A Bet with Mom
The big event of Seollal had come and gone, and a fairly important day had arrived.
And what was that important day, you ask? None other than…
"It's Valentine's Day."
Valentine's Day.
It was the kind of day that could be incredibly important—or completely trivial, depending on who you asked.
Let me make one thing clear right now. To me, Valentine's Day meant absolutely nothing.
I didn't have a girlfriend who would mark the occasion for me. The only person who ever did was a single soul under this roof.
"Son? It's Valentine's Day. You got something for me?"
Yes. The sole flower among the thorns of this household.
"What about Dad and hyung?"
"I already got theirs~ Son, you're the only one left."
"Haaaaah…."
Nine-tenths of the power in our house belonged to Mom.
The pitiful men of the family had carved up the remaining tenth with perfect equality among themselves.
Which meant that once Mom started asserting herself like that, there was nothing any of us could do. Just hand something over as fast as possible—for everyone's sake.
"Here."
"Ohhh~ Thank you~"
Mom accepted the chocolate I'd prepared with a bright little smile, looking genuinely pleased.
"Son, you should really get a girlfriend soon~ Then maybe this mom of yours won't snatch yours anymore, hmm?"
"That sounds more like you're planning to keep snatching them."
"What are you talking about?"
"There's no way I'm ever getting a girlfriend."
Mom answered without a shred of hesitation.
"What about Lua?"
Lua? Lua Im?
"Why would she date me? She'd be the one settling."
Mom looked at me like she was staring at something deeply, profoundly wrong.
"What do you think Lua is to you?"
"Hmm… a really good friend?"
She didn't say another word. She simply issued a command.
"Go get your phone."
"My phone?"
"What, you think I meant mine?"
I nodded, fetched my phone, and held it out to her.
Mom made a face like she couldn't believe I was offering it to her, then said something even stranger.
"Why are you giving it to me? It's your phone."
"You told me to bring it."
"I only said to bring it."
Bring it?
Apparently, in Mom's personal universe, there was a subtle but critical distinction.
"Turn it on right now and open your chat with Lua."
"Yes, ma'am."
I unlocked the phone and opened our message thread.
The last conversation we'd had was a brief exchange about yesterday's stream.
One way or another, this Lulu–Lulu Dan relationship really did seem to be the one that defined the two of us best.
"Now tell her you want to meet up for a bit today."
"Huh?"
I looked up at Mom, certain I'd misheard something bizarre.
But she just shrugged, looking completely unbothered.
"Didn't you hear me? Tell her you want to hang out for a bit today."
"No, but why would I—"
"Hurry up."
"Explain the reason first."
Mom studied me for a moment, then spoke in a very serious voice.
"How about you and Mom make a little bet?"
"A bet?"
"Yep. A bet."
And now we were betting? Out of nowhere?
"About what?"
Mom answered with a thoroughly sly smile.
"If our son messages Lua right this second with 'Want to hang out today?' and she reads it immediately and replies that she'd love to—I win. Anything else, and you win."
It was an absurd bet. Anyone could see I was the one who was going to win this.
There was no guarantee Lua would even see the message right away, and even if she did, there was zero guarantee she'd accept a spur-of-the-moment invitation like that.
I decided to be magnanimous.
"What's the time limit for 'reads it immediately'? Like five minutes?"
"You're being generous with the window."
"My odds of winning are way too high. I can afford to throw you a bone."
Mom's smile grew even more wicked—borderline greasy—before she replied with shameless confidence.
"Three minutes. So send it right now. Tell her you want to meet today."
"Yes~"
For the record, it was currently noon. Springing a sudden plan on Lua like this would definitely throw her off.
So she would refuse. I was sure of it.
I typed out Lua, want to hang out today? and sent it, then asked Mom,
"So what's the prize?"
"If you win, Mom gives you a hundred thousand won in allowance. If I win, you grant me one wish."
This was free money. Pure free money.
"Deal. Though if you try to reverse it and demand a hundred thousand from me, I'm refusing."
"I've got plenty of money, you know."
"Aren't you fleecing your underage son a little hard?"
"Jinwoo. You make more money than your older brother."
"Even accounting for that, I'm still a minor."
I was extremely confident about that. What reason did a minor have not to be?
