The Hikikomori and His Perfect Stepsister

Beep— bleep—

"..."

In the dark room, I stare holes into the glowing monitor.

Shwick—!Kyaaack..!!

A warrior character clad in flashy armor slices through grotesque monsters.

"...Ten left, huh."

I mechanically tap the keyboard, controlling the character and hunting monsters on repeat.

Then the character keeps getting stronger. Gaining experience to power up, using money from slain monsters to buy new gear. It gets flashier, stronger bit by bit.

Bleep—

"Ah, shit..! Power outage again.."

My face reflected in the suddenly blank monitor. A pathetic mug—skinny as hell, eyes weary and tired-looking.

"Ha..."

The character in the game keeps evolving, but this thing staring back from the screen hasn't improved a damn bit. No... it's probably gotten worse, regressing day by day.

"Pathetic bastard.."

What’s there to hide? I'm a shut-in loner. Haven't stepped out since my second year of high school.

- Hey! Ho-Pan-Man! Go grab a bun from the vending machine for your hungry buddy?

- What, you don't wanna? Guess ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'll have to punch that face till the bread pops out, huh?

It all started with the usual school bullying. Back then, I was fat and short, dubbed "Ho-Pan-Man" and forced to fetch buns for the delinquents every lunch as their errand boy.

I couldn't take the endless hell of school life anymore, so one day I just stopped going and barricaded myself in my room.

- Hey! You little shit! What's this about not going to school? Huh? Tell your dad.

- Honey... don't push him so hard. Jinseong? Can you hear me? Wanna talk with Mom?

My real dad and stepmom pounded on my door, demanding I come out.

"I'm not going! I won't! Sob...!"

But I had zero intention of returning to that hellhole school. My parents, who kept coming back to drag me out, felt like demons.

Knock. Knock.

No matter who it was, I never opened the door for anyone...

...Jinseong? It's your sister.

"...Sis?"

Except for one person—my sister was the exception.

Creeeak—

"Hungry? I got your favorite pizza toast... Wanna eat with sis?"

A beauty with elegant black hair and a haughty air shakes a plastic bag.

"R-really?!"

"Yeah. That's why I bought two."

Sis was always expressionless with others, but with me, she approached with a gentle smile. She'd show up at my mealtimes with food I'd like, or get me stuff I needed or wanted before I even asked.

"I really, really don't wanna go to school, but Dad and Stepmom keep..."

"I see. Sis understands how you feel, Jinseong."

Unlike those who looked at me like I was trash, she always listened to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my stories with genuine sincerity.

"C'mere, let sis hug you."

And sometimes she'd hold me, stroking my hair...

"You don't have to do anything you hate, Jinseong. Even if you just stay in your room, as long as you're okay with it, sis thinks that's fine."

Whispering the words I longed to hear in her soft, beautiful voice.

Every time I drifted off to sleep listening to her, I'd think: I wish she were my real sister...

Yeah. Sis and I aren't blood-related. She came with Stepmom when Dad remarried—a one-year-older sister by marriage.

I've thought countless times how great it'd be if she were my blood sister.

But... maybe she's like this precisely because she's not blood.

At the same time, I figured her perfection stemmed from us not sharing blood. Unlike me—with my ugly looks, bullied, total loser rotting in his room—sis was a perfect beauty, famous at school for her looks, brains, and athletics.

We were so different because no blood tied us.

"Still... sis treats me better than a real sister ever could."

That such a person became my sister was the one stroke of luck in my misfortune-filled life. I truly believed that.

But then, an event happened that made even that luck feel like it was ending...

Creeeak—

Bam—!

"We're from the insurance company. Mr. Kang Seongchan, Ms. Yu Eunhye... tragic, but the two have..."

Words from the black-suited men who showed up one day.

"Dad... and Stepmom... are dead?"

"It was a sudden accident."

The adults kept explaining, but none of it reached my ears.

"Waaah...!"

At Dad and Stepmom's funeral, I just wept endlessly.

I barely remember my real mom—she died from shock after giving birth to me, they said.

"Dad... Daddy..!! How am I supposed to live without you..!!"

So Dad, my only family, dying hit me like a truck.

"Jinseong, you probably can't take this in right now, but..."

"..."

