The early wisps of dawn bathed the cityscape in a soft, wheat-yellow tint. A burning strain constricted my chest, but I kept my breathing even. My heels ached with each step, the pain radiating up to my calves. It was early in the morning, approximately 6 AM when I left home to work on my cardio.

I forgot how hard it was at the beginning.

Beads of sweat poured down my face, tracing salty paths in their wake. My tracksuit was soaked, a consequence of running laps around the neighborhood. I couldn't afford to take it easy. I was 20 years old. If I wanted to make something of my future, I had to work now.

The soft rush of a breeze kissed my slicked face, making me sigh from the momentary reprieve. I was almost tempted to take a break and enjoy the coddling embrace of the weather.

But I didn't. I had gone through this before. My will had been sharpened with blood and tears. I could endure this much. Breaking through self-imposed limits was tough, but I was experienced with such hurdles.

There was no devil on my shoulder telling me to give up.

For every lap I ran, I'd tell myself to go for one more. 'Just one more.'

My shoes pounded the asphalt, releasing the dimming energy with an unsteady jog. I felt my legs screaming in protest, my muscles shaking and straining. I was almost done. I wanted to finish this one last lap before I completely drained whatever little strength was left in my reserve tank.

I breathed sharply, the morning air biting into my lungs. I clenched my jaw and pushed harder, dragging my feet despite their sluggishness. I passed by familiar houses, familiar roads, familiar memories.

And then I slowed down to a stop in front of my house, my starting point.

I panted, hands on my knees and back hunched forward.

Drops of sweat rained down my face, splattering on the ground. I hissed as I straightened my back. 'Tomorrow is going to be a huge pain in the ass.' If the ache right now was bad, then the next morning it was going to be hell. 'Oh. Well… no pain, no gain.'

I headed inside. The rousing sun's rays illuminated a bit of the house. No one was up yet, though I did overhear Eun Ha saying that she would be up early to welcome the return of Yeong Gu with a sumptuous breakfast.

I gulped, feeling the parchedness of my throat, like sandpaper. I somehow managed to carry myself to the kitchen. 'Hmm?' I raised an eyebrow when I noticed some movement behind the counter.

Someone was already there.

The fridge was open. The sound of my footsteps alerted the crouched silhouette rummaging around the stored food. A head peeked out, stoic eyes staring at me.

"Su Ah? Good morning."

She fully stood up, a couple of snacks in her hands. She nodded at me. "Good morning."

'It's kinda awkward.'

Su Ah preferred the silence over some pointless, small talk. Naturally, I respected that. I skirted around the counter, grabbed a glass, and poured myself some water.

One was not enough, so I kept pouring and drinking until my stomach was bloated.

"Where have you been?" I blinked, caught off guard by the question. I turned around, making eye contact with Su Ah. And here I thought she'd scamper away as soon as she got her winter provisions. Instead, her eyes never left me.

"I went out for a run, why?" I asked back, wiping my damp face with a handful of tissues.

Su Ah blinked with a slight tilt of her head. "I see…"

And then she walked off, her footfalls fading upstairs.

I sighed. It was not as if I was interested in being best chummy with her, but our relationship was quite poor considering we've been living under the same roof for 7 years. Our personalities differed. At least, the original Dae Ho's personality did.

…

"Girls, I'm home!" Yeong Gu announced with a silly smile. And along with his suitcase, he had brought back a few more items. I had just come downstairs to grab a bite when I heard his voice.

Eun Ha smiled pleasantly. "Welcome back ~ how was the trip, honey?" And then she moved to help him.

That box of apples looked quite heavy, so I promptly stopped her. "Let me do it, Auntie."

She laughed and offered a soft 'Thank you.'

"Where is Mia?" Yeong Gu wondered.

The box of chocolate secured in his arm suddenly disappeared.

Yeong Gu rubbed the back of his head when he saw Mia plainly ignoring him in favor of fawning over the cocoa goodness he brought back as a gift. "Yaaay ~ Chocolate…" She gushed with stars in her eyes.

I placed the box of apples on a nearby table. Mia's hair swished past me as she dashed upstairs to enjoy her confectionery.

"Mia…" Eun Ha called her out with an exasperated look of fondness.

Yeah. If there was one thing Mia worshiped more than her smartphone, it was chocolate. I had to chuckle at that, and at the fact that her body proportions wouldn't change even if she ate that every day.

Yeong Gu slipped an arm around Eun Ha's wasp-thin waist. She looked slightly uncomfortable, directing a hard-to-decipher look my way. If I could read her mind right now, what kind of intricate mess would I find?

She said everything was fine, yet I couldn't help but notice the red flags she was internally waving, almost like a cry for help.

I walked over to them and slid a smile into my face. "Uncle, did you get anything for me?"

"Oh…" Yeong Gu returned the smile with an awkward one. "I didn't know you wanted anything in particular, Dae Ho. I didn't get you anything. Next time, alright?"

"Of course!" I tapped my chin. "Uncle, actually, I have a favor to ask of you. Could you check up on the pull-up bar you bought me? It had to be assembled and fixed on the wall, though I'm not quite sure if I got everything right. I wouldn't want any nasty surprises when I'm working out."

"That's… alright." Yeong Gu pulled his arm off of Eun Ha. "That could be dangerous indeed. If you didn't rivet them correctly, they could slip off the wall. Let me take a look."

"Thank you!" I beamed as I gestured with my head and led him to my room. I briefly looked back at Eun Ha, who had her hands clasped together and the ghost of a smile on her face.

I didn't know if what I was doing was correct or warranted.

But I couldn't simply ignore the warning signs. I just hoped that nothing 'bad' could come out because of my intervention.

