It Must Be Nice to Have Two Moms #2
Bang bang, bang bang bang—
"Open this door!"
"I gave birth to a son, and all he does is play games at home every day!"
The mothers' pressure was intense. It felt like the door might get ripped off its hinges at any moment.
「I'll give you our address! Come quick, hurry hurry! Run over here! Run! Run over here!」
「Yang Ju-hui: Why are you so worked up?」
I'd learned yesterday after visiting Yang Ju-hui's house that we lived in the same Cheonmun-dong neighborhood, just a ten-minute walk apart. With her long, slender legs, she could probably cover it in five minutes if she ran full speed.
Since it would be hard to explain everything through text, I went ahead and called her. The person I'd just been talking to took a while to pick up.
-My soft, fluffy heart-
-Like clear stream water-
The idol's new song played as the hold music for a while—
"Pick up already! Hurry! Hurry!"
━Hello?
"Hey! Get over to my house right now! I'll even give you the door lock code! Come to my house! My house!"
━What? Why are you calling me to your place first thing in the morning?
"Come and do something about my mom!"
Over the past few days, I'd dealt with quite a few ghosts and bizarre entities. Even with my own clever ideas for exorcising them, there seemed to be only one way to handle this situation with the duplicated mom.
Call Yang Ju-hui!
"Hey! We're partners, aren't we? Don't you remember what happened last night? Are we strangers now? Hurry up and come! Come to my house!"
We'd played together at the playground last night. And she'd taken my hand when I offered it. That meant we'd formed a partnership.
━…What? Seriously, what's wrong with you? Are you bragging about something that happened in a dream last night?
What dream? Before I could ask, the call cut off with a click.
As if filling the silence, the angry voices of the mothers continued.
"Son! Who were you just talking to on the phone? Your girlfriend?"
"You used to say you'd marry Mom, but now you're secretly calling some strange girl! Raising a son is useless!"
Shit, this was terrifying.
Then an idea suddenly struck me.
"I… I like having a girlfriend! I'm not living with Mom anymore! I want to live with my girlfriend! I'm moving out and getting married! Mom, I'm going independent!"
If these were ghosts pretending to be Mom, maybe saying things she'd hate would work. Just like how shouting "Auntie!" at the auntie ghost had bought me some time, the same trick might work on the mom ghosts!
"Mom, just give me five thousand won! Other moms give their kids ten thousand won a day as allowance, but I don't get any! I can't even go to the academies other kids attend!"
What else?
"I don't even have a dad! Since you're only seventeen years older than me, my friends tease me every day asking if it was a speeding violation or crossing the center line!"
How could I really get under Mom's skin? I'd always been a dutiful son, so I was terrible at this kind of thing!
But my clumsy unfilial behavior must have had some effect, because the once-noisy space outside my room suddenly went quiet.
Had I exorcised the mom ghost with my unfilial moves? Turns out I had a talent for being a bad son!
"Yeong-won, what are you doing? You need to go to school. You'll be late. Should Mom drive you?"
Then, beyond my door, I heard Mom's voice—calm and gentle. It was the kind of voice that made me want to relax, as if everything that had just happened was a lie. I felt an urge to open the door and check her face.
Without thinking, my body twitched.
But the words "Congratulations!" didn't appear before my eyes.
The mom ghost was still out there.
I took out my phone and tried calling Mom.
Ring ring ring, ring ring ring—
The line connected, but she didn't answer.
I had to shout toward the outside.
"Mom! Do you have your phone?"
"I do. I'm holding it right now, why?"
"Is there anything strange?"
"Strange? I don't know? You're the one acting strange. If you keep dawdling, you'll be late. Why aren't you coming out? Come on out. You need to go to school."
If she had her phone, she should know I was calling her right now. At the very least, she should've said something like "You're calling Mom?"
In that case, I had to make a decision.
I moved my hand and sent a message to Yang Ju-hui.
「Hey, when you come in, there'll be two moms. Beat the shit out of both of them」
She must have been looking at her phone, because the "1" disappeared immediately.
「Yang Ju-hui: What are you talking about? Anyway, I'm at your front door」
Beep beep, beep beep beep—
I heard the sound of the door lock code being entered!
Yang Ju-hui had definitely arrived at my house!
Click—
The door opened, and I heard someone come inside.
"Hey, Ha Yeong-won, calling people over first thing in the morning… Huh…, Hello…?"
"Oh my, who is this?"
"Is this our Yeong-won's girlfriend? When did you get such a pretty girlfriend!"
"Yeong-won's noona?"
"Listen to how she talks. Pretty face and pretty words too."
"Not noona, Mom. We're both Yeong-won's moms. Yeong-won has two moms."
Shit, this was insane. I couldn't believe this was real conversation in this world.
I shouted toward the outside.
"Hey! Those people aren't our moms! Beat the shit out of them! Hit them hard! Pound them!"
"What? Ha Yeong-won, what are you saying right now? Who the hell are you people?"
"We're Yeong-won's moms, I said?"
"We're Yeong-won's moms. You should become a mom too. Yes. You should become a mom too. You should become a mom too. You should become a mom too. You should become a mom too. You should become a mom too. You should become a mom too."
"…What are you doing? Don't come closer. Kyaaak!"
A sharp female scream rang out. It must have been Yang Ju-hui screaming!
After hesitating in various ways, I decided I had no choice and opened my door!
"Yaaaaah!"
And with a powerful shout, I swung and smashed everything I could see around me!
