Behind Her Sister's Back (3)

The date was a pleasant one.

"If Noona offers to go Dutch first, turn her down exactly once. Something like, I'll cover all of it…?"

"Turn her down once? Not just go along quietly?"

"You never know. Maybe deep down she likes it when a younger guy takes the lead."

"Hmm…."

It began with his conversation with Lee Jiyoon, who was talking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her heart out — perhaps uneasy about the two of them wandering around alone —

"Oh, and that doesn't mean you should go bragging about money either. Noona hates people who spend recklessly, so just the right amount."

— and continued into advice that was, surprisingly, rather serious.

"Then shall we practice? …Ahem, ahem."

There was the awkwardness of her, still unable to drop the honorifics, forcing out a Woojin while pretending to be her own sister. And when he received it warmly, there was the sight of her clenching her fists, cringing so hard she declared it absolutely impossible, and giving up.

When they reached the tteokbokki shop and he suggested they grab a simple meal, there were her footsteps hastily veering away — what's he going to decide he likes this time. There was walking half a step apart through the bustling downtown, dyed red in the evening glow.

And then.

"……."

"……."

There was the brief stretch of time standing side by side with Lee Jiyoon, just the two of them, in front of an empty crosswalk. …The two of them staring holes into the clocks on their phones without a word between them. And the moment the light turned green, the back of her as she bolted — too busy being conscious of him right beside her to do anything else.

"This is the closest spot to home. The path isn't particularly hard, right?"

"I didn't know there was a place like this around here."

Even now, walking the trail of the neighborhood park alongside Lee Jiyoon, her khaki jumper drawn tight against the chill.

Because he was getting to peek at so many small, ordinary sides of Lee Jiyoon that he had never known before the regression.

"Unless you live nearby, there's no way you'd know it. I only know because cutting through here is the fastest way when I head to work."

A hero who hadn't so much as glanced at the one-sided devotion of her fan club. Lee Jiyoon.

The Lee Jiyoon before his eyes now was a little softer than that. She was only the pre-hero Lee Jiyoon who would have walked her high school graduation a few days ago.

She could hold a conversation with a man, and she knew how to blush ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— answering cringeworthy behavior with exaggerated reactions.

…A side of Lee Jiyoon that even the fans going wild with their cannon-sized cameras could never have seen. And in this situation, monopolizing all of it for himself alone, a smile kept trying to slip out.

Their relationship was still awkward enough that they carefully tacked honorifics onto every sentence, but if he kept at it, surely a day would come when she called his name over and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over in that calm voice of hers.

Beneath him.

On the bed.

In whispers.

Behind her sister's back.

Together with her sister.

"Noona likes walking, so she'll probably like taking walks together like this too."

"…I hate walking. Looks like I'll have to match Noona on this one."

"People don't usually like walking, do they? You're the normal one, Woojin-ssi. That Lee Hayun is the weird one. Seriously, like some kind of dog…."

Lee Jiyoon, grumbling, lightly dissing her sister. Just as it had been back at the café a little while ago, it wasn't the feeling of her grinding her teeth and tearing Lee Hayun down out of I hate you. It was only the feeling of her bluntly tossing out, without filter, the things that bothered her.

It didn't feel like they were tremendously close, but it didn't particularly feel like they got along badly either — an ambiguous sort of relationship. Well, aren't siblings usually all like that. The feeling of I can badmouth her, but only I get to.

Anyway.

Whether the two of them were close or not, it didn't particularly matter to him. The method of approach would change, but that wasn't important.

Did it turn him on?

Yes.

If the sisters were close, it was hot in the way of them doing something bad without the other knowing; if their relationship was bad, it was hot in its own way. A little sister who, out of jealousy and envy, seduces her older sister's boyfriend behind her back and goes all the way to the end.

Fucking hot, isn't it.

Of course, the odds of the current Lee Jiyoon doing any such thing out of jealousy were past zero and closing in on negative. The emotion he needed in order to carry this relationship with Lee Jiyoon forward wasn't jealousy. It wasn't as if Lee Jiyoon got along badly with her sister, and that road was far too long to walk.

