How Did It Come to This?
How did things end up like this?
It was the second anniversary of Father’s death.
Slap. Slap.
“Hoo… get a grip.”
I dragged myself out of bed late, showered, and stared at my reflection in the mirror while smacking my own cheeks a couple of times.
Today was the first morning of my twentieth year.
And today, I planned to make a major announcement to the family.
You can do this. No—you have to do this. If you’re even half a man.
I stepped out of the bathroom attached to my room and pulled on my clothes piece by piece.
It was a luxurious suite far too grand for a twenty-year-old youngest son. Expensive appliances that looked pricey at a glance. The bed was supposedly the same model used in some Swiss royal suite.
Yet every one of those luxuries only stabbed my conscience harder with each passing day.
“Hooo.”
I took one last deep breath in front of the full-length mirror, then carefully opened the door and stepped out into the vast living room of the penthouse.
“So what I’m saying is—”
“Ugh, this is so annoying! Just raise my allowance already!”
“Then go earn it yourself~”
Voices were arguing in the kitchen. The place was so huge I had to walk a fair distance before I could even hear them.
Still, perfect timing. The whole family was already gathered.
I deliberately let my footsteps grow louder as I approached.
“Oh my~ Look who’s here. Our son’s up. Hungry?”
“Uh… yes.”
“Mom, isn’t today Dunam’s twentieth birthday? It’s January first.”
“Mmm… you’re right.”
My ironclad resolve shattered in an instant—thanks to Mother greeting me right away and my big sister beaming as she offered her congratulations.
Ah, shit… I’m gonna get hard again.
My little sister sat there with a sulky face; the atmosphere was so tense she must have been throwing a tantrum over the allowance.
“Anyway, daughter, I think I’ve done everything a mother is supposed to. Honestly, isn’t a million won a month plenty of pocket money for a twenty-two-year-old girl?”
“Mom, that’s for normal families. What, are you planning to take the money with you when you die?”
“Yep~ I’m filling the coffin to the brim~ Anything left over goes to charity~”
Watching their eyes roll so hard they nearly fell out during this completely unhinged mother-daughter brawl, I awkwardly took a seat at the table.
I’d been living in this house for three years already, and I still couldn’t get used to scenes like this.
“Son~ here you go~”
“Ah, yes… thank you.”
“Mom! Are you seriously doing this to your own daughter?”
“Yep~ I am.”
Mother handed me a bowl of rice with a smile that said the whole argument hadn’t touched her at all. I bowed my head awkwardly and quietly began scooping rice.
I’m gonna choke on this…
Despite the mood, the side dishes overflowing the table looked more lavish than most high-end Korean restaurants—even for lunch. Galbi, seasoned crab, doenjang jjigae, and more. Every single one was mouth-watering. Most of it had probably just been ordered in from those same restaurants, so maybe it tasted exactly the same.
“Eat this too.”
While I kept my head down and ate, my big sister casually placed some of my favorite galbi onto the little dish beside my rice bowl.
…Nice.
It had been sitting a little too far for me to reach comfortably.
I gave her an awkward little bow and tore into the ribs. The taste was seriously fucking delicious.
Let me briefly explain how this bizarre cohabitation began.
My father had been a fairly well-respected masseur on the outskirts of Seoul. Three years ago, out of nowhere, he married the woman who is now my mother. I was seventeen at the time—peak puberty—and I scoffed at the whole idea.
Then I met her at the formal introduction and walked into this house, and suddenly I didn’t dare open my mouth.
What the hell am I supposed to do…
Because Mother is still a famous former idol actress who shows up on TV every time you flip a channel. My big sister looks every bit the refined executive director of a major conglomerate at a glance. My little sister… apparently does some influencer thing while attending university, though I never really paid attention.
And stuck among these genetically superior people was me—Gwi Dunam—who had nothing going for him but his own body. Of course I couldn’t hold my head high.
On top of that, this family is loaded. Mother’s ex-husband—my stepsisters’ biological father—is the chairman of a huge conglomerate. They’re divorced now, but still.
The more I learn, the more of a mystery this whole thing becomes…
I still have no idea how my dad ever got involved with people like this.
Did he have some kind of dirt on them…?
Before long the meal was over. I carefully stood, carried my empty rice bowl to the sink—some Italian brand or whatever—and set it down.
“Son~ you’re not seriously about to do the dishes again, are you?”
“Huh? N-no, I’m not.”
“Good. Leave it. The housekeeper will handle everything when she comes tomorrow.”