Even so, a tiny bit of tension crept in.
Surely Lua wouldn't actually open the chat right away. And even if she did, she wouldn't agree to this ridiculous last-minute plan… right?
I waited, antsy and trembling, staring at the screen—
……In the short span of time it took to finalize the terms of the bet with Mom, she had already read the message and replied.
Wow. So she was the kind of person who answered that fast. Lua.
Thinking about it, she almost always replied to my messages instantly.
I had simply forgotten that for a moment.
"Son?"
"Y… yes?"
"Mind if I make my wish?"
A man couldn't go back on his word. I nodded obediently.
"Yes."
"My wish is~ that you go on a date with Lua today. And before you meet her, you buy her at least a little chocolate to give her."
"Excuse me…?"
"Now go on, hurry. Want me to lend you some cologne if you need it? One of those men's scents your dad used to wear."
"I don't need it…!"
With that, I fled straight into the bathroom.
…I left that message on my way in.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—Lua countered with a suggestion to meet in two hours instead of one.
Perfect. That gave me time to shower, head out, buy a chocolate, stick it in the fridge, wait around, and leave right on schedule.
Yes. Absolutely perfect.
Still… I was genuinely relieved.
Relieved Mom hadn't wished for something like "Hand over a hundred thousand won."
If she had, I would have bawled my eyes out over the wasted money.
"What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I dooo…!"
I had woken up, eaten breakfast, and was just about to start my day when—
Jinwoo had asked me to meet up.
Today of all days. On Valentine's Day.
A guy messaging a girl to hang out on Valentine's Day… that means what I think it means, right? He likes me, right? Jinwoo likes me back, right?
My heart was hammering so hard I thought I might lose my mind.
The connection that had been cut by my own mistake had been restored.
I was already so grateful for just that—and now a situation I had written off as pure greed, something I never dared hope for, was right in front of me.
—Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Heart… please stop acting out…."
It was pounding so violently I could barely stand it. I was getting dizzy from not knowing what to do.
"Uuuugh… clothes… what do I even wear…?"
Normally I thought my clothes suited me well enough. I even thought some of them were pretty cute.
So why did every single one look terrible today?
"This one? No, this one? Ugh… it looks kind of childish…"
I was so flustered I couldn't make a proper judgment.
Which was probably why—
"Oppa, oppaaa…!"
"What?"
—I called for my older brother, who was home on military leave.
He answered without a single hint of annoyance, and I dragged him straight over to my closet.
"Pick a date outfit for me!"
"……What?"
"I said pick a date outfit…!"
"Wouldn't you know better than me?"
"Then ask your girlfriend for advice at least…! I've never done this before…!"
"What, going on a date with a guy you like?"
He hit the bullseye so cleanly I could only flounder and glance around for an escape.
"Th… uh…"
"Jinwoo?"
"Uuuuuugh…."
I had nothing left to say. I just hung my head.
My brother chuckled softly.
"You've got a good figure, so anything would look fine on you. But if you want to look a little more feminine, go with a skirt. A shorter one. Throw on some stockings too. For the top, a simple sweater would work well, or maybe layer a vest over it if you want."
"O… ohhh…"
"That's what she says."
"Tell her thank you…!"
With that, I immediately started pulling out the clothes his girlfriend had recommended.
Then my brother spoke again.
"Hey, little sister."
"Yeah, oppa."
"…Are you going to be okay?"
"With what?"
He stared at me for a moment, then pointed at my webcam.
Right. The equipment I used for streaming.
"Doesn't your contract have a no-dating clause?"
I shook my head at once.
"No. It doesn't."
"It doesn't?"
"Yeah. It never did. Honestly… well, never mind. That's personal."
He only tilted his head, and I smiled as I answered him.
"I know what you're worried about. So don't. It's fine."
"…Alright. You'll handle it. Do your best."
He patted my shoulder and left the room.
Sometimes he felt less like an older brother and more like an uncle. The way he treated me, I mean.
Which was exactly why I could ask him for things like this.
Anyway—outfit chosen. Now it was time to get properly cleaned up.
"An hour should be enough, right?"
I checked the time again and again as I headed into the bathroom.
To look even a little prettier. To look prettier for Jinwoo.