The place he needed to wedge himself into was a gap.

In other words—

"Mm…. Still, I feel like walking like this might be a healthier hobby than just playing games…."

"Y-yes?"

Lee Jiyoon's hobby. Games. A subject the two of them, Lee Hayun and Lee Jiyoon, probably never brought up when they talked to each other. He gave it a deliberate little scratch. The promised thirty minutes was nearly up anyway…. According to Lee Hayun, Lee Jiyoon — whose entire life was being a shut-in gamer — would have no choice but to jump.

"Just kidding. I remembered you with a headset on when I stopped by the house last time."

"…So then, what's your hobby, Seo Woojin-ssi?"

"My hobby?"

"Yes. You'd have a much healthier hobby than something vulgar like games, wouldn't you? What, golf? Horseback riding?"

Even after he tacked on that it was a joke, the reaction that came back made it plain she'd been thoroughly provoked. He hadn't expected her to be this honest with her feelings. Was she only ever serious about games? He looked down for a moment at the pouty face whose poker face had shattered completely, then handed back the answer he'd prepared.

"Let's see. Mm…. Watching the news? Movies?"

"Ugh…. What are you, some old man…."

"Other than that, there's nothing I'd particularly call a hobby."

"You don't play games at all? Guys all like games. Even when they get together, every single thing they talk about is game YouTubers or games."

Good.

Here it comes.

"Sometimes. I'm not good at them."

"What games do you play?"

"Mostly FPS…. You know, shooting games."

"Oh, really?"

"There's nothing better for playing casually."

"Which one? Valo? Warzone? Ah, no. Those take forever per match…. Overwatch? …Apex?"

"The last one."

"Huh? W-wait?"

All he'd done was spit out what Lee Hayun had told him, and at once Lee Jiyoon pardoned him for the crime of insulting games. His eyes met the faint, faint smile visible beneath the pitch-black ball cap.

"Really? What's your rank? Your level? Did you buy the battle pass? This season's skin is at least…."

"My level's too low, so I can't play ranked."

"Ah. A n-newbie, huh. Well, you did say you only play sometimes…."

He didn't need to be good at games. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He didn't need to play them seriously. He only needed to be able to hold a simple conversation with Lee Jiyoon. All he required was the bare minimum of information.

…Which was why he'd skimmed a few well-known wikis and some YouTube beforehand. School hadn't started yet, so he had time to spare.

"…If you're a newbie, games probably aren't any fun for you. That one's stagnant as it is, too."

"It's decent enough. I'm not getting first place, though."

"Mmm…. What kind of characters do you mainly play? When you're a newbie, it's better to play the chubby-looking ones."

"Is that so? I'll keep it in mind."

"Personally I think the mousepad matters more than the mouse, so you should definitely switch, and also fundamentals over looking cool…."

"Aha. Got it."

"That…. Mm…."

Lee Jiyoon, talking about three times faster than she had during the "date advice" a little while ago. When he answered her in a dazed sort of way, the expression that had brightened a shade froze for a moment.

"S-sorry. I got excited all by myself…."

"It's fine. I was listening with some interest."

"That…. It's a dead game, after all…. When I see a newbie I get all worked up and want to teach them even one more thing, so…."

"You don't need to worry about it. It was all helpful."

"…Really?"

"I just like the nimble ones, so I played characters that zip around, but next time I'll try a tankier character. Keep at it and I'll hit first place someday, I guess."

"Th… then…."

Scratching the nape of her neck, awkward and hesitant, Lee Jiyoon fumbled her phone out of her pocket. Then she typed something out tap-tap-tap and thrust it in front of his eyes.

"This is my main account name, so if there's anything you don't know, it's fine to friend me and ask."

So that meant she even had an alt. He swallowed the question that had suddenly occurred to him and looked at the phone screen.

…He'd heard there were women who deliberately built masculine nicknames, but she didn't seem particularly interested in that sort of thing. Maybe it was because men used the name Jiyoon often enough too.

