Chapter 16
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: What Did Mom Go Through at Work?
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"Ugh, damn..."
Suddenly witnessing that embarrassing sight left me overwhelmed with awkwardness and disgust.
"Mom! Mom, snap out of it!"
"Ugh..."
"..."
Of course, Mom was completely wasted and couldn't pull herself together. I wiped the drool from her mouth and helped her back into bed.
What now?
It suddenly hit me that sleeping in her outdoor clothes wasn't a good idea.
"Mom, Mom? You should change into pajamas."
"..."
With Mom unresponsive even after shaking her, I caught my breath, and a strange tension started building inside me.
"...I have to change her clothes. That's just common sense, right?"
I muttered excuses to myself—no one was around to hear anyway; my sister was out overnight again as usual—while glancing around. Slowly, I started unbuttoning Mom's blouse. It felt weird, like anyone seeing this would think something was off, but I couldn't just let her sleep like that.
But as I undressed her...
"...Fuck."
She wasn't wearing a bra—though she definitely had one on before heading to work. Her bare breasts were right there in plain view. I knew I shouldn't cross that line. My hands trembled as I kept unbuttoning, just in case.
"...Gulp."
Before I knew it, my mouth was watering. My head spun, my vision blurred, my heart pounded like crazy, and my stomach twisted in knots from the surge of nerves.
After finally unbuttoning her top... I hesitated for a good five minutes before carefully pulling it open from both sides.
But then...
"Ah..."
Mom's body already belonged to someone other than Dad. The proof was written right there.
CUNT-RAG SEX SLAVE
❤ (crudely drawn, half-hidden by her skirt)
Mom's pale skin—especially around her lower abdomen—was marked with writing.
"..."
Whirr—
My mind went blank for a moment. I'd never even imagined seeing something like this. My own mother's naked body, defaced with graffiti like some guy's plaything—and not even Dad's...
It wasn't just disgust or arousal or anger—some murky, indescribable feeling washed over me.
"Haa... haa..."
Hyperventilating, I closed my eyes, took deep ragged breaths, then opened them again. For reasons I can't explain... I grabbed the hem of Mom's skirt and lifted it slightly.
"..."
I hadn't seen it clearly from behind earlier, but her stockings were torn open at the crotch—like someone had deliberately cut them with scissors. Through the hole, I could see sticky white fluid caked around her groin, half-dried.
Nausea surged up instantly. I couldn't stomach looking anymore, so I buttoned her blouse back up, pulled her skirt down, and covered her with the blanket.
Ah...
This was going to be a long night.
In the end, I stayed up all night staring at the ceiling and only managed to fall asleep at dawn. When I finally woke up after hours of that, it was already past 1 p.m.
Sure, it was Saturday—no school—but I'd never slept in this late in my life. Startled, I jumped out of bed.
"Son, you're up?"
"Huh? Mom..."
"What's wrong? You look pale."
Maybe my expression was grim as I sat up, because Mom approached with concern.
"N-no, I'm fine..."
"Silly boy."
Since it wasn't a workday, Mom was dressed casually: a loose boxy T-shirt and white shorts underneath.
But the shocking sight from last night was burned into my brain...
My eyes kept drifting to the space between her legs.
"..."
I'd tossed and turned all night thinking about it... but yeah, Mom must've slept with that Kwak Young-cheol bastard. The evidence was overwhelming.
Ever since she started her "job," she hadn't come home on time once—always excuses like company dinners after hours.
And with an accountant's salary, there's no way she could've bought all those Chanel and Dior luxury items piling up in the house... not to mention signing me up for that million-won-a-month academy. That was way beyond normal spending.
Even a kid like me could tell something was off. Where the hell was all that money coming from?
But judging from the graffiti on her body last night... it didn't even seem like a normal affair.
So what kind of relationship was it?
"Mom, aren't you going to visit Dad?"
"What? Out of the blue?"
"Just... it's been a while since he went in."
"...Leave him be. He got himself locked up for being an idiot."
As expected, Mom's attitude toward Dad... was it over for good?
Was that Kwak Young-cheol bastard going to become our new stepdad?
"By the way, about Mr. Young-cheol yesterday..."
"Huh? Why Young-cheol oppa?"
"No... you seem to be drinking a lot lately..."
"So?"
