I Hired My Stepmother's Friend
The next morning, Mom was later than usual getting breakfast on the table — last night's drinking, most likely.
"Sua, how much did I even drink yesterday?"
"Huh? Uh... maybe half a bottle?"
Mom had never been able to hold her liquor. Half a bottle of wine and she'd apparently tapped out for the night. Sua nuna's face as she answered, though, was completely vacant, like her thoughts had drifted somewhere far beyond the kitchen. Mom watched her stir the bean-sprout soup in absent circles and seemed to assume it was about the husband.
"Your stomach must be wrecked. At least have some soup and nurse the hangover."
"R-right."
I had a pretty good idea why she looked like that, but I kept my mouth shut and quietly worked through my rice. She'd gotten drunk and slept with her friend's son. Now that her head had cleared, the chaos behind her eyes was plain to see — which, in its own way, was also proof that Sua nuna wasn't the kind of woman who just spread her legs for any man who came along.
I'm crazy. I'm actually crazy. Lee Sua, what the hell are you going to do?
Lee Sua couldn't get her head on straight, not after the disaster she'd walked herself into last night. Her husband's problems didn't even surface. Her mind was too tangled for that.
Getting drunk and having sex with another man. And not just any man — her friend's son.
I can't even look Hayeon in the face.
Even now, watching her kind friend fuss over her, the guilt kept her from lifting her head. She was this much of a wreck, and yet Minjun sat across the table eating like nothing in the world had happened. It made her feel oddly spiteful.
But thinking back on last night... she was the one who'd caught his wrist when he tried to leave after bringing her to the room. She was the one who'd pulled him in.
I can't even blame anyone.
In the end, she was the cause of this whole mess. Still, a small, stubborn part of her felt it wasn't entirely fair.
Showing up with a body like that, dressed like that — that's just cheating.
How many women in the world wouldn't catch fire after seeing a body carved with beast-like muscle, and that forearm-thick thing hidden in his underwear? Being drawn to a superior male so utterly unlike her husband — with his tiny dick and nothing but a potbelly to show for his age — was, as a woman, something she simply could not help.
And that fullness that had packed her completely. That climax that had gone so insane her mind went white. Just remembering it, her lower belly trembled with a dull, lingering ache.
A warm trickle ran down.
"Haa..."
The cum he'd pumped into her was still leaking out, soaking through her panties. Honestly, she wanted to feel it again.
Still... I can't. I shouldn't.
Like it or not, she was a married woman with a husband. Even as she made that resolution, she couldn't stop the sorrow from settling over her face.
Watching her over breakfast, Sua nuna's expressions were something else. Confused, then sulky, then dazed like she was lost somewhere delicious, then quietly heartbroken. She looked every bit the tragic heroine, tracing back through a wonderful memory only to slam into grim reality all over again.
Hmm. What should I do with her?
Until yesterday she'd just been Mom's friend. Now she was Mom's friend I'd slept with. I wasn't exactly a third party anymore. So I started turning over how I might actually help her, and one pretty decent idea surfaced. I wasn't sure how she'd take it — but I figured I should at least float it.
"Sua nuna."
"Ah— huh?"
Nuna, who'd had her eyes buried in her soup bowl, looked up in surprise.
"Are you any good at cooking?"
"Coo...king?"
She echoed it awkwardly, thrown by how random the question was. She still couldn't hold my gaze. The second our eyes met, she glanced away.
"I'm decent enough, I guess."
"She's more than decent. Sua's an amazing cook."
"Really?"
Mom lit up and jumped in to correct her. If she was that good, my idea might actually land.
"She's even got a Korean cuisine certification. Right, Sua?"
"Well, yeah, but... why the sudden cooking question, Minjun?"
"Mm... this is actually a little awkward to bring up."
I chose my words carefully, trying to find a way to say it that wouldn't sting.
"Would you consider cooking for us here at the house?"
"If that's what Minjun wants, that's no trouble at all. Why are you being so careful about something so small?"
"Son. Is Mom's cooking that bad?"
Mom looked at me with a wounded expression. Compared to military mess-hall food, Mom's cooking was in another league — but she wasn't exactly a chef either. Not that that was the point. They both seemed to have the wrong idea.
"Mom's cooking is delicious, obviously. But don't you remember what we talked about the other day?"
"Huh? What talk? Ah..."
It clicked for her then — the conversation where I'd suggested we hire someone so she wouldn't have to slave over three meals a day. That was it. The idea I'd come up with was to bring Sua nuna on as our household help. Working as a housekeeper in a friend's home, though, could put a serious crack in someone's pride, which was exactly why I was treading so lightly.
"What I mean is, I'd like to formally invite Sua nuna on as our chef."
"M-me?"
