15. Tangled Everyday Life
The office buzzed with the usual frenzy of activity. Amid the mix of diligent workers pounding away at their desks, one female employee stood out sharply. Lee Seo-yoon, whose sensual figure and ageless beauty made even her plain office attire exude a subtle eroticism, had dark shadows etched across her face—hard to believe she was in her forties.
"Hoo..."
After hammering at her keyboard for a while, she let out yet another deep sigh, leaning back in her chair. The employee ID badge dangling around her neck swayed tantalizingly over her ample breasts, a sight that could make anyone's mouth water, but her brooding expression ruined it all.
What should I do now?
Lee Seo-yoon's torment showed no signs of resolution today. It wasn't a work issue—her competence was recognized by the company. No, it stemmed from her daughter and the increasingly tangled mess of her daily life.
Il-woo hasn't come by since that night.
She recalled the night her daughter's friend had violated her. Her mouth and throat treated like mere holes for slaking his lust—a humiliating night. When she came to, she was horrified by her own state.
I can still taste the semen in my mouth...
Having passed out for hours with her mouth full of cum, her face splattered with that foul, fishy yet floral-scented white filth, she had bolted to the bathroom to scrub it off. Back in the room, she found a single apple with a note.
That repulsive bastard.
Was her daughter's childhood friend not the decent kid she thought? That sadistic, depraved side of Kim Il-woo she'd glimpsed shattered her long-held impression entirely. He hadn't come to the house since, no calls, no encounters.
"Haa..."
He seemed considerate, avoiding her out of guilt. Her evaluation built over years couldn't be overturned by one incident—especially since he'd been polite and diligent when they met again. But it also looked like he couldn't control his urges around her and Ara alone.
That's just what he claimed—no proof.
Though only once, he'd respected boundaries with Ara better than her boyfriend Park Jun-hyun, so she'd invited him for dinner, never imagining it would lead to this.
Was it a mistake that night?
The night she crossed a line with her daughter's friend. If that twisted him, she bore responsibility too. But had he truly warped after that? Or was he rotten at the core?
Countless questions bubbled up and popped without conclusion.
Beep-beep-beep.
"...It's the detective."
Everything weighed on her, piling on stress with no relief in sight. Clutching her budding headache, she stepped out to take the call.
"Hello."
"Hello. This is Sergeant Jeong Ji-su."
"I'm listening—go ahead."
Her tone carried an unspoken demand to keep it brief.
"I visited Ara once more, but couldn't meet her. Time just drags on like this..."
"What am I supposed to do when she won't leave her room? She freaks out around anyone but me—what are you asking?!"
Trapped in this hopeless bind, Lee Seo-yoon snapped, her voice rising irritably. Hearing of the horrific assault on her precious daughter had felt like the world collapsing. She'd cooperated fully at first to catch the culprit, but there was nothing she could do.
I didn't realize even testifying would traumatize her so much.
Ara had managed a brief statement to the detective but retched and seized up just recalling it. Now, she wouldn't budge from her room, locking away any details of the attack or physical evidence.
She could at least talk to her mom and venture out briefly when the house quieted, only to retreat again.
"The more you do this, the harder it is for Ara. So please, bring her to a nearby hospital at least..."
"I'm trying. I'm trying, okay?!"
Under the detective's prodding, Lee Seo-yoon's voice drained to weary exhaustion.
She'd tried everything—chats at home, confronting her boyfriend Park Jun-hyun, even begging childhood friend Kim Il-woo shamelessly. Nothing worked.
"..."
Silence stretched frustratingly over the line.
"Understood. Contact us if anything changes or you learn something. Oh, and do you know a young man named Kim Il-woo?"
Sergeant Jeong Ji-su's unexpected name drop startled her. Lee Seo-yoon reflexively asked back.
"He's Ara's childhood friend, but why...?"
"Ah, I stopped by today and he was there. Said he'd come at your request to see Ara—is that true?"
Her heart plummeted. So he hadn't stopped visiting—he'd just left before she got home after seeing Ara.
Why? Awkward? Or guilty conscience?
Objectively, yes—awkward and guilty after treating her and her daughter as sex objects, ravishing them brutally before fleeing. No face to show.
"Ara's mother?"
Her prolonged silence sharpened the detective's cautious tone.
What do I do?
Memory hazy, but yes—she'd asked him to look after Ara. If he'd visited responsibly and left to avoid her, it made sense. But having tasted his base side, her chest churned.
What if he has other motives...?
Sensing her hesitation, Jeong Ji-su pressed.
"Did you ask the young man Kim Il-woo?"
Her cop instincts kicking in, ready to grill him—Lee Seo-yoon snapped alert. If the detective confronted him now, their indiscretion might spill. Fine if exposed, but if cornered, his warped lust might erupt into another crime?
-I can hold back now, but soon I might force myself on someone.-
Kim Il-woo's words haunted her. Pale with the heavy guilt that her mistake might have birthed his perversion, she uttered the forbidden lie.
"Ah, yes. That's right. Il-woo is her childhood friend. They were close young, but drifted when she got a boyfriend... I asked him for help this time."
"...Understood."
Jeong Ji-su accepted the calm fabrication and hung up.
Hanging up on Lee Seo-yoon, Sergeant Jeong Ji-su felt unease gnawing.
"What a headache..."
