CHAPTER 1: Wedding Anniversary Gifts (Part 8)

Exactly an hour and 20 minutes later, Seojun arrived at Moon-kyeong’s family home.

In his hands, he carried a huge basket of fruit that looked as tempting as it smelled. Their eyes met briefly as he stepped inside the house, but Moon-kyeong averted her face.

He and Hye-ran exchanged brief pleasantries.

“I’m Kim Seojun.”

“Sure, come in. I think we’re done talking, so you can go right up to the second floor. You two haven’t met in a long time, so you should exchange greetings.”

Hye-ran gestured to Moon-kyeong to properly greet her soon-to-be husband. She couldn’t imagine what kind of deal had been struck between them.

Hye-ran’s desperate attempt to please Seojun, as if she would give away everything, was repulsive. One minute she was pressuring her to marry Executive Director Kim Seo-wook, now she was pushing her to Seojun.

Such a swift change in attitude. Well, that’s my mother for you.

Seojun’s eyes, meeting Moon-kyeong’s piercing gaze as she bit her lip, suggested silently if they should go upstairs to talk.

“Follow me.”

Without another word, she led him to the second floor.

The room at the end of the second floor had been a space Moon-kyeong had been living in alone until she flew to Russia after her adoption.

The first room she ever had was a princess room, entirely painted in pink. After she became an adult, Hye-ran redecorated the room according to her own taste. None of it matched Moon-kyeong’s preferences.

When he naturally headed towards the end room, she stopped him and asked.

“Since when have you been a member of Lee Han’s group?”

She remembered him from her study abroad days, with broad shoulders and a masculine frame, but he looked different now. 

Although those aspects remained the same, the Kim Seojun of that time always seemed to exude a cold vibe, as if living a controlled life even in a distant foreign land. 

So every time she saw him, her impression of him was that of a decadent and wild character.

The current Seojun was definitely a different feeling. His tall stature and tailored black suit give him the air of a natural-born royal.

Without giving Moon-kyeong a glance, Seojun answered briefly.

“I don’t know.”

“Why did you deceive me like that?”

His tightly pressed lips lifted slightly, and he laughed self-deprecatingly.

“I never deceived you. Wasn’t it our rule not to ask about each other’s personal information?”

“…….”

An unexplainable tension flowed between him and her.

It had been almost five years since Moon-kyeong last saw Seojun. Even after five years, he remained a man she could never get close to. She had held his hand knowing he was a dangerous man, but it had been too difficult to resist back then, too young to realize when she enjoyed the thrill of danger.

Moon-kyeong became increasingly anxious. She hoped that Hye-ran would never find out how recklessly she had played with Seojun during that time.

It was ridiculous.

Yet, the fact remained that she wanted to be remembered as a quiet daughter until the end. Moon-kyeong swept a hand through her long hair that fell to her waist.

“Are you serious about marrying me?”

“Why not?”

“Even though you know who I am?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“This.” 

Look at this. Do you think it makes sense for us to live as a married couple? Right now?

Moon-kyeong was about to give up on everything and shout at him to leave the house immediately when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

Hye-ran appeared a moment later, fruit in her hand. Along with something to drink. She placed it on the living room table on the second floor and immediately went downstairs.

Seeing Moon-kyeong’s confusion in the face of Seojun’s intentions, he picked up a piece of apple Hye-ran had sliced and placed it on the table using a fork.

While doing so, he subtly scratched Moon-kyeong’s nerves.

“Do you still eat anything indiscriminately these days?”

“….”

“You used to eat deliciously before.”

He stood in front of her, squeezed her chin lightly, and held the half-bitten apple to the corner of her lips.

“Since you have to swallow it anyway, wouldn’t it be better if I feed you rather than my brother?”

Marriage was not a choice, it was forced upon me.

It felt as if he had quickly seen through the life she had lived as a scarecrow in this house for many years.

Moon-kyeong felt a chill run down her spine.

* * *

Returning to her studio apartment, Moon-kyeong was half out of her mind.

She never dreamed that she would meet him again like this. She also didn’t know that this reunion would end in marriage.

She didn’t like Kim Seo-wook, but she disliked Kim Seojun even more. Living every day facing a man who knew everything about her past made her feel like she was quickly exposed to this man.

[If we get married, quit ballet. I want a wife devoted only to the family. Quiet and dignified.]

Before going down the stairs from the second floor, his last words echoed in her mind like a broken record.

It was a statement only Kim Seojun, who knew the twisted depths of her inner self, could make.

It was too humiliating.

He knew all too well that she could never become an elegant woman, so the words were almost a mockery.

Straightening her disheveled bedsheet, Moon-kyeong frowned. The phone rang just in time, and it was Kim Seo-wook. 

Should I answer or not? 

After much hesitation, she pressed the answer button.

“Yes, hello?”

• It’s Kim Seo-wook. How are you feeling?

“Oh, I’m fine. I’ve gotten much better.”

• Then let’s have dinner together tomorrow afternoon. I’ll come pick you up.

Watching Kim Seo-wook shamelessly make dinner plans, Moon-kyeong thought that he still didn’t know that Kim Seojun asked her to marry him.

Maybe it’s better this way. This man’s personal life is a mess, so even if they get divorced later, it would be an atmosphere that everyone would have to accept.

Even Hye-ran, who cares so much about family honor, wouldn’t object to a divorce. A flash of insight flickered in Moon-kyeong’s mind. There was no time to hesitate. She had to catch Kim Seo-wook before Kim Seojun pressed any further.

“Okay, tomorrow’s performance ends at 7 PM, so pick me up at the front of the theater.”

• This time, let’s not part ways early. Before getting married, there are many things we need to understand about each other. We’re not innocent early 20s anymore. You know what I mean, right? Stay with me until late at night.

“… Yes.”

• It’s a promise.

Moon-kyeong dropped her disconnected phone to the floor. An unpleasant feeling surged up from her toes, stirring her chest.