House Sitting
"Where are you off to?"
"Jeju Island. For a one-night, two-day trip."
Mom was heading to an island across the sea...
I never could've imagined it. We'd always thought about meeting up outside, but the idea of sending Mom away? That hadn't even crossed my mind.
"...Did Gyeo-ul buy the tickets? Even for the aunts?"
"Not exactly—she bought two. It felt weird leaving one person out, so the three of us split the third one~"
"She's not going?"
"I've got exams, Oppa. I'm busy."
Gyeo-ul was rolling around on the sofa, fiddling with her phone, looking anything but busy. Her thighs were exposed as she lay there with her knees up, so damn tempting I wanted to sink my teeth into them right then.
...My throat was already parched.
"Anyway, I'll be back by dinner tomorrow, so you two guard the house properly. No going out, got it?"
"No going out?"
"If you go out, you'll just meet friends and drink. Stay home and order in or cook something. ...Don't wander around needlessly."
"..."
"Alright, Mom's heading out? See you tomorrow~"
"Yeah, Mom~"
"...Have a safe trip."
Mom left with a rare smile, one we hadn't seen in a while. And Gyeo-ul waved her off, beaming like the perfect, dutiful daughter.
We didn't have any plans today, but this threw me off. Her intentions were crystal clear.
"...What wind blew this way?"
"Why, Oppa? Is it weird for a daughter to treat her mom?"
"Where'd you get the money?"
"I don't spend my allowance on much."
She answered without even meeting my eyes, bold as brass.
...I'd taught her too well. Shouldn't have taught her to be this shameless...
"Hey, even so... Never mind. But what'd you say to make Mom accept it so eagerly?"
"The tickets... There were two left over by chance. I felt bad about Mom, so I offered them as a gift, and she took them."
Two tickets to Jeju. A suddenly canceled plan. She'd been looking down lately, even if things were getting better. A gift from her daughter as an apology.
...How could she say no?
"Still, did you have to buy plane tickets?"
"...Why are you staring like that, Oppa? I booked them with every intention of using them... but then you said no."
"...Me?"
"You said we should hold back... Right?"
...Even with exams still over two weeks away, booking tickets without checking the schedule was reckless. But even I couldn't argue that convincingly, so I let it drop.
Truth be told, if she'd dragged me along that day, I'd probably have pretended to resist and gone anyway.
"What, Oppa? You said no sex... but were you planning to break that promise anyway?"
"...Yeah, right. We have to hold back. Right?"
...There she goes again. Seriously... I could let it slide once or twice, but if I lost control every time she teased, I'd lose all dignity as her brother.
This time, for real, I had to hold out.
"Yeah. You said hold back, so I won't break my promise."
"Good. I won't break mine either, so don't you dare break yours. Got it?"
"I don't believe you."
"Whether you're naked and clinging to me or whatever, I won't do it. Believe me or not, your call."
"...For real?"
"Yeah, for real."
"Th-then... Give me a sec to put some clothes on."
The second I declared I absolutely wouldn't pounce, my sister stammered and bolted to her room, saying she'd change.
...Damn, did I rile her up too much? What now? If she came back in something slutty, I wasn't sure I could hold out.
Would I lose again? My resolve, solid just moments ago, was melting away in under a minute when—
"...What."
"What's wrong, Oppa? It's cold, so I just threw on an extra layer."
"In this weather?"
"It's not summer yet. ...It could be chilly."
Against all expectations, she'd just draped a cardigan over her outfit from her room and was smirking at my flustered reaction.
...Pissing me off for real. At least change into longer dolphin pants or something.
"What, Oppa? ...Were you hoping for something naughty?"
"Not at all?"
"...Hoping I'd get caught by Mom?"
"...Not at all?"
"I'm not wearing that at home. You'd make me wear it all day, you perv..."
She'd seen right through me, and I couldn't stop my cheeks from heating up.
...Should've asked what she was wearing last time. Hold back. I couldn't cave this easily. At least not until she begged for it first.
"...Anyway, got it. I'm going to bed. Wake me for lunch."
"You're sleeping, Oppa?"
"I'm tired. Can't I take a nap? ...Rough week."
Sticking around Gyeo-ul like this, I could only see a future where I broke my promise. Might as well crash in my room while I was beat.
...Honestly, I wanted to fuck like crazy, but it'd bruise my pride. Biting every time she prodded so openly felt like handing her the reins.
...Plus, Mom wouldn't be back till tomorrow lunch. Once we started, who knew where it'd end? I couldn't gauge it. With all the built-up stress, I might take it out on her completely.
And knowing she'd take it made it scarier.
"...Why are you following?"
"I'm sleepy too. Nap time."
