What Was Missing From the Big Data, Part 1

"What’s up, Seongtae? Calling at this hour… got a girlfriend? At last, the youngest top-ranked chief researcher is going on a date?"

"Come on, what girlfriend? Let’s just grab some coffee."

Namgung Seongtae had taken Ha Jinwoo’s call as an excuse to step out into the hallway with a fellow researcher and cool his head for a bit.

The neck-bent Seongtae shook his heavy head from side to side, thinking maybe he ought to get treatment for the stiffness gnawing at him.

"So who is it, calling you this late? You’re the kind of guy who doesn’t answer anyone’s calls or even respond when you’re focused."

At Chief Youngcheol’s words, Seongtae snorted.

He glanced at the name tag pinned to Youngcheol’s chest.

"I told you about him before, Chief Youngcheol. The guy who’s even more of a genius than I am."

"Ah… that friend Jinwoo? The one who went to the same kindergarten and gifted education center as you, and took second place in the math olympiad in eighth grade?"

"If there hadn’t been a war… he would’ve made the biggest contribution to mankind. Right now he just runs around chasing conspiracy theories."

"Seriously? You rate him that highly?"

"Atomoxetine. Methylphenidate."

Namgung Seongtae murmured under his breath, his lips moving faintly as if he were chasing a thought through the air.

"What are those?"

"You know how people naturally remember that ibuprofen and acetaminophen are in painkillers? Those are the kinds of drugs every so-called genius from a gifted academy knows."

"What kind of drugs?"

Namgung Seongtae let out a small sigh.

"ADHD meds. Apparently geniuses aren’t even ADHD, but they end up living on ADHD meds anyway. The parents of geniuses are different. Because those drugs boost concentration. Since childhood, they were forced to keep those pills in their mouths. I didn’t even know that was child abuse back then."

"……Ah."

Surprised, Researcher Kim Youngcheol rubbed his chin lightly, and Namgung Seongtae bit his lower lip.

"You’ve read those genius-novel type stories, right? It’s all bullshit. They have to live with their parents’ expectations sitting on their shoulders."

Youngcheol was at a loss for words.

He could read the sadness in Namgung Seongtae’s eyes.

"My family was originally in Daejeon. My father shut down his local business and bet everything he had on moving to Daechi-dong in Seoul for me."

As if recalling something, Namgung Seongtae forced a smile.

"That guy was always number one without the help of any drugs. Until his mother passed away."

"Come on. If he was that much of a genius, he would’ve stood out anywhere."

When Chief Youngcheol waved the idea away, Seongtae pushed his glasses up and said quietly,

"ROL, Ranger of League, the challenge league only pros play in. Staying rank one for ten seasons straight isn’t something just anybody does."

"What… rank one for ten seasons? At that point he should’ve gone pro."

"He said he hated pro play. Anyway… after his mother died, and then his father too, during the war, he’s never once tried to stand out."

"Seongtae. Bring that friend of yours around sometime, okay? Let’s get a meal and queue up some ranked games."

"You got it!! But before that… I’ve got to finish reverse-engineering if I want to sleep, huh? Let’s go back in!"

Crush—

Namgung Seongtae crumpled the paper coffee cup he’d been drinking from and tossed it neatly into the trash.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

I’d been loafing around in the game room and came home late.

The house was quiet, with everyone sound asleep.

Home sweet home.

But the place that had always felt safe and comfortable now seemed like a monster’s den.

Back in high school, after my mother died, my father—who’d been living alone—remarried.

What would it have been like if he’d never died in the war?

Lost in that pointless daydream, I lay down on my bed.

It was the first time in twenty-six years I’d slept with the lights on.

All night long, I was tormented by nightmares.

Dreams of being chased by Minyeong after she’d become a monster, and by Mom.

Dreams are always like that, with the setting and location suddenly changing.

I’d be chased all the way to a theater, then end up sitting among the audience, when all of a sudden Minyeong started sucking my dick.

- Introduce me to Seongtae oppa!! I’ll suck your dick!!

And there were all these other people watching the movie right next to us!

My younger sister slipped between my legs and started sucking me off.

It was the first filthy, arousing dream of my entire life.

- Oh my, son, what are you doing with Minyeong?

- Mom! Hurry up and come help too.

And then my stepmother joined in, laughing beside her.

- Son, introduce Minyeong to Namgung Seongtae. Your mom will suck your dick too, and I’ll let you suck my nice, plump pussy. How about it, F-grade son? If it means introducing a high-value A-grade host for our colony, I’ll do anything… haah~ sluuurp, smack, smack!"

I’d had a wet dream.

