Hideout Renovation (2)
"That was delicious~."
We boiled five packs of ramen and split them between the three of us. Roughly speaking, Mom took one, Seunghee took one, and I downed about three. I hadn't had much of an appetite before we started, but the moment the food hit my tongue, a ferocious hunger came crashing down on me. It seemed Mom and Seunghee felt the same, because all of us ate like we meant it. Makes sense—we'd been starving since yesterday.
"Whew. I'm stuffed."
Seunghee stretched luxuriously after finishing her meal. Her belly was literally bulging. Wearing nothing but a bikini made it even more obvious.
"Seunghee, your stomach's sticking out."
"Eek!?"
When I poked the rounded swell, she let out a weird squeak.
"It's your fault for keep telling me to eat more, oppa!"
"That's because you were trying to get away with eating almost nothing."
"They told me at the hospital not to eat stuff like ramen. I still ate a decent amount, you know."
"You're all better now, so it's fine. You need to eat more. You're way too skinny."
"If I gain weight from ramen, it'll just go straight to my belly though?"
Seunghee glanced enviously at Mom's chest. Sorry kid, but breasts like those aren't something you can get just by eating. That's an impossible goal for you.
"I'll make something really good for dinner later."
"Nice!"
Seunghee cheered at Mom's promise. What a shameless little brat.
"Seunghee, didn't you say you'd handle all the cooking, dishes, and laundry?"
"I-I never said anything about cooking! I don't even know how..."
"Changjae, Mom will take care of the meals."
"Then I'll do the dishes! Oppa can handle the laundry!"
"Shut it. You keep the promises you make."
"Hmph."
I shut down Seunghee as she tried to weasel out of laundry duty with her quick tongue.
"Still, Mom, we should probably buy a washing machine, right?"
"Yeah. There's only so much you can do by hand."
We were discussing where to put the washing machine when Seunghee cautiously raised her hand.
"Um... should I buy the washing machine...?"
"You? Why?"
"I haven't bought anything yet. The shower room, the kitchen... It feels like I'm just freeloading off both of you."
"You finally noticed?"
At my words, Seunghee shrank back even further. Mom shot me a look that clearly said don't be too hard on her.
"It's fine. Seunghee, just focus on saving the ten thousand coins to revive Seungpil. We'll buy everything we need for daily life."
"Even so, I feel bad about it..."
"Coins might come easily now, but it'll get harder to save them later. You're a sub-partner, so there are penalties, and some rewards only come the first time. Keep that in mind and spend carefully."
"Yes... Thank you."
After that, we went over everything with Mom and started acquiring household items one by one. I'd boldly declared we'd buy whatever we needed, but there turned out to be way more than I'd expected. Just for dishwashing we needed detergent, scrubbers, rubber gloves, a drying rack... Each item only cost one to five coins, but they added up fast. Especially since they were all consumables.
Of course we asked for Seunghee's input along the way. After all, she was the one responsible for dishes and laundry.
After a long discussion, we decided to put the washing machine inside the shower room. It made the already tiny space even more cramped, but when we considered drainage, there was nowhere else to place it.
Besides that, we bought a rice cooker, microwave, various kitchen tools, laundry detergent, a drying rack, cleaning supplies, a hair dryer, furniture for clothes and underwear... The coins I'd thought would give us some breathing room vanished in the blink of an eye.
Just when I thought we'd bought everything essential, Mom cautiously spoke up.
"I think we should buy one large bed instead of using these mattresses."
She was smiling gently as she said it. But beneath that smile, I could sense a surprisingly strong will.
"But Mom, I think the current sleeping arrangement is fine? We have two mattresses, and we leveled the floor, so it should be more comfortable than before."
I wanted to keep some coins in reserve. A proper bed would be expensive. Honestly, even just the mattresses were a hundred times more comfortable than sleeping in the military.
"We need to sleep properly for our health. Out here, our bodies are our most valuable assets. We can't afford to get sick."
"That's true, but..."
"And! Um... when we... you know? It shouldn't be uncomfortable, right?"
Mom smiled awkwardly and let her words trail off. I see. My thinking had been too shallow. I might have been fine with it, but maybe Mom found it uncomfortable when we were together.
I nodded.
"Then let's buy a decent bed, Mom. We'll keep the existing mattresses just in case."
"Wouldn't it be better to sell them? To keep things clean. The space is limited, after all."
I tilted my head. I didn't think the hideout was that small.
