Simple Plan
The plan was straightforward. The day after stuffing ourselves with meat, I took Gyeo-ul out on a date. It wasn't some dramatic performance or anything grand. I just dragged her out under the pretense of wanting to talk with my little sister, and by the time we got back, we were both just sighing heavily. When Mom asked what was wrong, we'd give formal replies like, "It just... worked out somehow," and acted like we'd both just broken up with our lovers. Me? I was already like that anyway. Gyeo-ul didn't even need to fake it much. She just stopped our nightly calls for a bit and holed up in her room pretending to study for assignments and exams. We couldn't show affection at home anyway.
⋯Whether she stopped masturbating too, I don't know, but I held out for about a week. The result?
"⋯Daughter. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. ⋯I'm good, Mom."
"⋯Alright."
Mom started worrying. Of course she did—both her kids were moping around. ⋯But even if Gyeo-ul had been her usual lively self, wouldn't Mom have worried anyway? She'd already caught her with the sexy clothes and lingerie. It was better for her to look down than to be all giddy over a boyfriend she couldn't even introduce properly.
⋯Thinking that way eased my mind a bit. The guilt hadn't vanished, though.
After about a week of laying low like that, we went back to being the close siblings we were.
"Hey, you're heavy. Get off."
"No way."
We're siblings, after all. So even if Gyeo-ul was lying there with her head on my thigh like now, Mom wouldn't bat an eye. She'd even hugged me once and gotten caught, but Mom just thought it was comforting each other. As long as we didn't show anything blatantly sexual, it was fine no matter how affectionate we got. Suspiciously close siblings. We harbored feelings beyond that, sure, but we never crossed the line.
⋯Even if it wasn't the truth, that was the image we planned to project to Mom.
"Our daughter, stop bothering your brother and come help Mom. Didn't you want to learn cooking?"
"Gyeo-ul, you heard her? Move quick. My thigh hurts."
"⋯Tch."
"Did you just click your tongue?"
"Who knows~?"
Mom didn't seem too bothered either. Or maybe she was just relieved Gyeo-ul had perked up. One thing was clear—her trust in her son had never been higher. That trust weighed heavy. Her love did too.
⋯Everything was going well.
"Our little girl's knife skills have improved, huh?"
"Psh, whose daughter is she? She picks it up fast."
Only Mom and I could comfort Gyeo-ul like that. She only relied on us. And⋯ Gyeo-ul had terrible taste in guys. It was obvious even without her saying it outright. She left birth control up to the girl, tricked an innocent kid into buying slutty clothes, made her wear skimpy lingerie, animal headbands, all sorts of weird shit—and she fell for it hook, line, and sinker. One of us had to stick close, or she'd be in trouble.
⋯Honestly, it pissed me off. If it were just fooling outsiders, I never would've stooped to this. My sister was kind, cute as hell, insanely sexy, thought only I could see her that way, had shit taste in men, but she was pure at heart. But to fool Mom? We could endure this much. It was Mom, after all. She wouldn't blab anywhere, and no matter what we did, she'd never hate us.
⋯As long as nothing went sideways somewhere.
Unlike home, where everything was rolling along perfectly, college life was a total shitshow.
⋯Why the hell did I sign up for this?
Shouldn't a liberal arts class just teach liberal arts? I couldn't fathom why they were doing group projects in this day and age.
I hadn't struggled to find a group, and the members weren't bad at all. Hell, I was shocked at first. Never dreamed she'd contact me out of the blue. Well, she had appeared in a nightmare once. I was on trial, and she was the witness. The charge? Obviously, raping my little sister.
"Hello? Is this Kim Ga-eul's phone?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, good. ⋯This is Shin Haneul? Haneul."
"⋯What?"
For a split second, I wondered why, but there was only one reason. Inviting me to her group.
"I sent a KakaoTalk, but no reply, so I called just in case I had the wrong number."
"Ah, I missed it, that's why⋯ but, me? Really?"
"Yeah. You already in a group?"
"No, not yet. ⋯But why me?"
"Auntie said you're diligent with work, and we did a group project well together before."
"⋯Yeah."
"I've almost got everyone⋯ wanna join ours?"
"Gimme a sec to think⋯ nah. Sure, I'll do it."
I desperately wanted to say no, but I had no other options. Who knew where I'd end up if I refused.
I didn't hate Shin Haneul. If anything, she seemed like a decent person. Picking members based purely on diligence? Competent, even. The others were fine too.
But right now, without a shred of exaggeration, she looked like Satan to me.
"Ah, can you all hear me?"
Group leader Shin Haneul.