Mom's reaction was blatantly defensive. Her tone was a bit sharper than usual—like she didn't want this topic brought up. Was she hiding something?
"N-no... nothing..."
"..."
I don't know. Sure, Mom and Dad were light-years from an ideal couple, but she'd always been Mom and he'd always been Dad my whole life. The idea of that Kwak Young-cheol guy taking Dad's place was just plain weird.
Just then, Mom—who'd been pondering my question—came over and sat in front of me.
"Hey, Hyun-seong. Since it came up... we're probably moving soon."
"...Huh? Moving? Suddenly? Wait, with what money...?"
"Yeah. We suffered during that flood too, right? At least we need to get out of this basement... But don't get the wrong idea. Young-cheol oppa offered to help with the move."
"...Why would that ajusshi do that?"
"Well... a sense of responsibility toward your dad? Heh heh. Anyway, good things are good. It's not some super expensive place—there's that officetel near your academy, right? In the intersection area. Two-room unit. Nice, huh?"
Sure, anything better than this semi-basement single room would be an upgrade—as long as it wasn't a goshiwon. But I couldn't just be thrilled. A sudden move? Funded by that total stranger ajusshi?
Setting aside the obvious lie about "responsibility toward Dad"... why would he shell out cash to move us?
"G-good for us..."
"Right? That oppa's got real loyalty. Hyun-seong, make sure you greet him nicely when you see him. Got it?"
"..."
"Ugh, why the long face again? Want Mom to order something tasty?"
"No thanks. It's not about food."
Damn... sometimes Mom acts more like the kid, and I feel like the parent.
Of course, the move didn't happen overnight—it took about a week.
Our sparse belongings meant there wasn't much to pack anyway.
"This is so exciting. Right, oppa?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"What's with the face? I'm thrilled to escape this stuffy basement. Ugh... mosquitoes in Seoul? Come on."
My clueless sister Kang Mi-hyun—who never came home before midnight anyway—practically jumped for joy. But I stayed sulky the whole time.
"You kids fighting again? Hurry up and get in the elevator."
Edgarum Officetel. Our escape from the rundown neighborhood. True to officetel form, it was near a station with tons of entertainment and conveniences nearby.
Thirty stories tall, and we were on the 29th—practically the top. The elevator took forever. Stepping into the new place...
"Whoa! This is insane!"
Immature Mi-hyun squealed with delight the second we entered. Even I momentarily gaped, my grumpiness forgotten.
From our family's cramped 200-square-foot single room to a 430-square-foot two-room unit. The space felt at least three times bigger. A small living room with a sofa and wall-mounted flat-screen TV, two tiny bedrooms, and a spotless bathroom.
White-toned wallpaper giving a classy vibe, marble tiles in the kitchen...
Middle-class folks in 800- or 1,000-square-foot apartments might scoff, but you can't understand unless you've crammed four people into a dark basement without AC.
And opening the window to a city view instead of some smoker's feet? That was special. I get why rich people love penthouses now.
More than anything... how much was the rent here? Station area, 430 square feet...
As we marveled and unpacked—most furniture was already there, so not much to do—Mom excitedly called us over.
"Kids! Mr. Young-cheol's coming soon, so say 'thank you' properly! Got it?"
True to her word, after we'd unpacked and cleaned, Kwak Young-cheol showed up. Mom dragged us out to greet him at the entrance like we were saluting Kim Jong-un.
"Come on, say thank you."
"...Thank you..."
"Thank you!"
Mi-hyun chirped brightly, but I couldn't shake the unease.
"Haha, no need to thank me. I'm just covering the rent."
"Nooo... that's a lot!"
Mom and Kwak Young-cheol seemed way too chummy.
Ah...
That intimate familiarity of people who've already been intimate. That's when it hit me—why this felt so gross.
Remember that Oedipus complex I mentioned at the start?
As a kid, I unconsciously competed with Dad for Mom. I'd even burst in on them mid-sex.
But Dad having her was natural. No reason for me to complain about the family dynamic.
But with Dad in prison...
Some random thug-like ajusshi groping Mom's waist in front of us...
Pretending to be husband, stepdad... it was unbearable.
If the guy Mom tangled with, slept with, ate with, and brought home money wasn't Dad...
...then not some bastard like that, but rather........................................................