Summer Festival (6)
I had never seen that look in my sister's eyes before. The moment I caught a trace of him lingering in her murderous, razor-sharp glare, my mouth fell slightly open and I lost all words. But it wasn't out of fear. It was pure disbelief. That was the most accurate way to put it.
"Get out. Put the phone down."
I'd only ever imagined doing bad things. I never had the guts to actually follow through. The very idea of stealing him from my sister was so repulsive I couldn't even fantasize about it. Yet the more I listened to her flat voice laced with barely contained rage, the more it felt like I was the villain here.
The only time I'd ever toyed with the thought of messing with my sister or Hinami was that day the manager had been lurking outside. And even then, Kang Juhyuk had grabbed me instead, forced his hands on me, and shoved that disgusting thing into my mouth. So why was she treating me like the threat? No matter how I thought about it, the direction of her suspicion was completely off.
"...What about Hinami?"
"I don't know. She's not that important."
Then why was my sister pouring all her hatred onto me—the victim—while letting Kang Juhyuk, the actual cheater, and Hinami off the hook? Even Hinami, who was already miles away from normal, barely brought him up anymore when the two of us were alone. Shouldn't my sister do the same? If she hated the idea of anyone latching onto him so much, she should've kicked Hinami out first. I hadn't done anything wrong.
...At least not to her.
"Don't wake Juhyuk. Just come out quietly."
Following my sister's clear intention to talk with me alone, I carefully opened the car door and stepped outside. The air was a little warmer than the cool interior, but her icy stare made any thought of heat impossible. Still, despite that freezing look, I wasn't particularly scared. I already knew exactly what she was going to say.
"What is it, sis?"
"Why the hell did you touch someone else's phone?"
"...Everyone disappeared, so I thought something happened."
"Normally you'd check your own phone. Why go through someone else's?"
She was going to nitpick every little thing I did, then finish it off by telling me not to chase after her boyfriend. The thought of her saying that when I had zero interest in touching him only pissed me off. It didn't scare me. If anything, I wished Kang Juhyuk would actually listen to her for once.
"Last time the manager drugged me and tried something weird, so I was just checking in case. ...Happy now?"
"Juhyuk has no reason to do something like that."
"The manager didn't have a reason either..."
"No. Your manager is the kind of guy who has to pull shit like that to get a woman. ...Juhyuk isn't, is he?"
Yet here she was, defending her boyfriend who had done things far more horrifying than slipping someone a sleeping pill, while continuing to find fault with me. She knew roughly what had happened between him and me. She wasn't worried about her little sister at all. All she could think about was her man. Even Hinami showed me basic courtesy. God, I really drew the short straw when it came to sisters.
"It might look that way to you, but it looks pretty similar to me."
"...The fact that you even think that is the problem."
"Ugh, seriously. ...Stop beating around the bush. Say it clearly. What exactly do you want from me?"
"I don't want anything. ...Just leave Juhyuk alone."
"Why?"
"If you just stay quiet, there won't be any problems."
...She was really saying this shit to her own sister. What my sister wanted was Kang Juhyuk's safety. What I wanted was my own safety. But Kang Juhyuk was the kind of bastard who would do anything to pin me down as long as his own safety was guaranteed. And if I gave up on everything and submitted to him, she'd hate me for stealing her boyfriend. As long as he refused to let me go, there would never be an answer.
Of course, since he was still human, the day might come when he got tired of me. ...But only after he'd enjoyed me to the point of boredom.
"So stop talking nonsense..."
I have zero interest in that guy. He's the one who's interested in me. I was about to add that, but when I saw my sister lift her head and step closer, the words wouldn't come out. There were complicated reasons, but they boiled down to two main ones. The expression she was making right now looked exactly like Kang Juhyuk's. ...And the second I said it, I knew she'd twist her lips into that same mocking smile and laugh at me.
"I'm not calling what you said nonsense, Seo Yeen."
"..."
So I looked down at my hysterical sister and tried on Kang Juhyuk's smile for myself. Just seeing the corner of her mouth made me want to slap her, but the moment I saw those psychopathic eyes, all the fight drained out of me. With my height—which was tall for a girl—I stared down at her and gave her the most mocking grin I could manage.
Shocked by her sister's unusually rude attitude, my sister took half a step back after meeting my eyes, then steadied herself, straightened her back, and stared at me again. I spoke to her slowly, enunciating every syllable.
"...Keep a better eye on your boyfriend. You really think he's only going after Hinami?"
