Night of Two Women (3)

,Unnie, tell me the truth.”

,What?”

,What did you do while you were showering earlier? I’ll forgive you if you tell me the truth.”

,…Ah, I didn’t do anything.”

Didn’t do anything, my ass. The sound echoed so loudly from the bathroom.

I wondered if she thought I was an idiot, but I felt awkward pressing her further until she revealed it herself.

What’s the point of digging for evidence now? The situation is already over.

I should have pounced when I heard the noise from the bathroom.

,Even if I grill her now that it’s all over, she’ll just deny it, right?’

What idiot would confess their wrongdoings and ask for forgiveness when the situation is already over?

At least, the people I know wouldn’t bother confessing once the situation is over.

They’d probably just act innocent and deny everything.

,If you didn’t do anything, why are you stuttering so much? Let’s just tell the truth and end this cleanly, Unnie.”

,I didn’t do anything! I really didn’t!”

,Then why did you stutter earlier?”

,I was just suddenly flustered, I really didn’t do anything.”

Her flustered expression gradually disappeared, and now she was looking at me confidently.

Yeah, even if I keep harping on something without evidence, she can just deny it.

But aside from the fact that she took a long bath, there was some crucial evidence.

,Then why is the bathtub so sticky? How did you bathe to make it sticky?”

,…”

She flinched, glanced at me briefly, and then turned her head away.

Yeah, she’s definitely feeling guilty, right?

Se-a Unnie wasn’t completely shameless, so she glanced at me and then completely avoided my gaze.

If she had nothing to feel guilty about, she would have glared at me with a dumbfounded expression and gotten angry.

Oppa said she seemed a little spacey, but that wasn’t the case at all.

,Is that spacey? Is that Oppa’s standard for spacey?’

If Ji-hye Unnie is openly a fox, then Se-a Unnie is a raccoon.

Even though she acts simple on the outside, she’s actually planning quite a lot on the inside, I could tell while talking to her.

She might not be incredibly cunning, but she’s smart enough to use her brain.

Come to think of it, when I looked up that VR game, War Whatever, it was similar to an AOS genre, and it’s hard to raise your tier if you can’t use your brain.

If she can raise it with skill, then her brain must be working overtime, but is she only acting dumb in front of Oppa, or does her brain only work well when she’s playing games?

,I don’t think I’ll ever get a confession, but I feel too uneasy to just let it go like this.’

It’s been a while since Oppa left.

He probably didn’t go to a convenience store far away, so if he’s this late, it means he’s either buying something or something’s up.

I poked Se-a Unnie and continued talking.

,Let’s tell the truth, Unnie. I won’t say anything more if you tell the truth. You did it in there earlier, right?”

,I didn’t…why do you keep asking?”

,It’s obvious that you did it, but you keep saying no.”

,I really didn’t. Should I ask Oppa when he comes back and bring some evidence?”

Unnie glared at me slightly and came on strong.

But I didn’t back down and kept poking at her.

,I’m not trying to fight…I’m just asking normally. If I were going to fight, wouldn’t I grab your hair and ask why you did it first?”

,What fight, fight…oh right, speaking of which.”

She turned her head sharply and looked at me.

With a rare serious expression, she asked me in a serious voice.

,Ji-hye has Oppa on a leash. Don’t you think that’s unfair?”

,Suddenly? I feel like it’s awkward for me to get involved in that, since I feel a bit detached even though we live together.”

,Is that so? I thought you were blending in well.”

,I’ve only been adjusting to this house for about a month. I feel like I’m just starting to blend in, rather than already being blended in.”

,Hmm…this is awkward. If you’re blocked, then the others definitely won’t join in…”

What on earth is she talking about…

Isn’t it a well-known and agreed-upon fact that Ji-hye Unnie has Oppa on a leash?

It feels like there’s no point in talking about it now, so why is she suddenly asking?

,What’s this about?”

Unnie hesitated and stammered.

,Ah…um…okay.”

After hesitating for a moment, she started explaining to me.

,It’s a protest against Ji-hye having Oppa on a leash…a recruitment for people to join?”

,…Unnie, isn’t that really…pointless?”

,Why is it pointless! Isn’t Ji-hye being bad for monopolizing him? We should just tell Oppa to choose fairly.”

,But Oppa ended up choosing Ji-hye Unnie in the end…even if we complain now, do you think Oppa will reverse his decision?”

It happened because they’re the closest.

No matter how much we protest, it’s pointless since both sides have already agreed, Se-a Unnie…

,Does she hate the monopoly? Ah, that makes sense. It’s hard enough to meet, but she has to get Ji-hye Unnie’s permission…’

It’s not difficult for me since I live in the same house.

I can see him pretty much whenever I open my eyes, and even if I can’t, I can see him at night.

Compared to me and Ji-hye Unnie, it’s actually difficult for the other Unnies to even meet.

