Chapter 38 (Mom, Se-hee)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 38 (Mom, Se-hee)
The next morning.
"Si-woo, wake up~ Hey, Yoo Si-woo!"
Se-hee Noona was shaking Si-woo to wake him.
"Ah... mmm... Noona, I'm sorry, but can I just lie here for five more minutes?"
Perhaps because he had exerted himself too much the night before, Si-woo mumbled to his sister, feeling the fatigue deep in his body.
"Hey! You said that earlier and went right back to sleep! It’s not dawn anymore, it’s morning, so get up already!!"
At Se-hee Noona's words, Si-woo opened one eye into a slit and looked toward the window.
A pale, aching light filtered through the glass, scattering and filling the room.
"Get up and read this. Mom said she took Se-young to Aunt Seon-ju's house."
Seeing Si-woo checking the window with his eyes half-open, Se-hee Noona spoke while frantically waving a neon-colored post-it note in front of his face.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Memories of the previous night flashed through his mind, and Si-woo sat up, his expression hardening with a bitter premonition.
"Mom left her card and a note! Here!"
As if telling him to read the writing on the neon post-it first, Se-hee Noona handed the note to Si-woo.
Si-woo took the note.
It was handwritten, explaining that Mom was heading to Aunt Seon-ju's early to prepare for work starting Monday. It also mentioned that Si-woo should keep the credit card and use it for whatever they needed.
"Did something happen last night?"
Se-hee Noona asked Si-woo with a worried expression.
Normally, this would have been the timing for her to get annoyed and complain about Mom entrusting the card to Si-woo instead of her. However, perhaps sensing an unusual atmosphere from Si-woo's expression, she waited quietly for his answer.
"No, nothing like that happened..."
Si-woo answered, his voice trailing off as he felt a pang of guilt.
There was no way he could tell his sister about the lust-filled night he had spent with their mother.
"Did you try calling Mom?"
Si-woo asked Se-hee Noona, his face turning somewhat sorrowful.
"No, I just saw the note after I got back from jogging and showered."
Se-hee Noona shook her head as she spoke.
"Mmm..."
Si-woo picked up his smartphone and immediately sent a text to his mother.
'Mom?'
He waited for a long time after sending it, but the '1' next to the message did not disappear.
Si-woo had almost never seen his mother not awake at this hour.
—Because even on weekends and holidays, Mom always made sure to prepare breakfast for her children.—
"I sent a text, so she'll probably get in touch later!"
Si-woo said to Se-hee Noona, forcing a nonchalant smile.
Internally, he began to worry that Mom might have blocked his number because of what happened last night.
Si-woo suddenly grew gloomy.
There was the option of calling Aunt Seon-ju to check on Mom's condition.
But Si-woo didn't do that.
If Mom had suddenly sought out Aunt Seon-ju with Se-young in the middle of the night, the aunt might be bewildered as well.
There was no way Mom would have told Aunt Seon-ju the truth about what happened.
She probably made up some excuse, but if Aunt Seon-ju asked Si-woo if something had happened at home because of Mom's suspicious dawn flight, he wouldn't be able to think of a convincing lie.
In short, it was an awkward situation.
* * *
"Here, take this!"
Se-hee Noona handed Mom's card to Si-woo.
Si-woo rubbed his eyes, got up, and went down to the living room on the first floor.
Nothing was set on the dining table.
Si-woo entered the master bedroom to look for traces of that violent night.
The sheets and blanket used yesterday had been stripped from Mom's bed.
Checking the changing room, he saw the washing machine was running.
He also went into Se-young's room.
The blanket on the bed was neatly arranged.
It seemed she had packed her school books, bag, and some clothes.
* * *
Si-woo checked the text he sent to Mom again.
The '1' next to the word 'Mom?' still hadn't disappeared.
A mother-son relationship that began from an accidental impulse—something that shouldn't normally exist.
Though it had progressed unilaterally bit by bit because Si-woo had pushed for it while feigning ignorance, perhaps Mom had expressed her refusal enough times.
A wave of regret washed over him.
Was I too much?
Was the cursing the problem?
Was it to protect Se-young?
Maybe she couldn't handle it in the moment, but finally made a decision after everything was over.
Feeling as though he was being shunned and rejected by his mother, Si-woo's chest felt tight and heavy.
* * *
Si-woo prepared a simple meal using the ingredients left over from yesterday's lunch.
He sat at the dining table blankly for a while before checking the text to Mom again and sending another message.
'I miss you!!'
The number next to the text still didn't disappear.
Just then, Se-hee Noona came down from her room on the second floor and spoke to him.
"Oh? You made food? I was going to make you ramen."
