Marriage Situation

Chapter 3

Jihoon Cha. It was only after she heard the name that she realized this man was her seon partner.

Her mother had repeatedly told her before coming to this meeting,

“It’s a very important meeting. The younger son of the MGH Group, his name is Jihoon Cha. He’s not the eldest, but they say that ultra-exclusive MGH Hotel belongs to him. He’s smart and intelligent, so he has the attention of his house and others. It’s to the point where he may be the successor to the rights in the future.”

Her mother’s explanation didn’t contain how hot Jihoon’s lips were, nor how strong his hands were, nor even how bright his eyes shone.

Currently, the man stared at her persistently, with eyes that seemed to pierce into her soul.

Yooyoung couldn’t bring herself to meet those eyes and lowered her head. The MGH Hotel mark was clearly engraved on the table.

How could she have had a one night stand at the hotel she was going to have her seon at? Without even knowing her partner was here.

Of course you would, Yooyoung.

Yooyoung chewed her bottom lip and blamed herself over and over again. A stupid, stupid thing she had done in a moment of impulse.

But she had never imagined that out of the many men at that lounge bar, she would catch her seon partner. If she had done a little investigation before coming out, she would have realized quickly, but she hadn’t.

It didn’t matter who it was, after all. The only thing that mattered was whether he liked her or not.

What an idiot.

She sat down with just a table between them. For a while, neither of them said a word. Gentle classical music cut through the silence.

Yooyoung clung to her mind and decided to speak before she lost it. There was no point in sidestepping.

“About last night... Is it possible to pretend it never happened?” she asked.

It didn’t matter if other people found out, but Yooyoung’s mother, Lady Choi, could never be allowed to find out.

If Mother found out...! Just the thought of it made Yooyoung’s vision go dark.

The man lifted a brow. In contrast to how cornered Yooyoung felt, he seemed calm and relaxed. “By ‘last night’...”

He stroked the coffee cup with his fingertip. Just like how he had stroked Yooyoung’s skin the night before, the gesture was both elegant and rough.

“Do you mean how I kissed a woman I met for the first time and spent a passionate night together with her in the same bed, only for her to disappear the next day?”

The man’s tone was sarcastic, but his summary was precise.

Seeing Yooyoung at a loss for words, he smiled again. “I understand running away, Miss Yooyoung Kim. Now that I’m here, I also understand why you ran.”

Before Yooyoung came, her mother had made it very clear what her relationship with him would be: Jihoon Cha would be the one choosing. She was the one being chosen.

He couldn’t have been more relaxed. It was very different from the way Yooyoung was trembling in fear that her mother might find out about what had happened.

Jihoon whispered softly, “But I’m afraid I can’t pretend last night didn’t happen.”

She sucked in a sharp breath.

“But I could keep it a secret, on one condition.”

“What kind of condition... might you mean?”

He was too rich to want her money. Her body? He had already had it. There was nothing new there. And even from her point of view, it was worthless. What could he possibly want from her?

“I think I’ll have to take my time thinking about it.” He grinned. “It’s the first time a woman has run away from me, after all.”

“I’m sorry.”

Of course it was like a bolt of lightning from his point of view.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Jihoon crossed his long legs. He wore a polished, classic suit, different from the one he’d worn yesterday. “I’m very entertained right now.”

And then he smiled again.

Yooyoung was at a loss for words at the sight of it and bit her lip again.

* * *

She had no idea how the time passed. For the two hours after their awkward meeting, they had an exceedingly ordinary conversation. It was her first time attending a seon, but there was nothing special about it, not like one of the formal seons in a drama.

“You said you’re part of the law team for Sunwoo Fashion, Miss Yooyoung?”

“Yes.”

What kind of work she did, what kind of people her family were.

Even during the conversation, her chest only continued to tighten further.

This was all meaningless.

With his looks and fortune, he must have had women lining up for his attention. There was no way he was going to marry a woman who went around having one night stands. Of course, he had wanted it as well, but the public eye was always harsher toward women.

Whether Jihoon rejected or accepted the marriage was already irrelevant to Yooyoung, however.

As long as he doesn’t reveal what we did...

She was pale from tension.

“Miss Yooyoung, you don’t look well,” Jihoon said.

“Ah, yes.”

“Come to think of it, you did overexert yourself last night.”

He had been persistent last night. But Yooyoung didn’t want to bring it up, so she swallowed her words down.

When silence fell again, Jihoon asked, “Would you like to return home?”

“Would that be all right?”

“You don’t look well, so let’s do that.”

He was surely tired of this as well. After all, if they weren’t getting married, then being at a seon to feel each other out was just a waste of time.

“Then... I enjoyed our time today,” she said.

