[T/N] For some reason, there is no chapter 14. I don't know why, maybe the author deleted it. So this is technically chapter 15, just in case you guys start wondering why it seems like things are missing.
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Dawn. The alarm hadn't rung yet, but V woke first.
She lay in bed beside Berry, who was still asleep, breathing softly.
V smiled. Slept well. All according to plan.
But… should she really do it?
Like a thief stealing for the first time, V psyched herself up, gently lifted Berry's blanket a little, and leaned her head in.
Her short black hair was a little messy, her left ear still wearing the other half of V's blue earring. With her delicate face peacefully asleep, she looked like a piece of art.
Getting closer and closer, feeling the warm breath Berry exhaled against her face, V's heart pounded violently—because what she was about to do absolutely could not be discovered by Berry.
But really, it was all Berry's fault.
Last night, V had been teased into a state of fire and had tossed and turned for half the night before finally falling asleep. And with Berry lying right next to her, she couldn't even relieve herself. So, she blamed her entire sleepless night squarely on Berry.
Since it was Berry's fault, it was only fair that she collect a bit of interest… right?
V hypnotized herself with this logic, convincing herself that what she was doing was perfectly moral and righteous.
The sleeping Berry was like a little kid, radiating warmth. V could feel it clearly.
Tiny, light, careful—V leaned in and pecked Berry's cherry-colored lips. The jelly-like softness made V's heart ripple.
V swore she had only planned to do it once, but the moment she touched those lips, her body stopped obeying her. She simply couldn't stop—kiss after kiss, savoring the softness from every angle.
This is the last time. The last time.
The thrill of stealing a kiss made V shiver all over. Her brain couldn't think about anything else. Each time she kissed, she lied to herself again, eyes glued to Berry's closed eyelids in fear that she'd wake up.
But at that very moment, the "sleeping" Berry was actually clenching her fingers tight to stop herself from laughing.
Good sister… stop kissing already. If you keep going, she was going to burst.
Reality wasn't a drama. The very first time V kissed her, Berry had woken up. She'd originally planned to pretend nothing happened, but V kept going like a rapid-fire cannon, and Berry had nearly cracked up laughing.
But if she laughed out loud, V would be traumatized for half her life. So for V's pride, Berry deliberately lengthened her breathing, pretending she was still asleep.
After a long while, when everything settled, V wrapped herself in a jacket and sat on the sofa, fidgeting nervously with her fingers, unable to look toward the bed.
Finally, after dragging it out more than ten minutes, Berry pretended to wake in a haze.
"Morning, V-sis. You're up early today." Berry rubbed her eyes and sat up.
The moment she opened them, she saw how red V's ears were. She couldn't stop the grin spreading across her face, so she quickly lowered her head, pretending she still wasn't fully awake.
"Ah? Yeah… I got up a bit early today." V was so guilty her palms were sweating. Her eyes stayed fixed on the blank TV screen. Just thinking about what she'd done felt like being roasted over a fire.
She didn't know if Berry had discovered anything. And if she had—what would V do?
"Mhm~" Without responding, Berry hummed a cheerful little tune and walked into the bathroom, leaving V on the sofa growing more and more anxious.
Did Berry know or not? From last night to now, Berry kept acting ambiguous like this, and V was nearly tortured to death by it.
[T/N] Author! Give me chapter 14 and my life is yours!]
She didn't dare confront her directly; what if Berry didn't know? She'd be confessing her crime on the spot.
Inside the bathroom, Berry was covering her mouth, laughing wildly.
V's flustered look earlier had amused her to no end. Now she finally realized—this good older-sister figure, V, had liked her all along.
But… did she really have to be so sneaky about it?
Even so, Berry couldn't stop the smile tugging at her lips. Her heart felt sweet as honey.
Who would have thought that someone as handsome and cool as V could be this shy?
Wait… handsome and cool?
Berry froze as she looked at the cute, blooming-flower-like girl smiling back at her from the mirror.
Something felt off.
Everything should have been perfect—V, cool and dashing, the type of girl every boy liked. She liked V, V liked her. That should've been double the happiness. So why did she feel something was wrong?
As she stared at herself in the mirror, her mouth slowly opened.
She finally understood what was wrong.
The roles were reversed.
Berry suddenly recalled the most primal fear in every man's heart—the fear of being the one who gets pinned.
Looking at herself now, it was obvious V didn't like her the way a girl likes a boy. No, it was… something else. Something unspoken.
V wasn't planning to… top her, was she?
Berry grabbed her hair, staring at the astonished reflection in the mirror, completely unable to believe what she was thinking.
Just that thought alone terrified her. Her thoughts scrambled, completely unable to form anything coherent.
It felt like confessing to a cute girl, the cute girl shyly agreeing, and before you can celebrate—she says she wants to play fourth-base-level stuff with you on the bottom.
Berry's limbs tingled, body going stiff, like she'd been stared down by a wild predator. An inexplicable sense of danger crept over her.
As usual, Berry made breakfast, but from start to finish, neither spoke a word.
Burrito, coffee—the table held only the clinking of utensils and the TV's morning news: highway shootings, corporate acquisitions—none of which either listened to.
After eating, cans crushed and tossed, plates washed and put away. Neither had an excuse to stay silent any longer.
"Berry…" V called, remorseful. She was sure Berry had figured it out. Her movements must've been too obvious. Otherwise Berry wouldn't have stayed so quiet… or sat so far away.
"Uu…" Hearing her name, Berry made a startled little rabbit noise. She turned her head away, not daring to meet V's eyes—even though V's face was still beautiful, her figure still seductive.
But Berry couldn't see V as a romantic target anymore. Because now, from every angle, it felt like she was the prey being hunted. Thinking about V's behavior last night and their awkward interaction this morning made her face burn.
From a different angle, wasn't this just like the attitude she had when chasing girls in her previous life? Except now those tactics were being used on her.
Berry's mind was a mess. She rubbed her legs together, fingers clutching her pants, completely overwhelmed by the quiet tension.
She probably didn't even realize how much she looked like a girl being confessed to—nervous, flustered, helpless. In one word: cooked. It has never been more over.
In emotional dynamics, one person always ends up taking the lead. And when your partner is panicking, the one who panics less regains confidence and becomes the dominant one.
People are naturally inclined to obey or to lead—depending on who seizes the moment.
And now, Berry was in real trouble. Because when V saw how shy and defenseless Berry was, her nervousness vanished, replaced by mercenary confidence and boldness.
Watching Berry curled up on the sofa like anything might scare her, V smiled slightly, gathered her courage, brushed back her short hair, and sat beside her.
"V!?" Berry only realized something was off when V sat down. She instinctively tried to get up, but V pressed her hand against Berry's shoulder, preventing escape.
"It's okay, Berry… look at me." V's slender fingers tilted up her chin.
That face—white, pretty, like a movie star. Familiar from daily companionship, yet now softened with tenderness and affection, leaving Berry unable to feel even a trace of danger.
Especially those blue eyes—deep and mysterious like the sea—pulling her in.
Her earlier fear of being "conquered" melted under V's loving gaze, like a sweetly wrapped trap luring Berry to fall in—and she did.
High offense, paper-thin defense—that described Berry perfectly. Mouth foul all day, but once V, this genuine top-tier predator, pressed in, Berry's brain shut down instantly, leaving her helpless.
And V, without needing to be taught, saw straight through her.
If she was going to show such an unfairly vulnerable expression, then she couldn't blame V for acting.
Seeing Berry's dazed face, V's lips curled. Looked like she could push back her meeting with Vik.