When I woke up in the morning and stared down at my damp underwear, I dropped my head.

I’d been jolted awake by the pleasure of a proper nocturnal emission.

"Fuck. It’s not even funny."

A long sigh slipped out.

Twenty-six years old. Still a virgin.

A pathetic virgin life, with nothing but jerking off to show for it.

Could I really use Minyeong as bait to get my first time, using Namgung Seongtae as the excuse, just like in that dream?

I’d never even imagined that Minyeong would be the one to help me lose my virginity, but once I thought about what Seongtae had said, it wasn’t completely impossible.

She was clearly friendly toward me.

She was completely different from before.

I searched through old posts on the Wayback Machine, wondering if there was anything remotely similar.

The search keywords ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were—

"Those aliens aren’t idiots, for fuck’s sake."

There was no way there’d be information like that.

I dug through deleted posts on the Wayback Machine.

I scoured not just the community I used, but every other community too.

Cold chills ran up my back.

Come to think of it, that meant a million people knew I’d tried to steal my stepmother’s Samsung Pay card.

A million people knew what a pathetic little shit I was.

If I wanted to fool my stepmother and Minyeong…

"I’ve got to fool a million people."

My hands and feet tingled.

Getting my virginity taken by Minyeong was absolutely not going to be easy.

Crack, crack—

I rolled my neck and headed into the living room.

A black cola sat on the kitchen island.

A straw was stuck in it, and it was clearly the liquid Minyeong had spat out.

On a Post-it note, she’d kindly written, Eat it, oppa.♥

A heart, my ass. Like hell I’d eat that.

It probably wasn’t meant to make me an ally, since I was an F-grade useless case…

Was it poison designed to kill me slowly?

What the hell even was this liquid?

Curious, I bent down and sniffed it.

It smelled exactly like cola.

A fizzy cola, full of carbonation and looking refreshingly cold.

Weird.

It had clearly come up from Minyeong’s stomach.

I poured out a little and let it trickle into the sink.

Shwaaa—

With the faint crackle of carbonation bubbles, it vanished down the drain.

No matter how I looked at it, it was cola.

But I knew that if I drank it, I’d be royally fucked.

I peeled off the Eat it, oppa.♥ Post-it note and, as if I’d drunk it already, pulled the straw out and stood it upright in the sink.

"What the hell are you trying to feed me?"

Just then, Minyeong came in through the front door.

Looks like she’d been out for morning yoga.

"Oppa! Good morning!!"

Minyeong waved brightly as she came in.

She was wearing a checked shirt and denim mini skirt.

Her skin had gotten even smoother and glossier after the trip abroad, and her narrow waist and bouncing chest were obscene in their perfection.

Like the idol trainee she was, she was full of energy from the moment the morning started.

I waved my hand around lazily, too annoyed to bother much.

That was my own personal greeting.

"Why the hell are you being so clingy these days, huh?"

When I answered gruffly, she grinned and came closer.

"Oppaaa~ You know how much I like oppa. Right? I’ve got a blind date this weekend?"

"Jesus, you’re really staking your whole life on a blind date, huh? You like Namgung Seongtae that much?"

"Noo~ it’s not like that! I like oppa moreee~"

Minyeong had never been like this before.

She’d been the typical annoying younger sister who looked down on her older brother.

But now… she was acting far too perfectly like a “sweet little sister.”

She raised both arms and hooked them around my neck.

A sweet milk-like scent mixed with the faint tickle of mildew spores brushed my nose.

Yeah, my nose couldn’t be fooled.

And then…

Her soft, full breasts pressed lightly against my chest before bouncing away.

Plump nipples.

A tiny, barely noticeable lump of pressure, like a slight erection through the fabric.

Through a single thin T-shirt, it felt like a thickly stamped mark.

Uwooooh!

"What the hell. Get off."

I shoved her away.

But she didn’t back off; she clung even tighter.

I could feel my groin slowly heating up.

The rough little nipples touching my chest again felt bizarre.

Her soft breasts brushed mine for a moment, rubbed, then slipped away.

"Hey. It’s hot. Get off."

Of course she’d act like this, since she wasn’t someone I’d ever seen as a woman.

Even when she’d been my stepsister, I’d never looked at her that way.

But she wasn’t my little sister anymore.

Once I knew she was a monster, there was no stopping my groin from stirring awake.

I’m a virgin loser who learned sex from Japanese porn, for fuck’s sake!

That dizzying waistline under her shirt, and the fuller cleavage she’d gotten after the trip abroad, were right in my face.

What was I supposed to do?

I had to lean my hips back a little.

An awkward, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠halfway posture.

My little sister really is a monster.

