Teacher Session 5

 Chapter 1:Time Flies

--Six Months Later--

The next six months were probably the best time of my life up to that point. A sweltering Korean summer transitioned into a mild fall and our classes continued. My relationship and feelings for Sumin only deepened, and hers for me. Jihyun became our partner in crime and almost every weekend was spent exploring each other and finding new ways to please one another. Sumin and Jihyun jumped into bisexuality with both feet and it was not uncommon for them to visit each other during the week for a little alone time between just the two of them. While I couldn’t be there, I got lots of pictures and videos so I didn’t complain about being left out. The only real downside was the inability of Sumin and I to spend quality time together outside of the bedroom. I couldn’t take Sumin away for the weekend and we couldn’t spend the night together. At least not regularly.

There was one weekend in October when Sumin’s mother went to Seoul, the capital city, for some sort of hair salon seminar and Sumin was to be alone for the weekend. We took full advantage. I canceled all my other Saturday classes and Sumin and I spent the entire weekend out of town. I booked us a nice hotel in Busan, Korea’s second largest city, and we walked around carefree, not worrying that anyone would see or recognize us. We went to the beach, even though it was too cold to swim, went to the aquarium, ate at nice restaurants, visited Busan’s giant open air markets, the whole nine. And waking up next to her in the morning, both of us glowing from fantastic sex the night before, was glorious. It was risky because there was always the chance that Sumin’s mom would send someone to the house to check on her, but Sumin assured me that her mom had never done that in the past so we should be fine. And all it took on her part was some text messages to her mom. She was home, everything was fine, yes she would call if there was a problem, etc.

Jihyun was jealous but only a little. Her and I didn’t have the same feelings between us that Sumin and I did. It was purely physical for Jihyun and I, and there was no hint of a deeper romantic relationship. She was happy for all the sex we had together and Sumin and I were happy she was there as well, but Jihyun understood that Sumin and I’s feelings for eachother were on another level. Still, I think she was mostly wanting a relationship of her own. She even asked me if I could set her up with one of my friends, half jokingly.

But outside of that one amazing weekend, Sumin and I had to content ourselves with our weekend “class” and the occasional Sunday date. And I hadn’t been totally shirking my duties as a teacher. Sumin’s English had improved considerably since we started sleeping together. We were talking a lot more, almost all in English, which at her level was more beneficial than studying from a textbook. Meanwhile, Jihyun, while she had farther to get to Sumin’s level, had also improved noticeably. Her mother was quite impressed and, in our occasional text messages, she remarked that she’d never seen her daughter so eager to study anything before, let alone English. I literally laughed out loud and sent a screen capture to the girls, who also had a good laugh.

Jihyun’s mom tried to set up some extra classes with some of Jihyun’s other friends, but I had to beg off, telling her my schedule was full. That was only half true, I could have squeezed in a couple of more classes but figured what I had was enough. Any more and I would start seeing a significant dip in my quality of life. I was making more than double my salary in private lessons alone and was saving more than sixty percent of my total income. So I didn’t need to work anymore.

Life was amazing and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Then my mom passed away.

Chapter 2: The Call

The call came, like these sorts of things always seem to, in the middle of the night. It was early afternoon back in the States, but still. It was my sister, calling in tears. Mom had had a stroke and it was quick, she told me. I suppose that’s the best one can hope for in that sort of situation. My mother’s health had been bad for a long time and at this stage it was a matter of when, not if. I’d been preparing for it mentally for a while but that’s still not something anyone wants to hear.

Her and I cried a bit. I called my younger brother, we cried some more, and then it was time to start planning the trip home. Technically I didn’t need to be there right away and my mother was always adamant that she didn’t want us uprooting our lives when she passed. She wanted no funeral, no wake, nothing. She had already made plans to donate her body to medical science (which is a real thing, apparently) and when they were done they would cremate her and send us her ashes. But as the oldest I was in charge of all of her paperwork, the life insurance, settling her accounts, the whole deal. So I would need to be there for some of it.

My sister especially wanted me home on the next flight, she said it wasn’t right for me to keep working like nothing had happened. We had a big argument about that but in the end she knew that if mom had her way, I wouldn’t go back at all. I cut her a little slack because everyone was grieving and emotional but she still needed to understand that I couldn’t just walk out of my job, though.

After a talk with my boss, I was able to set my departure date for two weeks out. That would give him time to find someone to cover my classes and give me plenty of time to get my affairs in order in Korea. My family wasn’t happy but it was the best I could do on such short notice.

When I told Sumin she cried more than I had. I think she was really looking forward to actually meeting my mom someday. We had spent time talking about what, if any, future we might have together and she knew all about my family. She demanded to meet that night and, since I couldn’t risk her being seen at my apartment, I picked her up after I got off work and we went to a hotel. We would only have an hour, maybe two at best before she had to be home, but it was enough. She started crying again, then I started crying again and we laid in bed together, holding each other. No sex, we simply took comfort in one another. And that was okay.

The trip home was brutal. I don’t mean the actual family issues, although that was bad enough, but the flight itself. I hate flying back to the states. It’s almost twenty-four hours of travel from my door to touch down in the old hometown and I always arrive exhausted. Jet lag takes a week to fade away, at least for me. I managed to fumble my way through the family meetings, then the meetings with the lawyer, then the bank and the life insurance people and somehow it went mostly like it was supposed to go.

My mom had had the foresight to arrange everything in one location before she died. All of her policies and legal paperwork were tucked away in a safety deposit box and only I had the other key. Now that I was there to access it, we could finally move forward. Part of my sister’s insistence that I get the next flight out was because she knew her hands were tied with any legal paperwork until I got back to open up the box.

In the end, it took the better part of a week to get everything squared away. I could have flown back directly but I’d scheduled two weeks off and by the end of that ordeal, I’d needed it. It felt weird staying at my mom’s house so I booked myself into a bed and breakfast and slept for about three days. Even with the daily messaging, I missed Sumin terribly, but I was too exhausted to even think of hoping right back onto an international flight. Besides, I needed a little time to figure out what I was going to do.

My mom was a big believer in life insurance and she’d bought a lot. So while she couldn’t save money to save her life, she at least spent a good portion each month on life insurance premiums. The house was going to my sister but the bulk of her life insurance was going to me. My brother would get a portion but two-thirds of the total was mine. It wasn’t enough for me to retire on but it was a life-changing amount. It was enough for me to put my long term plan into action about five years early. I spent the next few days making calls and researching online. Then I packed my bags, said my goodbyes, and flew back to Korea.

Chapter 3: Parent/Teacher Conference

Most teachers like me in Korea work on a contract basis. The school we work for sponsors our work visa and a standard contract is one year. The contract at my current school was up in the coming April, which, by the time I got back from dealing with things at home, was about five months out.

