A Knock After Dark

Dohyun had finished dinner, taken a shower, and was sprawled across his bed when a knock came at the front door.

"What? Who's that?"

Eating, washing up, and already lying down meant it was pretty late. At this hour, the only people who'd come looking for him would be a delivery driver — if he'd ordered food — or maybe a courier running a late package.

But I didn't order anything.

He hadn't called for food or a package, and his face turned suspicious even as the knocking came again.

Knock, knock!

The sound kept coming, so he pushed himself up and headed for the door.

"Who is it?"

He asked carefully, his voice threaded with doubt.

"Um..."

A familiar voice answered from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other side.

"Dayeon-noona?"

It was Dayeon. That single um was all it took — the kind of instant recognition only a devoted fan could pull off. The moment he heard her, he yanked the door open without a second's hesitation.

"Noona, what brings you here?"

He greeted her with a bright expression — and then another small silhouette standing behind her caught his eye.

"Eunchae came too?"

Her face was a little flushed, but she was smiling the way she always did. Looking at her, Dohyun found himself thinking she somehow seemed... sensual.

With noona here, I really shouldn't be thinking like that.

He had no idea the two of them had already talked about being sex partners and all the rest, so with Dayeon present he resolved to be extra careful.

"Unni's just staying for a bit."

"Huh? I'm hanging out late too. There's no stream tonight anyway."

"Ah, unni!"

The truth was, Eunchae had meant to come to Dohyun's place alone. Naturally, it was because she couldn't contain the heat rising in her and wanted to have sex.

What's this, Jung Eunchae? That's not the way to your house. You're going to see Dohyun? Then I'm coming too!

On any other day, Dayeon would have read the room and bowed out. Today, for whatever reason, she was being hopelessly dense, which was how they'd ended up arriving together.

This unni pretended she was leaving by herself, too.

When Eunchae had started taking her clothes off, Dayeon had bolted out of there — but of course she'd been waiting outside. The moment she saw Eunchae heading in a direction that wasn't toward her own house, she caught her and came along.

"Anyway, both of you come in already."

If they kept making noise out in the hall, a neighbor might come bursting out. The villa Dohyun lived in was old and rundown, so the soundproofing inside the apartment wasn't great — which meant the hallway soundproofing was even worse.

"Pardon the intrusion."

Dayeon swallowed. She felt incredibly nervous. If this had been yesterday, she probably would have walked in without a second thought. But now that she'd realized the dirty feelings she had toward Dohyun, even stepping into his room — and they weren't even alone — was enough to set her on edge.

"Ah, right. Dohyun. Did you see that?"

"See what?"

So she deliberately decided to bring up something completely different, anything that wouldn't call those dirty thoughts back to the surface. After a moment's consideration, the subject she landed on was work.

"The video you edited this morning. The views are way higher than usual, and the comment reactions are really good."

Ugh, why is this unni coming all the way over here just to talk about work... That stuff can wait until tomorrow.

Eunchae was more than a little annoyed, but Dohyun looked so genuinely happy that she kept her mouth shut and just sat quietly beside them.

"Oh, really? That's a relief!"

And the truth was, Dohyun had been the first to notice the video was doing well. Of course he had. From the moment it went up, the notifications had started rolling in.

At level 1, the skills didn't seem to produce anything earth-shattering. But from Dayeon's side — where she could see the actual numbers — even this modest shift was impossible to miss.

"It must be because you edit so well. I mean, even I thought it was fun to watch. And the comments! Did you see the comments?"

Dayeon unlocked her phone, opened the video, and held up a few of the comments that had come in.

The comments were overwhelmingly positive. Most of them were the usual fare — people saying they were enjoying it as always, or that Dayeon was as fun as ever — but mixed in were quite a few reactions about how the editing sense had improved, how the cuts felt strangely smooth, or how he'd done a great job highlighting the parts that needed to be highlighted.

"Ah, I'm glad I kept that scene after all."

Seeing those reactions, Dohyun couldn't help but feel pretty good.

"If you just keep doing it like this, I think it'll be really great. Don't push yourself too hard, though."

"Nah, push myself? I'm honestly having so much fun right now. I'll get even faster soon. Ah, and noona."

