The Stepmother's Leash Tightens
Lee So-young wore a gentle smile as she gazed at Han Taeyang. But the question that slipped from his lips at that moment pierced her mind like a sharp awl: wasn't it she who had brought in Dolsoe to commit adultery?
"Wh-what... what nonsense are you saying! Bringing in some outsider... that's not it! You saw it yourself, didn't you? I was just on the verge of being forcibly violated by that intruder who snuck in secretly."
Caught off guard in an instant, Lee So-young protested vehemently, her voice thick with injustice. Of course, it was true that she had pleasured herself alone earlier. But that had been her own desperate effort to suppress her burning lust without crossing the line. She had never intended to betray her chastity as a woman—and she still didn't. How could she, of all people, bring that filthy, lowly creature into her bedchamber?
"Is... that true?"
"It's true. I swear to the heavens it never happened. How could I, as the lady of the house, commit such an ugly act!"
"I see... Very well. I believe Mother wouldn't do such a thing."
Han Taeyang responded to her defense in a quiet voice. Sensing the 'trust' in his words, Lee So-young inwardly sighed with relief.
But then...
"However... regrettably, Dolsoe's testimony differs somewhat."
"! What... what did you say?"
"Even if he was caught in the act, I interrogated him briefly to get the facts straight. And from his mouth came this: that Madam had seduced him first, that she had bared her privates and let out lewd moans, so he couldn't hold back."
"That... that bastard! How dare he spout such lies!"
Even Lee So-young, with her usually mild temperament, was provoked to anger by Han Taeyang's words.
"I'll say it again. I never seduced him, never called him to my room. It was all that despicable wretch's fabrication! The height of impudence—after trying to rape me by force, how can he make such vile accusations!"
Her fury choked her words for a moment. It was then that Han Taeyang spoke.
"Of course, I know that. It's an absurd slander. Didn't I say I know Mother wouldn't do such a thing?"
"Kuh..."
Lee So-young barely calmed her agitation at Han Taeyang's affirmation of his belief in her. But his words weren't over.
"That said... the servants don't seem to see it that way, Mother."
"What... do you mean?"
Han Taeyang's voice was laden with profound meaning, like a chill dagger hidden in silk. Lee So-young felt an ominous chill crawl up her body, utterly different from before.
And then.
"I'm sorry to say this, but rumors are circulating among the household staff even now. Strange noises coming from Mother's bedchamber every night—like the moans of a woman embracing a man."
"!..."
Her foreboding wasn't mere fancy.
"And... I know as well. That it's not just idle gossip."
"T-Tae... Taeyang... ah..."
Lee So-young's face froze in chill dread. As she stared at her, gripped by a sinking heart, a cold shadow fell over Han Taeyang's features.
"Well, I can understand. After all, you're younger than I am, Mother. Father alone couldn't satisfy you. Especially now that he's bedridden."
"...Kuh..."
His words struck her core precisely. Though laced with grave disrespect, Lee So-young could only flush red and say nothing. Unlike before, this was undeniable truth, leaving no room for rebuttal.
Then.
"But... no matter how unavoidable, the public eye won't look kindly on such facts."
"Th-that's..."
"Moreover."
Han Taeyang cut her off sharply. An eerie pressure accompanied it.
'No... could it be...'
She realized too late.
"If Dolsoe's testimony happened to leak out in this situation... even if it's false, I can't predict how people would take it."
"!"
In this moment, this man—Han Taeyang—was blackmailing her, his 'mother'. Using the weakness she'd hidden as bait, he held a rock-solid noose: the testimony of Dolsoe, whose tongue was already cut and who would soon die. And the only one who could loosen it, Lord Han Sook-beon, lay dying on his sickbed.
Realizing her leash was fully in this man's grasp, Lee So-young felt a heavy dread and asked in a trembling voice,
"Wh-what... do you want? What is it you desire from me?"
A question that would essentially decide her future. In response, a thick smile crept across Han Taeyang's lips.
"Don't make such a stiff face. Didn't I say? I only want to help you as your son."
"Help... me? What... what exactly do you plan to do?"
Lee So-young's voice quivered as she asked. Han Taeyang slowly approached her. His frame, already imposing, felt even larger today. Amid the fear it instilled, making her body tremble,
he whispered at a distance where their breaths mingled.
"What if I took care of it for you, Mother? That lust of yours."
"!..."
His voice was tender yet chilling. Its implication was utterly depraved. Yet paradoxically, Lee So-young sensed a hint of 'goodwill' within it.
"In the end, all this stems from Mother's lust. If we resolve it properly in a more private place, these rumors wouldn't spread, would they?"
"..."
Lee So-young had no reply to Han Taeyang's words. She knew full well: no matter how nicely packaged, it meant her 'son' intended to ravish his mother. A taboo she could never allow as lady of the house or faithful wife.
Yet... even knowing this, she couldn't flatly refuse.
'Is it... real? Does this child... no, this man... want... my body...'
She had wrestled with it endlessly in her heart last night. Though she'd barely reined in her reason at the last moment, that desire hadn't vanished.
And now, Han Taeyang's words reignited the flames of lust she'd buried deep within.
"N-no... we can't... how could we do such a thing... If Father finds out..."
She refused belatedly, voice shaking. But her heart already pounded with 'anticipation'.
"Don't worry. You know Father can't even rise anymore. Nothing will reach his ears."
"...H-ha... but... but..."
Lee So-young showed her final inner conflict. And then.
Gazing at her, Han Taeyang rose slowly, still smiling with that air of goodwill.
"Then I'll take my leave. If you've made up your mind, come to my room tomorrow night. I'll be waiting."
"!... Ah... w-wait..."
Ignoring her words, Han Taeyang departed. His casual demeanor, as if he didn't care either way, only heightened her inner turmoil.
A heavy silence filled the room afterward. But within the lone woman left behind, the flames of uncontrollable lust roared fiercely.
A shred of reason, steeped in the morals and ethics she'd learned, demanded refusal. Yet she already had the factor to shatter it—a so-called 'justification'.
'Yes... this is... unavoidable. He's holding my leash right now. If I refuse and Father suddenly passes... my life ends that day...'
He hadn't specified what he'd do with her weakness. But to her already-swayed heart, this 'blackmail' was merely a perfect excuse to rationalize it. A tool to deceive her true self and commit the sin.
With even this justification in place, she finally steeled her resolve.
'It's unavoidable... all of this is just...'
*
The time when all was drowned in silence. Before my eyes, as I sat prepared, stood she. Stripped of her false pretenses, more honest with herself.
"Have you made your decision?"
"..."
Lee So-young nodded silently to my question, visibly tense and flinching. To her, I said quietly,
"Then, undress."
"..."
Obeying wordlessly, she began to remove her clothes. Her thin, snow-white neckline emerged as her jeogori slipped down. Even that alone struck me as beautiful. With trembling hands, she untied her under-skirt's strings.
'Oh...'
The under-skirt fell to the floor with a soft thud. Her full body came into view. Breasts that swelled proudly even wrapped in fabric. A slender waist one hand could grasp. And hips too ample for her aged husband to handle.
Her expression, lips pressed tight from lingering shame, flinched with unbearable allure.
Before this perfectly prepared 'dish', I felt my lust blaze and beckoned her.
"Come closer, Mother."