──⇌ ⋆★⋆ ⇋──

Cha Mia's POV:

'Alright. It's just a massage. A massage.' The smile on her face twitched. It was soon taken over by a frown, her cheeks slightly rosy. The problem wasn't the massage. It was the outfit. She didn't own any particularly 'humiliating' clothes, but she did have a regretful purchase a couple of years ago.

It was the eve of Halloween, and a nurse costume was on discount. She wore it once, and never again. She wanted to look good, not slutty. Then again, wasn't Halloween a good excuse to dress up without inhibitions and not be called out for it?

Naturally, Mia waited until everyone had gone to sleep. She would never be able to explain herself if someone caught her garbed like that. 'Damn bet. I should have kept my mouth shut.'

She grabbed a bottle of sweet almond oil, pocketed it in her tight, white and red uniform, and walked out of her room.

The hallway was barely lit up by a ring of moonlight.

Fortunately, Dae Ho's room was right next to hers. With a deep, preparatory sigh, she headed towards it. Her heels clacked rhythmically, almost in sync with her heart.

There was a faint excitement buried beneath all of that fear and humiliation.

She knocked on the door.

The sound of footsteps drew closer. A click rang out, and the door creaked open. Dae Ho's bare-chested form was revealed in the dim lighting of his room. His messy hair was wet, while a towel hung loosely around his neck.

She caught a shuddering breath before it could slip past her lips.

He stared at her.

"Well?" Mia crossed her arms and averted her gaze, hiding part of her face behind a well-groomed curtain of hair. "Don't misunderstand, Dae Ho. I'm here because a promise is a promise."

A smile bloomed on his face. "That's unexpected."

"Why?" She huffed. "I lost the bet."

"True, but I admit that my request might have been a bit too much for you. I thought you wouldn't do it." He said, leaning on the frame of the door. He eyed her up and down, trailing every smooth curve, every inch of her exposed skin. "You even dressed up…"

Mia waved her hair around, her uncovered eye narrowing. A haughty smile developed across her face. "Hmhm. How is it? Is it to your fancy, Dae Ho?"

"You're beautiful, regardless of what you wear, Mia Noona." Dae Ho said genuinely.

She felt her cheeks heat up even further. She turned away, fingers going up to play with a strand of her hair. "Are you going to let me stand here all night?" She said, sounding annoyed, but both of them knew it was a front.

"Come in." He chuckled, inviting her inside with an overly dramatic wave of his hand.

She immediately waltzed in. Her heart leaped when she heard the door close. "Let's get this over with." She said, smoothing out the wrinkles on her skirt. "Lie down."

"I'm going to thoroughly enjoy every second of this." Dae Ho strutted towards his bed with a cocky smile, and hopped on it, face down.

"Oh, worry not, my dearest brother." Mia said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "No one gives body massages as I do." And then she walked up to him, climbed on the bed, and straddled the lower part of his back. She shuffled a bit to get more comfortable.

Dae Ho groaned.

"What?" Mia hissed, almost offended. "I don't weigh a lot. Do I?"

"You're as light as a feather."

"Good." She blushed a bit as her core accidentally ground against his bare back. 'Did he notice it?' She wondered as she removed the towel from his neck to get better access to his muscles.

Mia pulled out the bottle of oil, uncapped it, and squeezed a generous dollop of it on his back and her hands. She released a soft breath as she spread her oil-slicked palms across his wide and well-developing back.

"Hmm…"

A muffled groan flew out.

She gulped as her hands felt the array of muscles behind his smooth, taut skin. She pressed the pads of her fingers on strategic points, neither too hard nor too soft.

A perfect balance of skill and strength was required to deliver a massage.

"Your hands feel really good, sis." He said, and somehow his words felt so wrong in her ears, yet she couldn't help but blush a little harder.

"Shut up. No speaking."

"Can I moan?"

"No moaning either. It's distracting." Mia said pompously.

Dae Ho released a frustrated sigh.

"Good boy." Mia cooed, her talented hands sliding up, towards his shoulders. She sunk her fingers into the flesh, stimulating the growing muscles underneath. At first, she wanted to hurt him a little bit, as some sort of payback for making her dress up like that, but now…

Her pantyhose-clad thighs clamped a little tighter around his waist. She was wearing a skirt; a frilly, short thing, really. Which meant that her private parts were in full contact with Dae Ho's warm skin.

Mia gritted her teeth, blaming her body for acting up like that. 'Masturbating is not enough anymore…' She thought morosely. And with someone underneath her, fully exposed and unprotected, her mind couldn't help but arouse certain thoughts.

Usually, she would not be excited like that. However, this was a special circumstance. Her interactions with Dae Ho, and their time spent together, built up into something that couldn't be ignored anymore.

Dae Ho squirmed a little, which intensified the friction.

'Shit…'

Mia bit her bottom lip to stop herself from voicing out any sort of indecent noise. "Don't move…" She whispered, hunching her back to paste herself all over his back.

Her large, perky breasts squished into him, and there was no doubt in her mind that he could feel them. Her hair fell all over his neck, its flaxen strands tickling his skin.

The massage continued, but it was sloppy now. Most of his back was occupied by her writhing upper body while she mindlessly ground herself against him. Her hands clawed at his shoulders, moving, pressing, and scratching.

"Mia Noona?" Dae Ho spoke up, rearing his head a little.

'I have… to… stop this…'

"It's… it's fine, Dae Ho. It's part of the massage… a Mia Noona special."

"..."

He didn't buy that. Maybe if he was the old Dae Ho, he wouldn't have questioned it.

"Shhh…" Mia cooed, panting. "Stay still."

He was about to say something when a soft tapping on wood echoed off. "Dae Ho, are you awake?" Eun Ha's alluring voice drifted from behind the door.

Mia froze. And so did Dae Ho.