I told my boss I would stay on but that I probably wouldn’t be finishing the next contract. He was sad to see me go, but he agreed to my terms. I was pretty sure I would be leaving Korea before I could finish the next year’s contract but I knew I wouldn’t be ready to leave when the current contract finished. After that, work picked back up and so did my classes and my Saturdays with Sumin and Jihyun.

One Saturday afternoon in early March I got a message from Sumin’s mother. Sumin had a school trip so both her and Jihyun were gone for the weekend to an island called Jeju. I had been planning on a night to myself. There was an icy bottle of vodka in my freezer, cranberry juice in the fridge, and a Skyrim game with my name on it. What, I’m a gaming nerd. Just because I have weekly threesomes doesn’t mean I don't like to get my Fus Ro Dah on. A cocktail and some stealth archer was just what the doctor ordered. The message changed all that, though.

NaEun: Hello, Drew Teacher, this is Sumin’s mom. Are you busy now?

I didn’t usually speak directly with Sumin’s mom. Any changes to scheduling could be made through Sumin and her mother sent me the lesson fee directly to my account. She spoke English well, though.

Me: Hello. No, I’m not busy. My next class does not start for 30 minutes. What do you need?

NaEun: After you done teach can you meet me for dinner? I want to talking about Sumin’s class.

This was a little strange but Sumin would be entering her final year of school and I figured she probably just wanted to talk about a more aggressive study schedule. Even without taking the Korean college entrance exam, there was still the SAT for her US college admissions.

Me: Sure. What time do you want to meet?

NaEun: Can we meet at 6:30 at [/i]The Railroad Tracks[/i]? Do you know that place? It near the downtown.

The Railroad Tracks was a Korean bbq restaurant that was so named because it used to sit right along the railroad line that ran through old downtown. About five years ago the government had built a high speed rail line with the new modern station about twenty minutes out of town. The old lines had been torn down with the track converted to a kilometers-long walking/jogging path and parkland. But the restaurant was still there.

Me: Yes, I know it. I will meet you there at 6:30.

NaEun: Yes. See you there.

So much for Skyrim.

I showed up at the restaurant right on time and saw Sumin’s mother waiting for me at the door. As I walked up to the entrance, pulling the coat around me to ward off the March chill, NaEun saw me through the glass and gave me a megawatt smile. I almost tripped over my own feet.

She was standing just inside the glass entrance to the restaurant where it was warmer and she looked amazing. Sumin’s mother was a knock out and, even surgically enhanced, it was a preview of what Sumin would look like in twenty years. She was about thirty nine or so, but you wouldn’t know it if you looked at her. Her skin was the kind of pale cream color that Korean women dream of having, and it was flawless. Her surgically reshaped eyes were a deep honey-amber color, which was in contrast with her daughter’s darker brown eyes. Her hair was shoulder length and she had colored it with a purple gradient. Her mouth was full and her nose and cheekbones looked chiseled to perfection. Korean plastic surgeons know their business. Given how Sumin looked without the surgery I suspected that NaEun was gorgeous even before she’d had all the work done.

She was a little bit taller than Sumin, maybe about 5’ 8” or so, but was still tiny next to me. Her body was slim but toned and she had a very nice swell to her hips that Sumin was only showing hints of at her age. Her breasts were also substantially larger than Sumin’s, but she’d had them augmented along with her face, so that wasn’t a surprise. But god damn! The old line of ‘if you looked up X in the dictionary’ came to mind. If you looked up ‘milf’ you’d see her picture. She could easily pass for thirty and she dressed like she was twenty five. That shouldn’t be surprising, really, she was in the fashion business. She ran a successful and trendy hair salon so naturally the boss had to look good since they were selling an image more than anything else.

As I walked through the entrance feeling that warm blast of heated air over my face, I was able to take her in fully. She was wearing a tight navy-blue sweater with a low neckline and her jacket was slung over one arm. The swell of her breasts was on full display and it was hard not to stare. Almost involuntarily an image of my cock nestled in the valley between those amazing tits flashed into my mind. Her jeans were equally as arousing. They were skin tight and hugged every curve of her shapely ass and legs. She was wearing black leather boots with three-inch heels that made the booty pop, as they say.

Beneath all that skin-tight fabric was toned muscle. Sumin had told me her mom did pilates four days a week and it showed. Sumin was a beautiful girl, almost heartbreakingly so. NaEun, her mother, was a beautiful woman. And my cock was taking notice. I could feel it swelling in my pants and seeing her dressed like that just to meet me to talk about her daughter’s class was the first indication I had that something wasn’t right.

I was wearing regular jeans and a button-up red shirt with a wool coat as it was still quite chilly outside, but seeing her there looking like an erotic dream made flesh, I felt like I was barefoot and wearing a potato sack. I shivered, and told myself it was just the cold. NaEun put out her hand for me to shake.

Hello, Drew Teacher,” she greeted me using formal Korean. “Long time no see.” English this time. Her smile looked a little too big as she looked me up and down. Almost predatory.

I reached out my hand to return the greeting and her long delicate fingers slid into mine, the skin soft and cool. Her scent hit me then, even over the smell of grilled meat that was omnipresent. It was something cinnamony and warm. It made me think of hot apple cider next to a fireplace in December. Christ, I wanted to devour her! Right there in the entrance.

I gave myself a hard mental shake and took a moment to remember how to speak. “It’s good to see you. Should we sit?”

”Yes, I’m so hungry. That brilliant smile again. “You hungry, too?”

“Yes, very. I didn’t eat lunch.” I was salivating at the smell of the grilled pork and beef that was wafting through the restaurant. It had nothing to do at all with all the boobs on display, I swear.

Korean bbq restaurants can be a bit of a trip if you’ve never eaten at one. Like in Korea, not something you’d find in LA’s Koreatown or something. Especially the ones that play up the old school vibe like The Railroad Tracks did. The floor was gravel. Not concrete with a lot of gravel mixed in, but actual gravel. Walking on it felt like you were walking down a gravel road that had recently had new rocks spread out on it. It was hell on NaEun’s heels. She was balancing on her toes and there was some wobbling going on.

With Korean bbq you grill the meat yourself at your table. Except these weren’t normal tables. They were fifty gallon drums with a fire pit welded into the top and a big aluminum ring welded around that which served as the table. The seats were cheap plastic stools that wouldn’t sit level on the graveled floor. You had to wiggle them quite a bit to push through the rocks to get it to sit flat.

NaEun walked in and I had ample chance to drink in the sight of her tight ass in those pants. The dark blue sweater seemed almost vacuum sealed onto her torso. And as we were shown to our table I noticed I wasn’t the only guy getting an eyeful. Several of the men were watching her as she passed and a few angry looks came my way as well. Older Korean men especially can be a bit racist when they see a foreigner with a Korean woman. No one said anything (it was still early and no one was that drunk yet) but I saw more than one sour face look at her and then look at me with a frown.

