191 — Choices

Mia sighed but nodded reluctantly. For now, at least, the blood pressure levels in this house would stabilize for the night.

A small victory considering I'd navigated the minefield of two sexually frustrated—and now territorially pitted—sisters.

I watched Mia retreat to her room with a soft 'nighty nighty'.

I felt a strange relief settle over me as I became acutely aware of my state of undress. Towering towel-lassoed in a dim corridor while juggling two little pitpulls was hardly dignified.

Right. Clothes first, emotional damage control second.

Back in my room, I slipped on some comfortable sleepwear and did a quick onceover, taking stock of my limited wardrobe options in case I was obligated to bail anytime.

Su Ah would require far longer to calm the fuck down; no, I was hoping Mia could play nice tomorrow morning and even set things off with an early apology.

My sweet Noonas could be a bit rough and a little scary when pissed. God forbid I caught them both in a bad mood, which meant I would have to tread very fucking carefully to prevent setting off their bombs.

And there would be only two possible outcomes to placate their tempers: an overly lengthy and aggressive round of sex, or multiple rounds of overly lengthy and aggressive sex.

In which, for all of my perks, I only had one dick, so yeah, could only work with one.

And I had two Noonas I needed to please.

'A threesome would probably be the next logical progression.'

I suppressed the urge to shudder. A part of me really wanted it but the rational side quickly clipped in that I was no match against two of the most hormonal creatures on earth. Yeah, you go tell Mia and Su Ah that, and see how well it goes. I didn't have a death wish, thanks.

'Sexually frustrating indeed. They really made the prospect of not going home appealing... Do I have to worry about waking up imprisoned somewhere?'

Sounded like the premise of some porn.

Right, I'd take the less damaging and violent approach.

As I adjusted my shirt, another thought slithered through—where the hell was our mother?

Eun Ha didn't usually sleep through earthquakes, yet this sibling apocalypse had just gone down with minimal fuss from the parental unit. Yeong Gu wasn't home, so whatever.

But Eun Ha?

Sure, she wasn't a night owl by any stretch. But complete silence through what amounted to a WWE main event downstairs? Unlikely. Either she'd taken some top-tier sleeping pills or was buried earlobe-deep in a documentary, headphones clamped on.

Given everything, the less worrying option was checking in later.

After confirming that Eun Ha's room was silent save for some steady breathing—apparently, she really was a remarkably deep sleeper—I made my way back to where I'd really begun my impromptu therapy session.

Su Ah's door felt like I was facing a final boss with no mana left.

I raised my hand.

Light raps. Softly, testing the waters.

A muffled, yet somehow still crystal clear. "If that's you, Unnie, I suggest you just go fuck yourself. Literally. Since it's the only pleasure you're ever going to get in life."

Hmm, sounded like things were going great.

But that's not the kind of mood I want the Noonas in. "Su Ah Noona." I began as gently as possible. "It's me, Jae-il."

A silence I knew wouldn't last.

"O-oh! C-come in then..."

Her door wasn't locked.

She lay sprawled on the bed in the middle of a mire of tears and crumpled tissues, an impressive red-eyed, yet-still-impressively-hot disaster.

She made for a pitiful, almost pathetic figure, half-curled and fixing herself up the fastest way anyone possibly could, desperately brushing aside every evidence that I had caught her in a breakdown.

"Jae-il..."

"Noona..." I closed the door with a sigh and made my way over to Su Ah, sitting myself on her bed. "Mia Noona told me she and you had a huge argument..."

"Bet she did." Su Ah snorted, not looking at me. "It's not the first time."

"It's not the first time, no..." I agreed softly, my hand instinctively moving to smooth her tangled hair.

Something sour pooled in my stomach.

Not pity—no, Su Ah would break if she thought I pitied her—just this growing realization that we had started digging ourselves a goddamn rabbit hole, and now I was expected to single-handedly fill it back in while these two lobbed shovel-loads of dirt at each other.

