Mi-Kyung rested her head on Min-seok's chest, her fingers gently tracing the silver star bracelet on his wrist. They lay naked under the stars, wrapped in the blanket, the night air cool against their skin. After a long, peaceful silence, she spoke softly.
"Min-seok… I want to talk about your…. Your mother."
He turned his head slightly, looking down at her. "Okay. What about her?"
She took a slow breath. "When I talked to them, your sisters… They told me a lot about your mother. They said she was the strongest person they ever knew. They said she suffered every single day in silence because of your father… but she never let it show in front of you kids.
She worked two jobs, came home exhausted, still smiled, still cooked for you, still hugged you all like nothing was wrong. They said she would only break down when she was alone with you. Because you were the only one who could always see through her."
Min-seok's arm tightened around her a little. He stared up at the stars, voice quiet. "Yeah… that's true. She was incredible. My father… he was a bastard. He drank too much. He yelled. He hit her when he thought no one was looking. But she never fought back. She never wanted us to see her cry. She protected us from everything."
He swallowed hard. "She would come home late at night, bruises hidden under long sleeves, and still make us dinner. Still tuck us in. Still sing us to sleep. But when everyone was asleep… she would sit in the kitchen and cry.
And I always heard her. I would go to her. I would sit next to her and hold her hand. She would try to smile, say she was fine, but I could see it. She couldn't fool me. No matter how hard she tried."
His voice dropped even lower, thick with memory. "I'd wrap my arms around her—like I was an adult, like I could protect her. I'd pull her close, stroke her hair, rub her back slowly.
And that's when the dam would break. She'd try to hold it in, but the moment she felt my arms around her… she'd just shatter. She'd bury her face in my chest and sob—deep, broken sobs that shook her whole body.
She'd cling to me like I was her lifeline, crying until she had nothing left. Then she'd fall asleep right there in my arms, exhausted, peaceful for the first time all day. She couldn't fool me… and I never wanted her to. I just wanted her to know she didn't have to carry it alone."
Mi-Kyung listened, her heart aching. "She would break down in front of you?"
He nodded slowly. "Every single time. She would hug me so tight… like I was the only thing keeping her together. She was so strong for everyone else… but with me, she let herself be weak. She needed that. And I needed to give it to her."
He paused, voice dropping even lower. "That's why I became my sisters' anchor after she died. Because she needed me to be strong… and I promised her I would be."
Mi-Kyung's tears fell silently as she listened, her heart aching for the boy who had to be strong for his mother—and for the man who still carried that weight.
Mi-Kyung's eyes filled with tears. "What happened… on the night she died?"
Min-seok took a shaky breath. "It was my birthday. I was out with friends… celebrating for the first time in a long time. When I came home… she wasn't dead yet. My father had beaten her so badly.
She was on the floor, bleeding, barely breathing. I saw him standing over her. I lost it. I tackled him. I beat him until he couldn't move. I would have killed him. But she… she used the last of her strength to grab my arm."
His voice cracked. "She said, 'Don't… don't become like him. Promise me… protect your sisters. Promise me you'll take care of them.' I promised.
Then she pulled me close… kissed my face over and over—my cheeks, my forehead, my lips as much as she could. She whispered, 'I'm so grateful… to have you as my son. You saw me. You always saw me. You gave me the comfort I needed.'"
He swallowed hard. "Then she said something… she said, 'If I could wish for anything… I wish you weren't my son. I wish you were my husband.' But then she smiled weakly and corrected herself. 'No… even if that was my feeling before… now I just want you to always be the only son I ever gave birth to.'
I told her… I said, 'In every life, I want you as my mother.' She smiled… kissed me one last time… called my sisters over… hugged them with whatever strength she had left… and then she was gone."
Mi-Kyung's tears fell freely now. She hugged him tighter, burying her face in his neck. "Oh my God… Min-seok…"
He held her close. "Ji-yeon was the one who stopped me from doing something stupid after that. She pulled me off him. She kept me from killing him. She helped me handle the funeral.
I didn't cry even once in front of anyone. I acted strong… just like she did. I had to. I made sure to honour her dying wish, be the strong one and protect my sisters."
Mi-Kyung lifted her head, looking at him with complete awe. "Your mother… Ji-soo… she was the greatest mother who ever lived. As a mother myself… I can feel it. She was incredible.
Strong, loving, selfless. She suffered so much… but she still gave you all so much love. I wish I could have met her. I would have loved to learn from her… to have her as my mentor, my guide."
