That's weird. I was sure I'd locked the door.
Hadn't something like this happened before?
"Someone's in here."
Maybe the lock hadn't caught properly.
They must've thought no one was inside and walked in by mistake.
That's what I assumed as I called out, but the shadow didn't leave.
Instead, I heard rustling, the sound of clothes being taken off.
"Huh?"
By the time I realized something was off, it was already too late.
The shadow swung the bathroom door wide open and stepped inside.
"Wha...!"
I yelped in surprise.
But the person ignored me and strode confidently into the bathroom.
It was Mia.
Even though she knew I was here.
Mia walked in completely naked.
"Mi..Mia…?"
Even as I stared at her, utterly stunned, Mia acted like I wasn't even there.
As if I were invisible, she stepped into the shower booth.
Ssshh—
And then she began washing herself under the running water.
Mia wasn't a child anymore. She was already twenty.
She knew better than to show her naked body to just anyone.
Even if I was her brother, I was still a man.
There was no way I could look at a grown woman's body and feel nothing.
Her long, toned figure.
The delicate face and full chest she'd inherited from our mother.
Combined with her own relentless efforts, Mia had sculpted an idol's ideal physique.
The body so many people admired...
It wasn't something my eyes should defile.
I turned my gaze to the wall.
And began reciting a Buddhist chant under my breath.
Prajna paramita, prajna paramita...
I saw nothing. I saw nothing.
Mia would leave once she finished washing, right?
She was just protesting because I kept ignoring her.
Though this was an extreme way to do it, I was the one who messed up first.
I'd apologize properly once we were outside.
But I should probably leave out the part about what my sister said.
I'd figure out some excuse.
So I closed my eyes and waited for Mia to leave.
Creak.
Finally, the sound of the shower shutting off reached my ears.
The water stopped running.
She'd leave now, right?
I secretly let out a sigh of relief.
…Now that I thought about it, hadn't something like this happened before?
The sound of wet footsteps splashing against the floor echoed.
But instead of fading away, they grew closer.
No way.
Surely not.
Mia, no, right?
Just leave already. I was wrong. Please.
I prayed desperately, but the heavens were indifferent.
Splash.
The sound of someone stepping into the bathtub.
"It's lukewarm."
And then Mia's dissatisfied voice, right in front of me.
I cracked my eyes open to check.
Mia was bent over, turning the hot water back on.
Her ass was turned toward me.
Her pale buttocks and the vertical slit between them were right in front of my eyes.
***
When I was young, I was afraid of bathrooms.
It was because my biological parents mostly abused me there.
Most of the time, it was just hitting and kicking.
But sometimes, they'd shove my head into a bathtub filled with water.
Or splash me with freezing water in the middle of winter.
Or, on the opposite end, douse me with scalding hot water.
Depending on the situation, those kinds of punishments were added on.
Naturally, I grew to fear the bathroom.
My memories of it were nothing but pain and terror.
Even after being adopted into this family, it was the same.
The first time I stepped into the bathroom here, I screamed and tried to run away.
But Noona caught me and dragged me inside.
Mom washed my body with gentle hands.
Mia, playing around beside me, taught me that the bathroom wasn't a place of pain, it was a place of joy.
Yeah. It wasn't the bathroom that hurt me. It was my birth parents.
Now, I was with a new family, not them.
There was no reason to fear the bathroom itself.
But it took me a long time to realize something so simple.
After that, my bathroom-phobia slowly improved as the whole family bathed together.
Those shared baths were fun.
We'd fill the large tub and splash around.
Sometimes, I'd slip and fall on the wet floor, but compared to the beatings from my birth parents, it didn't even hurt.
Eventually, as Noona's chest grew bigger, we naturally started bathing separately.
Had it really been ten years since then?
It had been just as long since I'd bathed with Mia like this.
"Huuah… ♡"
Mia sank deeper into the tub.
Her voice slipped out, as if the warm water felt good.
Yeah. That part was fine.
The problem was, I had gotten in first.
And once again, Mia had sat right on top of my lap.