After Sohee finished scolding them, they sat down at the dining table to eat the ramen Sinbi had prepared.
"We all did it together today~" Sinbi said, her voice sweet and gentle.
From what Jinwoo gathered, the tattoo Sohee had received was currently all the rage among high school girls; they called it a "friendship tattoo."
The girls would etch the name of a crush or a favorite celebrity onto their thighs, usually styled in an elegant English font.
Since the tattoos were placed high on the inner thigh, just below the groin, there was little risk of being caught at school…
unless, of course, they went around lifting their skirts like Sohee had done earlier.
"We even got a group discount for being 'fancy school girls.' Sohee and I chose the names of our crushes. They said it's even cheaper if you go as a couple," Sinbi explained.
Her voice was calm, and she slipped into a relaxed accent as she offered up far more detail than Jinwoo had actually asked for.
Jinwoo simply nodded, focused on slurping his ramen.
According to Sinbi, it seemed both she and Sohee had someone they liked.
Whether they were actually dating the people behind those initials or just harboring one-sided feelings remained unclear, and Jinwoo didn't particularly feel like prying.
"Should I show you mine?" Sinbi asked suddenly, shifting her knees toward him.
Jinwoo nearly choked on his noodles. "Cough... Gasp... What? What?"
"Don't you want to see? Aren't you curious?" Sinbi teased.
She gripped the hem of her skirt with both hands, slowly inching it upward. Her already short school uniform skirt crept higher and higher, revealing the smooth, plump curve of her thighs.
Gulp.
Jinwoo couldn't help but stare, his throat dry as he watched the fabric rise.
Just as the skirt reached a critical height, Sinbi stopped.
"Got a bit pervy there, didn't you?" she asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Then, with a cheeky grin, she flipped her skirt back down. "Did you really think I was going to show you? Puhaha!"
Her teasing laughter echoed through the house. Jinwoo sat there, face burning and utterly flustered.
"Your brother is too cute! Did you see him blush?" Sinbi said, turning to Sohee.
Sohee, sitting across from them, watched the exchange with a look of pure pity.
"Did you really expect her to show you?"
Sinbi continued to poke fun at him, hitting the mark every time.
"Argh! No! I didn't!" Jinwoo shouted, frustrated that even the usually reliable Sinbi was ganging up on him.
"Giggle~" Radiating with the typical energy of a high school girl, Sinbi held her stomach and laughed for a good while.
Trying to regain some lost pride after being humiliated, Jinwoo tried to fire back between bites of ramen.
"Guys change all the time. You two are definitely going to regret those later," he muttered.
"You should've just picked guys with the same initials. Or maybe you can just make it a strategy to only date guys with those specific names from now on."
He expected a bite back, but Sinbi just offered a soothing, "Yeah, that would work..." which only made him feel more ignored.
"But Sohee, seriously," Jinwoo said, his tone shifting to genuine concern. "If Mom finds out about that, won't it be a huge problem?"
"If you just keep your mouth shut, there won't be a problem," Sohee replied, her tone still icy.
"But what about the bathhouse? Or the swimming pool? You won't be able to go with Mom anymore," Jinwoo pressed.
Sohee didn't budge. "I said, as long as you keep your mouth shut, it's fine. Got it?"
"Argh, do you really think I'd snitch to Mom about something like that?"
Jinwoo snapped, annoyed by her attitude. He decided to stop talking to her altogether.
It seemed the joke Jinwoo had made the previous morning had struck a sensitive nerve.
After their father had passed away, Sohee had quit athletics despite being a top performer.
During that stressful time, her physique had begun to change—her body becoming more womanly and curved—and she had found it too embarrassing to discuss with the family.
Sohee hadn't planned on a career in sports, so quitting hadn't bothered her in a professional sense.
However, the fact that she couldn't reveal the real reason—knowing it would cause unnecessary worry—was what truly upset her.
Jinwoo had inadvertently poked at that specific wound.
Seeing the tension, Sinbi, perhaps feeling a bit of pity for Jinwoo, started teasing him again to lighten the mood.
"Jinwoo, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No, I don't," he answered without thinking.
"Ever had one before?"
"No."
"Ever kissed anyone?"
"I've never even dated, how would I have kissed someone!" Jinwoo said, his embarrassment returning.
"Can't you kiss without dating?"
