Transmigrated into a World of Reversed Roles
Chap 28

The day was starting to get dark.

Forcing my body to go home, I finally arrived in front of my house. Glancing at the house next to mine, the lights still hadn’t been turned on there.

Opening my front door, the sound of fast footsteps came from inside. My father, with a worried face, came toward me.

"Ren! You’re finally home! Why are you late? You said on the phone you brought an umbrella, right? Don’t tell me you’re working part-time."

"No, Dad. I already said earlier I was at school. I just did some homework while waiting for the rain to stop. It felt like a pain to go home while the road was muddy."

Hearing me, Dad frowned. He crossed his arms and looked down at the lower part of my body.

"Then why are your pants that dirty? You’re okay, right? You just recovered from a fever, you know."

"That’s why I didn’t come home right away. This is because I fell into a water hole earlier."

"...Then hurry and take a bath. I already prepared warm water."

"Thank you."

Taking off my shoes, I was finally allowed to enter. The floor got a little dirty because the muddy water on my pants dripped, but my Dad didn’t say anything. Maybe I should clean it up myself later.

---

"She just looked at it."

After cleaning myself in the bathroom, sitting on my bed, I turned on my phone to check the message I sent Yona this morning.

Still no reply, only read. Since I had already seen her condition earlier, I wasn’t surprised anymore by this kind of response.

"But seriously, what’s wrong with her?"

From our conversations, I couldn’t find any conclusion that gave me a clue about what her problem was. Even though the warm water Dad had prepared helped clear my head for a moment, the emptiness in my chest about Yona was still there.

Then, I remembered that I wanted to ask Mom about this. I figured she might know.

Standing up, I went straight to her room and knocked on the door without hesitation.

"Mom, are you busy?"

"Ren? Come in."

I know that even though my Mom here has a personality almost the same as my Dad in the old world, her job is different here.

Unlike Dad who became an architect, here Mom became an editor at a publishing company.

So when I opened the door, I saw Mom still sitting in front of her computer, reading a manuscript that looked like it was from a writer she was reviewing at the moment.

"Was today’s work hard, Mom?"

Approaching her from behind, I placed both my hands on her shoulders.

"Hmm? Not that hard. Just fixing a few typos. By the way, it’s rare for you to come here. What's wrong?"

It wasn’t my mouth that answered, but my hands. My fingers pressed the spots where she was weak.

"Nothing really. I just wanted to check if my Mom was tired, since you’re still working this late."

Suddenly, like she was shocked by electricity, Mom’s body stiffened. But not long after, she relaxed, and a moan escaped her lips.

"Mhmm... Are you asking for extra allowance? Why the sudden massage? I didn’t know you were this good—Ahmm!"

That’s because I used to massage Mom often. So, there weren’t any weak spots she could hide from me anymore.

"Want me to stop?"

"Don’t... nnm! This... feels too good..."

My hands stayed on her shoulders.

"Is there a book you want to buy or something, Ren? I... I’ll buy it if you ask for it, even the whole volume."

"I’ve started to like video games lately."

"What game... do you want?"

She really wants to buy it? Back then, even when I massaged her every day, she never wanted to buy me games. But here, she does? For a moment, I was tempted. There are lots of games I want now. My computer’s still trash, but I’ll upgrade it in the future.

...Feeling conflicted, I shook my head.

"I can buy the games I want with my own money. What I want today is just to make you feel good, Mom."

"Ahn~"

I continued massaging Mom. Not just her shoulders, then my hands moved to other places. From her neck to her arms, then down, until they reached her thighs.

It was a bit hard to massage from this position, but as a pro with years of experience touching her body, I could still make Mom feel comfortable.

Dozens of minutes passed until I got tired. Mom was also sweating, making the white shirt she wore almost completely soaked, with her chest rising and falling as she gasped for breath.

Lying down on the bed, I could smell her perfume from here.

"Huft... It felt like I was young again just now. Thanks, Ren."

All I did was wave my hand. The two of us then rested quietly for a few minutes. Until, Mom who was leaning back in her chair, suddenly moved her eyes to look at me.

"So, what happened at school?"

"...I haven’t said anything that would lead to that."

Looks like I can’t beat Mom’s intuition in figuring out what I really want right now.

"Your Dad told me everything earlier. You came home late even though there’s no part-time job. Doing homework? Then why are your school pants dirty? After all... I remember you’re someone who always takes care of your things, especially important pants you’ll wear again tomorrow."

Hearing Mom, my mouth couldn’t respond. I could only surrender at this point.

"...Do you know what’s going on with Yona?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just... had a fight with her this afternoon. Yesterday you said you saw her at the hospital. Do you know anything?"

"A young couple’s quarrel, huh? I had lots with your Dad back then. But I only saw her briefly yesterday, just said hello. Because she looked so tired, I didn’t talk to her..."

Mom’s unfinished sentence didn’t escape my attention. It felt like she realized something, but didn’t want to tell me.

"What happened, Mom?"

"...Maybe Yona feels tired of you, Ren."

"Huh?"

"You passed out during your sweet date with her yesterday, right? Ruined the mood, and she had to take care of you all the way to the hospital. Her face looked exhausted. What other reason would there be for you two to argue besides her being tired of you?"

No. I don’t believe the nonsense Mom just said. She might have the intuition to guess what I want, because she’s my Mom. But at the same time, I’m her child. I also have sharp instincts when it comes to my parents.

"Don’t lie, Mom. Yona wouldn’t be that mean, getting tired of me just because of something like that."

"...I guess you’re right. Sorry. I don’t know what’s going on with her."

That’s clearly another lie. I’m sure Mom is lying again. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything to prove it.

"You really don’t know?"

"Really... Anyway, if you guys had a fight, just give her some space. It’s not good to force things to be fixed too quickly."

"...Alright."

All I could do was agree with Mom’s advice.

After that, we both stayed in our spots, saying nothing. Until, Dad entered the room.

"What were you two doing?"