Bath and Wine, Venus (2)
My sister and Ye-eun still hadn’t returned even after a long time had passed. Long enough that I had finished rinsing the Holy Lance, scrubbed down the crusader’s sword, and even cleaned every last trace of blood from the machete. I’d taken a quick shower and was already soaking in the bath by the time they finally stayed gone. What the hell were they doing in there? What kind of conversation could possibly take this long?
I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t worried. Ye-eun was the sheep, and my sister was the wolf. Leave them alone together and who knew—maybe Ye-eun would end up like that girl whose name I couldn’t even remember anymore, the one who used to brag “I’m good at it.” What if Ahyeon pulled out one of her magically summoned kitchen knives and buried it in her eye? What if my sister came back alone and, when I asked, just shrugged and said, “Still… I think I could forgive her”?
Ye-eun is my childhood friend. Having her with us made the rooftop defense a lot easier. Without her? We would’ve been forced into melee during the firepower gap, and things could have gone to hell fast. Of course she fought desperately to survive too, but still. So if Ahyeon actually killed her, I’d get pissed. I’d rage, throw a fit, maybe even scream. But would I kill my sister for it? Would I drive her away? …No. I don’t think I could.
Because the two of us are bound together by fate. If I were going to kill her, I would have done it back when she stabbed our parents to death—back when she was the most untrustworthy person alive. Or when that bastard from room 808 charged us, I could have let her take the hit first, then finished her off afterward to make sure I was safe. But I didn’t. I jumped in before he could even swing because I was scared she might get hurt. I didn’t interrogate her or throw a tantrum about how I couldn’t trust her after watching her murder our parents. I just accepted it. I even thought that if I were in her shoes, I might have wanted to kill them too.
The reason still isn’t clear no matter how I look at it. I don’t even understand my own heart.
I hate Kang Ahyeon. She’s always clinging to me, gets separation anxiety the second I’m out of sight, yet she’s so cold and cruel to everyone else that it’s almost frightening. Even Tae-woo, famous for his kindness, couldn’t get close to her. And yet I still take care of my sister. When she’s in danger I throw my own body in front of her. Even though we could have washed separately, I dragged us both into the men’s bath because I was worried about her.
“Ugh, fuck. I don’t know anymore.”
I sank deeper into the bath with a sigh. That was when my sister finally returned. The sauna door opened and out came Kang Ahyeon and Lee Ye-eun. But only Ahyeon walked toward the bath. Ye-eun opened the outer door and stepped outside.
“…Huh?”
What the hell? She should at least wash up. As I stared in confusion, my sister’s body pressed close beside me.
“What’s wrong, oppa?”
“Nothing… Ye-eun just left. What were you two talking about?”
Ahyeon tilted her head, then smiled.
“I told her to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because… Ye-eun unnie isn’t family, right? If oppa were actually an unnie it might be different, but you’re not. So I told her to come back in after oppa left.”
It sounded perfectly reasonable. Ahyeon takes forever to wash, and if I left first she’d end up alone with Ye-eun. Logically it made sense. My sister and I are family. Ye-eun is just my childhood friend. A childhood friend who still harbors dark feelings for me. Or maybe she doesn’t anymore—I’m not sure. Either way, it sounded reasonable.
“And that conversation took that long?”
“Eung? No, that wasn’t all…”
Smiling brightly, my sister slid closer and pressed herself against me. She tapped the hands I had clasped together, then pushed her face into them. It was obvious what she wanted. When I let out a sigh, she naturally claimed my lap. Very much like Ahyeon. My sister who can only sleep peacefully when she’s lying on top of me. The same girl who used to hide under the bed or in the closet when we were little, eventually breaking my leg in the process. There was no helping it. When I sighed but didn’t push her away, she settled onto me completely and laughed. The sound of her giggling was strangely pleasant.
“Just this and that. A lot of things. Unnie seemed really tired too.”
“Ah, I guess she would be.”
She had every right to be exhausted. My sister and I hadn’t slept either, but our enhanced stats let us endure it. Most of what Ye-eun went through today must have been completely outside her imagination. It wasn’t just holding off the swarming zombies. Advancing under suppressive fire and hiding underground, shooting and running and shooting again to reach the ammo depot—every single part of it would have been an enormous strain on a normal person’s mind and body.
“Then let her come in. She must be tired.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Just no!”
I wanted to ignore my sister who couldn’t even give a proper reason, but—
“Fine, whatever.”
Honestly, I was tired too. I hadn’t slept, and though I’d eaten something, it felt like an eternity since I’d been able to sit down and rest properly. From leaving Sion Mountain Fortress until now, it felt like I’d been fighting nonstop for an entire day.
“She’ll figure it out…”
I leaned back, letting my body go limp. My sister stared at me quietly.
“Oppa, are you tired?”
“Yeah. I’m fucking exhausted.”
“Should Ahyeon wash you? Or give you a massage?”
“Ah, it’s fine. What massage? It’s too much trouble…”
“Eung? I’ll do it! It’ll feel really good!”