"It was ruled the other driver's fault, so insurance will cover it."

"..."

Before the shock even faded, reality crashed in.

"@#*$(#@"

I couldn't make out what the insurance guy was saying, but later I learned it was about massive insurance and compensation payouts since the other side was at fault. Plus details on my living arrangements and who gets the money...

"Jinseong, trust your uncle! Yeah? I'll send you to college, get you a job—everything!"

"No! Come with auntie, Jinseong. You were close to me as a kid, right?"

To my relatives, no matter how pathetic I was, I must've looked like a goblin's treasure trove with all that cash attached. Their eyes spun, desperate to become my guardian and snag the money.

"Jinseong isn't going anywhere."

I still can't forget it.

"He's going to live with me. Jinseong."

Sis blocking my front, speaking to the adults in a cold tone.

"No, you're... not even family..."

"Plus, you're a minor? What's with the stubbornness?"

The adults bristled at Sis—a non-blood student—stepping up, trying to oppose.

"I'll be an adult this year. And our family registry lists us together."

Sis said that, shooting a fierce glare at the insurance guy.

"Y-yes... correct. Ms. Kang Sion is listed as family with Jinseong and is of adult age, so she qualifies as guardian."

Once the insurance guy finished, Uncle and Auntie—realizing the girl they'd underestimated wasn't pushover—looked flustered.

"But still... Sion? You're a kid too... You two can't manage alone."

"I heard you're good at everything... Better to take some inheritance and go independent than shoulder ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a burden..."

Now they tried persuading Sis with every trick.

"Don't call precious Jinseong a burden."

Sis shut their mouths with a chilling expression I'd never seen...

"Jinseong. From today, it's just us two?"

And so, my guardian became Sis Sion.

===== "Jinseong. Sis is heading out."

Sis—white blouse, H-line black skirt suit, stockings, heels—looks at me.

"Y-yeah!"

"C'mere."

I approach as always and hug her open arms.

Squish— ...her breasts press against me.

"Stay home quietly and wait?"

"...Yeah."

Smack— Only after a cheek kiss does she let go.

"I'm off~"

Click.

Once Sis leaves, I end my one outing of the day and return to my room.

Why "outing" when I'm home? Because I'm a shut-in who hates leaving my room.

"Haa.."

Two years after my parents died, even as an adult, I'm the same.

No. Worse.

Now it's just me and Sis, so I should pull my weight... but every attempt fails.

Blame my weak will, and...

- No worries, Jinseong. Sis'll handle everything?

Her sweet, kind words every time I try again.

"No... that's no excuse."

Sis is just responsible and kind. Using that as an excuse is shameless, even to me.

Anyway, Sis said leave it all to her, but... I'm an adult too.

She gave up college ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a job—can't I just sit idle..?

"Nice! Hitting quota fast today!"

That's how I started "rice-making"—earning cash through games.

Something even a homebound loser like me can do. Out of minimal responsibility, I do it daily without fail.

"Let's go..."

Bleep—

"What the—why'd it shut off?"

Launching the character for today's grind, but the monitor blacks out.

Click-click.

"Huh.."

Pressing the PC power button over and over—nothing.

"What..? PC totally busted? Or blackout?"

To check if it's the PC or house power, I stand and head to the door switch...

Stagger—...

...Huh?

Vision blurs for a second.

—Thud!—

My body collapses.

...What?

As pitch blackness swallows my sight, intense doubt surges.

Suddenly, voices echo in my head, flooding me with alien knowledge.

I've become a parasitic dick—a creature that must parasitize a female's pussy to survive. Instructions on abilities to aid that.

...Don't parasitize, and I die?

The most absurd part: fail within a month, and it's over.

...Ugh, what the hell is this?!

Slither—

Once the knowledge dump ends, I wriggle free of the suffocating cloth covering my whole body, lift my head, and look around.

The dark room.

...Huh?

It's my familiar room, but everything—PC, desk—looks giant, like I'm in a land of giants. Panicking...

...?!

Turning, I freeze at my reflection in the standing mirror.

Discarded clothes, totally off... and beside them, a flesh-colored object. A long shaft, glans head, and two wrinkled balls...

...N-no... no way, right?

Shaking my head shakes the glans too.