"Rina-san, are you sure this is the place?"
"Yeah, is there something wrong?"
"This isn't a house, it's a mansion. Could it be that the reason we're asking for her help is because she has tons of money?"
"I guess she could hire a tremendous number of guards for me," I sarcastically mumbled to myself.
"Let's go in," and she just ignored my sarcasm with a faint smile as she started heading towards the gate.
"Oh, if it isn't Rina," an old lady wearing a suit instead of a maid uniform, not what I'd expect from a mansion, greeted us elegantly.
"Have you come here to check madam's health?"
"No, I'm here for another business. Please let her know I'm here."
"Okay," with that, she held onto the thing she had in her ears and started whispering into it.
Is that a communication device?
Talk about being filthy rich.
"Though I thought people here would be dressed up like maids, but all of them are wearing business attire like suits. Just what's with this place?"
As I wondered, my eyes fixed on the huge pillars with abstract designs of different geometric shapes. We walked in and entered the mansion, then saw a peculiar figure in front coming to greet us.
"Rina San, how are you doing? Is something the matter for you to come here?"
Straight to the point without needing to hear Rina-san's answer, the lady who seems to be the master of this mansion elegantly sat on a peculiar chair and sipped the tea that was served to her. The servants asked us to sit, and I felt kind of tense about the situation; I couldn't seem to calm down. After all, the atmosphere was kind of out of a movie.
"And who is that young boy that's with you?" She broke off the silence by asking about my presence. I felt like she was even questioning my existence.
"Rina," I whispered. Curiosity got me to ask as the woman in front of us stared at me, "Is that the woman, her?"
She nodded.
Eh? I looked confusedly at the woman.
What the, is that really my mother?
She doesn't even look like she's in her 40s. How am I supposed to react? Am I supposed to be happy right now? I'm just in front of my mother, whom I didn't know existed just a few hours ago.
Someone who has no memories of a mother... I once read an article about them; they're supposed to be the most caring person in the world, as the reason why their face may have aged due to their hard work for their kids. But she doesn't even fit the description. Did Rina San make a mistake?
"I know this is sudden," Rina-san picked up the cup of tea that was served. "This boy, can't you recognize him?"
"Hmm..." She looked intensely at me, sending shivers down my spine.
"Eight years ago, you once lost a child."
"You mean, that kid?"
That kid? Aren't I her son?
"So what about him?" Her atmosphere changed. "Did my daughter talk to you about him?" She sighed. "Yuri always does something unnecessary."
"Don't bother with our family affairs," she added with a stern look.
Rina looked at me with pity and concern.
In that moment, she slapped me on the back, nearly causing me to fall from my chair. I stood up to avoid it.
"Can't you recognize him?" Rina-san asked once again.
"Rina-san, it's been over 8 years. Do you really think I still have hope of finding him? And you mean to tell me this young boy in front of me was that child who went missing?"
"..."Rina-san didn't answer, causing the woman to become annoyed.
"Whatever, let's just deal with it. I hope you're not like those people who tried to lie to me to get some part of my wealth," she said, her tone guarded.
"Inspect him," she added, her voice firm.
Just at that command, two tall male servants seized me and ushered me into another room, where they instructed me to remove all of my clothes. Feeling exposed and uncomfortable, I complied, and after the inspection, we returned to the main room where they signaled to her.
She smiled, rising gracefully from her chair. With a regal air, she swept past us as she left, leaving me feeling uneasy sitting beside Rina-san.
"So, how did it go?" Rina asked.
"I don't know. They just stripped me down and scrutinized every inch of my body. It was unnerving, what made me gross out was that they practically stared at my dick nonchalantly."
"Hahaha," Rina laughed, patting me on the shoulder, "You still have time for joke at this kind of setting."
"But it's not a joke," I countered, feeling a pang of annoyance.
"Madam has asked me to bring you to her room," a man interrupted, breaking the tense atmosphere.
As we made our way to her room, guided by the man, I couldn't shake off the uneasiness that gnawed at me.
....
I thought we were going to her room, but isn't this more like a living room? It's too big.
I sighed as I sat on the chair facing my mother across the table. "It's really you. As a mother, I'm ashamed I couldn't recognize my own son."
So am I really her son... But... I feel like something is missing. Isn't a son and mother reunion supposed to be where the mother runs up to her child as she recognizes him without a hitch and delightfully cries as he hugs his son? Those are the kinds of reunions I know, based on the stories I've read. Maybe that's just what happens in fiction... I honestly don't know.
"I know it's sudden, but I'll get straight to the point. I don't like beating around the bush."
What I've felt from her way of talking was not a son and mother reunion but an atmosphere where a business deal conversation takes place.
"Your father died in a car accident eight years ago."
Died in a car accident? They really thought it was a car accident. Someone purposefully made it look like that, huh?
"And you've been gone for eight years because of that... We lost the authority to hold the company and were thrown aside from the high authority."
"With you, we will not have to abandon your father's company. Instead, we'll take them all." She added, looking all serious.
"Sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."
"You don't have to know," she paused, looking straight through me, "You just need to follow my orders."
"Orders?"
"That's right. Starting today, I'll send you out to learn the fundamentals."
"Just like I said, I don't understand what you're talking about."
What's this woman's deal? She just started yapping about her thing.
"I also told you, you don't need to understand, just listen to me."
"And why am I going to do that?"
"I'm your mother, and you're my son. Clearly, that's enough reason."
Enough reason? You've got to be kidding me. I came here to get some help, not to help someone.