"If I end up playing sometime, I'll ask."

"You can really ask anything. This is thanks for the treatment, too…."

At this rate he was actually going to have to play the game. The truth was he didn't even have an account, let alone a download. Well, it didn't matter. It was an investment for Lee Jiyoon.

Both hands shoved into her jumper pockets, Lee Jiyoon started walking ahead again. He followed behind her, talked with her for about thirty minutes more, and then they parted.

Of course, the conversation was packed to the brim with nothing but games.

"Do some damn work, you piece of shit."

"Yeah……."

"Don't just answer so eagerly. If you listen to the money man, the sponsorship keeps coming, doesn't it. Turning jobs down because they seem too hard — once or twice is plenty."

"Yeah……."

"Ah, fuck…. Anyway, I picked out a few things here you can actually do…."

"……."

"At least pretend you're listening…!"

"Yeah……."

Sprawled across the long sofa as if it were a bed, Yozora was staring holes into her phone screen. She wished Seo Woojin would send just a few more messages. The conversation had been cut off at an extremely delicate point.

That single line was the end of it. Honestly speaking, it was a long way from the image of Master she had longed for back in her middle-school and high-school days. Which was only natural — she had assumed that once she was caught by a perverted brute, she would be raped at least five times a day, every single day.

Could it be that he didn't like her figure? That couldn't be it — hadn't he cum his fill from a single paizuri alone. So much of it that it caught sticky in her throat and she couldn't even swallow it all. Splurt, splurt.

And so Yozora was sunk in thought. Part of her wanted to deliberately ignore the order, show up, and make Seo Woojin angry — and yet, what if that meant breaking up with the ideal type she had finally found after all these years…. Caught between the two.

Mmm.

Difficult. So difficult.

Still, if she waited quietly for two or three days, wouldn't he blackmail her with the photos and call her over? She only had to hold out a little and think positively. If she let herself be raped as erotically as possible when that time came, he would fuck her plenty from then on.

"You. You still moping over that Seo Woojin kid?"

Right on cue, Kwon Namho's voice came from beyond the sofa. Matching it, Yozora set her phone down gently on her chest and answered, listless.

"Nooo…? I gave up…. What am I supposed to do when he says he doesn't want me…."

"Good. Give it up already. From what I hear, he went and attached himself to the hero side."

"……?"

What was that supposed to mean. Yozora rose slowly from the sofa, her gaze turning toward Kwon Namho.

"The hero side…?"

"Word is he got into Miren Academy. As the infirmary teacher."

"Eh……."

"There's a girl from Most Wanted in there, you know. One you know too. She heard it. A Healing-type Transcendent enrolled, and his name is Seo Woojin."

"……."

"Anyway, do some work. I'll split some booze with you, seeing as how hard you've had it."

"Oh, for real…?"

"Not the Hibiki."

"…Hmph……."

A hero.

A hero, he said.

…Then if she kept her mouth shut and let Seo Woojin fuck her just like this, would that make her a villain getting fucked after being caught by a hero? Photos of her taken, so humiliating she couldn't even resist properly, and then plap, plap….

…Hehe.

"Here. I wrote down the things you can handle right now, so read them. A little."

"Yeah, yeah…. Since you're giving me booze toooo…. Where is iiit…."

Flopping back down onto the sofa, Yozora flipped through the papers with a rustle. She had been about to fish out the phone that had gotten wedged into the corner of the sofa while she moved — but only for a moment, before her gaze snagged hard on the "request" written along one side of the page.

"…Who asked for this one…?"

"What, which one. You say it like that, how the hell am I supposed to know."

"This one…. Third from the end…."

"Ah, that one."

"Where was it. Some second son of a famous metals conglomerate, I think."

"……."

"They call it isolation, but the brother and that daughter of his are both rotten little shits, so they want them wrecked however we see fit. The rate's pretty high, too."

"……."

"What? You gonna take it?"

"……Yeah."