episode_0032

#Episode 32. Choosing Fate – Shin Yookyung 2

-Son, I called because it seems like there are no props over here, by any chance, are there—

“Mom, isn’t there someone following you around with a phone, filming personally?”

-Huh? No, there isn’t anyone like that… Ah, now that you mention it, there was a student trying to interview me. But they’re not here now.

“Do you know their name?”

-I don’t know. Are they a friend of yours?

“No, it’s not that… Mom, nothing strange or uncomfortable during filming, right? Like kids bothering you…”

-No. I’m perfectly fine. Just a moment, I’ll ask Dohyeok. …Dohyeok-ah, wasn’t there a student walking around with a phone camera before?

-…Ah, you mean the friend I asked to shoot behind-the-scenes footage. That friend was too arbitrary in their actions, so I told them to stop. They’re not here anymore. All the footage they shot has been deleted too.

All the footage they shot was deleted…?

Then what were the things I saw…? Why was a video of Mom being secretly filmed just sitting there on the clubroom computer?

-Is that so? Doyun seems curious.

-Honestly, what behind-the-scenes footage would we even have? Although, if we uploaded even this, we might be able to rack up some views.

-…Doyun-ah, are you listening? There’s really no problem here. More importantly, it seems like I left something behind in the clubroom… Flour and… what else?

-A prop flip phone.

-Right, a phone. It’s all in the clubroom, isn’t it?

“Yes, it’s here in the corner. Should I bring it to you?”

-No. A student is on their way, so please pass it to them. Keep up the good work… See you later, son~.

I put down the phone and thought.

…Mom, the person involved, says there’s no problem, but is it really right to report it like this? Wouldn’t I be stopping the project?

Even if I don’t report it immediately, I have to talk about it. I need to tell Dohyeok Sunbae that the guy was a peeping tom, and warn Chaerin to be careful.

……Then how should I tell Mom?

Damn it, I don’t know.

First, I’ll do my job. I can bring it up when the film crew returns.

As I was working on the editing with a heavy heart, a student came to pick up the props. I carefully observed his face. It was to check if he was the student from the secretly filmed video.

He wasn’t. He wasn’t involved with the video.

I put aside my distracting thoughts and started working again.

I focused alone, forgetting how much time had passed. While working, a sip of coffee, then clicking the mouse and another sip of coffee, setting up sound effects and another sip of coffee…

Finally, all the work was done.

I played the video made so far and compared it to Episode 1. There were almost no provocative scenes compared to Episode 1, but I liked that.

Originally, there weren’t any explicit scenes in the Episode 2 footage, and Mom wouldn’t particularly want them anyway.

I stretched and checked my phone. It was almost 7 PM.

“Is the filming still not done…?”

Mom said it would be over soon, but it seems there’s still a lot of work left.

I, who had been lying idly on the dilapidated clubroom bed, went back to the computer and opened the folder containing the videos.

I couldn’t leave such problematic videos on a public computer. I transferred all of them to my phone, then deleted the videos in the folder.

The three videos saved on my phone would serve as evidence to prove the suspect’s alleged crime in the future.

“Wait a minute…”

Now that I think about it, there was an online cloud that club members used collectively. Filmed videos are automatically uploaded to the cloud, so there might be things left there that I need to delete.

I accessed the public cloud and checked. As expected, there was a folder with the same name as the one I had deleted.

However, there were a total of six videos inside the folder.

“There are three more…? The upload date is… today?”

It was footage saved while I was busy editing. I slowly moved the cursor and played the video.

The screen wasn’t visible, as if nothing had been filmed, and only rustling sound effects could be heard.

“…Your acting has definitely improved a lot, Sunbae-nim. Next time, let’s call Doyun too.”

“It’s not quite at that level yet. I wanted to move with more of a *pow*… but I guess it’s a bit hard now that I’m getting older…”

It was Dohyeok Sunbae and Mom’s voices. It seemed like a conversation after filming an action scene.

“I see. Still, from my perspective, there was no problem. Didn’t you say you do yoga?”

“I do it every day. …But Dohyeok-ah.”

Again, a rustling sound spread. Since the screen wasn’t showing, I pressed my ear close to the speaker.

“Can you really… not tell me who that person is? As you know, if it’s true, they’re quite… a benefactor to Auntie. It feels a bit… to not be able to repay them like this.”

“Ah… you mean the ‘collaborator.’ …That’s difficult. As I told you before—”

“I won’t tell anyone. You said it there, didn’t you? That you’d work hard on the project. That you’d listen to me well. Don’t you trust me…?”

“It’s not that. It’s just that…”

“Just that?”

“You’ll have to show that person some sincerity. With true feelings.”

“Of course! What should I do?”

“You just need to leave a suitable thank you message. In a video.”

“Let’s do it right away. That much isn’t difficult.”

Listening to this, it sounds like Mom received help from someone… Who is it? What kind of help did she receive to be so desperate?

