episode_0113

“Gulp, gulp, gulp… Haaah!”

A glass of cold water, gulped down straight from the glass on the table, directly sliding down my esophagus.

As the refreshing glass of cold water quenched the thirst I’d suppressed while in the closet, a wave of gratitude for life washed over me.

Next, the damp smell of sweat had thoroughly soaked my entire body, making me want to take a shower, but that would surely have to be put off for the enjoyment that followed the end of this serious conversation.

“So, why were you hiding in the closet?”

“……”

Cha Doyeon asked.

As he probed directly, as if he hadn’t even thought about it and found it absurd, I gently turned my head to avoid his gaze.

Unable to control my curiosity, I had secretly peeked at Mom’s phone and voyeuristically watched them have sex. It was too awkward to put that fact into words, so I changed the subject.

“You know, isn’t the most important thing right now the scenes I just saw?”

At that, Mom hunched her body as if she were a criminal.

Dressed in a hurry in a dress with the neckline slightly stretched to one side, she clasped her hands together, unable to hide her anxiousness.

“……”

In contrast, Cha Doyeon’s expression hardened.

Then, as if falling into thought, his eyes shifted slightly, and…

*Smirk.*

He stretched his lips into a wide grin.

With that uniquely irritating expression he wore when displaying confidence, he aimed straight for my heart.

“What’s wrong? You already knew everything, didn’t you?”

“!”

“!!?”

“You knew everything. You knew about me meeting your mother, so why are you feigning ignorance?”

“W-what, what, what?!”

“What I mean is, you knew everything about my relationship with your mother, so why did you secretly watch us having sex? You wanted to hide in that narrow closet and watch it until the very end?”

A knife-like betrayal.

A sharp dagger plunged directly into my heart.

It was an unforeseen move.

I had intended to stick to the position that I was surprised because it was the first time I’d witnessed their relationship.

And naturally, I thought that guy would play along with this cheap act, but he betrayed me sharply like a knife.

‘Ah… I made a mistake, damn it.’

But when I thought about it, his action was only natural.

After all, this secret revolved entirely around Mom.

Because we were implicitly hiding it from each other, solely for Mom’s happiness.

But now, it had been exposed right in front of the very person involved.

Moreover, since I had become the daughter who emerged from the closet after seeing their entire sexual encounter, that bastard had no reason to play along with my feigned ignorance.

My head was spinning, so I hadn’t been able to properly grasp the cause and effect of the situation.

*Gritting teeth.*

Realizing this so belatedly, it vexed me to no end.

It was vexing to the point where I felt annoyed that his brain had suddenly started working properly.

“Hayul… ah, ah, she knew?!”

As all secrets were brazenly laid bare, Mom covered her mouth, reacting with a raw, visceral surprise.

She displayed a kind of age-defying cuteness that made me wonder how a mother could be more innocent than her own daughter.

‘That’s why… that guy Cha Doyeon clings to her, I guess.’

Rather than immediately explaining, I brushed up my hair, which felt damp and unpleasant.

Unable to hide my disgusted expression due to the lingering unpleasantness covering my entire body, I replied.

“Yes, I knew.”

“When? Since when, exactly?!”

“Having come this far, is that still important?”

“……!”

At my remark, Mom cowered like a scolded child.

To Mom, who was once again making a guilty expression, I wanted to say this first.

Not to scold her, but to convey my honest feelings.

“Mom, since everything’s out in the open, I’ll say this: I’m not angry at all that you’re having an affair with that trashy philanderer.”

“Uh, uh…?”

“To be frank, I don’t even think you’re committing adultery and betraying Dad…. Because it’s true that Dad neglected the family due to his outside activities, and it’s true that he spent too much time outside.”

Since it had come to this, I just blurted everything out from the start.

However, for Dad’s honor as chairman, I didn’t expose his dirty secrets.

I simply told Mom, who had sacrificed so much for the family, that I understood as her daughter.

“……”

Mom, who had quietly listened to everything, nevertheless seemed uncomfortable and furrowed her brow.

Unable to properly meet my eyes, she gently lowered her gaze and quietly questioned my feelings.

“Are you… truly okay?”

“I’m telling you, I’m okay! No, I’m really okay! No matter what you do out there.”

Out of frustration, I reverted to my usual way of speaking.

Leaning my upper body forward, I firmly grasped Mom’s hesitant hand across the table.

I firmly held her hand with both of mine and shook it, meaning, ‘Please don’t easily become weak-hearted or intimidated like that.’

“I’m already all grown up, and Mom, you have your own life, so from now on, do as you please. Please, live like that.”

“Hayul….”

As her daughter, I instilled a strong sense of confidence in her, and only then did Mom properly meet my eyes.

She clasped our joined hands warmly once more, placing her other hand over them.

Even though she’s my mother, she’s inherently a person who wants to be as delicate as glass art.

