Research Assistance
I was the same as usual. Sitting at my desk, I pounded away at the keyboard. The once pristine monitor gradually grew mottled and dark with the story I was writing. Through the slightly open door, I could hear footsteps drawing closer. Out of habit, I hit [Alt] + [Tab] to hide the screen and turned to face the door.
Creaaak—
"…What?"
"Oh, it's nothing…"
Of course, it was my younger sister poking her head in. Our eyes met and tangled in the air.
"……"
"……"
An indescribable atmosphere hung between us, and we both felt it.
"So, uh… didn't you say you'd upload chapter one today?"
"Yeah… I did. I'm planning to drop up to chapter three at once. Why?"
It was embarrassing. I'd even emailed her the chapters so she could review them comfortably. When she'd given the okay, I hadn't expected any more revision requests.
"I was just wondering if you'd use the old cover…"
"Ah… I guess I'll have to for now. Or should I just leave it blank?"
"…Yeah. Since it's almost done, don't use the old one… Use a new one…"
"Well, that's fine by me."
"……"
Silence fell again. Her business should have been finished, yet her lips kept twitching like she had more to say.
"…What now?"
We were both pretending to be calm. More precisely, we were acting like that incident had never happened, creating a slight distance between us. We hadn't brought it up at all, but now my sister was the one mentioning it again.
"H-Have you really never even touched a girl's p-p-pussy before!?"
"…What?"
"I mean… it's just… And when I looked up the comments on your novel, people were saying it seemed like it was written by a virgin… They were teasing you about it."
"H-Haha… Why would you even look that up?"
I didn't know what she was plotting, but I could tell she was trying to act cool. I'd thought she was just going to brush it off and pretend she didn't know, but it seemed she'd chosen the harder path instead. And whether she realized her face was bright red… probably not. That was why she could so boldly walk into my room and plop down on the bed.
Thud—
"Haa…"
She claimed a spot on the corner of the bed and stared at me with a strange look in her eyes.
"……Are you really a virgin?"
After a long pause, she finally spoke, and her quiet murmur left me dumbfounded. A deep sigh escaped me without thinking.
"Ha… This is insane. Hey, just get out. Seriously."
I waved my hand dismissively. With my schedule already so tight, I didn't have the luxury to waste energy on this.
"……Guess you really are."
"Seriously, just get lost."
"…Look at you getting all worked up. Must've hit a nerve."
I had no idea what her intentions or schemes were. At this point, I didn't even care to find out. My sister's erratic behavior kept throwing me off, and I was starting to wonder if something was actually broken inside her.
"I'm seriously busy right now. I need to finish what I'm doing and get some sleep."
"Go ahead. Who's stopping you?"
"…Just get out. You're distracting me."
It wasn't quite yelling, but I must have sounded a bit irritated. The way I'd furrowed my brows made me feel awkward.
"……Distracting? Who? Why?"
"…Shit. Are you leaving or not?"
Just as I was feeling embarrassed, my sister started getting on my nerves again. She suddenly stood up from the bed and strode toward me.
"Want me to help you write?"
"…Go finish what you were doing."
"I'm almost done."
"No, seriously, stop it."
She was relentless. She grabbed the mouse without permission and started scrolling through my work. I would've stopped her if I could, but she leaned in so close that I had no choice but to push my chair back.
"…This isn't a side story."
"Yeah. I already finished the side story you emailed me. Now I need to work on the main story."
"…But, wow… So this is what the latest chapter is about…"
"Haa, just go already, will you?"
"Wait. Since I'm looking anyway, I'll give you feedback."
"I don't need feedback. Hey, hey!"
"Ah, be quiet. You're breaking my concentration."
"Haa…"
I felt completely exposed. Like I was walking down the street naked. At least the side story had been a little better. But the main story was so embarrassing I couldn't even lift my head.
"…This is so vulgar. How do you even come up with the idea of screwing both your girlfriend and her mom as a set?"
"……If you're going to give feedback, just give feedback."
"Calling her 'mother-in-law' every single time is such a weird fetish too. And always adding 'son-in-law' when addressing her. Isn't that way too perverted?"
"Ah… Come on."
I was surprised by how accurate her assessment was. I'd thought she was just trying to humiliate me, but after skimming the latest chapter, she'd immediately caught on to my intentions.
"…Twins? Seriously… Is this that gloomy Korean incel self-insert thing?"
"Where did you even hear that…"
"I saw it on some community site. They were calling SonLover a total Korean incel."
"H-Haha… Phew…"
Her calm delivery left me speechless. More than speechless—it felt like my throat was being squeezed shut.
"…But isn't this way too messed up?"
"Readers like messed-up stuff…"
"Still, there's a limit. This feels like brain damage."
