Outmaneuvered by Mom

I threw in something like a half-hearted agreement without thinking, but I still couldn't make sense of it.

Why...?

Of course I'd come here intending to pass the interview and get hired. But anyone could see that resume was a mess, and even I had pretty much resigned myself to failure...

And now I was suddenly accepted?

My expression must have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠given everything away, because the woman carefully folded the resume, smiled, and nodded.

"I was the one who wrote 'experience not required, certifications not required,' you know. Besides, sometimes it's better to learn properly from the start than to have picked up bad habits the wrong way."

"Uh..."

So... was she saying she was going to raise me herself?

I wasn't entirely sure, but the atmosphere felt roughly like that.

Or not. Whatever.

I hurried to answer.

"I'll work hard...!"

"Heh... Working hard is good."

The woman rose from her seat with a gentle smile and gestured toward me.

"Here... this is the uniform we wear at our shop. And for the name tag... use this for now."

I awkwardly stood and approached. She handed me a high-end set of top and bottom clothes along with a single name tag framed in gold.

[Intern]

Intern, huh.

I fiddled with the cool, smooth name tag. The white lettering inside the gold border looked surprisingly luxurious. I felt oddly moved.

They kept going on and on about the job market being hell... but this is a piece of cake...?

I'd always heard online that the number of unemployed people who couldn't find work for years kept rising, so I thought it was genuinely brutal. Guess not everything's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like that.

"So then, about the work..."

"You can start coming in from Monday. Interns work fixed hours—nine to six, nine to six. I'll go over the detailed job duties properly starting tomorrow."

"Ah, yes ma'am."

I nodded along for a while, listening carefully to her crisp, no-nonsense answers.

"Ah, and this."

She handed me a single sheet of paper sealed in a file.

"These are things you absolutely need to know, plus terms commonly used in the industry. Of course you probably already know them? But just in case."

"Ah..."

The moment I saw the file packed solid with dense text, I gulped. She wanted me to memorize all of this? For someone who'd run away from home just to avoid studying, it was a pretty tall order. But her expression made it look so completely natural that I just nodded. Somehow I got the feeling that refusing here would get me fired on the spot.

"Alright, I think I've covered everything I needed to tell you for now... Would you like to head out first today? Just make sure you come in on time starting tomorrow. Good work on the interview. Heh."

"Uh... yes!"

At that moment, blue letters floated up into the empty air.

"What the hell is this."

"Pardon?"

"...Huh? No, nothing... Just a bug or something..."

"A-a bug?! Where?! How is there a bug here of all places?! G-Gwi Dunam, please catch it quickly!"

"Uh, uh, yes ma'am!"

After the whole commotion finally settled, I stepped out through the lobby's automatic doors and let out a long, heavy sigh.

What the fuck is this...

A message that had suddenly appeared. Something that only ever happened in novels was happening to me.

Still, I almost got into real trouble there.

I'd just blurted out whatever came to mind in my panic, never expecting her to be scared of bugs. The image of that elegant, smiling woman suddenly freaking out was still vivid in my head.

I glanced at the message lingering in the corner of my vision and hurried toward the bus stop. Only after boarding the bus that arrived shortly after could I properly examine this bizarre "system" thing.

What the hell even is this.

I sat on the rattling seat, lost in questions. Gwi's... Gwi's Massage System...

Did that mean this was something passed down through our family line?

In that moment, a childhood memory suddenly surfaced.

...Ah! Fuck, so that's why. The reason Dad started doing massage the second Grandpa died?

I clapped my hands at the realization, then quickly bowed my head toward the people around me in apology. Thinking about it, there had been more than one or two strange things. The fact that a dad who didn't know the first thing about massage had suddenly quit everything and started the job. The fact that some backwater masseur with zero formal training had rocketed to success so fast he could marry a woman like Mom. Yeah—if something this absurd as a system existed, it all finally made sense.

...But why didn't he ever tell me about it?

My brow furrowed on its own at the question, but I activated the system anyway. I'd know once I checked it myself.

After the opening greetings, the moment I saw the far more detailed system messages, my heart started pounding.

Is this real...?

This was... a status window. No modern person could fail to recognize one.

I got a status window...?

I was completely dumbfounded. I blinked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hard and stared at the status window for a long time, but it was genuine. I carefully raised a hand and poked the hologram a few times.

A new message appeared. I almost clicked it without thinking, then stopped.

No. I'll do this at home. We're almost there anyway.

Who knew? What if a sudden time attack popped up? I decided to wait it out with patience. That was the iron rule for these kinds of developments, after all. I was absolutely not losing the tutorial reward.

"Mm-hm."

Beep!

The bus arrived before long. I bought an ice cream from a convenience store and started walking home while crunching on it.

Ah, fuck. This is killing me...

