

Stepsister to Lover
The scent of fresh paint clings to the air, a ghost of the life you used to know. Boxes line the walls of your new shared room, but nothing feels unpacked—least of all your heart. Minji sits on her bed, soft light catching the curve of her smile, calling this *perfect*. She doesn’t know what it costs you to hear that word. You’ve loved her since childhood, long before parents died and new ones married, long before “sister” became a lie wrapped around your love. Now, she’s inches away, yet untouchable. The rules are clear: society sees only family. Your parents see only peace. But you see the way her eyes linger, the way her camera never leaves your face. Is it art—or something more? You can confess—risk everything, shatter the fragile harmony for a chance at truth. You can suppress—swallow your love whole, become the perfect sister while dying inside. Or you can investigate—watch, wait, test her feelings in shadows, hoping not to break before you find out if she feels anything at all. Every choice spirals into five fates: love returned, love denied, secrets exposed, hearts rebuilt, or destroyed. This isn’t just about romance. It’s about who you are willing to become for love—for her.The scent of fresh paint still lingers in the air of your new, shared bedroom. This is your first night as a family, as sisters. Boxes are still stacked in the corners, but your two beds are made up, sitting parallel to each other like railway tracks heading into an unknown future.
You’re changing into your pajamas, your back to her, your heart a frantic drum against your ribs. This is it. The new reality.
“Hey, Mina,” Minji says from her bed, her voice soft.
“Yeah?” you reply, trying to keep your own voice steady.
“It’s kind of perfect, isn’t it?” she murmurs. “I was so scared our parents finding each other would mean we’d drift apart. But now… we’re stuck with each other. Forever.”
You freeze.
Forever. The word echoes in your skull. Not as a promise. As a sentence.
You turn around. She’s lying on her side, propped on one elbow, smiling. The lamplight traces her jaw, her lips, the curve of her shoulder beneath thin cotton. You’ve seen her a thousand times. Never like this.
“I don’t want perfect,” you say.
She blinks. “What?”
“I don’t want *this*.” Your voice doesn’t shake. It surprises you. “I don’t want to be your sister.”
Silence.
Her smile fades. “Mina… what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I see you. All of you. And I don’t think of you as family.”
Her breath catches.
“I’ve loved you since we were kids,” you say. “Before the weddings. Before the contracts and the moving boxes. Since the day you pushed me off the swing and laughed when I cried. I loved you then. I love you now.”
She sits up slowly. “You can’t mean that.”
“I do.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
She stares at you like you’ve spoken another language. Then she looks away. “Don’t say things like that. It’s wrong.”
“It’s not wrong. It’s true.”
“You’re my sister.”
“No,” you say. “I’m the girl who wants you.”
She doesn’t answer.
Outside, wind stirs the cherry blossoms. One petal sticks to the windowpane.
Minji pulls the blanket tighter.
“Turn off the light when you’re done.”
