Secret Partner Bed : My Step Brother

Sitting on the bench, facing an interviewer in front of me.

"Can we start now?"

"Yes, of course."

"Could you introduce yourself?"

"I'm Sophie. 25 years old and a freelance writer. I write when there's work and play when there's none."

Recalling some time ago...

Being in a café with a friend. I glance at the menu, reading some popular items.

"What should we order?"

"Maybe soup. You want a drink, right?"

"... What do you want to talk about?"

"I'll discuss it in a moment. We'll buy two bottles of soju and beer," I explain to my friend who is getting curious.

I raise my hand to call the waiter, "Excuse me."

Back to the interview session...

"Dating? Sometimes when I have time."

I sigh, "Too many issues now. I'm too busy with work... And it hurts, emotionally involved."

I continue, "I think I've passed that point when you're obsessed with someone and can't move on."

"Someone said you recently broke up."

I explain, "Well, 'breakup' is a bit excessive. We just met briefly and then stopped. It's not like we were in a relationship."

"Aren't 'break up' and 'not meeting again' the same thing?"

"No," I clarify.

Back to dinner with my friend.

"Wow!!" she screams, crying on the table with a row of beers.

Listening to her scream and cry gives me a headache, "Damn. Her crying gives me a headache."

Not far from us, a group of people talking.

"That person is crying."

"Really? Where?"

Seeing my friend's cry becoming the center of attention in the cafe, I quickly act foolishly.

I laugh and hit my friend's body, "Oh God. What's wrong with her today?"

"Come on, man, don't cry. It's just a job interview, okay?"

I continue, "There's always next time!"

My friend lifts her head, showing her loud cry and a miserable face.

"Hey, are you crazy? Stop it!!"

"How can you, man?"

I stand up from my seat, "You must be kidding. What can I do? What am I going to do to you?"

"Did I do something wrong, man?"

I make an annoyed face, "Eh, no? That's not the only reason people can separate. You lose interest; you break up."

With an irritated expression, I press on our dining table.

"Ugh, I just want to finish this and go home. My deadline is getting closer."

".. And I'm also sleepy because of the drinks. Why do you have to cry and make a scene in the cafe, you idiot," I growl.

Seeing me growl and stare at her with annoyance, my friend shows a bad-cry face that turns into a slight smile. I approach her face and touch her cheekbone.

"Hm? Do you understand, right?"

"Consider it a life lesson from me and go home; it's late. Isn't it almost bedtime for our little kids?" I give her a sharp look up close for her to stop making a scene in the cafe.

I take the dinner payment data, "Let's pay," I assert.

Outside the cafe, after the annoying scene.

"I'll get a taxi!"

"No," I reply.

"I don't understand,"

"I don't care. That's life, keep going. Whether you understand it or not."

"But everything was fine two days ago," she screams again.

"I was on a field study with professionals when you called me to the motel. And I declined to go meet you," she explains.

"But you..." her words are interrupted.

"We!!" she yells again and starts crying.

"Hey. Alright, I understand. Stop crying; let's talk about this later."

"I'm going home," I say as I turn my heels.

She screams again with tears streaming down her face.

"Sophie!!!" she yells while crying.

"Now you're done sleeping with me, and you're dumping me?!"

"Man! Just shut up, okay?" I speak a bit loudly to her.

I cannot deny his anger towards me, as what happened next on this evening is...

"Haa..Ngh..Haa..Haa..Ahh.."

The room is filled with moans and the collision of two wet bodies penetrating each other deeper. Large hands touch my waist, continuously thrusting deeper into the intimate area behind me.

The sounds are loud, my hands keep gripping the sheets tightly, and my legs open wider, accessing the speed and strength for his ownership to penetrate deeper and faster.

"Ahh..Ha..Hmm.Haa. I should have just calmed him down, how did we end up having sex? Ugh. Ahh.. Damn it."

My body collapses facedown, my hands still gripping the sheets tightly, channeling the extraordinary sensation from my rear intimate organ. His body is on top of mine, accelerating his ownership, relentlessly attacking.

"Haa..Ahh.. There..Haa.."

"Sophie.."

"Haa..Ahh...Ahh.. Yeah."

"I love you so much, Sophie."

"Ah! St-stop."

He doesn't stop. He accelerates and deepens, lifting his body slightly, kissing the skin on my back, and giving a slight bite.

"Slow down."

