Phase 3. Mother Gyeong-ae (3)
Dinner passed far more quietly than breakfast had.
Hee-kyung still sat right beside me as she ate, while Mom sat across from us, taking her meal at an unhurried pace.
“…….”
“…….”
Aside from the complete absence of conversation and the cold atmosphere hanging over the table the entire time, it went smoothly enough.
Normally Mom would have been the first to ask what kind of day we’d had, but tonight there was nothing of the sort—just the soft clink of spoons against bowls.
I kept quiet too. What had happened today wasn’t something I could talk about to anyone.
“Ah.”
Halfway through the meal Hee-kyung had trouble peeling a piece of seasoned perilla leaf from the stack. Two leaves had stuck tightly together. Watching her struggle, I caught one edge and held it for her; she smiled and took her share.
I set the remaining leaf on Mom’s rice bowl. It had been sitting a little too far for her to reach comfortably.
“Thanks, Gyeong-hun~.”
Mom smiled as she wrapped rice with the leaf and ate it.
A sharp pinch.
“…?!”
Pain shot through my side. Hee-kyung’s fingers were digging into me. Reading the room, I peeled off another leaf and placed it on her rice. Her eyebrows shot up.
“You just ate one.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Ordinarily I would have been thrilled by Hee-kyung’s jealousy, but a son looking after his mother wasn’t something that deserved this level of reaction. It felt excessive.
“I’m going first.”
“You haven’t even finished.”
“I’m dieting.”
She dumped her half-eaten bowl into the sink without much care and left the kitchen. The sound of the bathroom door opening told me she’d gone straight to brush her teeth.
I let out a long sigh and asked Mom,
“Mom, did you and Hee-kyung fight?”
Her expression darkened.
“Mm. Now that the two of us are home together more often, we keep clashing over little things.”
“Like what?”
“Things like leaving unfinished rice in the sink instead of throwing it out, cleaning, cleaning up after showers… everyday stuff, I guess~.”
From a mother’s standpoint those were things she had every right to scold someone about. I got lectured for the same kinds of reasons myself from time to time.
Both Hee-kyung and I had gotten lazy about tidying up because Mom handled nearly all the housework. I’d have to talk to Hee-kyung about it later once we were in our room. These were habits we both needed to fix before we ever tried living on our own.
Clack.
While I was lost in thought, Mom picked up her bowl and came around to sit right next to me.
“Mom?”
“Yep! Mom’s real seat is right here after all!”
She picked up some of yesterday’s japchae and fed it to me.
“Isn’t it?”
I flinched.
That pure, eye-smiling expression of innocence… it was exactly the face Hee-kyung made when she was being cute. For a second the two of them overlapped, and before I knew what I was doing my hand rose and stroked Mom’s hair.
“Oh my.”
She closed her eyes in pleasure, looking every bit like a woman basking in her lover’s affection.
I was starting to see it more clearly. Only after I’d been with Hee-kyung, after I’d held her, did the cat-like little gestures of a woman begin to show themselves one by one. Six years of quiet suspicion were slowly tipping over into certainty.
When I tried to take my hand away she rested her head on my shoulder and whispered,
“A little more.”
It felt inappropriate, but before she was my mother she was a woman carrying a lot of wounds. So just for a moment—as comfort—I kept stroking her hair.
The long strands were soft under my palm. If she hadn’t pulled away on her own I might have kept going without thinking.
“That’s enough. If I do it too much, Mom’s going to start begging for more.”
Given how nervously I’d been watching for Hee-kyung to come out of the bathroom, I was glad she stopped. Then the sound of running water told me Hee-kyung had started showering.
“Mmm~… I could’ve gone a little longer.”
She sounded regretful, yet she didn’t push any further. Instead she fed me another side dish, smiling with pure maternal warmth as she asked,
“How was today?”
“Just… chaotic.”
“Even though you’re only taking one class?”
“It’s people that make it chaotic.”
“That’s true. Even the smallest things get exhausting and messy when people collide~. Just look at me and Hee-kyung~.”
“Still, Hee-kyung’s young. You should look after her a bit more.”
“Hmph~. Always taking her side~.”
She puffed her cheeks out a little. Even that was cute, coming from Mom.
“You’re her mother.”
“But you’re different, Gyeong-hun. Even at Hee-kyung’s age you were already so mature.”
“I’m a guy.”
“Because you were the head of the household.”
Her hand settled on my thigh—careful, fragile… and yet bold. The hand crept slowly upward and stopped just short of the inner thigh.
“Being the head of the house must be hard, right? I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Mom. It’s fine.”
“There are times when it’s hard, though?”
“I’d be lying if I said never…”
Her hand stroked down my thigh.
“All I ever feel toward you is guilt.”
“I said it’s fine.”
