The Next Morning and Mom's Friend
She rested her hand against his chest, head bowed as she slowly dragged in breath after breath.
It was the first living, genuine feeling she had known in a very long time.
For a while the two of them simply stayed like that, catching their breath, as if time itself had stopped. Only the sound of their breathing filled the silence until Mi-ho broke it with a soft laugh.
"Ha… Son… You’re really impossible…"
Han Pan answered with a faint smile.
"Mom… weren’t you the one who’d been holding it in way too long?"
She gave his chest a light smack.
"Who, me?"
He grinned, playing along.
"Whose kid am I, huh… Hehe."
She laughed and slowly rose from the bed.
Han Pan watched her with dazed, enchanted eyes. Wearing nothing but her high heels, her naked body looked like Aphrodite herself, the goddess of love. So this is what erotic really means, he thought, realizing he had stepped into a world he had never known before.
It hadn’t even been proper sex—just dry humping—but it was a social taboo that should never have happened between mother and son. The sheer catharsis of breaking that taboo felt incredible.
He peeled off his thoroughly soaked pants. His soft cock flopped heavily to one side, and the crotch of the fabric was shiny and sticky with the mess he had already spilled.
Mi-ho, for her part, breathed in the intense night-bloom scent she hadn’t smelled in ages and felt an inexplicable sense of comfort. Is this what youth smells like? she wondered, gazing at his body. It was ridiculously sexy. The kind of face and physique no woman could refuse.
"Take those pants off… Mom’s going to wash them. It’d be mortifying if anyone saw…"
"Okay…"
Han Pan got up from the bed and handed her the discarded pants. Mi-ho stared for a long moment at the damp, stained patch left by his cum. An even stronger wave of that night-bloom scent curled into her nose, and a strange happiness bloomed inside her. She had no idea how she was going to handle the aftermath, but right now that didn’t feel important at all.
"Mom, you’re so fucking sexy…"
She turned her head to look at him.
"Really? Well, if I can seduce even my own son, other men don’t stand a chance."
She glanced at the clock. It was already heading toward midnight. The time had felt so short, yet it had flown by. Thinking of tomorrow, she decided she needed to clean up quickly. She gathered the discarded robe and slowly slipped off her high heels. Barefoot now, she headed for the door and spoke over her shoulder.
"I’ll leave the rest of the cleanup to you… Be careful not to get caught by So-jo… And about what happened tonight—let’s talk again tomorrow. We’ve got a lot to discuss."
"Okay, Mom…"
Han Pan nodded. Mi-ho smiled and slipped out of his room as carefully as a guilty thief.
Once inside her own room she collapsed onto the bed. A flood of thoughts and emotions crashed over her all at once. Because she had followed her instincts so completely, the reason she had abandoned was now clawing its way back, leaving her mind in chaos. She stared at the ceiling and let out a long sigh.
It had been a very long day.
The next morning, during his usual workout routine, Han Pan didn’t see his mother. He found it odd, but finished exercising alone. Just as he was about to head back to his room he ran into Mi-ho coming down into the living room. He greeted her cheerfully.
"Morning, Mom!"
"Oh… yeah. Morning, son…"
Unlike his bright tone, Mi-ho answered quietly with an awkward smile. Han Pan felt a flicker of panic but forced himself to stay calm as he looked at her. An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Mi-ho dipped her head slightly and continued downstairs. They passed each other with nothing more than that brief morning greeting.
Han Pan was thrown by the sudden change in her attitude, but decided not to say anything. For Mi-ho, facing her son in the light of morning was far more embarrassing than she had expected. Last night she had simply followed her instincts; now that she was awake, the memory of what they had done was spinning her thoughts into a mess. The line had already been crossed—that was secondary. The real problem was how to clean up the mess. Blaming herself for having been so completely ruled by desire, she prepared breakfast.
An awkward breakfast began. Watching his mother refuse to meet his eyes, Han Pan sensed something was wrong. So-jo picked up on the strangely quiet mood between them and kept her mouth shut as well. The three of them finished the meal in silence.
As breakfast ended, Mi-ho told Han Pan and So-jo that she would be having dinner with friends that evening and would be home late. The daytime hours dragged by emptily. When evening came, So-jo returned from work and the two of them ate together. Afterward Han Pan sat in the living room, staring blankly at the television while replaying everything that had happened from last night through this morning.