"I know, right? That you're the first person I ever loved, Sophie."

"Haa..Ahh.. Nonsense..Haa.."

His speed attacking me becomes faster and deeper, my body writhes beneath him and becomes more sensitive.

Surprised, as his tongue touches my back skin and creates suction.

"Sophie. Don't leave me."

"Aaah..Haa. Yeah, faster...Haa.."

At the same time, my phone rings. It's a call from Choi Joowon.

Back to the interview session...

"Why did you have sex with him?"

"I don't know. It just happened."

"Will you meet him again?"

"No. We don't talk anymore."

"Does this happen often?"

I think, "Hmm. I don't know."

"Does he sound sincere?"

"I am sincere too; I just lose interest quickly. Everyone has different paces."

I continued, "Is that a bad thing?"

I remember that night coming back. In a room filled with moans, enjoying the attacks he gives, now the room is silent after our game ends.

I hear the shower stop running, and his footsteps come back into the room.

"Sophie. Choi Joowon sent a message for you."

"Can you put my phone on the table? I'm tired and want to sleep."

"He said. What are you doing and suspecting you're drinking, and then...." his tone sounds cold.

He continues, "He asked you to call him back, and one call was not answered, while we were having sex." his tone changes and becomes colder.

My memory breaks again, and back to the interview session.

I answered the last question given, "Honestly, I'm not always like this."

"What do you mean?"

"I've cried and begged someone to stay before. Surrendered my heart and soul to the lowest point."

I continue, "But I have changed."

"In your opinion, is it because of your past dating experiences or because you're getting older?"

"Anyway, there are many reasons everyone is similar in that regard. But, I'm still young, I just turned 25."

I continue with a smile, "No, wait. It's all because of that jerk."

"That jerk?"

"Yes. Choi Joowon."

I remember the night I had sex with him. After he spoke in a cold tone, he immediately took a break, and I had dressed neatly.

I picked up my phone, reading all the messages sent by Choi Joowon.

"What are you doing? Drinking? Call me when you see my message."

I took my bag, composing a reply for Choi. "I apologize, even if we keep meeting each other, it won't work out."

I reread my reply, this message looks excessive, and I shortened my reply.

"Hi, sorry. I'm going home, don't contact me again."

The message is sent, and I immediately block his number.

Taking a cigarette from my pocket, I wait for the taxi to arrive. I get into the car and close the door tightly. Inside the taxi, my ears unintentionally catch the radio playing at midnight.

"So Leo, we saw your recent leaked photos, and it's truly a transformation! Fans are buzzing about it online. How can you make such a dramatic change? Oh, that!"

I take out my phone, search for the number, and call him.

"Hi, Joowon. Sorry, I was sleeping. Did you call?"

Joowon answers, "What are you doing so late? Are you drinking?"

"No, I'm not. I already told you... I'm asleep," I explain again.

While amid a debate with Joowon, the taxi driver glances back and observes me.

"Excuse me, but do you want me to drop you off at the front or the back door?"

"Uh-huh, sure, asleep on the road would be more accurate, and now in the taxi," I explain again to Joowon and ignore the taxi driver.

"Still got six-pack?" I ask again.

Joowon answers from the other end, "Yes, still intact. I've been on a strict diet. I never thought I'd go this far, but 'K' had an idea."

"Excuse me, can you lower the volume?"

I get irritated, "So why did you call me, huh?"

"Can I come over now?"

"What do you think? No."

"But I'm almost at your place. I'll be there in three minutes."

I get angry again, "So why bother asking?!"

I end the call and get out of the taxi. My gaze is fixed on the man with a large build standing near my house.

"Choi Joowon is a jerk," I mutter, affirming myself.

"But he might not know what he's doing," I say again.

"Hey, I'm your stepbrother, here to see you. Don't stay out too late, okay?" His charming smile with a cigarette in his fingers keeps my eyes on him.

Back to the interview session. I'm surprised by the arrival of the blond jerk with a charming smile. "Choi Joonwo," taking his seat.

"Is my face right in the camera?"

The question sounds annoying as if he's taking over the whole place with his presence, the jerk.

"Hi, I'm Choi Joonwo. 26 years old and an actor. What else, I'm rich, handsome, and have plenty of time."

I refuse to acknowledge him; he annoys me. I recall the night I encountered this jerk.

