Kindling the Flame
Mother was someone precious to me.
I owed her a debt of gratitude that had to be repaid.
To me, those were the only two facts that truly mattered. If the method I chose was an honorable one that invited no public censure, all the better. But compared to those fundamental truths, every other consideration fell far down my list of priorities.
Mom is a woman too. If I satisfy her desires, wouldn't that bring her immense fulfillment?
What would happen if I allowed her to experience the joys of being a woman? Perhaps she would suffer pangs of conscience and torment herself over it. Because I couldn't be certain of her innermost feelings toward me, it was difficult to guess.
Then again, Yeo-eun enjoys it now.
Observing Yeo-eun had led me to believe that the positives would vastly outweigh the negatives. While it remained difficult for me to truly grasp what a guilty conscience felt like, I based my judgment on the concrete precedent set by Yeo-eun. Repaying my debt was what mattered most, and Mother had unquestionably cast a gaze of unmistakable sexual desire my way, even if only for a fleeting moment.
“Jeongseo…”
“Why are you just leaving today?”
With those thoughts settled in my mind, I caught Mother just as she was about to step into her car. As she turned around, I took the initiative and wrapped my arms around her. Pressing my face against her chest, I tightened my embrace. Beneath my cheek lay a firm, resilient contour rather than the yielding softness typical of a woman's bosom—feeling very much like something supple bound tightly beneath her clothes.
“All right, my son. Let's have a hug before I go.”
Mother bent slightly at the waist and returned my embrace. I lifted my face from her chest and rested my chin over her shoulder.
“When I thought about it, I wondered if it was really appropriate for a mother to hold her grown son like this,” she murmured, fretting over nothing. I wondered where she had picked up such notions, voicing worries she had never entertained before.
“Why? Are you not supposed to hug me?”
“No, it's not that… It's just that others might see us and think it's a bit improper.”
“I don't mind at all. I like hugging you like this, Mom.”
Fortunately, Mother possessed an appearance that fully met my aesthetic standards. She was distinctly different from the women of her generation I had encountered through work—women with sallow, worn complexions steeped in years of heavy drinking and chain-smoking, middle-aged women whose bellies protruded farther than their chests. Had Mother been cast in that mold, reaching this resolve might have taken me far longer. Perhaps I would have spent the rest of my life searching for alternative ways to repay her.
“Well, as long as Jeongseo likes it, that's all that matters. Mom is very happy, too.”
“Are you?”
“Yes. When Jeongseo holds me like this, I feel so happy.”
Her warm breath tickled the nape of my neck. I had made the right choice. Even if the happiness she spoke of stemmed purely from emotional affection rather than physical desire, this was the right path.
One step at a time. First, get her accustomed to physical touch…
Crossing that line with Yeo-eun had been swift because we shared a home and spent countless hours together under the same roof. With Mother, however, we lived apart for far longer stretches. Moving too fast could easily backfire, so patience was essential.
“Mom.”
I released the arms wound around her torso and raised my hands. Pulling my head back while remaining in her arms, I looked directly into her face from inches away.
“Yes?”
This was the very first step. I intended to spark a flame.
“Uh… Jeongseo?”
Gently cupping her cheeks in both hands, I held her gaze as a look of flustered confusion crossed her features.
“Does it really only matter if I'm happy?” I asked.
“Well… yes, of course. As long as you're happy, Mom doesn't care about anything else.”
“Right. But I want you to feel good, too, Mom.”
“Hehe. I told you, Mom loves it too.”
“Then I'm glad.”
All it took was a slight lean forward.
I planted a light peck directly on Mother's lips. Then, without a word, I wound my arms around her neck once more.
“I like this, too.”
No answer came. Yet against my cheek, I could feel the shell of Mother's ear burning red-hot.
“Aren't you going to kiss me, Mom? You did last time.”
“That was… on the cheek or the forehead, not on the lips…”
“Why not?”
“If someone saw us, they might think it's strange. Just a kiss on the cheek is more than enough to make Mom happy…”
I leaned back again and stared intently into her eyes. Mother couldn't hold my gaze and cast her eyes downward, her face flushing an even deeper crimson than before.
“Who's going to see us here?”
“No, it's not… it's not just about someone seeing us.”
“You said it only matters if I'm happy. Don't worry about other people.”
Mother lifted her downcast gaze for a fleeting second, only to drop it right back down. Her eyes wandered aimlessly, darting toward mine before lingering helplessly on my lips.
“Mom.”
“Yes…?”
“Hurry. You're going to get caught in traffic at this rate.”
She hesitated, visibly torn, before lightly shutting her eyes and barely managing to press a hurried peck against my cheek.
“Thank you, Mom. Drive safely.”
“Yes… You too, Jeongseo… Ah, get plenty of rest.”
