35 — The Calm Before the Storm

“You look distracted.”

A soft weight settled on my back, arms cascading down my torso. A waterfall of butter-yellow hair swished over me, and its fruity fragrance reached my nose. Mia’s chin found its favorite perch on the crook of my neck, eyes fluttering shut as she greedily inhaled my scent.

I was too preoccupied with staring at the floor to notice her presence. “Mia…”

“Hm?” She nuzzled her nose up my neck, until her lips brushed against my left ear. A warm rush of air tingled my lobes. “What’s wrong, Dae Ho. Not in the mood?”

I smiled, crooking my head sideways. Mia pounced at the opportunity and assaulted my neck in a storm of kisses. Unlike a real storm, however, hers was more like a pleasant breeze. “Just… been thinking.”

…Thinking about the best way to explain to someone you’ve been secretly fucking their daughter. Or in Mia’s case, her mother. Hence, I decided to tuck myself into my room and run simulations in my head.

Mia, naturally, ruined everything.

“Hm. It’s okay. I forgive you.” I said, kindly.

“Huh?” Mia blinked. My words threw her for a loop. Even her lips had momentarily frozen mid-kiss. “But… I didn’t do anything?”

“You’ve made my life a lot harder to deal with.”

She scrunched up her face. “Dae Ho... what are you—ahhh!” She squealed, straightening up and releasing me.

I had sneaked one hand behind her and jabbed it softly into a particularly ticklish area of her tummy. Now free, I turned around, seized her, and wheeled her into my lap.

Mia was briefly stunned at the reversal of position. I wrapped my arms around her, shifting her closer to me. She instinctively locked her hands around my neck, leveraging herself on top of me. “Mia…” I started, and the tone of my voice wiped the sultry look off her eyes. “... I know this is out of the blue, but I’d like to come clean to you.”

“Clean?” She leaned closer, our noses almost touching. “Is it about that other chick you’re banging behind my back?”

‘Behind her back…?’

It was not as if it was a secret.

“I mean…” I smirked, edging closer to those plush, ravishing lips of hers. “I could bang her in front of you if that’s what you want.”

“Har-har.” Mia drawled out a fake laugh as she gave me the stink eye. “You wish.”

“I do.”

“So?” She urged me, her minty breath rolling over my face. “Spill the beans… who’s this woman I’m supposed to murder?”

I pursed my lips into a thin line. Here it goes. “Your mother…” I dropped the bomb in a soft whisper.

Mia blinked, tilting her head sideways. Disbelief clung to her face. “Dae Ho, this is not funny.” She asserted with a tight frown. “Who is it?”

“Mia Noona.” I sighed, briefly wondering if this was really the right course of action. Honesty was good and everything, but in this case I wasn’t so sure. I knew that, eventually, they’d find out about each other. It nearly happened a few times. “It’s a little complicated, so please, listen carefully.”

Mia froze. Her lips were parted in an outward display of pure befuddlement.

I chewed over the words in my head, picking them apart and putting them back together in the most sensible way I could. It was a touchy subject, and I wanted to soften the blow.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen.” And that was the truth. “I’m sure neither did Auntie. Now, don’t get me wrong. I was not the one who initiated the whole thing. In fact, all of it was born from an ill-timed misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?!” Mia snapped incredulously.

“Let me finish…” I promptly stopped the chain of questions that hung on her tongue. There was a smoldering fire in her eyes, but she gave me the benefit of the doubt. I treaded on carefully. “Your mother was quite concerned with how I ‘appeared’ to be blissfully ignorant of my urges — and what they meant for me. I don’t blame her, I blame… life. I’m in my twenties, and Auntie thought my severe lack of knowledge in the subject would come to bite me back in the ass later.”

Quite ironically, it did, but for a whole different reason.