Se-hee Noona was wearing a white cotton T-shirt and bright green training shorts that looked like a skirt.
"Yeah, I just used the leftovers from yesterday."
Si-woo tried to smile naturally in front of Se-hee Noona, but it was difficult to hide his bitter expression.
"But Si-woo, you must have been really tired. You couldn't even get up earlier."
Se-hee Noona said, looking at him with concern.
"Ah... yeah. I guess I was tired from going shopping yesterday."
Si-woo replied with a forced, bright smile.
"Hmm~ Really?"
Noona looked at Si-woo as if something didn't quite add up.
"By the way, what were you and Mom talking about yesterday?"
"Talk... talking?"
"You were texting Mom on the way home."
"Oh~ that. Just about buying ice cream."
"It seemed like a pretty long conversation for just that."
"There were just a lot of typos, so it took a while. It wasn't anything special..."
"Huuuummm~"
Se-hee Noona let out a long, suspicious hum, still looking dissatisfied as she watched Si-woo.
Si-woo answered as calmly as possible, trying to deflect her suspicions and questions, not knowing how much she actually suspected.
"Anyway, brighten up! It's weird seeing a kid who's usually fine after pulling an all-nighter looking like death just because Mom went out!!?"
Si-woo fell silent at Se-hee Noona's comment about Mom "going out."
It felt like a sore spot had been poked.
After that, Se-hee Noona and Si-woo ate their meal in silence.
"Sigh~"
Se-hee Noona let out a sigh, looking pityingly at the dejected Si-woo.
"Si-woo, wait right there!?"
As if she had thought of something, Se-hee Noona ran up to her room on the second floor and came back down a moment later.
* * *
"Ta-da~!!"
Se-hee Noona was coming down the stairs wearing the black see-through short-sleeved shirt that Aunt had bought her.
Through the black see-through shirt, a fresh green bra that looked like giant upturned seashells was visible.
Multiple brown straps hung over her shoulders; the design was so stylish it felt like it could be worn as a top on its own.
—Of course, Mom would have been against it.—
Below, she wore the green training shorts that looked like a skirt.
Aside from the green bra covering her luscious breasts and those skirt-like green shorts, almost all of Se-hee Noona's skin was exposed to Si-woo.
Si-woo stared at Se-hee Noona with a shocked expression.
At the sudden stimulation, Si-woo's cock began to react.
Even in a situation where Mom had left the house and wasn't answering him because of what he did last night, he was already reacting faithfully to Se-hee Noona's body.
Checking his own cock, Si-woo felt a deep sense of self-loathing, yet he couldn't help but stare at Se-hee Noona's beautiful body like a man who had lost his soul.
* * *
"How is it? Si-woo, can you take some pictures of me with your smartphone?"
Se-hee Noona spoke to Si-woo from the bottom of the stairs, striking a model-like pose.
"Pictures?"
"Yeah, I really like these clothes because they're pretty, but it's a waste to just return them today! I should at least leave a record like this. Come on~ Hehe, hurry!!"
Caught off guard, Si-woo lifted the smartphone he hadn't let go of—since he was constantly checking if Mom had read his texts—and took photos of Se-hee Noona posing on the stairs.
Click!
Click!!
Click!!!
"Did they come out well? Let me see~"
After being photographed in several different poses, Se-hee Noona took Si-woo's smartphone, saying she wanted to see the pictures he just took.
Since Si-woo had set passwords on any photos or conversations that shouldn't be seen, he handed the smartphone to Se-hee Noona naturally without any resistance or worry.
—It seemed to be a habit he developed after seeing the voyeuristic photos of Se-hee Noona on Cheol-jin's smartphone.—
Se-hee Noona caught a glimpse of Si-woo's erection and wore a subtly satisfied smile.
Though her face flushed slightly, she tinkered with Si-woo's smartphone while feigning ignorance.
* * *
"Hmm... I think this one came out the best. Here, look."
When Si-woo took the smartphone back and checked the screen, the photo of Se-hee Noona he had just taken was set as his wallpaper.
It was a shot of Se-hee Noona in the black see-through shirt, arms raised to brush back her hair, exposing her armpits.
"Keep it like this for just today! Got it?!! And cheer up~!!!"
Slap!
Immediately after, she gave Si-woo's back a resounding slap and flashed him a bright, refreshing smile that was quite unlike her usual self.
Did Se-hee Noona know that Mom leaving was because of Si-woo, and that was why he was so depressed?
Regardless, Si-woo received Se-hee Noona's special consolation with his cock fully erect.
Si-woo was as happy with this consolation from his sister as if he had been given permission to masturbate with her panties.