Chapter – 14
Gaeun looked at Seokjin’s back and admired him inwardly, thinking how cool he looked.
Even though she knew he was doing it on purpose to provoke Hankyung, her heart still fluttered.
Standing behind him, Gaeun stepped forward to his side.
“Let’s go inside.”
“Alright.”
Linking her arm through his, she walked into the house. As she did, she deliberately turned her head toward Hankyung, who was standing there in a daze, and gave a bright smile.
Was this what it felt like when a long-aching tooth finally fell out?
“…Thank you.”
Once inside, Gaeun removed her hand from his arm and expressed her gratitude.
“You saw that, right?”
Looking at Seokjin, who seemed completely confident in himself, she slowly nodded.
“If I acted naturally, I hope Miss Oh Gaeun will also do her best tomorrow.”
“Should we go in while chewing gum or something?”
“That’s a bit…”
“Hey, I’m joking.”
“It seems you really like joking around.”
“Yes, very much. I know President Joo hates jokes and teasing. But I like them, so I’m going to keep living this way. If you’re going to tell me to change, then you should find another woman.”
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
Seokjin asked, narrowing his eyes.
She couldn’t deny it.
She wanted him to know she had her own pride and opinions too.
“If you know it’s hard to find someone else, then just tell me your conditions. I’ll try to match them as much as possible.”
“You’ll match them?”
This time Seokjin nodded at her question.
Is this what they call salary negotiations?
Gaeun quickly started thinking.
She felt she needed to create terms favorable to herself.
Bringing up money again didn’t feel right since his offer was already generous, so she decided to adjust other conditions instead.
“I want us to renew our contract every three months.”
“Every three months?”
“You never know how people’s feelings might change.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I don’t know much about your personal life yet. A third party could appear between us in the future. So let’s check our situation every three months and renew the contract with new terms.”
What she knew about Joo Seokjin was extremely limited.
Even if this was for family reasons, she couldn’t trust him completely.
There could be another woman she didn’t know about, or some serious personal issue.
To prepare for that possibility, she thought three-month renewals were reasonable.
“…If that’s what you want, then we’ll do it.”
He accepted her proposal too easily, which made her suspicious, but she didn’t mind.
If she didn’t like him, she would just have to wait three months.
“But are you really going to sleep here?”
“I said I would.”
“You saw how uncomfortable my mom looked, right?”
“If I’m going to be staying here often in the future, I think it’s not bad to break the ice early.”
“Often in the future… that’s true.”
If they got married, it wouldn’t end with just one night.
No matter how different their worlds were, someone once said life is the same everywhere.
So why did she feel so embarrassed about opening her bedroom door?
“Should I open it?”
In the end, Seokjin opened the door for her as she hesitated.
But the bedding had been changed.
Instead of her usual floral blanket, there was now a neat sky-blue plain comforter on her bed.
Her mother must have changed it while they were out walking.
If she was willing to bring out new bedding, it seemed her mother didn’t dislike Seokjin.
“You can sleep here, and the bathroom is over there.”
Gaeun explained the layout of their small home.
She couldn’t read what he was thinking, but fortunately he didn’t look surprised or disappointed.
“Then I’ll wash up first.”
“…Alright.”
After watching him enter the bathroom, Gaeun quietly walked toward her mother’s room.
Her mother lay on her side, seemingly asleep.
“Mom… are you sleeping?”
“……”
“Mom, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand. I just thought it was too early to say anything. So please don’t hate me.”
“Is that what matters right now?”
Thinking she was asleep, Gaeun was startled when her mother suddenly sat up. She fell backward onto the floor in surprise.
“That scared me! You weren’t sleeping?”
“If you were me, would you be able to sleep?”
“Why wouldn’t you be able to sleep…”
Gaeun spoke quietly, watching her mother sigh heavily.
“How could I sleep? Huh? Tell me?”
“….”
She had nothing to say.
If she were in her mother’s position, she would probably feel the same.
Mom, this is just an act between me and President Joo.
If she said that, her mother would probably get even angrier.
Not just angry—she might even get hit.
Seeing how worried her mother was, Gaeun felt she had to reassure her somehow.
“Mom, we just like each other. That’s right—we’re in love!”
“You foolish girl. If love alone were enough for marriage, who wouldn’t be married?”
“But the most important thing is how the two people feel.”
“I don’t know… Even if things tilt, they should tilt reasonably.”
