Epilogue (Part 2)

The late morning sunlight poured through the window. The curtains drawn showed clusters of red roses in full bloom. A gentle May breeze softly blew through the slightly open window.

Seoyeon lay on her stomach on the bed, with her head buried in the pillow, gazing at the view outside. The breeze lightly stirred her hair. She enjoyed the wind with a languid expression.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go?”

Dojun, standing in front of the bathroom, asked Seoyeon. She turned her head to look at him. He ran a hand through his damp hair and looked at her.

“No, I’m not going.”

At Seoyeon’s response, one of Dojun’s eyebrows raised. With a very displeased expression, he picked up a dress shirt hanging on the closet door and slipped it on. Seoyeon watched as he buttoned up.

The sequence of buttoning one after the other, lifting his wrist to wear a watch, and other movements, was one she never tired of watching. His actions were smooth yet precise.

Dojun was the best-dressed person she knew, though her judgment was heavily biased.

Picking up a dark blue tie and wrapping it around his neck, Dojun turned his head to look at Seoyeon. When he realized she was staring at him, his scowl lifted and he smiled. She pulled her arm out from under the sheet and beckoned to him.

“Come here.”

Dojun walked over to the bed where Seoyeon was lying. Standing before her in his white dress shirt and well-fitted suit pants, Seoyeon sat up, appreciating his appearance anew.

Standing at the edge of the bed, Dojun leaned down. Seoyeon, sitting on the edge of the bed with the sheets around her, reached out and fixed his shirt collar, threading the tie through it. Despite him leaning down, it was still difficult to maneuver while sitting. She released the grip on his tie and stood up, keeping the sheet wrapped around her to prevent it from slipping.

“I’ll buy you tofu stew.”

Dojun said while holding her waist as she carefully adjusted the tie’s length.

“Come with me.”

Seoyeon shook her head. Dojun was asking her to accompany him to his cousin Hwang Min-jun’s wedding.

“How can I go there?”

Seoyeon said as she knotted her tie. Although they were officially dating, attending a wedding together was a different matter entirely. Hwang Min-jun was the eldest son of Vice Chairman Hwang Yeong-chan. It was a high-profile wedding with many guests, including President Lee and Sehyun. She couldn’t attend such a gathering with Dojun when there were many Hanseong Executives.

“It’s done.”

After perfectly tying the knot, Seoyeon looked up. Dojun reflexively bent his head down. His hand slipped through her hair and wrapped around the nape of her neck. Their lips met, and the sheet slipped away simultaneously.

As Seoyeon tried to catch the falling sheet, her attempt was thwarted by Dojun’s gentle restraint. His hand brushed over her body, illuminated by the sunlight streaming in, and she was gently pushed back onto the bed.

“You just don’t want to go, do you?” 

Seoyeon said, holding Dojun’s face as he continued to kiss her.

“If it weren’t for my grandfather, I wouldn’t be going either.” 

Dojun murmured against her neck. Even if it wasn’t for Chairman Hwang, Dojun would still go to the wedding. He wasn’t the type to shirk his responsibilities or pass them off to others. Despite his grumbling about why people get married on precious weekends since Friday evening, he would attend and offer his congratulations with a straight face.

“Another time.” 

Seoyeon said, running her fingers through Dojun’s hair. 

“Let’s go together next time.”

Dojun lifted his head at her words. 

“When is next time?”

Seoyeon only smiled quietly, intending to placate him. She thought that if they stayed together, maybe in about three years, it would be appropriate to attend such events together.

“I’ll be waiting, so go and come back.” 

Reluctantly, Dojun nodded. He lowered his lips to Seoyeon’s shoulder. She laughed and pushed him away, saying it wasn’t the time for that. His voice, indicating they still had time, resonated on her chest.

* * *

In the late afternoon, Seoyeon went down to the parking lot. Dojun had called, saying he would buy her tofu stew, and asked her to come down. As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Dojun’s car.

“Did you enjoy the wedding? Didn’t you eat there?” 

Seoyeon asked as she got into the car. Dojun pulled her into a short kiss as she settled into the passenger seat, making her question about the early dinner disappear.

“I didn’t like the food.”

Dojun said after the kiss. Seoyeon tilted her head.

“Didn’t you say it was at Hanseong Hotel?”

“Yes. The food there is terrible.”

Seoyeon burst into laughter at his comment. Watching her laugh, Dojun took out his phone at the sound of a small notification and chuckled.

“What is it?” 

Seoyeon asked.

“Just something” 

Dojun said, swiping his phone. Seoyeon caught a glimpse of a screen showing Hwang Min-jun’s wedding filled with guests.

“Do you use SNS too, CEO?”

“Call me ‘Dojun’.”

Dojun corrected his title. She still found calling him ‘Dojun’ awkward. Part of it was because the title of CEO stuck in her mouth, but part of it was because calling him by his first name felt special, and she couldn’t call him by it easily.

“Do you use it, Dojun?”

“No, Lee Sehyun does.”

“What?” 

Dojun turned on the screen, handed it to Seoyeon, and drove off. It was a picture of Sehyun drinking champagne in the background of a grand wedding. The tags read: congratulations, marriage, eternity, Hwang Minjun, Hanseong Group, etc.

“Why…?” 

