The Jenga Bet
"Hey there~, Namhyuk~ You're home? What's up with coming back so early today?"
Jiyoung noona turned her head from the kitchen as I stepped inside, flashing me a bright smile.
She was stir-frying noodles in a pan, making the pasta she often cooked for herself.
As always, she wore a loose white t-shirt she liked to lounge around in at home, along with a pink headband.
And for bottoms... she had on absolutely nothing. That included panties, of course.
"...Ah, seriously, Noona. I've told you five hundred times to wear panties at home. My eyes are going to rot every time I look."
"Ah, sorry~ It's just so comfortable that I forgot again. Hehe, I'll put them on after I'm done~"
Jiyoung noona answered casually with a bashful little smile. She placed her hands on her hips, hummed a tune, and went right back to cooking.
Haa, what am I going to do with this hopeless person, really...
I let out a sigh, shook my head, and walked further into the apartment.
It was a small studio. The layout felt completely familiar. Of course it did. It was identical to my own place next door.
Jiyoung noona was my neighbor, the girl who lived right beside me.
She was also my senior at the same university. Not that she'd ever acted like a senior even once...
I sat down on the floor and stole a glance at Jiyoung noona's back while she cooked.
The first time I'd met this hopeless human currently humming and wiggling her bare butt had been five years ago.
I was a freshman back then, freshly arrived in Seoul from the countryside. Everything felt unfamiliar and frightening.
It seems ridiculous now, but at the time I was constantly on edge, convinced someone would jump me every night on my way home.
That particular evening, as I walked down a dark alley, I realized someone was actually following me from behind.
The footsteps trailed me all the way to my building. When I punched in the door code and stepped inside, the person quickly slipped in before the door could close.
By then my mind was racing through every horror story I'd read online, desperately trying to figure out how to beg for my life.
The footsteps followed me right up to my room door.
My heart hammered as I braced for the worst. Then, suddenly, a woman's voice spoke from the side.
"...Do you live here?"
Startled, I turned. There stood an objectively beautiful older woman, watching me with quiet politeness.
"...Yes. And you are...?"
"Ah, I live right next door."
She pointed at the unit beside mine. Only then did I realize I'd completely misunderstood the situation. I let out a massive sigh of relief.
The woman smiled softly at me, then walked calmly into her own apartment.
I thought that was the end of the funny little incident. But moments later her door burst open again and she called out to me.
"...Since we met like this, it must be fate. Could I have your number...?"
Yes. That was my first meeting with Jiyoung noona.
Afterward, I slowly learned more about her.
She was three years older than me. Same university, same department.
She loved staying home. She hated going outside.
A hardcore homebody, she almost never left the apartment unless absolutely necessary. Despite her striking looks, she'd never had a boyfriend. Romance simply didn't interest her.
To be honest, when I first saw her I definitely felt some attraction. But the more I learned about her personality, the more I let those feelings go.
Before long, the close neighbors and university sunbae-hoobae pair had become the best of friends.
Closer, even, than the childhood friends I'd known since elementary school.
That was because, at some point, dropping by her place after class every day had become my complete daily routine.
In fact, over the past few years I'd seen far more of Jiyoung noona than my own family. It wasn't strange that she sometimes felt like an actual older sister.
It seemed she felt the same way about me.
For a super-homebody like her, having me show up at her door every day after school made me a comfortable, convenient little brother and friend.
...But no matter how comfortable we were, not wearing panties was still a bit much, wasn't it...
Right on cue, Jiyoung noona carried over the finished pasta in the frying pan and set it down on the floor with a clunk.
"There. It's done, so help yourself."
"...Noona, I'm really grateful you always make enough for me when you cook dinner... but could you please start wearing panties...?"
"Tsk... It's comfortable like this, but you're always nagging..."
Noona pouted and grumbled. Then she turned around, squatted down, and began rummaging through her wardrobe for panties.
That presented me with a full, unobstructed view of her peach-shaped, bouncy backside. I felt my face heat up and quickly looked away.
After searching every corner of the wardrobe, she scratched her head.
"...Huh. I don't have any clean panties left. They must all be in the washing machine."
"...When was the last time you even ran the washing machine?"
"Um... maybe ten days ago...? Or was it two weeks ago?"
"....Ha... This place is a disaster..."
When I pressed a hand to my forehead, Jiyoung noona gave me her usual bright, sunny smile. I could only sigh again, even deeper this time.
Even a real sister wouldn't show off such an openly filthy side...
"Then I guess I'll just have to stay like this today. Hehe..."
"No... Ha... Fine. Whatever. I got it."
"Oh ye~ Hehe."
Jiyoung noona sat down beside me, giggling like she found something endlessly amusing.
