episode_0137

I covered my ears and thought deeply.

My first words, after enduring my children’s quarrel with my eyes tightly shut, were the only thing I could say in this situation.

“Hwa… Hwaryeon.”

“Huh?”

Gulp.

Before I formally asked her intentions, I wet my throat with saliva, then,

“Listen carefully and calmly.

That… thing inside… are you not going to get rid of it?”

At this remark, which I had painstakingly mustered the courage to say, Hwaryeon reacted with utter shock.

She slammed the table with a *bang!*, standing up with her slightly bulging belly.

“Mom, are you crazy?!

It’s already been two months. A life is growing inside! How can a parent say such cruel things to their own child?!”

“The cra— the crazy thing is this situation, isn’t it!”

After repeatedly holding back, I finally raised my voice.

I, too, couldn’t help but get dragged into this chaotic dispute between my children, as if pulled by my hair.

“Think calmly. Who would you introduce that child to once it’s grown?

Even so, isn’t it too shameless of you to be carrying your own brother’s child, born of incest, and act like this in front of your mother?!”

Hwaryeon remained calm even at this reproach.

She merely puffed out her cheeks sullenly,

“If the father’s identity is revealed to anyone outside, I will utterly destroy whoever dares to do so.

If that’s not an option, I’m thinking of buying some land on Jeju Island and living peacefully, or perhaps living abroad in a country like Singapore. In short, as long as it’s not exposed, we’ll be fine.”

“That’s just burying your head in the sand, isn’t it….”

“Enough.

It’s already growing inside me, and I’m definitely going to give birth, so just know that.”

‘To be that resolute….’

That could be the manifestation of maternal love for the child.

But from my perspective, the trust and affection Doyeon, her brother, had for her seemed far greater.

How on earth had he managed to open Hwaryeon’s stubborn heart? She was completely smitten with Doyeon, as if deeply infatuated.

On top of that,

“Besides, Mom, you yourself said you wanted me to have a child early, didn’t you? Because Seonmi unnie is absolutely not the type to get married.”

“Ugh…!”

…I had indeed frequently made such remarks in the past.

But I had said that because my second child, Hwaryeon, was the only one who could normally provide me with peace of mind.

My first child was like a machine who wouldn’t even glance at men, Doyeon, who flagrantly enjoyed women, was out of the question, and Soeun, who had grown up indulged, had left home due to an international marriage.

Naturally, I meant that I wished they would get married in a normal way; I never, ever wished for a development like this.

My small hopes kept flowing in strange directions.

“Hoo… Enough.”

Hwaryeon stood up as if further argument was pointless.

She slung the bag she had brought over her shoulder, straightened the creases in her clothes, and then shot back defiantly.

“More importantly, the fact that things have come this far means that you, too, Mom, have slept with Doyeon, haven’t you?”

“……!”

At that, I instinctively turned my head away, a habit from old times.

As I quickly turned away as if fleeing, and silence filled the void as my answer, Hwaryeon sighed at me, who was avoiding her gaze.

Lastly, as if leaving a piece of advice, she spoke softly.

“Every time something explodes around you, nothing gets resolved by you just racking your brain and agonizing over it alone.”

“…….”

“Anyway, no matter how I live or how others live, life is a fair one-time deal, Mom.

It’s too short to spend your entire life just caring about what others think.”

Click.

And so, the second daughter of the Hwaryeong Family exited first.

Soon after, Soeun watched the door intently, then, *scrape!* she dragged her chair back and stood up, following suit.

With my head bowed, I asked Soeun, as if faintly giving up,

“Are you… leaving too?”

“Yeah, looks like the conversation’s over.”

Then she shot a glance at the door,

“Besides, from the looks of Hwaryeon unnie now, it seems she’s going to the company to meet Oppa. I’m going to try and follow her.”

‘Even Soeun….’

The two of them, consciously competing over Doyeon.

I no longer had the strength to rack my brain.

Utterly exhausted, like melted candle wax, I asked as if giving up,

“Do you also like Oppa that much?”

Soeun first bought a moment’s time by asking, “Huh?”

Then, drawing out a nasal sound, she replied with a beaming, slightly excited voice.

“Well, Oppa has become even more interesting than before, when he was like a fool!

Should I say he’s become cool, having gained quite a backbone?”

“…….”

“Look at Hwaryeon unnie, who just left so boldly.

That frustrating unnie, who used to only chase Seonmi unnie, even learned to say such admirable things, didn’t she?”

Saying that, she subtly approached and put her arm around my shoulder.

Finally, just as Hwaryeon had shouted before leaving, Soeun spoke sweetly, as if tempting me.

‘No matter what anyone says, we are the Hwaryeong Family that rules over Korea, Mom. No matter who babbles beneath us, shouldn’t we just enjoy it?’

*Mwah*♥

“Well then, see you later, Mom. Let’s go out and spend some money again next time♥”

After giving me an affectionate kiss on my cheek, Soeun also disappeared, following Hwaryeon.

She exited with a genuine, beaming smile.

“…….”

And so, I was left alone again at the large table.

Only the tick-tock of the large grandfather clock, installed for interior decoration, echoed through the room.

