The Time for Separation
"...Well? I don't know."
It wasn't just any request; I had asked him to stop having sex with Jiyoon, and his response was... "Well?" Did I really hear Woojin correctly? I’d rather believe I was suffering from a temporary auditory hallucination. No way. How could a person actually say that? It must be a hallucination. A misunderstanding. Usually, the answer here should be "I understand," right? So, I just stared at Woojin, blinking like an idiot.
"..."
He was wearing a slightly troubled expression.
"...What? 'Well'?"
"...Yes."
"No, how can you give an answer like that? To begin with, Jiyoon is... she's my sister."
Ah. I realized that when a person is truly flustered, they don't scream—they speak quietly. I stared at Woojin, stuffing that piece of information I didn't particularly want to know into the back of my mind. Is he crazy? Saying "well" to a request to stop means he intends to keep doing those lewd things with Jiyoon. What on earth does that mean? Even if, just hypothetically, he were to continue meeting Jiyoon behind my back, he should at least say "I understand" here and then meet her in secret. What kind of nerve... no, is he even human?
"Noona. I roughly understand how you feel, but..."
"...?"
"...How should I explain this? This..."
But Woojin's reaction was quite different from what I had expected. If he had acted shamelessly, asking why he couldn't have sex with Jiyoon too, I would have felt relieved enough to slap him across the face. Instead, he remained troubled. As if he were agonizing over whether he could really tell me this. He rubbed his lips.
"Why? What's the reason?"
"..."
In the end, I was the one who gave in first. When I asked him why he was acting that way, Woojin covered his face with one hand and let out a deep sigh. Right. Come to think of it, it *is* strange. He isn't crazy; he must have had a reason for that answer. Who in their right mind would say something like that? Well, for example, if Jiyoon had gotten a hold of Woojin's weakness...
"The thing is, Jiyoon... she..."
"..."
"...Likes me more than you'd think."
"..."
...So that was it. I didn't know if it was intentional, but she had used the weakness reserved for kind people: pity.
"...Noona."
"...I'm listening."
Perhaps my response had been too cold. He, who had shown a troubled expression since he first brought it up, let out a deep sigh and spoke.
"First of all... *sigh*... you already know that Jiyoon and I have... had sex behind your back."
"...Yeah."
"Jiyoon begged me to do it just once, promising to keep it a secret from you, so I had no choice but to..."
"I know that too. ...Roughly."
"And also..."
One by one. One by one. I swallowed my sighs as I heard what had happened with Jiyoon through Woojin's own mouth. Strangely, it was all information I already knew. To be precise, it was a fact I had deduced from Jiyoon's hair on Woojin's bed and various suspicious situations I had stored in my memory. Hearing it from his lips didn't make me feel any better. Instead, it just turned my suspicions into certainty.
...Ah, so Jiyoon really was the one who latched onto Woojin first. Her saying my taste was weird and that she wanted to watch us have sex once wasn't for my sake, but just Jiyoon's own selfish desire. And those times she left the house for a long time saying she was going to a PC bang with Woojin? She wasn't at a PC bang; she was at Woojin's place. The time I called her and asked why she was so late? It was right in the middle of her having sex with Woojin.
...No wonder Jiyoon would say weird things about being later than expected. No wonder she only came home at dawn. No wonder she would keep cutting off her sentences with awkward, gasping moans. No wonder Woojin would snatch the phone away and try to finish the call quickly while breathing strangely. Looking back, it was all so suspicious. It was true. Jiyoon was having sex with Woojin while answering my calls.
"So, what do you want to say to me?"
Finally, I looked straight into Woojin's face, keeping my voice as calm as possible. I know you feel pity for Jiyoon. I know, as I expected, that Jiyoon made the first move. But I still don't know what you're trying to tell me.
"Because Jiyoon likes you that much... you're saying you'll keep doing lewd things with her?"
"It's not so much that..."
"Not so much that? Then what?"
"I think Jiyoon needs some time."
"Time?"
"Yes. Time to... let go of her feelings for me and move on."
Time. ...Time for the sister who was hitting on my boyfriend behind my back to let go of her feelings. Time for the sister who even had sex with him. I let out a deep sigh at that and leaned my body against Woojin's desk to my right. I wasn't angry. No, honestly, I *was* angry, but it was still at a level I could control. It was just... how should I put it? I had the thought, 'I just want you to distance yourself from Jiyoon immediately.' And the suspicion, 'Does Woojin have feelings for Jiyoon too?' started to creep up. And then, 'Yeah, maybe giving her some time like Woojin said is better,' so I just kept sighing.
