Ch.184Mom, I Love You (7)

The part-time wedding shop modeling job scheduled for that day was only about two hours.

Even that was spent leisurely, getting friendly with the shop owner and staff, taking breaks in between, and helping with the cleanup afterward, so it actually took about an hour longer than the actual working time.

So I’d been out of the house for about three hours.

It’s a long time if you think it’s long, and short if you think it’s short, but at least for a place with such a strong everyday character as home,

it wasn’t enough time for anything significant to change or be altered.

There’s something about the reassuring stability of unchanging things, isn’t there?

Even when you go to work and stay out for at least 8 hours, it would be truly terrifying to come back and feel something different or out of place at home.

That’s why I didn’t notice any sense of discomfort or change from the usual,

and without any hesitation, I started unbuttoning my clothes to take off my sweat-soaked bra as I opened the door to my room.

“Ah, it’s so hot! I’m drenched in sweat on my way home! I need to take off my bra and shower first…”

That’s what I was saying as I opened the door, until I saw

my mom pretending to be Ban Do-young in a school uniform,

Do-ha-min’s mom who thought my mom was actually Ban Do-young,

and Do-ha-min who knew everything but was asking to keep it a secret.

“…”

Of course I was surprised at first.

Was I surprised by my mom’s Ban Do-young cosplay?

Yes, I was.

For a split second, I mistakenly thought the real Ban Do-young had returned.

If it wasn’t about a soul departing but rather a new Ban Do-young appearing,

I slightly regretted not being more affectionate with Do-ha-min while I had the chance.

I should have kissed him three times a day.

Fortunately, I quickly abandoned my misguided fantasy when I noticed the purple bra visible through the shirt and the mole on the opposite side from where Ban Do-young’s was, realizing it wasn’t the real Ban Do-young but simply my mom wearing my school uniform.

“…Huh.”

Mom occasionally does things that catch me off guard, but she’s still a proper adult.

Sure, she has the naughty habit of sneaking kisses with Dad in the car when we kids step away for a moment,

but she still knows how to separate personal matters from public ones.

Even if Mom had the peculiar hobby of wearing her daughter’s school uniform,

she wouldn’t have gone to Do-ha-min’s place to show it off,

acting as Ban Do-young in front of him and his mother.

In other words, the current situation with Mom could be defined as a series of coincidental elements piling up to create what could be called a “miracle,”

leaving her unable to reveal that she was actually Chuk Jun-suk and forcing her to pretend to be Ban Do-young.

So what should I do to protect Mom’s honor?

“Nice to meet you, Do-young’s mother… I mean, I’m Chuk Juk-soon.”

“It’s not Juk-soon, it’s Jun-suk…!”

I’ll become my mother.

Huh? You’re asking why don’t I just call Mom aside and then go in wearing the school uniform myself to end this smoothly?

Well…

Because this is more fun.

.

.

.

Mom’s outfit was hastily pulled from the bedroom closet.

It was one of the outfit collections Mom prepares for her mandatory defense battles with Dad.

“Here we go.”

So I naturally sat between Do-ha-min and Mom while pretending to be her.

After all, this was clearly the only place for me to sit.

“Do, Do-young… what is this all about?”

Mom, visibly confused by her daughter’s appearance in familiar attire, whispered to me in a voice only I could hear.

“Ah, it’s fine. I could see roughly what’s going on.”

“Re-really…? But I haven’t explained anything.”

“I figured it out from seeing your panicked face and Do-ha-min asking to keep it a secret.”

“You figured that out just from seeing that…? You’re not misunderstanding something strange, are you?”

“Well… I’m guessing you got upset about being called ‘auntie,’ saw my school uniform in my room, and tried it on out of frustration.”

“Hiccup!”

Mom hiccupped in surprise at my accurate guess.

With each hiccup, the buttons on her chest area of the uniform precariously played tug-of-war.

“And then what happened is pretty obvious, right? You felt confident because my uniform fit you well, so you went shopping in an area you don’t usually go to, and by chance, Do-ha-mi saw you from behind, mistook you for me, and together you went to school to meet Do-ha-min, and that’s how this mess started.”

“Do-young, were you secretly watching from somewhere? And more importantly, how can you address your boyfriend’s mother with such a casual title…!”

It seemed my scenario was quite accurate.

Instead of telling me I was wrong, she was criticizing how I addressed Do-ha-min’s mother.

“But you figured it out pretty quickly, didn’t you, Do-ha-min? Judging by how you were signaling me to keep the secret earlier.”

“When I first saw your mother, I was a bit confused because I wasn’t wearing my glasses… but I could still feel something was different. Whether you’re wearing glasses or not, Do-young is Do-young. Besides, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen your face without glasses.”

“Hmm, that’s how it should be. If you hadn’t recognized the difference even when Mom and I were standing together earlier, I would have kicked your butt really hard afterward.”

