Secrets (3)
I barely slept that night. The next day, and the day after that, I somehow managed to get through my schedule by relying on caffeine. Even on the rare morning off that finally came after several exhausting days, the same fear clung to me: that the ground beneath my feet could collapse at any moment.
I had no idea where it had all gone wrong. Or where to even begin untangling it.
If only, from the very beginning, when my sister first brought that man home, I had put my foot down. This house is in my name, I should have said. No matter how serious you two are, living together is out of the question. Maybe then none of this would have happened.
When we ran into Hinami right outside the house, I should have stopped her from excitedly suggesting the four of us grab drinks. Was it already too late?
…No. Maybe it still wasn’t too late.
I didn’t agree with Hinami’s values, but… literally speaking, we still hadn’t been caught. The other unnies in the group hadn’t found out. Hinami hadn’t slipped up either. As for my sister… she was just a regular person, so if we got caught, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. For now, she was off the list of immediate concerns.
Of course, the fallout from Hinami simply having a dating scandal would be completely different from the headline “Idol and her groupmate’s boyfriend in a threesome.” But there was no helping it. I had to tie up all the loose ends before anything leaked.
“Huu…”
That man wasn’t exactly an ordinary civilian either. A former baseball player. He retired early due to injury, but he’d had a decent level of recognition back in the day. I’d even known about his personal issues. He’d given me a business card saying he worked as a fitness trainer now, but… that was probably a lie. His social media hadn’t been updated in years.
Still, it wasn’t all fabricated. I managed to find a few posts where his old teammates were promoting the gym he’d apparently opened recently.
…Surprisingly, his reputation on the team hadn’t been that bad.
Considering the rumors I’d heard and the way he actually behaved… he hadn’t exactly been the model of diligence.
“…This is the place.”
It was about a fifteen-minute walk from the house. I vaguely remembered there used to be a gym here. Maybe he’d taken it over? I was curious where he’d gotten the money, but… well. Baseball players got signing bonuses and decent salaries. He wouldn’t have needed to borrow from my sister.
…Might as well check it out. If the place was running smoothly, nothing would change. If it looked like it was about to go under, I could just buy him off with money and make sure he kept his hands off Hinami.
“Welcome…”
I walked into the gym wearing a mask and a cap pulled low, only to find a woman behind the counter who looked utterly drained. She had an average face but the kind of vibe that suggested she’d be popular enough. The moment she looked at me, her eyes widened. She reflexively covered her mouth and stammered.
“Um… excuse me… are you…?”
“…Are you open right now?”
“Yes, yes. Are you here to register…?”
“Yes. Just for a day pass, please.”
“Ah, okay… Wow.”
…Had she recognized my voice? Even though I’d dressed as frumpily as possible. Well, it didn’t really matter. Whether she recognized me or not, I wasn’t planning on coming back.
“You can head this way…”
I gave a small bow to the part-timer, whose hands were still trembling as she guided me, then walked past the changing rooms and straight into the gym floor. Even though it was early morning, there were surprisingly quite a few people. For a second I wondered if it was because the part-timer was pretty, but the moment I spotted the short-haired woman running on the treadmill in the distance, that thought vanished completely.
“…Hey. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Who… oh. …Jia?”
What the hell are you doing, Hinami. For real.
“What are you doing at a place like this? Why aren’t you using the company gym? Are you insane?”
“It’s kind of far… you know? And today’s my day off, so…”
She had her mask dangling loosely from her chin and was basically walking around with a hat that screamed I’m Hinami. The sight made irritation surge through me like wildfire.
…Close by, my ass. She’d clearly come here to meet that man. What, were they going on a gym date? In front of everyone?
“Oh, but Jia, why are you…”
“…It’s my day off too.”
“See? You came here because the company gym is too far as well.”
I hated how shamelessly she used me as an excuse to justify herself. …My head felt like it was about to explode because of her. I’d barely slept from all the anxiety.
“Did you come here because Oppa introduced you too, Jia?”
“…What?”
“You know, Juhyuk Oppa. Your sister’s boyfriend.”
“…”
“Huh? No? Did I get it wrong?”
Every time this carefree idiot casually dropped that name in front of me, my mouth went bone-dry. If even one reporter was among the not-insignificant number of people here, they’d probably swarm us with paparazzi the second they overheard this kind of personal talk.
“Well, the facilities here are decent. I guess it makes sense you’d come too.”
“…Let’s go outside.”
“Huh? Why…?”
“I said let’s go. …Before more people show up.”
“But I have plans…”
“What plans.”
“With your sis—”
This was no longer sustainable. Before I shut that man’s mouth, I needed to get Hinami under control first. It was a miracle we hadn’t been caught yet. If someone snapped a picture of the two of them chatting like this…
“Ah, Oppa.”
“…Looks like we have a new customer.”
