I Won't Give In. I Won't Lose.
I Won't Give In. I Won't Lose.
I'd clearly heard she didn't have much luggage.
Then what were all these piles of stuff in front of me?
Two suitcases, four or five huge boxes. Two bags stuffed to bursting, plus a bunch of smaller odds and ends.
"What exactly did she mean by 'not much luggage'? Ugh, this is heavy."
It was still an amount I could manage on my own, so I supposed it qualified as on the lighter side. As I was grumbling and hauling the bags, someone approached from the side.
"Whoa, oppa, you're seriously strong. Just lifting stuff like it's nothing."
It was Areum's younger sister, Ah-rin. Maybe social butterfly genes ran in the family — Ah-rin chatted me up warmly even though we'd only just met.
"Oppa, do you work out? Your muscles are insane."
The corners of my mouth crept up on their own at that. I nodded, trying to play it cool.
"I do a bit of weight training."
Since I was in short sleeves, maybe they showed a little? I felt proud, like the workouts were paying off. I'd lost quite a bit of weight by now, and the muscle definition was gradually becoming visible.
Just then, someone slapped my butt. Cheolsseok. There was no way Ah-rin, whom I'd just met today, would do that, so the culprit was obviously Pi Areum.
But when I turned around, I couldn't see Areum. I lowered my gaze and only then spotted the top of her head. For some reason, Areum was glowering up at me with a face full of petty sulk.
"Stop flirting and move faster."
"...Excuse me. I'm here to help you out, you know?"
"I said move like your dick's gonna fall off!"
"Using honorifics doesn't automatically make it polite..."
Wasn't she embarrassed in front of her younger sister? 'Like your dick's gonna fall off,' seriously. Ugh, what was the younger one going to learn from watching her unni.
Sure enough, Ah-rin looked pretty shocked too.
"Unni, using vulgar language in front of a guy..."
"What are you talking about. If we're talking vulgar, you're the one who sells BL— mmph!"
"Ahaha, what is this unni even saying. Cheol-jin oppa, it's a misunderstanding."
"Huh? What was that?"
I'd already come down the stairs. I was too far away to catch their conversation clearly.
"Let's get this moved quickly. Hand it over."
I set the luggage down on the ground and went back up the stairs. It was an old villa building, so there was no elevator. At least it was only the second floor — if it had been the top floor, things would've been rough.
I hauled the luggage without pausing. It was already past noon. If I didn't work briskly, I wouldn't finish before sundown. I had to account for travel time too.
"If he's not unni's boyfriend..."
"Die!"
"Ack! Use your words!"
I'd heard that siblings close in age bickered like that — apparently sisters were no different. The two of them squabbled without a break.
I worked like an ox. Fortunately, there wasn't any single piece too large for me to carry alone. Was she planning to buy a new desk and computer?
"Phew. That wrapped up faster than I thought. Areum-ah, get in quick. We're heading straight out."
"Okay! Thanks for the hard work!"
Areum patted my back with a pang-pang and climbed into the car.
"Ah-rin, I'll be off now. It was nice meeting you."
I said my goodbyes and was about to get into the driver's seat when Ah-rin came up and whispered to me.
"Oppa, please take good care of my unni."
"Huh? All of a sudden?"
"Unni told me. That you're her closest friend right now."
Oh, that was actually kind of touching.
I glanced over at Areum in the passenger seat and let out a little smirk.
"Areum's my closest friend too. I'll help her get everything sorted out, so don't worry."
"Okay. Drive safe. Safe driving!"
"Yeah. Let's meet again if we get the chance."
I said my farewells and got into the driver's seat. She was a good sister, looking out for her unni like that. I wondered if I'd have felt this way if I'd had a sibling.
*
Maybe because it was a weekend afternoon, but the traffic was jammed. It looked like it would take a solid hour at least.
"Ugh. I'm not yielding this time. You can't take what's mine."
Areum, her face all pouty, was muttering something under her breath.
"Why are you so puffed up?"
"What do you mean."
"What do I mean? Your little grudge balloon is all inflated. Let some air out."
"Hmph."
I'd come all this way to help her, so why was she being so prickly?
Areum, who had her arms crossed and her head turned away, broke the silence with a question.
"Do you like it?"
"Huh? Like what?"
"I'm asking if you like being called 'oppa.'"
"Not particularly? It's just a form of address."
There was a common saying that guys typically loved being called oppa, but that wasn't me. Personally, I suspected the whole oppa-obsessed loser stereotype was just an act too.
"'Not particularly,' my ass. Your mouth was about to split your face open, you were grinning so hard."
"That was because she complimented my muscles."
"...Muscles?"
"Look at this. Hup. They're getting some shape now, right?"
I rolled up my short sleeve slightly and flexed my bicep. The definition wasn't razor-sharp yet, but I was pretty confident in the sheer bulk.
Kok-kok.
Areum poked my bicep with her finger.
"Huh... it's for real. Your arms were always thick, but were they this rock-solid before?"
"It's because the fat's gone. I've been hearing a lot lately that I've slimmed down, you know."
"Hmm..."
For some reason, Areum glared at me with dissatisfaction. What now. What was the problem.