The two of us sat facing each other and ate the pasta straight from the pan on the floor.
Every time I lowered my eyes to take a bite, I had a perfect view of Noona's bare lower half across from me. Focusing on the food proved impossible.
Jiyoung noona, completely unbothered, kept eating and smiling at me.
Once we'd finished, we sat leaning against the edge of the bed side by side.
I was scrolling mindlessly on my phone when Jiyoung noona suddenly stared at the ceiling and murmured with an unreadable smile.
"...Namhyuk~"
"Yeah? What?"
"...When I don't wear panties... how does it make you feel?"
"....?"
I turned to look at her profile, wondering where this sudden question had come from.
Why was she bringing this up again out of nowhere...
"...You probably hate it, right?"
"...If you already know that, why do you keep walking around without them? It's honestly gross..."
"Hehe, but it's so comfortable. Just accept it instead of trying to understand~"
"Ugh, the way you talk is so annoying..."
Noona looked at me and giggled again. I grumbled and added,
"Whatever. It's fine. I'm so used to it by now that it doesn't bother me anymore."
"...It really doesn't bother you?"
"Of course it does. But it's not some random girl. It's you, Noona... You're just... Noona."
Of course I knew that was nothing but an excuse.
No matter how sisterly our relationship felt, it couldn't possibly not affect me.
I knew it, but I kept pretending to be casual anyway.
Because Noona was now my one and only best friend.
If I admitted it bothered me, things might turn awkward between us again.
And I wanted to keep things just like this with her...
At that moment, Noona suddenly stood up and walked over to the shoe cabinet we used for storage. She rose onto her tiptoes and rummaged inside.
Finally she pulled out a square, pillar-shaped box.
"...Namhyuk~, wanna play a round of Jenga for old times' sake?"
"Oh, sure. Let's do it."
"Hehe. You remember the penalty, right? Loser has to grant the winner one wish. No matter what it is."
As a super-homebody, Noona was obsessed with board games you could play quietly indoors.
I loved them just as much, so we usually spent our free time playing all kinds of them.
We'd already mastered classics like Jenga ages ago, but for some reason she suddenly wanted to play it again today.
Noona carefully flipped the Jenga box upside down on the floor and slid the tower out.
A tall stack of square wooden blocks stood before us. She quickly pulled one from the middle and placed it neatly on top.
"Your turn."
"Yeah, hmm..."
The early game wasn't particularly difficult. The safest move was usually pulling the middle block from any three-block layer.
I smoothly removed one and set it on top.
Noona stretched her arms wide, as if the real game was only now beginning, then leaned her head in close to me, peering at the tower.
"Now~~ where~~ should I pull~~ to make it really good~~ here~~ or there~~~"
"Ugh, get your head out of the way..."
Why did she have to stick her face right in front of me to look? She could have searched from her own side.
Her hair kept brushing lightly against my lap, tickling me. I felt my face grow warm.
While I was distracted, Noona boldly pulled the rightmost block from the very bottom layer.
"Whew, that was hard... Hehe. Namhyuk~, you're in big trouble now."
I bit my lip and stared at the tower with a serious expression.
She had succeeded in a risky gamble, removing a bottom corner block. The tower was noticeably unstable now. But with two blocks still left on the bottom layer, it wasn't in immediate danger of falling.
...But what if I took it even further? If I removed the leftmost block from those two remaining bottom ones?
By the time it was her turn again, the tower would be extremely unstable. Her odds of winning would skyrocket.
I took a deep breath, tilted my head, and began carefully sliding out the bottom-left block with total concentration.
"Oh, you're really going for that one? You sure about this?"
"Just... be quiet for a second. I'm trying to focus..."
"Ebebe~ I'm gonna distract you~~"
Distract all you want. I was almost done... Just the very edge left...!
At that exact moment, Noona, still sitting across from me, slowly spread her legs.
Everything was suddenly on full display.
The color and shape of her most intimate skin, even the tiny beads of sweat glistening there.
My hand jerked violently. The tower collapsed with a loud clatter.
"Ah, aah...!"
"Oh ye~~ I win~~"
Jiyoung noona thrust both arms into the air and cheered.
I could only shake my head in disbelief. What the hell had I just seen...
After celebrating for a while, Noona finally lowered her hands.
"...Then, Namhyuk~. You have to grant my wish now."
"...Sigh. What is it?"
I answered curtly.
It would probably be the usual stuff. Do the laundry, wash the dishes, or run to the convenience store for beer. That's how it had always been.
I couldn't believe I'd made such a ridiculous mistake...
Then Noona looked at me, smiled, and leaned in to whisper in my ear.
"...Kiss me."
She tilted her head and pressed her lips against mine.