She kissed his chest softly. "I understand now why you hold her so high. Why do your sisters and Ji-yeon do too. She was… perfect."
Min-seok smiled faintly, eyes glistening. "She was."
Mi-Kyung looked up at him, voice soft and earnest. "If we have a daughter… Can we name her after her? After Ji-soo?"
Min-seok's breath caught. He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'd like that. It would feel… like she came back to me. I'd give her all the happiness in the world."
Mi-Kyung smiled through her tears. "Then that's what we'll do."
She hugged him tighter, whispering against his skin. "Can I ever be as great a mother as Ji-soo was?" She asked even though it felt a little stupid—she already had three kids who were almost adults—but she couldn't help comparing herself to the woman Min-seok and his family loved so deeply.
Min-seok cupped her face gently, looking deep into her eyes. "You already are. The way you love… the way you care… the way you fight for the people you love… you're just like her. And I love you for it."
Mi-Kyung's heart swelled. She kissed him deeply, pouring all her love into it—her devotion, her promise, her everything.
When they parted, she whispered against his lips, "I'll spend my whole life loving you… and making sure you never have to carry anything alone again."
Min-seok pulled her closer, kissing her forehead. "And I'll spend my whole life protecting you… and loving you back. Forever."
They lay there under the stars, wrapped in each other's arms—peaceful, whole, and finally home.
After a quiet moment, Mi-Kyung hesitated. She spoke softly, almost shyly.
"Min-seok… what happened to your dad after that? Did he ever try to come back… or cause trouble?"
Min-seok's body tensed instantly. His voice became stern, almost cold. "Don't. Don't ask about him. It's better for you not to dive into that."
Mi-Kyung sat up a little, eyes wide. "I didn't mean it that way… I just—"
He cut her off, voice firm. "Two things. First—never mention my father in front of my sisters. Ever. Second—don't ask about his whereabouts. Don't think I was only broken because of Mom's death and the nightmares. There were side effects… things that happened after. Things you wouldn't like to know. It's better for your own good if you don't ask."
Mi-Kyung went quiet, nodding slowly. She didn't push. She just lay back down, hugging him a little tighter.
But Min-seok's mind went back to that day.
After the funeral, he had gone alone to a rundown apartment on the edge of the city. His father was tied to a chair—blood already on his face from the night before. Min-seok's eyes were red with rage. He beat him again and again, fists slamming into his face.
"Why?" he shouted, voice raw. "Why did you kill her? What did she ever do to deserve that kind of death?"
His father laughed through broken teeth, voice ugly and cruel. "She was a whore. Always was. That's how she got the money to feed you brats—spreading her legs for any man who paid. She probably enjoyed it when I hit her. Begged for more.
Bet she moaned for you too, huh? Did she taste good when she kissed you goodbye? Did she enjoy it? Did she scream your name when she came? Bet she wished you were the one fucking her instead of me."
He kept going, spitting more filth, enjoying every word as he watched Min-seok's face twist in torment. "She was nothing but a cheap slut who opened her legs for money. That's all she was good for. She probably died smiling because she finally got what she wanted—a real man to finish her off."
Min-seok lost it completely. He beat him until the man could barely speak, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. In his mind, all he could see was his mother's face—smiling even when she was suffering, always trying to protect them. He screamed inside: 'Why didn't you leave him? Why did you stay?'
Then, in a blind rage, he did something no thirteen-year-old should ever do. He grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter, the blade sharp and cold. He walked back to his father slowly, eyes blank with fury. Without a word, he plunged the knife into his father's thigh first—deep, twisting it hard.
The man screamed, high and agonized, blood gushing out. Min-seok pulled it out and stabbed again—into the other thigh, then the stomach, slow and deliberate, making sure each cut was deep but not fatal right away. He wanted him to suffer. To feel every second of pain.
His father gasped, choking on his own blood, eyes wide with terror. "Stop… please…"
A/N: If my story made you smile even once, that's a win for me. That's what I want to live for—brightening dull days and reminding people that joy still exists. My dream is to keep getting better, to someday reach a legendary level of storytelling.
20+ chapters are already available on my patreon. If you wish to read future chapter before the others then join my patreon, link is below. And if you can't it's alright, just adding a few words of appreciation and sharing with your friends and other readers will be enough that I need.
Thank you for choosing my Stories to read.
https://www.patreon.com/cw/GodOfMilfs