“Last time you kicked me even though I said you were pretty without glasses….”

“Th-that time was different from now.”

“How is it different…?”

“Um… the level of affection?”

That day when I deliberately broke his glasses to cure his stingy habits.

Even back then, when I was guiding him to school because he couldn’t see well, he said something similar.

‘You’ve never not looked pretty to me.’

Back then, I kicked his butt because I felt it was dangerous to hear such words.

But now I’m saying I would kick his butt if he couldn’t recognize me without glasses.

In the end, Do-ha-min hadn’t changed then or now. In a good way, of course.

If anything had changed, it was only my true feelings.

“But… no matter how much you’re trying to look like an auntie… wearing clothes like that is too much.”

“Huh? What’s wrong with my clothes? These are ones my mom really treasures.”

“They’re… not appropriate for a student to wear.”

“Oh? In what way…?”

“They’re… se-seductive… clothes.”

Do-ha-min said, lowering his head deeply.

After hearing his words, my gaze naturally turned to Mom sitting next to me.

“By my standards, it’s more seductive for a grown adult to dress like that.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. At least my bra isn’t popping out… Oh my, Do-young! You should dress properly when we have guests…!”

“Th-thank you… Mom.”

I naturally acted as Mom and tightened Mom’s loose shirt.

“A-anyway… if you figured out so accurately how Mom ended up in this situation, why are you pretending to be Mom here? You should be thinking about how to naturally take over the baton as the real you…!”

Mom whispered to me, naturally pretending to be me while hunching down.

“Stop this useless prank and quickly come up with any excuse so we can leave together… What if Ha-min’s mother notices?”

“Um, Mom. Should you be saying that to me right now? I won’t have any problems wearing Mom’s clothes, but wouldn’t it be bad if Do-ha-mi caught you wearing my school uniform?”

Right now, I am Chuk Juk-soon, no, Chuk Jun-suk.

Whatever I say becomes what Mom says. Did she forget that?

To remind her of this, I elegantly brought my hand to my mouth,

slightly covering my upturned corners of my lips.

“Hohoho, I’m sorry. My daughter is so scatterbrained, isn’t her room quite messy?”

“Do-Do-young, you…!”

“Do-young, really, how can you keep your room like this when you’re bringing precious guests? Even a pigsty would be cleaner than this! Do you think Ha-min’s mother would want Ha-min to marry you after seeing a room like this? Hohohoho!”

Ban Do-young’s disgrace immediately became the disgrace of Mom who was pretending to be Ban Do-young.

Of course, even as I spoke, my heart ached at times, but if I could sacrifice flesh to gain bone, it would be worth it.

The aching in my chest… well.

Let’s say it’s because Ban Do-young’s flesh is concentrated in the chest area.

“Oh…? Did I introduce myself already?”

“…Pardon?”

“How did you know I was Ha-min’s mother? I’m so small and petite that usually no one thinks we’re mother and son unless we explain it…”

“…Ah.”

It was actually me who had my bones taken.

“I-I told my mom about you…! That Ha-min’s mother is as small and pretty as a doll…! That she’s someone who stimulates maternal instincts so much that you naturally want to hug her when you see her…!”

Mom, so that’s what you thought when you saw Do-ha-mi.

Though I feel the same way.

“Oh my, Do-young. How can you describe an old lady like me that way? Your mother might misunderstand, ahahaha….”

Despite her words, what woman wouldn’t be happy to receive a pure compliment about being pretty?

Do-ha-mi was smiling brightly with flushed cheeks, even though she looked embarrassed.

-Thud

Just then, as Do-ha-mi was stroking her own hair, her hand came down and hit something lying on the floor.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“…Ah, that!”

Mom’s expression turned serious.

The object that Do-ha-mi’s hand had caught was none other than Mom’s middle school graduation album, which she had temporarily put down in my room while changing into my uniform.

“Wonsuk Middle School, 32nd Graduation Album, Class 3-3, Chuk Jun-suk… Do-Do-young’s mother, is this…?”

“Ah… why did I leave that there…”

Do-ha-mi, who reflexively opened the contents, looked at me with a surprised expression.

“Damn… I thought we got past this well, but did she notice the difference from the middle school graduation album…?”

“Do-young’s mother, is what’s written in this album true?”

“…Yes, actually-“

“So Do-young’s mother also graduated from Wonsuk Middle School!”

“…Eh?”

Do-ha-mi suddenly approached me, who was sitting between Mom and Do-ha-min.

The Wonsuk Middle School graduate was right there beside me.

“Amazing! I never thought I’d meet a senior here!”

“Ha… Ha-min’s mother also went to this middle school?”

“Yes, I’m from the 44th graduating class. Nice to meet you, senior!”

“Ahaha… Ni-nice to meet you too, junior… Wait, 44th?”

I didn’t want to know.

The age difference between Mom and Do-ha-mi.