Not a Female, But a Succubus…

Ring ring ring-

ㅡ Oppa must be really tired…

I quickly hung up the phone, afraid I might disturb his deep sleep.

Usually, whenever I called him after waking up, he would answer as soon as the call connected.

So when he didn’t pick up after three rings like now, it meant oppa had practically passed out in bed today.

…I feel sad.

It’s definitely not because I’m upset that oppa fell asleep without contacting me. I shouldn’t feel that way, and I don’t. I know better than anyone how much attention oppa usually gives me.

I just feel a little sad and worried about how tired he must have been.

Is it because of studying again…?

Oppa seemed to feel pressured since becoming a second-year high school student, saying the college entrance exam was approaching fast.

…He doesn’t need to feel that way.

I didn’t realize it before, but now I know that our family is better off than most. And because of the promise I made with my parents before studying abroad…

I wished he wouldn’t feel that pressure.

Of course, even without that, I was confident I could earn money myself.

As long as oppa stayed by my side.

I felt like I could be endlessly happy just having oppa welcome me when I came home.

But if I told oppa this, he probably wouldn’t be completely happy about it. So all I could do was support him from the side.

Because oppa is someone who likes giving and receiving, not just receiving.

“Hmm…”

I stretched my arms to get out of bed.

It was disappointing not to start my day listening to oppa’s voice, but I couldn’t wake him up when he was sleeping so soundly.

After getting up a little earlier than usual, I stood in front of my closet wondering what to wear today.

ㅡ Ugh, what should I wear…?

If I had to pick the most difficult part of my daily routine, I would say without hesitation it was choosing what to wear.

The conflict in my mind between wanting to dress casually since I didn’t want to show off my body or look good to others and needing to look nice in photos for oppa…

Finding that middle ground every morning was always challenging.

After pondering for a while, I put on a beige sweater and jeans, then stood in front of the full-length mirror and took a picture.

Click-

ㅡ Yes, satisfied.

By now, I had become much more familiar with the focus and posture compared to when I first started.

Seeing myself smiling shyly in the photo made me a bit embarrassed, but thinking that oppa would like this picture made me unconsciously smile.

After sending the photo to oppa, I left my room and found Jin-hyuk oppa eating toast at the dining table.

“Oh, what’s this? Something must have happened to Han Woo-jin today.”

Jin-hyuk oppa spoke to me, seemingly surprised to see me coming out of my room earlier than usual.

“Yeah. He must have been tired from studying. I think he fell asleep by accident.”

“Wow, he fell asleep without telling his girlfriend? Han Woo-jin has lost his original devotion? He’s fallen, definitely fallen.”

“…Don’t make fun of my oppa. He must have done that because he was tired.”

“Shouldn’t ‘my oppa’ usually refer to me, not Han Woo-jin, when your actual brother says it…?”

“Hmph.”

I responded with a playful face when Jin-hyuk oppa looked wronged.

…Even if it’s Jin-hyuk oppa, nobody gets to mess with oppa.

“Han Woo-jin should see this side of you…”

Jin-hyuk oppa said as if it were a pity, but…

I don’t know. I think oppa would like even this side of me and find it cute…?

That thought made me feel somehow embarrassed, so I turned my head away.

“…You should treat Se-ah better. Didn’t she scold you recently for not contacting her?”

“…How do you know that? Don’t tell me you two talk about everything?”

“Yes. So make sure I don’t have to hear about it, oppa.”

“…That’s terrifying, truly terrifying.”

Actually, we don’t talk about everything, just occasionally. But seeing Jin-hyuk oppa’s expression as he squeezed his eyes shut made me laugh, so I decided to keep it a secret.

**

As I left the house with Jin-hyuk oppa to go to school, I saw that snow had fallen overnight.

The whole world had turned white.

“Ugh, it’s cold. Don’t these Yankees feel the cold? Why is winter break so short?”

“…I know.”

Both Jin-hyuk oppa and I could see our warm breath each time we spoke, making winter feel real.

“Oppa.”

“Ugh, what?”

“…It’s finally the third year.”

“…”

When I brought up the subject we usually avoided, oppa sniffled.

“…Don’t get your hopes up too much. You know how busy our parents are, they can’t even come home.”

“Yeah…”

“Instead of counting three years like this, just keep living diligently. Someday, our parents will call us and tell us we’re going back to Korea.”

