Mother
"From now on."
At Yu Jiwon's sudden move, I swallowed a ridiculous gasp.
"…What?"
"Didn't hear me? Want me to say it again?"
"No, I heard you. I heard, but… so what? What exactly do I have to do?"
At my curt question, Jiwon widened her eyes and shrugged.
"Like I said, we're dating now. Today's day one."
"……."
In this absurd situation, I kept silent for a moment before whipping around.
"I'm going home."
"Hey! Are you crazy?!"
Jiwon frantically grabbed the hem of my uniform from behind.
"Why again! We agreed to date, didn't we? That's that."
"If we're dating, there are mandatory things, right? Like going to the arcade for claw machines or playing games together. Stuff like that!"
"Sigh… I'm busy."
As I furrowed my brow and tried to brush her off firmly, a sly smile crept across Jiwon's lips.
"You're not busy. If you go home, you'll just hole up reading those shady web novels anyway."
"…What?!"
My steps halted abruptly, like I'd tripped on a rock.
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
"You… how do you know about…."
"Don't worry~ I won't spread rumors around the neighborhood about Lee Woojin jerking off to creepy, weird novels in his room. Just cooperate with my dates nicely."
Devilish bitch.
With her blackmail gripping my deepest shame, I had no choice but to raise both hands in surrender.
"…Fine. You win. So, where to first?"
"Yesss~!"
Jiwon beamed and linked her arm with mine as naturally as could be.
I trudged along, led by her steps, feeling zero flutter from the soft sensation on my arm.
"Sigh…."
From the arcade to coin karaoke.
Completely swept up in Jiwon's pace, I dragged myself back to the apartment late at night, kicking off my shoes at the door and muttering.
"Ugh… I'm beat, so beat."
Suah, sprawled on the living room couch, scampered over at my voice.
"Oppa. Why so late? Don't tell me… you were with Haeun unnie?"
"Nah. Just hung out with the guys playing basketball."
As I brushed it off and headed to my room—
Suah suddenly shoved her face right into my chest, sniffing loudly.
"…Liar."
In an instant, Suah's eyes turned chillingly cold.
It wasn't her usual playful little-sister face.
"…What?"
"……."
"What did you just say…?"
"Did you hear wrong?"
Suah snapped back to her annoying grin, patted my shoulder mockingly, and stuck out her tongue.
"Basketball my ass. You were out playing with some girl~! Nyah nyah~!"
Bam!
Snorting, Suah slipped into her room and slammed the door.
I stood frozen, staring blankly in silence.
I cautiously sniffed my uniform shirt.
"…That obvious, huh."
With a deep sigh, I shuffled to my room.
Didn't even have the energy to change.
"Sigh… just a bit. Really, just a little sleep…."
I collapsed onto the bed in my uniform, and the crushing fatigue pulled me under.
"Oh my, really? Hohoho, that's huge~!"
How long had I slept?
Noisy chatter from the living room yanked my heavy eyelids open.
Mom must've come back from her shift work.
But besides Mom's voice, someone else was chiming in excitedly.
A girl as pretty and sweet as you marrying our Woojin later would be perfect.
"…Huh?"
Still groggy, I rubbed my eyes, opened the door, and stepped into the living room.
"Mom. Who's here?"
Mom was slicing fruit on the couch, and across from her sat a neatly poised figure—her back to me.
At my voice, Mom turned with a bright smile.
"Aigoo, kid… you just woke up? Go take care of Haeun. She came over to keep you company since you'd be bored, but you've been holed up sleeping!"
"…B-Baek Haeun?"
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Haeun rose gracefully, not her usual pale face but a radiant, polite smile directed at me.
"Why… why are you here…."
As I stammered in panic, Mom smacked my back.
"Kid! Instead of being grateful she came first, this? Sorry, Haeun. Woojin's clueless."
"No, Auntie."
Haeun smiled angelically, then locked eyes with me.
"I'll take good care of Woojin… even without you saying."
Those pitch-black, empty pupils gazing up from the couch.
