A Bet
A Bet
I remembered seeing something similar on the internet.
Apparently, when men feel emotionally unsettled, asking, "Are you okay? Want to touch my chest?" helps calm them down.
They say the very fact that someone exists who accepts you enough to let you touch their chest brings a sense of relief, but in my opinion, that's only half right.
Because when you actually touch them, your mind goes blank.
No doubt about it. I was saying this after just having actually tried it.
Still, it had been effective.
The problem of the successor competition had long since been shoved into a corner of my mind by the soft feel of my younger sister's chest, by the ethical question of whether even a beloved older brother should be allowed to touch something like this, and by various other thoughts besides.
Without thinking, I squeezed once more.
"Hahh—!"
I'd heard recently that a lot of adults were buying squishies.
I'd never thought they were pathetic for buying such things, but I hadn't really understood why they bought them.
People said that squeezing and kneading something soft relieved stress, but personally, I couldn't relate to that at all.
But now I understood.
Humans are creatures who instinctively crave maternal comfort.
I realized today that when there's something soft, the primal human urge is to squeeze it without thinking.
Anyway, was a heavenly texture like this even allowed to exist?
If possible, I wanted to touch it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Aria had seemed to compare her chest to Victoria's last time, but now that I'd actually touched it, I didn't think there was any need for that at all.
It wasn't quite enough to call big, but it was exactly the right handful—soft and springy, I suppose.
"Hah, hah..."
How much time had passed?
When I came to my senses, Aria's face was deeply flushed and she was breathing roughly.
What had I done.
Only then did my rationality turn cold, as if someone had thrown ice water over me.
"Brother, are you satisfied...?"
Aria looked at me with hazy eyes.
Suddenly I felt a surge of guilt.
What the hell had I just done.
"I—I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who told you to touch."
That was true, but why did I still feel like I had to apologize?
"Brother, hold on a moment."
Aria gently lifted my head.
Then, sitting on the edge of the bed, she placed my head on her lap.
"Isn't it heavy?"
"If it gets hard, I'll stop."
Aria began softly stroking my head.
It felt strange.
I was always the one stroking her head.
"If anything is troubling you, please tell me anytime. No matter what happens, I'm on your side."
Something welled up in my chest.
Had anyone ever said something like that to me before?
Without thinking, I pulled Aria into an embrace.
"Doesn't it bother you?"
"What?"
"A grown man doing this."
"Not at all. I'm happy, actually. That you showed me your vulnerable side."
"I wanted to always be a brother you could rely on."
"You still are the brother I can rely on more than anyone. You always have been."
Aria's trust and love were still heavy.
But now that weight gave me a sense of security.
"Do you not need to ask why I'm suddenly like this?"
"No. It might be something you don't want me to hear. Of course, if you want to confide in me, I'll listen to anything."
Of course, it wasn't something that would do Aria any good to know.
I didn't want to burden her with needless worry.
Even so, I felt like I had to tell Aria.
Feeling Aria's warmth, I began to talk.
Since it was too long to explain all at once, the story naturally started from the past.
My biological mother's background, my biological parents' divorce, my maternal grandfather, and the Hancheon Group and the successor competition.
And my mother's current situation after returning to Hancheon Group, and the things Seo-yeon had taken on for our mother's sake.
Aria simply listened quietly to what I said.
But as if to show she was definitely listening, she gently stroked my head.
When the long story finally ended, Aria at last spoke.
"What do you want to do, Brother?"
"Setting aside Seo-yeon's situation for now, I want to secure a stable retirement for Mother too. Like Chairman Han said, once the chairman who held the group together is gone, the group will lose its center and everyone will tear each other apart for shares."
Maybe thanks to Aria, I was able to realize with surprising ease what I should aim for first.
If I could just secure Mother's stable retirement, Seo-yeon would be free too.
And I could stop worrying about Mother as well.
But what I needed to do first to achieve that was still completely unclear.
"Brother. Does your mother want this?"