She leaned into my touch, shifting closer.

"Did you say anything to make Mia Noona go crazy like this?"

"Wel... I guess Unnie wasn't thrilled when I told her in delicious detail about your massive cock rearranging my insides." She muttered.

I froze. Su Ah wielded truth as a weapon aimed straight at Mia's jugular.

"That's... your version of diplomacy is terrifying." I managed dryly.

"Heat of the moment." She whispered, blushing a little—and it was a miserable echo of my own excuse to Mia back in the hall.

The faint, almost non-existent mark on her cheek seemed to darken under my gaze.

Violence. First it was words, now this. What next?

The truly worrying, deeply buried thought wasn't that they would end up destroying each other. It was that they would find a way to destroy me first, or trap me, so thoroughly, that I would pray for it.

My beautiful, obsessive, loving sisters were quickly becoming more of a problem than pleasure.

"... I guess I haven't done well with diplomacy. And neither did Unnie."

I let out a heavy sigh. "No one has, Noona. Your temper runs faster than your reasoning does. Same with her. If you really want things to change—if you're sincere enough to get better—then both of you have to take equal responsibility. So please, for the sake of the sanity in the family, go talk to her, ask her forgiveness, and she'll ask yours in return, and move on. It's easier to accept what happened and deal with the consequences than to keep fighting and arguing about it. It's an endless road with no destination. Arguments and fights can break down walls, Noona, they aren't supposed to break people. Words, unless necessary, are nothing."

"It's not easy, Jae-il... you can't ask us to not feel this way." Su Ah argued. "Besides, why should Unnie always get away scot-free? I'm not letting her."

"She isn't, Noona. She was actually crying when I saw her earlier—it's clearly not easy for her either, just... take it from the person in the middle here. You both have got to find common ground. Talk about your feelings, listen to each other, don't rush anything, stay level-headed, think rationally before acting upon any rash thoughts, and above all, compromise. Noona is very possessive and protective about me."

"And I'm not?" Su Ah stared at me. "Jae-il... you... you don't understand. Think about it. What if the roles were reversed. What if you had to compete against a brother to win the affections of your one and only true love? That's how it feels for us. It doesn't help that we can't come out publicly, or do anything besides lying low, waiting until you're back home from your... your practices, your tournaments and world tours. You have a whole world out there, but to us, you're our world. And it gets a lot harder when there's someone else competing, someone that we cannot get rid of..."

"Hey..." I said, softly. "Look at me."

Her head was bowed, but she obeyed, lifting it to meet my gaze. Her dark blue eyes were so, so red.

"That's the thing, Noona. The both of you have been trying to get rid of each other. If not physically, then emotionally. But you have to understand. It's not a competition. Not in the way you're thinking. You really think I can possibly make a choice here?"

Seriously, how would that even work?

Exhibit A. Mia: fiery, bold Mia who walks into rooms like she owns them, who puts a collar around my neck and drives me under. A girl who challenges and thrills and frustrates. I'd end up with someone who would wrap me in layers of affection tighter and deadlier than any boa constrictor.

Exhibit B. Su Ah: quiet, observant Su Ah who notices things, the slight discoloration in a photograph, a piece of fabric that doesn't belong, an overlooked character quirk, a tiny line across my face. A girl who stimulates and enthralls and teases. I'd end up with everyone whose brand of obsession would be insidious, creeping into my life like IV until one day I'd realize everything—my monster preference, my schedule, my innermost thoughts—had been arranged to her liking without my conscious consent.

They want exclusivity, they seek it desperately, yet the exclusivity they demand from me contradicts the nature of this entanglement.

If love's supposed to be selfish, theirs has weaponized the concept.

So here I was trying to negotiate peace terms between two of the least cooperative warring states. All I wanted was to enjoy this life of mine without it turning into a Shakespearean tragedy.

Looking into those murky eyes of my dear, lovely Exhibit B sister, I didn't know how well that'd really go…