Soye's Sulking Discovery
After teasing her relentlessly, Soye still didn't respond even when I approached. She just sat there quietly with her back turned to me.
"Sis?"
I placed a hand on her shoulder, but she showed no reaction. Glancing back, I saw Minji quickly avert her eyes.
"Did Minji do something wrong by any chance?"
"......."
At my words, Soye slowly turned her head. Very, very slowly, she looked at me and immediately snorted.
"Hmph."
She turned her gaze back to the wall. I still didn't know what was going on, but it seemed connected to Minji somehow. I stepped out of the room and whispered to her.
"Minji, what happened with Soye sis?"
"Uh, hiiing, th-that, uuum...."
Minji couldn't answer. Her fingers fidgeted, and her pupils darted around. I had no idea what was up with her either, but right now, asking anything was pointless—she wasn't going to give me straight answers.
"Sis, come on, talk to me. Tell me what happened so I can do something about it."
I went back to Soye and pleaded, but she remained silent. What the hell was I supposed to do...?
"Everyone, hurry up and get out. We've got schedules starting this morning."
Im Haeun had slipped back into the room and barked curtly. At that, Soye stood up smoothly and headed straight out—completely ignoring me.
"Sis...?"
It was obvious from the vibes that she was pissed at me. I turned to Im Haeun, wondering if she was mad again about my relationship with her.
"What?"
But seeing her snap back at me with that expression, I dropped the thought. She looked amused, like she was watching a fire across the river—totally entertained from afar.
At least Soye sis's sulk had nothing to do with Im Haeun. I could tell from that grin.
"Alright, Minji, you too—move it."
"...Y-yeah...."
Minji shuffled along at Haeun's words, and I followed behind. For now, we'd power through the schedule and figure out what was up.
Hope it's nothing major.
Not a big deal... right?
In the end, Soye stayed silent the entire day. She didn't speak to Minji or me, just quietly did her thing. During breaks, she'd retreat to a corner or face the wall outright, making her protest crystal clear. At least she nailed the interview shoots and such—small mercies.
I'm really worried.
I grilled Minji a few times in between, but she just whimpered like a scared puppy—zero help. That left Im Haeun, but every time I asked her, she acted like she owned the place. Sneering, chuckling with a "Who knows~?", teasing me into frustration, even making me run errands if I wanted answers.
She loves having the upper hand again, huh?
Of course, messing with me like that only led to a smackdown. I humored her for a bit, but I wasn't playing forever. Once night fell after dinner, in a quiet corner of the break room, I commanded her in a low, settled voice.
"Im Haeun, tell me everything you know. That's an order."
"Kekeke, wanted to watch a bit longer—too bad."
Still cackling like an idiot. Man, I wanted to flick her forehead. I was dying of anxiety over Soye sis, and this girl was having the time of her life.
"Still haven't figured it out?"
"She was fine last night, then suddenly like this when I wasn't looking—how should I know?"
"Hmph, your brain must be slow."
"For real."
"Plenty of hints, aren't there? Sis is mad, Minji's whimpering... think harder."
That's why I'm asking you, dumbass. She was seriously pissing me off.
"Quit beating around the bush and spill it. My head's fried from all the overtime lately."
"Fine, guess I have to."
Im Haeun glanced around, then leaned in close to my ear.
"Sis found out. About you and Minji."
"...Huh?"
My body froze.
"Dunno how she sniffed it out, but she grilled Minji and got the truth."
"W-wait, uh, that, no way...."
"Sis is impressive. Figured it out after all this time."
Did she find out about that time I did both her and Haeun? Or the recent car session with Minji? Either way, it was bad.
"S-so that's why...."
"Yeah. She's pissed for a reason. Looks like she really likes you... and you've betrayed her twice now."
I didn't see it as betrayal. I'd done Minji after Soye said, "As long as you love me, I'll follow you no matter what."
But the timing sucks. Wanted to ease into telling her.
Putting it all together gave me a headache.
"That's everything I know."
"Sigh...."
Im Haeun grinned seeing me agonize. I wanted to punish her, but that could wait. Priority one: soothe Soye sis.
Wasn't planning to hide it forever...
I'd been waiting for the right moment to come clean. But now sure as hell wasn't it.
"Haa...."
I sighed, staring at the water bottle in front of me.
Meanwhile, in the practice room, Park Minji was sighing just like me.
"Hoo...."
After spilling the beans under interrogation, Shin Soye had suddenly started sulking. Things had been fine with Im Haeun around, so why was Soye so mad? Minji had assumed Soye and Haeun were both Sejin's fuckbuddies, so this threw her for a loop. She asked Haeun why, and the answer shocked her.
"It's not that me and sis are fuckbuddies with Sejin... Sis is actually dating him for real. Me? Eh... sigh, more like his pet or something."
"Wh-what...? Soye sis and oppa are a couple? Th-then what am I?"
"You're the fuckbuddy."
"Th-that's what it was...?"
It hit her hard. She'd thought the four of them were equals, but nope.
"Uh, but sis... a pet? Sis isn't a fuckbuddy...?"
"Why the hell would I enjoy it with that asshole? He blackmailed me into it."
"Gasp. O-oppa blackmailed you into puppy play...? O-oppa's into bestiality? I heard some people are into pets, but..."
"Wait, no—that's way off. Not that... fuck."
Even if she hated Sejin, Im Haeun didn't want misunderstandings. Letting it slide would paint her as the freak who loved puppy play. So, skipping the blackmail part, she explained the whole story to Minji.
Once she grasped the truth, Minji trembled.
"Wh-what should I do...? S-so oppa got caught cheating with me...!"
"Not cheating, from sis's view."
"Why? She found out I did it with oppa...?"
"Well...."
Sis put up with me getting railed like a dog by Sejin—what's the big deal? Haeun couldn't say it straight, so she skirted around it.
"Sis might seem uptight, but she's pretty open-minded. And it's you, not some rando... she'd probably let the fuckbuddy thing slide."
"B-but she's so mad...."
Minji was overreading Soye's first-ever pout.
"That's not mad. She's sulking."
"B-but...."
"Anyway, just stay put. It's between Sejin and sis."
The root cause was Sejin, so he needed to step up first. Haeun pointed that out, and Minji tried to comply. But her heart wasn't at ease. Watching Soye sulk silently, ignoring Sejin no matter what—it was torture for her.
I should apologize first.
She'd seduced him into sex, so it was partly her fault. Owning up might soften sis's heart. Minji resolved to apologize.
"Alright, let's head back."
When Sejin returned to round everyone up, Minji deliberately scurried to Soye's side. Soye noticed and stepped back half a pace, but Minji stuck close.
"......."
"......."
Like a guilty puppy, Minji kept clinging whenever Soye pulled away. Eventually, Soye gave up and stopped retreating. Sejin, up front, eyed them while walking slowly, then offered two cans of drinks.
"You two want these?"
"Th-thank you... oppa...."
Minji snatched one and held it out to Soye. Soye ignored it like it was invisible, but Minji kept offering—gently, persistently, without annoying her.
Kukukuku, this is hilarious.
And from the rear, Im Haeun watched it all with glee. Seeing Sejin—who'd tormented her—squirm was pure joy.
Kukukukuku, after messing with him so bad, time to suffer—kukuku...!
Forgetting she'd started the whole teasing chain, Im Haeun just savored the show.