Mia’s exquisite face was squeezed into an unreadable frown. I was glad she didn’t barrage me with questions, or worse yet, her fists. Her silence paved the stage for my next words. “Therefore, she eased me into the groove of things, so to speak. It wasn’t supposed to happen again. We didn’t have sex.” I immediately clarified. “But contrary to our agreement, we somehow found ourselves in each other’s arms, again and again. I didn’t know what to make of it, and I believe she didn’t either—”

“She… she…” Mia pulled back slightly, though she made no motion to extricate herself from me. “... cheated on dad?” There was an edge to her tone, but most of it was offset by the sheer incredulity of it all. And how could I blame her?

This was Eun Ha we were talking about. A traditional woman who took her role as a wife seriously. She was a bit naive, but she meant well.

“Things are a bit more complicated than that, Mia Noona.” And that was understating it. A lot. However, it was not my place to explain the intricate mess behind her parent’s marriage.

The frown on Mia’s face deepened. “This… is a lot to take in.” She admitted, slowly climbing off of me, hands tucked on her lap. The shadow of her hair covered her eyes, making it hard to gauge what was going through her mind.

Regardless, I was glad she was taking all of that in stride and not lashing out at me without hearing a proper explanation first.

I tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t shake it off. “Listen… I talked to Auntie earlier. I’ve told her the same thing, except that she doesn’t know who the ‘other’ woman is. I reckon she has her doubts, but it will all come to light tonight.”

“Tonight…?” Mia muttered, giving me a weird look. “Dae Ho… why are you telling me this right now? Why not wait until tonight?”

“Because I need you to not freak out when the time comes and the chips are down. It would be very stupid of me to simply shove you two in a room, reveal all the naughty things we did, and expect you two not to lose your shit.” I shrugged. “And, let’s be honest, between you and Auntie, you’re the most volatile tone.”

She humped my shoulder, glaring at me. “That’s not true…”

I chuckled.

“Hmhm.” Mia sneaked a glance at me, eyes narrowing. “Say… what are you expecting to come out of it?”

“What do you mean?” I raised an eyebrow in question.

She wrinkled her nose. “I mean, this whole thing.” She waved her hands, as if to point up at some abstract concept she couldn’t put into words. “Between you, me, and mom. Are you expecting me and mom to… I don’t know… come to some sort of cliché agreement about how much we love you and how devastatingly sad it’d be if any of us were to end up heartbroken if you were forced to choose one of us. And theeeen, once everything is said and done, we’d make up, share a laugh, and have a threesome with you?”

I gulped. Ahem. The thought did cross my mind, but I was a man, and I was semi-dating a pair of extremely beautiful women. A mom and daughter pair.

Could I be blamed for that?

“What? No!” I waved her off, hiding my true intentions behind an awkward cough. “Of course, if it comes down to that, I’d be helpless to do anything about it.” At her deadpan look, I continued. “However… I’m mostly aiming for a quick bandaid removal sort of situation. I want to avoid a scenario where both of us were to find the truth in a less-than-pleasant way. I’m not expecting a solution of any kind to come out of our incoming discussion. Whatever happens, happens. I’m more than willing to shoulder the responsibility. Besides…”

“Besides?” Mia pressed.

“If the topic of ‘choosing one’ really pops up, do you honestly believe your mother would haggle with you over me?” I gave her a sad smile. “Chances are that Auntie would rather have me choose you than her.”

Mia went silent at that, eyes slightly widening.

“You want the whole truth. I want to come clean. And Auntie has some heavy-duty explanation to make regarding her… problems.” I peered at her intently. “So. Tonight. Living room. Will you be there?”

Mia chewed on her bottom lip. “Yes. Fine. Whatever.” And then she locked her eyes onto mine. Their intensity nearly threw me off. “I’m not happy about this, but I’m not going to jump to conclusions without knowing why she thought it a good idea to mess around with you of all people.” She clutched a hand around my jaw, her grip tight and firm, bordering on painful. “You better prepare some note cards, because if I’m not satisfied with how this evening goes, I’ll eat you up.”

And then she stood up, barely sparing me a single-eyed glance as she flipped her hair in an over-dramatic fashion and stalked off.