Being exclusive to the upper class, our place was great in every way—except that without a car, getting around was pure hell. Why the hell did this hill even exist? I understood the reason, but every time I actually had to walk it, I still got pissed off.

"Huff... huff..."

When I finally staggered into the first-floor lobby, two men in crisp suits standing by the entrance recognized me and pressed the elevator key for me. All those times I'd gone out to receive chicken deliveries for them had finally paid off!

"Thank you..."

I greeted them with exhausted steps and stepped into the elevator. Vmmm—because of the high floor count, my ears started to pop as we rose.

Ding.

At last, P54. Only then could I finally arrive home.

"I'm ba— wait, huh."

"Son~ Why are you back so early?"

"Haha..."

Because of the exclusive sensor linked to the elevator, Mom was already waiting at the front door. Her outfit was so blatantly revealing I had no idea where to look, and I hurriedly averted my eyes.

Even if it's comfortable, come on...

I stayed painfully aware of her trailing right behind me with that body I still hadn't gotten used to, and eventually forced a bitter smile.

"Luckily the interview ended quickly. I start work tomorrow. And, uh..."

"Oh my?! That's wonderful! But son... can Mom ask you just one thing?"

I'd been about to say I was thinking of moving out and living on my own, but her expression was so serious that I swallowed the words.

Yeah, well... it's not urgent right this second.

The moment I sat on the living room sofa she handed me a juice. I took it awkwardly and glanced sideways. Mom had plopped down right next to me and was smiling a little awkwardly.

"What is it...?"

I forced my eyes away from the deep, naturally eye-catching cleavage and asked. Mom carefully opened her mouth.

"Um... how did you end up choosing massage as a career? Because of your dad...?"

What's this? Why the sudden question...

I looked at Mom's face. The atmosphere was a little different from usual. She'd had the same vibe earlier when I said I was going for the interview...

Does she... know about the system?

Nah, no way. My heart pounded, but I carefully managed my expression and pretended ignorance.

"Uh... that too. And it just... looked fun?"

"Huh...? Fun?"

"Yes. I watched Dad work a few times when I was little. After the massage, the customers always looked so satisfied, and later they'd even bring him food and stuff..."

"Ah, aah... so that was it? Oh my. So that's what happened... Still, Mom's a little disappointed..."

"Pardon?"

"No... it's just... I wish you'd told me beforehand. Mom knows a lot of people who do that kind of work, you know. People who even appear on TV. Anyway, where did my son get hired? Is it near home?"

She was already back to her usual face. I tilted my head. Was it because she was an actress? I couldn't read her expression at all. I slightly shifted away from Mom's body as she casually pressed close and finished answering.

"Yes, it's not far."

"Really? Where is it? Mom might know the place."

"It's, uh... J Aesthetic..."

"...Ah! You mean the one in Gangnam? I know that place. Hold on... what was the director's number again?"

Ah, I knew something felt off. I quickly calmed Mom down as she started fiddling with her phone.

"Stop. You don't need to say anything separately."

"Hmm...? Why?"

"It's... my first job and all."

"And...?"

"I just... want to try doing this one on my own strength. If I need something later, I'll tell you then, so help me at that time."

"Hmmm..."

Mom set her phone down with a slightly hurt expression.

Ah, she's doing it again...

She'd always been like this. Was she trying to turn me into some kind of mama's boy? I appreciated that she cared, but sometimes the overprotectiveness went way too far.

Mom's got me completely wrong.

The problem was that I wasn't actually the pure, flustered flower-garden type she seemed to think I was. If anything, I leaned more toward opportunistic. That was why moments like this always left me with a weird sense of self-loathing. I kept worrying she'd be disappointed if she ever saw my real self later.

Tch... yeah, I really need to move out soon.

At the beginning I'd acted a little more carefully because of her top-celebrity status. Maybe that had been the mistake.

"Mom, don't worry so much. I'm an adult now too... Ah, right. Do you still go get massages these days? Want me to do it for you instead? I won't be great at it, but I am officially starting work tomorrow."

"Hmmm... if you're going to put it like that, I guess I have no choice... But! Promise me one thing. Commuting all the way to Gangnam is inconvenient, so make sure you drive."

"Huh?"

I'd been trying to wrap things up casually—where was she going with this now? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mom walked over toward the entrance and came back beaming, holding several car keys.

"Son! Which one do you like?"

"Ah..."

Ever since I'd first gotten my license she'd kept telling me to just take one, and I'd always refused because it felt too burdensome... Every single one of these was a foreign luxury car.

Don't tell me she planned this on purpose?

I looked up. Mom was grinning from ear to ear. For a while I just stared back and forth between the car keys and her face with complicated feelings, then scratched my head.

...Fuck it. I don't even know anymore.

With a weird system showing up on top of everything else, I might as well just live according to my original personality.

"...I'll take this one."

"Hmm? Son, this is your taste?"