And if Ji-hye Unnie doesn’t let them see him, they can’t see him? If Se-a Unnie, who’s the closest, is reacting like this, then the other Unnies must be even more upset.

,I get bored if I can’t see him, so how much more must the other Unnies feel? It’s a bit of a problem to complain now, but the reason itself is valid. The problem is Ji-hye Unnie…’

The problem is that there’s no reason for Ji-hye Unnie to allow it.

She’s already got him in her grasp, almost like he’s her property, and now someone’s complaining that it’s unfair in a situation where everyone else agreed?

She’s not the type of Unnie who would agree to something that can be ended with a wave of her hand, saying the contract is over.

She’d probably grit her teeth and get angry instead.

,…It might be possible to persuade Oppa to some extent.”

,Yeah, but do you think that Oppa will be persuaded?”

,If we talk to him together, it might work to some extent. You expressed your dissatisfaction when you were showering, so.

,Expressed my dissatisfaction? Did you tell Oppa everything I told you?”

Unnie nodded.

If I said something like that, I thought Oppa would usually get angry and tell me not to say such things, but I guess that’s not the case?

I tilted my head and waited for an answer.

,I told him everything, that’s why I’m talking to you. I’m not stupid enough to just blurt things out without thinking…”

,So you talked to Oppa about it. I don’t know if he agrees yet, but you want to somehow end the monopoly, is that what you’re saying?”

,Yeah, that’s it. Everything else is fine, but I honestly want to meet him when I want to meet him, you know? It’s hard enough to see him, but I have to get permission too.”

That was true.

It’s hard enough to see him, but even if we have time or it works out, it’s over if Ji-hye Unnie says no.

From the moment we agreed to that, there was no way to argue, and everyone, including me, had to be mindful of Ji-hye Unnie when meeting him.

I live with him, so I can just talk to him and work things out, but what about the other Unnies?

They can’t even ask without Ji-hye Unnie’s permission, so how angry must they be that they can’t see him even when they want to?

,The person who has a free pass and can do it anytime they want is definitely different from the person who has a chance that might come once every few days.’

Someone who can see him comfortably, whenever they want, and arrange their schedule as they please.

On the other hand, someone who doesn’t know when they’ll have time and can’t even meet him as they please.

Of course, the latter would be more anxious, want to see him more, and have a greater desire for him.

,There are not just one, but three people in that situation…no, if I include myself, is it four?’

Each of the four people’s meetings depends on one person’s decision, so it’s unfair if you think about it.

But this unfairness includes the decision of the man, Oppa, who they’re trying to meet, so there’s no arguing with it.

There are only two ways to solve this…one is for Ji-hye Unnie to let go. The probability itself is low, but it’s one of the solutions.

And the second is…

,For Oppa to choose on his own…but wouldn’t that be even harder?’

,There are two solutions, but neither of them is easy.”

Se-a Unnie widened her eyes and asked back.

,Two? How can there be two?”

,One is for Ji-hye Unnie to give up, and the other is for Oppa to choose us on his own.”

,…The latter seems to have a probability that’s several times lower than the former.”

,But you never know. We haven’t fought with Ji-hye Unnie recently…but even if we just have a slightly bad relationship, there might be a gap for us to squeeze in, right?”

,A gap to squeeze in…”

Se-a Unnie started to think.

As someone who lives together, even if the atmosphere at home becomes tense when Ji-hye Unnie and Oppa fight, their relationship has to worsen in order to end the monopoly.

Ji-hye Unnie’s monopoly is strictly achieved because Oppa agreed to it.

For that agreement to disappear, their trust in each other has to be broken, but there’s no reason for their trust to be broken while they’re close.

We needed to make their relationship just barely distant enough, without ruining the atmosphere at home.

Rather than making them fight and become distant…there was a better way.

,It would be easy to solve if we made them fight, but then the atmosphere at home would become too cold, so I want to exclude that.”

,Joo-a-yang…do you think Oppa will side with us without fighting?”

,There is a way to make them distant without fighting, Unnie.”

,What is it?”

,It’s…”

I whispered quietly in her ear.

Unnie nodded as she listened to me, and after hearing everything, she smiled brightly.

,You’re a genius…?”

,If we combine our strengths well, we can save the atmosphere at home and prevent the monopoly. Considering our profession, right?”

,That’s right! Then, we’ll naturally start working on it when Oppa comes back, right? No betraying each other?”

She showed me her ring finger, practically forcing a promise.

But there was nothing wrong with it. After all, if Ji-hye Unnie’s monopoly is lifted, I’ll have more opportunities too.

I’m the second most frequent visitor, so if the monopoly is lifted, it’s practically my stage.

Of course, there’s no reason to tell her my true intentions, so I smiled and hooked my pinky finger with hers.

,I’ll just give Unnie back the same words she said.’

There’s no such thing as that in front of the man I like.