The moment our gazes met, I lost all reason and frantically pointed at the front door.
"Get out… now…."
"Woojin…."
At my hoarse whisper, Haeun drooped her eyes like she was hurt, calling my name.
But I had no time for her vile act.
"Mom. Tell Haeun to leave right now."
I practically begged, and Mom set down her knife with a tsk, incredulous.
"Aigoo, seriously! You're not a kid anymore—telling a guest to leave to her face? What's wrong with you!"
"I-I'm tired! I'm tired!"
"You slept plenty and still tired? You just woke up!"
Stumped by Mom's facts, I threw out a desperate gambit to boot her from this suffocating space.
"Then I'll… walk her home now…!"
As I spun toward the door—
"Walking her home isn't bad. Haeun, you're staying for dinner, right?"
"Yes… M-Mother."
Haeun clasped her hands demurely on her lap, blushing shyly.
Mother? That damn 'mother' again!
Hearing it, Mom clutched her mouth in ecstasy, like she'd won the world.
"Oh my! Did you hear? She called me Mother! Aigoo, so polite."
"Mom~ acting like a kid? Stop being so sappy."
Suah peeked from her cracked door, rolling her eyes, but Mom—smitten with her future daughter-in-law—was deaf to it.
"Haeun, Auntie—no, Mother will make something yummy, so go play in Woojin's room till dinner!"
"No…!! Anything but that!!"
Despite my horrified scream, Mom shoved my back roughly.
"What's wrong with you! It's your guest too—treat her right! Aish, go in already?!"
In the end, Mom's back-smack hurled me into my room like trash.
Click.
The door locked shut behind me.
My most private, personal space.
Now, just me and Baek Haeun alone in this tiny cell.
The air turned vacuum-heavy in an instant.
Haeun glanced at me huddled on the bed's edge, then slowly scanned the room.
Her gaze lingered on the massive bookshelf by my desk.
"…You like this stuff?"
The moment I saw what held her stare, my face burned.
Her slender finger toyed with the cover of my prized limited-edition yandere novel, Nyangkool Dayju special edition.
"Not really…."
I shook my head hastily, snapping gruffly.
Having my tastes exposed was humiliating, but more so her touching my things, invading my territory.
Ignoring me, Haeun trailed her finger along the spines of the books.
Scrape, scrape.
Her fingers brushing paper filled the silent room.
Then, at the shelf's end, her hand stopped dead.
Back turned, she spoke in a low, eerie tone.
"By the way."
"Why'd you refuse when I asked to go together today?"
My heart lurched against my ribs.
She means… when I bolted from the shoe lockers to meet Jiwon.
"…Said I forgot something in the classroom…."
"…That wasn't toward the classroom?"
Thinking Jiwon's perfume might still cling to my collar, I instinctively hunched my shoulders, body rigid.
"So… what? It's none of your business."
I forced nonchalance, shoving her away coldly.
"Hmm… okay…?"
Haeun slowly withdrew her hand from the shelf and turned to me.
Those eyes—ready to throttle my neck, demanding why I went alone, whose scent this was, interrogating madly.
As her lips parted and she stepped closer—
"Woojin! Haeun! Dinner's ready—come out!!"
"……."
At the shout, life flickered back into Haeun's vacant eyes.
As if she'd never stared like that, she reverted to shy sweetness, smiling brightly.
"Let's go, Woojin."
Haeun skipped to the door and out to the living room.
Bam.
The second it shut, I crumpled forward onto the bed.
Cold droplets trailed from forehead to chin.
Trembling hands wiped the sweat as I gasped raggedly.
…Maybe.
Chills raced down my spine.
I've been creating an uncontrollable… monster from the start.
But I shook my head violently, shoving the thought away.
…No, just my imagination? I'm overreacting. Baek Haeun wouldn't.
Forcing down the nagging intuition, I ruffled my messy hair.
Deep breaths calmed my pounding heart.
"Sigh… enough useless thoughts."
I smoothed my frozen expression and quietly left the room with heavy steps.