As we sat and set about adjusting our chairs, NaEun’s breasts jiggled invitingly. Once we settled I looked across the table at her and she looked at me. She had a slight smile on her gorgeous face. Like she had a secret. Her eyes appraised me and I started feeling a little like a mouse and I’m sure you can guess who the cat was.

“Soooo…” I began, unsure how to begin. “What did you want to talk about? Sumin is doing very well in class. She’s easily the best student I have.”

NaEun smiled appreciatively at my complement of her daughter. “Sumin like your class very much and I can hear her English is more better than before. I think you are very good teacher. But let’s talk that after eat dinner.

A server came over and NaEun ordered us some pork, what Koreans call sam-gyup-sal, which is just strips of pork belly. Think thick strips of uncured bacon and you’ll get the idea. She glanced up from the menu at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eye and asked, “Do you drink soju?”

Soju is an alcoholic beverage originally brewed from rice. These days most of the stuff that is served in restaurants like this one is just diluted ethanol. It tastes like cheap vodka and, at about 40 proof, it will fuck you up. I can drink it but try to avoid it when I can because of the nasty hangover it tends to leave behind the next day. Still, it was either that or beer in this fine establishment and I don’t drink beer at all.

“Sure. And cider, please.” Cider is a Korean version of Sprite. I mix it with the soju to avoid the urge to gag at the taste. NaEun placed the order and we settled in to wait. We made small talk, discussing her work and mine and until the food arrived. First came the pan of red-hot coals. They set the coals into the well of the 50-gallon drum table, then place a grill over the top. Multiple side dishes in little plates are set on the large circular table lip, and then the big platter filled with raw meat.

Normally, the man would cook the food but NaEun took over immediately, laying out the meat with practiced precision. I offered to help but she told me to relax. And admittedly, she was doing a better job of it than I could have done. Her movements were deft and she had the meat arranged and sizzling in moments.

The alcohol arrived, an ice cold green bottle of soju filled with the devil’s own ball sweat, and I poured her a glass and then poured myself one, mixing it with equal parts cider. She grinned when she saw me mix it like a cocktail, but didn’t comment. Koreans normally drink it straight.

”Cheers!” she said enthusiastically, we clinked glasses and then both knocked it back in one shot. I felt the alcohol hit my empty stomach and started snacking immediately on the side dishes that filled the table. Soju on an empty stomach was a recipe for vomiting.

After about ten minutes the meat was sufficiently cooked and the conversation slowed as we began to eat. She was a good eater, too. She didn’t pick at the food or feign not being hungry. She ate with gusto.

We’d worked our way through the first serving of meat, mostly just commenting on the food. The restaurant filled up around us and the atmosphere got more boisterous and loud. The soju had been consumed fairly quickly and I was feeling the beginnings of a buzz. As for NaEun, I could see her cheeks flushing, which happens to a lot of Koreans when they drink. She ordered another two servings of meat and a fresh bottle of soju and we settled in, eating more slowly.

Chapter 4: The Other Shoe

“How long you stay in Korea?” NaEun asked conversationally, as she plucked a piece of meat off the grill with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth.

“I don’t really know for sure. I will probably leave at the end of this year.” She arched a shapely eyebrow at me. “There are things in the US that I want to do.”

“Sumin will go US next year, too. You know?”

Of course I knew that. That was a big factor in choosing when I would leave.

“Yes, she said chose Washington University in St. Louis and she will start next spring. She’s very excited about going.”

“What you know about St. Louis?” NaEun asked.

“Not much,” I said honestly. “I’m from Oregon, which is a little far from St. Louis. But the school has a good reputation. And a lot of international students go there, I think. There will be many Korean students for her to meet.

NaEun made a face. “She meet Korean students then she only speak Korean and her English bad again. Many Korean student do like that when they study other country. Only talk to Korean people and forget English. Come back to Korea more bad than before.”

I chuckled a little. What she was describing was a real thing with a lot of Korean students who studied abroad. “I don’t think that will happen with Sumin. She’s not afraid to meet and talk with foreigners. But knowing some Koreans can help her if she has problems. They will know the city and know the university system.”

She took another shot and I followed suit. “Maybe that be okay. But I want her to be with American people. She have no good life if she come back Korea. Better she stay in US. Marry American and live in there.” She paused for a moment. “When you go back to US will you go your hometown?”

“I’m not sure yet,” I lied. “I didn’t decide.”

NaEun eyed me from across the table. That feeling of being a mouse again returned and I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. “I think if Sumin had friend like you in US it better.”

Heh. Heh heh. “She can always message me if she needs to. I will have Kakao in the US. I would be happy to help.” I felt a little trickle of sweat run down my spine. Something was very off about this. Her clothing, the way she was eyeing me like she wanted to throw me on the grill next and eat me. Did she know? Did she suspect something? Surely not. She brought up her glass for another toast.

“Cheers!” she said, laughing a little. Her and I were both feeling the booze. We downed our shots and then I got The Question.

“Why you don’t have girlfriend? I think you very handsome.” Her eyes were twinkling and her tongue emerged slowly, collecting a drop of soju from the side of her mouth.

“I, uh…” I stammered. “I work a lot and don’t really have time. And I’m leaving soon so it wouldn’t be right to start a relationship.”

She made a noise of disapproval but was grinning. “Young man need to have girlfriend. So much stamina...”

She let that trail off and she traced her manicured finger down her neck while her eyes appraised me. I laughed a little, feeling my face flush once again. We were into our second bottle of soju and tongues were wagging. I needed to change the subject. “What about you? You’re very beautiful. Are you dating anyone?”

She waved away my compliment but was clearly pleased. “Noooo!” She exclaimed, and she reached over the table and swatted my hand playfully. “I’m adjumma! I’m old woman! Man don’t want date old woman. I have daughter that go to college soon.”

Adjumma is a Korean word that means older woman or older married woman. Being older in Korea doesn’t come with the same baggage as it does in the US so it’s quite common to call an older woman an adjumma and it’s not disrespectful.

“You are absolutely beautiful,” I told her. “Really. If I met you in a bar, I would definitely want to date you.”

”No, stop teasing me!” Her voice was getting a little cutesy as she slipped back into Korean and I could see what she was doing. My mind was racing. She was fishing for the compliments, clearly enjoying the attention, but she was hitting on me, as well. I can be a little slow on the uptake, sure and I was mildly drunk, but there was no way I could deny it at this point. The clothes, the looks, the leading questions.

“I think since you date Sumin you can’t date me, too.” Her shining honey-colored eyes were locked on mine.

I froze. My hand was halfway to my mouth with a piece of meat and I stopped like someone had switched me off. My eyes met hers and I could see that she knew. There was a sudden loud roaring sound in my ears and my scalp got very tingly. It felt like my stomach dropped out of my ass and I had trouble breathing.

“I… I…” I couldn’t get a sentence out. I was literally struck dumb.

