episode_0033

Upon entering the store, I was surprised by the scale of the store where I went to buy sports bras with Dayoung for the first time, which was clearly different from the store or supermarket where we bought underwear. Perhaps because it was a store inside an outlet, it was very spacious and had a wide variety of underwear.

As soon as we entered, the fact that the staff greeted us but didn’t guide us, it felt like a typical outlet store. It seemed that a service had been established where staff only stuck with customers who called them as needed due to the high foot traffic.

Instead of heading straight to the swimwear section, we started looking around the store slowly, browsing through the underwear. And understandably so.

“Wow, there are so many plus-size underwear here.”

There were indeed a lot of underwear that I could wear. Judging by what Dayoung said about it being a brand specializing in imported items, it seemed like there were more women with larger sizes overseas than in Korea.

Anyway, despite claiming to specialize in plus-size underwear, there were plenty of options for me to choose from, which made me feel excited for no reason.

“Why don’t you try wearing one instead of just looking around? You didn’t buy many last time because you couldn’t find many that fit, right?”

Considering Dayoung’s words, I hesitated, but with so many choices suddenly available, I was overwhelmed and started picking up various pieces to try on in front of my chest.

“Hmm, I’m not sure what looks good. Which one do you think suits me?”

I asked while looking at the kids.

“Mom has a warm skin tone… she’s in the autumn warm tone category, so I think reddish tones would suit her better than blue ones. What do you think, Davin?”

“I’m not sure. I think they all look good on you.”

“Hmm….”

In response to Dayoung’s words, I picked up a red… no, a vividly colored underwear piece hanging among the others and held it against my chest, asking if it suited me.

“Oh, Mom. Um, I don’t think that one works.”

Davin exclaimed in shock.

“What did you pick up, this lady!”

Dayoung covered her eyes as if she couldn’t bear to see it, and when I looked down following her gaze…

“Eek!”

I barely managed to hold back what almost slipped from my hand with superhuman patience.

It was lingerie suitable for a very special night between couples.

The panties had a T-back with a very tiny front triangle, and the bra had a hole in the middle vertically, an eventful type of underwear.

My face turned red, and I quickly put it back in its place.

“Phew, phew.”

I took a deep breath, still startled. I told the kids,

“Let’s just focus on the color. Just the color. Exclude the design. Yeah.”

As I said that, Dayoung, whose face had turned as red as the lingerie just now, hurriedly spoke up.

“When I mentioned red tones, I didn’t mean that bright color. I meant a cozy feeling like this.”

Suggesting autumn-feeling underwear in light brown close to fallen leaves or slightly murky orange, Dayoung handed them to me.

Taking them and holding them against my chest, I asked the kids how they looked.

“Um, they’re fine. But maybe trying them on would be better?”

“Oh, these are better than before.”

Well, compared to that earlier one, anything would be an improvement, right?

Anyway, luckily the response was positive. Choosing about three sets of simple-designed underwear, we also picked a few sets for Dayoung and headed towards the fitting room together. Davin hastily asked,

“Should I wait here?”

In response, Dayoung answered,

“Oh, do you want to come in too? Well, we’ve come this far, so why not come in and help me choose.”

Of course, it was a joke. Is there any sibling relationship in the world where they give feedback on underwear to each other?

“Oh, no! If I stay here alone, it’s… embarrassing… so it’s better to just stay outside…”

Dabin had a point, so I was about to tell her to just go out and wait, but Dayoung narrowed her eyes and spoke first in a subtle voice.

“Hey, you were looking forward to this. Are you just going to throw it away?”

As she pushed my arm holding the underwear towards my chest and asked,

Dabin had a fit.

“Oh, really! No, stop it! A son wouldn’t be interested in his mom’s chest like that in the first place!”

Her voice was quite loud, and although not the entire store, the attention of people around choosing underwear was definitely focused in our direction.

Blushing, Dabin just said she would wait outside and rushed out of the store.

Watching her blankly, Dayoung asked, “Was I too harsh?” To which I replied by flicking honey on his forehead.

– Smack!

“Ouch!”

“You were harsh. So make sure to apologize to Dabin later.”

