Under the Vines
A faint warmth seeped into me from Hari's small hand beneath the table.
But my gaze passed right over Hari, fixing on Haru unnie, who sat frozen across from us.
Without gently pulling my hand from Hari's, I stared straight into Haru unnie's trembling brown eyes.
"So, what do you think, unnie?"
My voice sliced through the quiet air of the living room.
"You're the head of the household, so we'll follow your decision."
In that instant, I felt Hari's fingers around the back of my hand twitch faintly.
The strength in her grip loosened for just a moment, but she didn't let go of my hand.
If anything, she squeezed harder, as if desperately trying to hold onto me.
But my vision was filled only with Haru unnie's face.
Her eyes widened like saucers.
Her gaze wandered aimlessly through the air.
Over the lewd book on the table, to my face, then back to the floor.
"W-Woohyun… that's…"
Haru unnie's lips quivered.
The image of our ever-kind and decisive eldest sister was nowhere to be found.
She cupped her flushed cheeks with both hands, at a complete loss.
"How am I supposed to decide something like this…?"
Her voice was thick with moisture.
She had to order one of us to couple with me.
Or, as the head of the household, take up the duty herself and lie beneath me.
Either way, it was a choice that would shatter the moral compass and shame she'd held onto all her life as family.
Thud!
At that moment, Seonyu, who had been standing by the window, stomped her foot sharply and pointed at me accusingly.
"Hey, Jin Woohyun! Don't you have a conscience?!"
Seonyu's sharp voice rang in my ears.
"Can't you see how shocked Haru unnie is right now? Just because she's the head doesn't mean everything's on her! Why push her to decide something you have to do with your own body, you coward?!"
Anger burned in Seonyu's obsidian eyes.
Her words stabbed my solar plexus like a dagger.
She wasn't wrong.
Maybe I…
Maybe I'd irresponsibly dumped the crushing weight of this suffocating reality onto Haru unnie, the one I'd loved from afar for so long?
My face burned at the thought that Seonyu had seen through my disgusting selfishness—the secret hope that unnie would say, I'll do it.
"I'm not trying to push it off! I just…"
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but my tongue felt frozen; no proper words formed.
"Stop it, Seonyu. Woohyun's just confused too."
Hari, pressed close beside me, stepped in to shield me.
Her cheeks were still red, but her voice held steady.
Seonyu let out a disbelieving scoff at Hari defending me.
"Ha, unbelievable. Min Hari, why do you keep taking his side? Forgot how you screamed at that book earlier? You might have to roll around with that idiot!"
Hari's shoulders flinched at Seonyu's blunt words.
But she didn't release her hold on the back of my hand.
"Anyway, don't put pressure on unnie. She's been the hardest hit since Mama stopped working!"
Seonyu huffed and pounded her chest.
In the midst of the commotion, Woohee unnie slowly rose from her seat.
She let out a deep sigh, then slammed shut the leather-bound book spread on the table.
Thud!
The heavy sound silenced the living room chaos in an instant.
"Seonyu's right, and Woohyun has a point too."
Woohee unnie's calm voice cooled the boiling tension.
"Woohyun just asked the head of the household's opinion as the one directly involved, and Seonyu was worried about the burden on her. But even as the eldest, Haru unnie has no right to decide who among us does the breeding act."
Woohee unnie picked up the book and tucked it under her arm.
"I'll keep these for now. It's too emotionally overwhelming to look at them all together. If anyone needs to read them, come to my room one at a time."
No one objected.
It was a relief, almost grotesquely so, just to have those horribly explicit drawings out of sight.
"And…"
Woohee unnie glanced up at the old clock hanging in the center of the living room wall.
"It's gotten pretty late already. Getting swept up in emotions won't make the reality facing us disappear. Let's eat first. You can't think straight on an empty stomach."
At her words, Jiha cautiously lifted her head from the corner.
"Eat… food?"
A tiny gurgle rumbled from Jiha's stomach.
The unexpected, adorable sound snapped the taut string of tension.
Haru unnie let out a deep sigh and dabbed at her damp eyes with her sleeve.
"Woohee's right. I'll… I'll prepare lunch. Everyone, go wash your hands."
She tried to force her usual kind smile, but her lips twitched awkwardly.
