TKFT 11

Chapter 11

“Why… why did you come so quickly? It’s not even been an hour since I got your message saying you’d be late!”
Jian’s heart was pounding as if it would explode.
What should I do? What should I do?
Panicking, she grabbed her head with both hands. But no solution came to mind.

“What’s wrong? Is it someone other than Cha Yugeon?”
Pilbeom approached Jian, who was frozen in front of the wall pad in a strange state.

“Uh, well… it’s just that…”
‘Yugeon is Yugeon, but the Yugeon in my delusions—the one I told my dad about—isn’t here. Today, it’s the Yugeon who doesn’t even know it’s my birthday and has nothing in hand.’
She couldn’t bring herself to say that, her head spinning.

By then, Yugeon had entered the living room.

“Father-in-law, sir…? Hello. It’s been a while.”
Surprised by an unexpected figure in his home, Yugeon greeted politely for the time being.

“…Yes. It has been a while.”
Pilbeom accepted the greeting with a solemn expression.

Faced with the inevitable confrontation between the two men, Jian tightly closed her eyes.
Now Pilbeom’s interrogation of Yugeon was about to begin—whether he really knew it was her birthday, whether he had really prepared a gift, and so on.

‘What do I do? Should I just… faint again?’
Ah, she really felt dizzy. She might be able to collapse if she really wanted to.

“On a day like today, you had work at the company?”
“Ah, yes. There was an unexpected issue at a new brand apartment construction site, so I was on my way back.”
“I see. Was it resolved well?”
“Yes. Fortunately, it wasn’t a major problem.”

While scanning Yugeon during the conversation, Pilbeom noticed something.

“What’s that?”
He gestured toward Yugeon’s hand and asked.

Even Jian, who had been dizzy, finally noticed that Yugeon was holding something.
It was a bag.

“Ah, this… it’s tteokbokki.”
“Tteokbokki?”
Pilbeom repeated, and Jian’s eyes went wide.
Why would Yugeon… buy tteokbokki? Even someone like him likes tteokbokki?

“I bought it to have as a late-night snack with Jian. I told her to eat first in case she was hungry, but I regretted that she couldn’t have her birthday dinner with me.”

Birthday. He had indeed said it was her birthday.

‘Yugeon… knew it was my birthday?’
Jian’s eyes widened even more.

Through various documents prepared during the marriage process, Yugeon had learned Jian’s birthday: September 11. He had absentmindedly noted that if flipped, it’s 119, and the date stuck in his mind.

Yet just days before, Jian had been taken to the hospital by an ambulance after calling 119, and she had spent her birthday morning in the hospital—all because of him.

‘Celebrating a birthday like this… I really am a terrible person.’

Yugeon felt so sorry that he decided to properly celebrate Jian’s birthday.
He had wanted to say happy birthday when picking her up from the hospital, but…

‘Ha, congratulating someone in the hospital for being admitted because of me feels like giving poison and medicine at the same time. It’s not teasing, either.’

He couldn’t bring himself to say it.
So he planned to celebrate over dinner, but just as he was about to leave work, an unexpected issue arose at the company.
He felt bad telling her to wait blindly in case work took long, so ultimately, they failed to have dinner together.

‘I wonder if she ate properly. I wanted to see what she liked in particular so I could prepare it next time.’

After work, he called the housekeeper to ask if she had finished her meal. Unsurprisingly, she had eaten only a tiny amount.
Even though he had prepared a variety of foods, none seemed to be her favorite.

‘I should give her something more… but what? Ah, that’s right.’

While pondering, Yugeon suddenly remembered how Jian, lying in bed before sleep, had stared intently at a photo of tteokbokki on her phone.
She hadn’t even noticed him approaching after washing up.

So he chose tteokbokki as the late-night snack.

“Yugeon…!”
Overjoyed, Jian covered her mouth with both hands.
She was amazed—not only that he knew her birthday, but also that he knew she liked tteokbokki.
More importantly, Yugeon had successfully navigated the crisis of the moment.

Jian ran to Yugeon.
“I was just craving tteokbokki! You’re the best, Yugeon!”

Smiling brightly, she linked her arm with his and rested her head gently on him.
As if to show Pilbeom that everything she had said about Yugeon wasn’t a lie.

Startled by the sudden intimacy, Yugeon cleared his throat awkwardly.
Was the spicy scent of tteokbokki rising from the bag? His face suddenly felt warm.

Seeing the two like this, one of Pilbeom’s eyebrows shot up.

“…I see. But surely you didn’t just stop at tteokbokki for a birthday gift?”
Pilbeom asked in a low voice.

Jian, smiling as if her life had just been saved, felt her heart sink again.

‘A man spends money and time where his heart lies. Never be with a guy who begrudges spending on you.’

That was Pilbeom’s principle, repeated endlessly in her ears.

Jian was already moved that Yugeon had bought tteokbokki for her, but Pilbeom wouldn’t be satisfied.

“I-I’m fine with this…!”
As Jian hurriedly tried to defend Yugeon again, another sound came from the wall pad.

“Ah, excuse me. Looks like the order has arrived.”
Yugeon checked the wall pad, excused himself, and went to the entrance to pick something up.

It was a paper bag from the same brand as the gift Pilbeom had bought for Jian.

“Ahem… Happy birthday, Jian. This is a birthday gift.”
Yugeon handed over the gift with slightly awkward congratulations.
Since they were just in a contractual relationship, this wasn’t something they normally did.

‘I wonder who it’s from. Maybe it’s a bomb. Open it or not.’
He intended to hand it over casually.

Since he had decided to win her heart, he wanted to treat her well.
Suddenly being overly kind might feel unnatural, so he planned to take it slowly. A few days ago, he had carelessly called her names like “mistress.”

But in front of Pilbeom, he had to pretend to be affectionate, which felt a bit awkward.

Jian, holding the gift, wasn’t awkward—she was completely moved.

‘Yugeon even prepared a separate gift for me… Is this a dream? I haven’t woken up since I collapsed, right?’

Her heart racing, Jian opened the gift and was surprised again.
It was the same brand as Pilbeom’s gift, but in camel color—the one she had wanted.

“I-I heard this was sold out… how did you…!”
Her eyes widened, staring at Yugeon.

He smiled smugly inside.
‘Seems she likes it. My taste, perfect.’

While she was hospitalized, he had entered her dress room to think about a gift.
There, he noticed she had a lot of bags from this brand.
So while looking at the new season’s collection, he found this stylish model.

But it was sold out in domestic stores.
He considered buying another product, but this one was the most beautiful and suited Jian best, so he even contacted stores in Japan and Hong Kong.

“There was one left at the Japan store, so I had someone buy it. It came straight from the airport via courier, so it’s brand new.”

He casually mentioned his effort, seeing it as a chance to earn favor.
As expected, Jian’s eyes shimmered with emotion.

‘Haha, no need to get teary-eyed like that.’
Feeling proud, Yugeon puffed out his chest.

Strangely, though, Pilbeom seemed displeased even as his daughter was happy.
His furrowed brows and tightly closed lips made him look resentful.

Just a moment ago, Yugeon’s raised eyebrows lowered slightly.
Come to think of it, Pilbeom had always been a bit strange.
Even before the wedding, he would look at her with that displeased expression.