“When it’s hard—when you feel like you can’t take it anymore—tell me. I’ll help you with everything I have.”
“…Okay.”
My reason snapped at me. You should push this hand away—why aren’t you?
Then the wounded part of me answered in my defense. Everything that had just happened was exactly what I’d wanted from Hee-kyung: sitting close while we ate, asking how the day had been, continuing the conversation with empathy even when I couldn’t answer well… and then that lightly erotic touch that signaled what should come next between lovers.
Clack.
The bathroom door opened and the sound of hair being dried followed. Only then did Mom pull away from me. She even picked up her bowl and went straight to the sink.
The regret I felt was matched by an equal weight of guilt toward Hee-kyung.
“Oppa, what are you doing? Still eating?”
“Yeah, I just finished.”
“You’re so slow. Hurry up and come in. Brush your teeth too.”
Well… this was probably the normal way of things. Once people were together they relaxed and treated each other more casually. Still, the fact that she came looking for me right away was incredibly cute.
“Thanks for the meal, Mom.”
“Glad you enjoyed it~.”
I thanked Mom, who had already started the dishes, then turned toward Hee-kyung’s voice.
“…Whenever it’s hard, call for me anytime.”
I deliberately ignored the secretive whisper Mom left behind.
“Hngh… haah…”
Alone in the master bedroom, Gyeong-ae lay on her bedding, stroking the sensitive flesh between her legs and breathing hot, uneven breaths.
“Sss… haah…”
In her hand was the dry cloth she had used earlier to wipe Gyeong-hun’s sweat. The once-parched fabric had soaked up the scent of the man she carried in her heart. She pressed it to her nose and, drunk on his smell, rubbed her sex the way instinct demanded.
“Gyeong-hun… there… so good…!”
Wet, lewd sounds filled the dark room. Not satisfied with just inhaling, her unfocused eyes half-lidded, she stuck out her tongue and soaked the cloth with saliva—treating it as if it were his body, his lips, his thick, heavy cock. Her tongue coiled around the rough fabric like a snake, careful and reverent, craving for that texture to become soft and hard at the same time—his.
“Haah… nngh…”
Squelch, squelch.
Even in her early forties her body remained smooth and youthful, with breasts large enough to spill sideways. And the slick that soaked both her folds and the bedding was no less than Hee-kyung’s—perhaps even more. Anyone looking would have sworn she was a beauty in her mid-to-late twenties; right now that beauty was blooming in full, flushed pink.
“Just a little more… a little… kuhh…!”
An orgasm was about to erupt from deep in her womb like a fountain. Her thighs clenched; her hand never stopped its wet, frantic work. This time she could make it. Drowning in a scent stronger than ever before, she was sure she could come.
“Haah… haah…”
But the image of her daughter sticking her tongue out and teasing her right beside him rose unbidden, and her fevered body and motions ground to a halt.
“Hoo… hoo…”
Ever since Hee-kyung had stolen what was hers, Gyeong-ae could no longer find satisfaction in masturbation alone. Gyeong-hun’s underwear or a sweat-soaked cloth were no longer enough to take her over the edge.
A mother’s heart for her daughter and a woman’s heart for her son tangled together until everything felt bitter and complicated.
“Gyeong-hun is mine…!”
She bit down hard on her lip—the same hot temper as Hee-kyung’s.
When had she started loving him? When had she begun seeing him as a man?
After her husband discarded her with the excuse that he was “tired of her,” drowning in a loneliness that cut to the bone, Gyeong-hun had somehow grown into a sturdy man and appeared before her.
Don’t hit Mom!
He had been protecting the college tuition he’d somehow scraped together for himself and Hee-kyung when her husband was trampling her underfoot. Unable to stand it any longer, Gyeong-hun had charged his father. Terrified he would only get beaten worse the way he always had as a student, Gyeong-ae lifted her head—and received a different shock.
The boy who had always been on the receiving end now showed her a solid back as he pinned her husband down.
L-let go, you bastard!
I said don’t hit Mom!
Her husband punched Gyeong-hun’s side with a face gone purple, but when the boy didn’t budge he fled the scene.
Mom, are you okay?
When her newly twenty-year-old son held her and soothed her, Gyeong-ae barely managed to hold back her tears in his arms.
From that day dependence on Gyeong-hun began to bloom. If a bug appeared she called for him; she asked him what they should have for dinner. The way he casually caught the bug and then sat with her to decide the menu—his attention felt good.
Dad, I’m sorry! I’m sorry so please stop hurting us…!
Whenever Gyeong-hun left for school or work her vile husband would sneak back in and beat Gyeong-ae and Hee-kyung like dogs. Seeing the two of them collapsed after another round of kicks, Gyeong-hun dropped to his knees and begged.