"Still, throwing away perfectly good mattresses to buy two new beds seems wasteful."
"No! Not two beds—just buy one big one so we can all sleep together?"
"Huh?"
All three of us on one bed? Wouldn't that be uncomfortable?
When I looked at Seunghee, she immediately said, "I-I think that would be good too?"
"Wait, really?"
"How are you planning to have sex?"
When I asked directly, both of them clamped their mouths shut. Three people sharing one bed. If we were just holding hands and sleeping innocently, maybe. But that was realistically impossible now.
"When I'm with one of you, the other person might want to sleep quietly. What then? Sleep on the floor?"
"...Maybe if we try not to make too much noise?" Mom answered carefully. Seunghee nodded in agreement beside her.
I was speechless.
"You two were the ones making all that noise before."
"W-we can hold it in if we try!"
"Me too!"
Only then did I realize. Both of them had other reasons they hadn't told me about.
"So both of you want us to live with just one bed for the three of us?"
"Yeah... Is that not okay?"
It wasn't that it was unacceptable. But.
"Tell me your reasons. I can't accept it otherwise."
I couldn't understand why we should endure the inconvenience and waste precious coins. But Mom stayed silent, as if it was difficult to say out loud. I turned to Seunghee.
"Seunghee, why do you think it's a good idea?"
"M-me?"
She flinched like I'd hit a nerve.
"You can be honest. I won't say anything about it."
She kept opening and closing her mouth without speaking. But when I stared at her expectantly, she finally couldn't take it anymore.
"...I want to watch the two of you doing it... up close."
The reason she gave in a tiny, crawling voice went far beyond what I'd imagined.
"............"
I gazed at her steadily.
"Y-you said you wouldn't say anything!"
"I didn't say anything."
I really hadn't said a word. Not one.
"That look! That expression! How is that not saying anything?!"
"Not really?"
I hadn't thought Seunghee was that much of a pervert. Still, if that was her reason, there was no problem.
"What about you, Mom?"
Mom was fidgeting uncomfortably. Since Seunghee had been honest, she couldn't stay silent forever. Eventually, she spoke with great difficulty.
"...When I wake up and you're not beside me, I feel anxious."
...Ah. Her words immediately brought back memories of yesterday. Last night, after I'd been with Seunghee, I'd fallen straight asleep. The problem was that I'd also been with Mom right before that.
From Mom's perspective, she'd woken up to find no one next to her, while the man she'd shared her first time with was rolling around with another woman on the next bed. If this were a normal couple, getting stabbed wouldn't have been surprising.
...This was my mistake. I'd been thoughtless.
"Then let's do this. We'll buy one proper bed—"
We'd buy the bed. But we'd keep the mattresses just in case. Instead, Seunghee could come close and watch whenever I was with Mom, and Mom could do the same when I was with Seunghee. For sleeping, unless something special came up, the three of us would sleep together.
"Does this work for you, Mom? Seunghee, are you okay with it?"
"Yeah..."
"...Yes."
Both of them nodded in unison. It seemed neither had any objection to the other watching them have sex. That was convenient for me.
*
With the discussion roughly settled, I headed for the shower room. I'd made love with Mom right after waking up, so I hadn't even washed my face yet.
"Whoa. This is actually pretty nice."
As expected of a high-end shower room. It was worth every coin. The space was only about two pyeong, but compared to the makeshift shower booth we'd used before, it felt genuinely luxurious.
"Ow, hot."
Best of all, hot water came out immediately! The moment you turned the handle! Wasn't that alone worth a perfect score for a shower room? Being able to enjoy unlimited hot water on a deserted island when I couldn't even do that in the military... Honestly, I was starting to wonder if escaping was even worth it.
Still, how did the water bill work? What about hot water costs? It couldn't possibly be free.
"Whew."
I set the complicated thoughts aside and let the warm water wash over me. The hot shower after so long felt like it was melting the tension from my body. No matter how I acted, I'd been pretty wound up too.
I scrubbed myself thoroughly with the hot water. In a situation like this, hygiene was crucial. I couldn't have Mom losing interest because I smelled bad.
Come to think of it, Mom didn't seem particularly bothered by smells. Hmm. Still, it was better to wash properly. Especially with Seunghee around too.
"Um, oppa."
"Yeah?"
When I turned at Seunghee's voice, I saw her poking her head through the shower room door.
"Can... I come in?"