The Truth in Wine
In vino veritas. The truth one blurts out because they’re drunk, the sincerity they couldn't voice while sober. That was the only thing I was aiming for.
…Was it that I’d get annoyed because I’d almost certainly pass out first if I drank alone with him? Jiyoon, my first target, had slipped into her room using that very excuse. So, I’d settle for Woojin, who had thrown those meaningful words at me earlier. Just to confirm. Nothing more, nothing less, just confirmation. So I wouldn't have to keep thinking these foolish thoughts. Just to confirm.
"Because of you, I ended up asking Jiyoon something weird…!"
"I'm sorry. You brought it up so suddenly, I got a little confused too."
"Ugh…. …Oh, right. I didn't think about snacks…."
"It's fine. It's not like we're drinking anything too strong, and if we really need something, we can just get delivery."
"Isn't it a bit expensive to order delivery just for a snack…?"
"Don't worry about it. If I do order, I'll pick something cheap."
"Hmm…."
"Should I order? Or not?"
"…Just order something cheap."
"Then I'll just meet the minimum delivery fee. What do you want to eat?"
"I want…. Rolled omelet and…."
If I counted correctly, this was the third time. I’d stepped into a space where a man lived alone, and I busied myself lining up the beer cans. Even so, my gaze didn't stay on the cans; it swept across Woojin's entire apartment. Should I call it "appropriately lived-in"? Or would it be better to say he lives quite cleanly for a guy?
The bedding, completely unmade. The bathroom door, left slightly ajar because it wasn't closed properly. An empty water bottle sitting lonely on the table. In the landscape of Woojin’s life that I scanned while lining up the beer cans, there were no strange traces. …For example, things that would be awkward to find in Woojin’s place. Lipstick, foundation. Well, things like that.
"…."
Come to think of it, Jiyoon doesn't use cosmetics, so why would she leave something like that behind? Realizing the truth belatedly, I tilted my head and rolled my brain around. What are the chances Jiyoon might have accidentally left something behind at someone else's house…. …. …I don't, I don't think there is anything. A phone? A wallet? No. If she’d left something like that, she would have come back to get it already…. Ah, should I look for a long hair, at least? Since it’s white, it would be easy to spot.
"Since we're at it, should we just call Jiyoon over to drink with us?"
"W-what?"
"You passed out after just one can last time. I thought maybe the amount was a bit much for you."
"Th-that time, I was just pretending to pass out…. And the reason I didn't call Jiyoon was, well…."
"…."
"…You know why. Why I came alone…."
"…Still, just drink one can. I'll take care of the other five."
"…Okay."
…Thank goodness. He took it as something lewd. If you drink them all by yourself and get wasted, Woojin, that’s good for me. I smiled brightly, trying to look as natural as possible, and sat down on Woojin's bed for a moment. At first glance, there wasn't a single hair to be seen. Not Jiyoon’s snow-white hair, and not even a single strand of Woojin’s jet-black hair.
Actually, that was to be expected. At first, I hid that we were dating because Jiyoon seemed to strangely dislike Woojin…. But by now, she’s known for a long time, right? And in the middle of all that, she’d do something weird with her sister’s boyfriend? Nah. That’s impossible. Even if Jiyoon has a bit of a sharp tongue, she’s not the type to do bad things behind my back.
"…."
She’s not that type. While I was thinking that and resting my hand on the bedsheet, something caught on my finger. …That distinct, coiling feeling of a strand of hair. Hahaha. The guy’s hair is a bit long. Maybe a thread came loose from the quilt? I held my breath for a moment and turned my gaze, and I saw a strand of hair glittering under the fluorescent light.
"…Eh."
A snow-white hair, one that couldn't possibly belong to Seo Woojin. Just one strand.
It was too shiny to be jet-black hair. Even under the fluorescent light, how could it shine white from tip to tip like that? This is just…. It’s 100% white hair.
"…."
Strangely, I didn't even feel anger. Confusion was far greater. It was more like, *Why is this actually here?* Just because I didn't know. Because it was the first time I’d heard Jiyoon say someone was "handsome." It was the first time Jiyoon had a male friend, the first time she’d come home late at night to hang out with such a friend, and the first time a kid who always played games in her room had come home past 1 AM. I’d only checked on a whim, thinking *maybe*.
Why is this here?
"…."
I glanced at Woojin, who was still ordering on his phone, and carefully placed the hair wrapped around my finger onto my palm. I don't know for sure yet. It could just be one of those common gray hairs.
"……."
I would have thought that, if the hair hadn't stretched across my entire palm and still had length to spare.
"Noona. I finished ordering."
"Oh! Uh, *ack*…, you finished, ordering. Yeah…."
"…Why are you so surprised? I didn't do anything."
"Y-you suddenly appeared in front of me. Jeez…."
"…Ah. Come to think of it, you haven't washed up yet."
"…."
"I'm sorry. Do I smell like sweat?"
