episode_0021

“Hurry up and take it off.”

“Doyoung, can’t you just wash first and then come out?”

“Oh, hurry up.”

Doyoung said as she pulled my panties.

The four women in the dressing room with me looked over here with eyes that seemed to say, ‘What are they doing?’ Well, that’s what I thought.

-Boing Boing

As the struggle continued, with only one pair of panties left, every time Doyoung tried to pull them off, I resisted, causing my chest to shake uncontrollably, and their gazes moved along with that chest like a pendulum.

“What are you two doing over there?”

Just then, Choi Jin-hee entered. She too seemed to have finished an intense workout, her whole body drenched in sweat.

“Mom, do we have to endure this for more people to come? I know it’s embarrassing, but let’s quickly wash up and go home. I have to do a broadcast, and I have a lot to do.”

“No, but…”

Choi Jin-hee shrugged her shoulders as if she had seen it all before, then went to her locker, took off her clothes, casually wrapped a towel around her neck, approached us, and asked Doyoung about the situation.

“What’s going on, Doyoung?”

“Oh, our mom is quite shy. She doesn’t usually go to public baths, but she can’t go home all sweaty like this, right? So…”

She hesitated as if puzzled, then grabbed the panties.

“How about tearing this? I’ll pay for the panties.”

Then she started pulling as if she would really tear them apart.

“Okay, okay. I’ll take them off. I’m taking them off!”

In the end, I surrendered to the force and took off my panties. Only then did Doyoung also take off her clothes, and I put my panties in the locker and turned away, covering my lower body with a towel.

Seeing this, Choi Jin-hee sighed deeply.

“Oh, she’s really shy. But how did you meet a man?”

Saying that, she went into the shower room first. She probably still thinks I was with Kim Tae-hyun at the mart.

At that moment,

“Mom, what’s that sound? Meeting a man?”

Hearing that, Doyoung looked serious and glanced at me, but I waved my hand and replied.

“It’s nothing. I met a subordinate at the mart while shopping, and he offered to help because I looked like I had a lot of stuff. Jin-hee saw that scene. So she misunderstood that Mom met a young man. You know why. Ah… no, Mom, it’s Manager Kwon Sung-yeol from work. He knows how Mom ended up like this. So he sent a junior employee to help carry the luggage.”

Thanks to my quick response, Doyoung looked a bit suspiciously at me, then grabbed the face wash basket and towel and went into the shower room.

I quickly followed Doyoung into the shower room… Oh my god.

I couldn’t decide whether to call it heaven or hell.

“Unnie’s here. It takes forever.”

Choi Jin-hee was already wetting herself under the water, and Doyoung, who had taken a spot next to her, gestured for me to squeeze in between them. So I squeezed in between them, turned on the shower, and got wet. Choi Jin-hee looked at me with admiration.

“Oh? Unnie, hair?”

Since I had to uncover my lower body to wash, my lower abdomen was completely exposed.

“Huh? Oh, when did Mom wax? Wait a minute.”

While saying that, Doyoung reached out to my lower abdomen. I quickly caught her hand, but she swiftly brushed through with her other hand as if she expected it.

“I don’t think there’s any hair here?”

“Eek!”

Feeling that eerie sensation, I sat down hesitantly, and Doyoung, sensing my discomfort, apologized and comforted me.

“Oh, sorry. I was just curious.”

Then Choi Jin-hee glanced at me and said,

“Unnie, do you have trichotillomania?”

Trichotillomania.

There are rare cases of people who have symptoms of not having hair in their armpits and pubic area. But I didn’t know that would be me.

“Um, yeah. So, could you not stare so much? It’s embarrassing enough as it is…”

As I hurriedly covered my lower abdomen with both hands, Choi Jin-hee just stood there with her mouth agape, admiring.

“Wow… Those big breasts, pretty face, plump lips, and even hypertrichosis? Unnie, is that some kind of ideal for men? I feel so unjust. Do genetically inferior people deserve this injustice? Wait, Da-yeong, what about you? No, you’re still a teenager, so that’s different, but wow…”

Is this that gaze rape thing I’ve been hearing about on the internet lately?

