Keep it in the Family (216) - Necessary Evil II (Patreon)

Eun Ha's POV:

Eun Ha stood at Jae-il's door, hand raised to knock, but hesitated. It didn't really catch up to her how serious it was to show up like this until she was already here, with her hand up and her eyes glued to the brown surface, and everything she was doing became tangible. She thought she'd come a long way with her internal conflicts.

Was psychotherapy even working for her? Eun Ha found herself relapsing quite irreparably, and quite frequently too.

'Just knock, talk to him, ask if he's okay, and that's it. Just that.'

She took a deep breath, and the fist that was balled up against the wood of the door loosened a bit.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the sounds coming from the other side, trying to discern some, even the faintest of noises that would indicate her son was...

What? Busying his hands?

No, she didn't mean to make any sexual insinuations.

If not, maybe he was just sleeping, which wouldn't have been a bad thing either, except she would be, she thought with some self-hatred, disappointed by it.

But it seemed that the other side was suspiciously silent. Too silent, perhaps.

Eun Ha, quite shamelessly, dropped her fist to her side, momentarily, and leaned her ear forward, trying to eavesdrop through the door, straining her ears.

There were no telltale rustling, snoring, nothing,

Oh, how despicable it was of her, this vile woman that she had become, to be frustrated upon not hearing any potentially explicit sounds from her fifteen year-old boy!

Her fist again tried knocking, and the first light-handed tap on the door sounded too hesitant. So she swallowed her pride, along with her sense of shame and remorse, and tried harder.

Knock. Knock.

"Jae-il...?" She called out softly, her head leaning towards the door. "Are you awake, sweetie?"

Straining her ears, it wasn't entirely necessary. After hearing some rather chaotic movement and some footsteps, Eun Ha hurriedly took a step back as her son finally opened the door with a surprised expression. "Mom? Is everything okay...?"

He didn't bother fixing himself much. Not that Jae-il had his shirt messed up or anything like that. Not even a hair out of place or a slick patch of wet skin. Not that she checked or looked too much, she was a proper mother, and proper mothers didn't do that to their children.

He looked and smelled and seemed fine.

There was no telltale flush or quick, restless movements, so she would say with utmost confidence that her son was innocent of the foul accusation that was planted in her head. Not that there was anything wrong with it. No, the only wrong thing would've been if he had been doing that with the remnants of Kim Ari's essence, perfume, and thoughts still lingering.

"I... can I come in, for a minute?"

Her voice was almost too hesitant.

Eun Ha coughed.

She'd sound ridiculous if she insisted too strongly about her reason to come inside the room, and she was already too embarrassed with the accusations her mind had been putting him under for a while.

Jae-il opened the door wider, a clear invitation for her to walk in. "Please, come in." He even beckoned with a nod, taking a few steps back so she could enter his domain.

His room looked tidy, as usual. His clothes and personal effects were organized, and the bed looked as though it'd been recently made, his pillows fluffed up. He must've been preparing to go to sleep already. His room was immaculately clean, and she couldn't see anything particularly incriminating.

Sometimes Eun Ha thought that for a fifteen year old boy, his room was too bare. No pornography mags or any posters plastered on his walls, nothing that spoke to his tastes, outside of the occasional sports magazine and the like.

Her eyes wandered around, settling on him once more.

She really, really didn't know why she was here.

But now that she was, her heart had willingly signed-up for a marathon she didn't know it could win.

Eun Ha sat on his bed, knees together, hands clasped tightly atop the seam of her dress, and forced a casual smile. She could only imagine how rosy her cheeks were, and how a mind reader would scowl in disbelief as she acted the part of an untroubled woman, at least from the outside.

"What were you up to?" She asked. "You must be exhausted."

She kept her eyes low, staring at his perfectly folded sheets, and then his legs, and then, glancing to the side, at his window, and his curtains.

"I was just getting ready to sleep."

"Oh." Eun Ha scratched her cheek idly—something she always did when she was embarrassed. "I'm sorry... I just wanted to, well, congratulate you on a job well done tonight, and see how you were feeling, with everything that's going on—"

Jae-il sat down right next to her, and Eun Ha's eyes flicked back to him in a moment, taken by surprise. She didn’t move, like her instincts told her to. And by now, she was getting a little used to it all without instantly freaking out. 

"Everything went as expected." He said simply. "Although... I must say... that this was the most tedious event I have ever had the displeasure to attend in my lifetime."