Unnie staggered toward the kitchen.
Only then did I gently release Hari's hand from mine.
In that fleeting moment as our palms parted, her fingertips brushed my fingers with lingering reluctance.
"I'll help unnie too."
Hari whispered softly, dusted off her skirt, and followed Haru unnie into the kitchen.
Left in the living room were me, Seonyu, Woohee unnie, and Jiha.
Seonyu shot me one last glare, snorted, and stomped off toward the first-floor bathroom.
Lunch ended, and afternoon chores began.
Woohee unnie took the books and went up to her room on the second floor.
Haru unnie cleared the dishes.
Jiha started wiping the living room floor.
Seonyu grumbled that she'd check the west passage alone, abandoning me, and headed outside.
Left jobless by accident, I got up to move the fertilizer to the cultivation area as promised with Hari that morning.
Opening the mansion door, the greenhouse's steamy, humid air filled my lungs.
The artificial sun's harsh light bathed the concrete ceiling below in gold.
The cultivation area was a wide clearing about a five-minute walk from the mansion.
The rich earthy scent from the fresh green vegetables and sprawling vine plants stung my nose.
"Hari."
Hari, holding a watering can deeper in the field, turned at my call.
Beneath her pink hair sparkling in the sunlight, I saw sweat beading on her forehead.
She beamed the moment she saw me and hurried over with quick steps.
"You're here? Rest if you're tired."
"Ha Seonyu ditched me. And I promised to move the fertilizer. Where should I start?"
I asked, rolling up my sleeves. Hari pointed to the large sacks piled in the corner of the field.
"Just move those three sacks over by the tomato patch. They're heavy, so be careful!"
I nodded and headed to the sacks.
Even for an adult man like me, they were quite heavy.
Hoisting one onto my shoulder, I trudged toward the tomato field.
The thickly grown tomato vines narrowed the path.
Thud.
I set the sack down where Hari asked and wiped sweat from my forehead.
"Thanks, Woohyun."
Hari had snuck right up behind me.
She held a small towel in her hand.
Standing on tiptoe, she dabbed the sweat from my forehead and temples.
"Hey! I can do it myself."
Startled by the closeness, I tried to step back, but Hari grabbed my forearm firmly.
"Stay still. Sweat's getting in your eyes."
Her voice was as kind as ever, but stubbornly insistent.
Her touch moved slowly from my forehead, along my jawline, to the nape of my neck.
The warmth of her fingertips seeped through the towel, heating my skin.
The air in the cultivation area was hot and humid.
In that sweltering heat, Hari's breath, standing right in front of me, brushed my collarbone and dissipated.
Ha… ha…
Whether on purpose or from tension, her breathing was rougher and deeper than usual.
"Woohyun."
Hari lowered the towel hand and looked up at me.
My flushed face reflected perfectly in her green eyes.
"What I said in the underground storage earlier."
My heart plummeted to the floor.
Was she going to resent my indecisiveness?
"I wasn't just saying it."
Hari took a step closer.
Her shoe tip nearly touched mine now.
Hidden by the thick tomato vines, this was a blind spot from the mansion.
"I know how you feel about Haru unnie."
Hari's voice trembled faintly.
"But unnie's the head of the household. Forcing her to make that decision herself is too cruel. She might accept you just because of her sense of responsibility."
Her words pierced deep into my chest.
It was the truth I'd been desperately ignoring.
"It's not forced for me."
Hari reached out with her free hand and gripped the hem of my sweat-dampened shirt tightly.
"I said I want to. To save us all, and…"
Hari bit her lip hard.
Her face was riper than the tomatoes around us.
"And… because I like you."
Thump.
Thump, thump, thump!
My heartbeat pounded so loud it seemed to echo across the entire field.
My childhood friend's straightforward confession, trailed by the promise of physical intimacy through the breeding act.
Hari pulled me slightly toward her with the grip on my clothes.
Before I could resist, my upper body tilted toward her.
A soft, heavy sensation pressed against my chest.
Hari's large breasts were fully pressed against me.
Whoa, her breasts are this big…
Through the thin layer of her shirt, the elasticity and warmth of her skin transmitted with vivid intensity.
"H-Hari…"
Panicking, I tried to push her shoulders away, but she didn't budge.
