Reunion (4)
Jeonghwa had given birth to Jua at a young age, so she was actually still quite youthful, but she also had an insanely youthful appearance that could easily make people mistake her and Jua for sisters.
She was a flower still in full bloom as a woman. She'd confessed honestly that it hadn't been easy to resist the sudden stimulation from a 'man' that she'd only just become aware of, having lived her whole life married to the husband she'd met as a child.
"That insane stamina of yours... I couldn't believe it. You don't seem to realize how weird it is because Haesol was your first guy, but everything in porn is fake. Normal men can't go multiple rounds like you do."
"W-what the hell, bringing that up out of nowhere...!"
"You're insanely lucky, you know that? You have no idea what 'puku-chigi' is, do you? Every woman in a relationship with a man knows the term. But not you. Why? Because Haesol isn't puku-chigi!!"
"......"
"......"
Her overwhelming presence left both of us speechless. There was a deep resentment woven into her words.
"Most women in their prime! Even with a husband right there! Can't satisfy their sexual desires properly!! But I didn't even have a man! That bastard was always out cheating, barely coming home, and when he did, he'd just play with Jua right next to me, so I didn't even care."
Jeonghwa vented her frustrations freely. How many years had she bottled it all up?
"So I couldn't hold back. Sorry. That's the excuse from your shameless mom."
This was an excuse that Jua couldn't ignore without truly cutting ties with her mother out of rage. As I listened to Jeonghwa's explanation, I found myself nodding unconsciously, and Jua was doing the same.
She'd stopped huffing about wanting to hear what her mom had to say and was just listening with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Even if you say that, I'm still mad... It could've been any other guy. It might not have been special just because it was Haesol!"
"No, Haesol is special. Mom can vouch for that."
"I-if you were that desperate for a guy, you could've just gone to a pleasure district or something!!"
"Heavens! Nothing's off-limits with your mom, huh? Telling me to go to a pleasure district! Is that any way for a daughter to talk?"
"...Tch."
What if she'd gone somewhere like that to vent? Would she have even come after me?
Who knows. I actually think if she'd gone to those places, she'd crave me even more. Once you know pleasure, it's hard to pretend you don't.
"You know how much those places cost? If I'd gone, I wouldn't have been able to support you. Plenty of girls have gone down the drain getting hooked on pleasure districts."
In a world where men were so rare, even basic fun at a pleasure district with a guy started at thousands of units. I'd heard plenty about it in the entertainment industry—who came from where, that kind of gossip.
"...Haa. So in the end, you're not giving up on Haesol, Mom?"
"Yeah."
"Then you'd be coming under me, you know? I'm not the type to just let that slide. I'm your daughter."
"I raised you. You'll handle it better than I could. And I'm not shameless enough to demand a spot in the hierarchy. I've already acted pretty thick-skinned. I won't dare insert myself into the ranks."
"Not joining the hierarchy but still seeing Haesol means becoming a maid, and you're serious about that?"
The first wife was called the 'original spouse,' and below her came the hierarchy of second wife, third wife, and so on. They were all 'legal wives' who could enter the family register, with no legal issues for any children born later and equal shares of property.
At that point, the man's assets were divided equally among all, while the woman's went only to her biological children with her husband.
Originally, women beyond the original spouse were called 'concubines,' but as gender balance collapsed and polygamy became common, the term 'concubine' fell out of favor, replaced by 'wife.'
They were legally wives either way—who wanted to be called a concubine while someone else got 'original spouse'?
Of course, to an original spouse who hated polygamy, all the others were just concubines.
Thanks to that, 'concubine' evolved into a term for women who slept with a husband without entering the hierarchy or getting legal recognition.
And nowadays, people sometimes called them 'maids.'
Neither concubine nor maid sounds all that appealing.
Why call concubines 'maids' out of all words? It was a side effect of polygamy.
No matter how accepted polygamy was, the 'original spouse' held a special legal status, and where there were people, factions formed—hence hierarchies.
The original spouse gained the power to voice whether a new woman her husband brought home entered the hierarchy or not.
Of course, if the husband loved the new woman too much, he could ignore the hierarchy entirely.
After all, a harem consort's power comes from the emperor's favor.
History was full of consorts backed by the emperor aiming for empress.
But if a man just brought a woman home without taking responsibility? Things changed.
And most men ditch the women they bring home, from what I've heard.
If an irresponsible guy bails after bringing someone home, what happens? The woman who seduced another's husband ends up at the mercy of the original spouse.
Brutal, right? Makes sense she'd have to watch her step, maybe even get bullied out of jealousy.
To avoid that bullying and gain entry into the hierarchy, concubines would suck up to the original spouse by playing maid. Those habits became tradition.
"Why would you do that? Don't."
