13 — Massage… Again?

Cha Mia's POV:

Mia could hardly get a wink of sleep that night. And by the time the sun made its ascent to the sky, she gave up and decided to lay there, her bare legs bathing in the pouring daylight.

She replayed yesterday's events in her mind, rewinding it, pausing it, and wondering, for the umpteenth time, what the fuck was wrong with her.

"Ughh!" She snuggled her face into the pillow.

'It's Dae Ho's fault…'

Mia peeked out of the pillow with a faint blush on her cheeks. Worse of all? She was still horny. Her time spent with Dae Ho reignited the fire of her lust, and now she couldn't go half a day without thinking about how good her step-brother felt under her.

'Damn. He's my step-brother… we can't… I can't…'

They hadn't done anything worth being guilty of, but the thoughts had been earthed in her head. Day by day, the sprout of love was growing into something that would soon completely conquer her mind.

Something had to be done about it, but what?

Mia shook her head, shuffled her feet out of the bed, and stood up. Her mother would soon be calling her down for breakfast. And she hoped that a shower would get rid of the dark bags under her eyes, or the fire in her loins.

She slipped into her favorite pair of dolphin shorts and a tight top.

The moment she set foot in the hallway, the distinctive thumps of footfalls sounded out from the other side. She looked towards the source, only to find the root of her nightly quandaries walking out of the shower.

A towel hung around his neck. And besides his shorts, he was completely bare-chested. 'He's getting shredded…' The thought wormed into her mind like a parasite. It was a simple appreciation for a man's aesthetics, there were no complicated feelings involved in her observation. None at all.

"Mia Noona?" Dae Ho stared at her. "Good morning. Didn't expect you to be up so early."

Mia calmed herself down and fixed her face into her trademark haughty scowl. "I wonder whose fault is that…"

"Sarcasm?"

She narrowed her eyes, silently cursing her heart for skipping a beat when Dae Ho's lips curled into a smirk. She scoffed, rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms. "So…?" She looked away, flipping her hair as she did so. "Are you satisfied?"

Dae Ho blinked. "What do you mean?"

"With the massage I gave you." Mia clicked her tongue. 'Why am I even bringing that up? I'm supposed to forget about this, not relive it!'

However, the truth was that she was curious to know Dae Ho's thoughts about what 'happened'. It was not a simple massage. Both of them were aware of that. He didn't seem to dislike the way Mia stopped using her hands and started to use 'something' else.

"Oh…" He shrugged. "It was acceptable."

"..."

His smirk widened.

'Bastard…'

"I didn't know you had it in you. You're quite… innovative." He said as he walked past Mia. Then he stopped. A beat of silence followed. "Are you attracted to me?"

The question was like an arrow through her chest. "What are you on about?" She waved her hair around, eyes looking down at him in a condescending fashion, though it was obviously a cracked facade. "You're my little brother. Don't mistake what happened yesterday for… for some sort of budding romance between us."

Perhaps she had been a bit too… rude.

"Is that so?" The fact that he didn't seem to particularly care was quite a bitter pill for Mia to swallow, but that was probably for the best. Really. The last thing either of them needed was for some familial, taboo romance to string them together in a life of lies.

There were no feelings. It was just a temporary attraction.

'Attraction… huh…' Mia didn't like that word. Not one bit. It meant that she was teetering on the verge of a dangerous gulf, one that could wreck the relationship she had with Dae Ho, but it could also mean something interesting and exciting. There were so many possibilities behind that door.

Actually, in the loosest sense of the term, it was not considered incest. They were not blood-related.

She didn't think that her mother would truly care about it. Su Ah wouldn't care even if they were related. Her father, on the other hand, would likely be convinced only after she threatened not to talk to him anymore. 'What a mess…'

Mia turned to look at Dae Ho, but he was not there anymore. She continued staring at the spot he was just in for a couple of seconds more, then sighed, and headed to the bathroom.

…

'I'm still horny… fuck…'

Mia stretched a bit as she made her way down for breakfast. And from the looks of it, everyone else was already there.

"You're late, Mia." Eun Ha chirped from behind the counter.

"Oh…" Mia chuckled with a flustered blush. "I'm sorry, I didn't sleep well." She unconsciously sent a half-hearted glare Dae Ho's way, who ignored it. As she did so, she noticed the presence of someone else. "Huh, you're awake?!"

Su Ah barely lifted her head up to look at her sister. "Yeah." She said, tone soft and measured. She tucked a chopstickful of food in her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and only then did she continue. "I need to go to the library."

"I see…" Naturally, Mia didn't care. She pulled a chair and plopped her butt on it. Her eyes drifted to Dae Ho, who caught her gaze and returned with a small smile.

"Oh, everyone is here today!"

Yeong Gu flashed a big smile as he sat down next to Eun Ha.

Without further ado, everyone dug in.

"It's really delicious, Auntie." Dae Ho said, eyes roving over the woman in question with an appreciative glimmer.

Eun Ha, for some reason, didn't meet his eyes. She only offered a soft 'Thank you' in reply. Mia seemed to be the only one to notice this odd, out-of-place interaction. On the surface, it looked fine, but her gut feeling told her that there was something more behind it. Especially when she took into account the unnecessary blush that flared across her mother's face.

