NOVPUBWhy was Cora in my room?
No. The more pressing question was — what was she planning to do, hiding in my room?
I didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
Cora showed me exactly why she was there through her actions.
In the few seconds I stood frozen at the doorway, that ominous label floated through the darkness, drifting toward me. The next thing I knew, something struck the back of my heel, causing me to lose my balance. I toppled backward, feeling the world flip upside down.
My feet left the ground, my body falling backward. My mind instantly conjured up a vivid image of me tumbling down the stairs, my body a broken, bleeding mess.
But someone was there, catching me just in time.
The back of my head sank into a warm, fragrant valley, and when I looked up, I was met with that familiar, cold expression.
Serena?!
What the hell was going on?!
I was too stunned to comprehend. What were they planning? And how did they move in such perfect unison, as if they had rehearsed it a hundred times?
Serena’s arms slipped under my armpits, securing my upper body, while Cora grabbed hold of my legs. The two of them, working in perfect sync, carried me like a helpless sack of potatoes.
And then — swing, swing, whoosh.
I was flung onto the bed.
Bang. Click.
The door slammed shut, followed by the distinct sound of the lock turning.
The room was plunged into pitch-black darkness. The lights were off, the curtains were drawn, and the door was closed. I couldn’t see a thing.
I could only vaguely make out the positions of my two sisters, but their postures and expressions were shrouded in darkness.
W-What were they planning to do to me?
Cold sweat trickled down my spine as I lay there, my pulse pounding in my ears.
The darkness made my imagination run wild.
The two sisters had worked together to throw me onto the bed. What was the next step? There was only one possibility, right?
The kind of thing people do in bed... besides sleeping...
Gulp.
I swallowed, forcing down the dark, forbidden thoughts clawing at my mind. My voice came out shaky and panicked.
“W-Wait a second! You two, don’t do anything crazy! I only stayed out one night! Is this really necessary?!”
Yes, I did make them worry, and that was my fault. But I was back now, wasn’t I? And yeah, some dangerous things did happen... but there was no way I could tell them about that.
“I’m not joking, Serena! Cora! If you two keep this up, I’m going to get really mad! Really mad, you hear?!”
I deliberately raised my voice to sound as firm and authoritative as possible, but my confidence was paper-thin.
They were two against one... and Serena had learned some mixed martial arts a while ago. I wouldn’t last more than three moves against her.
If they knocked me out, it would be over. I’d lose my virginity in a daze, and to my sisters, no less! There was no way I could let that happen!
If I had to, I’d jump out the window. I couldn’t just sit here and wait to be devoured!
“Welcome home, Big Brother~”
A voice suddenly broke through the darkness.
If that was supposed to be a response to my greeting at the front door, wasn’t it way too late?!
“Hehehe. Did we scare you? This is your punishment, Big Brother. For staying out all night and making us worry.”
“Ugh, um, could you at least turn on the lights? I can’t see anything...”
I couldn’t stand the darkness right now. I needed the lights on to keep my sanity intact.
“Sure~ Of course, we’ll do as you say, Big Brother. Serena, turn on the lights. Big Brother’s afraid of the dark, after all~”
“Mm.”
Serena’s calm response came from the direction of the door.
Click.
The room flooded with light, and I instinctively raised my arm to shield my eyes. Not just because the sudden brightness stung, but because I was afraid of what I might see...
“What are you doing, Big Brother?”
“Uh...”
I peeked through my fingers, cautiously scanning Serena and Cora.
They weren’t naked. They weren’t even in revealing pajamas. They looked just as they normally did, their faces expressionless.
It almost made me feel like everything that had just happened was some kind of elaborate prank.
“N-Nothing... I just got blinded by the sudden light, that’s all...”
But that was just a façade.
Because when I looked at the colors of their labels, I could tell that their minds were anything but calm. Beneath their composed expressions, their emotions were churning like a storm.
... Yeah. Something was definitely wrong.
Up until now, their labels had always remained the same shade of pink. But now, they were tainted by new colors — gray and orange.
Cora’s label had more gray than pink, and it seemed to be spreading, threatening to overtake the pink entirely.
Serena’s label, on the other hand, had only a faint trace of gray, barely visible. But the dominant new color was orange.
Gray meant jealousy. That was easy to understand. They were probably jealous because I’d spent the night at Snowy’s house.
But orange... that was a rare color. But not one I hadn’t seen before.
The last time I saw it was when I playfully flirted with Lily. Her label had turned orange then.
Orange represented anger. It was the color of someone who was genuinely pissed off.