...I mean, where else would Jiyoon find a man she could feel romantic attraction to besides Woojin? She didn't even have any common male friends. If I hadn't started dating him first, it wouldn't be strange for Jiyoon to be with Woojin. Still, that's just a "Hmm, that could happen" kind of feeling. I *really* hate the idea of you and Jiyoon having sex...
"*Haaa...*"
I melted the orange candy Woojin had just given me and swallowed it, conceding just one step. If he starts slowly distancing himself from now on... OK. I'll be satisfied with that. ...I think I can hold out for at least one week, or maybe two if I really, really try.
"...Woojin."
"Yes."
"How much does Jiyoon like you?"
"...Well. It's a bit hard to express in words..."
"You don't need to be precise, just give me a rough feeling."
"..."
"Hurry."
"...Like, she keeps trying to hug me from behind."
"Jiyoon does that...? Ugh...?"
"She even sends me texts asking to go to the PC bang constantly since that last time..."
"...Crazy... No, *haaa*..."
That just means she wants to have sex with you. She acts so indifferent at home, yet she shows that side of herself in front of Woojin. While I was having nauseating delusions about what they were like when they were alone—Jiyoon hugging Woojin and rubbing her face against him, or Jiyoon whining about wanting to have sex—
"...Look."
"..."
Woojin turned on his phone screen and showed me his chat with Jiyoon. ...Jiyoon was the one begging to go to the PC bang. It wasn't a lie; it was real.
"...Jiyoon writes such long messages when she texts you."
"..."
"She only gives me one-word answers. Often just initials, too."
"..."
"...Crazy bitch. Seriously..."
On the other hand, seeing Woojin's replies, where he made various excuses to refuse her despite her begging, made me feel a bit relieved. It didn't mean he was cheating on me with Jiyoon behind my back; it meant he was truly being dragged along by Jiyoon's stubbornness. In contrast, Jiyoon was... no, forget it. I don't like that she sent those texts so carefully just to have sex with Woojin behind my back, but it wouldn't make sense for her to show it to me openly... As I kept sighing about my sister, Woojin spoke up cautiously.
"Noona. I know this is wrong, too..."
"...Wait. I understand what you're saying, so just a moment..."
He told me I was a pervert for only liking intense things, but he... is he into that? NTR? Anyway, he must have some weird fetish. If I teased Jiyoon with this, would she have a seizure? Would he say he had no choice? That he's not a pervert like her sister? I grumbled for a moment, unable to lean back properly on the backless chair. I glanced at the infirmary door once, then started whispering just in case.
"...I get it for now. That you need some time."
"..."
"But, a condition."
"...What kind of condition?"
"One week. No, two weeks. I'll give you exactly two weeks."
"..."
"Meeting Jiyoon is only until then. ...I can't concede any more than that."
"...Yes. I'll try to persuade her well."
"And one more thing."
There was one person who didn't want to see Woojin meeting Jiyoon anymore. One person who would probably want to have sex with Woojin without caring about my feelings at all. One person who was only hanging out with Jiyoon because she was pitiful. I couldn't find a solution that everyone would happily accept, but there was one way that everyone could uncomfortably agree to.
"...Don't meet Jiyoon behind my back."
"Ah, I was going to tell you whenever I met Jiyoon anyway..."
"No, no. That's not what I mean..."
"..."
"Don't go to your place and have sex with Jiyoon behind my back..."
It's uncomfortable because we'd be watching each other, there'd be more to clean up, and... the soundproofing is bad so I'd hear everything. It's very, um, perverted. But anyway, it's the most honest way for us, and the one most advantageous to me.
"...Just come to my place instead. So I can know exactly how much you and Jiyoon have done."
I whispered that and continued, stuffing both hands into the pockets of my fleece jacket.
"Because you have to do it with me... more than you did with Jiyoon."
"..."
"...Why are you looking at me like that? Did you think you were only going to do it with Jiyoon for two weeks?"
"...No, that's..."
"If I only hear Jiyoon's moans at home, it really sounds like she's your girlfriend. You idiot. ...What does that make me, listening to it..."
"..."
"Ah, anyway, uh, I'll... I'll tell Jiyoon."
"..."
"...Do you hate it?"
"...No."
After that, it took less than 30 seconds for a reply to come via text, in Jiyoon's characteristic, reluctant tone: "I understand."