38 — Stained Red

I raised an eyebrow. "A photo booth? Seriously?"

"Yes! Don't be boring." She tugged my arm before I could protest, dragging me toward it with surprising strength.

The booth was small, cramped, and smelled faintly of plastic and old upholstery. Mia practically bounced as she slid in first, leaving barely any room for me. "Okay, rules." She said, turning to face me. She held a sharp finger up. "No plain faces. We go big or we go home. Got it?"

"Wait, going home is an option?" I asked, a little too seriously.

"You're not getting away that easily." Mia said, pushing me inside and crowding against me. I made a reluctant face. "Oh come on, it's not the time for your macho stoicism. Put a damn smile on your face."

She clicked a few options on the touch screen, then inserted the amount owed. She chose the multiple shots option. Great. Her arm circled around me as she leaned close. "Cheese!" She yelled with glee, her expression turning into a huge grin as she made an exaggerated peace sign. The first picture flashed.

Mia let out an amused squeal at my unsmiling expression.

Before I could move or even breathe, her hands were on either side of my face. "Come on, dummy, at least fake it. Just a little." Her tone was light and playful as her fingertips tickled my cheeks. Meanwhile, the countdown was ticking, and she was so busy focusing on trying to fix my expression that she completely ignored it. Instead, it looked like the camera was going to capture us in the midst of a very different scene.

"Come oooon." Her hands pushed up the edges of my mouth. It hurt.

I made a noise halfway between a laugh and a groan, and she joined in the giggle fit.

Then the second picture snapped, freezing us in the midst of it.

She didn't relinquish her hold on me. If anything, her grip tightened as the countdown started ticking toward the next shot. God, stupid photo machine thing, give us a fucking second, at least!

The next photo would show the exact same, but now I had to contend with a mad woman clinging on to my face with a grin. Her hands remained fixed, her thumbs still digging into the flesh of my cheeks. To retaliate, I did something I hadn't done since we were children. I reached out and started tickling her side, causing her to let out a shrill giggle that echoed through the tiny photo booth.

"No, stop it! Not fair, not fair." She shrieked, wriggling and laughing in the tiny confines.

"Oh yeah?" I replied with a smirk. "Well, I think turnabout is fair play."

Somewhere in my head, a bald meth guy was giving me a slow nod of approval: "You're goddamn right."

"Rude!" She managed, still laughing. Her hands, which had released my cheeks in her fit of laughter, now tried to push me back, slapping me away in her desperation. The scene must have looked comical from the outside—the two of us, squirming and giggling like children in this cramped booth.

In the depths of my mind, I wondered if, still from the outside, we must've looked like a couple as well.

The third shot was snapped as she continued trying, despite her own breathless giggles and the jolt of her hips every time I grazed her sensitive spots. "Damn you, Jae-il! We're wasting the shots." Mia's tone was playful, not angry, and as her arms wrapped tighter around my neck. The next countdown ticked down. "See? Now, look, the timer is still counting!"

I relented, letting my hand drop. "Fine! Fine! Let's get a proper one, at least." I relaxed my posture, fully leaning into my sister. Her body was half draped over me, the scent of her hair filling the tiny space, and the weight of her pressed into me in an intimate yet innocent manner.

She had her arms wrapped and locked around me from behind, her chin resting on the crook of my neck.

It wasn't as bad as I thought, in all honesty. I just didn't think I'd do this type of thing with her, of all people.

The camera clicked.

"We have one shot left." Mia murmured softly into my ear.

I grunted. "That one will probably be a good one, considering I can hardly breathe with you hanging off me like a monkey."

She made an exaggerated gasp. "How dare you, dummy?" Mia said, then bit my shoulder with a growl. I couldn't help but chuckle, her attempt to seem fierce only coming across as cute. She shifted. Then, her breath, hot and slightly mint-scented, danced across the side of my face. "Don't you enjoy this?"

Enjoy was one word, yes.

"Well, it's weird, you know? Feels kinda awkward to be trapped in here with someone as loud as you, and—"

Her damn canines sunk into my flesh again.

It wasn't enough to break the skin, or even hurt much.

I tilted my head just enough that her mock-bite slid off harmlessly.

"You know." I said in a calm, measured tone. "Keep that up and you'll have to explain to people why you're leaving dental impressions on your own brother."

"Please. As if anyone's looking that closely."

"Remember? Future superstar here. Paparazzi could be everywhere. One of those bastards hiding in the bushes might've snapped that."

