CEB - 38

38. Dan-jung’s Problematic Smile

Having finished preparing to go out, Dan-jung decided to ask Min-hyuk, who would be picking her up soon, what had happened. Min-hyuk had called her earlier, saying he would pick her up for lunch together. Dan-jung had said she could go alone, but Min-hyuk insisted on picking her up. While she appreciated his consideration, she knew he couldn’t be her chauffeur forever.

‘Should I buy a car?’

Dan-jung decided to buy a car as soon as she got married. She thought it was inappropriate for the wife of Le Soleil Hotel’s president to take the bus. Even if she didn’t care, she couldn’t ignore other people’s opinions. In fact, Dan-jung had been thinking a lot about Min-hee’s words when she visited her in-laws before.

[Doesn’t my new sister-in-law think about my brother’s position? What will people think of our family if the hotel’s hostess works at the front desk?]

Although her words were sharp and thorny, they weren’t entirely wrong. Dan-jung had to become a woman who suited Min-hyuk, and she didn’t need to spend her savings anymore. According to Secretary Oh, everything needed for the wedding and honeymoon expenses had already been paid for. If Jin-hee hadn’t asked for an officetel, Dan-jung would have given her savings to her parents and used the monthly rent deposit for wedding funds. In fact, she had saved that money at her mother’s insistence, who told her to contribute to the family before she got married. She had lived like a miser, not spending or eating, to save that money.

‘Min-hyuk gave them a separate envelope, so I don’t need to give them anything, right?’

Dan-jung was sure that Min-hyuk had given her parents a substantial amount of money. Otherwise, her parents would have complained about how little the chaebol had given them. Dan-jung sighed, recalling her mother’s words during the engagement meeting.

[Our apartment is too small and old, and I was so embarrassed in front of my future son-in-law. Isn’t that right, dear?]

Her face was filled with excitement, as if she had won the lottery, and she was thinking about how to change their house. Dan-jung, having lived as her mother’s daughter for a long time, knew her too well. But Dan-jung didn’t want to be swayed by her parents anymore. If she kept being dragged around by them, it could bring shame to her in-laws and husband.

Dan-jung took out the bankbook she had put in the drawer. She was torn between buying a car and giving the money to her parents, telling them she couldn’t give them any more. Just then, the doorbell rang, and Dan-jung put the bankbook back in the drawer and hurried to greet Min-hyuk.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go then.”

The moment Dan-jung saw Min-hyuk, who had come to pick her up, she remembered what had happened last night, her heart pounded, and her cheeks quickly flushed. But Min-hyuk looked no different from usual. Although he was always expressionless, Dan-jung suddenly missed the smile he had given her last night.

“Um... Mr. President, I mean Min-hyuk, is there something going on at the company?”

On the way to the wedding shop after lunch, Dan-jung looked at Min-hyuk with a serious face. She had held back during lunch, wanting to enjoy some time alone with him, but now she was asking.

“We caught the person who spread the malicious rumors about you. It turns out they were also the one who spread this rumor.”

“I thought so. Actually, I just got a call from Manager Na. She apologized profusely.”

Dan-jung understood why Manager Na was trembling. She might have thought Dan-jung was easy to deal with, but she was afraid of Min-hyuk. It was pathetic how she was so weak to the strong and so strong to the weak.

“We’re going to fire her and file criminal charges, so you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“Um, can I handle this myself?”

Dan-jung disliked Manager Na so much that she couldn’t forgive her, but she didn’t want to press criminal charges. She didn’t want to push someone who had already resigned and lost their job to the edge of a cliff. But to become Min-hyuk’s equal, she didn’t want to be swayed by others anymore. She had made things worse by always giving up and not standing up for herself, but she felt she should handle this herself to move forward. Only then could she change her resigned way of life, which she had learned from watching her parents favor her younger brother.

“What do you plan to do?”

“I want to meet her and ask why she did it. I’ll decide whether to forgive her or press charges afterward. You might not trust me, but I hope you’ll watch me.”

“Alright. I’ll leave this to you. But if you don’t make an example of her, someone else will try to tear you down again.”

Min-hyuk couldn’t fully trust Dan-jung’s words when she said she would handle it, so he spoke firmly. But seeing her determined eyes, he felt somewhat relieved. She was changing, becoming stronger.

________________________________________

‘That smile is a bit troublesome.’

Looking at Dan-jung smiling brightly in her wedding dress, Min-hyuk felt a sense of unease again. As always, her smile, showing off her even teeth, looked natural and kind. It was different from his artificial smile. But the problem was that other men thought so too. In fact, Min-hyuk had witnessed Dan-jung rejecting advances from customers at the hotel front desk more than once. And perhaps he had proposed to Dan-jung because of that smile. With the wedding only four days away, he was still worried that another man might steal her away.

“Min-hyuk? Min-hyuk~ how is this?”

