Sis, You Look So Pretty Today
My sister and I returned home late in the evening.
Even on the way back, she clung tightly to my arm the entire time. We were chatting happily when suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her, she raised a finger and said,
"...Ah! Namhyuk-sseu, I'm going to that workout club tomorrow."
"Huh? Tomorrow's Sunday. What club meets on a Sunday?"
"I don't know, it's already so annoying-sseu... ugh."
She slumped her whole body down as if she already dreaded going and let out a deep sigh. I chuckled and shook my head.
"Do you really have to go? If you don't want to, just don't."
"Uu... but it's the first day, so I feel like I should... haa."
...Even though she'd been like this since the day before, for a super homebody like her, this level of determination was practically a miracle.
And the reason she was forcing herself to show this much willpower was purely because of me.
Every time I remembered that fact, my heart fluttered so hard it felt like it might drop. I felt my face heat up a little, cleared my throat, and said as we stood in front of the house,
"...It's late today, so I'm just gonna head in and rest. You should do the same, sis."
"Ah... okay, let's do that then."
"See you tomorrow, sis."
"Yessu, byeeee~"
She slowly unraveled her arm from mine with a reluctant look and waved. The moment she let go of the arm she'd been holding all day, I felt a strange emptiness, like one side of me had suddenly fallen off.
I waved back and was about to turn around and go inside when I suddenly stopped, spun back toward her.
"Sis."
She stood in front of her door with a puzzled expression. I smiled and finally said the words I'd been holding back.
"You look really pretty today, sis."
Her playful face instantly flushed bright red. She shrank into herself and mumbled,
"Uh... th-th-thank you-sseu..."
"Let's hang out again sometime, sis."
"Y-yes-sseu..."
She kept pretending to fix her hair, desperately trying to hide her reddened face. The sight was so unbearably cute that I had to fight the urge to pull her into a tight hug.
"See you tomorrow then!"
"...S-see you tomorrow..."
She kept her head down and mumbled her goodbye. I turned around and walked into the house feeling much lighter.
Once I was lying in bed, I spent a long time smiling at the photos of her I'd taken that day on my phone.
"...She's so pretty."
Then it occurred to me that I should send her the pictures too, so I sent a couple through KakaoTalk.
She replied almost immediately.
[Ahminalheoiajrl]
[Maningheomiaerdiamjly]
[Delete it right now]
[Lmao why are you like this]
[I don't wanna]
After thinking for about a minute, she replied again.
[Ew]
[You look like such a creep ㅠ]
[For real lmao]
[Nope, I'm never deleting it~]
She thought for another minute before replying.
[What are you gonna do with my pictures ㅠ]
This time I thought for a moment before answering.
[So I can look at them when I miss you]
She didn't reply for nearly ten minutes after that.
Hmm... was that line too much...? Maybe it was too heavy for her...
I felt my face grow warm and scratched my head.
Finally, she responded.
[Look at them when you're sleepy]
[It'll wake you up from laughing so hard]
I snorted and sent one last reply before tossing my phone onto the bed and heading to wash up.
[Lmao for real]
[Gonna look at them every night before bed]
After I finished showering, a deleted KakaoTalk message from her was waiting. While drying my hair, I replied.
[?]
[What did you send]
She must have been showering too because she didn't read it for almost an hour. She finally replied right before going to sleep.
[Nn it's nothing]
[What's nothing]
[Just tell me already]
[I'm curious]
[Nn no]
[?]
[You're not sleeping until you tell me?]
[Ew]
[Just say it]
...What the hell did she send that she's trying so hard to hide? I started feeling a little anxious and stared at my phone, restlessly tapping my leg.
Maybe she said something about today that upset her and then deleted it...? Hmm, the thing that happened in the elevator does feel a bit risky...
Ugh, why couldn't she just say it instead of hiding it and making me anxious...
While I was caught up in those worries, she finally sent a slow reply.
[I just]
[I wanna take pictures of you too]
[That's what I sent]
Reading her message, I finally relaxed and let out a small laugh. The anxiety vanished completely, replaced by a ticklish, fluttering feeling.
[Lmao]
[Take some next time]
[Is that okay?]
[Yup]
[Let's do it next time]
A short while later, she sent a brief reply.
[H]
After that, she didn't send any more messages. I figured she must have been tired and fallen asleep, so I chuckled, tossed my phone aside, and slowly closed my eyes.
Then, deep in the early morning, my phone buzzed briefly. When I glanced at the screen, there was one message she'd sent without sleeping.
[You looked really handsome today too]
She quickly deleted it. She probably thought I wouldn't see it if I was already asleep.