"Yeah?"

Dohyun, who'd been chatting along just fine, called out to Dayeon with a smile.

"You can talk casually with me."

It had been bothering him for a while. He talked casually with Eunchae, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Eunchae and Dayeon talked casually with each other — but Dayeon kept using formal speech with him. He'd been thinking he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠should tell her to just relax and talk normally, but he hadn't expected the chance to come this soon.

"Ah, of course you can keep it formal in professional settings. But when it's just us like this, I'd love it if you talked casually."

Dropping formal speech was a sign you'd gotten that much closer. It also carried Dohyun's wish to close a little more of the distance between himself and Dayeon.

"Then should I?"

"Yes, please just be comfortable~"

"Okay. Then you talk casually too, Dohyun."

"Huh, me too...?"

Dohyun, who of course had no intention of dropping formal speech himself, was a little startled and asked again.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be fair if only I talked casually. It's not like we've got a ten- or twenty-year age gap, right? Just be comfortable, like with the nicknames. Casual~"

Dayeon wanted to get closer to Dohyun too. And honestly, she was a little envious of the way he and Eunchae used informal speech with each other. She'd been hoping he'd do the same with her, so when Dohyun brought it up first, she wasn't about to let the chance slip by.

"Ah, then... yeah! I'll talk casually, noona...!"

Just a moment ago they'd been chatting so comfortably. But the instant they actually dropped the formal speech, a strange awkwardness settled over them, as if they were meeting for the first time all over again.

Of course, it wasn't an unpleasant awkwardness. It was the kind that felt really good — fluttery, almost like the thrill of a crush.

"Ugh, what is this. You two are putting out this totally flirty vibe all by yourselves. Mind remembering I'm here too?"

Eunchae, who'd been watching the whole thing, stuck out her lower lip and inserted herself right into the middle of their fluttering.

"Aigoo, our Eunchae has zero patience."

Dayeon shot a sideways glare at Eunchae for bursting in and ruining that pleasant flutter, looking more than a little annoyed.

"She's just cute, Jung Eunchae."

To Dohyun, Eunchae just looked adorable.

"Ugh, so cheesy. Fine, since we're on the subject, let me ask. Dohyun, what about Eunchae is so cute? Isn't she just annoying?"

The truth was, everyone in the room knew Dayeon found Eunchae incredibly cute too. Even Eunchae herself knew it, which said plenty about how much Dayeon adored her. And yet here she was, calling her annoying and asking anyway.

"Hmm, well. Eunchae's the same age as me, but she's got this little-sister vibe, and I think that's what's cute?"

Dohyun answered pretty earnestly.

"Hah! A little sister? Then should I call you oppa? Dohyun-oppaaang~"

Eunchae mixed a nasal lilt into the word, and Dohyun couldn't help bursting out laughing.

"Pfft— ah... what even. Oppa? That's the first time I've heard that one."

It was a teasing nickname, but even hearing it for the first time, it felt really good — a ticklish kind of good. When Dohyun had seen those internet posts about how guys melt when a girl calls them oppa, he'd thought, isn't "oppa" just another title, same as calling someone by their name?

As of today, that thought was completely withdrawn.

"Unni, you try it too! Dohyun-oppaaang~!"

"What? I'm older than Dohyun, why would I call him oppa..."

"Come on, what's age got to do with it. They say if a guy's cool, you just call him oppa. Right, oppa?"

"Pfft... ah, ahem... I mean, I'm not that cool, but... ahem."

Seeing Dohyun completely unable to hide how good it felt, Dayeon hesitated a little, then quietly opened her mouth.

"Ah, anyway I can't do that kind of thing... ahem, that... right, Dohyun-oppa?"

"Huuuuh...!"

The "oppa" that Dayeon slipped in so casually packed an enormous punch. Dohyun collapsed to the floor like he'd been hit by an attack.

"Kh... I could die... with no regrets..."

"Whoa, look at that difference in reaction. But I kinda get it. Hearing 'oppa' from unni... yeah, that would feel good. Unni, call me unni too."

"Yeah, no."

Of course, when it came to Eunchae, Dayeon rejected her firmly and cheerfully.