Even If My Junior Wins Mom's Heart, an Outsider Stays an Outsider
Seiza.
Lee Sunwoo, kneeling in the master bedroom, suddenly had this thought.
How did things ever end up like this...?
Because, really.
If a female junior had come over just to take a shower, left her underwear in the bathtub, and then Sunwoo’s mother happened to find it while coming by to drop off side dishes, forcing an early-morning three-way confrontation to explain things.
Then honestly, anyone would have thought the same thing.
...Well.
Anyway.
They couldn’t just keep their mouths shut forever.
When his mother had asked whose it was, if he’d just taken the blame himself and left it at that, things might have been manageable. But because the situation had caught him so off guard, Sunwoo had dragged Chae Songha into it, and he felt bad about that.
So, at least to protect her a little belatedly, he opened his mouth.
“Mom, Songha has class soon anyway, so could you send her back and just scold me instead—”
“Sunwoo, you stay still.”
...
Of course, that got him nowhere.
...This is bad.
Getting scolded himself was basically routine, so that didn’t matter much. But what crime had Chae Songha committed, to get dragged into this because of some stray gossip...?
As his guilt kept growing, Lee Sunwoo glanced sideways.
His eyes met Chae Songha’s, who was kneeling neatly with far better posture than he had.
...
...
Sorry, Songha...
...
He mouthed an apology, but Chae Songha gave no answer.
In truth, she had said something back, but her face was so expressionless to begin with that Sunwoo, not catching it, had awkwardly turned away just then.
“You said she’s a junior from the same school, right?”
Lee Sunwoo’s mother, who had been watching the two of them trade glances, finally spoke up.
“And her name is Chae Songha.”
Chae Songha nodded quickly.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Mm. Good. She’s as pretty as her name.”
Lee Sunwoo’s mother gave a light smile.
At the unexpected praise, Chae Songha looked a little flustered and nodded again.
“...Thank you. You can speak casually if you’d like. ...Ma’am.”
Ma’am.
It wasn’t exactly the most common way to address someone, but for Chae Songha, who only had two people she really talked to beyond Lee Sunwoo, a distant term like “auntie” would have felt even stranger.
So after some consideration, she had settled on Ma’am...
What Chae Songha didn’t know was that in a situation like this, a form of address like that would be misunderstood a hundred times out of a hundred.
Lee Sunwoo’s mother’s eyebrows curved softly.
“Oh, is that all right?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Good. What department are you in, Songha? Korean language and literature?”
“No. I’m in physical education.”
“Physical education? Then you’re in a different department from Sunwoo. If it’s a different department, how did you meet? Did you do some kind of department mixer?”
“A department mixer... I’ve never done one. We met for the first time in a liberal arts class.”
“Ah, right. You can take liberal arts classes together even if you’re from different departments, can’t you?”
...What is this?
The atmosphere was strangely warm...?
She’d been silent for so long that he’d naturally assumed she was going to start scolding them right away. But since that wasn’t happening...
Sunwoo was just starting to relax, thinking maybe they could actually get through this, when—
“But Songha.”
“Yes?”
“I understand that you two met in a liberal arts class and got close. But still.”
His mother smiled as she continued.
“Wouldn’t it be a problem if a pretty girl like Songha kept leaving her underwear at boys’ houses?”
There was a fair amount of sting hidden in those words.
...
She wasn’t wrong.
It had been a rushed mistake, sure, but there were other things one could accidentally leave behind.
With no defense to offer, Chae Songha lowered her head calmly.
“I’m sorry.”
“Good. You’ll do better next time, won’t you?”
“Yes. I will do better.”
“Mm. All right. I’ll trust you.”
...
Trust her at what?
Completely unable to follow the flow of the conversation, Lee Sunwoo stared blankly at the two of them.
“Then... Songha, could you step outside for a moment? Sunwoo?”
Lee Sunwoo’s mother stood up.
“You come here.”
And unlike when she had been speaking to Chae Songha, she beckoned him over with one finger, wearing a truly frightening expression.
Swallowing hard, Lee Sunwoo shuffled over.
“...What?”
The moment Chae Songha left the room and headed out to the living room, clearly reading the room—
-Pinch!
“What do you mean, what? Why can’t you behave yourself?”
Speaking in a cold voice, Lee Sunwoo’s mother yanked hard on his earlobe.
With no mercy whatsoever in the punishment, a sincere cry burst out of Sunwoo’s mouth.
“Honestly, I’m embarrassed just looking at you... How can you be a man and not even take proper care of your own girlfriend?”
“W-wait...! Mom, wai—...!”
“It’s not like I dropped by unannounced. I told you I was coming, so you should’ve checked in advance and cleaned things up yourself. Why would you just leave it there and make this happen?”
“N-no, ah! Ah!!”
“And even if you got caught, you should’ve kept your mouth shut to the end and taken the scolding alone. When I asked whose it was and told you to bring the owner over immediately, you got scared and actually brought her? Are you an idiot?”
“A-ah! Oww!!”
“Your mother isn’t the kind of person who goes around saying nasty things to people. Today, I’m being harsh because I want you to get your head straight. If you go wandering around all slack-jawed and useless, it’s not just you who gets hurt—people around you get dragged into it too. Got it?”
It wasn’t an exaggeration. She meant every word.
Lee Sunwoo’s mother was the kind of person who was endlessly strict and demanding with her own children, but endlessly warm and welcoming toward her children’s romantic prospects—a sort of outwardly soft, inwardly strong type.
Of course, for Sunwoo right now, he would have preferred the exact opposite.
