The Potion and the Makeshift Shower
I answered without a single moment of hesitation, before anyone could even ask.
“I don’t want to.”
The one who said it was Seunghee herself—the very person suffering.
“I’d rather just die like this.”
“Seunghee…”
“Oppa. What’s the point of living like this? Taking medicine every day just to drag out my life. I can’t even leave the hospital. What meaning is there in living this way?”
After her heart transplant, Seunghee’s recovery had not gone well. Normally, patients could be discharged after just a few weeks and return to everyday life. But for some reason, she had been stuck in the hospital for months. And today, she had skipped her medication and wandered outside. It was only natural that her body would rebel.
I could understand the frustration. It must have felt suffocating. But no matter how much she complained to Seungpil, it wouldn’t magically solve anything. It wasn’t his fault she was sick. If anything, he was the one who worried about her the most.
“Oppa, I really just want to die like this. Honestly, it’s for the best. If I were still in the hospital they would’ve forced me to keep living no matter what.”
“Seunghee…”
“It’s fine. I’m just a burden who eats all the food anyway. This is better.”
Seunghee spat the words out as if she wanted me to hear them. Seungpil looked at me, completely at a loss.
What the hell did he expect me to do about it?
“Haa.”
What a frustrating pair of siblings.
Seungpil obviously didn’t want to force his sick little sister to do something like that. But he couldn’t just let her die either. If I were in his shoes, I would’ve frozen up too. And since Seunghee was in pain, her mind was probably all over the place. They say a sick body makes the heart sick too. Still, I couldn’t understand why she would lash out and hurt her own family.
I let out a deep sigh and walked over to the siblings.
“Hey. Han Seunghee.”
“What? I’m not doing it. Don’t talk to me.”
Seunghee scowled, pressing a hand to her chest as she answered curtly. It seemed I had thoroughly earned her hatred. I wondered what she would say if she knew her brother had tried to introduce me to her.
It was fine if she hated me. But I couldn’t let her die. She was going to be an important source of coins going forward.
Without wasting words, I pulled out my phone and bought a High-Grade Recovery Potion from the shop. It cost 200 coins. All I had left now was 15 coins.
“Just shut up and drink this. Stop acting like some tragic heroine.”
The potion appeared with a soft pop. I opened the lid and held it out to her.
“…What is this?”
“What do you think? It’s medicine.”
“Medicine?”
Seungpil’s eyes widened beside her. The guy still had great reactions.
“Yeah. It’s the one the mission said they’d give as a reward. So drink it.”
“Uh… why are you giving this to me…?”
“Why? Because I bought it to save your life.”
“C-Corporal Kang Changjae…!”
Seunghee took the bottle in a daze. Seungpil looked like he was about to throw himself at my legs and cry.
“But think carefully before you drink it. That thing is worth your brother’s life. It’s definitely not cheap.”
It was good to give her the potion. But she shouldn’t take it for granted. She needed to understand the weight of what this meant.
“One bottle costs 200 coins. When we killed that house-sized wild boar earlier, we only got 8 coins. That means you’d have to kill more than twenty of them just to afford this.”
Technically, Seungpil and I had each received 8 coins, so one boar was worth 16 total, but inflating the numbers a little was fine. It wasn’t like I was scamming her.
“Think about how many times your brother risked his life today just to earn this much. Think about how many times he nearly died trying to save you. And then decide if you still want to talk about dying.”
Seunghee stared down at the potion bottle in silence. Beside her, Seungpil urged her to drink it quickly. I stood up, leaving the two of them.
“Seungpil. I’ll go wash up first. You two talk about the rest.”
“Yes… Thank you, Corporal Kang Changjae.”
“I told you, right? I’ll wait until tomorrow. But starting tomorrow, I won’t go easy on you.”
“Yes!”
“Oh, and since I don’t have any coins left, buy a mattress for you and Seunghee with your own coins.”
“Understood!”
I left the base and headed for the makeshift shower stall by the entrance. The rest was up to them. Honestly, I felt like I had done more than enough. If they still refused after this, there was nothing more I could do. Whether they starved to death or became dinosaur food, I’d have to kick them out.
Still… I hoped they would choose to stay. Right now, every extra pair of hands was precious. If Seungpil hadn’t been there today, I probably would have been badly hurt. Hunting alone and hunting with a partner were on completely different levels of danger. Leaving my mother alone at the base also made me anxious.