I walk towards him, tired. He still smiles charmingly and waves his hand enthusiastically.

I sigh, "I'm very tired, jerk."

When I was near him, he approached me and started talking to me.

"What took you so long, Sophie? I've been waiting for so long."

I'm not interested in responding to his talk, "Nonsense. You said you were on your way now."

"Oh, right!"

His hand touches my back, making me irritated, and I slam his hand away, "Don't!"

He takes my hand, slowly gripping my fingers sensually. I get angrier and slam his hand hard, making an angry face.

"Argh! I already said I don't like this!"

My legs climb the stairs to my apartment, and I can hear footsteps from the jerk behind me, making me hate him.

"Can I wrap my arms around your shoulders, then?"

It's been a month since I last saw Joowon, and he hasn't changed a bit.

"Call me before you come next time."

"But I did, Sophie."

He still can't talk properly.

Arriving at the front door of my apartment, my hands press a few buttons to enter.

"Hey, Sophie. I contacted you earlier. Why are you so angry?"

"Calling five minutes before you arrive is an announcement, not a request."

He's still selfish as usual... but at the same time, caring.

"Okay, I'll call you earlier next time. But, you know, I haven't been to your place in a while. So, I got a little lost on the way."

He continues, "I can't remember your address well. Is it Apartment A or Apartment B? And you didn't answer your phone."

I, with no interest in hearing him talk, just sigh in frustration.

"So, I randomly chose one, and it turned out to be the right one," he explained, a big smile on his face. He was also very lucky, possessing a good intuition that ordinary people didn't have. Feeling his eyes continuously staring at me, I stopped thinking about that night and refocused on the interview session.

"What is the connection between both of you?"

"None," I replied uninterestedly with a lazy expression.

"That's very special," he spoke effortlessly with a charming smile as if I were the most important part of his life.

"Tell us more; can you define your relationship?"

He answered with interest, "Soulmates? Destined to be together?"

"There's no exact definition for the relationship between Joonwo and me. We come together when we want, he stops when we want. We fight, then we make up."

With an indifferent expression, I answered, "You could say we're like dating. But not dating. But we're not friends, actually..."

I covered my face in embarrassment, "What are we? I hope. I don't know... It's pathetic."

I gathered my memories again, that night when the jerk became a guest in my apartment. He opened the refrigerator, looking for something.

"Is our shooting for this month over? Or maybe he's here because he's bored."

"I thought you were busy," I asked.

As usual, no expectations, and no disappointments.

"Yeah, I only have one show for now, so I want to rest a bit."

There's never a reason for his visits; his questions are as light as his answers.

"Sophie, do you want beer or wine?"

"I don't want to drink."

I continued to ask, "I heard you'll be going to the studio tomorrow. Do you want to sleep on the sofa?"

Surprised when he stood behind me, very close, and kissed my neck.

"Sophie, you smell like shampoo."

I shivered a little, swallowing my saliva.

"Did you take a shower?"

I immediately pushed him away from me.

"Why are you sniffing me like a dog?!"

"It smells like motel shampoo,"

I held my neck, still shivering.

"Ugh, you're so annoying."

"Stop using cheap stuff. You'll ruin your hair."

"Why do you care? It's none of your business!"

He grinned, "I'm right."

He acted as if he saw through me, infuriating.

He showed the drink in his hand, "Come on, just drink with me. It's no fun to drink alone."

I returned my focus to the interview session and waited for the next question.

"I date when I feel like it; I follow my instincts. If I'm interested in someone, I'll end it when I lose interest, it's easy."

He spoke like an ordinary jerk.

"Well, I know I'm not a good person. But I'm sure it's the same for everyone. We're all just victims and perpetrators behind it all."

"Is there any specific reason or event that makes you think that way?"

He laughed loudly, "Reason? No! It's just what I've learned from years of foolish behavior."

I returned to my memories, aligning them with what he was talking about.

After the last sip, I truly became drunk.

Our conversation topics were quite basic, stories about our past, about people we knew, about the latest movies and TV shows. They weren't too exciting or entertaining. Still, light and reasonably enjoyable.

But the real motive wasn't in the conversation itself. We already knew everything we needed to know about each other.

From a close distance, he looked at me lying drunk on the floor.

"Huh... I just broke up," I confessed.

He wasn't interested in my talk, "But you're still having sex."

"Uh, I don't know; he's still very young. I got involved to console him, but it just happened."