Women screamed wildly, something hit me, and I got hit too in the chaos.
"Agh! You crazy bitches!"
Yang Ju-hui shouted loudly as if coming to her senses, followed by the mothers' screams.
"Kyaaak! This crazy bitch! Yeong-won, break up with her right now!"
"You don't even recognize your own mom!"
This was why I'd called Yang Ju-hui. I couldn't bring myself to hit Mom, even if she was fake. But Yang Ju-hui, used to fighting, could hit people without hesitation.
However, seeing even fake moms getting hit was painful, so I just closed my eyes, covered my ears, and curled up on the floor.
When I opened my eyes, I wished it had all been a dream.
# # #
Ding—
Congratulations! You have defeated the 'Ghost Under the Bed'!
Starting settlement for 2 survivors' worth.
Acquired 100P.
I came to my senses at the sound of the status window appearing.
When I opened my eyes, the house was a complete mess, and Yang Ju-hui stood there with her hair completely disheveled, nose bleeding, huffing angrily.
With her eyes bloodshot and red, she looked around, and the sight was so frightening it felt like I was seeing a ghost.
"Yeong-won, can you explain what just happened? Where did those bitches go?"
"Well, what we just fought… were ghosts. I think you beat them and won. Hey, could you put down that flower pot first and talk? I'll explain everything."
If Yang Ju-hui and I had entered the Nightmare Corridor together yesterday, talked, and cleared it safely, the conversation would've been easier. In the end, I'd sent other people into the corridor, so I hadn't had time to explain what I was going through to Yang Ju-hui.
But after experiencing that bizarre situation, Yang Ju-hui must have realized this wasn't normal either.
Deciding to turn crisis into opportunity, I calmly began to explain.
"As you just saw, I have a high chance of getting involved with ghosts or strange incidents. I'm not lying—it's real ghosts. I don't know exactly why this is happening either. But I have to survive somehow."
"……"
"I know. Honestly, you probably can't believe it. I know that too. But it's true! I'll really prostrate myself like this! I'll kneel. No, I'll bow! Please believe me! Please!"
When people desperately want something, they lower their bodies and prostrate themselves on the floor. I prostrated myself before Yang Ju-hui with desperate sincerity, and she recoiled in shock, stepping backward.
"Then… what you said in the dream yesterday?"
"What did I do in your dream yesterday?"
Had I appeared in Yang Ju-hui's dream last night? Since I'd sent other people into the corridor, there was no way Yang Ju-hui and I would've met. It seemed Yang Ju-hui had simply dreamed of me appearing.
I wondered what kind of dream it was.
"I appeared in your dream? What kind of dream was it?"
It might have been a dream related to the bizarre entities. It would be good to hear about it.
But Yang Ju-hui blushed and played dumb.
"What are you saying. Why would you appear in my dream, Yeong-won."
"No, you just said you met me in a dream. What kind of dream?"
"I don't know! Is that important right now? Really… what a mess first thing in the morning. My makeup's all smudged. Ghosts, really… unbelievable. Ghosts…"
"This is why I asked you at the playground yesterday. I said you might be able to meet your sister again. But in exchange, I don't know what kind of things you'll have to go through from now on."
"Agh, shit."
Yang Ju-hui got angry.
It would be troublesome if Yang Ju-hui got scared and ran away here. She'd just single-handedly beaten two ghosts. Yang Ju-hui was the talent I desperately needed right now.
"If you need time to think again, I'll give it to you. If possible, consider it positively."
I spoke calmly, but inwardly I was terrified she might run away. What should I do? Tempt her with money? How could I convince her?
"Fine. I promised yesterday. Unlike you, Yeong-won, I'm someone who doesn't lie. I'll hold hands with you, Yeong-won."
…Wow, she actually accepted this. Yang Ju-hui was seriously a weirdo. Impressive. Honestly, if it were me, I would've run away without looking back.
In various ways, things were going smoothly. Recruiting one colleague and earning 622 points! My life was truly blessed with good fortune!
622 points was honestly so satisfying it felt like I was full even without breakfast. There'd still be points left even after doing the "Capsule Draw" I'd been curious about since the shop opened.
Now that I thought of it, I should try the "Capsule Draw" at the quiet library later!
I wonder what'll come out of the capsule!
With that feeling, I headed to school with Yang Ju-hui.
Walking to school with Yang Ju-hui made me feel like one of those popular guys who'd gotten a girlfriend in high school. Honestly, since Yang Ju-hui was pretty, she naturally drew people's attention. I felt oddly smug walking beside her?
Vroom—
Just then, a car entered the alley crowded with students. It was a long, luxurious-looking foreign car.
"Wow, who the hell drives something like that. Is there a National Assembly member inside or something?"
If I made some money with the status window and traits, could I buy a car like that too? It was funny to think about. Someone could buy and drive a foreign car without any special abilities, while I'd have to go through all kinds of hell with the status window to afford one.
That's when it happened.
Whoosh—
The black car stopped, and a female student wearing the same school uniform as me got out.
A chaebol's daughter, maybe. I'd been thinking life was unfair, but looking closely, she was holding a poetry book titled "Flower of Evil."
"Uh…"
Huh, she was from the library…
While I was trying to remember, the girl approached me.
"Why didn't you come yesterday? I waited."
What was this about? It felt like my brain was lagging.
"Who, me?"
Was she talking to someone else?
Soon, Yang Ju-hui muttered in a small voice.
"…Yu Da-hee."