The Family's Debt Dilemma: A Mother's Plea and the Rising Tension
I'm in a lot worse shape than I realized.
I've barely been hanging on by a thread. The seizure I had in front of my aunt yesterday was just another reminder of how fragile everything still is.
Some people might've brushed it off as an act, but it was real. My body sometimes locks up completely, slipping beyond my control.
That's why I can't even dream of handling the outside world. If I just stay locked inside the apartment and do nothing, my muscles would stiffen further, triggering even worse episodes.
So, for survival's sake, I had no choice but to exercise. The only things I could manage were running and light weights, and even those required a professional trainer hovering nearby to bail me out if a spasm hit mid-workout.
That's exactly what I did this morning. I dragged myself to the apartment gym at dawn, returning home at six in the morning.
Even at that early hour, my aunt was already waiting at the door, greeting me with a smile.
“You're back early, Woo-jin-ah. Just got back from your run?”
“Yes.”
I handed her the bag I was carrying, noting the way she paused, almost looking like she was welcoming home a husband who's been out working late.
“Exercise clothes? Should I wash them?”
“Yes, just toss them in the washing machine.”
There was something oddly unsettling about the whole exchange.
She was handing me light chores, and it felt… wrong.
Soon I'd be piling even heavier burdens on her, and the guilt was creeping in despite my efforts to ignore it.
“Um, Aunt…”
“Hm?”
“About yesterday…”
“Oh!”
I baited her and she froze, eyes wide with panic.
Yesterday she'd said something completely out of line.
And then she'd bolted without a word of apology.
'One night has passed. Maybe we can pretend it never happened?'
But I wasn't planning on letting it slide.
“Well, I've been thinking… things over.”
“I'm sorry, Woo-jin! I don't know what came over me yesterday. I was just joking around to lighten the mood, and somehow I said something so inappropriate. If it made you mad, I'm truly sorry. Please, can't you forgive this foolish aunt of yours?”
It was a rapid-fire apology, like she'd rehearsed it a hundred times.
She definitely said something inappropriate yesterday.
True, it was partly her mistake, but I'd deliberately orchestrated the situation so she would.
Countless futures branched from a single word or gesture, and the one I chose was exactly what unfolded yesterday.
I'd carefully engineered the conversation and body language to push her just far enough that she'd slip up and say something scandalous.
I'd set her on edge, making her speak before she could think, and finally pushed her into a blunder that would ruin everything.
She was simply the victim of my manipulation.
“Oh… so it was just a joke, Aunt…”
Of course, the manipulation was still ongoing.
I let out a sigh that carried a hint of pity.
“I didn't realize you were joking, so I thought you really meant it when you said I'd be staying here. Oh well, let's just forget that ever happened.”
I muttered the words to myself, and my aunt's eyes snapped open in surprise.
“Huh…? Woo-jin, what did you just say?”
“Nothing, Aunt. Please forget about it.”
“W-Woo-jin?”
She was flustered, unable to grasp the true weight of my words.
The phrase “let's just forget that happened” was now lodged in her mind, and she had no idea what I actually meant.
She was starting to suffer over it in private.
'Let's just forget that happened.'
What exactly did I mean by that?
The most obvious interpretation was that I was considering canceling the plan of taking in my aunt and two daughters.
After her inappropriate remark, I'd briefly entertained the idea, only to feel disappointed.
So I decided to drop the whole arrangement.
She was imagining it all on her own.
In the end, she offered to take us in with such desperate enthusiasm that I had no choice but to accept.
I never intended to say those words, but her forceful push left me with no real alternative but to agree to the inappropriate arrangement.
This was not a future I could ever allow.
“W-Woo-jin, wait a second, is it possible that right now—”
“What are you two doing so early in the morning?”
She wanted to probe further, but her daughter Cha Ji-yeon suddenly appeared, cutting her off.
And my aunt spent the entire day wracked with worry over the same subject.
Until evening, when she came to my room for a massage.
“S-Se-yeon? Did you wake up early?”
“A little. The bed was uncomfortable.”
Cha Ji-yeon was still in her usual low mood.
Thanks to her presence, I was able to avoid answering my aunt's questions.
And having her around would become an important key to the relationship's further development with her mother.
“Really? Then maybe we should buy a proper bed. One big enough that the two of you can lie side by side.”
“No need!”
Cha Ji-yeon rejected my well-intentioned suggestion with icy coldness.
She was reacting to the sexual undertones, but the sight of such a bold daughter made my aunt's heart flutter with a mix of pride and unease.
“S-Se-yeon? Your oppa was speaking with good intentions. There's no need to be so sensitive, okay?”
My aunt tried to scold her daughter, eyes darting between us, completely attuned to my every move.
Her attitude only twisted Cha Ji-yeon's feelings further.
“Good intentions? What scheming do you think I'm doing!”
“Ji-yeon! Have you forgotten what I said yesterday?”
“……I don't know. Hmph.”
Cha Ji-yeon poured gasoline on her mother's anxious heart and walked away.
Left alone, my aunt apologized to me again, stammering.
“I'm sorry, Woo-jin. Ji-yeon hasn't fully adapted to this life yet. I'll talk to her properly. Okay?”
“Yes.”
I answered flatly.
And then, inside my room, I let out another sigh.
“Haa… This really won't do… But what can I do?”
It was perfect.