I couldn't understand why Jeonghwa insisted on becoming a maid.
"No. A divorced woman like me has no business entering the hierarchy. The women you'll meet from now on will all be first-timers, younger than me. For someone worthless like me to stay by a guy like you, this much sacrifice is necessary. And luckily, the original spouse is my daughter, right? I won't get looked down on by the others, so I'll probably be the most pampered, well-treated maid out there."
She'd be a concubine, but not stripped of her dignity.
Jua frowned, clearly uncomfortable with her mom volunteering as a maid.
"You think I wanted that? You think I'd see you getting dissed by the other women and call it seduction?"
"You're my daughter—you wouldn't think that. I know better than anyone how kind you are."
"Then why say it? Are you lying to guilt me into pity?"
"It's not a lie—it's my true feelings. If you want, I can even hide from the other women that I'm one of Haesol's. Whatever makes you feel better, I'd do it."
"......"
No matter how polygamous the world, it wasn't so morally decayed that a mother and daughter openly sharing a man was fine. If it was embarrassing to let others know the truth, they could hide it, Jeonghwa said, gradually easing Jua's mind.
She'd cleverly created openings so Jua couldn't just flatly refuse.
Her words will work better than anything I could say a hundred times.
If I'd stayed out like she told me to yesterday, maybe Jeonghwa wouldn't have needed to spend the night at a hotel?
Guess that's why they say staying put gets you halfway there. I scratched my head awkwardly.
"Oh no, the stew's gone cold! Let me heat it up again."
"It's fine! Since when have I been that picky? Eating it a bit cool won't kill me."
"Then dig in. It's delicious."
It seemed like food from a fancy restaurant, and Jeonghwa recommended it confidently. Her sly way of making it sound like she'd cooked it herself was kinda cute.
I already knew from way back that Jeonghwa's cooking skills were disastrously bad.
Clink-clink.
After hearing her excuse, Jua's mind was a mess—she ate in silence without a word. The meal was filled with awkward quiet.
I slurped my rice, stealing glances at Jeonghwa. I was suddenly worried about her—she'd left home last night with just her wallet.
Was she scared alone at the hotel?
It wasn't anger that could blow over in one night, but her excuse seemed to have landed; the vibe wasn't do-or-die anymore.
I rolled my eyes, pondering what I should do next.
Just keep peeking around like a dead mouse?
Was that really best? I'd already learned from Ahyun and Boksun that you couldn't solve these issues with Earth-style thinking.
Those two got along great now without fighting. So Jua and Jeonghwa would too, eventually. As mother and daughter, maybe even closer than most.
Then for me...
M.o.t.h.e.r.-d.a.u.g.h.t.e.r... th.r.e.e.s.o.m.e!
This could actually work?
Having been busted by Jua had scared me into not even considering it, but now the idea popped up.
If I played it right, maybe I could get Jua and Jeonghwa in the same bed for all sorts of fun. The anticipation hit me hard.
Why are guys wired like this? I knew this wasn't like the threesome with Boksun and Ahyun—if not for Jua's generous, kind heart, it could've been disastrous. Yet the term 'mother-daughter threesome' had me hooked anyway.
Could it really happen? Perfect setup, right?
If I could see Jua's tits right next to her mom's copy! Worth the risk.
Honestly, neither seems like they'd get that mad.
Plus, this apartment had the perfect room for a proper mother-daughter threesome.
But what about Taeyang?
I couldn't drag these two to bed right now. Get 'em finally in position, and Taeyang starts bawling? Disaster.
Taeyang, Daddy'll make you a sibling! So let's go nuts playing today!!
The only way to knock him out was to tire him till he crashed.
Problem was, he was just barely able to hold himself up.
Laughing's tough for him, so let's make him belly-laugh.
Tonight had to be a deep-sleep night for Taeyang. I wolfed down my food, washed up quick, and bolted to him.
"Aigoo~ my pretty baby! Muah muah muah, so cute! Muah muah!"
"Hweee~!"
"Who'd you get this pretty from? Who? Huh? Daddy? Nah! Say Mommy then! Aigu, so cute~ Your hand's bigger than Daddy's finger now? Growing so fast~ Want airplane rides? Daddy flew here on a plane to see Taeyang—have you been on one?"
Once I started baby-talking with Taeyang, time flew by unnoticed. I hoisted him up for airplane rides, played peekaboo, convinced Jua and Jeonghwa for a walk, and kept the day lively.
The cold war between Jua and Jeonghwa persisted, but with Taeyang and me in the middle working hard, they at least didn't raise their voices.
The effort paid off—Taeyang conked out the second we got home. After a bath too, he'd sleep like a rock.
"Was it that uncomfortable?"
I'd showered in under five minutes and flopped on the bed when Jua, fresh from her shower and applying lotion, spoke up.