Her mother turned away, hitting her chest lightly as she sighed deeply.
Her concerns were natural.
The man her daughter brought home saying she would marry him was the president of Jushin Retail—and the youngest son of the Jushin Group.
“He says he likes me. I’m just going to trust him.”
“But still…”
Her mother turned back and grabbed her hands, looking at her pleadingly.
Her eyes were even moist with tears.
“I’m worried. No matter how nice President Joo is, his family isn’t ordinary. Even people from similar backgrounds find fault over wedding gifts and status. How much worse would it be in a family like that?”
“He said he’d be my shield. That he’d do anything for me. So don’t worry too much.”
“…If your father were here… if only he were…”
Lowering her head, her mother’s voice trembled.
Gaeun gently removed her hands and stood up, holding back her tears.
“…I’m going to wash up.”
She didn’t want her mother to see her cry, so she quickly left the room.
The moment her father was mentioned, she felt like tears would start falling.
She wiped the tear marks from her cheeks and stood in front of the bathroom.
She was about to open the door without thinking when she suddenly remembered Seokjin was inside and stopped her hand.
Click.
At that moment, the door opened.
Gaeun’s eyes widened at the sight before her, and she swallowed hard.
Water droplets fell from his slightly damp hair, tracing down his smooth, firm upper body. He looked like a swimmer.
And on his abdomen were clearly defined V-line abs.
Why is this man walking around half-naked in someone else’s house?
…Thankfully.
“Could you move?”
“Oh… yes…”
She stepped to the left to make way.
But as Seokjin moved in the same direction, her gaze unintentionally landed near his chest again.
Just looking made her face burn hot.
“My eyes are up here…”
His words snapped her back to reality.
He might think she was staring on purpose.
But this was just an accident.
Now she looked like some pervert staring at a man’s body.
If she just stepped aside quietly, he might think she was a weirdo who ogled his body.
Gaeun took a quiet deep breath and looked straight into his eyes calmly.
“Could you move that body first?”
“…?”
“Your abs aren’t even that impressive. And yet you’re asking me to look away? That’s pretty unpleasant.”
Slipping past him into the bathroom, she deliberately shut the door loudly.
Sitting on the closed toilet lid, she began mentally calming herself.
You didn’t see anything, Oh Gaeun.
This was an accident.
An unavoidable accident.
You were just standing there and he suddenly came out.
“Right. An accident.”
She squeezed a lot of toothpaste onto her brush and started brushing vigorously.
Even though the mirror clearly showed her own reflection, Seokjin’s upper body kept appearing vividly in her mind.
If they ended up married, she would definitely tell him to always wear a shirt inside the house.
Absolutely no walking around shirtless.
She clenched her fist in determination.
* * *
The next morning, Gaeun woke a little after eight and walked into the living room while rubbing her eyes.
She stretched and let out a strange noise, then quickly covered her mouth.
She had forgotten Seokjin was in the house.
“You’re up?”
“Yeah, Mom.”
“Mr. Joo left early. He said he had a morning meeting.”
That early?
Wasn’t he supposed to be on vacation until this week?
She decided she would contact him later and went to wash her face.
* * *
Secretary Tak had been watching Seokjin carefully for a while.
His face looked serious, as if he had faced strong opposition at Gaeun’s house.
On top of that, despite being on vacation, he had called at dawn to say he would return to work.
Secretary Tak was worried.
“You remember tonight, right?”
“Yes. How should I prepare?”
“Who’s the head of personal shopping at Jushin Department Store?”
“That would be Manager Kim Hyeryeong.”
“I’ll contact Miss Oh Gaeun myself. Coordinate with Manager Kim and have her prepare suitable clothes.”
“Understood.”
So tonight was the visit to his family home.
Even if this was a marriage of convenience, Secretary Tak clicked his tongue internally seeing his boss discuss such an important personal matter like routine business.
“You may go.”
“Yes, sir.”
Secretary Tak quickly left to contact Manager Kim.
“Secretary Tak.”
“Yes? Is there something else?”
As he was about to leave, Seokjin called him back.
This time Seokjin looked more serious and was even spinning a pen in one hand.
That was a habit he had when thinking deeply about something important.
“Find me a personal trainer. Someone specializing in abs.”
“Abs?”
“I haven’t been working out lately. I should start again.”
“How about swimming? Abs aren’t really related to health…”
“I need abs. So don’t argue—just find someone.”
