episode_0089

.

So,

It was the day I heard the sound of my sister and Seo Woojin kissing through a recorded file.

“…What the hell.”

That was roughly my first impression.

Why on earth would they send this to me?

A recording that starts with the faint background music of a karaoke room, then ends abruptly with the soft sound of what seems like a kiss.

That was all Seo Woojin sent.

No post-credits surprise—well, not that it would’ve been much of a surprise these days—just a plain two-minute clip.

Even if I replayed it out of curiosity, nothing changed.

A woman I assumed was my sister and a man I assumed was Seo Woojin, their tongues gently entwined,

and the recording ends with my sister’s ecstatic gasp—Phaah…

…By the end, she was probably panting with her tongue still resting on his lips.

Staring up at Seo Woojin with those jade-green eyes identical to mine.

“…….”

Anyway. Hmm.

So, what exactly was the point of sending this to me?

“Did they send it by mistake?”

Maybe they meant to save the file but accidentally sent it to me instead…

…No, that can’t be.

Sending a recording to someone else is already a weirdly troublesome thing to do, let alone one that shouldn’t be carelessly shared.

They must’ve double-checked who they were sending it to before hitting the button.

Meaning, unless Seo Woojin was being an absolute idiot, he deliberately sent me that recording so I’d hear it… which brings me to—

“…Why?”

Why? Why would you make me listen to you kissing my sister?

If you were gonna do this, you could’ve at least written a reason underneath. Damn it…

Roll.

Still gripping my phone, I flopped lightly onto the bed.

The bed was so small I barely managed half a turn, but that was enough.

I just wanted to hug my fluffy pillow and blanket to relieve some stress.

Anyway, now that I’d eased the tension a bit, let’s think.

Possible reasons Seo Woojin would send me that.

Bragging?

Probably not.

Was he trying to say, Look, I used what you taught me on your sister or something…?

“…Huh?”

Wait.

That actually makes sense?

After piecing it together, that seemed like the most plausible reason.

To give a short example, it felt like Seo Woojin was asking me to grade his homework.

Just like you taught me,

in the same place we went,

but with your sister instead of you,

we even took it as far as kissing.

So, how’d I do?

…Well, Teach?

Did I do good?

…Something like that.

“…….”

So.

They kissed.

Seo Woojin and my sister…

Hmm…

For a moment, I was lost in a strange feeling I couldn’t quite put into words.

Then, I dragged the slider of the recording—already at the far right—back a little to the left.

Pheeh—

Chup—

My sister’s ragged breaths, sticky and wet, cutting through the karaoke music.

Wait—

Stop—

Even if her words sounded passive, resistant,

her voice, dripping with melted sweetness,

overflowed with unmistakable affection.

Even though I’d already listened to it three or four times, only now did the full weight of it soak into my brain.

Seo Woojin kissed my sister.

In the same place I first went with Seo Woojin, he kissed my sister.

…Right.

When I first offered to do something for him in return for his help, didn’t he ask me to help him practice dating my sister?

And that list included karaoke, didn’t it?

So, him slowly progressing with my sister on a date course I recommended was completely natural.

But.

“…….”

Jealousy.

That’s a word I shouldn’t feel toward my sister’s boyfriend.

But still, this…

I didn’t know what to call this sticky, unpleasant feeling clinging to me.

In the end, I forcibly twisted my thoughts in another direction.

Then, what about me?

Me, my sister’s little sister.

Me, who was just Seo Woojin’s practice partner.

Me, who was just a stand-in for my sister.

What the hell am I supposed to say in response to that recording?

“Ughhh…”

Good job?

That didn’t feel right.

Some might agree, but I just didn’t like it.

Took you long enough, you dense idiot?

Yeah, that seemed more fitting.

I considered adding something like, Guess practicing with me helped, huh? but quickly erased it from my mind.

Saying that felt too… slimy.

We weren’t exes or anything, just practice partners.

Keep it cool.

With that resolve, I rolled another half-turn off the bed, brushed the hair out of my mouth with my fingers, and tapped on my phone.

But,

I immediately hit backspace, erasing everything.

Not satisfied, I turned off the screen and tossed it onto the messy blanket I’d just been hugging.

Something felt off.

Like something inside me was broken.

Not fatal, but just bothersome enough to be uncomfortable.

That kind of malfunction.

Huuu…

After pressing my hot face into my hands, I went to the kitchen and cooled my throat with some water.

“…….”

I didn’t want to admit it,

but I guess…

…I was sulking.

The reason?

Because my sister’s boyfriend kissed my sister.

And that… bothered me a little.

89

My sister left the room.

On purpose?

No, probably not.

There’s no way she left on purpose.

It’s not like she’s trying to set me up with Seo Woojin or anything.

I know it’s just a coincidence, really, but…

“…….”

…Being alone with Seo Woojin in a closed room like this,

reminded me of the day we practiced kissing.

…And the day we practiced sex.

It made things awkward.

What the hell am I even supposed to say…?

Unlike Seo Woojin, who just munched on a cookie with an awkward expression, I had too much on my mind and avoided eye contact.

I wish I could be as carefree as him, but that’s just not how I am, so I fidgeted with the board game cards we’d been playing with earlier.