…More importantly, are Dohyeok Sunbae and Mom the only two in the video’s space…? Where did everyone else go, and why are only the two of them here?

The content of the conversation was still full of questions.

“First, please give a simple self-introduction. Then, briefly explain the situation. After that, finish with a thank you message, and that’s it. Then we’ll shoot.”

“Uh… hello. I’m Shin Yookyung, a writer working in the entertainment division of A Broadcasting Company. Um… lately, I’ve been feeling pressured because of my performance, and somehow, I got this opportunity, this collaboration project. I originally knew nothing about it, but thanks to Choi Dohyeok here… I found out I was caught up in office politics.”

Mom’s voice flowed out along with the sound of the video recording.

Only now did I realize that Dohyeok Sunbae had been helping Mom.

Judging from the talk of performance pressure and office politics, it seems her position within the broadcasting company was quite unstable.

“…Thank you for helping me find the path I should take. I don’t know your face or your name, but I will try my best to repay you someday. Thank you.”

“…Alright. I’ll send it for now, but I can’t guarantee the results.”

A short while passed in that state. It seemed they were waiting for a reply to the sent video.

“A message has arrived. It says to go to that pub.”

“A pub…? Now?”

“Yes. It doesn’t say they’ll be there themselves, but there seems to be an intention. This is the same person who gave me that information last time.”

“They’re going to give us another clue. Then I should go… but it’s already so late…”

“…What do you plan to do?”

…………

“Oh…”

The video ended there.

To sum it up, this project is a lifeline. A lifeline for Mom’s splendid return as a broadcast writer.

Now that I knew the situation, I was about to check the next video when Mom called.

“Mom?”

-…Doyun-ah, I’m sorry. Something urgent came up for Mom, so I left first… Can you go home alone today?

“……Yes. I will. But Mom.”

-Huh? What’s wrong?

I couldn’t bring myself to ask if she was still with Dohyeok Sunbae. I felt it would be disrespectful to a sunbae who had continuously assisted Mom.

“…It’s nothing. I’ll go inside, so please be careful on your way back.”

-I’m really sorry. I should have told you earlier. I’m hanging up now, Doyun-ah, I love you.

“…Me too.”

Mom had recently returned home drunk and fallen asleep. While it was true that I was worried, it was also true that there was nothing else I could do for her.

Putting aside my disappointment, I played the next video. This time, too, no screen appeared.

“…How is it?”

“It’s much better. I like that the slightly cumbersome feeling is gone.”

“Still, won’t people dislike it? It also feels a bit… unseemly…”

“No way. At least I liked it. Just as I said before.”

…What are they talking about?

“Oh, really? Hahahaha… Then, could you praise me a little more?”

“If it’s praise…”

“You… how long are you going to act like a block of wood? I told you to treat me comfortably before. Just because I’m an auntie doesn’t mean I’m impossible to talk to, right?”

“I prefer things as they are, but… I’ll be honest just this once, as you wish… ………”

Suddenly, the sound became muffled, and his voice wasn’t clearly audible. I brought my ear even closer to the speaker.

“…year, right off…, …while… from behind… I’d like to. That’s all for now.”

Mom was silent for a long time. It was so frustratingly inaudible that I couldn’t even tell why Mom had been silent.

“…Sorry! Was that an unreasonable request? Auntie just got too carried away.”

“I was excessive. I apologize.”

“Oh, no, no. I know you didn’t mean it. I went too far with someone your son’s age.”

“Still, it’s unexpected. I thought you would dislike it, but your reaction was surprisingly cute.”

“Cu… cute? Me…?”

“Please disregard what I just said. My truly honest impression is this: …I’d want to see what’s inside. Has that been conveyed enough?”

“Uh… uh-huh. Thank you. ……Um, come on, let’s go quickly! We have to finish filming! Auntie’s going first, okay?”

The second video wasn’t long.

“What on earth are they talking about? Unseemly… pretty… cute…?”

I understand it’s praise, but I don’t know what exactly they’re praising. It probably isn’t just her appearance.

Because Mom, both then and now, naturally drew the attention of those around her wherever she went…

Putting aside my questions, I clicked on the last, third video.

As soon as the video played, I realized what the conversation in the second video had meant.

“Uh… hello. I’m Shin Yookyung, a writer working in the entertainment division of A Broadcasting Company.”

Mom was sitting demurely, looking at the camera. But the clothes she was wearing didn’t look demure at all.

Mom, wearing a deeply cut sleeveless top, bowed her head in greeting. Because the neckline was quite loose, despite being covered, a part of her underwear and shoulder strap were carelessly exposed.

“Um… lately, I’ve been feeling pressured because of my performance, and somehow, I got this opportunity, this collaboration project.”

Her clothes had clearly changed. The clothes she was wearing before were not a sleeveless top with this much exposure.

Her training jersey was nowhere to be seen, but her pants remained the same.