"You're not that famous yet." She fully exposed her blinding white teeth. "Which means it's now or never." Then, just as the countdown began ticking its last seconds, she effortlessly slid around and—before I could even register it—straight into my lap. She crossed one knee over the other, her arms still hanging from my shoulders as her mouth slowly neared my ear. And whispered. "Click..."

The flash went off a second before she climbed off of me, as if nothing happened.

She quickly retrieved the set of photographs, her smile never wavering. We stood side by side as the pictures slowly developed in our hands, and she leaned in closer, her arm pressing against mine. "So?" Mia said, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. "How did we turn out? You better look good enough, because I'm not wasting more of our coins just for you."

"I'm not doing another session just because you insist on acting out some kind of weird kinks." I quipped back, taking a look at the developing paper.

The pictures, still faint, were slowly appearing one by one.

First, the picture with Mia and her huge smile while making an exaggerated peace sign.

Second, her grinning widely, holding onto my cheeks, her thumb pressing up on my mouth.

Third, me looking down at her while I had her in the tickling of her life.

Fourth, we're just holding one another.

Fifth, pratically the same, but... well, Mia was now holding onto me like a snake, in a pose that was anything but innocent. Sitting on my lap. Arms lazily yet possessively around me. And her face, her mouth, a breath width away from my ear.

From that angle, you couldn't see her face. Her blonde mane obscured her face.

As for me...

I had a soft, barely visible smile, my lips half parted. I was staring at her with that expression, not at the camera. Clearly, I had yet to fully mentally process and digest everything in the picture. For example, my hand was splayed across her back, holding her steady. But that was not to join in on Mia's ridiculous idea of a photo, but to actually make sure she wouldn't lose her balance and topple us over. I hadn't meant for that look to come across that way.

Our faces were close together. Too close, in that instant.

This didn't look like a picture of two siblings having fun.

Not in a million years.

She looked at the picture too and smirked, not looking surprised. "Not bad at all." She cooed. "Aaaaand, if you don't mind, you're giving me all these."

It didn't matter if I minded or not, since she had already pocketed them all. I was still reeling from the sight of those photographs. "We don't look..." I didn't say it, not daring to utter the words, and yet the image still lingered there.

"Look like what? That we look so cute, happy and young? That's what siblings do, dummy." Mia gave a quick, sharp pinch on my cheek, her fingertips brushing against the warm skin there. "Don't overthink it, silly."

"Yeah... right, right. Siblings, yeah. What else could I mean."

She giggled, ruffling my hair. "Come on, Jae-il. The day isn't over yet!"

I rolled my eyes.

We drifted out of the booth and back into the mall's atrium.

Crowds flowed around us.

Mia linked her arm through mine, swinging it as if she were a kid. "Where to next?"

I shrugged. "Preferably somewhere without you trying to maim me with your teeth."

She grinned like I'd just given her permission to do it again. "Fine. Jewelry store. I saw a gorgeous necklace in the display earlier. You're coming with."

"You want me to stand there and nod at shiny objects while you pretend to consider them?"

"Exactly."

We reached the store, a small but expensive-looking place tucked between a cosmetics shop and a café. Bright white lights. Glass cases polished to the point you could see your soul. Two beautiful clerks in neat black suits. When it came to expensive stones, you should always have someone even prettier holding it out to you. Made you want it more. The girls' hair was tied back in sleek ponytails and their make-up was perfect, and they both gave us the same measured, practiced smiles when we walked in. A little bit curious, a lot friendly, and just the tiniest bit condescending, because they'd both had their doubts about the sort of clientele who came in as casually dressed as us.

Mia pulled me over to a case of gleaming silver jewelry. "There. Look!"

A thin chain, a small star-shaped pendant hanging from it.

"It's cute." I admitted, leaning in closer.

The clerk moved to stand on the other side, still giving that polite-but-distant smile. She was a little shorter, slimmer. More angular features. Her dark hair shone like obsidian. "Would you like a closer look?" She asked, and the question seemed to be aimed more at Mia. Fair. Why would I even want a feminine necklace?

My older sister nodded eagerly. "Oh yes. If you could, please."

"Of course."

The lock clicked and the cabinet door swung open. The girl lifted up the necklace. "Do you have a particular metal in mind for it? Silver? White gold? Or..."

I found my eyes drawn to the other side of the counter, not far off that I couldn't hear the other saleswoman droning on and on to a man.

A man—wearing a mask, hood up.

Nothing strange these days, until his right hand slipped from his pocket, and the blade caught the light.

Oh, you've got to be kidding me.