The Calm Before the Storm

That little shit of a sister was up and bustling around from the crack of dawn. She ate breakfast, showered, vanished into her room for a quick pass of makeup, pulled on a tracksuit, grabbed a credit card, and planted herself at the front door to deliver her orders.

"I'm hitting the salon, then the department store. You better get there on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time today...! And act like we've never met. Got it...??"

"Yeah, yeah. See you later~"

The one-word answer must have gotten under her skin. She puffed out her cheeks and slammed the door on her way out.

The meetup wasn't until evening. She was making a huge production of it first thing in the morning...

I didn't have anything better to do, so I killed time working out in my room until lunch. After I ate, I looked up the meetup spot they'd texted us.

Oh. A bar??

The interior shots looked pretty atmospheric — neon signs and soft lighting stacked along the walls. Seemed like a decent place to hang out.

Dibs on a corner seat...

Not like I was going there to make friends anyway. I started scouting an inconspicuous corner where I could go full loner and stay off everyone's radar.

I burned through funny YouTube videos on my phone until the appointed hour crept up, then started getting ready. After a shower I layered on about five pairs of underwear to pin down that anaconda of a dick. The head and shaft still poked out a little toward the bottom, but baggy pants made it mostly decent. Over that I threw on a black shirt, a baseball jacket, and a beanie...

Not bad. I had a pretty decent face to begin with, so the whole thing actually came together.

Did I spend too long in front of the mirror...?

I bolted out of the house, flagged a taxi, and made it to the meetup spot. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Luckily I still had about twenty minutes to spare. I walked in and was just standing there looking lost when a staff member came over and asked if I had a reservation. I gave the department name, and they led me inside.

Just like the photos, the place was clean and the vibe was solid. A few people had already arrived. The corners were empty — most of them were scattered around a long table in the center, fidgeting with their phones and reading the room. Made sense. Show up early, grab a good seat, make friends easier, get yourself noticed...

I'd already decided I was going full loner, so I claimed a seat way off from the center, pulled off my beanie, and sat down.

The table was already set with beer bottles, several bottles of soju, and glasses flipped upside down. I'd never drunk before, so I poked at the glassware like it was some kind of exotic exhibit and snapped photos on my phone to kill time.

By the time the meetup actually started, the center table was packed tight with guys and girls. They looked awkward at first, but after a few drinks they were already giggling and chatting away. A couple of people drifted over to my table too. I gave them a little nod of greeting, then went right back to my phone. They must have felt the awkwardness — they kept glancing toward the center table, then vanished from in front of me.

Yeah. Go on. Get out of here...

I was getting bored of my phone, so I reached for the bottles in front of me. I cracked open a beer and poured it into a glass — two-thirds foam. A complete disaster. I snickered to myself and took a picture of it. I was having a perfectly good time on my own when the center table got noisy, so I looked over...

Was that my sister...??

It was her... and it also wasn't. She looked like a completely different person. She'd gotten a light makeup job at the salon — clean, almost ethereal — and her hair was done in those loose waves people call goddess hair. She had on a short black flare skirt, a white striped shirt that clung to every line of her body, and a brown jacket thrown over it...

She was fucking gorgeous.

I mean it. Fucking gorgeous.

My little sister sat down at a relatively open spot one seat off the center table and started looking around, searching for me. People swarmed her so fast I could barely see her from where I was sitting. Of course they weren't going to leave her alone.

Yeah... I didn't even need to look.

My phone buzzed. A text from my sister.

She must have been too busy to even check the reply. Being popular looks exhausting as hell.

I was sipping my beer, thinking pointless thoughts, when someone appeared in front of me.

"Ji-eun oppa...??"

Who...? Neat bangs, a bob that fell to her shoulders, dyed blonde... and a tear mole on her left cheek. I didn't have any girl this pretty stored in my memory.

"Do I... know you...??"

A senior from the department? No... she called me oppa, so she had to be a freshman too...

"It's me, Yoo So-jung... You don't remember...??"

Yoo So-jung... Yoo So-jung... I'd heard that name somewhere. I sat there turning it over, and she spoke up again.

"From... the academy... um... wait a second..!"

She pulled a pouch from her bag and fished out a pair of black horn-rimmed glasses. She put them on and swept her side hair over both sides of her face...

Oh.... A plainer version of the girl in front of me superimposed itself over her, and then I had it — a black-haired girl who hadn't dyed her hair back then.

"Wait...?? Wait! You're that girl! That girl!!"

"I'm not a dog, you know!! It's Yoo So-jung..!!"

I was genuinely happy to see her. After my sister wrecked my CSAT last year, I'd enrolled at an academy to retake it. We hadn't been that close, but we'd say hi when we ran into each other, and she'd sometimes ask me about problems she couldn't figure out. The last time I'd seen her was at the academy, right before this year's exam. I remembered her face going red, like she'd been about to say something...

Couldn't remember what, though. I didn't even have her number.

"Anyway... it's been a while. You ended up here too??"

"...Yeah. My parents said I could live on my own this time, so I moved nearby... Phew... I'm glad you got in here too, oppa..."

Huh...? Did I tell her which university I was applying to? Maybe I mentioned it and just forgot. Whatever. Not worth thinking about.

