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The words she couldn’t bring herself to say, the words she had to hold back, the words that had made Kang-joon anxious and made him wait. But at this moment, they flowed effortlessly from Sehee’s lips.
“I’ll marry you.”
It was courage finally found after a long, roundabout journey. As if rewarding that courage, Kang-joon replied not with words, but by pressing his warm lips against hers. It was so simple. What was so difficult about these words that I had to hold back and make him suffer? After the kiss, Kang-joon said with a smile,
“So this is what it feels like.”
As Sehee looked at him, as if asking what he meant, Kang-joon gently met her gaze.
“Like I own the whole world.”
That was Kang-joon’s true feeling at that moment. The unprecedented sense of accomplishment was just a bonus.
“Which month shall we set for the wedding?”
He asked casually, but Kang-joon’s mind was rapidly spinning. Although he had told Joo Sehee several times, Kang-joon was a man who knew how to wait. He possessed that much patience and endurance. But he also knew when to push forward like a bulldozer, and that time was now. First, he had to inform the elders that they would marry as soon as possible. And what else? Should he use Pré as an excuse to register their marriage first?
“I’d like to do it as soon as possible. Next month would be even better. Oh, marriage registration before the wedding...?”
Sehee, who had been listening quietly, reached out, cupped Kang-joon’s cheek, and smiled sweetly.
“Kang-joon, I’m not running away anymore.”
Her tone was soft, as if soothing him. As if she knew why Kang-joon was acting that way.
“As long as you love me, Kang-joon, I’ll never leave. I promise as Pré’s mother.”
So don’t be anxious. Her clear eyes, looking only at him, whispered lovingly to Kang-joon.
“Let’s not rush, let’s do it properly. It’s a real wedding with you, Kang-joon.”
Under the name Joo Sehee, not Yoo Taeryeong. At Sehee’s calmness, Kang-joon couldn’t help but smile wryly. Just as Joo Sehee said, he felt like the most foolish idiot in the world when he stood before this woman. But he didn’t mind. With a light sigh, as if conceding defeat, Kang-joon said,
“Whatever you want, Sehee. I’ll just follow.”
“First, I think it’s right for the elders to decide the wedding date, not me. And once we get permission, I’d like to prepare for the wedding with your mother. Is that okay?”
He was nodding, but Kang-joon was already thinking something else. He figured he could just persuade Chairman Seo and Yeon-sook to set the wedding date quickly, not Joo Sehee.
“And I’ll get permission for the marriage directly from your grandfather and mother.”
“I thought I already told you I got permission.”
“How would I know if you blackmailed them into giving it? I want to get permission myself, as Joo Sehee.”
At the stubbornness in Sehee’s eyes, Kang-joon had no choice but to concede again.
“Then what about Pré?”
“I’ll tell the elders about Pré after we get their permission.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to get permission from your grandmother.”
“No!”
Kang-joon looked a little surprised at Sehee’s vehement reply. But it couldn’t be helped.
“Actually, the type of man my grandmother dislikes the most is a handsome man from a chaebol family. But Kang-joon...”
Sehee conveyed the rest with her eyes. Among chaebol families, you’re top-tier. Your looks are top-tier. The conclusion is, you, Seo Kang-joon, are the type my grandmother dislikes the most. If she finds out I’m pregnant before marriage, she can’t even imagine how furious her grandmother will be. No matter the reason, her grandmother will blame Kang-joon for everything. Just thinking about it made her sigh.
“It might take some time to get my grandmother’s permission. But I’ll definitely get it, so please wait. Once I have her permission, we can have the wedding quickly.”
At Sehee’s words, Kang-joon’s expression was lost in deep thought instead of answering.
“Kang-joon?”
Only then did Kang-joon slowly raise his head and ask with a slight pout,
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“You just have to stay put, Kang-joon.”
“...”
“Until now, I’ve always stayed put and you’ve done everything. So I want to handle the wedding myself. So you don’t have to worry about it.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say no. Sehee let out a small laugh at Kang-joon’s displeased expression, his eyebrows just twitching. Sehee naturally nestled into Kang-joon’s arms, as he looked at her with eyes that couldn’t understand why she was laughing.
