TKFT 24

Chapter – 24

‘I really hope that’s true. I hope I look at least a little decent to Mr. Yugeon….’

Walking ahead of her, Yugeon clenched his fist tightly.

Even though he knew the look she’d given him up close earlier clearly meant, What on earth are you talking about right now?

Still, part of him had felt the urge to just go for it.

‘Yeah. You’re cute. In your childhood photos, and right now in front of me.’

Just cute?

You’re pretty too.

After admitting that to himself, he had wanted—so badly—to just close the distance and press his lips against Jian’s, which had been slowly drawing nearer.

If he’d really done that, what would’ve happened?

‘Would I have gotten slapped?’

With those slender hands, how much would it have hurt anyway?

Though the look of contempt that would’ve followed… that might’ve hurt more.

Lost in thought, the two of them arrived at the dining room.

On the table sat a steaming bamboo steamer.

Inside were freshly made songpyeon, their glossy surfaces glistening beautifully.

“Wow, they look delicious. They look especially good today. Here, have some.”

Jian placed one piece each onto Pilbeom and Yugeon’s plates.

She was about to take one for herself when—

Pilbeom’s sharp eyes flashed, and he suddenly spoke.

“Instead of that one, wouldn’t it be better to try this one first?”

The one he pointed to was the songpyeon he had made. The one Jian had been about to take was Yugeon’s.

To Jian, they looked similar enough that she had simply picked at random. But Pilbeom could easily distinguish his own creation.

Realizing Pilbeom’s intention, Yugeon joined in smoothly.

“……Isn’t it possible that the one she first reached for looked the most delicious? Jian is an artist, after all—she has a refined eye. I think she should eat whichever one her hand was drawn to, Father-in-law.”

At that, Pilbeom shot Yugeon a fierce glare.

The look in his eyes was as if he wanted to chew him up whole. Yugeon flinched.

But he didn’t back down. He placed the songpyeon Jian had originally picked onto her plate.

“Go ahead and eat. Start with the one that caught Jian’s discerning eye—the most beautiful and appetizing one.”

Yugeon smiled faintly.

Ha. Letting out a disbelieving scoff, Pilbeom refused to lose.

“No. This one will definitely taste better. Eat this first.”

With his chopsticks, he firmly pushed Yugeon’s songpyeon aside and placed his own in the center of Jian’s plate.

As a result, Yugeon’s piece was shoved into the corner—just like poor, neglected Yugeon himself.

‘……Isn’t that a bit too obvious?’

Yugeon glared at Pilbeom indignantly.

‘So what? Got a problem with that?’

Pilbeom shot back with his eyes.

‘What is wrong with these men… Seriously, male competitiveness….’

Cold sweat trickled down Jian’s forehead as she stared at the two pieces in front of her.

The two men looked at her with burning anticipation.

An impossible choice.

But the moment of decision had arrived.

Ah, what am I supposed to do…?

Under the piercing stares of two men desperate for her to choose theirs—

Unable to bear the situation any longer, Jian suddenly shouted:

“Ah! There’s a cockroach over there!”

She pointed across from her.

“Ahh!”

“Where?! A cockroach dares enter my house?!”

Yugeon shrieked and jumped up, while Pilbeom rolled up his sleeves and sprang to his feet.

But there was nothing where Jian was pointing.

“……What? Where’s the roach?”

“R-Right…? Where’s Mr. Roach?”

The two men looked around in confusion.

When they failed to find anything and turned back toward Jian—

Her cheeks were puffed out as she chewed something.

“W-What? You already ate them?”

Pilbeom stared blankly at the now-empty plate where the two songpyeon had once been.

“Yes. Mmm! So good. I must’ve mistaken what I saw for a cockroach.”

Hoho. Jian covered her mouth and laughed innocently.

“Which one did you eat first…?”

Pilbeom asked, and Yugeon also stared at her curiously.

“Hmm, I wonder? Which did I eat first? Did I eat both at the same time? I don’t quite remember.”

Hohoho. Jian laughed again, carefree.

…We’ve been had.

Realizing it too late, the two men slumped back into their seats.

They resumed eating, their enthusiasm deflated.

“……Well, the one Jian made is the best.”

“I agree with that, Father-in-law.”

Yugeon nodded solemnly in agreement.

Oh my. What a warm atmosphere all of a sudden.

Maybe the two grown men felt embarrassed about bickering like that. Either way, it was a relief.

‘If they actually get close, their chemistry might be amazing.’

Just imagining it made Jian’s lips curve into a happy smile.

Of course, if that day ever came, the fact that she had secretly put Yugeon’s songpyeon into her mouth first would have to remain Pilbeom’s eternal secret.

* * *

That night.

Lying in bed with his eyes closed, Yugeon felt surprisingly lighthearted.

A songpyeon-making battle with his father-in-law—now that he thought about it, what on earth had he been doing?

Still, he had gotten to see a photo of Jian’s mother.

And he’d learned a little about Jian’s life before marriage.

He was glad he had gone.

Tomorrow was the first day of the Chuseok holiday, and they planned to visit Jian’s family again for a meal with her father.

‘He’s not going to treat me like the unwanted one again, is he?’

Yugeon chuckled and tried to fall asleep—

‘……Wait.’

Something suddenly sliced through his thoughts.

A sense of unease about Pilbeom.

From what he’d seen today, the man clearly adored his daughter.

‘Then why… did he send her to blind dates instead of letting her marry the man she loved?’

At first, Yugeon had assumed the obvious.

Like the other blind date candidates, Jian must have come partly out of her own desire to become part of the CH family, and partly due to her parents wanting an alliance.

‘But that’s strange.’

Someone like Jian giving up a desperate, heartfelt love and meeting all those strict conditions just to become another man’s wife?

And Pilbeom, who doted on his daughter so openly—would he really treat her as a political pawn and ignore her love?

‘Was the man she loved someone her father had reason to oppose? Terminally ill…? Dirt poor…?’

If, for some unknown reason, Pilbeom had strongly objected, and Jian couldn’t marry her first love…

And if she resented him but still couldn’t turn her back on her father’s financial struggles, so she became Yugeon’s blind date—

It made a certain kind of sense.

‘What is this? Did I just write myself a whole drama plot?’

Yugeon rubbed his aching temple.

Trying to force logic into an unnatural situation had turned him into a part-time screenwriter.

‘What if it’s really something like that…?’

The more he thought about it, the deeper his curiosity grew.

‘If it’s that kind of story, usually the love that couldn’t be fulfilled becomes even more intense and tragic. Is that how it is for Eun Jian too? Then what does that make me…? Am I the villain in this love story?’

His chest throbbed strangely.

Something seemed to boil up inside him.

‘Ha! If the villain wins, then the villain becomes the protagonist. So there’s absolutely no reason for me to be curious about some tragic first-love backstory. Forget it. Go to sleep.’

Yugeon squeezed his eyes shut.

But sleep, which had been hovering nearby, had vanished.

Annoyed for no reason, he suddenly yanked the blanket toward himself, stealing it from Jian sleeping soundly behind him.

Hmph. Wrapping himself up tightly, he let out a snort.

“Mmnn…”

A faint murmur—almost like a whimper—came from behind him.

When he turned around, he saw her curled up into a small ball. She looked cold.

“……”

Yugeon quietly pulled the blanket back over her.