"What...?"
I planted the seeds of doubt deep in her chest.
"Now that I think about it, I asked Sua unnie since we're close. She said the boss likes her quite a bit. ...I wonder if it's just as a person, or if there's something more. Do you know anything, sis?"
"...She got fired yesterday, you know?"
"Oh, really? I didn't know that. ...Still, if getting fired meant they couldn't meet, you two would've broken up already, right?"
"..."
I took one step closer to my visibly flustered sister, who was pretending not to care.
"Instead of worrying about someone like me who doesn't even think about that stuff, you should look after the people around you. ...For me, it'd be a relief if that guy got distracted chasing after other women instead."
"There's no one around me as close to Juhyuk as you are."
"What about Hinami?"
"She's an exception. ...She's liked Juhyuk from the start, hasn't she? The reason I'm saying this to you is because you're always waiting for a chance to sink your claws into him."
"Then go say that to your boyfriend instead of me. ...He's the one touching me, okay? I'm his ideal type, apparently. Even though we get along like shit, he's still scheming to get with me."
"Ha... Ideal type, my ass."
I pressed in until our chests were nearly touching and glared at her. All because of one useless man, the two sisters were locked in a staring contest. ...I was the one begging him to take her and disappear so his stench wouldn't spread, while she was having a hysterical fit out of inferiority. If I had to say who was more pathetic, it'd be Kang Juhyuk, sprawled out asleep in the driver's seat. He was using the exact same tactics on the little sister that he'd used to devour the older one.
"And stop taking those dangerous photos or videos. ...Do I really have to be the one telling you this?"
"...How do you even know about that?"
"The guy who tries to take pictures even while he's messing with me isn't going to hold back with someone who gives him whatever he wants. Do you even realize what'll happen if those get leaked by mistake?"
"I don't care."
"Well I do. If something goes wrong, I..."
"The one who cares is tweeting trash about her own fans?"
"...How do you know about that?"
"Because I saw it. ...The same way you did earlier."
"..."
"Why don't you worry about yourself? You were walking around the event hall just fine today. Did you really think people wouldn't recognize you just because you were cross-dressing?"
The same way. My sister doing what I did, me doing what she did. It was all so stupid that I didn't want to say another word. ...I stopped myself from asking why she'd badmouthed me on Instagram in the past too.
Why did we sisters have to be at each other's throats just because of one man? Had he brainwashed her? Did he drug Hinami too? Why were they all so desperate to give him their hearts, livers, and everything else? ...I didn't feel even the slightest sense of security or excitement from him.
"Hey, Seo Yeen."
"Stop it. I have nothing more to say."
"If you lay even a finger on Juhyuk, it won't end with words."
"...What, is he some kind of prince?"
"Hey."
I ignored my sister, who kept showing open hostility toward me until the very end, got back in the car, and closed my eyes. ...Where the hell had Hinami gone and what was she doing that she still wasn't back? Too annoyed to think about it anymore, I leaned back and covered my ears. Soon after, the front passenger door opened and my sister got back in. Even with my eyes closed, I could sense her presence, but I pretended not to hear the rustling sounds either. However, I couldn't ignore the sound of the door right next to me clicking open. I narrowed my eyes to check who was getting in beside me, then let out a deep sigh and opened them wide.
"...Where did you go?"
"Me? Convenience store. Oppa was sleeping, so I secretly bought some alcohol."
"...Haah."
...Hinami was the only one among the four of us who remained completely carefree, and I was insanely jealous. If only I could live with my brain switched off like her. If my sense of right and wrong had collapsed enough that I could enjoy it when Kang Juhyuk touched me, I wouldn't have to fight with my sister. Maybe I should just go all the way. Then no matter how much my sister got mad at me, Kang Juhyuk would take my side...
"..."
...What a disgusting thought. I tried to throw the bizarre delusion I'd unconsciously had while looking at his sleeping face in the rearview mirror out the window, but the glass was firmly shut and it wouldn't leave. Instead, the delusion kept circling me, so I grabbed my hair, hunched over, and looked at the mirror again. This time, instead of Kang Juhyuk, I saw my sister's face gazing at him with heartbreaking longing. The terrible delusion grew even thicker and wrapped itself around my neck.
"Jia, what's wrong? Are you carsick?"
"...No."
...I had zero intention of getting closer to Kang Juhyuk. But the thought of my sister growing distant from him had crossed my mind enough times that I actually wanted to see it happen at least once.