"A, a little…."
My boyfriend’s room. My boyfriend’s bed. A hair the same color, and even the same length, as my younger sister’s, found right there. Every time I chewed over those words, my heart began to pound wildly. How should I react to this? Should I get angry first? …Well. Even if I wonder *why*, I haven't reached the point of thinking, *You bad bastard!* yet. Is it because my brain hasn't caught up with the situation yet? Ah, should I just ask him what this is? No. There’s no need to ask, is there? Because it’s obviously Jiyoon’s hair, since it’s not anyone else’s. It’s hair I’ve seen countless times while vacuuming.
…But pretending I didn't see it and letting it slide would be even weirder. What should I do?
"Maybe it would be better to wash up quickly before the delivery comes…."
"…."
"Noona?"
"…."
I hid the evidence deep in the pocket of my dolphin shorts and tried to think about what was going on as coldly as possible. If, just if, Woojin and Jiyoon had done something weird. They might have just played rock-paper-scissors on the bed and parted ways, but anyway. …If so, how did it end up like that? Jiyoon knows Woojin is my boyfriend, and Woojin knows Jiyoon is my sister. Why? How?
"Noona?"
"…Ah?"
"Are you okay? You’ve been staring blankly for a while now."
"I-I'm fine. Just, um…, …maybe I'm just nervous? Hehe…."
Pretending I came here to do something lewd using alcohol as an excuse. Pretending that’s all I have on my mind. While I was playing dumb and fiddling with my fingers, Woojin laughed awkwardly and headed to the bathroom, saying he’d wash up quickly. At the same time, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and collapsed onto the bed.
I didn't want to use the easy word "cheating." If I had picked up the hair of a total stranger, I wouldn't have had to worry like this; I would have just growled and interrogated him about whether he was cheating behind my back. But the woman who was likely lying on this bed was Jiyoon, right?
"……Ha…."
Not some ridiculous misunderstanding like lesbianism, but what if Jiyoon just had a fair amount of affection for Woojin? Once my thoughts reached that point, a lot of situations started to fit, and a dry laugh escaped me. I remembered Jiyoon, who had asked to watch while I was having sex with Woojin, using the excuse that my tastes were weird. I remembered Jiyoon, who had followed us around without complaint when I said we should go shopping with Woojin to buy some clothes. I remembered Jiyoon, who had started working hard on chores as if she felt guilty about something from a certain day on. I remembered Jiyoon, whom I often ran into at the infirmary even though she didn't really have any reason to get hurt.
…As if she were nursing a one-sided love. As if that one-sided love had actually come true.
"…Jiyoon went first, I guess…."
Come to think of it, that makes sense. Would Woojin have touched Jiyoon while he was dating me? And would Jiyoon have accepted it if her sister’s boyfriend confessed to her? Probably…, …Jiyoon must have been suffering and confessed to Woojin behind my back. If Jiyoon really was the one to confess her feelings first, it would have been hard for Woojin to turn her down coldly.
"…."
Thinking about it this way, the nauseating feeling in my gut faded a little. I know Jiyoon doesn't have any friends other than herself, and if I drifted apart from her, how would I even look at her face? Maybe they even kissed, or did more. Sex…, …well. Even though Jiyoon’s hair is on the bed, well. Since she asked to watch while I was doing it with Woojin, maybe they didn't go that far? Asking to watch from the side could have just been because she wanted to see Woojin’s naked body, right? …Ah, right. Woojin said that too. That he didn't really care about showing it. Hahaha. I guess he knew Jiyoon’s heart from even before that. That’s why he gave me such a strange answer.
"…."
The hair being on the bed…, …. …They really must have just sat here and played rock-paper-scissors.
"Ugh…."
Woojin sitting comfortably on the bed. Jiyoon kneeling demurely in front of him, not playing rock-paper-scissors, but licking his cock diligently. I shook my head to clear away that imagination. Woojin grabbing Jiyoon’s snow-white thighs and rubbing his cock against her slit. Jiyoon, who usually showed a relaxed attitude, lying on the bed, tense. …The sticky, squelching sounds that followed. *I like you, I like you*—words Jiyoon would never say, words that didn't suit Jiyoon at all. I shook my head to clear away that imagination, too.
"Those two…."
For a hair to be left on the bed, it means they did something here. It means Jiyoon laid a hand on Woojin. It means that even if Woojin refused at first, he eventually went along with it.
…So, *hiss*.
I sat quietly in front of the low table where we’d lined up the beer cans earlier, and before Woojin even came out of the bathroom, I grabbed a beer can. …Ah, I’m not doing this because I’m pissed off about Jiyoon’s private life….
"……."
…Right. I’m pissed off. I’m pissed off that she secretly did bad things with my boyfriend. I’m going to leave a few jet-black, long hairs before you come here again. All over the house. In every corner. …And on Woojin, too. Like a puppy marking its territory. Thoroughly.