"An escort." Kurokawa replies with no emotion in her voice.
"Escort?" Han stares at our bookworm, unable to comprehend the word. "Escort?" He repeats it.
"She goes around with men, talk to them, consort them, do whatever they want her to do. Every once in a while, she would go with multiple to places that I did not have the need to know. Rarely, she would go with women, as well. To call it lightly, I used the word 'escort'; but in essence, she is a sexual worker...a whore, for short."
Laura and Rachel look at our bookworm in disbelief while saying nothing. The two girls seem shocked by the revelation Kuro just made. Even Han is left speechless.
To them, this is beyond shocking. They must be thinking: how can anyone do something like that?
Sadly, the reality of Kurokawa's Mother is that she never had a chance to do anything else. The storyline set everything up like that since the beginning of the game without her knowing. People can commend her. They can despite her. The truth is she never had a choice. She had to become a prostitute to raise Kurokawa.
"I don't understand." Han suddenly intercepts the conversation. "Looking at it like this, doesn't she value appearance more? Why did your mom even have to create these scars on your body? If that person wanted to make you the best thing she ever created, it's not making much sense. You're the one going outside every day. In a way, you represent your mother. If she cared about other people whispering about her, shouldn't she refrain from hitting you? Shouldn't she treat you the best way that she could?"
"That's the real question, isn't it." The bookworm looks outside the window of the skytrain. As she raises one arm to touch the scar twitching on her forehead, Kuro's eyes waver for the first time since she told her story.
"I don't know." The girl speaks softly, with a hint of gloom. "No one does. Like you said, it makes no sense. Sometimes, I would ask myself the same questions, but the old me would redirect the answer. My existence was her mistake. I was the one who took her dreams away from her. What she was doing was trying to claim it back. Those things forced me to not do anything about it. Knowing that she had to sell her body day in and out, doing God's forbidden acts to raise me didn't help, either."
Laura sighs. "I guess we'll just have to wait until we meet her to find out."
"I guess so." Rachel joins her.
Trying to say something, Han opens and closes his mouth repeatedly. Unfortunately, he can not construct anything good to say.
"I'm...sorry. Kurokawa, I didn't know your circumstances and spoke out of line. I probably made you feel terrible." The guy does a 90-degree angle.
"No, it's fine. Don't worry." Kurokawa replies.
With that, Han returns his seat to its original position. However, the look on his face is still not very good. Actually, they are a bit pale compared to his usual self.
"I am far from being a good person..." He sighs. And I am going to ignore that. It is good that he realizes such a thing. It is better for everyone, including himself, if Han becomes more aware of everyone's feelings. He is looking for a girlfriend, so this much should be expected.
I do not blame Kurokawa's mother's drastic approaches. What I do know, though, is that everything is not as it seems. There is still an open question as to why our bookworm's mother told her she was sorry while being killed by her daughter. While approaching demise, one would demonstrate their most fundamental value. Usually, people would beg to live, as living was their desire, not Kurokawa's mother. Rather than being resentful, she chose to apologize.
"Hey, guys, sorry for being a nasty third w-... Wait! No! I mean...one, two, three, four, five...Firth wheel! Holy crap! I still don't know what I'll be doing!"
"You'll be helping Rachel if needed. Even better, you can get with my Mother."
"Excuse me?!" Han is immediately taken aback. "Was that a joke? It's gotta be, right?!"
"Oh no. Not at all. If you can, woo my Mother to the best of your capability. Enchant her with your charm, let the dogs out, release the Kraken, I don't know. I'll be counting on you."
"I mean...Kurokawa's Mother was always dead. But if she manages to live...there is definitely a chance for Han to jump this boat. This is an eroge, and he is the rightful protagonist, see.
The chance for Han to become Kuro's new stepfather is low but never zero.
"Hold on! HOLD ON! How are you expecting me to do that?! I have never even had a girlfriend! How on earth am I going to woo your mother? What you said was absurd! Absurd, I tell you!"
"Is it the fact that she's a prostitute? Don't worry about that. She has regular check-ups. She is a high-level escort with actual health benefits and influential customers, not your regular street girl."
I should do something. At this rate, Han is not going to help us.
Leaning closer to Kurokawa's ears, I whisper quietly: "Tell him what she looks like. I think Han likes pseudo-incest play, too."
Kurokawa looks at me with her deep green eyes as if to confirm something, then smiles and turns toward Han.
"My Mother has ginormous breasts."
"Wha-What does it have to do with anything?!" The guy chokes.
"I think she also likes Mother-Son pseudo-incest play."
*Gulp*
That was not me.
(Happy new year everyone! Here to another year of suffering for C and his gang!)