NaEun reached out casually, calm as you please, picked up the soju bottle and poured me another shot. Then poured herself one. She brought it to her lips, drank it back in one slow shot, then set it back on the table. She made a sort of gargle sound that a lot of Koreans make when they take shots. A mix between a hiss and throat-clearing sound. She never looked away. Oh god.

With an almost serpentine smile, she said, “I know you having the sex with Sumin.”

Chapter 5: Cards on the Table

I coughed loud enough that I drew some stares, then sucked in a deep breath. Breathe, I told myself. Just breathe. My hands were shaking and I nearly dropped my chopsticks.

“Wh一,” I started to say, then coughed again. “What do you mean?” My voice was quavering. This was why I didn’t play poker, I can’t bluff for shit. My mind was filled with thoughts of prison, of public shame and shunning. It was like with Jihyun all over again, but much worse.

NaEun started laughing at my predicament. I glanced around, sweat dripping down my forehead, and expected to see police officers coming to handcuff me. No one was paying us any attention. My shaky hands went to the shot glass and I downed it without the sprite this time, which only led to more coughing.

”Calm down, teacher,” NaEun said in Korean between giggles, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, which was a habit some Korean women had. It used to be considered rude for women to show their teeth while laughing.

It’s okay. She made a visible effort to stop laughing, waving at her face as if to cool herself down. I think she could see that I was thinking about bolting for the door.

“How…” I began. “How did you know?”

She visibly pulled herself together, but her beautiful face still held a wide smile. “Sumin have no secret from me. We very close. Her father leave long time ago and just her and me. Always we talk about things.”

“She…” I was having a lot of trouble processing words. “She told you?”

More laughter. “She tell me long time ago. Before she sex with you. She tell me she like you and she want do that.”

My mind was whirling. NaEun knew the whole time. The whole time! And Sumin never told me. I wasn’t sure if I should be mad about that or not. She hadn’t lied directly, after all. I never asked her if she told her mom about us. I just assumed that such a thing was impossible. And how much did she know? Did Sumin tell her everything? Had she shown her the pictures and the videos? I felt both like running and puking at the same time.

NaEun poured me another glass of soju. “Take drink, teacher. It’s okay, really. Relax! Don’t worry, Sumin only told me. No one else knows”

I made some effort to get my breathing under control. I took the shot and realized it probably wasn’t a great idea since I was already trying to keep my food down, but it was helping to settle my nerves.

“Why--” I coughed a little. Fuck soju. For real. “Why… Just why?”

Her twinkling eyes were unwavering. Around us the volume of the restaurant had increased considerably as people drank more, called for more food, and enjoyed their evening. Middle-aged women in dark green aprons emblazoned with soju brand labels bustled about, moving quickly over the graveled floor in dirty crocs, delivering trays of meat and side dishes, or new bottles of beer and soju. Even with all the vent fans running full power and the air vents open, there was a haze of smoke in the rafters from all the grill fires.

“I not want Sumin have sex first time like me.” Her voice had shifted into a more serious tone. “My husband and me was first time and…” She paused, searching for words. “...like rabbit! And not care about me. I very young that time and not know about that sex thing. Before we marry he nice man and do romantic thing. I think he love me. But then we marry and he always with friend and always drink. Married life sooo horrible and I never have good feeling about sex.”

Now that my body realized it was not facing imminent doom, my heart had slowed and I was able to actually start to calm down. I could process what she was saying. Her story was not that uncommon, as I’ve mentioned before.

“That sounds terrible,” I told her.

“Yes, very terrible!” She pouted as we commiserated over her horrible married life. “So many Korean man do like that. I cry many time when I young because I think husband not love me. If love me why not care about my feel? Then get pregnant and cry more because if I have baby how I can leave? And also he go to singing room and sex with other girls. He spend many money do that. I want kill him!” She paused in the retelling, collecting herself.

“But not always bad because also if he have sex with singing room girl maybe he not want sex with me. Little bit I felt better but then I feel terrible again because my husband have sex with other girl and I happy about it. How can wife think like that?”

Her face flushed for reasons other than alcohol and I could see she still had a lot of anger and resentment at her ex. Rightfully so, I thought.

“Is that why you divorced?” I asked.

She nodded. “Because that and other thing. Was so difficult time but finally he leave. I worry he take Sumin but he not want daughter, only he want son and not care about her very much. I was so scary because I don’t have job. But mom and aunt know about he terrible and sex with other women and so help me. They give money to me and I make my hair shop. Sumin very young at that time, only eight years old but maybe she remember we fight and he drink a lot.”

Her eyes misted up a little at the memories, a single tear running down her cheek. I reached out and took her hand. She smiled gratefully and collected herself, then continued.

“When Sumin first say she want go to USA I very happy about that. I not want her stay in Korea and marry with Korean man. I want her have happy married life with man that love her.” She grabbed a tissue from the dispenser and dabbed her eyes, not smearing her eyeliner even a little.

“So, when Sumin said she wanted to have sex with me, you didn’t worry about my age?”

She waved the comment away and made a face. “Age only important to Korea people. I not care about that. My husband eight year older than me when we marry. Almost same with you and Sumin. I care if you are good man. Sumin say she trust you and think you will be kind. And she right. You very good to her. Not just sex but good boyfriend. I never see her sad after she date with you. I think you know she love you.” Her penetrating gaze was back, studying my face.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair a little. “I…” I began. “I love her, too. I didn’t expect that when she first wanted to have sex, but I love her.” Suddenly a thought occurred to me. “Did she tell you about…” I paused, not sure how to broach the topic. “Did she tell you about Jihyun?”

NaEun laughed out loud, then quickly covered her mouth. “That was not plan for Sumin. She tell me she very scared that Jihyun know about you. Then she tell me they have sex! I not believe that! But she very happy and I not angry about it. I say I want her have happy life and if sex with girl make her happy that okay, too.”

I admit that I was a little bit impressed by her thoroughly modern attitude regarding her daughter’s bisexuality.

NaEun continued, that wicked little quirk to her lips that looked so much like Sumin when she was feeling naughty that it was a little spooky. “Teacher have so many stamina to sex with two girls.” We laughed together and I just shrugged my shoulders.

“Sumin will go USA this year and you leave too. I hope she stay with you in USA. I think you love her and take care of her. She not date bad boy if she date with you.”

Her voice was getting a little loud but either by accident or design she had picked a noisy restaurant so it appeared no one was paying us any attention. It also helped that we were speaking almost entirely in English and the clientele of The Railroad Tracks skewed older and the people around us were unlikely to know much English, if any at all.

“I lied a little before,” I confessed. I figured I should come clean with her, as well. “I will be going to St. Louis before Sumin to prepare some things. I plan to still see her when she starts school.”

NaEun nodded. “I know about that. Sumin tell me her plan and I think it good idea.”

