SELA - 71

The comment inevitably made Sa-hee’s face stiffen. She stopped Ji-hyuk from saying something. Grabbing his arm under the table and shaking her head slightly, Ji-hyuk barely swallowed his words.

“Let’s stop and just eat.”

With Tae-won’s hmm-hmm clearing of his throat, the conversation died down again. Ji-hyuk continued to fuss over Sa-hee, and she pressed his hand firmly, signaling him to stop, but there was no particular reaction. Sa-hee sighed softly.

“All the food is so delicious.”

Sa-hee said to Young-shin. It was a sincere attempt to ease the somewhat awkward atmosphere. Young-shin, looking at Sa-hee’s smiling face waiting for her reaction, nodded as if doing a favor.

“It’s a relief that it suits your taste. Eat a lot.”

Tae-won gave the reply instead. Sa-hee bowed her head slightly and looked down at her plate. It seemed like it would take a lot more time to open Young-shin’s heart. Well, it was something she had already experienced, so it was expected.

“Thank you, Mother.”

At Ji-hyuk’s sudden remark, Sa-hee and all the family members looked at him. Young-shin was the most bewildered.

“Thank you for going to the trouble of preparing a separate main dish. Thanks to you, this person with a seafood allergy can eat well too.”

A hint of disappointment flashed across Young-shin’s face, which had been slightly hopeful. It was as if she was thinking, ‘It’s about that girl again after all.’

“It’s just that last time, she couldn’t eat because of the shrimp and was struggling, so I remembered and was careful. We invited a guest, what would we do if she couldn’t eat?”

Her tone was inwardly cold, but Sa-hee was still grateful. After all, she had remembered and decided to be careful about her condition.

“Thank you, Mother.”

“Mother?”

“Yes.”

Young-shin seemed quite uncomfortable with Sa-hee calling her ‘Mother.’ But while she was thinking about what to say, she missed her chance to speak.

Soo-hyuk, who had been watching this whole situation, burst into a chuckle. He especially did so when he saw Young-shin’s narrowed brow and wrinkled lips. He could clearly imagine how much his mother’s insides were churning.

“Please eat a lot.”

Soo-hyuk, who was sitting across from Sa-hee, spoke to her quietly. Sa-hee, meeting his eyes, responded with a smile. Soo-hyuk also raised his eyebrows playfully and smiled. The meal continued.

________________________________________

When they were about to have tea after the meal, Tae-won received a report. It was a message that there was urgent business and he had to go to the office. In the end, Tae-won left first, promising to see them next time, and only four people remained.

After Tae-won left, Young-shin didn’t bother to hide her tired expression any longer.

“The master of the house is gone, how about we have tea another time?”

At the question directed straight at Sa-hee, not her two sons, she nodded, indicating she understood. She couldn’t bring herself to say no, and in fact, Sa-hee also wanted to leave this place quickly, so that was her answer.

“Then we’ll be going now.”

“Alright. Goodbye.”

There were no farewells promising to see each other again or setting a date for the next meeting. Sa-hee smiled and took Ji-hyuk’s hand, leading him away. His face had been frighteningly stiff since earlier, so it seemed urgent to get him out of there as quickly as possible, even a minute or a second sooner.

“I had a lovely time today. I hope to see you again soon.”

With Soo-hyuk’s warm farewell as the last thing they heard, Ji-hyuk and Sa-hee left the house. As soon as they closed the front door behind them, Sa-hee felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from her chest. She took a deep breath, as if trying to take in all the energy of the green garden, and carefully stepped down the stairs. Ji-hyuk, holding her hand, was by her side.

“Sorry.”

“For what?”

“Everything that happened at home.”

Deep apology was evident in Ji-hyuk’s eyes as he turned to look at her. Sa-hee quietly looked at him and then let out a soft laugh.

“I enjoyed the delicious food, so why?”

“......”

“I was scolded less than I thought. Your father seems to accept me a little more easily than I expected. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t worry too much, I was fine with everything.”

“......”

“It’s just that we left a little early. It’s a shame to go straight home like this... Shall we go for a drive?”

Sa-hee asked as they walked down the stairs and across the garden path. Ji-hyuk brushed Sa-hee’s hair behind her ear and nodded.

“Sure. Anything.”

Sa-hee intertwined her fingers with Ji-hyuk’s hand and walked with a little more energy. Ji-hyuk matched her pace.

________________________________________

Tae-won was lukewarm, and it was clear to anyone that Young-shin was against it. Having received a response that was neither acceptance nor rejection, the two went to the riverside, a place they often enjoyed visiting.

It was an afternoon with a bright sky and pleasant sunlight. It wasn’t as crowded as the weekend, but there were still quite a few people even on a weekday. The murmuring and laughter from here and there, and the sound of footsteps hitting the ground were nice to hear. Ji-hyuk and Sa-hee found a spot where they could see the scenery of the people well.

The passenger door of Ji-hyuk’s parked car was open. It was because Sa-hee had her legs out and was sitting, looking outside. Ji-hyuk was sitting next to her, leaning against the hood. Sa-hee and Ji-hyuk each held a beer and an ice cream, respectively, but Sa-hee didn’t budge even when Ji-hyuk looked at her as if asking if she was kidding.

