TLR 37

Chapter 37 …

In the dark, the wet, tacky sound of quiet kisses drifted through the air, breaking and resuming in a slow, steady rhythm.

Junhyuk wasn’t in any rush. He waited patiently until the heat radiating from Seol in his arms was burning hot. Rather than just satisfying his own urges, he wanted to cherish her, to gently cradle and care for her.

Once her clothes were off, he undid her hair tie and ran his fingers through her long tresses over and over again.

As his eyes adjusted to the pitch-black room and he leaned in close, he could see Seol’s face much better as she gazed up at him.

Her eyes glittered like stars, and a genuine, bright smile rested on her lips.

Maybe the night was making him overly emotional, but he felt as though he were looking at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

“You’re beautiful.”

He couldn’t hold the words back any longer. When they slipped out, his voice sounded painfully affectionate.

“Do you like women with their hair down?” “If it’s your hair… then yeah, I guess I do.” “Then I’m going to wear it down every single time I see you.”

Seol babbled back happily.

Are you an idiot? I’m saying you’re beautiful no matter what you do. Instead of saying it out loud, Junhyuk just chuckled softly under his breath, letting her comment slide.

It was a happy night for both of them.

Just one night.

“I’m home.” “Yeah.”

Donghee answered half-heartedly, not taking her eyes off the TV in the living room.

“Where’s Jiwan?” “In the room.”

Of course. Sharing a room with his mom on the very first night was one thing, but there was no way a fifth-grade boy was going to keep sharing a bedroom with his mother long-term.

Seol took off her jacket and looked around the living room. Under the dim lighting, the pile of bedding stacked in the corner immediately caught her eye.

Giving the apartment’s only bedroom to Jiwan meant Seol and Donghee had been living out of the living room for two weeks now.

“Jiwan’s still awake, right?” “Just leave him alone. Don’t go asking him to come out.”

Donghee snapped her head up, looking completely fed up.

They’d registered Jiwan’s change of address and enrolled him in a local school. Jiwan had naturally assumed he’d be going back to his old school, so his resentment was off the charts.

Even though he was the youngest by far, the kid had effectively become the king of the household, leaving both women constantly walking on eggshells around him.

“I was just asking. Has he made any friends yet?” “How should I know? I ask him, but he doesn’t answer.” “I’m going to go wash up.”

Seol swallowed a sigh and walked toward the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she put the toilet lid down and sat on top of it.

She was truly learning what it felt like for a paycheck to disappear the second it hit her bank account. Buying Jiwan’s school supplies and clothes had cost a small fortune, not to mention their grocery bill had exploded.

Jiwan refused to eat unless there was a meat dish on the table, and the sheer amount a boy his age could eat was terrifying.

Thank goodness she’d saved up a little cash by being frugal back when she worked part-time jobs.

It felt shameless to even think it, but with things being so tight, saving money on transportation thanks to Junhyuk was a genuine lifesaver.

After their whole world flipped upside down, the family member who needed the most care was obviously the twelve-year-old kid.

He could easily look up the internet and read about how his oldest sister died, their family had completely fractured, and their lifestyle was nowhere near what it used to be.

The kid spent all day cooped up in his room glued to his game console. It was infuriatingly suffocating that she couldn’t even send him to a cram school, let alone get him the psychological counseling he needed.

“That absolute bastard, Han Shin-chul……”

Seol brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face in frustration.

When he used to treat Jiwan like pure gold just because he was the son who’d perform his ancestral rites one day, where did all that care go? How could he just throw the kid away like this?

Seol closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She had to find a way to make more money. She wasn’t expecting Han Shin-chul to ever come back; she knew better than anyone that he wasn’t human.

She was at a point where she needed to pick up a part-time job on nights and weekends, but her company had a strict policy against dual employment. If she got caught, she’d be fired on the spot.

That left only one option. Making up her mind, Seol stood up.

After taking a shower and stepping outside, she saw Donghee lying on the bedding, watching TV. Seol went over and sat down beside her.

“Mom.” “What?” “I was thinking.” “About what?” “Don’t you think Dad would be happier watching down on us if you worked too?”

Donghee turned her head, looking at her like she’d lost her mind.

“If he sees the two of us working hard together, wouldn’t that make him forgive us a little faster?” “What kind of work am I supposed to do?” “Well, you’re great at cleaning and cooking, so maybe working at a restaurant or as a housekeeper……” “You want me to be a maid in someone else’s house?”