Instead, she rose higher on tiptoe, bringing her face close to mine.
"You saw in the book, right? We need to connect… touch. That's how a woman's body prepares."
Her whisper was a sweet temptation in my ear.
But it trembled too.
Though boldly seducing me, this was Hari's first time with such contact.
Her whole body shook visibly, and fear was clear in her upturned eyes.
A clumsy, blind seduction that, precisely because of its innocence, mercilessly stirred my animal instincts.
"So… running away won't help. We have to get used to it bit by bit. To our bodies touching."
Hari squeezed her eyes shut.
Her soft forehead lightly touched my chin.
The earthy shampoo scent from her hair numbed my reason.
A dull heat rose from below.
Staying like this would drive me insane; I twisted my body to escape her press.
"W-Wait, Hari. If we— ngh!"
The moment I stepped back.
Something tough wrapped around my ankle.
A thick tomato vine crawling on the ground.
My unbalanced upper body toppled backward helplessly.
"Ah, Woohyun!"
Hari reached to grab me in surprise, but her slender arms couldn't support an adult man's weight.
In the end, we tumbled together onto the soft soil, tangled up.
Splash! Rustle!
The tomato leaves shook with a loud rustle.
"Ow…"
The cushy soil on my back kept me from injury, but the situation had unfolded in the worst possible way.
I lay flat on my back staring at the sky, with Hari sprawled fully on top of me.
Her knee wedged between my legs, her round hips pressing firmly against my thigh.
Ha… ha…
Hari's face hovered right above mine.
Our noses nearly touching.
With every breath, her soft breasts rhythmically compressed my chest.
"Hari… you okay? Not hurt?"
I asked in a hoarse whisper. Hari panted, slowly opening her eyes.
Her eyes glistened, on the verge of tears.
But she didn't move off me.
Instead, she braced her hands on the ground near my shoulders, locking into a position gazing perfectly down at me.
"I'm… not hurt."
Her hot breath from her lips grazed my mouth and nose.
Thud…
Thud…!
"L-Listen… I can hear your heartbeat, Woohyun."
Hari's gaze slid stickily from my eyes to my lips, then my jawline.
The innocent, timid girl I'd always known was gone.
Only a seductive glint remained, weaponizing her feminine allure to bind me.
"Hari, you're heavy. Let's get up first."
I tried to sit up by tensing my abs, but she shifted her hips' weight to pin me gently.
"No. Just… a little longer."
Hari lowered her head, rubbing her cheek against my shoulder.
Each brush of her soft skin sent shivers racing up my spine.
She couldn't miss the change below.
My pants front strained bulging, faintly lifting her lower belly.
Hari flinched at the unfamiliar hardness but didn't flee; she bit her lip and let out a subtle moan.
"Hn…"
That tiny sound nearly snapped my last thread of reason.
"Hey! Jin Woohyun! Not moving the stuff and hiding wher—"
At that moment, Seonyu's voice rang from the cultivation area entrance.
My body froze like a log.
Seonyu's footsteps crunched through the thick grass, drawing closer.
"Where's this jerk? Haru unnie said to find you quick…"
Parting the vines vigorously as she approached us, Seonyu's steps halted abruptly.
Rustle—
Only the sound of shaking leaves filled the silence.
Me lying on the ground, and Hari straddling me above, panting with a flushed face.
A pose anyone would mistake for foreplay from the book—just before mating, like beasts.
"…"
Seonyu's eyes widened in disbelief.
Her mouth gaped, but no sound came out.
Her pale face flushed crimson from neck to ears, like a spilled tomato.
"Y-You, you two…!"
Seonyu pointed at us with trembling fingers.
"What crazy shit in the field in broad daylight… Kyaaah!!"
Unable to finish, she slapped her hands over her face and fled back the way she'd come without looking.
Tat-tat-tat!
Seonyu's frantic footsteps faded into the distance across the greenhouse.
Silence settled over the tomato field.
Hari finally jolted in shock and rolled off me, scrambling up in a hurry.
"S-So sorry!! I didn't think Seonyu would see…"
Hari clutched her explosively red face, flustered beyond words.
The boldness that had pinned me with sultry eyes moments ago had vanished completely.