“Are you happy because you’re the only one drinking cool beer?”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. You have to drive.”

“Ha.”

“And I’m the most upset today, so yield to me.”

“You put it that way, and I have nothing to say. Alright.”

Ji-hyuk’s face, looking at the melting ice cream with a seemingly serious expression, was quite a sight. Sa-hee chuckled as she looked at him and then spoke.

“I still can’t believe it.”

“What?”

“That something like this happened to us.”

Ji-hyuk looked at Sa-hee silently. A gentle breeze blew for a moment. Sa-hee brushed her fluttering hair back and took a sip of her beer.

“It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t anxious. I sometimes get nervous that the same thing will happen again. What about you?”

“What do you think?”

“Well, at least you don’t live like a worry doll like me.”

“You know me well. Why worry about something that hasn’t happened yet? If you have time for that, think about me one more time.”

It was a typical Ji-hyuk answer. Sa-hee smiled and traced the water droplets on the surface of her beer can with her fingertips.

“That’s so you, Ji-hyuk-ssi. That’s why I like it. If even you think that way, I can believe it and be okay.”

Ding, ding. At that moment, a child holding their mother’s hand passed by, pushing a butterfly pinwheel. The fluttering of the toy butterfly’s wings was as lovely as the toddler’s wobbly gait.

“Someday, we’ll have a child too, right?”

“Why? Shall we make one right now?”

“That word ‘right now’ sounds quite threatening.”

“Well.”

Ji-hyuk, brushing back his hair that was ruffled by the breeze, shrugged.

“Even if it’s not right now, I’m going to be shooting my shot under you every night...”

“Ji-hyuk-ssi?”

“What?”

“Can’t you soften your language a bit when we’re outside?”

Ah. Ji-hyuk, as if understanding, crunched down on his ice cream cone.

“We play ‘ssessesse’ every day, so we’re bound to have a pretty baby. Don’t you think so, Yoon Sa-hee?”

“Yes. I suppose that could happen.”

Sa-hee took a long sip of the last bit of her beer. It was a refreshing yet bitter taste that naturally made her frown. Rolling the empty, wet can in her hand, Sa-hee looked far across the river. She didn’t know where the cool breeze was coming from, but she figured it was somewhere far away.

“I’ll do better.”

Suddenly, a voice from beside her spoke. Sa-hee turned her gaze and saw Ji-hyuk staring at her.

“I know you were upset today.”

“......”

“But you know our ending, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

“We’re getting married in the end.”

“Yeah.”

“It wasn’t easy, but we met again.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t worry about anything. No matter which way we go, the happy ending won’t change.”

Hearing Ji-hyuk’s words, Sa-hee smiled, her eyes crinkling softly. Along with that, she wrinkled her nose and raised the corners of her mouth in a way that was refreshing to see. When her slightly wind-blown hair fluttered away, fully revealing her smile, it was as if something inside Ji-hyuk clicked anew. Like his heart had been gently squeezed.

After watching her for a moment, Ji-hyuk threw the melted ice cream into the trash can and properly seated Sa-hee in the passenger seat, fastening her seatbelt. Then he quickly got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

“What’s wrong? So suddenly.”

“Let’s go home.”

“Let’s get some more fresh air. The weather is nice.”

“......”

“Ji-hyuk-ssi. Did you hear me?”

Sa-hee reached out and placed her hand on Ji-hyuk’s thigh as she asked. He, who was about to drive off, paused and looked down at his thigh before staring intently at Sa-hee.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Here?”

“What? What are we doing here?”

Ji-hyuk chuckled and pulled Sa-hee’s hand from his thigh, placing it on his crotch. His noticeably erect member could be felt prominently. Sa-hee was surprised and quickly pulled her hand away.

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“Is there any other reason besides you?”

“What did I do?”

“Stop arguing and just quickly decide if we’re going to play ‘ssessesse.’ Here, or at home?”

“Are you seriously asking that right now?”

Ji-hyuk raised one eyebrow and tilted his head. It was a habit that came out when he was impatient and things didn’t go his way.

Sa-hee sat facing forward, clutching her seatbelt with her hand.

“Let’s go home.”

“You’re surprisingly conservative.”

“You’re too open-minded!”

Before Sa-hee could argue, the car suddenly sped off. It was so sudden that the car, shooting forward fiercely, started running with a screeching sound.

Sa-hee was simply bewildered by this whole sequence of events. What on earth had she done to suddenly make this man so excited? Really, just her existence alone did this? No way. That’s a sickness.

“I’m crazy too. It’s not like I’m in heat.”

Ji-hyuk muttered self-deprecatingly, as if reading Sa-hee’s thoughts, and chuckled. He seemed to find himself ridiculous too.

They had slept together countless times, but sex with Ji-hyuk still made Sa-hee nervous. It was the same now. Just the thought of sleeping with him soon made her whole body stiffen and her legs twitch strangely. She could only hope that her underwear wouldn’t be too wet when he took it off.