“Stop with the fake cute act.”
Even as I said it, the offer didn’t sound bad. A massage. I wasn’t particularly stiff or sore, but the act itself carried meaning. After thinking for a moment I nodded, and my sister beamed.
“Then… here we go.”
Water poured down. As I watched the streams trace her voluptuous curves and drip heavily, my sister turned and settled onto my lap, facing me directly. Her small frame—completely at odds with those full breasts—pressed against my chest.
“Hehe, like this… gentle massage!”
“Is this even a massage?”
It didn’t resemble any proper technique, but I still enjoyed the soft, plush sensation and let my body relax. Her hands kneaded my shoulders, idly worked my forearms, then pressed against my abs while she murmured in admiration. How was any of this a massage? A chuckle slipped out of me.
“Oppa’s body has gotten so much better.”
“Well, I did go through that hell for about three weeks.”
“It feels like even longer. More like a month.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I stopped counting the days.”
It was vague when exactly this nightmare had begun. But it was true that I had experienced far too much in far too short a time. My first murder, the Preacher, the Crusader, those cult freaks, a ridiculous number of zombies, the snake father, and now even my old friend. Too many of the people I’d looked up to and cared about had died. Was I depressed? Not really. I was just incredibly tired. My body felt heavy, and any desire to do anything was slowly dying. It was a chronic condition that usually got better with rest.
“After I rest for a while, I should take it easy for a bit.”
“Let’s do that. What are you going to do after?”
“After?”
I had plenty of thoughts, so many that it was paradoxically hard to answer right away.
“We have enough weapons. What we need is food, medicine, fuel—more of that stuff would be good.”
“Yeah. We still have some food, but it’ll run out eventually.”
“And if possible, I’d like to upgrade the car.”
“Something like a sports car?”
A sports car was tempting, but I didn’t think it would actually be that useful. If we ever found a long-term base it might work as a second or emergency vehicle, but that wasn’t what I wanted.
“Something… really sturdy. Something that can carry a lot of supplies and protect us completely even if we have to sleep outside.”
An armored car. A tank. Something like that. The problem of learning to drive it and finding fuel remained, but anything sturdier than what we had now would be welcome.
“And?”
“I want more things that seem useful. And clothes. We don’t have many right now. The body needs to stay clean.”
Given the situation it was easy to forget, but hygiene was important. In this ruined world the chances of finding a sane dentist or doctor were slim, and even if we did, there was no guarantee they’d have proper equipment.
“Then should we stop by the Saeneul Department Store nearby? And the mart?”
“The mart and the department store?”
“Yeah. We don’t have to pay anyway… wouldn’t shopping there be nice?”
It sounded like a good idea.
“Let’s shop together!”
When my sister looked up at me with those pleading eyes and that drawn-out “Eung?”, I couldn’t refuse. There was no reason to anyway.
“Sure. Shopping sounds good. We need to grab some underwear too…”
“Really? You mean it?”
“First let me rest. I feel like I’m going to die from exhaustion.”
“Ah, okay! Rest! We can go tomorrow… or the day after!”
My sister smiled brightly and hugged me tight. The feeling of her breasts squishing against my chest was extraordinary. The cushioning was no joke. As I drifted in thought, she suddenly spoke again.
“And now for the mental massage!”
“Mental massage?”
“Yeah. So oppa can sleep really well tonight.”
I thought I’d sleep fine if I just went to bed. As I looked at her in confusion, she whispered into my ear.
“Oppa, you were so, so cool today.”
Her lips approached. Before I could even blink twice they touched my cheek and pulled away. I let out a hollow laugh, but it wasn’t over.
“You looked so handsome today too…”
Chu. The lips touched the bridge of my nose. While I blinked in a daze, my sister smiled, gently covered my left eye with her hand, and closed it.
“You were the best today.”
Chu. A kiss landed on my eyelid. When my body flinched, she slid lower and pressed her lips to mine. Our breaths mingled for a moment. She cupped my face, gently brushing my lips with hers before pulling back. Her eyes, burning with heat, left a deep impression.
“Oppa, you worked so hard today. Let’s rest well, okay? Ahyeon will do anything for you. Anything…”
The somehow seductive whisper sent a shiver through me. With our bodies pressed so close, hiding my reaction was impossible. My sister flinched, then slowly lowered her gaze.
“Ah.”
“Mm.”
“You must be really tired.”
“Yeah. I am.”
“Today too… should Ahyeon help?”
At first doing it myself had been faster, but now having her help was far more efficient. This was simply a matter of practicality. I nodded. As she unwrapped her arms from around my neck she let out a small sound.
“You know, oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“Since you worked really hard today, and you were so cool, and you did such a good job… should I give you a reward?”
“A reward?”
“Yeah. As a reward… instead of your hand.”
My sister smiled brightly. Instead of my hand? While I stared at her blankly, unable to follow—
“I’ll do it with my mouth.”
Under the water, her hand gently stroked my thigh. Her eyes held a strangely resolute light.