Sumin really had told her everything. Should I be angry about that? I wasn’t sure. I also wasn’t sure what to say. “Thank you, NaEun. I guess I can’t believe that you knew this whole time. I’m very shocked. Sumin is an amazing young woman and I can see that it’s because of you. And I’m glad she could talk to you about these things.”

NaEun blushed a little at the compliment. ”Thank you, Drew Teacher,” she replied, using formal Korean. Then she bowed her head slightly. “But, now that we no have secret I must say other thing.”

“Okay…”

She took a deep breath, then went to pour another shot before realizing the bottle was empty. She eyed the buzzer that each table had to call a waitress, then decided against it. We’d already had two bottles and drinking more would only tip us over into drunk territory. The pleasant buzz we were both feeling was sufficient, I thought.

“I…” She stopped. I could see her gathering her courage. “I want to sex with you tonight.”

I can’t say I was really surprised. Especially not after the bombshell she’d already dropped on me. I mean I was, but I kinda sorta expected this, too. I would have sat back in my chair but we were sitting on those damned uncomfortable plastic stools. What was I supposed to do with this? Do I say yes? Was that cheating? Sumin was certainly free to see Jihyun whenever she wanted to but we’d never put any limits on my activity. It had never come up. Between Sumin and Jihyun I was getting more than enough sex and so hadn’t even considering dating anyone else. Suddenly, another thought occurred to me. Did Sumin already know about this? Had they talked it over? I asked.

“No, Sumin not know about this. I want this just for me.” She fidgeted a little and studied my face. She looked eager but also concerned.

“Do you want to have a one night?” One night was Korean shorthand for a one night stand.

NaEun smiled a little. “Yes, only one night. I not say to Sumin and you not say to her, too. Only one time.”

Despite my misgivings, my cock was stiffening in my pants at the thought of having this gorgeous woman tonight. And after her story, didn’t she deserve at least one night of good sex that I was sure I could give to her? Was that patronizing? She’d been through some shit in her younger years and I think she was very much living vicariously through Sumin. Not in a harmful way, like an overbearing dad at his kid’s little league game, but by opening up as many doors for her daughter as she could and watching her succeed. Was this just a cheap rationalization simply to justify sleeping with my girlfriend’s mother? Maybe. But it felt like a good thing to do. Or maybe I’m just a horny bastard, but I feel confident that my heart was in the right place. I took a deep breath.

“Okay.”

Chapter 6: Like Mother, Like Daughter

“I want go motel,” NaEun whispered into my ear as we left the restaurant. My cock was rock hard in my pants and her hand was beneath my coat, stroking it over my jeans. I pointedly did not meet the eyes of some of the older patrons that were staring at us with accusatory glares. I’d like to say I felt guilty, but I didn’t. Not really. I had decided not to feel upset about Sumin’s secret, as well. Everyone deserves to have their private things. This would be mine. Well, mine and her mother’s, at any rate.

We hailed a cab and told him where we wanted to go. I saw him look at NaEun in the review mirror, then gave me a long look, but he opted not to comment.

“Have you been with a foreign guy before?” I asked. NaEun nodded, then laid her head on my shoulder. It was March, sure, but Korean Marches often don’t feel much different than January. We huddled for warmth.

“Long time ago after Sumin father leave I have one night with foreign man. He was soldier. I hear about that sex with foreign man better so I want try that. Sumin that time stay with my mother and I go to bar with friend. He was very handsome and big muscle but sex was so so. I very nervous and I think he not have good time. He want me do things I not know about and I say no many times. I feel bad after that for him. And little angry at myself.”

“And you didn’t try again?”

“No,” she shook her head. “Little afraid. Later I know things he want do not bad thing but just I not know about sex well and I scary. Only I know my husband. But then my shop get very busy and Sumin go to middle school and don’t have time to have date.”

“So…” I tried to wrap my head around the time scale. “You haven’t been with a man since then?”

She laughed. “Not with foreign man!” she corrected me. “Sometimes with Korean man. Some older man come my shop and want date with me or my friend do blind date for me. Sometime have sex but I not enjoy very much. Too much I think about my husband if do sex with Korean man.

“When was your last time?” I asked. In the darkness of the cab she began to move her hand up my thigh until she found the swelling beneath my jeans. She squeezed.

“Umm…” she considered, acting like her hand wasn’t massaging my dick. “Two year ago, I think. Was blind date. He little handsome man but sex not good. I not meet him again.” She made the universal hand sign for small dick and we laughed. Then she squeezed my cock again, drawing a small groan from me. “I think you not have that problem,” she said with a throaty laugh. I pulled her in to kiss her gently. Screw the cab driver.

Her lips were soft and I could taste her fruit-flavored lip balm that had made her lips glisten in the glow from passing headlights. I slipped a hand behind the nape of her neck as the intensity of the kiss increased and pulled her hard against my lips, which brought a moan forth from her throat. We both came away gasping. Before things got too hot and heavy we arrived at the hotel, which was good. I didn’t want to risk getting kicked out for lewd behavior. The cabbie took my card with some unintelligible mutterings but NaEun and I both ignored him.

Check-in was an easy affair, as usual, and we managed to keep our hands off each other until we got to the room.

“I want shower.” NaEun declared. “[/i]We smell like meat.[/i]” Which was true. That’s an unfortunate side effect of cooking all the meat at your table: You smell like you were standing at a grill all day. Not very sexy, I’ll admit.

“Do you want anything from the convenience store? I can run and get some things while you shower.”

She asked for some beer and some snacks, so I made a quick run out to get some from the little place I’d seen on the corner near the motel. When I walked back into our room the water was still running and steam was billowing out from the bathroom. I looked in and saw a dark silhouette on the other side of the frosted glass of the shower. NaEun’s back was arched, the swell of her ample breasts easily visible, and she was rinsing her long black hair. Setting the bag down with a grin, I began to undress.

I slipped on the provided shower shoes that were at least three sizes too small and made my way to the shower stall door and knocked lightly. She’d heard me come in since the door makes a loud beeping noise when it unlocks, so she wasn’t startled. Only the lower two-thirds of the glass was frosted, so I could see her face. At the sound of my knock NaEun wiped her eyes and smiled. Then she waved me in. I opened the door and was greeted by the sight of her fully nude tan body, and it was spectacular. Every part of her was toned. There wasn’t an ounce of extra fat anywhere. Her breasts were high and tight, acting like gravity was for the breasts of mere mortal women. Her waist was slim and I could see the ridges of her six pack that tapered down into a completely bare pussy. NaEun waxed. Sweet Baby Jebus. Her legs were equally as taught, her thighs and calves looking like they were carved by a master sculpture. This woman worked out. I knew that but now I was seeing the evidence of a woman who took her physical appearance seriously. Again the comparison came unbidden to my mind. Sumin had the body of a teenager. This was the body of a woman. I almost couldn’t believe she was close to 40.