“Except for the wedding, you can do whatever you want with everything else from now on, Kang-joon.”
Kang-joon looked down at her, confused by her seemingly incomprehensible words.
“If my last plan to get Aunt hospitalized succeeds, will you protect me and Pré, Kang-joon? Can I do that?”
Sehee, speaking with her cheek against Kang-joon’s broad chest, wore a very relaxed expression.
“Now, within the fence you’ve built for me, I want to rest comfortably and be happy, just looking at you and Pré. I’m exhausted now. Maybe my battery ran out a long time ago, and I was just barely holding on.”
That was Sehee’s true feeling at that moment.
“This is all your fault, Seo Kang-joon.”
Muttering, Sehee wrapped her arms around Kang-joon’s neck and hugged him tightly. She was already exhausted and wanted to quit, but she had to run a race she couldn’t stop. Because the moment she stopped, Chairwoman Jo would devour her. She had always thought it was something she had to endure and solve alone, and the pressure was beyond imagination. It choked her breath and made her life dry. But meeting this man had shaken her life and thrown it off course. She fell in love, dreamed of an impossible future, and wanted to rely on someone, even foisting her own karma onto him. But she realized that such a life wouldn’t be so bad. Because of this man, Seo Kang-joon. It was a magical miracle that no one else could have performed if it weren’t for Seo Kang-joon.
“You loved me too much, and now I’ve become spoiled. So marry me and take responsibility for me forever.”
This time too, Kang-joon answered with a kiss. Sehee willingly accepted Kang-joon’s hot and passionate kiss. She hugged the man who had become her whole world, along with Pré, as if she would never let him go again. After a long while, his lips parted from hers and moved to her ear, languidly whispering,
“The rest is for the bed.”
At that alluring warning, Sehee opened her eyes. But Kang-joon was already striding into the house. Kang-joon knelt on one knee in front of Sehee, who was carefully seated on the bed. His eyes, looking up softly, were gentle. When Sehee met his gaze, wondering why he was looking at her like that, Kang-joon reached out his hand to Sehee. His hand had only touched her blouse, but heat already spread beneath her sensitive skin. To Sehee, who bit her lower lip tightly, enduring the sensation, Kang-joon slowly said,
“From today, your clothes won’t be torn anymore, Sehee.”
Now? At that, Sehee glared at him, not unkindly. Just as Kang-joon said, after spending the night with him, her clothes were never intact, especially buttoned ones. It was also the only time this perfectly composed man acted like a beast. But Sehee actually liked Kang-joon like that. It felt like she was the only one who could make Seo Kang-joon behave that way. Unaware of her thoughts, his fingers slowly undid the buttons of her blouse, so slowly it melted her heart. Sehee couldn’t take her eyes off Kang-joon. A man with beautiful hands seriously unbuttoning her blouse—even that sight was sexy. Of course, he would never know this. But as Kang-joon unbuttoned her blouse, he narrowed his eyes. Wondering why, she lowered her gaze and saw her slightly swollen belly inside the loosened blouse. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, Sehee covered her belly with her hand.
“Pré must have grown quite a bit. I only found out my belly was showing yesterday.”
“...”
“Soon my belly might become as big as Namsan, and I might turn into a penguin.”
But Kang-joon neither answered nor laughed. Feeling uneasy for no reason, Sehee gnawed at her lip. Her belly was only slightly out now, had her attractiveness as a woman already halved?
“Is it very unsightly?”
Instead of answering, Kang-joon brought his warm lips to her slightly protruding belly and mumbled,
“Pré, you need to grow quickly.”
Sehee’s eyes widened in surprise at his touch and whisper.
“Daddy wants to see Joo Sehee the penguin quickly.”
Kang-joon slowly raised his upper body and brought his face close to Sehee’s. Their foreheads touched, their breaths intertwined, and their lips met.
“Because I think she’ll be insanely beautiful.”
It was Kang-joon’s last whisper to Sehee before their lips completely devoured each other.