After staring at me for a moment, Areum blurted out.
"Can't you stop losing weight? You were better-looking when you were a little heavier."
"Huh?"
"I think around 95kg was your best. Now you've gotten way too gaunt."
"Come on, even as a white lie, I'm not exactly 'gaunt.' You're literally the first person to ever say that to me."
If anything, I still had some cheek fat. My face was a bit on the chubby side relative to my weight.
But Areum seemed to mean it sincerely.
"I'm serious. Back then, you were nice and soft when I held you."
"Your taste really is something..."
"What about my taste. A guy should have a little meat on him."
"Good grief."
I was so dumbfounded that a chuckle slipped out. So she really hadn't just randomly hooked up with the me who was over 100kg back then. Now that I thought about it, Areum had been calling me handsome right from the start, too.
'I thought she was just saying that.'
To think she'd actually meant it. I was once again reminded that there were truly all sorts of tastes in this world.
The light changed.
Areum chattered away. The customary duty of the person in the passenger seat was, after all, to keep the driver from getting bored.
Though, I hadn't meant for her to grab my attention like this...
"Kkangcheol-ah."
"Yeah?"
"Don't even think about fucking my little sister, got it?"
"Gack. What the hell kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?"
Was she trying to make me crash the car?
But Areum continued, her voice brimming with sincerity.
"I'm telling you, I think Ah-rin is interested in you."
"What are you talking about? We met for the first time today."
"We fucked the first day we met too, remember?"
"...I've got nothing to say to that."
It was truly ridiculous, but since it was true, I was at a loss for words. Still, I couldn't just stay quiet.
"Ah-rin's a minor. Do you really think I'd do anything with a high schooler?"
"So you're saying you'll fuck her once she's legal?!"
"How does the conversation even get there!?"
"Fuck. Anyway, don't even dream about it!"
"I wasn't dreaming about it, I said!"
What was with her, seriously.
In disbelief, I glanced over to the side. Areum averted her eyes slightly and said,
"Ah-rin's been coveting my stuff like crazy since forever. And I've mostly given in because I'm the older sister."
"..."
"Not this time. I'm not letting her take this. No one's taking what's mine. I'm telling you, he's mine."
My heart started beating faster at those words. Was she actually feeling jealous right now? Could she really be seriously into me...
"Kkangcheol is my dildo. I'm absolutely not giving him up."
"...Could you please, for the love of god, do something about how you categorize me."
There went the whole mood. I was almost resentful that my heart had fluttered for a moment.
When I spoke with clear displeasure, Areum nodded and rephrased.
"My most treasured, personal Living Dildo."
"...I mean, should I be happy that I got upgraded a tier? Or should I be pissed off?"
"You should be happy!"
"How can you say that like it's the most obvious thing in the world..."
A sigh escaped me. At the same time, a chuckle slipped out too. She was way, way too unguarded with me, but maybe this was why Areum was my closest friend.
'This is exactly why I ended up talking crudely too.'
Aside from that bastard Seong-hyeon, there was no one as easy to talk to as Areum. Whenever we talked, I just got swept up in her pace.
I asked the grumbling Areum a question.
"Are you two not on good terms?"
"Huh? No, it's not that... if anything, we're on pretty good terms."
"That's a relief. Anyway, me and Ah-rin... you're worrying over nothing. Ah-rin said something, you know. She asked me to take good care of her unni."
"...Ah-rin did?"
"Yeah. She said I'm your closest friend?"
"Gah. Why would you go and say something unnecessary like that!"
Her face flushed, apparently from embarrassment.
I giggled for a bit, then cleared my throat with a couple of ahems and spoke.
"So I told her that you're my closest friend too."
"...Uh-huh. Well, obviously you should."
Despite her nonchalant tone, the corners of her mouth kept twitching upward. Her legs swung as if her mood had improved. Transparent. So transparent.
But wait a second.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
'My personal dildo? Come to think of it, it's more like a communal dildo...'
How would Areum react if she found out I was also sleeping with other women? A cold sweat suddenly ran down my back.
'Hana and Seora nuna already know about my situation with women, but Areum...'
I hadn't singled Areum out or anything. The other two had already known without me telling them.
Ju Hana had said she heard about Areum from Saebyeok Nuna. And while she didn't know Seora nuna's identity, she knew there was one more person.
Meanwhile, Seora nuna had known about both Hana and Areum from the start. Hana and I had been caught in the act at the club room, and she'd witnessed me entering a hotel with Areum.
But Areum didn't know about the other two at all. Because I hadn't told her. The reason I hadn't said anything was that I felt I shouldn't go blabbing about who I was secretly sleeping with—
'Did I get that wrong? I thought it would be weird to bring it up since we're not dating.'
Somehow, it had ended up looking like I was deceiving Areum.
'No, but honestly, going around telling her every single person I've hooked up with seems genuinely bizarre too. Ah, fuck. I don't know.'
My head suddenly felt complicated.
It was while I was thinking about all sorts of things like that.
Something suddenly touched my thigh. It was Areum's hand.
Jumul-jumul.
The hand that had been kneading my thigh crept closer to the center.