…Sigh.

What do I do…?

Honestly, I wanted to follow my sister’s lead and slip away to the bathroom, but…

If I’m going to meet Seo Woojin behind my sister’s back later anyway, it’s better to break this awkwardness now.

…It’s not like I’m happy about being alone with him.

Definitely not…

…….

…Hmm.

“Ji-yoon.”

“Huh? Uh…”

While I was distractedly shuffling the pile of cards,

Seo Woojin, having swallowed the last of his cookie crumbs, spoke up before I could.

…I was so startled I accidentally bit my tongue, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“…Since Noona went to the bathroom, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“…Ask me?”

Instead, the distance between us shrank.

When he’d asked if I was okay earlier, there was still about two hand-widths of space between us.

But the moment my sister left, that gap narrowed to one,

no—

even less.

…And then,

his hand covered mine.

If he wanted to,

even if my sister came back right now,

he could grip my hand tight and refuse to let go.

“You heard it, right?”

“H-heard what?”

“What I sent you.”

“…….”

“…It got marked as ‘read’ in less than three minutes.”

“Oh, that… the recording…”

“Yeah. That.”

“…….”

His voice was impossibly soft.

Given how low and calm Seo Woojin’s tone usually was, now it was ticklishly close to my ear.

But beneath that voice, I felt an inexplicable pressure.

Like a red squirrel standing frozen before a snake with its jaws wide open.

That inexplicable pressure.

…Ah.

Maybe it’s because I’m having a secret conversation with Seo Woojin behind my sister’s back that I feel like this.

It’s fine.

We’re just sitting a little closer,

and even if my sister suddenly barges back in, nothing will happen.

As long as he lets go of my hand, nothing will happen.

It’s fine…

“…I heard it. What you sent.”

“Yeah?”

There was no reason to lie, so I answered honestly.

I’d have to take how many times I replayed it to my grave, but

there was no need to hide the fact that I’d listened at all.

At that, the faint smile on Seo Woojin’s lips curled a little more smugly.

…You perverted bastard.

He really just wanted to hear, I did everything you taught me. Did I do good, Teach?

Just like when he made me listen to him and CZ on Discord while they…

Ugh, whatever.

Even back then, I could tell—this guy’s a pervert. No question.

“You heard it, huh… You heard it…”

“…….”

“I thought maybe you just ignored it since you didn’t say anything.”

“…Why would I ignore it? Anyone would’ve clicked out of curiosity…”

“So.”

“…Huh?”

“So, how was it?”

“…What?”

“Rate the recording. On a scale from 0 to 100. You never gave me any feedback.”

“…….”

Pervert.

Actual pervert.

“H-how am I supposed to rate something like that, you idiot…!!”

“You’re the one who taught me how to kiss.”

“What does that have to do with—”

You psycho.

You literally said you and my sister did everything but sex!

And I was the one who only planned to fake-kiss you with a mask on,

but you got excited, pulled it up over my eyes, and kissed me anyway.

Then went all the way to se…x!

Wait, are you seriously trying to say I was the one who seduced you into teaching you how to kiss?

……L-like, sure, I did tie my hair in a ponytail like my sister’s,

wore the dolphin shorts she used to wear,

pretended to be her in her room, even copying her way of talking,

let you practice on my thighs for sex and even spat on your dick because the friction hurt—

but that wasn’t seduction…!

“…….”

Like, you didn’t even ask her and instead begged me to tell you what she likes,

you froze up just from resting on my thighs,

I thought you were just shy before we had sex,

but after getting a taste, you got all cocky and—

“…Just a rating? That’s all you want?”

“Yeah.”

Fine.

I’ll play along.

Ugh…

“…5 points.”

“Out of 5? Or 10?”

“…Out of 100.”

Matching his childish mindset, I gave an equally childish response.

Honestly, all I could judge from the recording was the sound,

and even that was mostly drowned out by the karaoke music except for my sister’s heavy breathing.

What the hell was I even supposed to be grading?

“Harsh. That score.”

“…Hmph.”

“I thought I did pretty well, considering what you taught me.”

“How am I supposed to know just from the sound, dumbass.”

“But you could at least hear how happy she sounded afterward, right?”

“…….”

“Panting and looking up at me… she was really cute… …Oh, just like you.”

“Sh-shut up…”

Anyway, this should be enough.

As I wriggled my right hand still pinned under Seo Woojin’s,

I picked up a buttery, crumbly cookie with my left and took a bite.

“So, what do I need to fix to get more than 5 points?”

“…Huh?”

While I chewed on the cookie, waiting for my sister to return—

“There must be something to improve.”

“…Improve…?”

I dropped the cookie in my hand.

Then, as Seo Woojin gently pulled me closer,

behind my sister’s back,

with her boyfriend,

I ended up sharing a kiss sweet with the scent of cookies.

“…Mmph, chup… ngh…”

…Honestly, I’d seen it coming.

Letting my body relax,

I roughly calculated how long it had been since my sister left

and obediently accepted Seo Woojin’s tongue.

“…Phah… You could be… a little more… chup… active…”

A few days ago, when I heard the sound of my sister and her boyfriend kissing,

the bitterness I’d been holding onto since then

melted away completely

in our breathless kiss.