“Woo-jin…”
Alone again, my aunt spent the day fretting anxiously.
And as evening approached, when she knocked on my door, she was ready for anything.
*
“You didn't buy much today, did you? Is there anything else you need?”
I checked the credit card statement at the dinner table and addressed the aunt and daughters.
My aunt rushed to apologize.
“It added up, didn't it? I'm sorry, Woo-jin. The kids need a lot.”
“It's fine. Did you buy some things too, Aunt?”
“I just got what I needed.”
“Don't be shy. You should buy what you want. That way I can feel at ease in the middle of the night.”
“Oh… okay. I will.”
She was overly attentive to every little thing I said.
Watching her shrink further, guilt tugged at my conscience.
But this was all necessary groundwork for the upcoming festival.
“Oppa, hey, can you buy me a PC?”
Meanwhile, the youngest, Cha Se-yeon, spoke while carefully watching her mother and sister's reactions.
“PC? Like a computer?”
“Yes.”
“Se-yeon.”
Cha Ji-yeon immediately shot her a laser-eyed glare.
“What do you need a computer for? You'll have a phone soon anyway.”
“I need it for work.”
“Work? What kind of work do you even do?”
“None of your business, huh?”
Se-yeon smiled shyly at her sister's jab.
“Hehe. I'm going to start internet broadcasting.”
“No way!”
She'd barely finished speaking before it was shut down.
“Ah, why again?”
“You're an idiot? Do you have any idea what our situation is right now? Showing your face on camera to broadcast? Are you even mentally stable?”
Investors who'd been cheated out of their money were probably burning with rage, searching for my aunt's family.
Withdrawing suddenly would only make them more determined.
Exposing your face while broadcasting was nothing short of suicide.
Even if no one recognized you at first, the moment even one person did, it was over.
“It's fine. I'm not showing my face.”
“Then… just do it?”
“No. I'm becoming a VTuber.”
“What? VTuber? You?”
“Yes. VTubers can make millions a month if they do it right. I'm going to become one and succeed!”
Her declaration made Cha Ji-yeon blink in disbelief.
“Snap out of it. What VTuber are you supposed to be?”
“So what? What can't I do?”
“Do you think anyone can just become a VTuber? That's something only voice actors can pull off.”
“I have a good voice and I'm witty, right, oppa?”
“Exactly. My voice is good too, and I talk a lot. I can do anything.”
“Oppa! I'm being serious!”
“So am I.”
“Really? Doesn't sound like it.”
My aunt, who'd been listening quietly, finally interjected.
“Anyway, kids, what exactly is a VTuber?”
“Wow. Mom really doesn't know anything about this?”
Well, she had no reason to.
She wasn't interested in that kind of thing.
“Oh! Right! Mom, let's do it together. We'll be a mother-daughter VTuber team!”
“So what does that even mean?”
“A few days ago, a mother-daughter VTuber duo became super popular. We can do the same concept.”
“Se-yeon, tone it down. Why drag Mom into this?”
“So, what exactly is a VTuber, kids?”
My aunt was clearly intrigued by Se-yeon's claim that it could make money, even though she had no idea what it was.
No matter how much money I had, I couldn't spend it carelessly.
So she was looking for any way to earn.
“Noona, don't say that. Let's do it as three sisters. That's our concept.”
“Se-yeon, Se-yeon… when are you going to grow up?”
“Huh? Isn't this a great idea? What other way do we have to make money?”
Cha Ji-yeon fell silent at the mention of money.
“We can't live off oppa forever, can we? We have to start earning too. But we can't go outside, so we have to find something we can do at home. Is there anything else?”
Se-yeon's argument surprisingly carried weight.
Her mother and sister both wanted to earn money on their own.
Cha Ji-yeon went quiet, thinking it over.
She couldn't possibly be serious about trying to be a VTuber.
No, if she tried, she'd be fighting viewers from the very first stream and the broadcast would get canceled before it even started.
“But what exactly is a VTuber?”
“Ah, really! Mom!”
In the end, my aunt's persistent questioning wore Se-yeon down.
She explained everything: what it was, what they did, and how they earned.
But my aunt still looked confused after the explanation.
“So, it really makes money?”
“It does. People who do it well earn billions a month.”
“Then what about those who don't?”
“……That's up to them.”
To put it bluntly, those who don't succeed are actually in the red.
They have to spend on streaming equipment, avatars, and other costs.
Factor in the time and effort, and the loss is even greater.
If they can't become popular, it's better not to start at all.
“You also have to be witty and have good timing. And you have to play games too, but Mom's never even tried one.”
My aunt, having heard the full explanation, finally gave up.
Se-yeon was thinking too lightly. Wanting to make a VTuber out of someone who didn't even know what the term meant was absurd.
If she entrusted the business to Se-yeon, it would definitely fail.
“I won't do it either. I have no time for something like that. I hate acting cute for other people.”
Next, Cha Ji-yeon also declined.
“Hehe. Noona was right. You'd definitely end up fighting viewers.”
“What?”
Look at that. She's getting fired up even for the top supporter?
With that temper, the stream would blow up from the first day. It was better not to do it.
“Then I'll do it alone.”
But Se-yeon still didn't seem ready to give up.
“Then maybe I'll get a PC.”
“I can't give you a free one, but I'll consider buying one later.”
Of course, just the two of us, and in bed at that.