HWAMB — Side Story Chapter 4

Side Story 4

“W-what do you mean…”

At my question, he only gave me a meaningful smile. Just then, the part-timer at the counter came over with coffee, setting down a cup right beside me. Startled, I instinctively shoved the egg into my pocket. The powerful vibrations tingled against the flesh of my left thigh. The part-timer smiled and kindly asked if I had a call, and I awkwardly replied with a laugh, “Ah, it’s fine. It’s just a call I don’t need to answer.” Not long after the man left, the vibration stopped.

I sipped the coffee he had poured for me and glared at Hyun-seo, but he only kept smiling.

“I want to put that in Eun-woo.”

The coffee I’d just drunk sprayed right back out. Cough, cough! Choking as I coughed repeatedly, he offered me tissues with a worried, “Oh no, are you okay?” in that gentle voice. What the hell was this man saying in broad daylight! Wasn’t this basically telling a younger brother outright, “I’m going to fuck your older brother”? I was the one embarrassed. If I hadn’t known Hyun-seo wasn’t a bad person, I would’ve been on guard immediately.

“Y-you mean, with my brother?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you telling me that… Figure it out between the two of you!”

“It hurts to hear you so cold. You may not believe it, but this is actually a pretty serious concern for me.”

“Liar…”

“Hahaha.”

Hyun-seo laughed heartily, a picture-perfect smile on his lips. How could he speak so casually about something this mortifying? His looks aside, his personality was completely different from Hyun-woo’s. Lately, even Hyun-woo had become a bit sly, but the two of them had very different styles. Hyun-woo still had plenty of things he blushed over. Hyun-seo, on the other hand… he looked effortlessly skilled in everything.

“Well… if you don’t want to, I can’t force you. I just said you could call on me if you ever needed anything…”

“Th-that’s true, but I didn’t think it’d be for this kind of consultation…”

“Sorry. I must have been thoughtless…”

He put on a pitiful, sad expression. That manipulative face tugging at my emotions—I’d seen it often from Hyun-woo as well. Maybe this part they had in common. In the end, I decided to give in to Hyun-seo’s ploy. It was true I owed him quite a lot…

“But there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Ask freely.”

“Um… the position…”

As I stammered, Hyun-seo’s eyes widened. Then he burst out laughing as though he’d just heard something amusing.

“Eun-jae, what do you think?”

“I can’t picture it, that’s why I’m asking…”

Hyun-seo was an omega, and my brother was an alpha. Naturally, omegas were usually the ones on the bottom, but there were exceptions. Some omegas, being male, wanted to top. I myself sometimes imagined topping Hyun-woo, though I’d never tried. Usually, though, omegas were the ones below. But honestly, it was hard to picture Hyun-seo that way. He was tall, broad-shouldered, skilled at everything. Strong-willed too… not the type to be easily pinned down.

“But honestly… I really can’t imagine you being the bottom…”

“Then what, Eun-woo would be?”

“No… honestly, I can’t imagine that either…”

I couldn’t help but picture my sharp-tempered brother. He doted on me, yes, but to others he was cold to the extreme. Back when our parents were alive, during his rebellious phase, he had caused plenty of trouble.

“Even though I’m an omega?”

“If you didn’t say it, no one would even know. And besides, your dynamics could be different…”

At my words, Hyun-seo smiled faintly, then tapped his fingers lightly on the chair as though deep in thought.

“Well, it’s true… up until now it’s always been that way. That’s why this is the first time I’ve ever been the one… penetrated.”

At the blunt word, my back stiffened. So he really was the bottom. Still, I couldn’t picture it. I nervously sipped my coffee, glancing at the part-timer at the counter. Even if it was his workshop, what if someone overheard? My attention was fixed entirely on that.

“So then… this ‘serious concern’ of yours is about how to put it in my brother, right?”

“Oh, no. That’s not it.”

Lowering my voice, I asked while keeping an eye on the part-timer, but Hyun-seo caught on and dismissed him early. After sending the man home, he went to the back room and returned with something. It was as if that adult toy egg had multiplied. Similar shapes and designs, but each a little different. They came in every color. He must have bought one of each, unsure which would be best. I gawked, and Hyun-seo only smiled softly as he asked me,

“I wanted your opinion on which one looks nicest, which feels right.”

So this was what he had called me here for. No wonder I felt drained.

“…Are you really going to use it on my brother?”

“…? And why wouldn’t I?”

‘Well… there’s nothing stopping you…’

His eyes held genuine puzzlement. My brother didn’t seem like the type to give in easily, but then again, Hyun-seo didn’t look like the type to give up easily either. That faint glimmer of obsession in his gaze made my skin prickle. I wanted to get up and leave, but considering how much he’d helped me, it didn’t feel right.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to just ask my brother directly? Why me…”

“I heard you and Eun-woo have similar tastes. I wondered if maybe that similarity extended to this too.”

Really? Thinking about it, maybe it was true. My brother and I often chose similar things when shopping. Hyun-seo seemed fascinated by the fact that Eun-woo and he apparently had no overlapping tastes.

After some thought, I pointed at the egg that seemed the least harmful for my brother. A long silence followed. Feeling uneasy, I looked up and saw Hyun-seo deep in thought, as if wrestling with another problem entirely.

“Do you have something else on your mind?”

“Hm? Ah… no, nothing.”

“It’s written all over your face.”

“Mm…”

Hyun-seo rubbed his chin, then glanced at me. After a long moment of thought, he carefully asked me a question.

“By any chance… do you know what Eun-woo likes?”

“My brother? What kind of things are you asking about, exactly…?”

“Anything.”

He tried to act calm and aloof, but he couldn’t meet my eyes as he asked. Resting his chin on his hand with his legs crossed, the tips of his ears were bright red. It was the first time I had ever seen him embarrassed. Hyun-woo’s ears also turned red first when he was flustered.

“He likes melodramas.”

“Melodramas…?”

“He actually likes cutesy things more than you’d think.”

His reaction was one of mild surprise. It made sense. He didn’t look like the type at all. But my brother was more of a romantic than he let on. He just didn’t show it.

“And… hm. He likes doenjang stew. If you put in a lot of meat, he really loves it.”

“I figured as much.”

“He also likes kids.”

“Kids…”

At the word “kids,” his brows furrowed slightly. His expression looked troubled, weighed down by thought. I just kept listing off whatever came to mind that my brother liked. Hyun-seo listened quietly, his face serious. But when I finished, he put away the worried look as if it had never been there, replacing it with his usual gentle smile. Picking up the egg I had chosen, he said with a laugh, “So this is the one you picked? As expected, your tastes are similar.”

“Thanks. Oh, and this is a gift.”

He handed me a black paper shopping bag. The luxurious look of it made me wave my hands in refusal, but Hyun-seo insisted it wasn’t anything big and forced it into my hand.

“I put a few things in there. Eun-woo will like them.”

“Huh? What is it?”

He didn’t answer my question, only kept smiling softly.

* * *

“Uh…”

A dazed voice slipped out of me. Back home, I opened the black shopping bag Hyun-seo had given me. Inside was… a pair of black stockings.