“Yes…”
After Father died I’d felt so awkward I washed the dishes exactly once. Ever since then she had become pathologically opposed to me getting my hands wet.
I looked at my kind stepmother’s face, then turned away.
Fuck. My mouth tasted bitter.
I’d planned to make the big announcement today no matter what, but judging by the atmosphere they’d just tell me to shut up and stop talking nonsense.
“Mom, I… I think I’ll step out for a bit today.”
“Hm? Oh my, what’s this? Dunam is actually going outside? Ah! Are you going out to celebrate turning twenty?”
“Ahaha…”
Yeah.
Honestly, I hadn’t left the house much since moving in. But anyone in my situation would understand, right? Supercomputers on the level of AlphaGo walking around, plus women so beautiful that even a secret glance felt like a feast for the eyes. In a utopia like this, going outside was the abnormal choice.
Tch. Still… someday I really do have to leave the nest.
I forced an awkward smile and said,
“I have a job interview today.”
“…What?”
“I’m an adult now. I figured it was about time I tried working a real job.”
“……?!”
I hadn’t chosen the masseur path for any particularly noble reason.
It’s a total free ride…
Back when my sex drive was at its absolute peak, I happened to see the clients who came to Father’s shop and watched them receiving massages. That was when I realized this job was the paradise I’d been dreaming of.
Of course, when I said that out loud to my ultra-professional father he just laughed like I was ridiculous. But he was a man too—surely he understood?
Anyway, that was how I ended up here.
J Aesthetic
J Aesthetic.
Even the sign looked stylish. It was a massive massage shop right in the middle of Gangnam.
Whoooosh—
As I approached the entrance, the glass automatic doors slid open and revealed a lobby with refined, almost otherworldly interior design.
“How may I help you?”
The woman at the front desk scanned me from head to toe in a single rapid glance. The fact that her tone stayed extremely polite anyway was…
Of course. Everything I’m wearing was bought by Mom and my sisters…
Probably because of how expensive I looked.
“Um… I’m here for an interview today.”
“An interview, you say?”
“Yes.”
She tilted her head, picked up the phone, and checked with someone. A moment later she hung up and smiled apologetically.
“I’m so sorry—I didn’t get the proper handoff. Please come this way.”
Is she a newbie too?
I followed her directions into the elevator.
“Once you get off, turn right and you’ll see a room. Just go straight in.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I held her gaze until the doors closed, then let out a long breath.
Hoo. Not easy.
Maybe it was because this was my first step into society. Even something this small already felt draining.
The doors opened without a sound. I followed the desk woman’s instructions and found the room.
Master Therapist
It said Master Therapist. Probably just a fancy way of saying “boss.”
I took a deep breath and carefully knocked.
“Come in~”
The quiet voice floated through the soundproofing. I pushed open the somewhat heavy door and stepped inside.
Oh, fuck.
“Gwi… Dunam?”
“Ah, yes.”
I hurried to answer the woman seated at the reception table. Her looks were so unexpectedly striking that I froze for a second.
While I stood there looking around in a daze, she smiled and gestured to me.
“Please have a seat over here. No need to be so nervous.”
“Ah, y-yes…”
I creaked my way over and sat across from her.
“Coffee? Or green tea?”
“Uh… just water, please.”
“Heh… alright.”
Her voice was so sweet it felt like my ears might melt. She walked over to a mini-fridge in the corner and brought me a bottle of mineral water.
I didn’t even open it. Instead I fumbled out the résumé I’d prepared and handed it over.
Rustle, rustle.
She flipped through my pathetic two-page résumé with an interested expression.
For someone who’d never held a real job—or even a part-time one—a high-school diploma was the peak of my qualifications…
I hid my trembling hands under the table and just stared at the woman as she hummed softly through her nose. My throat kept working as I swallowed hard.
With my actual specs, landing a job at a place like this should have been completely impossible. The only reason this interview was even happening was pure luck.
They said experience irrelevant, education irrelevant, just hiring one newbie!
I’d jumped at the “no requirements” wording, but sitting here now I felt completely overwhelmed. If I’d known it would be like this I would’ve gotten some certificates first!
The veterans online had said the best way was to learn on the job, so I thought that would be fine. Watching her finish the cover letter and flip the page looking for more, I realized maybe it wasn’t.
She tilted her head, stared hard at my face for a moment, then suddenly let out a soft snort of laughter.
“Well then. You’ve got guts, if nothing else. Come in starting today and start learning the work.”
“Huh.?”