“I originally knew nothing about it, but thanks to Choi Dohyeok here… I found out I was caught up in office politics.”

The cameraman for the third video was Dohyeok Sunbae.

“Oh, Mom… Sunbae…”

Now that I thought about it, the conversation in the second video sounded a bit… like they were close. Could their relationship have grown a little closer while I wasn’t able to join the filming…?

“I’d want to see what’s inside” meant… surely not…

I sat blankly, staring only at her chest, which seemed about to burst out. Even when I tried to look at her speaking, my gaze kept drifting into her cleavage.

Then, naturally, the image of Mom taking off her top and exposing her breasts came to mind.

“Ugh…”

There was a time, long ago, when I saw Mom in her youth and felt a very strange sensation. It was the first time.

In a TV variety show I happened upon, Mom was captured in enemy territory, wearing rubber tights that exposed half of her chest. Her hands were tied, so she couldn’t move, but she grimaced intensely and stared straight ahead.

Before that, I didn’t even know the concept of “being risque.” But then my breathing gradually quickened, and my crotch, which I had never paid attention to, started to itch.

Instinctively, I knew this shouldn’t be happening, but my hand was already going inside my underwear. However, I didn’t cross that line at the time. It was because Mom found me.

Since then, whenever I see Mom’s careless appearance, I get startled.

…It’s the same now. Thinking of her breasts peeking out beyond her revealing clothes, I couldn’t control the rush of blood.

“Mom… Surely not still…?”

I hurriedly closed the video and searched the cloud. The filming should have been completed today, so it should have been automatically updated, but the rest of the Episode 2 footage wasn’t there.

That means the data is still on the camera, but Mom left without stopping by the clubroom again…

…Did you really change into such clothes and finish the rest of the filming, Mom?

Then what about going to the pub? …You didn’t go in such an outfit without a coat, did you?

I believe Mom isn’t that kind of person. There’s a basis for it.

The last time I checked, Mom’s fate resistance was 99%. Our Mom is a person of integrity and purity, more than anyone else.

Just then. A new video was uploaded to the public cloud.

The filming should definitely be over… How is a video being uploaded?

Even if there were other data, combining them should be done here in the clubroom.

…………

Perhaps I was a little uneasy. Looking back, quite a lot had happened today.

When I first saw the three videos, I only felt anger.

It seemed intentional rather than a mistake, and there clearly appeared to be some malicious intent. Contrary to my wishes, Mom didn’t take a firm stance on the students’ misconduct.

Although the cameraman left a meaningful remark at the end, there was no need to dwell on it immediately. It just sounded like the culprit’s excuse.

As for the videos I saw on the cloud afterward… they weren’t terribly concerning.

The clothing issue is still a question, but both Mom and I trust Dohyeok Sunbae.

I know that Sunbae will help us and can lead us to a better place in the future. So, perhaps I was secretly reassured.

…………

“Ugh, huff, haaa…”

As soon as it started, I heard someone’s moans. It didn’t take long to realize it was Mom.

The camera’s gaze was straight ahead. The moment I saw Mom, narrowing her eyes and emitting a seductive sound, I reacted reflexively.

She was still wearing the white sleeveless top from the previous video. It wasn’t as tight-fitting as before, but the neckline was loose, making it so precarious that a slight lack of caution would reveal her underwear.

Then, a thick arm came around Mom’s neck from behind, and soon a hand rested on her shoulder. At that, Mom’s shoulders and arms twitched slightly.

“Dohyeok-ah… Let’s stop now. I’m your sunbae, you know. Something like this…”

“I’ve been watching to see how far you couldn’t refuse, Sunbae-nim.”

“Ugh…? Huff, ahhh…”

The filming location was a pub. I could tell from the nearly empty glasses and snacks on the table.

“How could they… here… Mom…”

Each time a large hand brushed her chest, she let out a pathetic breath.

“I really liked that reaction. How you were flustered yet tried to maintain your dignity as a sunbae.”

“Haaaaah…! Stop it…!”

Even though she kept saying to stop, somehow Mom couldn’t properly resist.

“What did you do to me…? My body feels strange… I can’t move… Ugh, help me, Doyun-ah…”

“It won’t be any use… Doyun is my insurance, you see. Besides, Sunbae-nim, I didn’t do anything despicable. Aren’t you mistaken?”

“No…! You definitely put something in my drink. That’s why I’m like this… like thiiiis… Hehe…!”

Mom’s gaze kept glancing sideways towards Sunbae. Since it wasn’t filmed in the video, I couldn’t tell what she was looking at.

As Sunbae’s hand once again stroked her cleavage, her body trembled faintly.

“That expression. A little angry… a little troubled… gritting your teeth, but weren’t you actually anticipating it?”

“What are you saying…! I’m your sunbae, Dohyeok-ah! …Please, please stop. If you end it now, I won’t say anything either. Please…”

“…So, I intend to reveal your true feelings, just a little. Sometime tonight.”

…………