Until now, under Dad’s compulsion, she had been crushed under heavy duties confined only to the home, so Mom had the right to enjoy freedom.

‘Huuuuh… It’s the first time that lecherous bastard next to me actually looks dependable.’

Ironically, that must be possible precisely because Cha Doyeon is by her side.

He was so unbound he’d forgotten his very principles, which meant the threshold was low.

And he had the drive to strongly lead the passive Mom, and if it came down to it, he even had the power to definitely protect her, so he could be trusted.

Even though I didn’t want to admit it, I had already seen things I shouldn’t have, like just now.

When he had negotiated with me before, he had even shown an excessive obsession with Mom, so at least I could trust and leave her to him.

Whether as her daughter or as a divorced partner, he was a guy I didn’t want to acknowledge, but he was a necessary person for Mom right now, so I had to admit it.

*Clap, clap, clap.*

The sound of dry clapping spread through the air.

“Should I consider this to have turned out well, like a happy-ending fairytale?”

“Hey!

…It’s entirely for Mom’s sake; it’s not like I’m supporting you, so don’t get ahead of yourself.”

But when he smugly puffed out his chest again, I hated the sight of it.

I gave him a look, meaning, ‘Don’t interrupt this touching moment between mother and daughter,’ but that guy merely shrugged his shoulders up and down.

He refused to back down gracefully.

“No, since I’ve come this far, I think I should act up a little, shouldn’t I?”

“……What?”

“Actually, I was going to consult with you, but I’m going to announce one more surprise. I just thought it was a good opportunity.”

As soon as I heard that, an ominous premonition flashed through me.

A chill running down my spine was something I rarely experienced, yet it felt all too easy in front of this guy.

As my throat went dry wondering what else this unpredictable bastard, like a mudskipper, would say, he didn’t disappoint me.

“Mother, actually, Hayul and I slept together before.”

As soon as I heard it, all the color drained from my face.

My pupils dilated, and my lips parted wide.

“You, youuuuuuuuu…!”

Soon, profanities boiled up from deep within me, as if refluxing from my very guts.

He abruptly blurted out a top-secret that should never have been mentioned.

It wasn’t like we’d started some truth game; he voluntarily confessed every last disgraceful detail about the night we’d spent together, right in front of Mom.

“You son of a bitch!”

My face turned bright red.

I clenched my hands so tightly my long fingernails felt like they would shatter and glared at him, but that guy grinned, baring his teeth, making me want to punch him in the face.

“Why, it’s not a lie, is it?”

“Y-you just blurt that out without even discussing it?! And in front of Mom, while she’s listening, you crazy bastard?!”

“Don’t get agitated. Your mother next to you seems surprisingly okay, doesn’t she?”

Hearing those words, I turned around abruptly, and indeed, Mom was calm.

Earlier, she had worn a terribly guilty expression, but this time, she merely tilted her head as if she’d heard a puzzling quiz.

When I asked why she was so calm,

“Well… he’s my ex-husband anyway, and spending one night with an ex-husband isn’t a big deal, is it?”

“A-and you’re saying that’s nothing?!”

“Yes. If anything, the strange relationship is between Cha Seobang and me… so I think it’s understandable to have such thoughts when you meet him for a moment.”

“……”

As if it were because of her own actions, Mom stated that this level of impropriety was nothing to her.

If you thought about it, she wasn’t wrong.

If you just put it into words, it was merely a momentary mistake with an ex-husband.

‘But for me, that was my first time having relations….’

Recalling it again, it was a shameful memory.

Shaming, yet also a good, awkward feeling.

Anyway, this wasn’t something I could just let slide.

I could no longer leave this unruly bastard, who played however he pleased, off his leash.

“You know, why do you have to reveal it? If you don’t explain, I want to throw you in a washing machine right now and spin you.”

“Ah~ there is a reason.”

“……………There is?”

It was just a way of speaking born from my anger, but that guy answered shamelessly.

The fact that he claimed to have a reason for revealing the secret was even more surprising.

How on earth would he wag his tongue again? Now my nerves were on edge, driving me crazy.

“Well, you see, I’ve only been conceptualizing it until now, but I’m going to start sketching out the future.”

“……? What nonsense are you talking about? Speak properly.”

“Alright, since we’ve come this far, I’ll definitely set our course.”

At the same time as those words, he completely wiped away his smile.

He acted seriously again, which was unlike him, and that didn’t please me either.

As I waited for him to answer quickly, without dragging it out,

“I’ve thought a lot about it until now, and indeed, this position seems to be the right one.”

“Don’t beat around the bush; just tell me the core.”

“I was going to do that anyway. Although there’s a long story behind it, I’ll summarize it in just one sentence, so please listen carefully.”

Saying that, he pulled my left hand.

He even took my hand, as if proposing, and boldly stated it in front of Mom.

“Let’s remarry, Ahn Hayul.”