"Yes, sis!"
"Yeah, noona."
⋯The two from the cafe part-time job.
"Yep, loud and clear~"
Plus Gyeo-ul's friend. Not the leader's sister, but a taller one.
"⋯Loud and clear."
Last member, Kim Ga-eul.
It was horrifying. Like a nightmare.
People I knew: one, two, three, four. Not a single stranger. Why so many familiar faces?
"Everyone's here, so let's do introductions?"
"⋯We all know each other, do we have to?"
I already wanted to bolt. How did every single member know me and Gyeo-ul? ⋯And most of them even knew what we were.
"No, no. Na-el doesn't know the seniors⋯ ah. ⋯You might."
The leader heard it straight from Gyeo-ul's mouth.
"Oh, I know Ga-eul sunbae. He's Gyeo-ul's oppa, right?"
"⋯Yeah."
This Na-el girl knew something was off between us too. She'd seen me touching Gyeo-ul's hair when I visited the cafe. ⋯Gyeo-ul had told her some stuff too. Said it was a one-sided crush on her part? At least that was a relief.
Because⋯
"⋯."
The other two? We'd bumped into them at a motel. ⋯The odds of that being coincidence were zero. And it wasn't, obviously. Who do you think planted them at the cafe? Even Gyeo-ul's friend was connected through a junior's circle. Our networks overlapped inevitably.
"Presentation's Thursday in two weeks, so let's divvy up roles today. Once research is done, meet up next week or so. Video calls are meh—better to meet in person."
Of course, my classmate and group leader didn't know about that. ⋯She probably thought she was the only one in the know. No reason to spread it; she just called to fill a spot.
"⋯I'm free anytime."
"C'mon, Gyeo-ul's o⋯ er, Ga-eul sunbae. Drop the formal speech. You're the same age as Haneul⋯ the leader, right?"
"⋯Anytime's fine."
"Ah, um⋯ then I'll call you oppa."
"⋯Sure."
No bad apples. ⋯No sleazy ones either, probably. But it was insanely uncomfortable. Everyone here knew my dirty secret—I felt like I was going insane. Save me, Gyeo-ul⋯.
"Ah, hear me, oppa?"
"Yeah."
"⋯Even if I whisper like this?"
"⋯Clear as day."
The late-night calls we'd resumed a few days ago. Gyeo-ul's soft murmuring voice—I'd missed it so much. ⋯Honestly, during the break, I thought I'd go mad from loneliness. Holding back masturbation to sell the disheveled look made it brutal.
"Save me⋯ Gyeo-ul⋯."
"⋯Oppa, something wrong?"
"Group project hell."
"Oh. ⋯That's it?"
"Your friend ended up in my group. Why didn't you tell me? That your friend transferred here."
"⋯Didn't I?"
"⋯Did you?"
"Na-el and oppa in the same group?"
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you tell me⋯ she didn't say?"
I organized my thoughts while Gyeo-ul pondered in her low voice. If I just rambled, I'd lose it. Amid all this stress driving me nuts, there was one thing I needed to ask her.
"Hey, Gyeo-ul. You said you'd do whatever I say."
"⋯Never said that."
"You agreed to most naughty stuff, right?"
"⋯Yeah."
"Can I ask for something?"
"What⋯?"
"⋯No sex for a while."
We had to hold out. I needed to graduate college. If I didn't nail this down now⋯ she'd go wild without a thought for her condition or body, letting me wreck her however.
"W-what do you mean, exactly⋯?"
"⋯No sex till exams end."
"Ah, ⋯okay."
It was the most reasonable request, but she sounded shocked, stammering back at me. Then, like she hadn't imagined it, she replied awkwardly.
"⋯What'd you think I meant?"
"M-me? Uh⋯ obviously the same as you."
"Let's go on a trip that weekend after exams. ⋯Mom won't mind a one-night-two-day anyway. And Dad'll be back by then—no more dodging."
"⋯Ah, yeah."
Not as enthusiastic as I'd hoped. ⋯Was it that? Pouting 'cause I didn't tell her her friend was in my group? So cute.
"Um, oppa⋯."
"Yeah."
"Well, uh⋯."
"⋯What's up?"
"Nothing. ⋯Later."
⋯Her reaction said otherwise. She was blatant when jealous. I couldn't pin down why Gyeo-ul was so flustered, but the weekend of that very week cleared it up.
"Mom's out today, so you two guard the house~"
"⋯Pardon?"
"Unlike someone, our cute daughter nagged me to rest, so I'm off flower-viewing with the aunts. Why?"
⋯Looks like I wasn't the only one struggling to hold back.