"I don't know. From Mother's perspective, she'd probably tell me not to worry about that kind of thing. That's just how parents are."
A parent's wish is not to become an obstacle in their child's path.
If I told Mother about this, she'd probably tell me not to concern myself with it.
"This might be presumptuous of me, but wouldn't some things be resolved through conversation?"
Conversation, huh.
Aria wasn't wrong. Even though Seo-yeon and I were ultimately doing this for Mother, we'd never even had a proper conversation with her about it.
"You're right. I should try talking to her first. Fortunately, her birthday is coming up soon."
There was now just over a month left.
It wouldn't be too late to decide how to act after talking with her then.
"Then let's go see her soon. I should pay my respects to her as well."
"We should. Wait, 'as well'?"
I immediately lifted my head and looked up at Aria.
Aria answered nonchalantly.
"Yes. I've never once greeted her before, have I?"
The term "mother" wasn't wrong.
Actually, from a half-sister's perspective, it was hard to know what to call her half-brother's biological mother.
But why did it sound like a different nuance when Aria said it?
"Um, Aria. Can I ask what you mean by calling her 'Mother'?"
"Well, she's going to be my mother-in-law now, isn't she?"
Aria answered as if stating an obvious fact.
I couldn't even figure out where to start pointing out the problem.
No, of course, it was true that Aria was the one I was most romantically drawn to.
But even so, if I told my biological mother I was marrying my half-sister, she'd probably clutch the back of her neck and collapse.
And if Seo-yeon joined in on top of that, wouldn't I really get disowned?
Just imagining it was terrifying.
"Hold on, there's one problem with that."
"What is it?"
"Mother's birthday banquet is a small affair with only family and her acquaintances, so without being on the list, you can't attend in the first place."
This was also why Seo-yeon had asked if I would attend. Because if you weren't on the list, you couldn't even attend in the first place.
"Should I at least mention it to Seo-yeon?"
"Brother, have you forgotten who I am?"
Aria placed a hand on her chest, cleared her throat with an "ahem," and continued.
"Well, my younger sister."
"That's true, and that's the most important thing! But don't I have another title I'm better known for publicly?"
"Genius musician?"
"Correct! As a reward, I'll give you some pats~"
Aria stroked my head, looking pleased.
I always felt happy and at peace when I stroked Aria's head—maybe Aria felt something similar. Seeing how she kept stroking mine.
Anyway, what did Aria being a genius musician have to do with Mother's birthday banquet?
"A venue like that would normally have a piano, wouldn't it? If I said I wanted to attend as a performer, they'd probably accept right away, don't you think?"
"I know your reputation, of course, but even so, it's a small gathering of acquaintances, so I'm not sure it would work."
"Hehe, then shall we bet? On whether I can get into your mother's birthday banquet on my own or not."
"A bet? What are the stakes?"
"Hmm, the loser grants the winner one wish?"
Aria's proposal had one serious problem.
The bet was meaningless from the start.
"Is there any point? If my beloved younger sister asked, I'd do anything except the impossible, and you'd do the same for me, Aria."
"Hmm, that's true."
Aria thought for a moment, then smiled a peculiar smile and said to me.
"Then how about this?"
"What?"
"I own a private beach. If I win, you'll spend this vacation there with me in swimsuits. How about it?"
"Wait, isn't that too good a deal for me? Hold on, before that. You own a private beach?"
I asked again because I couldn't believe what I'd heard.
I mean, I could understand it if Seo-yeon or Victoria owned something like that, but hearing that Aria owned a private beach made me wonder if it was real.
But Aria wasn't the type to lie about something like this.
Indeed, Aria answered nonchalantly.
"It was when I was studying abroad. A billionaire asked if I could possibly attend as a performer at his wedding anniversary reception for his wife.
So I attended and performed, and he was so moved that he transferred part of an island to me! I think it was called Lanai Island in Hawaii? Something like that..."
They say outstanding artists receive enormous patronage from billionaires, but I never expected that to still apply in the modern era.