________________________________________
Mija diligently planted and cultivated various crops in the large vegetable garden behind her house. At nearly eighty years old, her strength was failing, and her stamina was low. But she woke up early in the morning and spent time in the garden until late evening. All of this was for her granddaughter, who had simple tastes. If she earned a lot of money, instead of just bragging, she should change her taste and eat more meat. Why does she still like greens so much? Mija felt a pang of guilt, wondering if it was a habit from not being able to eat meat when she was young that continued into adulthood. But she didn’t know how to express that regret in words. Preparing a warm meal with the crops she grew herself was all she could do for her granddaughter. It was the moment Mija, who had roughly eaten lunch with cold rice mixed with water and kimchi, stood up from the porch. Manho, her neighbor’s younger brother, rushed into the yard, out of breath.
“What’s happening at this hour?”
“It’s a strange world. Some young people came to our village for farm work. I was wondering if I should send one strong young man over, what do you think?”
“Oh, no thank you. What’s so hard about planting a few weeds in the garden that I need to hire someone?”
“It’s quite big for just a garden, isn’t it?”
“I said no! It’s more comfortable doing it myself.”
Manho quickly followed behind Mija, who was rubbing her bent back and walking away.
“Oh, come on, listen to me to the end!”
“What?!”
To the grumbling Mija, Manho whispered in her ear.
“Hey, you old man, I can’t hear you! I can’t understand you even if you speak normally!”
Manho scratched his head at Mija’s annoyance, due to her poor hearing.
“I’m telling you, there’s a young man who’s tall, well-built, and incredibly handsome and well-behaved! The moment I saw him, I immediately thought of our Sehee!”
Mija’s ears perked up, but then her face hardened.
“Don’t you know handsome men are arrogant?”
“Oh, come on, I’m telling you he’s not! Do you think I, at my age, can’t tell a good person? Don’t you trust my eyes?”
“Is he that good?”
“Of course! The houses with granddaughters are already scrambling to take that young man, I tell you! But that young man refused everyone and said he wanted to work alone. So I was thinking of sending him to your house, what do you say?”
“Hmm hmm, alright, send him over first.”
After Manho left, Mija sat back down on the porch and muttered, looking up at the clear blue sky.
“If he’s to my liking, then perhaps our little puppy will meet him once, too?”
Just then, a deep, low voice quietly echoed in the yard.
“Hello, Grandmother.”
A tall shadow stretched long into the yard. A tall young man in comfortable clothes was striding in. As Mija limped from the porch, trying to get down, the young man quickly approached and helped her.
“Your knees seem bad, please be careful.”
Pretending to rub her back, Mija secretly glanced at the young man’s face and let out a deep sigh. Just as Manho said, unlike his sturdy physique, his face was more than just handsome; it was radiant.
“Have you ever farmed?”
“I haven’t, but I’m intelligent and strong, so I’ll do twice as well as instructed.”
His tone was polite, yet it carried a strong air of arrogance. Just then, a group of young men and women walked boisterously past the yard. They played around, hugged, jumped and put each other in headlocks, and kissed on the cheek, giggling. Whether they were lovers or not, they weren’t even married, and to act like that was unimaginable in the old days. It was the moment Mija, watching them displeased, was about to say something.
“I guess that’s why elders say young people these days are no good.”
At the young man’s old-fashioned remark, even though he was clearly around the same age, Mija blurted out,
“How old are you, young man?”
“I’m 31.”
Two years difference isn’t bad, but no matter how she looked, his appearance was too perfect. Feeling unnecessarily protective, Mija suddenly became irritable.
“You’re young too!”
“My body is young, but my mind is not.”
Mija looked at him, wondering what he meant, and the young man calmly continued.
“I came out alone because I don’t like hanging out like that.”
Only then did Mija understand. Why he wanted to work alone, despite having a face that would attract women in droves.
“I’m quite old-fashioned. So I only intend to date and marry one woman.”
The face she hadn’t liked because it was too handsome suddenly looked noble, like a scholar, to Mija.
“Unlike your looks, your thoughts are properly set.”
“Do you think so?”
The young man leaned in, looking down at her intently, and Mija flinched. Oh dear. Even with her dim eyesight, her elderly heart couldn’t handle the radiant face so close to her. Should I have him meet our granddaughter once? With a sudden flicker of greed, Mija deliberately averted her gaze and blurted out,
“What do you do for work in Seoul, young man?”
And so, Mija didn’t notice. The faint smile that spread across the handsome young man’s face.
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