Come to think of it, when I made Lillian mad in the past, her label never turned orange. It went straight to blood-red... skipping anger altogether and heading straight to homicidal intent.
Thinking back on that now... A shiver ran down my spine.
So, they were still angry about me staying out all night. They were just pretending not to be.
Fine. I’d pretend not to notice and try to calm them down.
“Well then, you two should get some sleep. I’m really tired... I just want to go to bed early. Let me go brush my teeth first.”
I even forced a big yawn for effect.
Cora didn’t say a word, just smiled sweetly at me. But that smile... it was completely different from her usual one. It was almost eerie, hiding something I didn’t want to know.
I stood up from the bed calmly, casually, and started to walk toward the door. But Serena silently stepped forward, blocking my way. She shook her head.
“What are you doing, Serena? Let me out...”
Before I could finish, Cora’s soft, saccharine voice came from behind me.
“No need to rush, Big Brother~ Your ‘punishment’ for staying out all night isn’t over yet.”
“Huh?”
I only managed to get out a single syllable before Cora’s arms slammed into my back.
With one swift, practiced motion, Serena grabbed my upper body in a submission hold while Cora tackled my legs. Before I even knew what was happening, they flung me back onto the bed.
“What the hell?! Stop it! This is going too far!”
“The one going too far is you, Big Brother!”
Cora’s voice was harsh, raw. It was the first time I’d ever heard her speak like that.
And... there was a faint, almost imperceptible tremble in her tone.
I turned to look at her, expecting to see tears brimming in her eyes. But what I saw was far worse.
Her eyes were blank. Lifeless. Hollow.
Why... Why was she looking at me like that?
“Big Brother,” Cora said, her voice eerily calm. “Last night, you were at that Snowy girl’s house, weren’t you?”
“Yes, but Snowy is just a friend! It was really late when I found her, so I just crashed at her place for the night!”
“Oh? A friend? Just a friend?”
Cora tilted her head, eyes still devoid of light. Her voice was dripping with mockery.
“Yes! Just a friend!”
“A friend with benefits?”
Cora’s head tilted to the right, her expression disturbingly innocent.
Then, she tilted her head to the left, repeating the phrase, but in a tone so dark it made my skin crawl.
“A sex friend?”
“Hey! Don’t say things like that! Do you even know what that means?!”
“Oh, I know. Don’t treat me like a little kid, Big Brother.”
Cora leaned in closer, her eyes wide, her smile far too ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ wide.
“That Snowy girl is your bed buddy, right? Your nighttime companion. Your flesh-and-blood friend. Isn’t she?”
“That’s not it! We’re just friends!”
Of course, Cora was suspicious of me and Snowy. Yes, something did happen, but not the kind of thing she was imagining!
“So, can you swear that nothing happened between you two?”
My mouth opened to answer, but a slight hesitation escaped before I could stop it.
“Well... nothing happened!”
“Liar...”
Cora’s face went rigid. Her eyes went dead. And her voice — it was even colder than Serena’s.
Damn it! For the first time in my life, my inability to lie was making things worse.
Cora’s expression was all wrong. Her tone was all wrong. And that label above her head...
The gray was spreading. It was swallowing the pink, consuming it. The sweet, innocent Cora was gone, replaced by a sister consumed by jealousy.
“That’s okay...”
Cora’s voice was soft, sweet, and dripping with venom.
“Since Big Brother’s been ‘polluted’ by that dirty woman, Serena and I will just have to ‘cleanse’ you, right, Serena?”
I craned my neck, desperately looking at Serena.
“Serena! Stop her! Please, Serena!”
“......”
But Serena remained silent. She turned her head slightly to the side, her eyes closed.
She wasn’t going to help me.
Damn it!
No! Don’t! Stop!
“Wait! Don’t do this! We’re siblings!”
“Big Brother knows, right? Even though Cora and Big Brother are siblings, we’re not actually related by blood. So, that’s not a reason, is it?”
Cora’s hands didn’t stop. She pulled off my jacket, tossing it aside. Then she reached behind her head and undid her hair tie.
Her long, black hair cascaded down her back like a silken waterfall, shining under the ceiling light.
Then, she leaned over me, her face moving closer, her eyes closing, her lips parting...
“No...!”
This was it. There was no one who could stop Cora now. And with Serena backing her up, once they turned off the lights... in the darkness, I’d lose control of myself too.
I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling my chest tighten with pain as I forced out my last, desperate plea.
“Cora... Why? Why did you become like this...? You weren’t like this before...”
Time seemed to freeze.
