Everyday Life
At twenty, I decided against university. I would study for the civil service exams and land a government job instead. Even though my stepmother had raised me for ten years, she was still essentially a stranger—asking her for tuition or enrollment fees simply felt wrong. That was the choice I made.
When I told Mother I had no intention of going to college, she understood and raised no objections. Becoming a civil servant, however, was another matter entirely. She was firmly against it.
"A civil servant? How much do you think those jobs even pay! Mom's company needs people, so you're coming to work here!"
Faced with her decisive tone, I couldn't utter a word of protest and simply accepted the offer.
It was a sizable women's underwear company—nearly large enough to count as a major corporation—so even a menial position would pay better and offer a far more comfortable environment than any government post. It was an excellent proposal on paper, yet the thought of leaning too heavily on Mother made me consider refusing. In the end, her personality left me no real choice. Once she set her mind on something, it had to be done. I took the job.
"Well… remote work is still better than being a civil servant, I guess…"
And so, as an adult, I began spending most of my time at home. Mother seemed satisfied; she said little and simply emailed me whatever work needed doing.
"It feels like I'm depending on her too much… but this much should be fine. It's not like I'm just loafing around and collecting allowance."
Working remotely for Mother's company became my daily routine. Two years passed. At twenty-two, I was thoroughly accustomed to this life.
Mother believed that even while staying home, I still needed a disciplined schedule. So I rose at the same hour my younger sisters left for school, and the four of us shared every meal together. That was our ordinary day.
"Sleep well?"
"Yeah."
Stepping out of my room that morning, I nearly collided with Dohee—the eldest of the sisters. She answered in her usual offhand way and headed straight for the dining table.
A track-and-field athlete, she had once taken second place at a national meet. Her talent was genuine enough to land her in newspapers more than once and even the occasional news article. Fame aside, her looks alone turned heads. At 170 centimeters, with a body honed by constant training and skin tanned a healthy bronze, she radiated vitality. And thanks to the exceptional genes she inherited from Mother, she carried a G-cup bust and an equally firm, rounded rear—objectively beautiful by any measure. She kept her hair short so it wouldn't interfere with running, yet the cut only heightened her boyish charm. Even at an all-girls school she had received more than a few confessions from other girls.
"Oppa… morning…"
"!! G-good morning! I told you not to sneak up on me like that!"
"Oppa… your reaction… funny…"
"R-right, haha… Let's go eat."
I was turning toward the table when a soft pressure brushed my back. I spun around to find Seohee—the younger sister—pressing herself against me for pure amusement. Her expression never changed, so it was hard to tell whether she was truly enjoying herself, yet the way she silently slipped up and molded her chest to my spine whenever I let my guard down left no doubt.
Dohee was the celebrity of the household, so Seohee sometimes suffered by comparison, but her face and figure held their own. Only 155 centimeters tall, she wore a neatly kept bob and an F-cup bust that looked almost too large for her petite frame—an unexpectedly alluring combination. Once, a girl who had approached her simply to get closer to Dohee ended up falling for Seohee instead and confessed on the spot.
Her face remained nearly expressionless at all times, yet unlike blunt Dohee she constantly clung to me with what might have been affection—or a very convincing imitation of it. A cute little sister, in her own quiet way.
"You two, hurry up!"
"Y-yes!"
"Mm…"
While I was still recovering from Seohee's little prank, Mother called from the kitchen. We scrambled to our seats.
"I've told you mornings are hectic—you have to move faster!"
"Sorry."
While I took the scolding, Seohee calmly inspected the side dishes as if none of it concerned her. All of Mother's lecture fell on me alone.
"Haa… Fine. Let's just eat first."
She had clearly intended a longer sermon, but time was short. Mother sat down and ordered us to start the meal.