Donghee’s voice instantly turned sharp and defensive.

“Nobody uses the word ‘maid’ anymore. It’s called a housekeeper.” “It’s the same damn thing! You’re telling me to go stick my hands in somebody else’s dirty sink!” “I’m not saying you have to be a housekeeper. There are other jobs out there……” “My god. I raise you all these years, and for what? You’re telling me to go out and earn money?” “……” “By slaving away as a servant in someone’s house?”

Seol took a short breath. She’d expected this reaction.

“Then what else are we supposed to do?” “Look at you, glaring right at me! What did you just say?” “My salary won’t even cover a bed and a desk for Jiwan next month.” “I told you, your father is going to send money soon!” “Right, that’s what I’m saying. Dad is definitely going to send money. But until he does, the two of us need to bring in an income.”

Donghee glared at her fiercely, her lips pressed into a tight line.

“Mom, I’m not saying you have to work forever. Like you said, Dad will send money soon.” “……” “We need to send Jiwan to Taekwondo, plus math and English academies.”

And then middle school, high school, college…

A sudden wave of dread washed over her, making her mind go blank for a second, but Seol forced her expression to stay neutral and pushed on.

“You said you didn’t want to sue him for child support. Even if we did, it would take forever to get any money.” “……” “Let’s just work hard together so Jiwan can do everything he wants to do.” “……” “Mom… I really didn’t want to bring this up, but Jiwan isn’t my son. He’s yours.” “……What am I supposed to do, then?” “First, let’s register you with an employment agency. They’ll match you with a job.” “Fine.”

Donghee gave her consent, though her face was still practically dripping with dissatisfaction.

“Thank you.” “Now hush, I’m trying to watch TV.” “Okay.”

Seol got up and spread her bedding a short distance away from Donghee. At least she could breathe a small sigh of relief.

Seol went to work the next day and carried out her duties as usual. It was right after lunch, around the time her focus was starting to drift.

[Noona. Mom’s not coming home. She’s not answering her phone either.]

A text came in from Jiwan. Seol glanced around to make sure no one was watching before standing up from her desk.

[I’ll try calling Mom. Did school go okay? Are you home right now?] [Yeah. I’m hungry.] [Look for something to eat. Mom will be home soon.]

Texting Jiwan back and forth, Seol walked over toward the deserted emergency staircase.

“Why isn’t she picking up…? Her son says he’s hungry……”

As she muttered under her breath like a broken record, the call went straight to voicemail. Seol rapidly tapped the end call and redial buttons.

Today was Donghee’s second day on the job.

On her first day, Donghee had dragged her feet out the door with utter reluctance. But when she came back, she was surprisingly thrilled with how it went.

She didn’t even have to clean—just make a few side dishes. She didn’t even have to do the dishes afterward because someone else took care of the cleanup.

She only had to go three times a week and still made a great wage. She’d even bragged that her daily rate was higher than Seol’s, who worked five days a week.

‘I’m so glad, Mom.’ ‘It’s a young lady living alone, but the house is huge and gorgeous. It looked like a palace.’ ‘What about the owner? How does she seem?’ ‘She’s pretty, real friendly. I didn’t even do any work today.’ ‘Huh? Why?’ ‘We just sat and drank tea while chatting. And she still paid me my daily rate!’

Seol had wished so hard that her mother wouldn’t get hurt or degraded working a job like that. Hearing that she’d met such a nice employer had been a massive weight off her shoulders.

[Mom can’t talk on the phone right now. I’m working.]

On her third attempt to call, a text arrived from Donghee. Seol quickly shot a reply back.

[Are you still not done? Jiwan was worried because he couldn’t reach you.]

She waited a moment, but no reply came.

[You must be really busy. I’ll text Jiwan and let him know. Just send me a message when you’re done.]

After texting Jiwan to tell him she’d gotten in touch with their mother, Seol headed back to her desk.

Donghee never contacted her for the rest of the workday. In the meantime, Jiwan sent a few more texts complaining about being hungry, so Seol ordered a pizza to be delivered to the apartment.

While waiting for Junhyuk outside her office building after work, Seol called Donghee again. Once again, there was no answer.

“Why isn’t she answering…?”

Frowning, Seol hit the call button one more time.

A creeping sense of anxiety started to wash over her. She began to panic, terrified that her mother might have gotten into a traffic accident on her way home.

— Hello? “Mom! ……Wait, who is this?”

Seol blurted out instinctively before instantly realizing the voice on the other end didn’t belong to her mother.