"…No, they really like it."
"Huu…"
My sister shook her head. Sighing repeatedly, she kept scrolling down.
"And there's something I'm curious about… That, you know… C-Cum… Phew…"
She started stuttering.
"Ugh… Hey, does it really have to be written like this?"
She seemed at a loss for words and started dragging the mouse instead.
"Ah… Why?"
"…Where did you even get that word? It's slang, right? But it's so outdated. It makes you sound like an old man. People already call you an old man in the comments."
"…What's wrong with 'cum-hole'?"
"Huu…"
She shook her head again.
"It was from when I first started writing…"
"…Yeah."
"I was wondering how to use slang, and I remembered something I'd read a long time ago… So I just used it. And 'cum-hole' rolls off the tongue better, doesn't it?"
"…It's so old-fashioned."
Her criticism was harsh. Still, I preferred the vulgar sound of "cum-hole" over whatever everyone else was using.
"Anyway, I'm not changing that."
"Hng… And is the protagonist in heat or something? No, forget heat—how does he have that much stamina every single day? He should've collapsed from exhaustion ages ago."
"…It's fine. He's the protagonist. He won't collapse anyway. I'll write it so he doesn't."
"Ha!"
My sister's exasperated huff echoed through the room. The scrolling finally reached the end.
"…Maybe because it's written by a virgin, but it lacks a sense of reality."
"Hey, what the— Haa… Whatever."
Just when things were going fine, she had to say something unnecessary. I smacked her on the back and tried to shoo her away. …Her back was unnecessarily soft, making my hand flinch. So I got even more annoyed and tried harder to drive her out.
"A-Ah!"
"If you're done reading, get out. Please just go."
I was about to push her all the way to the door, but she planted her feet firmly and resisted. She should've been pushed easily, but she gritted her teeth and held her ground.
"W-Wait! I-I have something to say!"
"…What nonsense are you spouting now? Just get out. I don't need it."
"N-No! You won't lose anything by listening!"
She sounded desperate. But somehow I felt like I'd lose something just by hearing it… I pretended not to hear and kept pushing.
"A-Ah! Hey! Just listen!"
There was even a hint of desperation in her voice, so I decided to be fooled one more time. …It was obviously going to be nonsense anyway, so I planned to kick her out right after.
"Haa… This is the last time. Say what you have to say and get out. I need to finish up and actually get some sleep."
"…Yeah. Got it, so just put this down…"
"Hurry up. I'm really sleepy."
That wasn't an empty threat. When I got sleepy, I tended to just lie down wherever, and my body had adapted to that environment.
"S-So, about the side story…"
"Huu… Yeah. What about it now?"
She seemed awfully interested in the side story. Maybe it was an expression of affection for her own character, which made me feel oddly restless.
"I mean… I did the proofreading… and added the illustrations… I did all that stuff."
"…Yeah, so?"
The illustrations were one thing, but she'd wanted to do the proofreading herself.
"S-So… shouldn't I get some kind of share too?"
"…You're asking for money?"
"Ah, yeah… But I'm not just asking for it—"
"I'll give it to you."
"…Huh?"
"I said I'll give it. Thirty percent okay?"
"T-Thirty percent? N-No… That's not right. Only thirty percent?"
"…Ha! I thought that was a lot."
"No… You said it might flop. Then the illustration costs—"
"You said you'd draw the illustrations. So that should be deducted from the calculation."
"A-Anyway! It's too little! Let's split it fifty-fifty. Half and half."
"……"
It was an absurd demand. But I didn't think even she believed she didn't know that.
"In exchange! I-I'll help you."
"Just the illustrations are going to be hard enough. And what else are you going to help with?"
"……Gulp."
The sound of my sister swallowing was like thunder.
"Ah, yeah… I, I mean…"
Her dry lips twitched. With a deeply furrowed brow, she started spitting out the words one by one, clearly and deliberately.
"Y-You're a virgin… so you don't know anything about women…"
"…Haa, what are you saying?"
My own expression was even more twisted than hers.
"S-So… if I help you with that… I thought it might be useful for writing your smut…"
"…That's it? And you want half the royalties for that?"
The fact that you haven't made a movie doesn't stop you from becoming a critic. The same goes for smut writers. Never having dated, being a virgin—none of that prevents you from becoming a smut author. Creation is ultimately imagination. And I've had countless indirect experiences through various media. So my sister's collaboration proposal had no merit whatsoever—
"Research!"
"…What?"
"Like last time… when you touched me here…"
My sister's face was already flushed red, and her fingertips were pointing toward the mound between her thighs.
"I'll… teach you about women…"
"…Gulp."
I'd thought there was no merit. But apparently, that had been my mistake.