Like an Older Sister

"Gah... Ha. It hurts..."

I was on my knees, holding the mop in both hands, while Sahyang sighed and looked between me and Kang Shinwoo.

"This is Kang Shinwoo, my editor. You know that, right? We live together, but... obviously, we're not a couple. Anyway, I packed your stuff in a suitcase and sent you packing because Jia was coming, so why are you back?"

"Ah... I forgot something..."

He clutched the spot as if he'd been seriously injured, letting out pained groans over and over.

"I-I didn't hit him that hard, though?"

"Jia-unnie!"

The moment I heard that, I immediately lowered my head and crouched down.

Sahyang sighed and looked back and forth between Kang Shinwoo and me.

"Ah... what a headache. Kang Shinwoo, seriously..."

He just stayed still, watching Sahyang's expression.

"Ah, I seriously don't know. I'm going back to streaming, so you and Jia-unnie can work it out however you want—have a real fistfight or have Jia-unnie put you in your place or whatever. Just come to some conclusion."

There was so much anger in her voice that even when she slammed the door shut, I could only stay on my knees without saying a word.

"Sorry."

I spoke to him first.

He quietly nodded too, murmuring 'I'm sorry.'

"But, this may sound like an excuse, but when two women are streaming together and a guy suddenly starts rummaging through a closet, it's scary..."

"I'm sorry."

He bowed again and kept rubbing the spot I'd hit earlier.

"..."

He kept glancing at me while rubbing the injury, as if he was deliberately trying to rub it in that I'd hit him.

"No, honestly, what did I do wrong! I heard earlier she even gave you a coupon and told you not to be here! You suddenly sneak in while two women are alone and start rummaging around? Just say something!"

"..."

He looked away and leaned against the wall without saying a word.

"Hah, whatever. I'm going back to streaming. Anyway, this is your fault, okay? I'll just—bam!"

When I raised my hand at him, he grabbed my arm.

"Don't hit me."

'What? He didn't look like he worked out or anything, but he's stronger than I expected.'

I strained and tried to pull my hand free, but he gave me a menacing look and tried to meet my eyes.

Smack!

"You little punk..."

I slapped him, grabbed him by the hair, and shook him around.

"Ah, ah! Ah!! It hurts! It hurts... It hurts! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!!"

The moment I grabbed his hair, he let out a pathetic whimper, clasped his hands together, and rubbed them like a fly.

"You little punk! Where do you think you're putting those hands, you little punk!"

I grabbed his sideburns and yanked.

"Ah, ah... Aaaah!! Ah! Seriously, that really hurts!!!"

He struggled with all his might to grab my arm, but I laid him on the floor, climbed on top of him, and yanked his sideburns.

"Hey, you like this? Bet you'd enjoy getting this kind of treatment from a woman, you fucking pervert."

Tug, tug.

When I let go all at once, a few strands of hair had come away in my hand.

"Graaagh..."

I jumped in alarm at the hair in my hand and gently stroked his sideburns.

He looked like he was in his early twenties, but when it came to men, more hair was always better; having the hair around his sideburns yanked out at that age was definitely not okay.

"A-are you okay?"

"I'm not okay..."

Let's think. This man in front of me was in his early twenties, full of youthful vigor. And from the way he'd grabbed my hand and held my gaze earlier, he probably wanted to make my heart race or something.

In short, he was trying to seduce me.

I bopped him on the back of his head.

"I'm not falling for it!!"

With that, I quickly left the room.

"Phew. I don't know."

Fuck.

I beat some perverted bastard who suddenly barged in with a mop, only to find out he's the guy I game with—and the actual homeowner?

My head was throbbing.

Without saying a word, I quietly went into the room and scratched my head.

"Dheehit."

"Huh?"

"I'm hungry, dehehe."

I scratched my head and went over to her, and she chuckled and handed me some chicken.

"Gotta eat it up~"

I wasn't even visible on camera, but I rolled my eyes back and stuck out my tongue, then stuffed chicken into my mouth like Jung Jun-ha on Infinite Challenge.

"Hhup, hwoeuh!"

"Are you Jung Jun-ha?"

I grinned sheepishly and wolfed down the chicken.

#

"Ah~ I'm stuffed. But this really isn't an ad?"

"It's not."

Humming, I got a toothpick from the kitchen and picked at my teeth.

"Ew~ Gross. Still, you're a woman. Can't you at least cover your mouth when you pick your teeth?"

"What's the big deal? I used to take an ear pick to school and clean my ears there."

"You're insane... completely insane."

Let's think about it. What's the most important thing for a woman?