This case offered no leads. Victim uncooperative, no physical evidence, scene too remote and obscure. By the time location traced post-late report, victim was home; site yielded nothing evidentiary upon late arrival.
The soiled mattress was sole clue, but contaminated by food waste, bugs, wild animals, birds—saliva, fur, viruses ruined forensic value.
Kim Il-woo...
The young man she'd bumped into visiting for more testimony. Seemed diligent at a glance, but an uncanny mask of feigned normalcy prickled her.
DNA test impossible sans comparison sample; mere suspicion swelled.
"Whatever."
Golden hour long past, investigation stalled. No victim/family aid, no evidence—she headed out for door-to-door inquiries.
Finishing with the detective, Lee Seo-yoon turned back to her desk but got another message—from her daughter's boyfriend, Park Jun-hyun.
"Hoo..."
A man whose love for Ara had twisted into madness and obsession. After the ban with Kim Il-woo, he'd kept his distance faithfully, but requests to see her flooded in, limits reached.
She sensed warped affection born of guilt for failing to protect her daughter.
How did it come to this...?
Every attempt to help backfired.
I need to bar both from approaching her.
Boyfriend too clingy, childhood friend possibly rotten—no trusting anyone now.
"Time to meet and tell him to stay away."
She messaged Park Jun-hyun to come over tonight, to tell him face-to-face to leave her daughter be for a while.
Arriving home post-work, Park Jun-hyun waited at the door as expected.
"Hello, Mother."
"You're early."
The cheerful youth she remembered was gone, replaced by a fragile, precarious aura. Haggard face, disheveled clothes. Bloodshot eyes, jittery unease—uncomfortable to witness.
"Eaten dinner?"
"Yes, something light."
Was every mother like this? Seeing him push like her daughter tugged at her heart—did he even eat properly?
"Jun-hyun, don't go to her yet—talk with me first."
"...Yes, understood."
Sensing he couldn't push further rudely, he obeyed meekly.
Inside, they sat at the table with tea. Mild aroma teased the air between them, but tension hung heavy.
"Straight to it: Don't visit my daughter for a while."
"Mother!"
"Shh!"
His shout at her firm ban prompted a urgent hush—lest Ara hear.
"I get your feelings, but Ara and I are at our limits."
"I'm trying to help...!"
"That 'help' is poison."
Her razor-sharp words made him flinch as if stabbed. Pain twisted his face, then flushed red with rage.
"What about him?! Because of that so-called childhood friend?!"
"Haa..."
His retort drew her expected deep sigh.
"Il-woo won't come anymore either."
She hid his secret visits to Ara. Admitting favoritism would tangle things worse.
"Let me talk to Ara. Her opinion matters most, right?"
He wouldn't yield. Headache pounding, she swallowed rising anger to admonish again—but he beat her.
"Mother, are you really looking out for Ara?"
Unable to contain fury, he crossed the line.
Slap!
Her face contorted demonically as the sharp crack echoed through the house.
"Ah..."
Realizing a beat late, she gasped in shock.
Pain stinging his cheek triggered him—he bolted up, planting himself at Ara's door.
"Ara! You in there? It's me, Park Jun-hyun!"
"What do you think you're doing?!"
His anxious plea clashed with her desperate cry.
"Ara! Please, just talk once!"
As he moved to barge in, she grabbed and halted him.
"Ara!"
Pounding the door, he bellowed—met with fierce backlash.
Bang!
"Get out! All of you, get lost!"
Something hurled at the door shook it violently.
Ara's sharp rejection twisted his face in agony; Lee Seo-yoon pried the rude boyfriend away.
"Out. Now!"
"Mother, just once...!"
"Out."
Her voice rumbled from her core like thunder; he ground his teeth, bowed apology for rudeness, and left.
Drained like post-storm, she panted softly, calming before knocking on her daughter's door.
"Ara, sorry. You must've been scared. I sent Jun-hyun away. Can I come in a bit?"
No reply. But declaring intent to see her face, she entered.
The room drowned in stale gloom. Once peach-sweet, now reeked of mold.
"Ara..."
On the bed, huddled under covers like a beast, her precious daughter glared with feral eyes.
"Sorry. Mom messed up."
Approaching, she gently hugged over the blanket. Unwashed stench pierced her nose—didn't matter.
"..."
Ara seemed to relax in her safe embrace.
"Il-woo kept coming too—I'll stop him. Just rest easy."
Wrong to summon close ones fearing isolation. Now, all barred for healing time—no worries.
"...Il-woo too?"
Her daughter's raspy, scraped voice.
"Yeah, Il-woo too."
"..."
A strange shift in the girl in her arms.
"Why? Ara."
"...Il-woo's fine."
"Ara?"
Stunned by the change—first non-rejection of anyone but her since the incident.
"Why's Il-woo okay?"
Truthfully, she wanted Kim Il-woo gone most. Park Jun-hyun crossed lines too, but that youth her Achilles' heel—she never wanted to see him again.
"...Dunno."
Deflated by the response. If as suspected, he'd sat by the door chattering idly to non-replies. Comfort from not crossing lines like taming wild beasts? Or old bonds?
Unwelcome to her, but as mother, bitter pill time.
"Okay. I'll have Il-woo keep coming."
"...Yeah."
"I'll bring dinner. Eat well, especially now."
Feigning calm, she served dinner and left.
"..."
Heart unwilling, she messaged her daughter's childhood friend: Let's meet.