As I said with a glare, Dayoung whined as if feeling unjust.

“Ugh, Mom even came in with us!”

That was a valid point, so I nodded in agreement.

“With Mom.”

Looking at Dayoung nod reluctantly, I decided to put an end to this and headed back to the fitting room.

“Oh, right. I should call Dabin. Since it might take a while, I’ll tell her to wait at a fast food joint or a cafe.”

“She’ll wait on her own.”

“Ugh!”

Still poking at sulking Dayoung, I called Dabin, heard she would wait at the cafe, and went back to the front of the fitting room.

“Oh, it’s a bit crowded.”

“Yeah. We might have to wait a bit, huh?”

Although there seemed to be quite a few people in the store, there was also a line for the fitting rooms. Despite the four fitting rooms being in rotation within a space shielded by a wall in the corner of the store, the fact that a line had formed even with the rotation meant that the store was indeed busy.

In reality, most plus-size underwear is worn by people who are generally larger overall rather than just having big chests like me. So, it was evident from the line that the majority of women in this store had that kind of physique, making both Dayoung and me stand out.

We quietly went to the end of the line.

We were just waiting for our turn when suddenly…

– Whoosh.

Feeling something pressing against my arm abruptly, I turned to see Dayoung looking at me, gesturing to listen closely.

“Hmm?”

As I brought my ear closer.

“Mom, haven’t you noticed that guy has been glancing at Mom since earlier?”

Dayoung subtly raised her finger and turned her head in the direction she pointed out, where one of the two men who had come with a girlfriend earlier was standing outside the fitting room area, seemingly waiting for his girlfriend… Upon paying attention as Dayoung suggested, it was indeed noticeable that he kept glancing in our direction.

Well, maybe it was just the law of attraction working its magic, but it didn’t feel comfortable being on the receiving end.

I considered saying something after enduring it for a while, but just then, the woman who seemed to be his girlfriend came out of the fitting room, ending the situation.

Wait, isn’t your girlfriend taller than me! Well… she’s quite big in size too… anyway!

Thinking this, I glanced at the man for a moment before averting my gaze, when suddenly Dayoung quietly asked me,

“If a guy with a girlfriend… and that too in a situation where they came to buy underwear together, looks at another woman instead, are all men like that?”

What should I say? No matter how mature kids are these days, adults have a duty to protect children’s dreams and hopes…!

“True. There are women who, even though they have husbands, get emotionally involved with other men, abandon their husbands and children, and leave. Compared to that, I guess I’m at a cute level.”

Da-yeong muttered absentmindedly, staring at the man with unfocused eyes.

It sent shivers down my spine.

I was wrong. It wasn’t maturity; something was broken somewhere. Well, when a family falls apart, there’s no way the child can be normal.

Feeling a sense of obligation as a parent, I quickly spoke up.

“Don’t just see it that way, Da-yeong.”

“Hmm?”

Da-yeong turned her unfocused eyes towards me and looked at me. Those eyes seemed to reproach me for not protecting the family. So my heart felt heavy, but what worried me more was Da-yeong living with such a distorted perception, broken as she was. That was more frightening.

So maybe I was a bit hasty, too much in a hurry.

“It’s me you’re talking about, right?”

“What?”

Light gleamed in her unfocused eyes, her expression contorted as if in disbelief.

For a moment, I was also taken aback, thinking ‘Why did I say that?’ and quickly held out my hand.

“Oh, no. Not that. Not all men are like that. There are circumstances, and…”

“Pfft, hahaha!”

Da-yeong burst out laughing, drawing the attention of those around us. However, she didn’t care about those looks and continued to laugh.

“Haha! Oh… Mom. Pfft. Isn’t it overflowing with confidence? No, pfft! Well, it’s kind of understandable…”

Looking down at her chest, Da-yeong made me feel embarrassed by staring so intently. I discreetly covered my chest, but unfortunately, the underwear in my hand stuck to my chest.

“What, are you showing off?”

“N-no, that’s not it?”

Da-yeong narrowed her eyes and said.

“Anyway, pffft.”

“There’s nothing she wouldn’t say to her mom!”

As we bantered back and forth, our turn came around again, and finally, we could enter the fitting room.