"Enough with that bullshit, I'm going," I declared.
Rina-san really didn't think about this. As I thought, there's no way someone like her would help me. I don't think that will happen.
I purposefully made my chair make some noise as I got up. I felt like this wasn't a good development. A mother? You can't be serious. If I'm going to need a mother's help, she'd better not be mine.
"Matsuki Satoro."
"What?" How did she know my name? I hadn't told her anything.
"That's the name you have right now, currently studying at the Philippines Institute High School and working at a bar."
"You! Did you just..." she managed to know that much information about me in just a few minutes.
"That's right, I just investigated your existence and confirmed everything."
"Your name is not Matsuki Satoro. Abandon that name."
"Your real name is Motemeru Shikawa, my son."
"Just like I've told you, you don't have to worry about anything. Just listen to me, and you won't have to work in a small bar and earn a living by yourself."
Glaring at her as she described most of my life, I asked, "And if I don't want to?"
"I'm afraid I'll have to take some measures and force you," she said, relaxed, spouting some bullshit. She couldn't be serious.
"Don't you want to become like your father?"
"My father?" I looked at her with confusion.
"He was a worthy man, being able to grow a company in just seven years with his skills. Unfortunately, a car accident took his life, or so the investigation results claim, but..." She paused, placing her hands on the table. "It's just too good to be true."
Wait, does she know that he was killed?
"I'm not an idiot to believe such a thing," she said, clenching her hands on the table.
I guess you are not.
"Even if I wasn't able to find evidence even to this day, surely my husband is not someone who would get into a car accident, especially with his son."
"So, do you know the culprit?"
"Oh, got interested, are we? Alright, I'll tell you, so sit."
I listened to her and sat.
"The biggest company in the Philippines right now, Fashion Clothing YSA Company, your father was the founder of that, and there were two people with him when he built it. It's more likely that one of those two did it."
"Your reason?"
"Just a feeling."
"Just a feeling? Hey? If investigators and detectives could have your feeling, maybe they would have put them in jail already," I mockingly said.
"Unfortunately, that's not how things work."
"The two people involved with your father's business are Minori and Miyuki. In an unfortunate event, Minori died earlier than your father, and after that, your father followed him, leaving Miyuki alone."
"Doesn't that sound too good to be true for Miyuki?"
"Hey, I don't know why you're telling me about some company or who that Miyuki is, but based on what you're saying, you're suspecting Miyuki."
"I'm glad you caught on," she replied.
"But if you already know it, why don't you get him?"
"He was left alone. The company was given to him due to the deaths of the two. I don't know if it is a coincidence or if it was planned by him. Either way, I found nothing about it, so I guess it's just my thing."
"I gave up on that idea eventually. After all, my goal right now is to get your father's company back. It's just not right for him to have it all to himself, considering how little his contribution was."
It seems like she had a hunch on it but eventually gave up. It's true though that someone killed my father, but without evidence, I can't just tell her that, as I don't even know who it is. But she's been talking about taking over a company.
"I assume you need me to take part in that plan of yours?"
"Yes, that's right."
"So why am I needed in your plan to take that company that doesn't even concern me?"
"As you can see, our current wealth is one that I had worked hard for through these years. But the truth is, your father's wealth in that business still belongs to us and was taken from us. Taking them down by force is not possible. What's only possible is to take over that company that truly belongs to us."
"And you're the key to that plan," she added.
"And you believe I'm gonna ride into your plan? What a load of bullshit."
*Thump* The door opened with abrupt force, and a woman rushed towards us, causing both of our attention to switch to her.
Gasping for breath, the woman said, "Matsuki," as her gaze landed on me. She rushed towards me. "Let's go."
"Ate Yuri?"
What is she doing here?
"You have no reason to stay here," Ate Yuri said, pulling me out of my chair. "Let's go home," she insisted, clutching my hand tightly, and made her way towards the door, only to be confronted by the woman.
"What is this about, Yuri?" The woman yelled, blocking the door.
"I asked you to look for your brother, and just now I found out that he's been in your care for four years. You've been keeping him away all this time," she slapped Ate Yuri.
"But Matsuki is..."
"It's Motemeru, not Matsuki," the woman yelled. She was about to slap Ate Yuri again, but I stopped it.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her brows raised, irritated.
"I think that's enough. I don't know what you're talking about or why you're mad at her, but... at least unlike her, she took care of me and didn't ask me for anything in return," I glared. "And here you are, forcing me to do things for you. I just learned that we're mother and son; we're basically strangers. And you're already demanding something from me by force. You've got to be kidding me. If you're going to be my mother, there's no way I want it."
Leaving the woman behind, I excused myself, taking Ate with me. The door behind us thudded loudly as I purposefully closed it.
"Ate Yuri? How did you know I'm here?"
She held my hand tightly as we stopped in another room, and we arrived where Rina-san was.
"Matsuki..." she looked at me with teary eyes, turning and pulling me towards the exit.
"It's Motomeru." I grabbed her hands, stopping her from pulling me. "I asked why you're here."
She didn't say anything.
"Oh my," a familiar voice interrupted.
It was Rina San.
"Yuri, I think the kid needs to know it already."
"Are you the one who brought him here?"
"Yeah, sorry for acting on my own. It's because some stuff is going on," Rina San put her hand on her shoulder. "Let's go somewhere. I'll explain what's going on, Matsuki. You must be confused right now."
Ate Yuri couldn't look at me as she was dragged by Rina San outside, and I followed.