“…”
He was here. That man. Dressed to emphasize every muscle. The owner of this place who had clearly done his hair.
“Oh, isn’t Noona with you?”
“She looked tired, so I let her sleep.”
“Ah, I see…”
Hinami approached him without hesitation, like they were old acquaintances, and started talking. …Do you seriously have zero sense of danger? Everyone nearby has been staring at us since earlier.
“If Noona’s not here, it feels a bit weird for just the two of us to go… Oh. But Jia’s here today, so it’s fine.”
“…Hello.”
“Ah, hello. …Did you call her?”
“No, it was just a coincidence. A coincidence. She said she came to work out since it’s her day off.”
I bowed to him while hiding my emotions as best I could. Just doing this much made me feel like I was going to die from anxiety. As long as Hinami didn’t openly cling to him, we were barely safe. In any case, on the surface this man was my sister’s boyfriend. Since they lived together, he was essentially my brother-in-law… so there was still room for excuses.
“Ah, I see. …Would you like to use the gym more often then? If it were up to me I’d give you a free membership, so I’d love for you to keep coming.”
“…No, that’s fine. It draws too much attention.”
“True. That makes sense. …Let’s head out for now. You both look uncomfortable.”
Taking the only person who seemed completely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere with us, the three of us escaped the stares of the other customers. Even the part-timer I’d spoken with earlier gave us a strange look as she watched the man leave with two idols on either side of him. This was exactly why I’d told them to be careful. If that woman posted even one thing on a community forum, weird rumors would spread instantly.
…Though come to think of it, they wouldn’t even be rumors. Hinami really had caused an accident.
“Want to get in the car first? It’s awkward to talk out in the open.”
“…You have a car.”
“My old senior bought a new one and sold me this one cheap. Get in the back. You too, Hinami.”
“Okay, Oppa.”
I climbed into the midsize sedan that was a common sight on Korean roads and checked his eyes through the rearview mirror as he gripped the wheel.
…Those eyes pretending to be kind, which didn’t suit him at all. If I hadn’t shown up, he probably would have taken only Hinami straight to the floor below my house. He had plenty of excuses ready. The upper floor was my place. Even if reporters followed, they couldn’t get inside the building. He could just say he was dropping off his girlfriend’s sister’s friend on the way. It would have been even more perfect if my sister hadn’t been sleeping there.
…Unlike someone else, he was meticulous enough that I almost wanted to compliment him.
“Well… it’s awkward to go anywhere else. Shall I take you home?”
“You live right downstairs anyway. So does she.”
“Well, yeah. That’s true. Then I’ll head there.”
I watched him with eyes that refused to relax, knowing he still hadn’t dropped his mask, and bounced my leg restlessly. He was definitely annoyed right now too. He’d been planning to meet Hinami on her day off and enjoy himself, only to get caught by me. It must have been incredibly frustrating. He couldn’t exactly send me up to my floor alone and take Hinami downstairs. He was probably racking his brain, trying to figure out how to shake me off.
“Now that I think about it, don’t you have to go to work, Juhyuk… ssi? You’re just dropping us off and heading back, right?”
“Me? Yes, I need to go back. Her friend had plans with Haeun, so I’m just giving her a quick ride. …Did you not know the two of them were close?”
“…Still, did it have to be at the gym?”
“I can’t exactly drive my car to an idol’s house to pick her up. I don’t even know where she lives. Only Haeun knows.”
“…Right. Okay.”
I’d prodded a little to see if he’d reveal his true colors, but he didn’t drop the mask so easily. He only let slip that my sister and Hinami were close. …Well, I already knew that. The image of the three of them naked together in those photos still haunted my mind.
“If you don’t have any plans today, Jia ssi, should I leave the house empty? It’d be fine for the three of you to spend time together.”
“No thanks. You know we’re not that close.”
“Eh? What? Jia, are you cutting me off?”
“…Not you. My sister.”
The fact that he was provoking me like this showed he was just as displeased as I was. If Hinami weren’t here, he probably would have shown his real face by now.
…If I spoke to him bluntly to his face, would that polite poker face of his finally crack?
“Anyway… I’m sorry for drawing attention when you just came to work out. If you come again later, I’ll let you use it for free.”
“…Only if I have a reason to come back.”
“We’re here. Go on up. I need to head back to work.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s go, Jia.”
While that man parked the car, I rode the elevator up with Hinami, making meaningless small talk about yesterday’s events. After watching her get off on the lower floor where my sister greeted her, I stayed in the elevator, went up one more floor… and then immediately rode it back down without getting off.
“…What the hell.”
“Hello. …Kang Juhyuk ssi. Aren’t you going back to the gym?”
“…”
He had been twirling his car keys and humming when he saw me. The look he gave me was one of pure displeasure.
…I stood there, face to face with this shameless man.