Episode 42: The Older Sisters Are Scary
Episode 42: The Older Sisters Are Scary
Chapter 42: Older Women Are Scary
"Oh, right, Sijun-ah."
"Hm?"
"This is kind of a follow-up to what we talked about earlier."
"Yeah."
With a genuinely concerned look, Sieun-nuna told me that if I ever ended up sleeping with the other girls—meaning Haru or Nara—I should be gentle with them.
I was dumbfounded and clicked my tongue before answering.
"What am I, a fucking lunatic?"
"I know, but still..."
Her worry was that since I had experience and they didn't, they'd assume whatever I did was the right way and just follow my lead unconditionally.
"Still, I trust you'll handle it properly."
"Yeah."
I wasn't particularly worried about Nara, but Haru was a concern. She was the type who'd act shy while talking about it, but would never actually back out of anything.
And this was just a guess, but she had a bit of a submissive streak, so unless I asked for something truly extreme, she'd probably do just about anything.
"Sijun-ah."
"Hm?"
Sieun-nuna cut off my wandering thoughts.
"Are you seriously thinking about other women right in front of your older girlfriends?"
"Huh?"
She'd been the one who brought up the topic, and now she was accusing me of thinking about other women... no, she was actually angry.
"If you ever abandon me, that's the day we both die. You got that?"
Was this possessiveness, or something else? No, was she a yandere? She was smiling, but it didn't look like a smile at all.
It was terrifying.
Goosebumps broke out all over me when Eunhwi-nuna, sitting beside me, chimed in as well.
"You can't abandon me either. Understood?"
Eunhwi-nuna was smiling too, but it didn't look like a smile either.
"Oh, and one more thing."
Eunhwi-nuna paused mid-sentence to sip her coffee, deliberately drawing out the moment. That brief pause cranked up the tension.
"I like it when it's rough."
"Phew..."
It wasn't the kind of heavy statement that called for all that tension, so I let out a huge sigh of relief.
"She's a damn pervert. Sijun-ah, don't listen to someone like her."
Sieun-nuna's fed-up expression just made me laugh.
"Didn't I tell you? About how much of a pervert she is?"
"You were right."
The two of them had known each other so long that they knew pretty much everything about each other. I really envied that. If someone asked whether I had a friend like that in my life... I didn't really think so.
Part of it was that I'd been so caught up enjoying my time with them that I hadn't invested in other relationships, but my personality isn't exactly sociable either. There's a wall there.
Still, if Haru and Nara joined the two of them, I figured it wouldn't be such a bad life.
"Sijun-ah."
This time it was Eunhwi-nuna who interrupted my thoughts.
"Thinking pointless thoughts again."
Eunhwi-nuna was the one who called my name, but Sieun-nuna was the one who added that.
"Uh, probably?"
It wasn't a particularly productive line of thought, so I just confessed.
"Sijun-ah."
"Hm?"
Eunhwi-nuna called my name once more.
"Want to leave this stuffy scholar here and go eat ramyeon with me?"
"You crazy bitch."
As soon as Eunhwi-nuna provoked her, Sieun-nuna took the bait immediately and spat out a harsh retort.
"It's true, I am crazy. Crazy for Sijun."
But our Eunhwi-nuna just brushed it off smoothly, as if it hadn't hit her at all.
"You little—!"
Sieun-nuna stood up and headed toward Eunhwi-nuna, who promptly dashed behind me for cover.
"Sijun-ah, that witch is trying to kill me~"
Just another blissfully happy day at our house.
---
"I had a lot of fun today, Oppa. See you next time."
"Yeah, get inside safely."
And with that, the third date I'd promised Park Haru wrapped up today.
The next one was the day I would actually take Park Haru's virginity. She'd even shown me the hotel reservation she was going to make herself right before we parted.
"She's really proactive... Is losing her virginity really no big deal to her?"
It was a crude thing to say aloud, but a woman's virginity was, in a way, a powerful weapon.
Why else would the phrase "honey trap" exist in warfare tactics? And if a woman capable of pulling off such a honey trap was also a virgin, her value would skyrocket immeasurably.
Honestly, I was the one who was more nervous.
And yet, at the same time, I was very much looking forward to it.
I pushed the anticipation to the back of my mind for the moment and drove to the university.
Park Haru had an evening schedule, so we'd met early in the morning and parted ways by the afternoon. I could have easily handled this tomorrow, but I had a feeling I'd regret putting it off, so I decided to get it over with and go home.
Just as I arrived at the university and was on my way to the office, my aunt called.
"Yes, Aunt."
"Are you at the office?"
"I was out on business, I'm just on my way there now."
"Must be nice being a Department Manager, huh? Out on business and all?"
"It's summer break, cut me some slack..."
"I'm joking, just joking. Haha. Want to come over to Department 4? In about an hour?"
"Got it."
That woman was like a ghost. How did she know I'd just arrived on campus and call me that instant?
I looked over a few things to prepare for the second semester, and an hour flew by in no time.
"You're here?"
"Yes, you've been well, right?"
"What's this all of a sudden? Asking after me like that? Well, if you want an answer, I finished recording yesterday."
