Chapter – 23
“Joo Seok-jin, are you trying to smile on purpose? Because it’s obvious.”
Gaeun had the ability to tell the difference between a natural smile and a forced one.
Moreover, Seok-jin’s smile right now was far too awkward to be natural.
“I’ve been told my smile is awkward quite a lot.”
“Anyway, you smiled, so that’s 10,000 won.”
“When we part ways, I said I’d settle for the whole day at once.”
“You know not to say you don’t have your wallet or don’t have change, right?”
I know.
Seok-jin would never do that.
Still, it didn’t hurt to mention the 0.1% possibility.
As the car suddenly fell silent, Gaeun turned her head and glanced at Seok-jin driving.
How did I end up involved with such an amazing man?
I guess that’s why people say you can’t predict the future.
Before the trip, Gaeun had planned to start job hunting again once she returned.
The conditions she wanted in a job were very simple.
A place that offers full insurance.
She never imagined that the job she would end up with would be marriage to Joo Seok-jin.
“How many friends do you have?”
“Boyfriends? Or girlfriends?”
At the word “boyfriend,” Seok-jin briefly looked at Gaeun before returning his gaze to the front.
“I meant close friends.”
The only friend he could really call close was Dain.
In high school, the two had been almost inseparable. Later, they attended different universities, which reduced how often they saw each other, but their closeness remained as if they had met yesterday.
Ah, I haven’t contacted Dain separately yet.
Gaeun thought she should call her as soon as she got home. She had no idea how hurt Dain might feel.
“One.”
“Oh, really?”
Did he seem disappointed that she only had one friend?
It couldn’t be helped.
During university, she spent so much time with the troublesome Jeong Han-kyung that she had no chance to make other friends.
She shouldn’t think of herself as someone socially broken…
“People in their twenties have it so tough these days. Part-time jobs, preparing for employment, studying to maintain grades…”
“Why are you suddenly talking about that?”
“Oh, that’s why I didn’t have time to make friends.”
Saying it this way, it would seem like she simply hadn’t had time to make friends because she was busy living her life.
Then she thought, maybe it’s actually lucky she didn’t have many friends.
If she had, her phone might have been constantly buzzing and could have burned out from all the contacts.
“They usually have a meal with close friends before getting married, so I asked.”
“Oh. Right.”
A meal with Seok-jin and Dain together—Gaeun worried it might feel like a burdensome company dinner for Dain, who worked in retail.
“How about this Saturday?”
“I’ll ask and let you know.”
Gaeun was already anxious about how to bring it up to Dain.
When they arrived at her home, Gaeun thanked Seok-jin and quickly got out of the car.
“Gaeun!”
“Yes?”
“Wait a moment.”
Seok-jin, getting out of the car, reached into the back seat.
A gift?
Gaeun’s hopeful eyes were fixed on Seok-jin.
“You should take this with you.”
What Seok-jin handed her was a large shopping bag of items he had bought.
Gaeun immediately handed the bag back to him.
“Put this in your house.”
“Why should I put it in my house?”
Seok-jin frowned slightly at the sight of the colorful wigs inside the bag.
“Then in our house?”
“That’s obvious.”
“They’re mine, so I want them to be put there in advance.”
“Why would I put your stuff in our house before we even get married?”
“Because we’ll use it after we’re married. The wigs are for fun, and the other items all have uses. I want them in our new home beforehand.”
If she brought them inside now, her mother might scold her for buying useless things.
“…Our new home.”
“Yes. Our new home.”
The word “new home” had a soft, fluttering feeling, and both Seok-jin and Gaeun felt their faces warm slightly.
It was a simple word, but it made them feel oddly tingly.
A place to live together.
Feeling ticklish down to her toes, Gaeun bit her upper lip with her lower one.
“…Alright then.”
“The chairman will be waiting, so let’s hurry to the hospital.”
Gaeun wanted to send Seok-jin off quickly.
Standing under the car’s headlights, Seok-jin looked like a model in an advertisement.
If she continued staring, she might accidentally drool, so she turned quickly toward her house.
As she opened her front door,
“Wait, Gaeun.”
Seok-jin called her again.
Did he have something else to say?
“There’s one important thing we forgot to do before parting ways.”
An important thing before parting?
They hadn’t agreed on anything like that…
Gaeun tilted her head. Seok-jin walked slowly toward her.