I hoped the Seungpil siblings would make up their minds and accept reality. It would be nice if Seungpil could be a little firmer with her. He couldn’t even stand up to his own sister. Not that I was one to talk.
“Um… soap and shampoo…”
I took off my combat uniform and boots, then bought the necessities. I also needed slippers, a towel, and underwear. Even though I picked the cheapest options, my remaining coins were completely wiped out. No matter how much I tried to save, I had to maintain hygiene. Seeing Seunghee made it clear that you could still get sick here. And more than anything, I didn’t want to smell bad in front of my mother.
…Come to think of it, I had done those things with my mother. With her hands. With her mouth. Even kissing her. Honestly, that had been more shocking to me than the Tyrannosaurus.
Me, in that kind of relationship with my mother. If the Seungpil siblings hadn’t shown up back then, what would have happened? Would we have gone further after the kiss? Would we have crossed the final line?
Probably. At that moment, both my mother and I had been ready. I had impulsively—but also rationally—concluded that it was the safest option. I definitely would have done it.
But now it was going to be harder. With Seungpil and Seunghee around. I might have to wait until we could divide the rooms. No matter what, I couldn’t do it in front of those two.
It felt both fortunate and regrettable. A strange, mixed feeling.
“──Changjae?”
My mother’s voice suddenly called out to me from outside.
“Yes, Mother.”
I had just been thinking about her, so I answered in surprise. Her silhouette was visible through the shower curtain.
“Can Mom come in too?”
“Uh, yes. …Yes?”
I answered in my confusion. Only after the words left my mouth did I realize how strange the situation was, but it was too late to take them back. This was a shower stall, and I was in the middle of showering. Having my mother come in was hardly normal.
“Ah.”
She pulled back the curtain and stepped inside. In the narrow makeshift shower, we stood side by side. She was still wearing her bikini. In the dim twilight just before sunset, her skin glowed vividly. And of course, I was completely naked.
On top of that, I had just been thinking about what we had done earlier, so blood had rushed down below. I covered my lower half with my hands, but the tip still poked out slightly above them.
“I left Seunghee and her brother to talk alone. While I was at it… I thought maybe I could earn some coins too…”
“Ah… Yes…”
My mother spoke shyly, a hint of playfulness in her voice. Her gaze kept darting toward the place I was covering with my hands.
Earn coins. That meant… that, right?
…It meant that, didn’t it? I wasn’t misunderstanding, was I?
“Changjae, can you move your hands?”
“M-Mother…”
“It’s the only thing Mom can do for you right now…”
With those words, she knelt down on the floor of the makeshift shower. Misunderstanding or not, this was clearly what she meant.
I awkwardly moved the hand that had been covering me. My cock was already standing rigidly from anticipation and excitement.
“You were in danger today too, weren’t you?”
“No. I was fine.”
“Mom knows. You were the one in more danger.”
That was true. I had told Seunghee only about her brother’s part, but I had taken on almost all the dangerous roles. The Tyrannosaurus was unavoidable, though.
“Still, I’m so relieved that you came back safely like this.”
“Ugh…!”
Mother gently grasped my fully erect cock with her hand.
“Ah… Mother…”
Her soft hand wrapped around me. The sensation was different from before. Was it because I had been injured last time? The touch that had only felt awkward then now felt so good I thought I might explode any second.
“This is a reward for coming back safely. And a wish for you to keep coming back safely in the future… You might not like it, but…”
“No… I like it too, Mother.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I mean it.”
The smile on her face as she looked up at me while stroking my cock was dazzling. She really did look genuinely happy. As I watched her, I felt both overwhelming pleasure and a sense of guilt, like I was defiling her pure, untainted innocence.
“You liked it when Mom used her mouth, right? I’ll try harder this time.”
“Ah, Mother, it’s okay. I haven’t washed there yet…”
“It’s fine. Mom likes Changjae’s scent.”
That wasn’t the problem. I had been running around all day, so the smell of sweat had to be terrible. I couldn’t possibly put that in her mouth.
“Ah…!”
But before I could stop her, Mother took my cock into her mouth. The hot, wet interior enveloped my glans. Pleasure so intense it was impossible to resist shot up my spine.
“Mmmh, mmhhmm?”
“Ugh… Haa, it feels so good. It feels way too good, Mother…”
I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say. My brain felt melted, and all I could do was repeat how good it felt.
“Aah…!”
Mother smiled brightly even with my cock in her mouth. As if seeing me enjoy it made her incredibly happy.