Side Story 12

Sitting in the back seat of the car, Gwihyeon looked at the wristwatch on his left hand with a stern face. Even though five minutes had passed since the agreed time of their meeting, the woman had not yet shown up. As he impatiently glanced out the window, she finally opened the front door and stepped out. 

Lee Ra-yoon, the daughter of the chairman of Badam Pharmaceuticals. She was the woman Gwihyeon was going to marry. 

The driver quickly got out of the car and opened the door on the opposite side where Gwihyeon was sitting. As Ra-yoon got into the car, the driver closed the door carefully and sat in the driver’s seat, immediately starting the engine. 

“You’re six minutes late.” 

Gwihyeon said in a cold voice without looking at Ra-yoon. He absolutely detested people who were late, especially since today was only their second meeting and the first time they were alone together. Gwihyeon was not pleased with her seemingly lax attitude even though their marriage had been decided. 

“I’m still a bit hungover. Even though I drink every day, I feel like this every morning.” 

Turning his head, Gwihyeon gave her a bewildered look. Ra-yoon was pressing her temples with her fingers, clearly suffering from a hangover, her face scrunched up, and a faint smell of alcohol lingered on her. Gwihyeon was astonished that she, his prospective bride, was suffering from a hangover on the day she was going to her prospective in-laws for the first time. 

“Do you know where we are going right now?”

“To Suwon, right? Your house is in Suwon.” 

“What were you doing before you became a part of Chairman Lee’s family registry?” 

Gwihyeon asked with a serious expression as he watched her take off her shoes and place her feet on the seat. He hadn’t particularly investigated where or what she did before being recognized as Lee Tae-seong’s daughter. Gwihyeon felt he should look into her past for the first time.

 “You’re asking so quickly.”

 “Did you have a job related to alcohol?”

 “Yes, I’ve worked at a bar before. I’ve also worked at a flower shop and at a company. I’ve had a variety of jobs.”

Gwihyeon watched as Ra-yoon’s face wrinkled, and she chuckled. 

“So you met your biological father and overnight your fortunes changed.”

“Is this what you call a change in fortunes?”

“Having lived without a stable job and then becoming Chairman Lee’s daughter and marrying me, wouldn’t you say that’s quite a rise in status?”

Her smile vanished instantly. Ra-yoon scoffed as she continued.

“Living decently one day, then suddenly becoming the unwanted member of a chaebol family, and eventually marrying a man who caused a stir around the world with a marriage fraud scandal, you call that a rise in status? The old fogey sold me to save the company’s image. There’s no rise in status like this.”

“…What did you just say to me?”

Gwihyeon asked, unable to believe what he had just heard. Ra-yoon brazenly hurled insults directly in his face. He couldn’t believe how irrational and disrespectful she was. 

“I meant that we should wisely navigate the hardships that come our way.” 

“Ms. Ra-yoon, I don’t know what kind of environment you grew up in, but the Seorae Jeong clan is not a frivolous one. You should definitely refrain from such disrespectful and low behavior in front of adults.” 

“Was it not said that those without sin should cast the first stone?”

“……”

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

As Gwihyeon’s face grew stern, Ra-yoon shrugged her shoulders as if acknowledging, then immediately asked in a casual tone. 

“Oh, by the way, I like Drumstick’s works. Can I meet them when we go to Suwon? If I marry you, I’ll become her sister-in-law, right? I’d like to get along well with my sister-in-law.” 

“I have not given you permission to speak so informally.”

“I thought you were just reserved, but you’re more fastidious than I expected.” 

“And you are more tiresome than I expected.”

“Then we are like a punishment to each other.”

“…….”

Gwihyeon stiffened his face and turned his head to the opposite side, showing an attitude that her statement wasn’t worth responding to. Ra-yoon, not expecting an answer, yawned quietly and leaned her head against the window, falling asleep.

* * *

When Gwihyeon and Ra-yoon entered the yard of the house in Suwon, Ijun was holding Si-moon in one arm and had his other arm around Siyeon’s waist, standing by the pond and looking down at the silk carp. When Si-moon lit up and pointed at the fish, Ijun began explaining in a calm voice.

“Silk carp. They were very precious to your great-grandfather. Si-moon, when Daddy was young, he caught that red silk carp and gave it to your Mommy as a gift, but she cried because she didn’t like it, and your grandma scolded me severely. So remember, don’t give something like a silk carp to a girlfriend you like.”

“Don’t romanticize that as a gift.” 

Siyeon, who had been listening, interjected in disbelief. 

“I worked so hard to catch it back then. It was definitely a gift, just without a ribbon.” 

“Gift or not, the silk carp must be laughing at us. We made such a fuss, and in the end, we got married.”

“Maybe they knew it would turn out this way. If so, that would have been really funny. Thinking, ‘Why cry if you’re going to end up marrying Jeong Ijun anyway?'”

