed and asked him to feed it to her instead.

Watching from the side was frustrating… and a little entertaining.

Hami hid her mischievous smile under her deeply pulled-down cap as she watched Hayu’s silly antics.

‘How long is this guy gonna keep pretending to be our dad?’

The mechanics of the King’s Game were simple.

A random draw determined the king.

But if you paid close attention while mixing, it wasn’t hard to tell which one held the king’s mark.

Hami, with hawk-like eyes, memorized the location and drew the king’s lot for the final round.

“This time, I’m the King. Both of you, watch carefully. This is how you use a ‘King’s Order.’”

She shook the lot with the crown sticker on it and then declared:

“Numbers 1 and 2—go yas.”

That’s right.

This is me helping you, unni.

You said you wanted to lose your virginity, right?

So let’s see how they react.

Unexpectedly, “Dad” stood up from his seat.

Then, he took off his suit shirt and hurried toward Hayu.

‘Wait… Is he really going to do it here?’

Too fast.

The moment he started moving in obedience to the command, Hami panicked.

If Hayu—timid as she is—ended up rejecting him, Hami would need to step in.

She was just about to prepare for a counter when Mr. Joo Yeonho spoke.

“Are you okay? Can you hear me?”

Thud.

Hayu collapsed forward.

Huh…?

Suddenly, Hami’s vision went completely white.