I remembered the embarrassed look on her face when I'd told her she looked really pretty today.
Seriously, what a strange girl. She gets shy about something like that but has no problem walking around without panties in front of me...
I smiled, eyes half-lidded, and took one more look at her photo before falling back into a light, fluttering sleep with my heart still racing.
***
Jiyoung rubbed her tired eyes and forced herself to sit up in bed early that morning. Of course, the only thing she had on was a single faded yellow short-sleeve t-shirt she used as pajamas.
"Ugh... ughhh..... just kill me...."
She flopped face-down on the bed in a cat-like stretch and let out a miserable groan.
For someone whose average wake-up time was 1 p.m., opening her eyes this early was something that almost never happened. And on a Sunday morning, no less.
To make matters worse, she even had to go out early. This was easily one of the most painful Sundays of her entire life.
"Uu... don't wanna... don't wanna...."
She wriggled around on the bed like a caterpillar for nearly thirty minutes before finally crawling out and staggering toward the bathroom.
After taking a hot shower for over thirty minutes to wake herself up, she started sluggishly getting ready to go out.
Once her hair was dry, she put on some light basic makeup and slipped into the leggings and sports bra top she'd bought yesterday.
Before putting on the leggings, she put on panties without a second thought and pulled the leggings over them.
"...I really need to buy some thongs... these lines are way too visible..."
She grumbled to herself while looking at her reflection, the panty lines clearly showing on her butt. Then she checked the time, yanked a cap down over her head, and hurried out of the house.
After wandering around lost for a while even while using Naver Maps, Jiyoung finally arrived at the small basement gym. She hesitated before cautiously walking down the gloomy stairs.
...What the hell, why does this place feel so creepy...? I'm not gonna get kidnapped and have my organs sold, right...?
She agonized right up until she opened the door. Just in case, she had her phone out with Namhyuk's number already dialed before she carefully pushed the door open.
Thankfully, the inside looked like a normal gym. The strong smell of sweat hit her immediately, making her scrunch up her face.
At that moment, a woman near the entrance jumped to her feet and came over with a bright greeting.
"Oh my, I don't think I've seen you before~? Nice to meet you. Is this your first time at our club?"
"Um... yes...."
Jiyoung answered in a tiny, shrinking voice. It had been a long time since she'd spoken to anyone other than Namhyuk.
The woman, who had bleached blonde hair, smiled brightly and led her inside.
"I'm Kim Sehee. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"
"Park... Jiyoung...."
"Ahaha, don't be so nervous. No one's gonna eat you. Should we go tell the club president that you're here?"
"Yes, yes...."
"Wow, but your skin is seriously amazing. What shop do you go to?"
"Ah... th-thank you...."
"Wait, hold on—your nails are so pretty? Do you get them done? But honestly, you shouldn't grow them this long if you're working out. You might hurt yourself. Next time, can you trim them a bit shorter? Hoho..."
"Ah, yes, yes...."
The woman named Sehee, who never stopped talking for even a second, seemed like a natural-born social butterfly.
If you plotted people's personalities on a coordinate plane, she would be sitting at the exact opposite point from Jiyoung with the origin in the center.
Completely drained by Sehee's energy, Jiyoung finally made it to the small women's changing room inside.
A few female members were changing or looking at their phones. Sehee walked straight up to the one girl who gave off the strongest aura and spoke energetically.
"Hyejung! Fresh meat's here, say hi!"
The girl in the very back—who had a cute face but an impressively toned, athletic body—lifted her head. She looked at Jiyoung and gave a casual greeting.
"Ah, hello. You're the one who DMed me a few days ago, right? Your name was... Park Jiyoung?"
"Y-yes, that's me...."
"Nice to meet you, Jiyoung. I'm Kim Hyejung, the president of this club. Let's work hard together from now on."
"Yes, yes...."
Hyejung gave her a polite but businesslike smile, bowed slightly, and walked right past her.
Jiyoung stood there, tense and trembling as she watched Hyejung's back. Sehee came over, patted her on the shoulder, and laughed.
"Ahaha... she's always been a bit of a bitch, so just bear with her. Anyway, how old are you...?"
"Ah, I'm '99...."
"Whoa! Wait, you're my older sister? Wow, I thought you were younger... sorry if that was rude. But seriously, you look so young. I'm so jealous.... I'm born in '02. Wanna follow each other on Insta?"
"Ah, um... yes, yes..."
Thanks to Sehee's nonstop chatter, Jiyoung's mind was already completely fried before the actual workout even began.
