A New Everyday
Mom found the address I'd written down without any trouble.
She was the one who broke the ice first.
"So this is Mom's son, Junwoo, and this is my oldest daughter—Sujeong, twenty-three, college student… and my second, Sua, twenty."
"Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, nice to meet you. I'm Kim Junwoo, twenty-one."
"I… it's a little awkward meeting like this, isn't it?"
The older daughter, Sujeong, had a slim build. She was tall—about five-six—and my eyes went straight to the long white legs stretching out from under her shorts. Her chest was on the small side, and she seemed to have a sharp, headstrong personality. Whether it was because her father had been a pretty boy or because the pretty-boy's wife had been a beauty herself, her face was cleanly pretty.
Short yellow hair, short denim shorts, and a loose tank top that let a peek of her black bra show through.
The younger one, Sua, had a different body from her sister. She was about five-four, but fuller and softer compared to Sujeong. Her skin was pale like Mom's, and her chest looked big enough to be a C-cup; the curve of a beautiful ass showed through her loose black pants.
Her face was prettier than her sister's. Big round eyes and long straight hair. She seemed calm by nature. Even though it was summer, whatever she had on under her shirt made it hard to spot any bra lines.
That was how our awkward first meeting went. The older daughter looked full of complaints. The moment she walked in she started listing them—she hadn't brought her own stuff, they'd taken her computer, on and on.
The younger one, by contrast, barely reacted at all.
I assigned them each a room. There were six, so space wasn't a problem.
That evening I heard the full story of the debt from Mom.
Bank loans, loans from acquaintances, loan sharks, mortgages—they'd even taken out thirty million won in adult Kwak Sujeong's name. There was nothing they hadn't borrowed against.
"You didn't know that piece of trash was doing all that? And he was your husband?"
"…I'm sorry…"
The daughters sat quietly listening while I tore into their father. He was the reason they were in this mess, so they didn't exactly leap to his defense.
"For starters, let's all drop the formal speech. We're family."
"Huh? We've barely met and you're already calling us family~"
Sujeong needled me, clearly not on board.
"Tsk! Sujeong! Without Junwoo we'd be out on the street. Show some gratitude."
Mom cut her a warning look.
"She's right, Unni. He's taking us in with our situation the way it is. That attitude isn't right."
Sua backed her up.
"Alright then—why don't we talk about the conditions for all this help? Mom, you tell them."
"M…me?"
"I can't be the one explaining this to people I've never met. You do it."
"Th…that's…"
She stood trembling in front of her daughters, who were staring at her with curious eyes.
"So basically…"
"The condition is that all three of you become sex toys."
I finally said it myself, fed up with the stalling.
"What~?!"
Sujeong, of course, was the first to look outraged. Sua just kept listening.
"Th…the thing is… we'd become… Junwoo's sex slaves… and in exchange… he'd wipe out all our debt…"
"Puhahahaha~ At least say something that makes sense. What is this, the Joseon dynasty? Sex slaves?"
"I don't even know what that means. You mean he'd pay off the debt in exchange for sexual exploitation?"
The two daughters' reactions couldn't have been more different.
"If we do it for… five years… he said he'd clear the debt we owe… and even set us up with a place to live…"
"What do you think, Mom?"
Sua asked.
"We don't have any money left to scrape together. The loan sharks will chase us until we're dead… We didn't have a choice… sob… sob…"
Mom started crying right in the middle of explaining.
"Ha… ha… Unbelievable. Junwoo-ssi. Does this even make sense?"
"Is the debt you racked up small change? I made an offer, that's all. Go back to the mountain and build a shack and hide from the loan sharks if you want. Accepting this is on you."
"Junwoo-ss… I mean, Junwoo—isn't she your real mother?"
"That bitch abandoned me and ran off when I was in middle school."
Mom flinched and sniffled harder.
"…What would a sex slave have to do, exactly?"
Sua already seemed to have a handle on the situation.
"Hmm~ Well, I've never really thought it through, but I guess the main job would be taking care of my sexual needs?"
Mom was crying. Sujeong sat frozen in disbelief. Sua was thinking.
"Mom already agreed to become a sex slave. Read this contract. It's in her own handwriting."
The two daughters read the pledge Mom had written and signed herself.
"Just so you know—even selling your bodies, you could never scrape together that kind of money."
"Hmph! This is ridiculous. Mom, what, you were happy to become your own son's slave?"
Sujeong still snorted and refused to face reality.
"I don't have any confidence left… I just want the loan sharks to stop chasing us… I can't even find a place to live without money… I'm sorry."
"If we become sex slaves for five years, you'll really clear the debt for sure?"
"Yeah. I don't lie."
"How are we supposed to trust that?"
"If all of you write out the pledges and give me a clear commitment, I'll dump a hundred million into Mom's overdraft account right then and there."
"Then I'll do it."
Sua looked straight at me. I hadn't expected her to actually go for it… We'd only just met, but I already thought of her as a devoted daughter.
