A Mother's Instinct
Mother…
"Let's see~. What's in my son's fridge? Or is it empty again this time~?"
"W-wait a second, Mom."
"Oh my, look at all this. You're managing pretty well, aren't you?"
"Um, ma'am?"
"The washing machine's running, too. And the room's spotless. Oh my…. What, did you get a girlfriend?"
"…."
Was this what people meant when they said you couldn't fool a parent's instincts?
…It felt a little different, though.
With a grin of pure delight, Mom turned to look at me and nodded.
Even if the girlfriend bit was a joke, she seemed genuinely happy just knowing her son who'd moved out was doing well on his own.
"Has spring finally come for my boy…? Who is she, hmm? That new part-timer junior you mentioned?"
"No, I, uh, don't have a girlfriend yet…."
"Aww, what a shame."
She let out a playfully disappointed sigh, as if she truly meant it.
…Maybe the girlfriend talk hadn't been a joke after all.
Ah~. Come to think of it, our household had always been pretty relentless about the girlfriend subject.
When was I going to show them a grandchild? If I didn't know anyone good nearby, she'd introduce me herself — half-joking, half-serious, and often enough.
I'd thought it had quieted down lately, but apparently the wish itself hadn't faded.
Looking closer, I caught a sharpness in Mom's eyes as she plopped down on the floor — a look I'd never seen from her before.
…If I had to guess, she was convinced I really did have a girlfriend and was just hiding it.
No, Mom, here's the thing.
I am hiding something, yes.
It's not a girlfriend — but it is a girl….
"Uh… did you already have breakfast?"
After scrambling through every mental escape route I could find, I tossed out the blandest possible line to redirect her attention.
If it had actually been a girlfriend, I could've just come clean and been done with it.
…But if she found out I was living alone with a girl I wasn't even dating — what kind of reaction would that get?
Knowing Mom's personality, probably….
….
I was a little scared.
In more ways than one.
"I didn't eat. I was going to make breakfast for my son~ and eat with him while I was at it. Didn't think you'd already eaten, though."
"Haha…."
At least the diversion seemed to have worked.
Mom pulled her gaze away from the furniture and snapped her head toward me.
I gave an awkward little laugh at her words, then clicked open the fridge to see if there was anything I could offer.
"Want me to whip something up real quick? Eggs, kimchi, some dried side dishes? I've been eating a lot lately, so nothing fancy, but…."
"Hmm? No, no, it's fine. I can't come to my son's place and freeload. Mom'll just find a soup place nearby — here, take this."
She picked up the paper bag she'd set on the floor earlier and held it out to me.
"What's this?"
I had a pretty good idea, but I asked out of politeness as I took it.
Feeling the solid weight settle into my palm, I opened it — and sure enough….
"Side dishes."
The bag was packed full of containers loaded with every kind of banchan.
Mom's expression said it all: You saw this coming, didn't you?
"It's been a while, so I made a bit of everything. Keep the containers."
"Whoa. Kimchi, spicy stir-fried pork, this and that… and what's this, doenjang-guk? You brought soup in a container?"
"Yep. It didn't leak through the lid, did it?"
"Uh, no. Looks fine."
"Good. I made it on purpose so you wouldn't forget your mom's cooking. When your girlfriend comes over, you can share some with her too, okay?"
"I told you I don't have a girlfriend…."
I answered under my breath, but I couldn't quite hide the smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.
Mom's cooking really was something else.
The table was going to be plentiful for a while.
And I was more than a little curious what kind of reaction Cecilia would have.
I hoped she'd like it.
"Oh my, oh my."
"…?"
"Son, be honest with me. You really don't have a girlfriend? Not even a crush?"
"Huh? What? Out of nowhere…?"
"Look at your face right now. You're grinning like an idiot."
…Was I?
I awkwardly tilted my head, surreptitiously brushing my bare palm against my cheek.
I'd been thinking about how much I was looking forward to it, sure, but grinning like an idiot…?
"I won't tell anyone, so just give me a little hint, hmm? Who is she? It's not that new part-timer junior, is it?"
"No. She's just a junior…."
"Then what about that regular customer girl? She seemed diligent."
"That person already has someone, no — why are you digging so hard today—"
"What about the beast-eared girl next door?"
"…Who?"
"The beast-eared girl. Silver hair, cat ears and a tail."