A few hours later, just before ten o’clock, a call came in from an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Hey, is this Han Pan?"
"Yes, it is, but…"
The voice was unfamiliar, yet the woman spoke to him with surprising warmth.
"Han Pan! It really is you!! Hohoho, it’s been so long, kid!"
"Uh… yes… Sorry, but who is this?"
"Oh my, look at me! It’s me—your mom’s friend Eun-yeong! Do you remember?"
Han Pan pictured one of the women his mother always hung out with, the one who always dressed flashily.
"Of course. Hello, Auntie Eun-yeong."
"Oh, you little… Calling me ‘auntie’ is too much… It’s ‘noona,’ okay? Hohoho."
She sounded drunk; her voice was already a little scattered.
"Oh my, look at me again! Anyway, the thing is—your mom’s completely passed out here right now, so you need to come pick her up…"
"What? Mom?"
"Yeah, she’s drunk and sleeping it off. Come get her, kid. Hohoho."
"Ah, yes… Where are you?"
"You know where my shop is, right?"
Han Pan remembered the luxury boutique near Dosan Park that his mother used to visit often before he left for the military.
"Yeah… I remember…"
"Good, good… Just come here. I’ll be waiting~!"
With that, she hung up.
Han Pan went back to his room, threw on some clothes, caught a taxi, and headed for her shop. When the cab pulled up in front of the boutique he got out and walked to the main entrance. The entire glamorous building was the boutique itself. Seeing the door locked, he called Eun-yeong.
"You’re here? I’ll be right down."
She hung up. A moment later the door cracked open and Eun-yeong peeked out. The second she confirmed his face she beamed and welcomed him.
"Han Pan? It’s really been ages… How many years has it been?"
Seeing her again after so long, Han Pan greeted her politely. She threw the door wide, stepped out, and pulled him into a full hug. The soft press of her full breasts and the thick smell of alcohol hit him at once. She had clearly had quite a bit to drink.
"Our Han Pan, it’s been so long~! How have you been? Must’ve been rough in the army, huh?"
"Ah, yes… Hahaha."
She released him from the hug while he still wore an awkward smile.
"Mmm, let me get a good look at our Han Pan… Oh… Your body’s way better than before. You’re starting to smell like a real man now."
Her praise made him feel bashful.
"Ah, thank you… Hahaha."
"Come on up~! Your mom’s out cold right now."
She led him inside. The moment Han Pan stepped in, the brilliantly displayed racks of colorful, stylish clothes caught his eye. True to her role as the boutique’s owner, Eun-yeong herself was dressed to kill—a white jumpsuit paired with matching high heels. The jumpsuit clung tightly, showing off every curve without mercy; the center of the suit was cut completely open, boldly revealing the line of her cleavage. She had covered it with a bit of style using a large, flashy necklace that nearly hid her entire torso.
With her hair cut just below the ears she looked like she was still in her thirties, but she was the same age as Mi-ho, and Han Pan knew she had a son a little older than himself. He had met that son a few times at their mothers’ gatherings when they were kids; back then he used to call him hyung and play with him. The guy had grown into a tall, handsome man and, like Han Pan, had come back from the military with a solid, well-built body. Mi-ho had mentioned once that after finishing his Marine Corps service he was now training in management at his father’s company.
"How’s hyung doing?"
Eun-yeong laughed at the greeting.
"Won-cheol? He’s doing great! You kids should get together sometime and grab a meal. Hohoho."
Pretty thoroughly drunk, she was full of laughter. She led the way toward the elevator, and Han Pan’s eyes naturally fell on the curve of her hips. The jumpsuit was thin, yet no panty line showed. He wondered if she, like his mother, was wearing a thong as they stepped into the elevator.
It rose straight to the top floor—the sixth. When the doors opened, a luxurious lounge-like space greeted him: elegant chairs and furniture arranged like a private café for VIP clients. At the large central table two other women, already thoroughly drunk, looked up and grinned at him. And there on one of the sofas, sprawled out completely unconscious, was his mother.
Han Pan let out a long sigh.