I Booked a Club Room — and My Partner Was My Cousin (1)
Warm late-autumn sunlight spilled wide across the lecture hall.
I couldn't focus on a single word of the lecture today.
Jaehun, Hyeonsu, and I were finally going out together after a long stretch of nothing. For once Hyeonsu had actually reserved a private club room and talked us into joining him. I'd hit clubs before, sure, but I'd never set foot inside one of the rooms.
“Hey, you cleaned up pretty nice today.”
Hyeonsu strolled over to the bench where I was sitting.
“Obviously. You dress for the place you're going.”
I'd used the card the ajumma had given me to buy a slightly expensive outfit for the club. Clothes I normally wouldn't even glance at because of the price tag.
“Everyone's here?”
Jaehun came walking toward us from across the courtyard. He was decked out in pricey clothes and accessories himself.
“Do I look decent? Think I can snag every girl in the place tonight?”
“Not bad. Face is still a little weak, though.”
“You wanna die?”
“I'm just saying. A face like Minwoo's? He could throw on anything and girls would still line up.”
“Yeah, okay, that's fair.”
Jaehun and Hyeonsu's banter clicked perfectly. Both of them were buzzing about hitting a club after so long. Of course I was too…
“Clubs don't really get good until after eleven. Let's grab a solid dinner and a couple of beers first.”
“I heard the place we're going is killer with bookings.”
“Lots of young girls show up too. Let's actually try to pull tonight.”
We ate a proper dinner nearby, then killed time at a beer hall until a little past eleven before walking into the club entrance. A waiter checked the reservation name, then led us with a glittering baton to the private room.
“Alright, hyung-nims, wet your throats a bit and I'll bring some proper girls up.”
He kept bowing as he spoke. Jaehun told him to take good care of us and slipped him a cash tip.
“Thank you! I'll look after you properly tonight. See you in a little while, hyung-nims.”
He left with a playful little hip sway. The guy's face was clearly older than ours, yet he was calling us hyung-nim with perfect deference—it felt a little off.
“Come on, one round. Setup looks solid tonight.”
Hyeonsu raised his glass. We poured and downed them in one go.
The second-floor room had a big monitor facing the stage and a full glass wall looking out over the floor, but the glass was one-way—no one outside could see in. Exactly as advertised, the place was packed with pretty women.
“Shit, I'm getting nervous. Hope the girls get here soon.”
Jaehun stared out through the glass, face already flushed with excitement.
“Want to each do a song first?”
I grabbed the remote and punched in a number. First track was a quiet ballad. Hyeonsu and Jaehun poured themselves more drinks while the monitor background cycled through nonstop dirty scenes behind the lyrics.
Knock-knock-knock.
Halfway through the song the door opened and the waiter stepped in. Three women filed in behind him—silhouettes alone were enough to tell they were sexy. The distance from the stage to our table made details hard to catch, but even in the dim light you could see the tight miniskirts that barely covered their asses and the tops cut to push their chests forward.
“Alright then, hyung-nims—have fun with the princesses.”
The waiter winked and slipped out. Jaehun jumped up and guided the women to the table.
“Sit wherever you're comfortable. Plenty of booze—let's have a good time.”
Each woman sat next to a partner. I kept singing, giving the newcomers a small nod of greeting. A slender woman settled into the empty seat beside me.
“Okay, enough songs. Time to say hello to the ladies.”
Jaehun killed the track that was almost finished. For a guy who lived on porn, the women clearly mattered more than music or drinks right now. The lights brightened a fraction when the song cut, but not enough to change much.
“Fine, it's over anyway.”
I hung the mic and moved to my seat. Sitting down, I turned to greet the woman beside me.
“Hi… I—”
The second I held out my hand and looked up, my head went blank.
The sexy woman sitting next to me with her thighs completely bare was none other than my cousin.
Kang Eunhye.
Daughter of my younger aunt. The cousin who'd adored me since we were kids, who'd always sworn she was going to marry me someday.
“Oh my. O…ppa…”
Eunhye was just as speechless. She froze mid-word, round eyes locked on me.
I finally come to a club after ages, book a private room, and my cousin walks in. Was this even real?
“Oppa. Why are you here?”
She whispered straight into my ear. I answered the same way.
“What about you? And what the hell is that outfit?”