I went rigid in front of her. Mom slowly raised both hands and set them on top of her head —
like beastkin ears.
"Like this. She was wearing a school uniform, so she must be a student, right?"
"…."
Watching her tilt her head, I felt pure internal horror.
…No matter how you looked at it, that was Cecilia.
How did Mom know about Cecilia?
And more than that — next door?
Since when?
"…What do you mean, next door?"
"I passed her on the stairs on the way here. No reason for a kid to climb into a building she doesn't live in, so she must live here, right? You've never seen her?"
"…."
…Seen her?
Well, yeah, I've seen her plenty. Yes.
These days I basically spend all day looking at nothing but her, Mother.
So….
…I hadn't exactly seen this coming.
I never imagined she'd run into Cecilia on the way over.
It didn't seem like she'd figured out the girl lived in our place yet — but the situation still looked dangerously close to collapsing.
"She was pretty and cute. And your room is so clean… you're not secretly crushing on her or something, are you? Sharing food with her and all that."
"…."
Okay, hold on.
I'm getting actual chills here, Mom.
Since when was my mother an esper…?
Was this what people meant when they said you couldn't fool a parent's instincts?
…This time, it seemed to fit.
She'd gotten almost everything right.
Crushing on her? Correct. Sharing food? Correct….
Pretty and cute? Also correct.
Not that that last one was relevant.
"Uh, have you been watching any of the news about the beastkin…?"
If this conversation kept going, cohabitation was going to come out one hundred percent.
That thought flooded my head, and the move I finally chose to protect the secret was a blatant subject change.
It felt like yanking the conversation completely off its rails, but I had no choice.
With my brain this rattled, this was the best I could do.
"Of course I have. Not just the beast-eared kids — all the news about those other races, or whatever they're called. At my age, I'm seeing all kinds of things."
Good. At least the topic itself had successfully shifted.
If I could just keep the conversation going on something reasonable and kill time—
"I even saw the news about those prototype school uniforms…. I was curious how they handled the tail holes. Oh, by the way, are you dressing okay? I've got a few clothes at home I don't wear anymore — let's see, your closet…."
"Ah, Mom, wait—"
And just like that, the topic took a curveball that would make a pro pitcher cry.
I could only watch as Mom strode briskly toward the closet.
With a rrrk, a drawer slid open.
If it had been the outerwear section, fine — but as if some god were playing a prank….
"Oh my?"
…She opened the underwear drawer. On the first try.
And of course, not the drawer with my underwear — the one with Cecilia's.
Ah. For real.
Goddamn.
"…."
"…."
Silence fell.
Then Mom slowly lifted one of Cecilia's bras and turned it over, examining the front and back.
"It's big."
"…."
A tension so thick I couldn't even speak swept through me.
Mom set the bra down, poked through a few more sections of the closet, then slowly turned back toward me.
"Son."
"…."
"Are you using protection?"
"What?!"
I jerked my head up in pure shock.
Excuse me, Mother?
Am I using what?
While I stood there drowning in confusion, Mom just kept nodding with a perfectly calm expression.
"Need condoms? Want me to order a few boxes online? I mean, there's no law that says you have to wear one, but if you're thinking of her, you should try to. Safe days aren't a hundred percent either."
"Wh-what?!"
"Aigoo, honestly. You don't have to be that embarrassed~. If you got a girlfriend, you should've just said so. I would've brought better side dishes. Oysters, maybe…."
"Mother…?!"
And as the teasing — if you could even call it that — flowed on without a hitch, I completely lost my grip and started stammering.
"Anyway~ if she's leaving clothes here, things must be going pretty well, huh? …I'm just asking out of curiosity, but are you thinking about marriage?"
"Mom, please…!"
"No, never mind. You don't have to get married. But listen carefully, Eunhyuk."
Suddenly she planted both hands on my shoulders.
Then, with an extremely serious face, she continued.
"Have as much sex as you can while you still can. I'm going to go eat breakfast outside and head straight home, so…."
"That's not what this is?!"
Back and forth.
I grabbed the hands on my shoulders, opened my mouth to explain — and that was the exact moment.
"Eunhyuk~."
With a click, the door opened.
"School's closed today for temporary… …. Huh?"
Cecilia walked in.
"Ah."
"Oh my."
"…?"
In that tiny studio apartment, three pairs of eyes met.
Looking at the scene, all I could do was let out a thin, resigned sigh.