I handed her paper and a pen.
"Write it exactly like Mom's. Add that it's for five years. But why are you still talking so formal?"
"It still feels awkward."
"Ah… yeah."
Fair enough—jumping into a sex slave contract before we'd even broken the ice would feel weird. And if Mom hadn't been here, she would have been a complete stranger. I was starting to get a little turned on.
"I don't want to!"
"If all three of you don't agree, this contract is void and I tear it up. And of course that means no debt payoff either."
"Sujeong… think about it one more time."
"Have you lost your mind, Mom? You're telling me to become a sex slave?"
"We don't have a choice… What are we supposed to do if those creepy guys show up and put a knife in our faces…"
"Isn't… isn't that illegal? If we report it…"
"Unni. Think about this realistically. Look at everything we've already lost while we've been running."
"Tch! You've lost it too? Junil? Junwoo? You really want to do this to your family?"
"I'll give you until tomorrow. Look around the neighborhood today and make yourselves comfortable. There are plenty of blankets in the storage room—grab some for now. Once you're my slaves, I'll buy you furniture and everything else you need."
I stood up with the pledges in hand.
"And Mom—from now on, start with the cooking and that sort of thing. I'm hungry."
"Ah… okay…"
"If the contract isn't done by tomorrow, tomorrow's the end. I'll kick all of you out. Keep that in mind."
Sujeong grumbled as she got up first and disappeared into an empty room.
"Fuck… He's good-looking and all, but what kind of pervert hobby is this…"
Sua and Mom got up after her, each picking a room and unpacking what little they had.
With almost nothing of their own in the house, they mostly just sat on the floor or puttered around trying to organize.
I didn't leave the master bedroom that day and spent the whole time on my phone playing games. Seeing their faces would only make things more awkward, and I figured they needed time to adjust.
Mom took it upon herself to poke around the kitchen, then bundled herself up tight, put on a mask, and went out. She came back with groceries, cashed a check, and handed me five hundred thousand won.
"I'm sorry about this morning… I couldn't get the check cashed, so… we even took the bus on Sujeong's money…"
"Forget it. Take that money back and use it for living expenses."
"…Thank you… but…"
"Yeah?"
"This money… you should keep it, son."
"Why? I said it's fine."
"I can't put it in a bank account anyway, and carrying this much cash around is… dangerous…"
"Then I'll give you my debit card. Use that."
"Really? Is that okay?"
"Yeah. Just put money on it and spend. What's for dinner?"
I asked like the head of the household.
"Huh?? …Uh… doenjang jjigae and… sausages and…"
"Something a little nicer than that? I feel like having jangjorim."
"Oh… Mom'll make it! Just wait a little."
Mom gathered more layers to wrap herself in, went back out, and returned with quail eggs and meat and the rest.
I wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water and glanced into Sua's room.
She was sitting on the floor studying. True to form for a test-prep student, she just kept at her books.
"Where are you transferring to?"
"I don't know yet. Somewhere nearby, I guess."
She answered half-heartedly and went right back to the book on the floor like she was reading.
I felt a little sorry for her.
Sujeong—well, Unni—seemed to have gone outside.
"Kids~ Dinner's ready!"
Mom had whipped up a full feast in no time.
"Wow, Mom, what's the occasion? I had no idea you could cook like this!"
Sujeong was the first to speak, stunned by the spread.
"Hoho~ With this many ingredients, I thought I'd put out a real meal for once."
It was warm. The house where I'd been loafing around alone was suddenly full of people. Just three days ago I'd been eating alone, playing alone, sleeping alone.
Feeling that long-lost warmth, I tore into the food like a hired hand.
"Son~ Is it good?"
Mom smiled at me as she asked.
It really feels like Mom came back… Well, she is my real mom.
It was strange watching her chatter so brightly.
"Yeah, well. You're a good cook."
"I'll make lots of delicious things from now on."
"I'd like that too."
The three of them adapted fast. Sujeong set up her toothbrush and toiletries in the bathroom, and Sua stacked her books neatly in a corner.
They each cleaned their rooms to a decent state, clearing out anything they didn't need.
Mom put away the dishes, did the washing up, organized the groceries, and carried blankets into each of her daughters' rooms.
Still… a mom's a mom, I guess…
Knock knock.
"Son, can I come in for a second?"
"Yeah, come in."
Creak.
Mom walked in wearing dolphin shorts and a loose T-shirt. A pillow and a blanket were tucked in her arms.
The blanket pressed firmly against her chest from where she was holding it, making her breasts push up even more.
I swallowed without meaning to.
"You can just sleep the way you usually do, right?"
"Huh? Yeah, yeah, it's fine. Settling in okay?"
"Yeah, I think so. Thanks to you, son. Thank you."
"Good night."
"You too, son. Sleep well."
Mom had slipped back into informal speech as naturally as anything, but that was an unspoken agreement between the two of us. We both already knew a new kind of relationship was about to begin.