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Jinwoo and Sohee had arrived at the food court in the basement of the department store and were picking out their lunch menu.

"What do you wanna eat? Should I buy you a steak? That place over there is freaking good," Sohee said, pointing to a store with an excited expression.

Having been there a few times with friends, Sohee seemed quite familiar with guiding around.

The food court in the basement was divided into several large sections, some stores shared tables in the central hall, while others were set up like separate restaurants.

The long line of stores...

On a weekend afternoon, the dining area in the department store was becoming increasingly crowded with people coming in for lunch.

"Do you want to eat steak, noona?"

"Nah, you pick whatever you wanna eat~"

The steak place noona pointed out was one that shared the central hall.

"...I think I'd prefer a place with separate seating...?"

Due to noona's playful jokes and her revealing outfit, Jinwoo, who was visibly aroused, seemed unlikely to calm down any time soon and preferred to avoid the central hall seats.

—Even though he was covering up with Sohee's cardigan, he was still worried about other customers' stares— Knowing Jinwoo's condition, noona seemed to be teasing him even more, exaggerating her gestures and expressions, and tightly gripping Jinwoo's hand as she led him around.

Just then, a table within a separate Japanese ramen shop caught Jinwoo's eye.

A famous Japanese franchise ramen shop.

"Do you want to eat ramen, Sohee?"

Jinwoo stopped Sohee, who was dragging him along, and asked.

"You wouldn't eat it even when I offered to cook it at home, but now that we're out, you want some?"

Sohee looked a bit surprised and said something like she was somewhat disappointed.

—It was probably half a playful joke—

"It doesn't seem quite the same, does it?"

Jinwoo pondered the significance of eating ramen and mentioned it to Sohee.

* * *

Jinwoo and Sohee entered a Japanese ramen shop and found a secluded spot where people's gazes didn't reach easily.

Jinwoo and Sohee ordered tonkotsu ramen, made from pork bone broth, and miso ramen, respectively.

The conversation between the siblings, who seemed to be out shopping, would have looked fairly normal if not for Sohee's sexy outfit and Jinwoo's aroused state.

"But why pajamas all of a sudden?"

"Just caught my eye because it was cute."

"Let me take a look."

Sohee casually pointed at a shopping bag placed next to Jinwoo's seat.

Jinwoo carefully took out a pink one-piece pajama dress for Minji from the shopping bag as if handling a precious treasure and showed it to Sohee.

"It’s pretty~ Minji will look really cute in it."

Sohee sincerely admired it.

"Right? Mom also said it was pretty."

Jinwoo felt good, feeling that his taste was acknowledged by Sohee, who has a distinctive fashion sense.

"But did you only buy for Minji? What about for mom and me?"

Sohee suddenly sounded a bit disappointed as she spoke to Jinwoo.

"Uh? That.. uh.. I'll buy for mom and Sohee later."

Jinwoo answered, flustered as if caught off-guard.

"Dummy~! I was just joking~ You borrowed money from mom to buy it, right? It’s cute but aren’t you overdoing it?"

Sohee, while teasing, seemed to pity Jinwoo who always ended up being manipulated by her teasing.

"Still, it would really look cute on Minji..."

Jinwoo, justifying his skewed tastes, said to Sohee with an embarrassed smile.

"Hmm~?!"

Sohee made a sound as if she was pitying yet understanding, and began to playfully mock Jinwoo.

Just then, a restaurant employee approached and placed the tray with the ordered ramen in front of Jinwoo and Sohee.

The tray contained tonkotsu ramen, miso ramen, a piece of inari sushi, pickled radishes, and what looked like a seasoned bellflower root side dish.

* * *

"Isn't Sinbi kinda plump and cute?"

Out of the blue, Sohee mentioned Sinbi noona while they were eating ramen.

"Sinbi noona? Yeah, she is, but why bring up Sinbi noona all of a sudden?"

"Well, didn’t you say before that among my friends, you liked Sinbi the most? Just wondering if that’s your type."

Jinwoo recalled a conversation from the day he had masturbated with the panties Sohee took off for him in the park.

Before Jinwoo had said he liked Sinbi noona among Sohee’s friends, Sohee had definitely said she was the prettiest among them.

And Sohee had innocently shown delight upon hearing Jinwoo's words.

Sohee was always overtly fishing for compliments to boost her self-esteem, so her delight at Jinwoo’s praise wasn’t something to make a big deal out of.

However, the actions that followed, like excessively rubbing her chest against Jinwoo's arm while linking arms, or nonchalantly taking off her own panties, which were wet with her arousal, for Jinwoo as he entered a public restroom to masturbate, were not something that could be easily explained with the usual sibling dynamics and mindset.

This indicated that Sohee was also sexually responding to Jinwoo's body in a very overt manner, making it hard to dismiss her actions as just playful teasing meant to provoke a sexual response from Jinwoo.

Was Sohee's bold behavior influenced by her recently acquired sexually open-minded friends?

Jinwoo remembered the lonely side view of Sohee murmuring to herself that she needed to find him a girlfriend soon.

Now aware that their bodies reacted sexually to each other,

Sohee seemingly tested Jinwoo again by casually bringing up Sinbi noona, complicating Jinwoo's feelings even more.

This uncertain attitude from Sohee left Jinwoo feeling pained and somewhat disappointed.

"Minji and Sinbi noona are just cute, that's all! It doesn’t mean I specifically prefer that type!"

Jinwoo retorted somewhat defensively to Sohee.

"Really?"

"You've been sticking close to me all day, so you should know that much!!"

Jinwoo, conscious of his erect penis covered by Sohee's cardigan, raised his voice slightly in disappointment while speaking to her.

—As if his massively erect penis was evidence of some genuine feelings for Sohee that even he wasn't fully aware of— Sohee made an inscrutable face for a while, then slightly blushed, lowered her head, and started eating her ramen with chopsticks without responding.

—Her body language slightly irritable—

* * *

After finishing their ramen and a moment of strange silence, Sohee lifted her head and said to Jinwoo, "Shall we get going?"

Jinwoo nodded.

He checked around, gathered his things, and left the ramen shop.

Jinwoo's erection was still prominent, and Sohee's cardigan, draped over Jinwoo's arm along with the shopping bag containing Minji's pajamas, effectively concealed his aroused state.

Sohee, who followed him out of the shop, silently stood next to Jinwoo and gently took his hand.

Then, as if nothing had happened, they slowly walked towards the cinema.

—Walking in step side by side—

* * *

Jinwoo and Sohee arrived in front of the cinema and started checking the list of currently showing movies.

Several popular movies and animations were being shown, and there seemed to be special events and screenings for hardcore fans and VIPs.

Consequently, the inside of the cinema, including the ticket counters, ticket machines, and lounge areas, appeared to be extremely crowded with moviegoers.

"Jinwoo, you brought your student ID, right?"

Sohee asked him as if checking on something obvious.

"Oh right!! I forgot my student ID."

Jinwoo said with an apologetic smile.

While he was good at keeping the card his mom gave him, he often forgot his student ID, prompting a long reprimand from Sohee about not having the basic readiness for a date with a girl.

—Even though they usually don't check IDs for movies rated for ages 15 and above— After a low kick from Sohee to his thigh, Jinwoo was finally able to pick a movie that seemed worth watching.

The movie they chose together was a hero special effects film, rated for general audiences and looking relatively less crowded.

"When is mom coming back?"

Sohee asked as they held hands and entered the screening room.

"Not sure exactly, but it might take a few days,"

Jinwoo responded with a shaky voice, feeling a strange sense of anticipation filling his chest to the point of discomfort.

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