“I came to hang out. I never in a million years thought you'd be here.”
“Does your mom know you're booking at places like this?”
I kept my voice low, eyes flicking to the others.
“Mom has no idea. If she found out she'd rip every hair out of my head.”
“Go home. Right now. Or I tell her everything.”
She'd only just shed the minor label and become an adult, but as her cousin I couldn't stand the idea of her booking in a place like this. Once the drinks started flowing, skinship with guys would follow naturally… The thought alone made me want her out of here immediately.
“I absolutely can't leave, oppa. It's my friend's birthday. I really worked up the courage to come.”
“So you're just going to hang with me like this? Wouldn't it be better to tell your friends the truth?”
“If I say you're my cousin oppa the whole mood dies and nobody can have fun. Oppa, just play along.”
Eunhye looked at me with a pure please-look-the-other-way-just-this-once face. She was an adult, she'd made a real decision to come out with friends—who was I to wreck the night? My own friends were already buzzing, pouring drinks for their partners and grinning like idiots.
“Fine. But you behave, Eunhye. Got it? Next time wait until you're a little older before you come to places like this.”
“Okay, oppa. Thank you.”
Her face finally relaxed.
Jaehun spotted us and called out loud, clearly entertained.
“Look at those two already whispering. Love at first sight already? Hahaha!”
“Damn, already glued together talking just the two of them. Fast work.”
Hyeonsu piled on, teasing us.
“Alright, enough. Let's drink. Fill 'em up—cheers.”
I cut the nonsense with a toast. Everyone poured for their partners and grinned. We spent the next stretch singing and dancing. The other two had already clicked with their partners—holding hands, sneaking little kisses.
“Why are you two still so stiff? You hit it off first.”
After a long stretch of songs and dancing, Hyeonsu looked at us, puzzled. Fair point—while the others were grinding and blues-dancing, Eunhye and I had just faced each other doing awkward little steps.
“So what are we supposed to do to not look awkward?”
“Like us. Hold hands, put an arm around a shoulder, that kind of thing.”
“That's not hard.”
I linked arms with Eunhye and took her hand. Stuff I did every time I visited her house—no resistance at all.
“Hmm… hey. Instead of this, how about King's Game?”
“Oh hell yes. King's Game. Absolute obedience to the king. No 'drink instead' outs. Absolute!”
The second Jaehun floated the idea, Hyeonsu lit up even more. Eunhye's friends smiled like it sounded fun too.
“Come on, what King's Game. Just drink.”
Jaehun shot me an incredulous look.
“You trying to kill the mood? Everyone's down. Minwoo, make it fun for your friends.”
“Fine. Do it. Whatever.”
I couldn't keep refusing when he put it like that. Push any harder and the whole night would tank.
“Alright, let's start.”
I caught the look Hyeonsu and Jaehun exchanged—something scheming in their eyes. I figured it out fast: they were trying to push me and my partner together. They had zero idea Eunhye and I were cousins.
They spun the King's Game app. Numbers randomized every round. First king: Jaehun.
“Couple number three—hug for ten seconds.”
Hyeonsu's pair was three. They could tell by vibe that I was couple two, but they deliberately picked Hyeonsu first.
“Yes!”
Hyeonsu happily hugged his partner. Then his partner spun the app.
“Oh my. Couple two—hug!”
She chose us. I had no choice but to pull Eunhye into a hug. It was something we did at home when we were glad to see each other—nothing awkward about it. But right now the feeling was different. The press of her bra against my chest made my heart hammer.
We finished the hug and Eunhye spun next, face bright with excitement.
“Alright. Couple three—kiss on the cheek!”
Jaehun's pair hit. He even clapped. After the kiss he spun again.
“Now we go harder. Brace yourselves. Couple one—girl sits facing on the guy's lap. Thirty minutes.”
“Oh my, oppa. Thirty minutes? That's perfect. Hoho.”
Jaehun's partner sounded thrilled. Hugs and cheek kisses were one thing, but a girl mounting a guy like that was way too lewd. If Eunhye and I landed it, the pose would be pure disaster.
“Spinning… Couple two wins!”
We got it.
Eunhye and I were couple two.
Damn it. What now?
That embarrassing position with my cousin sister…
For a full thirty minutes…