I wish I could say I was as impressively muscled and while I’m not fat, I wear size 32 jeans, I’m not ripped. I only work out to stay in shape, not for size or power. Looking at this taught and toned goddess in front of me though, I felt like a fat schlub. She didn’t seem to mind, though. She eyed me up and down appreciatively, her gaze lingering long on my cock that was growing more erect as she watched.

As her hands slid down her body, between her breasts and to her stomach, I knew then and there that I was going to fuck her. This wasn’t going to be a romantic tryst by candle light with Kenny G playing in the background. I was going to fuck the shit out of her.

I stepped under the water and she approached and proceeded to scrub me down. The shower was meant for couples to fool around in and we had plenty of space. She lathered up the cloth and began to work it in circles over my skin, doing my shoulders and then my back. She went down to my ass and slid her soapy arm between my ass cheeks and I felt her rub at my asshole which brought an involuntary bounce in my cock. I felt more than saw her kneel down and begin to scrub the backs of my legs. She moved her hands up and down with slow strokes almost caressing the backs of my thighs and calves. Then she slid one arm between my legs and glided up between my balls and inner thigh, pushing her whole arm through up to the shoulder. I watched as her soapy arm emerged from under my balls, then she pulled back equally as slowly before cupping my balls in her hand and giving them a gentle tug. I groaned my approval and she continued. After a moment her hand reached up and began to glide along my shaft and make circles around the head. I luxuriated in the sensations for several moments. My cock was so hard it was aching.

“You have nice cock, Drew Teacher.” I could hear the smile in her voice. There was a moment where I wondered where she picked up the word and thought maybe Sumin had told her. Ha.

I turned around and saw her there, on her knees in the shower, the water splashing down against her back. My cock was at eye level and without waiting she reached up and began to stroke it, adding more soap as needed to keep it slick. She caressed it with her finger tips, dragging her nails along the underside and down my balls, then she would grip the cock and slide her hand back up. It was exquisite torture. Her eyes would travel back and forth between my cock and my face and it wasn’t long before I couldn’t handle it anymore. I was going mad with lust.

I grabbed the shower head and rinsed us both off, then I pulled her roughly to me and kissed her hard. She squealed and then whimpered. I slid my hand down her back, tracing the indentation of her spine, then it was my turn to slip my hand between her tight ass cheeks. Leading with my middle finger, I slid straight down the crack of her tightly-muscled ass and up underneath to enter her pussy from behind. She bit my lip as my finger slipped into her slit. She was slick with more than water. I crushed her body against mine and pulled her tongue into my mouth as my finger moved in and out. Our bodies melded together, me fingering her and her hand stroking my cock.

Without warning I pulled away from her, spun her around and moved her body against the wall of the shower. She let out a gasp as first her breasts and then her stomach came up against the cool glass but she thrust her hips backward, gliding along my cock in anticipation. I wrapped my arms around her and brought my hands up, squeezing the largest breasts I’d had my hands on in a long time. Fake or not, they felt amazing. She groaned at the rough treatment but her hips were searching for my cock all the same.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “You’re a very bad girl,” I growled at her. I released one hand from a breast and slipped it down between her legs where I began to rub her clit. “Aren’t you.”

Her face was against the glass, her eyes half closed. “Yes,” she moaned out.

“‘Yes, sir,’” I corrected her.

“Yes, sir,” she repeated obediently.

“Only a bad girl would want to fuck her daughter’s boyfriend.”

“Yes--” her voice cut off as I slid two fingers inside her pussy. “...Sir!” she cried out. “I bad giiirrrllll!”

I could feel her body trembling as she ground her pelvis into my hand.

I pulled away suddenly and got down on my knees. The tile was hard but I didn’t care. I gripped her ass and with both hands, pulled her cheeks apart, and began to lick her ass. She let out a high pitched cry and tried to pull away, but I held her firm. After just a few seconds of attention her attempts to pull away ceased and she began pushing back into me.

“Uh-muh!” she cried out several times in rapid succession before it devolved into a long string of moans. I bent my head a little lower and pulled her down a little so that her bare pussy was before my eyes, glistening and smooth. I plunged my tongue past her smooth folds and drank in the clean taste of her. Her legs were quivering as she hissed in pleasure, and then whimpered against the glass. If she was being honest about her sex life it had been almost two years since she’d seen any action. I aimed to give her her money’s worth, so to speak.

I continued to pleasure her and it wasn’t long before she was up on her tiptoes, her muscles tense and shaking as my tongue explored her slick hole from behind. With a scream she came and almost collapsed into me. She was shuddering and swayed slightly. We probably needed to get out of the shower. I’d left the bathroom door open so it wasn’t a sauna, but we were clean enough, I thought.

I stood up trying to ignore the pain in my knees from spending that long on the tile floor and NaEun leaned against me. I brought her mouth to mind and we kissed passionately, her hand going once again to my cock.

“Wonderful,” she cooed as her lips found my neck.

“Let’s go, bad girl,” I said with a chuckle. I swatted her ass playfully as I walked us out of the bathroom. She giggled and followed along on wobbly legs.

We toweled each other off and she went for one of the beers, popping the can open with that telltale crack and hiss of escaping gas, and took a long pull. I’d bought myself a small bottle of vodka and some orange juice and made a little cocktail in a paper cup. We then fed each other some of the chocolate I’d bought. It wasn’t long before we were sucking fingers and rolling on the bed, our robes tossed to the floor. The blankets had been pushed off in a pile at the foot of the bed and after some playful tickling and touching I moved her to the end and instructed her to get down on her knees. I sat up, legs over the side. My cock was sticking straight out and my balls, heavy with the promise of cum, dangled off the edge of the mattress.

“You’re going to suck my cock,” I told her, a note of command in my voice. Her eyes were wide and excited as she looked up at me. With one hand I grabbed her firmly by the back of the head, her hair still damp from the shower, and with my other hand I gripped my cock at the base. I began to rub it across her face. Over her forehead, down her cheek. She stuck her tongue out and I slapped it a bit.

“Are you a bad girl?” I asked her.

“Yeeesss,” she whispered, her voice heavy. I whacked her lightly on the cheek with my dick. “Yes, sir.” I corrected her again.

“Yes, sir.” Her voice taking on a more girlish quality. “I bad girl.”

“Do you want to suck the cock that has fucked your daughter?”

I saw the shudder move through her as her eyes closed briefly. What was that? Excitement? Arousal? Shame? When she opened them again, she wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Yes, sir. I want this cock.” Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

I brought her closer, rubbing my cock along the smooth skin of her forehead. It looked huge like that and it was hot as fuck. I pulled up my cock, bringing my balls into full view. “Use your tongue.” She obeyed.

With the head of my cock resting just above her eyebrows, her pink tongue emerged from her mouth and began to play over the swell of my balls. She circled them with her tongue, then pulled one in her mouth, sucking softly. Her eyes--pupils dilated from arousal and glistening from the booze--were looking hard at me. I stroked her hair as she pleasured me. “Such a bad girl,” I cooed to her.