“O-okay, okay!! I got it!! I’ll be careful!!!”
“Don’t be careful. Do better. Doing better is being careful.”
After chewing him out to the very end, Lee Sunwoo’s mother finally let go.
He really felt like his ear might get torn off. Sunwoo didn’t even hear the part where she started going on about girlfriends and whatnot, because all he could focus on was hunching in on himself and rubbing his ear with both hands.
“All right, now you go wait outside. Songha, dear, could you come in for a second?”
And then, switching back to the gentlest voice in the world, Lee Sunwoo’s mother called Chae Songha inside.
Not wanting to get punished again if he lingered after being told to go out, Sunwoo dragged himself into the living room, but even then he kept sneaking resentful glances at his mother.
...No, seriously. This is my mom, but still.
Wasn’t that a little too much?
It wasn’t like I told her to leave her underwear in the bathroom. She made a mistake, so was it really right to yank her ear over something like that? Really?
“Why aren’t you going out already?”
“...Ah. Yes, yes.”
With his mouth sticking out in a pout, Lee Sunwoo went out to the living room.
And when Chae Songha came in, effectively switching places with him, Lee Sunwoo’s mother gently took her hand.
“Songha. I’m sorry I spoke harshly just now.”
“...Ah. Yes?”
“I know I shouldn’t have talked to you like that. But Sunwoo was being so frustrating that I wanted to give him a little shock therapy. I’m really sorry. Can you forgive this auntie?”
...
Chae Songha went blank for a moment.
Anyone could see the whole thing had been her own fault, one hundred percent. To be honest, it was a relief that it had ended with only a few not-so-big words.
And yet now she was actually apologizing so sincerely.
...Lee Sunwoo’s mother really is
such a kind person.
Somehow her heart had gone all light and fluffy, and Chae Songha, without even meaning to, looked away and murmured,
“No, it’s okay, Ma’am. There’s no need for you to apologize. I was the one in the wrong.”
Lee Sunwoo’s mother, meanwhile, thought:
...The more I look at this girl, the better she gets.
Unlike all the other girls she’d seen over the years, Chae Songha’s every word seemed mature beyond her age, and that made her like her more and more.
“Songha.”
She took out her wallet.
Then she pulled out a thick stack of fifty-thousand-won bills she had originally meant to give to Sunwoo and held them out.
“Use this for pocket money.”
Chae Songha’s eyes went round.
“W-wait... yes...?”
“Use it as pocket money. I’m giving it to you because I like you.”
...
She wanted her to use this as pocket money?
That was... way too much money for that.
Chae Songha hurriedly shook her head.
“Ma’am, that’s too much for me to accept...”
“I’ll throw it out the window if you don’t take it.”
“...?!“
Panicking, she grabbed it at once.
Lee Sunwoo’s mother really had opened the window, so if she’d been even a little slower, she absolutely would have tossed the money outside...!
Hoo...
As Chae Songha soothed her pounding heart, Lee Sunwoo’s mother once again held out the bundle of cash.
“If it feels burdensome to spend it by yourself, just think of it as something you’ll use together.”
“...Huh?”
“If you two go out and have fun, there are plenty of things you’ll need money for, aren’t there? Just think of it as this auntie covering your date expenses.”
...
A date.
...Whose date was she talking about?
She hadn’t specified a subject, but there was only one person that immediately came to mind.
“Got it?”
Lee Sunwoo’s mother smiled slightly.
“Yes... thank you. I’ll use it well.”
Chae Songha shyly accepted the money.
* * *
“So, more or less, that’s what happened.”
Slurp.
Chae Songha sipped her share of the coffee.
...
...
And then.
Kim Hayun and Mo Yuna, who had been listening to her story, both started having the same thought.
...What the hell. This is totally
‘...Senior’s mother really seems to like Songha.’
They both seemed to have made a very serious impression on them, and that realization set their minds working in their own separate ways.
First, Mo Yuna’s worry was:
...Senior isn’t just close with Hayun.
It seemed he was also incredibly close with Songha.
This senior is way more popular with girls than I thought, which is a little troubling.
That was the general shape of it.
Kim Hayun’s worry was:
...If I leave my underwear at Oppa’s house too,
could she get that close to him just like Songha had?
It was a slightly off-the-wall line of thought.
“Songha.”
“Hm?”
“What kind of underwear do you wear?”
It was Kim Hayun’s extremely, extremely serious question.
For some reason, Mo Yuna blushed and tried to stop her.
“H-Hayun. I don’t think that’s something you should ask here...!”
“Huh? Why?”
“What do you mean, why? People can hear us!”
At that, Kim Hayun looked around.
Just like Mo Yuna had said, there were a ton of eyes on them.
But whatever. If the three of them were gathered together like this, that was only natural. Once you started caring about everyone else’s eyes, you couldn’t have any kind of conversation at all.
“Let’s only talk about stuff like that when it’s just us, okay...?”
She looked so embarrassed that, separate from everything else, there was nothing she could do but nod.
“Yeah. Got it.”
And inwardly, she thought:
...I’ve been feeling this since the pool.
Oppa and Songha.
Lately, they’d felt especially close.
And if she just sat here like this... it probably wouldn’t be good.
With that thought in mind, she quietly pulled out her phone from the pocket of her skirt.
“Hey, but Songha. How much did Senior’s mom give you?”
“Well, I didn’t count exactly...”
...
Watching the two of them start talking among themselves, she sent a message.
The recipient was, of course, that person.
...Well. Anyway...
After a bit of fiddling, she sent another reply.
Uniform date.
That was Kim Hayun’s secret weapon.