Seo A-yeon - Eve (1)

Ha-rin-nuna had already lost her sanity and become a monster driven by lust.

I don't know what made her so desperate.

But I know exactly what I need to do right now.

I made a firm resolution and gave a light push to the nuna who was pressing her body against mine.

She wasn't strong, so she was easily pushed away.

Then, I naturally turned on my heel and ran at full speed to my room.

"Uh, uh? Where are you going?"

I could hear Ha-rin-nuna's flustered voice behind me, but I couldn't look back now.

I grabbed the Fantastic Gear from the corner of the room and put it on my head.

[ Connecting to Phantastia. ]

Escaping to the virtual reality world.

It was the best method I could choose.

Though it's the worst option for a man.

"You fucking impotent bastard..."

Guilt toward Ha-rin-nuna and the relief that I almost got fucked over came at the same time.

A truly strange and complex feeling.

But doing that kind of thing with another woman without even telling Yun-seo is something I just can't do.

There is one thing I learned from my trashy father.

That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you always have to be careful with alcohol and women.

*

Looking back, it was truly mysterious.

I wasn't even that handsome, so how did women get so tangled up with me?

Whenever I came home from school, Father was bringing unknown women into the master bedroom every day.

Mother, my biological mother, seemed to have a vague inkling of it too.

She went to work every day, so there was no solid evidence.

Seeing Father cheating even after she took a half-day off for their wedding anniversary and came home early, Mom decided to divorce.

Naturally, I wanted to go with Mom.

But after Father screamed and put up a fight, custody went to that man.

Well, up until then, he only cheated, so Mom probably thought it would be okay since he didn't abuse me.

I thought the same.

I thought that, for all his faults, Dad at least valued me.

Thinking about it now, it was a scheme to get child support and use it for himself.

After the divorce, he became a single man and legally swapped out women.

Then, there was one woman Father met for a long time.

That was my stepmother, and she was the greatest beauty among all the women Father had met.

Father, who had high standards for beauty, didn't want to let her go.

One fortunate thing was that my stepmother was also a single mother who already had a child.

Father dug into that point and was eventually able to remarry.

The day my stepmother moved in, I met her for the first time.

Seo A-yeon.

We weren't blood-related, but she was the younger sister I had to protect from today on.

"...."

A-yeon was very shy.

From the moment she first arrived, she hid behind her mother and wouldn't even make eye contact with me.

Of course, if you live in the same house for a long time, conversation naturally starts to flow.

"Ah, this is too much for me to eat alone."

"...."

"Isn't there anyone to eat ice cream with?"

"...Give it to me."

At some point, A-yeon also started to rely on me.

It was inevitable since it was just the two of us at home.

Stepmother had a job, and in the early days of the marriage, Father also wanted to look good, so he was out and about.

A few months passed like that.

As expected, Father revealed his true colors.

Not working, lazing around at home all day, and bringing women home.

Even with a young girl in the house, rolling around with a strange woman in the master bedroom was an act that really crossed the line, severely.

"...What are you doing?"

"Stay still."

I think I covered A-yeon's ears with my hands dozens of times so she wouldn't hear the moans.

Since he did that shit, it was a natural sequence that Stepmother would find out.

Unlike my mother, Stepmother was a very venomous person.

"If it were up to me, I'd divorce you and take alimony, but I don't have the luxury, so I won't."

"...What?"

"Instead, you won't get a single penny from me. My money will only be spent on me and my daughter."

In reality, we were just sharing the same house, but the relationship was the same as being divorced.

A cold atmosphere began to circulate in the house.

"You got divorced for cheating, and you got caught again. You're truly persistent."

"Look at the way you talk to your fucking father. You're the one who got your own lifeline cut off."

"So give me some pocket money."

"Why would I give you my money?"

It was a bonus that the money coming to me, who was of the same blood, was also cut off.

So I had to work my body hard since middle school.

Father hogged Mom's child support, and Stepmother only invested in A-yeon.

To get even one meal, I had to scan barcodes at a convenience store until late at night.

It was a stroke of luck that I had a large build, so I could lie about my age and get a job.

"...Oppa, when are you going home?"

"I'm finishing up soon."

A-yeon was naturally sticking by my side.

Because I couldn't leave her alone with Father at home.

Father was a man who would betray even the smallest bit of trust.

While I was working, A-yeon sat in a chair next to me, dangling her feet.

Those were truly difficult days.

"Oppa, eat this."

"What is this? Candy?"

"...Yeah, an ajumma gave it to me as a gift earlier."

I was able to endure it because I had at least one person on my side.

"Oppa, help me with my homework."

"Look at this. This is an easy problem, isn't it?"