He came close enough that she could feel his breath.
“Say it from there.”
“It’s really important.”
“What… what is it?”
Gaeun’s heart felt like it might stop.
Seeing Seok-jin’s face so close, her heart, which had been beating normally, suddenly thumped.
If it was something very important before parting…
“Money settlement.”
As if he sensed she might imagine something improper, Seok-jin whispered quickly into her ear.
“Oh, right. We really did forget something important.”
My goodness. How could I forget the most important thing…
“How much is it?”
“30,000 won.”
“Wait a moment.”
Seok-jin pulled out his wallet from his back pocket.
“Here’s 100,000 won.”
“We don’t accept checks.”
“This is all I have.”
“Then let’s do a bank transfer.”
“30,000 won?”
“If you delay, you’ll cheat me, right?”
Gaeun urged, and Seok-jin took out his phone.
“Your account number?”
Handing him her phone, Gaeun carefully typed in her account number.
“Then transfer it like this from now on.”
Once the notification of 30,000 won being deposited appeared, Gaeun smiled in satisfaction.
She would save it up and spend it all at once when they parted.
Seok-jin planned to slowly forget her like installments, but he would probably forget all at once.
In that case, she thought it was only fair to erase all of his memories of her at once as well.
After Gaeun went inside, Seok-jin opened the shopping bag in the car.
Inside were colorful wigs and neatly stacked items beneath.
“What is this? Dinosaur fossil excavation?”
Reading the instructions on the back of the packaging, Seok-jin laughed.
It was a kit for excavating hidden dinosaur fossils using tools to break rocks and dig dirt.
He wondered why she bought such things.
Puzzles, mini block sets, bolt-and-spanner-shaped pens.
They seemed completely impractical, yet in a way, they fit Gaeun’s idea of indulgence.
Seok-jin’s lips curved into a smile.
“If Gaeun saw this, she would immediately ask for 10,000 won.”
His smile, and the 10,000 won—he hadn’t felt so relaxed in a long time.
Strangely, when he was with Gaeun, his face seemed to smile almost naturally, like he had always been a happy person.
He bit his clenched fist lightly to stop himself from laughing too much.
“Do I have to give you 10,000 won if I smile thinking of you?”
“No, I like you?”
“No.”
“Then why do you smile when thinking of me?”
Indeed, Seok-jin wondered why thinking of Gaeun made him smile.
Was there something about her face that triggered his smile cells?
“She’s funny.”
“Is my face funny? Thinking of it makes you laugh?”
“No, that’s not it. Anyway, good night. I’ll carefully place the things in our house.”
He marveled at how naturally the word “our” came out.
Strangely, with Gaeun, everything that had been awkward before felt familiar.
And his heart felt warm.
The next evening.
Gaeun waited for Dain in front of Seok-jin’s company.
Since the photo was exposed for only a short time, no one recognized her. Of course, her thick horn-rimmed glasses helped.
Gaeun thought it would be better to meet Dain and explain her relationship with Seok-jin in person rather than over the phone. They decided to have dinner together.
“Why isn’t she coming out yet?”
She had messaged Dain that she was right at the elevator, but she still hadn’t appeared.
“Gaeun.”
Gaeun turned her head at the voice.
She considered ignoring her and walking past.
Seok-jin, leaving work with Secretary Tak, came toward her.
Not for the person she was waiting for.
“Did you come to say something?”
“No, go back. I didn’t come for that.”
Gaeun clenched her teeth slightly and shook her head quickly.
But Seok-jin standing next to her drew the attention of a few employees nearby.
She should have stayed a little further away.
“Hey, Gaeun!”
Dain started walking quickly toward her.
Then she noticed Seok-jin standing beside Gaeun and slowed her pace.
“…Hello, sir.”
“The high school friend I mentioned, Kim Dain.”
“Oh, the only friend you have?”
Seok-jin deliberately mentioned the one friend, and Dain pursed her lips in slight irritation.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Joo Seok-jin, engaged to Gaeun.”
“Ah, yes.”
Everyone else, except Seok-jin, looked awkward.
Of course, it was understandable.
Even though it was only her and Dain, why did Secretary Tak look so surprised?
Suddenly, Secretary Tak bowed politely to Dain.
“Hello, ma’am.”