Only after she kissed my cheek did I finally release my hold. It seemed she still harbored an instinctual resistance toward kissing on the lips. Even so, I knew beyond doubt that I had struck a spark in her heart. Sitting behind the wheel of her car, Mother pressed a trembling hand against her chest and drew long, deep breaths.
Though it was only a tiny ember for now, if properly nurtured, it would eventually ignite into an all-consuming blaze.
Around that same time, another woman was already burning with a fire that Jeongseo had ignited.
Jo Ihyeon was scrolling through her phone's gallery, admiring the photos of Jeongseo she had taken herself. She had lost count of how many times she had looked at them. Long before her finger swiped across the screen, the next image was already vivid in her mind.
When I see him tomorrow, I should take even more… Ah, what if Jeongseo finds it annoying?
Despite the fierce hunger driving her, her first thought was always consideration for Jeongseo. In her other hand, she clutched the handkerchief she had received from him. His scent had faded almost completely, but she still brought it close to her nose, inhaling deeply in an earnest effort to catch the faintest trace of his lingering warmth.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Yes.”
At the sudden knock, the dreamy soften in Ihyeon's expression hardened in an instant. Turning off her phone and straightening her spine, she faced the door as it opened.
“Professor, did you enjoy your lunch?” a young male researcher asked, beaming with an affectionate, eye-smiling grin. He enjoyed an excellent reputation in the department, known to everyone as unfailingly polite and perpetually cheerful.
“Yes, it was fine. Are the results in?”
“Almost finished. I'm just on my way to grab some coffee right now.”
When the researcher offered to bring her a cup, Ihyeon declined in a crisp, distant tone. Accustomed to her impenetrable demeanor, the employee bowed politely and quickly exited the room.
Now, where was I~?
The moment the door closed, Ihyeon turned her screen back on and plunged straight back into the sea of Jeongseo's photos, sipping the coffee she had bought after eating lunch alone. Both the hospital and the research laboratories where she worked were predominantly male environments. Over the course of several years in the field, Ihyeon had consciously made herself a solitary island because she found it far more comfortable that way. Fortunately, maintaining a cool, detached front never hindered her work; if anything, she was widely revered as the department's unrivaled ace.
Should I get moving soon?
Having spent her break immersed in pictures of Jeongseo, Ihyeon rose from her desk. Keeping her chin level, she walked with steady, brisk strides. Her appearance was as impeccably upright as her posture: neatly combed hair, an immaculate lab coat free of even a speck of lint, sharp trousers pressed with razor-sharp creases, and polished black leather shoes. Between her faultless attire and her icy expression, an aura clung to her that discouraged anyone from approaching lightly.
Ihyeon genuinely loved her work and enjoyed academic research. She had deliberately cultivated this unyielding persona simply to avoid squandering her energy on meaningless workplace politics in a male-dominated field, though she hadn't always been this way from the start. Moreover, she was faintly aware that this crisp presentation had helped spark her connection with Jeongseo in the first place, leaving him with a favorable first impression. From observing him, she had caught on that he favored clean, orderly, and well-kept aesthetics.
“Ah, Professor! We're terribly sorry to bother you on a Saturday. We should be wrapping up shortly.”
“It's quite all right. Carry on with your duties.”
As Ihyeon stepped into the shared laboratory, the young researchers gathered there bowed their heads in unison. Perhaps because it was the weekend, none of her superiors were present. While she had officially come in to oversee a team project, her true purpose was to check the results of an independent experiment she was conducting in secret. During her private analysis of the semen sample Jeongseo had provided, she had stumbled upon a staggering anomaly—a discovery known to no one else in the world.
I should be able to finish before the Department Store closes. I wonder what would look good on Jeongseo… Ah, focus.
After wrapping up a brief exchange with one of the researchers, Ihyeon settled into an isolated workstation in the corner of the lab. Catching her mind drifting back toward Jeongseo, she shook away the stray thoughts and anchored her focus to the task at hand, peering through the microscope and recording the data.
What on earth… This is impossible.
She wasn't sure how long she had been staring, but Ihyeon barely managed to swallow a breathless gasp. She cross-referenced the experimental data sheets once, twice, three times.
This… cannot be allowed to see the light of day.
Without a second thought, Ihyeon began systematically purging the data. Every step of the testing process, every metric, and every concluding analysis she had conducted independently was wiped completely clean from the system. It was a monumental breakthrough that could have brought her unimaginable wealth, status, and international acclaim, yet her hands did not hesitate for a single second.
Just in case, I'll keep only this…
Ejecting a single USB flash drive from the terminal, Ihyeon slipped it deep into her pocket. With that, a revolutionary revelation capable of shaking the very foundations of the world was sealed away as Ihyeon's solitary secret.
It was a decision made entirely to protect Jeongseo.
And at the same time, she knew it was a decision made to protect herself.