*Dong… dong… dong…*

Soon, a heavy chime announced 6 o’clock exactly, signaling quitting time.

As it rang, I, too, finally rose from my chair.

I trudged heavily towards the exit where my daughters had left.

*

“Haaah……”

I dragged my heavy body back home.

I spaced out in the car driven by my chauffeur, wondering if things would change with time, but nothing changed at all.

As Hwaryeon said, there was no answer to be found by continuing to rack my brain like this.

My groans only grew longer, and no matter how much I lamented, no problems were resolved.

Yet, I couldn’t accept that easygoing advice to just enjoy the situation since it had come to this.

Well, of course, because I am the mother of the Hwaryeong Family.

‘Indeed, a significant amount of time has passed….’

After my children left home, this house I still live in is the very site of the Hwaryeong Family that a feng shui master spent a month examining and finding for us, a house I haven’t moved from in about 30 years since I married into the family.

From my eldest, Seonmi, to my youngest, Soeun. The house was filled with the intact traces of our family’s life.

There were scratches on the wood from marking their growing heights, stains from Doyeon playing with industrial paint and spilling it on the floor, and so on.

Memories that made me smile bitterly were alive and breathing whenever I looked at them.

“…I’m home.”

More than anything, a photograph of my husband, Cha Seongtaek, hung in the master bedroom where the bed was placed.

A photo hung right beside the bed, at an angle clearly visible as soon as one entered the room, to commemorate my husband.

*Thud.*

“…….”

Today, for some reason, I felt a peculiar mix of feelings while looking at that austere photograph.

Lying on the bed and staring blankly upwards, I found myself reminiscing about my husband.

I had known since our dating days that my husband was not a morally upright person.

But it was natural to face various difficulties when running a large business, and since I had Seonmi at an early age and became a member of the Hwaryeong Family, I resolved to silently contribute to the Hwaryeong Family, sacrificing what needed to be sacrificed.

Even if I couldn’t work outside like my husband, I lived steadfastly, taking care of the family.

No matter what happened, I trusted my husband as much as possible, and as for any unpleasant rumors that tempted my ears, I simply closed them, unwilling to hear them.

I sacrificed my entire being solely for my duty to my family.

“Haaah…….”

But looking back now, I merely pretended to care for my children outwardly, never trying to look into their true inner selves.

I always imposed the ideal family image I desired outwardly, and turned my head away, ignoring everything else.

The matter involving my younger sister, Chaewon, must have ultimately stemmed from this very mindset of mine.

I thought I had diligently walked a proper path, but it turned out I had been walking a messy, winding one.

Now, it was a path so misguided that I wondered what ‘proper’ even meant anymore.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve sought intimacy alone….’

Becoming hollow in the darkness without a single light on, that thought suddenly occurred to me.

I caressed the empty spot beside me on the twin bed.

I kept caressing and caressing the unresponsive spot beside me, until─

“…….”

As if remembering something, I took out my phone.

And then, I pulled up that photo I had secretly peeked at back at the hotel.

A naked photo.

That photo of Doyeon and me doing *that*, taken by my younger sister.

A photo full of flesh-colored violence, depicting the scene of me being utterly consumed by my child, who was overtly on top of me, thrusting his hips.

Gulp…!

If I touched and scrolled up a bit, there was even a video attached.

An explicit video, without a single mosaic, taken by my younger sister out of revenge towards me.

『Ugh, something feels… heavyyy…!』

『Ooh, oh… fuck, Mom’s pussy is so delicious. Look how it immediately tightens when son’s dick goes in…!』

『Mmm, aaah- aah♥ Don’t touch there…』

『Hoo… It’s all mine now, so remember your big new master well, Mom』

『Ugh…! H-heheh- Hnnnng♥』

This was a video from when Doyeon had been overwhelmed by the drug’s effects.

A video no different from live porn, showing me, filmed with blurred vision, receiving my child’s ‘thing.’

“……♥”

I still think it’s wrong.

Even knowing that, I strangely keep replaying this video as if possessed.

I know it’s not a righteous act, but watching myself mixing tongues with my child with blank eyes, I feel both disillusionment and ecstasy simultaneously.

‘Mmm, yeah…♥

It’s too lewd… Why, why am I so drawn to this…?’

I still think such incestuous acts are wrong.

But every time I play it, the emotions that overwhelm my reason transform into an addiction that far surpasses common sense.

*Squeeze, squeeze*♥

As I watched the video, I couldn’t bear it and shoved a pillow between my thighs.

At this age, I masturbated while rubbing the pillow against myself down there, watching those stimulating photos.

Wriggling and rubbing my thighs as if a partner were there, pleasure surged like a heartbeat every time it brushed against that spot, as if a partner were truly present.

I had been lonely after my husband passed away.

It was hard to endure alone, and it was hard to endure as the head of the household with a woman’s body.

Despite that, I had endured up until now.

Knowing it was a lonely battle, I had somehow steadfastly endured, but,

‘I want to…♥ I want to have and enjoy this kind of sex again…♥’

That pride was crumbling.

Even knowing it was a wrong path, not a righteous one, I savored the memory of such an act.

I wanted to… meet Doyeon again.