I entwined my fingers into the hair on the back of her head and pulled her up. “Open your mouth,” I told her.

Mouth wide, I guided her down on my dick and her hot mouth enveloped me. Her tongue began to slide around the underside of my cock and I pushed her down until I hit the back of her throat. I felt her throat constrict and her body convulsed so I let her up, allowing her a breath. Then I pushed her back down until I tapped her throat again and I held her for just a moment, then released again. I repeated this process a few more times, getting her accustomed to me controlling the speed and the depth, then I began to increase the tempo. Her eyes were watering and drool was running freely from around her lips as I face-fucked her, moving her head up and down my shaft.

“Yesss…” I growled. “Suck my cock!”

I continued the rough treatment until I saw her face start to turn red, then I pulled her off. She began to gasp and cough as I held her firmly by the back of her head. I rubbed my dick around her lips and her cheeks until she was glistening.

“Do you like sucking my cock, NaEun?”

She was on her knees, legs together, and I could see her clenching her thighs and the subtle rocking of her hips as she stimulated herself. I wondered absently if she even knew she was doing it.

“Yes, sir,” she whimpered. Her mouth moved to capture my dick as I rubbed the head over her lips.”

“Is this what you like? Do you like me to tell you what to do?”

She swallowed and nodded her head slowly. “Yes, sir. I want you have me.

“You’re going to lick my ass now.” I told her. “You’ve been a bad girl and this is your punishment.”

I wasn’t sure how well she understood what I was saying between the fog of alcohol and her own horniness, but she got the gist well enough. She nodded her head slowly.

I stood up and got on my knees in the center of the bed. Then I bent forward with my legs spread and looked back at her. “Lick my ass.”

She moved up onto the bed just behind me and her tits hung like ripe melons, swaying slightly as she crawled forward, getting into position. I set my head into the pillow as her hands went to my hips and she moved closer. The only warning I had was the brief feeling of warm breath on my puckered asshole as she began to tongue me.

“Fuuuuck!” I groaned into the pillow. It felt amazing as she licked up and down my ass. Her head lowered and she began to lick the underside of my balls, then bring her tongue all the way back up. She swirled around my asshole and one hand moved between my legs and she began to stroke my cock from behind. Perversely, as I was enjoying the feelings of this woman’s tongue on my ass, I thought I had to get Sumin to do the same. I’d licked her ass plenty, it was time for her to return the favor.

I pushed my ass back into her face and heard her moan along with me as her hand stroking my cock picked up speed. I wasn’t going to last long. This was too fucking hot.

I pulled away then yanked her up towards me on the bed. I instructed her how I wanted her and after just a moment she was on her knees in the same position I’d just been, face down ass up. I brought my cock to her pussy which was so wet it was practically dripping down her legs. I slid my cock up and down her slit, coating my dick in her juices as she whimpered.

“Please!” she begged, her voice half muffled from. Her bare pussy glistened, the lips engorged. I lined up the head of my cock with her eager hole, then--two hands firmly on her hips--buried myself in her. Both of us moaned in pleasure as I sank up to my balls in her pussy. She threw one hand back and grabbed onto my wrist as she cried out my name. She was tight but so wet I slid in without even a hint of resistance. I held still for a moment, luxuriating in the gentle squeeze of her pussy and then began to thrust. Slowly at first, but it didn’t take long for her to start begging for me.

“Harder! Do it harder” she called. I increased the intensity and she began a long series of grunts and screams. Our bodies came together with a distinct slapping sound.

“You like my cock?”

“Yes, sir!” she screamed. “More! Want more!”

I was sweating as I continued to pound her and, while it felt like we’d been fucking for hours but in reality was probably only a couple of minutes. Even so, my orgasm was close. Her pussy suddenly got tighter as it started to convulse around my shaft and with a muffled scream she came again, her ass shaking. Watching her cum on my cock was the last straw. I felt a contraction in my balls so intense it was almost painful and with a rush I pulled out of her and pushed her over onto her back and straddled her waist. I pumped my cock furiously as my orgasm washed over me. I heard her gasp as my cum began to spray her. It coated those magnificent tits and splashed up over her face.

Once it passed I looked down to see my own little Jackson Pollock painting. She was criss-crossed with thick ropes of cum, one eye glazed shut and several thick drops slowly running down her cheeks and between her tits. I leaned forward, placing my still rock-hard dick between her breasts and pushed them together. I tit-fucked her slowly while the cum dripped down her face. She looked at me with her one open eye and that wicked smile played across her lips.

“You very dirty boy,” she said with a chuckle. She brought her hands up and held her tits together, freeing mine up. I took the opportunity to clean her. I began collecting the cum around her face with a finger and placing it in her mouth. Her one eye opened wide at that, I don’t think she’d ever eaten cum before.

“Eat up,” I told her in Korean. She closed her lips around my finger and sucked on it, swallowing the cum. I repeated the process a few more times, getting most of it off her. For her eye, I grabbed a tissue and wiped that clean.

“I never do that before,” she said, a note of awe in her voice.

“Not done yet. You’ve been a bad girl, remember. Still more to clean.” I got off of her and positioned myself so my cock was right next to her mouth. It was still somewhat swollen but had lost most of its length. I grabbed her by the back of her head and pulled her mouth to the head and pushed it past her lips. She let out a startled squeak as my cock, sticky with our combined fluids, moved into her mouth, her nose coming to rest against the base of my cock.

“That’s right,” I said, my voice soothing. “Clean my cock.”

She resisted at first, probably at the sheer nastiness of what we were doing, but once she got used to the taste of herself she began to suck in earnest. I released her and sat back. She got up and began to work my cock slowly, allowing it to swell in her mouth.

“Gooood girl,” I told her, loving the feeling of her tongue working at my stiffening member. Within moments I was fully hard again.

NaEun came up for a breath and stared at my cock in surprise. “We do again?”

Yes, we do again.

In the end, we had sex two more times before we passed out. She was a fountain of passion and I think she only stopped because I had reached my limit. The second time was not as intense but still passionate and it lasted significantly longer. We dozed off a little after that and at some point in the wee hours I awoke with her mouth back on my cock and it slowly stiffening. Even I was surprised by that. I took her one more time and it was slow and gentle, not at all like the intensity of our first coupling. We came together and finally she’d had enough.

After checkout the next morning we went to a coffee shop and had some pastries. Our clothes were a little rumpled but I didn’t care and she didn’t appear to either. We sat across from each other and we shared a lot of private little smiles.

“Thank you,” she said after we had eaten mostly in silence for the first several minutes. “Last night very wonderful for me.”

“Me, too,” I told her, honestly. “You’re amazing.”

NaEun gave me a small smile but I could see she was upset about something. I asked her what was on her mind.

“I think I’m little bit bad mom.” She looked away out at the ocean.

“Why?”