Dan-jung, who had changed into her wedding dress, called Min-hyuk, who was lost in thought, several times. Finally hearing her voice, Min-hyuk looked up at her. Dan-jung, wearing a mermaid-style wedding dress that she liked the most, looked at Min-hyuk with a confident face. The dress, tight from the waist to the knees and flared out below, suited her voluptuous and slender figure perfectly. And her smile perfectly complemented the dress.

‘I’m still worried.’

Min-hyuk picked up Dan-jung every time not only to prevent any problems before the wedding but also because of his own anxiety.

“It’s beautiful. Let’s go with that.”

“Aren’t you going to try on your suit, Min-hyuk?”

“I already had it tailored a long time ago.”

“Oh, I see. It’s like everything was ready for the wedding except for the bride.”

Dan-jung was once again impressed by Min-hyuk’s flawless drive. Not only Min-hyuk but also Secretary Oh, who assisted him, was a flawless person. It would have taken her months, but she had perfectly planned everything in just three days. Dan-jung, who now had to look up and run forward, decided to learn their drive and decisiveness.

“Do you have plans for tonight?”

On the way home after picking out the wedding dress, Min-hyuk asked about Dan-jung’s schedule. He had gone to his parents’ house and received an invitation from his mother for dinner. But the problem was that only Dan-jung was invited, not him. Although his mother wouldn’t say anything bad, Min-hyuk was secretly worried about sending Dan-jung alone.

“No, I don’t have any special plans. Why?”

“My mother invited you to dinner.”

“Me? What about you, Min-hyuk?”

“Unfortunately, I have a lot of work to do.”

“Oh, I see.”

Dan-jung was very relieved that Yeon-ju didn’t oppose her marriage, but she still found her in-laws’ house difficult and intimidating. It felt like a huge, majestic mountain was in front of her.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, of course. I’m fine.”

However, she couldn’t refuse her mother-in-law’s invitation. But Dan-jung felt she needed to brace herself to meet Min-hyuk’s younger sister, her future sister-in-law.

“Ah! And I’d prefer if you didn’t smile or grin outside.”

“Pardon?”

Dan-jung blinked, not understanding Min-hyuk’s sudden request.

“Your smile is quite problematic, Dan-jung.”

“Mine?”

“Since the wedding is just around the corner, let’s be careful.”

Min-hyuk closed his mouth after saying that, but Dan-jung still didn’t understand him. What was she supposed to be careful about? What was wrong with her smile? Sometimes, he was just impossible to understand.

________________________________________

Si-woo saw Manager Na leaving with her luggage and picked up his phone to call Hye-mi. He had hoped for a scandal between Dan-jung and himself, but things had gone awry, only improving Dan-jung’s image. Moreover, Dan-jung, who was wary of him, was difficult to approach. Even when he contacted her to meet, she only apologized, and when she came to see him at the hotel yesterday, she disappeared as soon as their business was done. Why was she so wary of him when she met other guys just fine? Si-woo knew that Dan-jung had liked him for a long time. She had only hidden her feelings because he was just a colleague. But with her wedding approaching, Dan-jung seemed to have completely erased any lingering feelings for him. He had planned to drug her with a female arousal pill and spend a night with her. But now that his plan was useless, he was getting annoyed. He thought it might be better for Hye-mi to shake Min-hyuk instead. After all, Hye-mi had said she would come to him if she had Min-hyuk.

“It’s me. Let’s meet today.”

“Why should I meet you?”

“I think you agreed to my terms.”

“He’s not mine yet.”

“That’s why I’m asking to meet.”

Si-woo smiled bitterly and made an appointment with Hye-mi.

“Why did you want to see me?”

A while later, Hye-mi appeared in front of Si-woo, arms crossed and a vexed expression. She had agreed to his terms after seeing Min-hyuk and Dan-jung looking affectionate, but Si-woo was still insignificant to her. And she didn’t like giving him her precious time. Si-woo was someone who could only be with her when she wanted, someone she could discard, someone who shouldn’t dare to seek her out first.

“Min-hyuk himself revealed that the rumors were false.”

“So?”

Hye-mi found Si-woo, who couldn’t even handle such a small matter, pathetic. Moreover, she was on edge as Min-hyuk’s wedding approached. Although Si-woo had confidently said he would get them divorced after the wedding, there was no way Min-hyuk, on whom her everything depended, would divorce Dan-jung. Si-woo didn’t know, but it wasn’t easy for those who had something to let it go.

“If you’re done, I’ll go. Don’t call me for such trivial things next time. Unlike you, I’m quite busy.”

As Hye-mi got up, Si-woo, his pride hurt, hurriedly grabbed her arm. He disliked and resented how Hye-mi looked down on him, but at the same time, he was determined to have her.

“This.”

Si-woo placed a small packet in Hye-mi’s hand.

“What’s this?”

“An arousal drug. It’ll make you want to have sex within ten minutes.”

“Ha! Why are you giving this to me...”

“It’s a gamble, either way.”

Hye-mi was momentarily angry, but she understood what Si-woo meant. As he said, she only had four days left. If she didn’t have him now, she would never have him. Overwhelmed by the fear of never having him, Hye-mi clenched the packet in her hand.