'What the heck…'

However, right before her train of thought could go off track, a pressing need twisted her stomach into a knot.

She tucked her hands between her thighs, already feeling a faint heat spreading out from her core. She glanced at Dae Ho, who was eating without a care in the world. 'I guess he's the only one who can help me with it…'

A line of sweat traced down her cheek.

'Hmph. It's not like I can ask him myself though…'

Mia couldn't help but feel dismayed at how things were spiraling out of control. 'How did it come to this?'

…

"Mom, I'm leaving now!" Su Ah slipped her heels on, and, without even waiting for a reply, walked out.

Mia saw her sister through the window. She had been waiting exactly for this moment. Su Ah, at last, rounded the corner, and disappeared from sight. 'Good. She's gone. And dad is at work…'

That naturally left only one unwanted person.

She peeked out of the wall and stared at her mother. "Mom, aren't you going anywhere?"

Eun Ha was crouched down, sweat glistening all over her body from the physical work. She stared back at her daughter in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Oh… umh…" Mia slammed her hands on the table and pressed on. "Didn't you use to go to yoga class?"

'Come on. Come on. Please. Leave. Leave. Leave!'

Eun Ha chuckled good-naturedly. "I stopped going a long time ago."

"Oh…" Mia looked away, thinking hard. Her mind twisted and turned. "What about the market? Dad is working so hard, you should make him something nice..."

'Nice! Knowing her, she won't turn the idea down. She loves dad a lot.'

"Really?" Eun Ha tapped her chin in thought.

'It's working!'

Mia leaned forward, hands balled into fists. She spoke with dripping enthusiasm. "Yes, there wasn't any fruit at breakfast! How could you forget?"

"Hmm. You do have a point." Mia's giddiness grew exponentially at those words. However… "But… I don't really wanna go. If he wants some fruit, I'm sure he'll bring them back."

'What? It's not working?!'

"Besides…" Eun Ha continued, a soft smile lighting up her face. "I wanted to ask Dae Ho a few things. You see, I kinda wanted to get back in shape. And I'm sure he'll be able to give me some pointers. I really don't know where to start, haha."

'What? No… no…. no no no no!'

What the actual fuck was going on?

"But you're already in shape!" Mia shot back, grasping at straws.

Eun Ha touched the sides of her curvy hips and pouted in a very uncharacteristic fashion. "You think so? I feel like I've gained weight."

"You have not!" Mia gritted her teeth. "And… and Dae Ho is busy right now."

"He is?"

Mia nodded furiously, stuttering a bit. "M-Mom, why don't you go buy some fruits… for Dae Ho instead? You know, since he's working out and everything. Make him some steak for dinner too. He looks so thin."

'It's probably not going to work…' She lamented internally.

A determined glint flashed past Eun Ha's eyes. "You're right. I need to make him something special. I'll be right back." She pulled her kitchen gloves out, grabbed her purse, and marched out of the house as if she was about to head off to war.

'It worked! Yes! I mean… what the…'

Mia shook her head free of useless thoughts and hopped around in a victory dance. She hastily made her way to her room, where she tore her clothes off, and appreciated her nude form in the mirror.

There was no way Dae Ho was going to resist this.

Still, she was not going to walk on him naked. That'd mean she was literally throwing herself at him, and she was definitely not.

She was just using her womanly guiles to lure him into throwing himself at her.

And since Dae Ho was inexperienced, Mia would take it upon herself to teach him a few things. No strings attached. It'd be all platonic.

And she'd also use the opportunity to finally get rid of her constant state of arousal.

Win-win.

Mia slid on a white, revealing dress. It was a thin piece barely held together by a few stitched points on its side. Her satin-like, milky white thighs were served on a silver platter for Dae Ho's visual pleasure. And that was not even taking into consideration the deep crevice of her cleavage.

She was simply irresistible.

Now that she was all geared up for the battle ahead, she swung the door open and made a beeline for Dae Ho's room.

One step at a time. A blush dusted her cheeks. Her heart beat faster and faster the closer she got to her target.

Mia knocked on the door, briefly wondering if she should strike a pose, for a better effect. She didn't have time to come to a conclusion that the door clicked open. Dae Ho must have been working out. His chest was heaving and sweat clung all over his skin.

She released a shuddering breath.

His muscles were becoming more and more noticeable. Even the baby fat on his face was slimming down.

'Oh, fuck. Now I think Dae Ho is handsome too…'

"Mia Noona. Such an unexpected visit… and… such an unexpected get-up." Dae Ho chuckled, eyeing her up and down. He drank in every inch of her exposed skin, making the ball of heat in her stomach flare up even further.

"T-There's no one at home, so I thought… you know… we could hang out and stuff." Mia said nervously. When he didn't answer, she immediately crossed her arms and looked away. It was a good thing her hair was long enough to cover half of her face.

It was like a protective blanket.

"I'm working out. Can we hang out later?"

She gulped as she turned to look at him. "You… must be sore…" A breath escaped her lips. "Don't you want a massage?"