It was a lie. She had never been so tense in her life, but she lied to escape the situation and got to her feet.

“I’ll take you home.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll take a taxi or call someone.”

“I can’t allow that.” He raised his brow. “After all, I’m the one who put you in that state.”

In the end, Jihoon drove her home himself in his own car. It was neat and clean, just like his sophisticated self. Even though they had just lain together the day before, just being in the same car as him made Yooyoung’s stomach tighten into knots.

She didn’t notice it when they were at the café, but in this confined space, his scent permeated her lungs. It was the kind of scent that captivated people.

He kept quiet as he took the wheel, only to suddenly ask, “So you don’t run anymore?”

Jihoon’s question was so out of the blue that Yooyoung turned her gaze away from the passing scenery toward him.

“I heard that track and field was your specialty up through high school.”

Yooyoung’s only hobby until her first year of high school had been track and field. She loved running and had participated in long-distance events.

He even heard about that. Makes sense; he’d want to hear about the details before buying the merchandise.

Yooyoung hadn’t heard a thing about Jihoon. So when it came to his hobbies...

She just stared at him. There was a sense of skill in the man driving smoothly down the street.

This man seems like he’d be good at everything.

Thinking that, Yooyoung said, “Yes. I no longer run.”

“What was your record?”

“Nothing significant. 400 meters, 57 seconds.”

“That’s quite fast.”

It was fast compared to the average Joe, but compared to the fastest runner in the nation when she was in high school, she was four seconds slower.

That might seem small, but in track, it was far too great of a distance to bridge. The kind of record that would allow her to participate in the National Sports Festival if she was lucky, but never achieve a medal.

“It’s just average.”

“No, it’s impressive. It’s a shame when you ran so well.”

There was genuine disappointment in Jihoon’s words. Yooyoung, who had only answered with yesses all day, asked him something in response for the first time. “Do you also... run, Mr. Cha?”

She was fascinated that his reaction seemed genuinely interested.

“No,” he said.

She tilted her head.

“But I thought it was interesting.”

“What was?”

He raised a brow. “That your specialty-slash-hobby is running. Usually, the hobbies I hear about before a seon are cooking or foreign language, ballet, those sorts of things. Long-distance running. That seems genuine.”

“Couldn’t the other hobbies be genuine as well?”

“Possibly,” he said as he turned the wheel. “But I don’t have the ability to see that far into someone.”

Compared to Jihoon’s family, Yooyoung didn’t bring particularly attractive offerings. But could he have come out here because she said her hobby was track and field?

If that was the case, it was really miraculous.

“Next time,” Jihoon continued, “I’d like to see you run on a track field.”

“I haven’t run in a long time.”

Her legs, which had been strong up until high school, were now no different from any other ordinary office worker’s. In the past couple years, she had been too busy to even go jogging.

“And I’m sure you’ll be bored.”

After adding that, Yooyoung kicked herself for saying something so stupid. He had probably said it to be polite, and here she was, responding too seriously. Like he had actually wanted to go.

“Do you find it boring to watch other people run?”

Yooyoung shook her head. She enjoyed watching athletes running. Sometimes, people considered long-distance running to be a boring sport, that it was mediocre compared to the 100-meter sprint, which ended in the blink of an eye, or marathons that required long stretches of patience. But Yooyoung liked long-distance running. It had the strength of sprints, while also being long enough to watch the different athletes run with different styles.

When she watched them run, their rippling muscles made even her own heart race.

“No, I enjoy it.”

Jihoon nodded at her answer. “If you enjoy it, then I’m sure I will as well. Ah, here we are.”

His car smoothly pulled to a stop in front of Yooyoung’s house. The man got out of the car and opened her door for her.

After getting out of the car, Yooyoung bowed politely.

“Thank you for the ride home.”

“It was nothing.”

Unless they happened to pass each other on the street, she would never see him again.

That thought was a relief and a disappointment. If not for yesterday, could things have been different?

No. No matter the situation, she didn’t suit him.

Just as she was turning away, Jihoon gently took her wrist and turned her back.

Such a strong hand...

The moment his hand touched her skin, it was like electricity coursed through her entire body. Yooyoung trembled in surprise. The man looked down at her; her eyes were round like a rabbit’s.

“Miss Yooyoung Kim.”

“Yes?”

“The condition for keeping last night a secret. I’ve thought of something.”

He rubbed Yooyoung’s wrist with his thumb. Every time he did, a flush of heat spread through her entire body.

Yooyoung’s lashes fluttered. The sensation was so strong that she wasn’t able to respond, leaving her to only stare at his face.

“Let’s get married.”

She gasped.

“I’ve come to want to marry you, Miss Yooyoung Kim.”