“Stop staring! I’ll really get mad.”

Upon saying that, Choi Jin-hee suddenly started acting cute, asking me to keep looking. Ah… now I understand why she’s popular among men.

Our kids nowadays, they’re something else. Annoyingly playful but not really hateful. To men, she may seem like the ultimate trashy woman who cheats, but to women, once you become friends with her, you can’t help but dislike her even more.

Anyway, amidst the continued attention between the two, I somehow managed to finish showering, feeling like I was losing my mind.

“Ah, this is too hard. Really.”

Saying that, I quickly went to the locker to put on my underwear. It’s already chaotic, and with the bright lights making things worse due to the two of them eagerly waiting since earlier.

“Oh, what a shame. It’s the first time I’ve seen hypertrichosis up close, and I wanted to take a closer look.”

I snapped back at her comment.

“Hey! Would you want to show your private parts to a stranger?”

Saying that, Choi Jin-hee extended her lower body towards me while still not wearing any clothes.

“Go ahead.”

With such a confident attitude, I ended up turning my head away out of nervousness.

Then, Choi Jin-hee burst into laughter and patted Da-yeong’s shoulder.

“Haha! Hey, your mom is so cute. She looks like she’s 29, not 39, just like a younger sister.”

“Hehe, I sometimes think the same way. Oh, our mom is so cute.”

Where did the authority of the eldest sister go? What is that dignity, is it edible?

Oh, today, both my body from exercise and my heart in the dressing room are exposed. Both my body and mind are completely laid bare.

“I want to go home…”

“Oh, come on, Mom, just hold on a little longer. We need to dry your hair before we leave.”

Saying that, Da-yeong dried my hair with the hairdryer in the dressing room.

“Oh, how nice. When will our daughter grow up and do this for me?”

Choi Jin-hee came over to dry my hair and said. And then, I remembered a sharp-looking girl who resembled Choi Jin-hee among the kids playing in the cafe on the day we first met.

“How old is your daughter?”

“She’s only 5 years old. She’s at the age to go to kindergarten.”

“Oh, I see. That must be tough. But what about your husband? Does he take care of her when you go to exercise?”

When I asked, Choi Jin-hee answered with a slightly darkened expression.

“My mom does.”

As I tilted my head in response to her answer.

“Oh, I see. Actually, I’m going through a divorce.”

Wow, this household isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Feeling like I shouldn’t have asked, I apologized, and Choi Jin-hee laughed casually.

“It’s okay. It’s not like I did anything wrong.”

I naturally assumed that Choi Jin-hee’s divorce was due to her infidelity, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“My husband cheated on me, and it was revealed. That led to a big fight and talk of separation. The incident at the mart was after that. I shouted in anger.”

Oh, right. She had asked to keep it a secret first.

It seems like it was better not to listen. Remembering that day made me feel uneasy. Same for Dayoung. Of course, since she had already experienced it once, it didn’t seem like such a big blow, but her expression didn’t look good.

“Hahaha, sorry. Was it too heavy of a story with mourning?”

Fortunately, there was no one in the changing room except us. Well, if there were other people, would I have brought up this story?

“Anyway, I have my own circumstances too. Please don’t hate me too much. Am I trying to get better? The family seems harmonious. Hehe. Is your husband treating you well?”

Dayoung and I stiffened at those words. Then, as if on cue, Choi Jin-hee stiffens and asks.

“Oh, you too?”

I nod quietly. Of course, our house needs to take it a step further.

“Cheating?”

I nod again, and Choi Jin-hee suddenly speaks out.

“Anyway, it’s the men who are the problem. As soon as they have a little leeway, they start looking around. Seriously, we should just cut off their balls.”

As I imagine my junior disappearing due to her words, I clench my fists. What do you call this feeling? Phantom pain? Anyway, it felt painful even though there shouldn’t be any more pain. Ugh, just thinking about it is disgusting.

Then, looking back at me, Choi Jin-hee asks.

“Sister, what’s wrong? You’re standing there all wobbly.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

And so, the first day’s exercise routine, which left both my body and mind in tatters, came to an end.

Sigh, it’s tough.