Still, it was intriguing.
An ordinary person would probably never in their life get to enjoy a private beach in Hawaii.
"I'm fine with it, but what if I win?"
"Since it's when you win, you decide, Brother."
Being told to decide put me in an awkward spot.
Offering a condition that only benefited me, like granting a wish, would make me too ashamed to face Aria, and I obviously didn't have anything like a private beach in Hawaii to offer.
In the end, after thinking for a long time, I barely managed to come up with an answer.
"Then if I win, can I get an Aria one-day free-use pass?"
"That's already been issued as a lifetime free-use pass, though?"
She really says embarrassing things like it's nothing.
When the answer I'd worked so hard to come up with went to waste, I had no choice but to throw out whatever came to mind.
"I mean literally a free-use pass. That day, you have to do whatever I say. For example, even if I said I wanted to touch your chest for 24 hours straight like earlier, you'd have to comply."
What kind of crazy thing was I saying.
But Aria, her face flushed, hesitated and stammered before finally forcing herself to speak.
"Th-that's already possible. You already have a free-use pass..."
Even the answer I'd desperately come up with went to waste.
In the end, all that remained was a bad older brother who'd sexually harassed his younger sister. I was so ashamed and full of self-loathing that I couldn't lift my face.
But Aria, seeing my reaction, carefully answered with a face as red as a beet.
"Th-then how about this? If I lose, I become your slave for a day, or something. Ahaha..."
Slave?
Why were there so many things today that made me wonder if I'd heard correctly?
"A slave? What are you talking about."
"L-like calling you 'Master.' Or being treated as your pet. Or you doing whatever you want with my body..."
I heard the snap of my rationality breaking.
My worthless brain, disqualified as an older brother, couldn't help but imagine it. Aria on all fours, naked, wearing a red dog collar at home.
Once the fantasy started, my brain endlessly spewed out its desires.
The depraved fantasy of using my half-sister—who possessed the greatest beauty and musical talent in human history, the one everyone stared at in awe—as an outlet for my desires made me feel like my breath was stopping.
Smack! Smack!
I slapped my own cheeks hard.
At this rate, I might really cause an incident before Linnea got back.
"B-Brother?! Are you okay?"
"No, I just thought I should pull myself together and get up."
I lifted my head and sat up on the edge of the bed.
If I kept feeling Aria's warmth like this, I was really going to lose it.
"Then let's go with those terms."
"Uh, are you really okay with it?"
"I think it'll be fine."
After all, a slave has to obey their master's words.
If I kept my boundaries and did nothing, it would probably pass without any problem.
In other words, I just had to endure it.
* * *
Two days later, in the evening.
"Brother! Look at this!"
Aria showed me her smartphone screen.
On it was an invitation to Hancheon Hotel as a performer.
I felt a slight sense of relief and, at the same time, a strange regret.
It wasn't like I'd been expecting to make Aria my slave or anything.
"Now that this is settled, I'll need to buy a swimsuit soon. I don't have one, you see. Or would you like to pick one out for me, Brother? Since I'll be wearing it to show you anyway."
"Is that okay?"
"Of course. Actually, I'd be happy if you picked one out to your taste. And you can pick out several if you'd like."
But honestly, even if she said that, it was awkward for me.
I'd never dated a woman, so how much could I possibly know about women's swimsuits?
Aria, seeing my reaction, smiled playfully and whispered in my ear.
"Of course, even a swimsuit design I couldn't wear on a normal beach would be fine. You can choose whatever you want to put me in."
My thoughts came to a halt.
Did she mean Aria in a bikini, or even something like a slingshot swimsuit?
I couldn't help but imagine it.
My brain, which had started running wild since last time and lost all self-control, kept conjuring images of Aria at every opportunity.
"Oh, and of course, the free-use pass is still in effect. On a private beach with just the two of us, treating me like a slave as I mentioned last time..."
Almost like ASMR, Aria whispered while pressed right up against me.
"That's possible too, you know?"