[20 Powerstones = 1 BONUS CHAPTER]
"I first found it when I was organizing the drawers in my mom's room," Daeho said, leaning back with the attitude of someone about to drop a heavy revelation.
Jinwoo raised an eyebrow. "Found what?"
"You know… old costume props. The blindfolds, those toy handcuffs from years ago, and that ridiculous red dog collar from that neighborhood festival. The stuff she never threw out."
Jinwoo blinked. "Seriously?"
It wasn't the first time Daeho had uncovered something strange. He had a weird talent for stumbling into the most unexpected things. Jinwoo wasn't unfamiliar with odd items or silly pranks either, mostly because of Daeho's influence, but hearing this still caught him off guard.
"But the collar had her name on it. 'Park Gyuri.' I found it about a month ago," Daeho continued. "At first I thought it was some gag gift from ages ago. But Mom must've kept all that old stuff tucked away without thinking about it."
"Does she even remember it exists?" Jinwoo asked.
"That's the thing," Daeho said, leaning forward. "A few days ago, Dad came home from a business trip. I was watching TV, minding my own business, when I heard a loud bang from the kitchen. I turned around and Dad was taking a drink from the fridge, and Mom was cooking like nothing happened."
"Did something fall?" Jinwoo asked.
"Probably. But here's the part that weirded me out, she was wearing that same red collar. Probably because she'd been opening those old boxes earlier. Her face got all red when she noticed I saw it. She looked so embarrassed I thought she was going to take it off immediately, but Dad came in and distracted her."
Jinwoo could picture the scene all too clearly. Aunty Gyuri had always been the type to get flustered easily if anyone saw her wearing anything unusual, even something as harmless as mismatched socks.
"Maybe she was cleaning?" Jinwoo offered.
"That's what I thought. But later, after Dad left again, it was just me and Mom at home. I tried teasing her a little, just nudging her shoulder while she did the dishes, asking if she was hiding any more 'secret festival gear.'" Daeho sighed. "She turned around looking startled. I felt instantly guilty. Like, why did I even do that?"
Jinwoo nodded slowly. "So what happened?"
"She just sighed and told me not to mess around. She looked tired, honestly. But when I joked again a few minutes later, she barely responded. I think she was too exhausted to react. After finishing the dishes, she said she was going to bed early."
"That's… normal," Jinwoo said.
"I know, but the whole thing stuck with me. The collar, the embarrassment, the way she didn't react. I still feel weird about it. Can you believe my story?"
Jinwoo didn't know what to say. It was strange, yes, but it wasn't scandalous or dangerous, just awkward.
And the Aunty Gyuri he had known since childhood had always been a little scatterbrained with old memorabilia. She once kept an entire bag of expired chocolate "because it was a gift."
Daeho suddenly grinned. "Do you want to tease my mom too? She doesn't get mad easily. Might be funny."
Jinwoo nearly choked. "What? No... no way."
"Oh come on, it's harmless! She won't think anything of it."
"Still. That's insane." Jinwoo shook his head. "If my mom hears about this, I'll get scolded for a week."
"You're such a scaredy-cat," Daeho teased. "Pathetic."
Jinwoo glared but didn't argue. In the end, he didn't tease Aunty Gyuri. He simply said goodbye and left the house.
Aunty Gyuri greeted him as kindly as always, completely normal, completely unaware of the internal chaos her son had created in Jinwoo's head.
That normality somehow made Jinwoo even more conflicted.
On the way home, his mind kept racing. He imagined teasing her lightly, watching her get flustered, something she did all too easily. But then he imagined his own mother hearing about it, and he immediately felt a pit in his stomach.
The guilt, embarrassment, and anxiety tangled together so tightly he didn't know what he was even feeling.
The whole situation looped in his mind until eventually, something changed.
He realized the person he was imagining teasing wasn't Aunty Gyuri anymore.
It was his own mother.
He stopped walking.
In his imagination, she wasn't angry, disappointed, or stern, as she always was when dealing with misbehavior. Instead, she looked genuinely flustered, cheeks red, turning away like she often did when she misplaced something or burned food.
That image sent a wave of goosebumps down Jinwoo's arms.
"Why am I like this…?" he whispered.
He felt overwhelmed by a flood of self-reproach. He shook his head hard, trying to clear it, and hurried home.
After getting home, Jinwoo couldn't calm down. Every time he thought he was fine, another embarrassing memory bubbled up.
He crept into his room, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Even hearing the subtle clatter from the kitchen made him feel tense.
Daeho's earlier story kept replaying, especially the part about the loud bang in the kitchen and Aunty Gyuri's startled expression. Jinwoo could picture it too easily.
And now, without meaning to, he imagined his mother making that same surprised face. It was a purely innocent image, but his brain wouldn't stop overanalyzing it.
"What is wrong with me," he muttered into his hands.
He sat on his bed for a long time, going in circles. He imagined teasing his mom with a harmless prank, like surprising her with an old prop or tapping her shoulder unexpectedly. Then he imagined her scolding him, then imagined her turning bright red with embarrassment, then imagined Sohee noona lecturing him for being childish.
Every outcome was embarrassing in its own way.
By the time he finally dragged himself out of his room, it was dinner time.
Jinwoo washed his face, took a deep breath, and walked downstairs.
Sohee noona and Minji were already sitting at the dining table. Mom was scooping rice. The rice cooker was on the lower shelf of a pull-out rack, so she had to crouch down to reach it.
She wore a pleated gray skirt and a wine-colored T-shirt, her usual casual home-wear. As she crouched, her posture showed her slim waist and steady, balanced movements.
Seeing her so calm and normal made Jinwoo feel even stranger about everything he'd imagined earlier. All the guilt and awkwardness crashed over him again.
"What were you doing in your room?" Sohee asked suddenly. "Come down earlier. It's tough for Mom to prepare everything alone."
Jinwoo stiffened.
Why did she have to ask that question, of all things?
Before he could respond, Mom chimed in with a light tone, "It's fine. He helps plenty. Tonight he'll do the dishes. Don't be too hard on him."
Sohee groaned dramatically. "Mom always takes his side. I help a lot too!"
Jinwoo stayed silent, feeling both grateful and awkward. Being assigned dish-washing duty wasn't new, but something about it today made him feel like everyone could see through him, even though no one could.
"Tonight's side dishes include sausages," Minji said cheerfully. "Your favorite. I made them earlier."
Jinwoo looked up. Minji smiled warmly, the same innocent smile she always had. He felt a flutter of embarrassment, not because of Minji, but because he'd been acting so weird lately.
He avoided everyone's eyes and focused on the food.
As Mom carried the stew from the stove to the table, Jinwoo's eyes unconsciously followed her movement, a nervous habit he didn't even notice until he made direct eye contact with Sohee.
She narrowed her eyes.
Then she glanced at Mom.
Then back at him.
Her eyes widened slightly, then she scoffed as if she had just made some grand discovery.
Jinwoo froze.
His mind screamed.
Great. Now Sohee thinks I'm acting weird. She probably thinks I'm being suspicious or zoning out or plotting some ridiculous prank or something.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it…" he chanted internally, gripping his chopsticks too tightly.
Dinner continued, but Jinwoo barely tasted anything. His thoughts spun in anxious circles, replaying every embarrassing moment from the entire day.
Even as everyone talked casually, even as his mom laughed lightly at something Minji said, Jinwoo sat there drowning in the lingering awkwardness he couldn't shake.
He wondered if he'd ever manage to return to normal.