And the fact that thinking she wasn’t my little sister made her even hotter was all because of Namgung Seongtae’s words.

Besides, she’d never been my sister by blood in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the first place.

That thought only made my dick harder.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

By afternoon, Minyeong had started dance practice in the living room.

Today’s choreography was especially filthy.

She snapped her neck, trembled her shoulders, bounced her chest, and rolled her hips in time to the pounding beat, all in those sharp isolation movements.

Minyeong, who danced street style, used to upload her dances to social media now and then.

In secret, I’d watched her dance plenty of times.

"Not going to the studio and doing it here?"

"Yeah! The studio’s under renovation."

Her sweat-damp neck, the pink bikini visible under her checked shirt, and that damn narrow waist all made the whole thing indecent.

Why the hell do street dancers wear bikinis under their clothes?

Her ass was so taut the panty line cut right into it.

Every time she turned her body, her breasts swayed heavily.

"Hey, is that really dancing or are you just flopping around? Move your waist properly. You call yourself a pro and that’s what you’ve got?"

I sat on the sofa and deliberately nagged at her.

Minyeong panted and looked back at me.

"What do you know, oppa? This is sexy popping, the latest trend. Would a shut-in loser like you even get it?"

She stuck her tongue out playfully and started dancing again.

I crossed my legs and stared at her body with obsessive attention.

Her sweat-slick thighs, her voluptuous breasts bobbing with every move, the S-curve made by her narrow waist.

Leering at my own sister was no different from what Namgung Seongtae would’ve done.

But that wasn’t my sister.

My dick was fully hard inside my pants.

Shit… I had no idea fear and lust together could be this addictive.

It was a bizarre feeling.

There’s a saying that when the human brain reaches the edge of fear, it gets erect, and maybe that was true.

It was said to be instinct—the urge to leave your genes behind violently before you die.

Even while dancing, she kept sneaking glances at me now and then.

As if the hive mind were analyzing my reaction in real time.

…

..

.

At 7:30 p.m., a message came in from my stepmother.

It arrived on both my phone and Minyeong’s at the same time.

- My investment meeting’s running long, so I probably won’t be back until after eleven. Eat dinner without us.

Minyeong set her smartphone down and her eyes lit up.

She’d already changed into a crop top and dolphin shorts.

"Mom says she’ll be late! Oppa, what should we order?"

I narrowed my eyes for a moment.

Posts from the Wayback Machine flashed through my mind.

One of them had said that Flowers kept away from alcohol, because booze might interfere with information transfer between hive members.

"How about fried chicken and beer? You like beer, don’t you?"

"Nope, I quit drinking."

What bullshit.

A woman who used to knock back a bottle of beer every night before bed had suddenly quit drinking?

Nonsense.

It was obvious that Flowers avoided alcohol.

"Aren’t you going to meet Namgung Seongtae? He loves beer. If he finds out the two of you can’t drink at your blind date, he’ll probably lose interest and just bail."

As soon as I finished speaking, Minyeong’s movements stopped ever so slightly.

Her pupils trembled faintly toward empty space.

It felt like the smell of mildew grew stronger.

I could practically hear a million aliens on the hive network calculating the cost-benefit of drinking alcohol to secure an A-grade host.

"Come on… would he really turn down a pretty girl like me just because I can’t drink? Don’t lie."

"You don’t know that guy. You don’t know what makes a virgin nerd tick, do you? Virgin losers aren’t virgin losers for nothing. The only reason I’m close with Namgung Seongtae is because I’m always his drinking buddy and drink with him all the time."

"Whaaat… really? That much?"

"Of course. I told him you’re good with beer. I said you drink four cans every night."

Minyeong looked flustered.

That was true, after all.

"I mean… yeah, but I got weak with alcohol, so I quit for my health."

"Shut up and at least try it tonight. I’ll check your tolerance for you. For a woman to get a little drunk and act tipsy, then have the guy get all worked up and jump her, that’s how you date!"

"What are you even saying…"

Nothing I said was wrong.

I could feel Minyeong seriously mulling something over.

Looks like the million-member hive was huddling up right now, debating what to do.

Her gaze lost focus for a brief moment, then returned.

"Fine… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I’ll check my tolerance!"

"Good!"

Minyeong nodded obediently.

The hive had apparently decided that, for the greater cause of seducing an A-grade host, it was worth taking the risk of alcohol.

She was caught.

I silently cheered.

Alcohol—the only weapon that could crack this perfect, awful mold-flower hive open.

And in this house, there were only the two of us.

Tonight, what result would come from a dangerous drinking session alone with my monster younger sister?

My heart started pounding like crazy.