You little shit! You don’t even recognize your own father! You’re the son! Think you’re all grown and you can talk back? Your old man still has cards to play!
Her husband stomped him with his work boots. Gyeong-ae wanted to stop it, to cling to him, but her entire body was bruised black and she couldn’t even lift a finger.
You fucking bitch, calling yourself a mother… huuh… damn whore!
Thud!
Guh…!
Gyeong-hun!
A sound she had never heard before. Watching her son take a full soccer-style kick meant for her and go limp, Gyeong-ae screamed. Even then Gyeong-hun kept begging.
Dad, I’m sorry. Don’t touch Mom and Hee-kyung. I’m the one who was wrong.
Sorry? Now you’re sorry?! You son of a bitch! Why? Come at me again! Come on!
I’m… sorry…
Seeing her brother take the beating for them, Hee-kyung couldn’t hold back either.
Stop hitting Oppa, you bastard!
You little bitch!
Thud.
Ugh…!
A blow to the stomach knocked Hee-kyung out cold with a single cry. Still not calmed down, her husband fetched a kitchen knife and waved it threateningly.
I don’t need a daughter like you. You’ll die and I’ll have to die of shame in the neighborhood too!
How could a girl who had already fainted dodge the knife swung by a father whose eyes had rolled white with rage?
Shunk!
Uh…?
Hah… haah… Dad… let’s stop…
A sickening wet sound of flesh parting. Gyeong-hun had thrown himself desperately into the path and taken the blade in his side instead. Shocked by the sudden turn, her husband dropped the knife.
I was wrong too… and you went too far… so let’s bury it here…
This time her husband really did run for his life. Gyeong-ae’s eyes met the fallen Gyeong-hun’s. Clutching a side where the bloodstain kept spreading, he apologized.
Mom, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m so weak…
Tears she had never seen on him before.
I swear I’ll make a lot of money… get strong… and save you…
Gyeong-ae broke down crying. From her swollen body only a scrap of metal-on-metal sound came out.
She understood then. Who was sacrificing for her. How much he was sacrificing. His devotion and sacrifice were dazzling and heartbreaking. She could not help but love him. She could not help but look at him as a woman. She could not help but want him… as a man.
The ambulance came and all three of them were taken away. Fortunately the stab hadn’t gone deep; he recovered, but Gyeong-hun made both the hospital staff and Gyeong-ae swear the wound would never reach Hee-kyung’s ears. Luckily both Hee-kyung and Gyeong-ae recovered well and returned to daily life.
Gyeong-hun went out as always to earn money. Every time he came home he looked more exhausted, more precarious. And each time he returned with an even more solid face and back. Hating her own powerlessness, Gyeong-ae did the housework and always waited for him to come home. She treated him as the head of the household and respected him.
Six years passed like that, and finally, watching the worry gradually leave Gyeong-hun’s face, Gyeong-ae felt the time had ripened. It was time for her to soothe his wounds, to ease the fatigue life had piled onto him.
But then Hee-kyung suddenly barged in. Acting however she pleased, toying with her own brother, she turned that pure-hearted boy into her own and reveled in it. She even had the nerve to clamp that cock of his with her cunt and put on a show of coquettish moans.
Gyeong-ae had heard and seen every last second of it.
Grit.
Her teeth ground together. After all that waiting, her daughter had taken him. So easily. So simply.
“Hee-kyung, you know this? People get tired of things just as easily as they get them.”
The monologue spoken into the darkness where no one could hear was a warning aimed at her daughter.
“But Mom loves you, so I’ll give you the first and last chance.”
She called it a chance, yet Gyeong-ae was certain Hee-kyung would lose him in the most ridiculous way. From the beginning Hee-kyung had treated Gyeong-hun carelessly. Right now the early-relationship flood of lust was covering a lot, but soon, once love started settling into everyday life as well as sex, the cracks would show. The differences between man and woman, the differences of two separate beings.
Gyeong-ae was confident. Because she herself had been the same. Twenty-six years ago she had done that stupid thing and ended up like this. Her heart felt light; her sin felt heavy. And the price of that sin had been merciless.
“The rules are simple~.”
She gripped the doorknob and whispered into the empty air.
“The woman who’s qualified gets to have him.”
When she opened the door their conversation carried clearly from the other side.
“Ah, come on! Stop with the damn fingering and just fuck me already!”
“But making you come once with foreplay first is my romance…”
“If you just shove that huge cock of yours in me I’ll come anyway.”
“It’s my romance, I said…”
“So? You’re not gonna? Hee-kyung’s this wet already.”
“…You’re not sleeping tonight.”
“Ahaha! Looking forward to it.”
Matching Hee-kyung’s laughter, Gyeong-ae smiled too.
Ah, my foolish daughter.
Please keep being foolish for a long time yet.