"I don't know. Tell me the answer."

"I'll show you how to solve it, so try solving it yourself."

"Tell meeee."

"If you solve it yourself, I'll take you to the amusement park this weekend."

"Really?"

"The boss gave me a bit of a bonus, so I think I can afford that much."

Honestly, if Father hadn't remarried and I hadn't met A-yeon, I would have gone down the wrong path too.

All I saw growing up was that man, and the blood flowing in me was his as well.

Only the existence of A-yeon kept me from going astray.

I could at least pride myself on having grown up properly.

That was the year A-yeon entered middle school.

"Seo Do-hyeon, Yeona hasn't come home for a few days. Do you know anything?"

I felt like what was bound to happen had come.

Stepmother had left the house and run away.

Maybe "escaped" is a better word than "run away."

I heard she met a new man whose personality was thousands of times better than Father's, and she decided to divorce on that man's recommendation.

So it ends up like this.

Stepmother lasted a long time, six years.

Now it's time to say goodbye to A-yeon, too.

I have to stand on my own two feet, but I must grow up properly.

To become an oppa that A-yeon wouldn't be ashamed of.

I set ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that goal for myself.

Not even dreaming that Stepmother would abandon even A-yeon.

"...Fucking assholes."

In the end, it was that man and that woman.

Father had cheated countless more times, but it seemed like quite some time had passed since Stepmother had started living a double life with another man.

Since both sides were essentially cheating, it was obvious that a divorce suit would get complicated.

So Stepmother ended the divorce cleanly by using child support payments as a bargaining chip.

She left A-yeon at our house and left to start a new life elsewhere.

Just like my mother did, I wonder if she thought A-yeon was a hindrance to her fresh start.

Naturally, Father gobbled up A-yeon's child support.

Now I had to take care of A-yeon and earn the money for her to live on.

This was why I said I had no face to see A-yeon.

From that day on, whenever A-yeon saw a story about an affair while watching a drama, she would cut it off immediately.

And I also became unable to understand people who cheat.

I was definitely unable to understand it.

"I shouldn't understand it."

...Fuck.

Women like Lee Yun-seo and Baek Ha-rin were too attractive to the child of a family ruined by cheating and affairs.

I remember what Father said in the past.

"Seo Do-hyeon, as you live, there will come a day when you meet a woman you'll regret missing for the rest of your life. If that happens, don't hesitate and grab her."

"That doesn't sound like something a cheater should say."

"Every woman I met was a woman I would regret missing."

"Bullshit."

It seems I really do have that man's blood.

*

"...She plays Phantastia too."

Watching Dohyun lying down with the Gear on his head, Ha-rin muttered bitterly.

"Was I too impatient?"

Thinking I had to make it a done deal before that girl named Yun-seo returned, I kept making mistake after mistake.

Well, there's an order to relationships, but I went too far.

It's no wonder he was scared and ran ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away.

"...It's underwear I chose with care."

It had only been a day since we reunited, after all.

And Dohyun even hates me.

Even if I realized that I had been supporting him tremendously from behind for the past 6 years.

Because I also have a history of hurting Dohyun for a year.

It was a misunderstanding that would get an 'Eh?' response if Dohyun heard it.

But at least Ha-rin thought so.

"...I'm jealous, Lee Yun-seo."

What on earth happened during ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that time that she was able to win Dohyun's heart?

To think that I, who had been the object of jealousy my whole life, would one day be the one jealous of another woman.

"If I had known this, I should have just gone to find him on the day he was released."

That capable attendant's words were correct.

I should have kept apologizing by his side and kept helping him from nearby.

Regret and self-loathing washed over me.

Ha-rin stared at Dohyun with dead eyes for a while, then moved her gaze to his lower body.

"...Gulp."

Should I just make it a done deal now?

I don't know how far he went with that girl Yun-seo.

But he wouldn't be able to abandon Ha-rin, who is pregnant with his child.

Ha-rin's fingertips gradually moved toward Dohyun's pants.

Then, suddenly, they stopped in mid-air.

"...."

I've already done enough terrible things for a year; if I cross the line again, this time it's really the end.

If that gaze full of hatred from Dohyun were to turn toward me once more.

"...No."

I wouldn't be able to endure it this time.

Fortunately, it wasn't that there was no hope at all.

"...I succeeded in getting him hard."

I clearly saw his pants standing tall just a moment ago.

If I keep making moves on him, an opportunity will come.

"...He'll be playing the game for a long time, right?"

Leaving Dohyun lying on the bed, Ha-rin opened the room window.

And she took a seat on the floor next to the bed.

"Ah, I should lay down a towel."