It's always maintaining a 'beautiful appearance.'

No matter how beautiful a woman is, there's a line she shouldn't cross.

Sure, someone could smack people upside the head and still declare, 'I'm pretty, though!' But you can't look at a woman picking her nose and licking bits out from between her teeth, going 'slurp, slurp,' and say, 'It's okay because she's pretty~.'

"Ah... Is that so? If that's what you say, Sahyang, I'll try to act a little more ladylike on stream~"

At that, she stared at me with her eyes wide open.

"Uh... uh... uh... That's weird."

"Pfft. Is it really that weird?"

When I smiled gently at her, she made a twisted expression as if she'd seen something she shouldn't have and stammered, "Eh... eh..."

"Fine, fuck~ You're saying I shouldn't act like a female streamer, right?"

I put my feet on the desk and leaned back in the chair.

"Oh, uh, uh, oh fuck!"

Crash!

As if the memory of my first stream had come back to me, I toppled backward just like that.

"Kah..."

"Oh! Are you okay, Jia??"

She immediately came over and checked my head.

"Uhaaa... No, why did I fall over again? Ah, my head hurts. Wait, I think I've got a bump. Do I need to go to the hospital...?"

I blurted out weird things to keep people from realizing how embarrassed I was. But my humiliating on-stream accident had already been a source of laughter for everyone for ages.

"Fuck."

I covered my face with my arm and clenched my teeth.

But honestly, even I thought it was funny, so I kept chuckling.

"Ah, should I go?"

I couldn't stay here any longer.

In one day, I'd had a battle of wills, gotten pranked with a hidden camera, and caught some perverted bastard only to find out he was her editor. I'm going crazy.

"Huh? You're leaving already? It's only six."

"Then should I sleep over here?"

"I'd love that!"

"Huh?"

"What?"

I met her eyes.

It was eleven at night, after the stream had ended. She said she usually streamed for about ten to fourteen hours a day.

But today was a special case since we'd done an in-person collab, so she said she'd end her stream early so we could sleep together.

"No, no, let's stream until later instead."

"Why?"

"It's kind of mellow, right? We can put on some gentle BGM and have a quiet radio stream here with candlelight or something."

"Ooh! That's a great idea!"

She smiled, turned off the lights, then brought over a dim mood lamp and plugged it in.

"I just bought this mood lamp. I have blackout curtains in my bedroom, but I read before bed every day, so I use it then!"

"What...? You read before bed?"

She looked at me with an innocent expression, as if to say, 'What's wrong with that?'

"Ha, haha..."

I gave her an awkward laugh as I looked at her.

"Uh... I mean, this is so... What's the word? Like watching a kid straight out of one of those old Chul-su and Young-hee schoolbooks..."

"Pardon?"

"Never mind... Do you go to the gym early in the morning before streaming?"

"Huh? Of course...? I only take one day off a week, so it's not like I only work out once a week."

I looked at her and got goosebumps all over.

A streamer who broadcast for twelve to fourteen hours would go to the gym in the morning, shower, stream straight from lunch until evening, and even read a book right before bed?

"You're just crazy..."

"What am I?"

"You, you, you! You're crazy! You know it too, so why do you keep asking me to praise you more..."

"Hehe, praise me more~"

I smiled brightly and patted her head as she leaned it toward me.

"There, there... Good job..."

Looking around her room, I saw a bookshelf packed with books that sounded like the sort of thing high-IQ people would read just from their titles: 1984, The Stranger, The Bird That Drinks Tears, Crime and Punishment, Norwegian Wood, No Longer Human, Animal Farm, The Metamorphosis, Guns, Germs, and Steel, and Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?

"You like reading."

"Yes! When I was little, I didn't really like going out... I'd just go to the library to read, and then I ended up with no friends, so I stayed at the library even more. Haha..."

"I see."

I took her recommendation and tried to read a book, but the words just wouldn't sink in.

"Aagh..."

"Hehe. You don't have to force yourself to read. But if you ever want to read a book later, you can come over anytime."

"Do you own this place?"

She nodded.

"After my grandfather passed away, he left this house to me. The nice thing about living here is that it's close to the nursing home where my grandmother is, so I visit her often."

I smiled gently at her words and slipped into bed.

"Let's go together tomorrow."

"Where?"

"We're friends, right? Let's go brag to your grandma that you've made a friend."

At that, she smiled brightly.

"I'd love to! Thank you, unnie..."

"Yeah, then let's go to bed now since we have to get up early."

She was so happy she whistled as she turned off the light.

I think we could become good friends.