"Go to your room. Not here."
"You said you wouldn't do anything no matter what I did earlier? ...All talk?"
Even when I fled to my room, she trailed after, poking my back.
She knew everything now, yet covered her mouth giggling.
"Wh-what. Oppa. You said no. Why are you hugging me all of a sudden?"
"Sleep. I'm sleepy."
...She was weirdly adorable. Ah, whatever. I knew she was teasing outright, but just listening to her chatter melted my stress away.
I pulled the slightly flustered Gyeo-ul into a hug and collapsed onto the bed. Like dogs or cats greeting, I sniffed her scent right away.
The usual shampoo smell. Reassuring.
Of course, I wasn't soft or anything—hell yeah I was hard—but anyway.
"Oppa. Can't breathe..."
"Want me to let go?"
"Yeah..."
Maybe I'd hugged too tight; she kicked my legs lightly, complaining she couldn't breathe, so I loosened up.
Then she climbed right on top, sending a shiver through me—but thankfully, she didn't settle there. Instead, she scooted behind, hugging me so tight from the back it should've choked me, but her strength was too weak. More like she was getting smothered.
"You said you couldn't breathe."
"Doesn't bother you?"
"What, this? Barely. Unless you cover my mouth and nose."
"...Should I?"
"Why do you keep trying to suffocate me."
"Feels unfair if only I can't breathe."
She'd been rubbing her body against mine under my arms, now looped them around my neck, squeezing.
...This was actually choking a bit. Neck pressure was fine, but her breath hot in my ear was the real killer.
"What, Oppa. Still breathing fine?"
"Choking. Let go."
"For real?"
"...Yeah, really choking."
I faked it convincingly, and satisfied, she eased off, sticking quietly to my back.
But the breath causing it didn't stop. Snuuuh, inhale. Haaaah, exhale.
Not too strong or weak—just enough to tickle my nape intensely.
"Oppa. Asleep?"
"Nope. Not yet."
"...You really gonna sleep?"
"You think I'd fake it?"
"For real? ...With only your horny little sister home...?"
"...Aren't you embarrassed saying that?"
"...Super embarrassed, so don't talk to me."
She poked my side hard, meaning don't ask what we both know. It actually hurt a little.
...I really was sleepy. Not horny right now... just super reassured.
Sleep an hour like this, then we could...
"Oppa."
"What now."
"...Heart's pounding like crazy."
She placed her hand on my chest, measuring my heartbeat without asking.
"One, two, three, four... How many beats per minute is this?"
"Can't tell like that. Time it separately from the beats."
"Mine's one per second normally, so I could use mine. But you lied about sleeping and now you're racing, making mine speed up too."
Then she pressed her chest to my back, sharing her similarly thumping heartbeat.
"...You don't wanna sleep, do you?"
"No way. ...Gonna sleep. With you."
"Then why keep tormenting me."
"Tormenting you is fun. ...Plus, you promised no retaliation."
"...You think I won't?"
"Eek, breaking your promise already? Trash. Pervert. ...Pouncing on your sister with Mom gone... Mmph!"
To mess with my nagging sister, I pried her hugging arms off, turned over, and smothered her face into my chest to shut her up.
Ah, not with hands or mouth—just buried her face there to quiet her.
With the noise gone, my mind cleared. Warmed up. Got damp...
"Hey, no licking. My shirt."
"P...haaa... You're the one smothering me."
"Got it, no more. Now sleep."
"...Oppa really tired?"
"...Honestly, stayed up late last night. Beat."
I had, but that wasn't all.
Lectures, assignments, studying—routine stuff with limits to the fatigue.
But people? Endless drain.
...Group project was going great, actually? Teammates all nice. Everyone working hard. Good vibes. I'd organized my research thoroughly. We clicked.
But...
"So... let's sleep an hour like this, Gyeo-ul."
"...Does being with me like this make your tiredness go away, Oppa?"
"Most of it, yeah. ...It builds back up, though."
"I see..."
Whatever might lurk in her gaze scared me. Drove me nuts worrying.
Did they all think I was some psycho? ...Gossiping behind my back?
'I saw Kim Ga-eul sunbae and his sister coming out of a hotel once.'
'You too? I saw them kissing on the street. They got mad when I said something.'
'Me too. I'm friends with Gyeo-ul, and she told me she had a crush on her real brother~ Guess it wasn't one-sided? Eww, siblings...'
...These disgusting delusions kept surfacing, wearing me down. I knew they weren't like that.
But... I was.
"Oppa, once we're independent..."
"Yeah."
"...Can we hug like this forever?"
"...Obviously."
"Yeah. ...Thanks."
But feeling your body heat like this chased away every bad thought. I felt at peace.