"Why'd you apply here, though?? Your scores were good enough for somewhere better, weren't they...??"

"Mmm... the place I wanted to live was closer to this school...?"

What a shitty reason, but whatever. How long had it been since talking to someone actually felt this good? So-jung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠planted herself in the seat right across from me and we kept going.

"Oppa, why'd you pick a seat all the way out here..?? I had to wander around looking for you because there were no spots left..."

"I dunno...? Didn't want to stand out??"

"Haha... then why'd you even come..."

I lost track of time sipping drinks and talking with So-jung, when another message came in from my sister.

This is fun.

"What's so funny over there by yourself..?? Your girlfriend??"

"Hehe... nah... just some weirdo."

I glanced around. Off in the distance, my sister was scanning the room with a freezing look on her face, hunting for me... and trailing behind her was a whole parade of guys trying to hit on her, desperately angling for a conversation. From far away, it was actually hilarious.

"Wow... she's really pretty... She might be the prettiest girl at our school... Do you like that type, oppa...?"

"Nah... not really my thing..."

"Oh... unexpected."

So-jung nodded, looking somehow relieved.

"She's got a face that says there's something wrong with her personality..."

"You can read faces too, oppa?? Hmm... even if her personality's a mess, with a face like that I bet guys would like her even more... You need at least a few flaws to look human, right..."

"Still not my type... But speaking of faces, you're pretty too. You should've been going around without the glasses. Guys would've been lining up..."

"Ah~ oppa... don't tease me..!"

So-jung's face went red. She fanned herself with her hand, waving it off.

I wasn't joking. So-jung really was pretty. Those eyes that used to look small behind the glasses were big and bright and defined now, and with her messy hair cleaned up, the face that had been hidden at the academy had completely come to life.

And also....

There was so much more I could have said, so I just poured her a beer instead. The second I tipped the bottle, it turned into foam-beer all over again, just like before. Embarrassing as hell...

"Wait... haha... what are you doing, oppa... You're kind of a mess, huh. Here, give it to me~"

So-jung laughed and snatched the bottle from my hand. She tilted the glass at an angle and poured slowly — unlike me, she filled it perfectly, barely a bubble in sight.

"Oh~ what, you've drunk before??"

"No... this is my first time drinking... My dad taught me how to pour, though..."

We clinked glasses — cheers — and drank, letting the time slip by. As for my sister... she'd figure it out herself, right?

A good while later, the two of us had only managed to finish about two bottles. Guess I wasn't much of a drinker. My face was getting warm. So-jung, on the other hand, was knocking it back like a champ, gulping it down no problem, and she filled both our glasses again. We clinked once more, and after about two sips I felt like I was actually going to lose it. I looked at So-jung, who was still perfectly fine, and said,

"Whoa... I'm done... I can't drink anymore... I give up..!"

"Haha... I'll stop too. Ah! Oppa, I'll give you my number..!"

We exchanged numbers like it was the most natural thing in the world. My phone had been blowing up for a while, so I started getting up.

"Should we head out?? I'm wrecked... phew..."

"I was just thinking the same thing~ Let's go together."

I asked someone at a nearby table if it was okay to leave. Turned out he was a senior from our department — he kindly said we could go whenever we wanted. A little later we stopped by a convenience store for hangover drinks, then walked to the station chatting the whole way, and said our goodbyes.

"Oppa... um... i-if you ever get bored later... can I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠text you...?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. It was fun hanging out after so long..."

"Ah! ...I had fun today too.......... I'm really happy we ran into each other again..."

The last part was too quiet to catch. So-jung rubbed both her cheeks like she was cold.

"Get home safe. We'll be sick of seeing each other once classes start anyway... Catch you later~"

"Yes! You get home safe too, oppa..!"

Once I made sure So-jung was out of sight, I ducked back into the convenience store, grabbed one more hangover drink, and called that little shit of a sister.

I could still hear the murmur of the bar in the background. And she'd dropped her voice, still putting on that fake-nice act...

Give me a fucking break...

She hung up. What the fuck...

A moment later my sister came bursting out with her jacket slung over her arm.

"God, you're such a pain in the ass... Ah! Lee Ji-eun...!!!"

I handed her the hangover drink before she could start yelling.

"...Need this?"

"····Yeah..."

She downed it in one shot, then looked at me and broke into a big, goofy grin.

"It's not quite how I planned it... but we can still make it work from here..."

"Huh?? What plan?"

"Nothing... come on, let's go."

She grabbed my hand and started walking ahead. Before long she glanced around, then hooked her arm through mine, pulled me close, and picked up the pace.

"Hehe~♡ We're almost there!"

"Where are we going..."

We walked for maybe five minutes... and there in front of me was... well... a castle.

No. An actual castle.

They built a fucking motel that looks like a castle...

My sister suddenly yanked me close and whispered against my ear.

"Oppa... today's week three, you know?? You can... fuck me now~♡ ...haah... I think my pussy's already wet... Touch it here... nngh..!! Right there...!! Haah... hurry up and go inside and... ram it into Ji-yeonie's pussy~ .."

She pulled my hand between her thighs and started rolling her hips on her own.

By tomorrow, my sister's pussy was going to be completely wrecked.