"Will you meet him again?"

"No. I can't just stick candy in a child's mouth when they cry because they want to be carried. That's selfish."

He laughed loudly, mocking me.

"You're the only one laughing so loud!"

I continued, "Jerk."

I took the drink from his hand, preventing him from getting drunk and doing something.

"Don't get drunk again."

His hand gripped my shoulder tightly. I was surprised when his hand touched my neck and stole a kiss from my lips. He bit my lip, inserting his tongue into my mouth. I kept hitting his shoulder, trying to stop him. However, resisting was futile.

His tongue continued to dance in my mouth, sucking and taking control of the rough and insincere kiss. His body was now on top of mine, releasing erotic kisses and switching to sucking on my neck.

We were stars of a cheap third-rate romance novel, with a predictable and clichéd plot. And unsurprisingly, the story would end badly.

My hands pressed against his shoulders, and his hands lifted my body slightly, removing my clothes.

"I can't go back to the beginning," I said to myself.

His tongue continued to dance in my mouth, making me lose awareness of my body under the power of his hands. He kissed my forehead, staring at me very closely, my heartbeat pounding as our breaths chased each other.

"Come on, let's just drink."

The passionate smile instantly faded from my face, replaced by an angry one.

"What? Why? Finish what you started!"

"Because you smell like motel shampoo. It doesn't excite me. Why don't you wallow in your sadness over your breakup? Drink."

I clenched my fists in anger and delivered a hard punch to the back of his head.

"You're annoying! If it's not exciting, get out of here before I hit you again!"

"I have some anger management issues, Sophie. You throw dirty words every time you're working. I just let it go because I'm your stepbrother."

I calmed down my anger, releasing my clenched fists and sitting next to him with a frustrated face.

"Oh, thank you so much because you're so sweet and eloquent yourself."

"Watch this movie; I'm in it."

We sat side by side watching TV in silence for the next few minutes. Choi Joowon on the screen chatted, laughed, and interacted warmly with a model during shooting. My mouth felt dry, even though I occasionally sipped wine.

The guy on the screen looked different from Choi Joowon sitting next to me. He didn't need to say a word; I knew his mood was bad. God, it's funny. Stupid.

My phone rang; I picked it up and felt a strange gaze from Choi Joowon looking at my phone.

"Oh, he must be awake. I forgot to block him earlier," I said.

Choi Joowon's gaze looked unfriendly.

"Is that him?"

"Yes, mind if I answer?"

"Why should I? This is your home."

I answered the call, "Hello."

"I'm going to smoke," he went away, avoiding hearing my conversation with another guy.

"You can smoke here," I restrained him.

"So you can give me nonsense about his smell? No."

"Give nonsense?"

And I was also stupid to enjoy his jealousy. We're desperate, him and me.

From the other end of the phone, I heard a voice.

"Sophie, when will you come?"

"Well, I don't know."

"Did we end? I thought we discussed all this before. How could you... leave like that when I was sleeping?"

"He's smoking... And when he saw me still talking on the phone, he lit another one. I tried to comfort the kid on the phone for a few more minutes, then hung up.

Just a day before, we were a couple... But there wasn't much I could say to him; my mind was blank.

"Sorry, this is how I am. You know it before you start."

The words I said were almost disproportionate to the effort. All the while, my eyes were fixed on my stepbrother standing outside.

"Ugh, it's cold. Are you done? Uh-huh.."

He took a magazine from my desk, "Do you also like this photographer?"

"No, it's just for work. I'm writing an article about him."

"An article about what?"

"Just a regular interview with that photographer and some other things. Seokjun gave me the job."

I continued my questioning, "Do you know him?"

"I've tried to find out more about him, but it's not easy. I didn't find anything. Have you ever worked with him before?"

"I don't know him well either."

He sat on the sofa, and I was on the floor. "Our agencies gave us a joint job, but I didn't like it. So, I quit."

"Oh, I see."

"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep," I said.

He held my hand tightly, "Sophie."

"What?"

"Do you want to sleep together like we did when we were little?"

"No. Your bed is too small."

"Aww. Come on,"

I looked away and sighed.

Warmth enveloped my entire body as his big hand hugged me tighter, warming my skin, and my breath became irregular. My stepbrother, Choi Joowon, is exactly three years... We lived together in the same household; legally, we were family. From when I was sixteen to nineteen.