I couldn't just come out and say housekeeper, so I changed the wording.
"Yes. And since you already have a Korean cuisine certification, I'll give you the best possible terms."
"Minjun, you can't just do this without talking to Mom first."
"I'm sorry. But I figured this would be even harder for you to bring up."
It did feel a little like I'd jumped the gun, but seeing that sorrowful look on Sua nuna's face, I just couldn't let it go. Listening to the two of us, she seemed to finally catch the real meaning underneath, and her expression darkened.
"Sua, I'm sorry. Minjun didn't mean it in a bad way, so please don't take it like that."
"No, it's fine. I'm actually grateful you're thinking of me like this."
I was glad she was taking it well — but she still hadn't actually said yes, so I dangled something more concrete.
"I'll pay you at a five-star hotel chef's rate, nuna."
As I said it, I spread all five fingers wide. Five million won a month. Using money as a lure wasn't the classiest move, but given the hole Sua nuna was in, it was a temptation she'd have a hard time walking away from. How easy was it for a housewife to earn that kind of money anywhere else? For us it was like scooping a ladle of water out of a lake — but if I tried to just hand it to her for free, she would never take it.
Her pupils trembled at the offer I'd tossed out so playfully.
Got her.
"Haa... alright. I'll take it."
"Whew. Thank god. Thanks for saying yes, nuna."
"No — I should be the one thanking you. You too, Hayeon."
And just like that, the friend of Mom's that I'd already fucked was hired as our household chef. Since things had gone this far anyway, I decided I was going to get closer to Sua nuna. Though the method might turn out a little rough. The same way our first time had been.
"Haa..."
Coming home after a night away, Sua took one look at her husband sprawled across the cramped living room, reeking of alcohol, and the sigh came out before anything else.
"Are you seriously going to keep doing this?"
"What do you want me to do when there's nothing I can do right now?"
"So we're just going to starve to death like this?"
"......"
Having failed for the first time in his life, her husband couldn't find a single answer for how to get through this. People show their true colors in a crisis, or so the saying went. Sua was deeply disappointed in the man who had crumpled so helplessly after a single fall.
"Do deliveries. Do designated driving. Do something. We have to eat to live."
"I said I get it, so stop nagging already!"
Lately it was always like this. She'd push, he'd shove back, they'd yell, then retreat to separate rooms and shut each other out. It hadn't been like this from the start. The reality had been bleak and overwhelming, and she had comforted him, soothed him, told him he could get back on his feet. But looking at a husband who showed no will whatsoever, the nagging just kept coming on its own.
He used to be so sweet.
He'd run a business with dozens of employees. They'd been comfortable. Even with the potbelly. Even when the sex left her unsatisfied. She'd thought she could put up with all of it and live just fine.
But now.
I can't even stand the sight of him.
The house gone, the car gone, squeezed into this shabby two-room rental they'd barely managed to move into. None of it meant a thing in the face of being broke. They needed to eat, and he was just lying there. How was she supposed to feel good about any of that?
"I'm starting work as a housekeeper tomorrow, so just so you know. Figure out your own meals, or starve. I don't care."
She announced it, walked into the bedroom, and slammed the door.
"Ah, for fuck's sake..."
The curse that drifted through the door went in one ear and out the other. Alone in the quiet room, she found herself a little excited about the daily life that would change starting tomorrow. What exactly she was looking forward to, she hadn't quite answered even for herself. Or maybe she knew — and was simply looking the other way.
Starting the very next morning, Sua nuna came to work at our house. Unless something came up, she would be responsible for all three meals a day. Cleaning and the rest of the housework, she and Mom would handle together.
"Wow. This is actually really good, nuna."
"Glad you like it."
A deep, savory soybean-paste stew, grilled croaker, and an array of neatly dressed greens. It wasn't wildly different from what Mom made, but there was a depth of flavor that set it apart.
"Son, your reaction is a lot different from when Mom cooks."
"No, Mom's food is super delicious too. This is just..."
"That's enough out of you. Though honestly, Sua's cooking really is pretty great. Right?"
"Haha."
Watching Mom tease me — and watching me scramble — nuna's expression looked a lot more at ease than it had the day before. Over the next few days, she settled into the rhythm of the house. And the whole time, I'd been looking for a chance to get closer to her. But she was glued to Mom from morning to night, so an opening never quite came.
Then one day.
"Son, I have plans with a friend tonight, so I'll be out for a bit."
The wait had been worth it. The chance had finally come.
"Okay. Have fun. But Mom, you can't hold your liquor, so don't drink too much."
"Yeah, I know. Sua, take care of Minjun's dinner for me."
"Don't worry. Go have a good time. I'll look after him."
And so, sometime in the late afternoon, Mom headed out — leaving Sua nuna and me alone in the house.