Jin-hyuk oppa spoke casually as if telling me not to expect too much.

But knowing that his attitude was for my sake, I could only nod in understanding.

Just like me, there’s no way Jin-hyuk oppa wouldn’t want to go back to Korea.

Before parting with Jin-hyuk oppa and entering the classroom, I took photos of the snow-covered school from various spots.

Taking pictures still wasn’t extremely enjoyable for me, but thinking about sending them to oppa made it fun.

What expression would oppa make when he saw these pictures? What would he think?

As I imagined oppa’s reactions, I found myself unconsciously pressing the capture button on my phone.

Is this enough…?

After carefully selecting photos to send oppa from the pile I had taken in that short time, I pressed the send button.

“Ye-rin, over here~!”

When I entered the classroom, Aram, who could be called my only friend during my study abroad life, was waving at me to come over.

“Hi. Thanks for saving my seat.”

“Don’t mention it! You’re a bit late today, aren’t you?”

“Ah, the snow made everything so pretty, so I took some photos on my way.”

“To send to that boyfriend of yours again?”

“…Yeah.”

Aram made a sound like “hiya~” as if she was impressed.

“You’re really devoted… I’ve never seen a couple like you two before.”

“The kids here date and break up rather casually…”

“These kids are way beyond ‘rather casual,’ but anyway. It’s not just by American standards—even when I lived in Korea, I never saw couples dating like you two. It makes me want to cheer you on!”

Whenever Aram heard stories about oppa and me, she would react as if she herself was excited, just like now.

“Ye-rin, Ye-rin.”

“Yes?”

“Do you act all cute with your boyfriend too?”

“…Huh?”

Aram spoke as if asking me to listen to her.

“You know, you’re so cold to guys here. You give one-word answers with a blank expression. Your eyes even turn gray.”

“…Well, if I don’t act like that, they’ll keep trying to talk to me.”

“Why would they talk to you if they knew you’d react that way?”

When I tightly closed my mouth, too embarrassed to say it myself, Aram crossed her arms and continued as if to say “See?”

“That’s what I mean! I can’t imagine someone as pretty as you acting cute and doing ‘female movements’ to look good in front of your boyfriend.”

“What on earth are ‘female movements’…”

I was momentarily confused by the bizarre term Aram used, but there was something she was misunderstanding.

“…I’m not deliberately trying to look good.”

“Huh?”

“…It just comes out naturally. When I’m in front of oppa, I just end up behaving that way…”

…This is so embarrassing I could die.

As soon as I finished speaking, I felt my face getting hot and bowed my head deeply.

Then, I heard Aram’s trembling voice from above.

“Wow, wooow… Ye-rin, you just became the embodiment of femininity right now… Your eyes even turned pink like something out of an anime…”

“Stop saying ‘femininity’…!”

I hit Aram’s thigh gently while telling her to stop choosing such bizarre words.

Aram said “ouch” but was still smiling brightly.

“I was wrong. It’s not that you’re trying to look good—it’s just natural for you?”

“…Yes. It’s natural.”

“Waaah, I’m so jealous~! Where did you find someone who makes you feel that way naturally~!”

“…On the street while crying?”

“Don’t give me half-hearted answers because you find it annoying~!”

…But it’s true.

Actually, it was more like oppa found me.

“I want to date too…”

“You can. You’re popular too…”

Aram glared at me as if she was upset.

“It’s because of you.”

“…Me?”

“I want a deep relationship like you two have, not something casual!”

“That’s not something I can help you with…”

Aram, who was whining “I don’t know, I hate you~,” suddenly spoke as if she just remembered something.

“Ye-rin. So you two haven’t done anything sexual yet?”

“…Huh?”

“Kissing?”

“…Not yet…”

“Whoa… Maybe, just maybe. Do you ever have those thoughts when you think about your oppa?”

“…!”

I wondered why Aram was asking such things, but…

Maybe because this was my first time having this kind of conversation with a friend, I got a little excited too.

I gestured for Aram to come closer, and she swallowed hard and lowered herself.

I whispered into Aram’s ear something embarrassing that I normally wouldn’t say.

“━━━━━━━.”

“H-huh…”

When I pulled away after finishing, both our faces were bright red.

“Ah, not a female, but a succubus…”