There was a long pause before she brought her gaze back to mine. “I jealous my daughter. Not right I be jealous her.” Her fingers idly twisted a napkin as she cast her gaze back down.

“You had a terrible marriage, I think I understand. If things were different…” My voice trailed off. If they were different, what? Would she and I be together?

NaEun gave me a small smile. “I wish I meet you first.” She sniffled and my heart broke a little. I understood what she meant.

I held her hand and offered what comfort I could. Part of me wished we could all be together under the same roof, but even I wasn’t so far gone into my Penthouse Forum fantasy to think that would ever happen.

“You take care of Sumin in USA?” she was shifting back into safer territory. Which was good, because nothing good would come from us wanting things that we couldn’t have. This had been our freebie.

“Yes. I promise.”

As we left the coffee shop I kissed her gently once more, then we said our goodbyes. She got into a cab going one direction, and I found one going in the other. As the car zipped along through the light Sunday morning traffic I had no trouble at all understanding where Sumin got her strength from. NaEun was an incredible woman. She had left a broken marriage with a child, started her own business and turned it into a success, all while raising her daughter in a society that still frowned upon divorced women and single mothers. She was a beast.

And I felt like tracking down NaEun’s ex-husband and giving him a solid punch in the face. What an asshole to throw away not one, but two amazing women. I shook my head to myself and began to nod off as the taxi took me home.

Epilogue

St. Louis has all the earmarks of being a once great city in decline. It’s not as bad as Detroit, in my opinion, but it has some pretty rough and rundown neighborhoods. However, if you know where to look, there is some absolutely beautiful architecture and neighborhoods. And there are some great restaurants.

After paying off the remainder of my student loans with the life insurance I received from my mother’s death, I had set about to start a real estate empire. Okay, not so much an empire, but just enough rental properties that I could live comfortably without needing a regular job. Not that I wasn’t working. Rehabbing properties is pretty hard work, in fact. I’ve got the busted and calloused hands to prove it.

Once Sumin had decided on St. Louis I’d spent the following months researching the real estate market in the area and ***********ing neighborhoods I wanted to invest in. I made contact with some banks, set up an LLC, and ***********ed a property management service. Then it was time to leave.

I left Korea about three months ahead of Sumin and closed the deal on a four family flat in a neighborhood the locals called South City. It was a little bit old but still in relatively good condition. More importantly though, it had four long-term tenants already in residence and they always paid rent on time. I was able to buy the property for cash, which allowed me to get a pretty sweet deal and also meant, minus taxes and some maintenance fees, all the rent was profit. It was a big up-front expense but I wanted the income as soon as possible. It brought in almost three thousand a month in rent which was enough for me to live off of without touching the money I had to pay for supplies and tools that I would need for the next property.

With that house as collateral I took out a loan for an unoccupied duplex that was in pretty rough shape. I didn’t technically need the loan but I wanted a good relationship with the bank and it would offset some of my cost. Because of the poor condition I got it cheap but it meant a lot of work to get it ready for renters. It was barely liveable and I roughed it for the first month as I lived and worked in the house every day. I made some mistakes (okay a lot) on that first house but Youtube was a life saver. By the time I picked up Sumin from the airport, our side of the duplex looked pretty damn nice, if I do say so myself.

There were a lot of tears when we finally reunited and, as exhausted as she was from the long flight, we spent the whole next day in bed. She loved the house, even though it wasn’t finished, and couldn’t wait to learn how to do some of the work herself. I reminded her this was only temporary and that I expected us to be moving within six months as I finished up the other side and rented it out. Then it would be on to the next one to live in as I fixed it up. I told her that it would be like that for most of this year until I had four or five properties producing income. Then I would buy us a proper home. She said she didn’t care, she would rough it along with me as long as she had a quiet and comfortable place to study. I promised her that would be the first thing we did in any new house we moved into.

It was our first Christmas together in my third property, the duplex having finally rented out two months prior. Even with the hard work of rehabbing these houses, and Sumin’s surprisingly heavy course load, we were ridiculously happy. Sumin had settled in nicely at Washington University and her classes were going well. Our living room was still unpainted, the newly hung drywall still marked with putty to cover the seams and screw holes but I had set up our TV on a little stand I’d cobbled together with spare lumber. A Christmas tree had been erected in the corner and we had spent a whole afternoon decorating her first real one. She couldn’t get over how beautiful it looked in the dark. I couldn’t get over how beautiful she looked in the glow of the LED Christmas lights.

Dinner that night had been a quick affair of Imo’s Pizza and something I’d never even heard of before coming to St. Louis, toasted ravioli. Imo’s was a local chain that, despite my misgivings, was surprisingly good. And holy shit, were toasted ravioli awesome! It also paired pretty well with the wine we were having as I introduced Sumin to the joy that is A Christmas Story. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time.

As much as I like the movie, I watch it every year without fail for the end scene, alone. The scene where Ralphie and Randy are asleep in bed, their toys clutched in their hands and the camera cuts to his mom and dad sitting in the darkened living room, listening to music on their radio. Outside the snow is falling and the glow of the christmas tree fills one corner of the screen. In that final moment Ralphie’s mom and dad don’t talk. Rather, they enjoy the dance of snowflakes outside the window, taking comfort in the stillness and beauty of it all. When I think of Christmas, that’s what I think of.

I looked over at Sumin on the other side of the couch, her body curled up in a blanket as she watched Randy shoving mashed potatoes in his mouth and snorting like a pig. She laughs and I laugh watching her laugh. I think that, just maybe, I’d found someone I could have that with. Her light tan skin glowed in the shifting color patterns from our tree, her eyes sparkling with the reflection. I was confident that she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. There wasn’t snow outside at the moment, but there would be.

Her phone buzzed on the coffee table and, between laughs, she grabbed it. “My mom,” she told me. She began tapping away furiously at her phone as Ralphie’s dad received his major award. Fra-Gee-Lay. It’s Italian.

After a couple of minutes she set the phone down and then joined me on my side of the sofa. I wrapped her in my blanket and we settled back in, my arm around her shoulder and her head resting on my chest.

“Mom said she wants to visit during Lunar New Year.”

“That would be awesome,” I told her. “The guest room should be done then, too. It would be great to have her stay with us.”

Her arms squeezed me. “I think so, too. I miss her.”

“I know, sweetie.” I kissed the top of her head. On the screen Ralphie’s dad was trying to figure out where to plug in his major award.

“She want to know if you will fuck her again. She said she misses your cock.”

I jerked involuntarily and pushed her off of me. She was looking at me with a wicked little smile of hers. A smile that I now knew was just like her mother’s.

“What?” she asked, the perfect picture of innocence. “She told you we don’t keep secrets from each other. And whose idea do you think it was that she fuck you in the first place?”

She brought her delicate little hand up and closed my gaping mouth then gave it a quick little kiss.

“Merry Christmas, Teacher.”

Son of a…

The End.