A few locks of his dark hair fell down on his forehead. "There were a handful of women I wouldn't mind setting fire to and sending them straight to hell."

Eun Ha nodded furiously, with a hint of grim determination in her eyes, as if he had so much as suggested, she'd gladly pour the gasoline he'd need to lit all of them on fire. And instinctively, her hand raised on its own, reaching towards his shoulder, gently patting the area. 

"My, it must've been rough..." It lingered a little, squeezing, feeling the outline and muscles there, his strength, before pulling away, back to her lap, under the guise of massaging her palms. "Women and girls were lined up right and left to court you. But, be reassured, son. All these petty people, you should forget all about them. They don't deserve any of your time or consideration. Listen to your mom, you're better off without these sorts of shallow women anyway. There's nothing redeemable about any of them."

Eun Ha concluded, crossing her arms defiantly as her legs also shifted beneath her.

Jae-il cracked a smile at her motherly protectiveness. "You're right, Mom. Those women were pretty annoying." He leaned back slightly. "But so were those men. Some of them were looking at you in a way that I didn't really appreciate."

She turned to look at him, surprised, her arms falling slack. "Me?" She asked, bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

"Old men, trying to be discreet with their leering." He said, and there was a sudden flash of darkness in his gaze. "Dad's associates are a bunch of greedy vultures. They see something they think they can buy or own, and their whole demeanor changes."

Eun Ha blinked. She hadn't noticed, but she had been so focused on the women fawning over Jae-il that she must have missed the men's gazes on herself.

"I didn't notice..."

"I did."

He said, exhaling softly.

Eun Ha shifted again, quite liking how he defended her so fiercely, as if he'd been offended on her behalf. It felt good having someone looking out for her, or even feeling jealousy over her.

She liked that thought.

The only difference in their scenario was that her overprotectiveness stemmed from a twisted, possessive love, whereas Jae-il's... Jae-il's was what a good, devoted son would feel for his mother. Nothing more. Nothing else.

Eun Ha didn't register any of that. Her mind, beyond that delusional seed of hope, simply continued twisting, recalling that ill-fated kiss they shared that day, back in her room.

How his lips had felt, how her mind had gone blank, and how he had pulled away. She wondered if he thought about it, too.

He might be the epitome of self-control. But, perhaps, he also secretly craved her as much as she did? After all, he was at that stage in life, and Eun Ha was a woman in her prime...

Not that he should have any of those feelings towards her, but what if...?

"I was really worried that you would... I don't know... end up liking one of them... like that Ari girl... she didn't show it, but she was quite interested in you..."

"Hmm, well I'm not interested in her. I don't even know her, really. We just made small talk, nothing more." Jae-il said, succinctly. "She's nice, but I don't think our paths would intersect any further than this party."

"Right, right..." Eun Ha said a little too quickly. "That's the right thing to do... she's a nice girl but, if you were to end up marrying anyone, it should be someone who is able to stand by your side. Someone... as special... and wonderful and caring. Someone who... you don't find annoying. A loyal companion. Someone who's capable of standing by your side through all the good and bad things, you know?" She added with a bit more wistful emotion. "Someone you would want to be your wife and the mother of your future kids... that's what matters most."

He laughed at that, the corner of his eyes crinkling with amusement. "Well then, can I leave it to you the screening process from now on? I trust your judgment." He said. "After tonight, I believe that my preferences, as far as marriage are concerned, can be safely entrusted to you."

That last bit made her sit a little taller. "Well, I'm just... saying what a mother would say."

Dr. Han would've shook her head in disappointment at such a sight. The last two sessions might as well have gone to waste with how the woman was behaving in front of her forbidden target of her affections. 

Eun Ha had boldly shifted a little closer, with no ulterior motive other than to gently place a hand on top of his. "I'll... I'll screen these women. Very closely. If I see anyone in the future who doesn't meet those requirements, then I'll make sure they stay as far from you as you want them. I'll make sure of that."

For her, there would be no screening process, because in her mind there was no other woman who could be his wife.

The thought that maybe he would not see eye-to-eye on that and pick out a future wife all on his own never occurred to her. He was leaving the judgement to her, and she'd to judge very critically.

It concerned his future, after all. Eun Ha would allow no mistakes.

It was a necessary evil. 

She gulped as Jae-il laughed innocently, not noticing the turbulent murkiness in his mother’s eyes.

A/N: To be rev