Seoyeon couldn’t complete her question as she scrolled further, the worse it got. There was a photo of bright sunshine, a driver’s seat, and coffee captioned “new beginnings”, a dark photo with a bottle of whiskey labeled “farewell” and as she scrolled one more step, her jaw dropped.

“Isn’t this our house?” 

She saw a picture of the house in Yangpyeong where he had drunk wine with her father. The tags showed it was during the Lunar New Year holiday. She hadn’t expected anything like this since she deleted the app after that day she’d called Haewon and Sehyun to a restaurant to wish them well.

“Didn’t you know?” 

Dojun asked, looking puzzled. She had originally signed up for the app because Sehyun insisted when they were dating, occasionally posting photos of restaurants they visited.

“No, I deleted the app. What is all this…” 

Seoyeon trailed off as Dojun laughed.

“Lee Sehyun was just messing around alone.”

“But why do you look at it?”

“Because it’s amusing.”

Dojun smirks, saying that it’s secretly addictive. Seoyeon laughed in disbelief.

“No way…….”

As they turned onto the familiar winding road of Pyeongchang-dong, a familiar mansion came into view. Despite Dojun repeatedly confirming that this was the tofu stew restaurant, he parked the car in front of Yeonwoo Mansion’s garage instead.

“Get out.”

“But I thought we were going to have tofu stew.”

“This place is good too.”

Dojun replied casually as he opened the passenger door for her. Seoyeon looked at him with a puzzled expression. She was dressed in jeans, a light cotton t-shirt, and bare-faced.

“You should have told me we were going to come to Yeonwoo Mansion.”

“And would you have come if I had?”

Grabbing Seoyeon’s hand as she hesitated to get out, Dojun said, 

“You’re beautiful.”

Does he think that’s a comforting thing to say right now, to put someone in this much trouble so suddenly? 

Just as Seoyeon was about to say she couldn’t handle it, Dojun spoke up.

“Grandfather wants to see you.”

Dojun pressed the elevator button, and she was pondering what might have happened at the wedding. It was unlikely Chairman Hwang would have insisted on seeing her first like this. Perhaps Dojun had said something at the wedding, grumbling about attending, but the possibility was high.

“What the hell did you say at the wedding?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Dojun pressed the closed button and continued, 

“I said we should get married.”

“What?” 

Seoyeon looked at him in disbelief, but Dojun just chuckled. 

What was he thinking?

Before she could say anything, the elevator door opened, revealing Yeonwoo Mansion’s spacious living room.

“Grandfather, she’s here.”

“Oh, yes. I’ve been waiting.”

Chairman Hwang, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room, stood up as he spoke. Seoyeon quickly bowed respectfully.

“Chairman, it’s been a while.”

“Please sit comfortably. I must have surprised you by calling you so suddenly. I said we would meet formally next time, but this rascal Dojun should have listened.”

At Chairman Hwang’s words, Seoyeon glanced at Dojun. 

Was all this because of you? 

Communicating with her eyes, Dojun just smiled calmly.

“I thought you wouldn’t come, but somehow you came. What did that rascal Dojun say to bring you out?”

“He said he’d buy me tofu stew.”

Chairman Hwang chuckled at the bitterness in Seoyeon’s voice. After saying that, he looked at Seoyeon gently.

“I wonder if you really wanted to be in a relationship like this with this rascal.”

Seoyeon’s face turned red at Chairman Hwang’s words.

“He’s lacking, but please take care of him.”

“No, it’s not that. I… I’m not sure…”

She didn’t know what to say. 

Should I say we haven’t progressed that far yet, or that I haven’t even thought about marriage?

“I don’t know what to say right now. It’s too sudden, and I don’t know how to respond.”

As Seoyeon spoke, Chairman Hwang looked at Dojun and asked.

“Haven’t you talked to Manager Yoon Seoyeon about it?”

“We were about to.”

At Dojun’s cheeky response, Chairman Hwang clicked his tongue.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going now.”

Chuckling as he clicked his tongue, Chairman Hwang smiled broadly. 

Okay, go ahead and do whatever you want.

Laughing, he stood up and addressed Seoyeon.

“You can reject the proposal if you want, but make sure to eat the tofu stew before you leave.”

As Seoyeon struggled to find a response, Chairman Hwang decided he should water the trees in the garden and left.

Thud.

Sitting beside her, Dojun placed a small box on the table. Opening the case revealed a dazzling diamond ring, proudly displayed. The diamond was so large that its price was immeasurable.

You’re always too much.

Seoyeon thought to herself, covering her face with both hands. Dojun took the hand covering Seoyeon’s face and slid a ring onto her fourth finger.

“Let’s live together.”

That was the only reason. Because Dojun wanted to live with Yoon Seoyeon. When he opened his eyes, when he came home, and when he closed his eyes, Dojun wanted to be with Seoyeon, so he proposed.

“How can I wear something like this?”

Seoyeon said, her eyes reddening.

“I’ll buy a few more that you like. Let’s live together.”

When Seoyeon only bit her lip and didn’t answer, Dojun pulled her into his arms. Holding her tightly, he asked,

“Hmm?” 

Seoyeon nodded her head against his chest.

“Yes, let’s live together.”

Seoyeon’s answer spread widely into Dojun’s heart. He wanted to lift her face to kiss her, but Seoyeon buried her face in his chest, too shy to look up. As he thought about how lovely Seoyeon was at that moment, Dojun laughed joyfully for a long time.