My aunt gave me a look like it was genuinely unexpected, then thumped me on the shoulder.
"Oh, so the new album is coming out soon?"
"If we rush, maybe late autumn? It'll probably be out before the end-of-year concert."
"I'll be looking forward to this album too."
In a music chart scene long dominated by idols, my aunt was one of the few singers who could still line up hits whenever she released an album. And this was at an age close to sixty, no less.
Her songs are good, of course, but with so many English lyrics these days, her insistence on using only Korean makes them especially pleasant to listen to.
"Sure, want me to sign it for you too?"
"Maybe later."
"Alright, let's go inside."
As I followed my aunt into the Department Manager's office, I was greeted by students who were as energetic and disciplined as ever.
"Aunt, do you scold them or something?"
"Me? Why would I?"
"No, it's just..."
The sheer force behind the students' greetings when my aunt was beside me was on a completely different level from when I came alone.
"Hey, no matter what, I'm the Department Head. Do you think I'm on the same level as a Department Manager?"
"Well, that's true. But it's more like... they're so scared that their discipline is cranked up to the max?"
"I don't even have classes. What kind of discipline would I enforce?"
After that, as we headed to the office, I got a behind-the-scenes roasting session about my uncle and my older cousin.
"He actually says stuff like that?"
"Yeah, he's gotten so full of himself now that he's a big shot. He's incredibly cocky these days."
"Wow..."
The office I stepped into behind my aunt drew an involuntary gasp of admiration from me.
"Not bad, right?"
"Not bad is an understatement... this is overkill, isn't it?"
There was antique furniture here that looked like it belonged in a hotel or in the offices of high-ranking executives at my father's company.
And somehow, she'd treated the windows so that even in the middle of a summer day, a soft light gently illuminated the room.
"Take a look at this too."
"This is..."
I used the card key my aunt gave me on the lock and stepped inside to find what was essentially a hotel room.
In one corner, there was even a shower stall and a bathroom.
"They said that part is still drying out. You can use it, but they told me to be careful."
On one wall, a large monitor displayed CCTV footage covering the office.
"The soundproofing here is really good, so you can't hear outside noises or anything from inside. That's why we have to set it up like that."
"That good?"
"It's a bit much, but since this is a test case, I went all out. I couldn't do this much for the other rooms. It's too expensive."
"Are you planning to make it so the professors never go home?"
"Why do you think it's only for professors? We're merging the TA office with the break room too."
"Ah, what the fuck..."
Elder present or not, the curse slipped out on its own.
"What the fuck? Are you turning into Ji Hyeongwoo now? Cursing in front of your aunt? Hm?"
Ji Hyeongwoo was my aunt's son—my older cousin—the very one who'd cursed like that when my aunt was heading to her office.
"No, you're not even the president, why are you working this hard? Take it easy, just take it easy."
"If I was going to take it easy, I wouldn't have taken the job. I signed the contract yesterday. I'm the official Department Head starting next semester."
"Oh, really? I haven't gotten the official memo yet."
"You'll probably get contacted around tomorrow?"
"Then, by any chance, the official Department Manager is..."
"You."
"..."
I'd suspected, but as always, I was an idiot for getting my hopes up.
"Isn't it about time you gave up by now?"
"Yeah... you're right... I should just enjoy it. At least pay me a lot of money."
"You've already got plenty of money."
"My father taught me that the more money you have, the better."
"Your dad sure taught you something good. Our nephew has grown up so well, really."
"Right? I'm a truly filial son."
We came back into the office, sat on the sofa, and chatted about this and that until my aunt stood up.
"I've roughly sorted your stuff, but you'll need to organize it one more time yourself. I'm heading out."
"Okay, I'll take a look."
"Oh, right. That key."
"What key?"
"The card key over there."
My aunt pointed toward the break room with her finger.
"That one is yours alone, so don't lose it."
"Ah..."
Leaving those words behind, my aunt vanished like the wind.
"Aunt, really..."
The fact that there was only one key meant that whether I was working in Department 4 or Department 5, I could use it to rest comfortably whenever I wanted—without worrying about someone walking in like in a shared break room.
She piles on the work, but she takes good care of her people. And it felt like she did even more for me because I was her nephew.
With her showing me this much consideration, the only way I could repay her was to work hard so she wouldn't have to worry much about university matters.
I sat down at the computer, logged in with my ID first, and checked if there was anything that needed urgent attention.
"Hmm... I should get this done quickly."
It wasn't an emergency, but it was the kind of task that made things easier for both me and the other party if handled quickly, so I dealt with it on the spot.
It had only been half a year, but my initial question from my first contract—why a Department Manager got paid so much—had completely vanished.
Until last year, the Department Manager hadn't seemed to have much to do, but that was just because they were really good at their job.
On top of that, I was still the sole TA for Eunhwi-nuna, which made the workload feel even heavier.
"Ah, Eunhwi-nuna."
The break room here in Department 4 must never, ever reach Eunhwi-nuna's ears.
She was the sort of person who, if she found out about a well-soundproofed space like this, might genuinely lose her mind after what we'd tried last time in my office.
"Well... there's no reason for her to come here anyway."