The head of this household, Lee Jihee, was forty-one this year—the biological mother of both Dohee and Seohee. Nothing about her appearance or figure suggested that age. Soft waves of hair fell past her shoulders; at a balanced 165 centimeters she kept herself rigorously fit, resulting in a body that was firm and elegant. The same outstanding looks and bust she had passed to her daughters manifested in her as an H-cup that no man could help glancing at on the street. When the two of us went out together, people routinely mistook us for a couple. Standing side by side with her daughters, she could easily pass for their older sister.
"There's no extra work for you today, so tidy up the house a little."
"Yes, Mother… Mom."
The word "Mother" earned me a sharp look; the moment I corrected it to "Mom," her gaze softened and withdrew. As a child I had called her Mom without thinking. After high school, as distance grew between us, the more formal title slipped into use. Every time I said "Mother," she would insist, "We're family—you don't need to talk like that!"
Even if we are family… still…
While eating I glanced in turn at Mother, Dohee, and Seohee. Each of them stirred a man's desire simply by existing. I sighed inwardly.
The distance I kept was entirely my own fault. Childhood had been harmless, but once high school hit and my interest in the opposite sex exploded, the three of them—family yet not blood—began to provoke natural hunger. I had lived with them since I was ten, old enough to understand what I was feeling. I could never regard them as ordinary family, so I built walls inside myself.
"Leave my room alone."
"Absolutely not. You never clean it properly by yourself."
"Lately I've been doing better—"
"No."
"Ugh… then don't touch anything."
Dohee, deep in her sensitive years, refused to let me clean her room, yet a single word from Mother made her drop her tail at once. Seohee, apparently unconcerned, simply asked me to take care of it and showed no further reaction.
"Have a good day."
"Make sure you clean thoroughly."
"Yes, take care."
"Mm… Oppa…"
"Yeah."
I saw them off. Once the door closed, a vague sense of pathetic uselessness settled over me. If I were still in school it might have been different, but even though I worked for Mother's company, having no tasks today and being left to clean the house made me feel like a freeloading NEET. Still, failing to clean properly would earn me a scolding at dinner, so I picked up the vacuum.
"Haa~ Everywhere except the bedrooms is done."
An hour later the rest of the house was spotless. I collapsed on the living-room sofa for a short break.
"Twelve years already, huh…"
Twelve years earlier a car accident had taken my parents. With no relatives to take me in, I had been headed for an orphanage when the neighbor—my present Mother—stepped in. She never formally adopted me into the family register, yet she took me in and raised me ever since. My benefactor.
"Why do they only get prettier with every year…"
Mother was both my savior and the source of my torment. Looks and a figure that could rival any celebrity were pure torture for a man with little resistance to women. My first crush had been her—exactly as she was now—which left me tangled in private misery.
"Haa… Even if I wanted to leave, I still have no money. Not much I can do."
I had considered taking a part-time job, saving up, and moving out, but Mother's temperament made permission impossible. I never even voiced the idea; I only suffered in silence. I received a salary from her company, yet she managed most of it. Any large withdrawal would be noticed instantly, and she would never allow me to leave.
"Might as well finish the cleaning."
The individual bedrooms remained. I cleaned my own first, then headed for Dohee's.
"Haa~ She's never been good at cleaning, but this is ridiculous."
A pleasant air-freshener scent greeted me, yet clothes lay scattered across the bed and floor—pure chaos. I gathered everything into the laundry basket, then froze over one particular problem.
"What do I do about these…"
The issue was Dohee's underwear. Even between family, having an older brother casually collect and wash his younger sister's panties could easily make her uncomfortable. And because I already felt sexual desire toward her, my eyes were drawn of their own accord and my cock stirred faintly.
"Looks like most of them are sports bras."
Ordinary bras were mixed in, but the majority were the athletic kind meant for training. As a track athlete with a bust larger than most, that made perfect sense—yet even that was more than enough stimulation for a man my age.
I had no choice. I collected the underwear, decided to wash it after all, and hurriedly left Dohee's room for Seohee's.