“That’s what I’m telling you to listen to.”

“Right.”

Siyeon rolled her eyes as Ijun chuckled. They were teasing each other and laughing when there was a noise from behind.

“Here is Ijun and his wife, my sister-in-law, too.” 

Soon, Gwihyeon’s voice was heard. Ijun and Siyeon stopped laughing and turned around at the same time. Gwihyeon was approaching them with a strange woman. 

“Hello, I’m Lee Ra-yoon.”

The woman, brushing her wavy brown hair back, greeted Siyeon. Although she was smiling, her eyes were moist as if holding back tears. If Ra-yoon hadn’t been smiling, Siyeon might have thought she was crying. 

“I’m Choi Siyeon.” 

“I know. Drumstick Choi Siyeon. I’ve always wanted to meet you, and I’m so happy to finally do so through this arranged marriage. I finally see the benefit of this arrangement, thanks to you.” 

“…Yes.” 

Siyeon nodded her head in bewilderment. Ra-yoon spoke without hesitation, and Siyeon, having never met anyone of such a demeanor before, found Ra-yoon quite intriguing.

“Now that we’re going to be family, we’ll be seeing each other often. Please invite me to your house in Seoul before the wedding.”

“I’m Jeong Ijun.” 

Just as Siyeon was about to answer, Ijun abruptly stepped halfway in front of her, suddenly blocking Ra-yoon’s view. Ra-yoon widened her eyes slightly and looked up at Ijun for a few seconds before smiling faintly and moving her lips.

“You’re Gwihyeon’s younger brother, right? Vice President of Baekya Foods. Oh, he must be Gwihyeon’s nephew.”

She brightened up and reached out to touch Si-moon, but Ijun naturally moved his arm holding Si-moon back. It was an unspoken action telling her not to touch. 

“He’s shy.” 

Ijun calmly lied without blinking an eye. 

“But the child is smiling?”

“That’s him being shy.”

“Ah…! Okay. That’s totally understandable. I get it.” 

Ra-yoon nodded as if she caught on, then craned her neck to make eye contact with Siyeon. 

“Siyeon, you really must invite me to your house. I’ve been bragging to my friends that I’m going to be sisters-in-law with Drumstick. You’ll give me an autograph, right?”

“Yes, I will.” 

“And I’d like some water too. Could you show me around the house? I’d like to moisten my throat before meeting the adults. My eyes are moist from the hangover, but my throat feels like a desert.”

Ah. So that’s why her eyes looked so sad.

Siyeon nodded and was about to lead Ra-yoon while Ijun’s broad back again obstructed her view and path.

“My brother will show you around.” 

With those words, Ijun looked at Gwihyeon with an expression devoid of smiles, implying that he should take her away.

When their eyes met, Gwihyeon, with a smirk on one side of his mouth, led Ra-yoon toward the inner house. As she followed Gwihyeon, Ra-yoon glanced back. After locking eyes with Siyeon, she smiled and then turned her head forward again.

“It seems they haven’t gotten close yet. Ra-yoon seems like a friendly person though.” 

Siyeon watched the two of them walking away, getting further away, and commented. Unlike her friendly demeanor towards Siyeon, Ra-yoon didn’t say a word to Gwihyeon. He, too, didn’t engage with her. 

“That’s just for show. Being close to someone like her would only make a naive person like you an easy target, so stay away.” 

“That’s harsh for someone who’s going to be your sister-in-law.” 

“Could it be any worse than someone who comes to greet their prospective in-laws while completely drunk?”

“She must have forgotten today’s arrangement.”

“That doesn’t look like a forgetful face to me, more like she knew and drank anyway.”

With a tone of certainty, Ijun took Siyeon’s hand and they began walking towards the inner house. Since Gwihyeon had taken Ra-yoon inside, the meal would soon be ready in the dining area.

“Eun-hye will probably hear about the wedding soon…”

“Either way, since everything is connected, they’ll hear news about my brother sooner or later. It feels weird. It’s like my brother is remarrying someone else.”

“She doesn’t seem like a bad person; I hope they get along well if they’re going to marry.” 

“She has a sinister style. We need to figure out what she’s hiding inside.” 

Siyeon glanced up at Ijun’s meaningful words. 

“What do you mean by that?” 

“No matter if she is a child out of wedlock, with Badam Pharmaceuticals, she could have found a better partner than my brother. There’s no reason for Chairman Lee to go out of his way to secure my brother as a son-in-law by even adding money to the deal. They know well that there’s no place for my brother in Baekya Foods.” 

“Then why do you think they initiated the marriage talks?” 

Siyeon asked with a puzzled look. 

“They probably wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible. Don’t you sense that desperation?”

“Do you know something, Ijun?”

“That drunkard from earlier has lived a life no less troubled than my brother’s. So stay away from her.”

Ijun emphasized to Siyeon once again. His demeanor was like that of parents warning their children not to play with bad friends.