"I said no!" Jinwoo was shocked. He didn't think kissing without dating was wrong, per se, but he assumed it was something only couples did.
In his head, he tried to remind himself: Fantasy and reality are different.
"Aren't you interested in that kind of stuff?" Sinbi leaned in, her face getting closer to his.
"It's not that I'm not interested... it's just weird to answer that." Unable to meet her eyes, Jinwoo grew increasingly flustered.
"Should I teach you how to kiss?" Sinbi pouted her lips, which were glossy with pink lipstick, and stared straight at him.
Jinwoo froze, unable to find his words. He found himself staring helplessly at her lips.
"Ah~ You thought about it for a second, right? Kissing me," Sinbi teased, her voice turning playful once more.
"Ah, enough! What are you even talking about!"
"Jinwoo is really cute! Giggle~" She burst into laughter again, clutching her stomach.
As the teasing continued, Jinwoo retreated into his ramen, listening to the conversation between the two girls.
"Ah, dancing is tough too," Sohee remarked. "I sweat a lot and it's hard using muscles I've never used before. I shouldn't have taken it so lightly."
It seemed she was referring to the dance practice they had earlier that day.
"Yeah, you're right. It's definitely a difficult routine for beginners," Sinbi agreed.
"Should I really keep doing it? Are you okay with it?"
Sohee glanced cautiously at Jinwoo before asking Sinbi about 'that' specific topic.
"Um... I think I can do it if I'm with you," Sinbi answered cautiously.
"Yeah, I think I can do it if we're together, too. I've decided to slowly respond to Sora, so let's think about it a little more."
Sohee kept a close eye on Jinwoo's reactions, clearly hiding something as she wrapped up the conversation.
"What are you guys talking about? A diet?" Jinwoo asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"You don't need to know," Sohee cut him off coldly.
"What the heck? What is she talking about, Sinbi noona?" Realizing he wouldn't get anything out of his sister, he turned to Sinbi.
Sinbi looked at Sohee before sighing. "Sorry, Jinwoo~ I wouldn't mind telling you, but Sohee would really get mad."
"Ah, seriously, what is it?" Jinwoo whined, frustrated by the secrecy.
"You don't need to know! If you're done with your ramen, go do the dishes!"
Driven by Sohee's irritated command, Jinwoo gave up and headed to the sink.
As he worked, Sohee and Sinbi moved to the living room sofa to watch TV.
Jinwoo perked up his ears, trying to eavesdrop, but they didn't mention 'that' again.
There's definitely something going on, Jinwoo thought. It's clearly about a diet, but why would Sohee get angry if I knew? Is it some kind of exercise that's embarrassing to tell a brother? It's even more suspicious that Sinbi is keeping it a secret, too.
He racked his brain but couldn't find an answer.
As he was finishing up, Sohee left the living room to go to the bathroom. Seeing her chance, Sinbi approached Jinwoo in the kitchen.
"Need help with the dishes?" her voice was now serious, stripped of its earlier playfulness.
"It's almost done, I'm okay. But really… wasn't that conversation about a diet?" Jinwoo asked quickly, hoping for an answer while his sister was occupied.
"Yeah, that's right," Sinbi admitted.
"Then why would Sohee get mad if you told me?"
"There's a reason for that, hehe." She still wouldn't give him a straight answer.
"Ah, really? Even you, Sinbi noona?"
"Sorry, but if I tell you, Sohee might actually kill me." She held firm.
"You're too much. What's the big deal? You were just teasing me earlier, and now you're excluding me. We've known each other forever! Can't you just tell a close brother a little bit?"
Jinwoo appealed to her one last time, sounding genuinely disappointed.
Sinbi looked troubled.
After a moment of thought, she spoke. "I can't tell you because Sohee would be furious... but I'll give you a hint instead."
(Read more at KatNovels . c o m)
As she spoke, she began tracing numbers with her finger on Jinwoo's back while he stood at the sink.
0135 After writing the last digit, she swept her hand across his back as if erasing the "ink."
"0135?" Jinwoo turned his head in confusion, repeating the numbers aloud.
"Shh!" Sinbi pressed a finger to her lips and whispered.
"Even if you figure out the answer, you have to pretend you don't know in front of Sohee, got it?"
Jinwoo nodded.
He didn't say another word, silently pondering the meaning of the numbers until Sinbi left the kitchen.