A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 17

The next morning.

“Daon, go wake up Dayun and Ahn Seobang.”

“Okay, got it.”

At her mother’s words, Daon walked up to the second floor. Normally, Jaehoon would have already woken up, as he was always diligent. Dayun, on the other hand, was usually a heavy sleeper, but she would wake up early just to keep up with him. However, since both of them had spent the night in a strange, awkward mood, they hadn’t been able to sleep properly and were still fast asleep. If today were the weekend, Daon would have just let them sleep in. But since it was a weekday and they had to go to work, she carefully knocked on the door.

But no matter how many times she knocked, there was no response.

“I’m coming in, okay?”

Daon carefully opened the door and stepped inside. And then—

“Huh…”

What he saw left him speechless.

Lying in the same bed, not just side by side but tightly wrapped in each other’s arms, Jaehoon and Dayun looked as if they had become one. Daon was slightly taken aback. Of course, he and his parents had schemed to have them share a room, but he had expected one of them to sleep on the bed and the other on the floor. However, contrary to his expectations, they were sleeping so affectionately close together. It was satisfying in a way since that had been the plan all along, but at the same time, it felt a bit strange.

It was the first time he had seen her beloved younger sibling in another man’s arms. It was strange, fascinating… and on some level, it even felt like something precious of hers had been taken away.

“Wow… This is something else… unbelievable…”

Muttering to himself in a dazed voice, Daon’s murmurs must have been loud enough to disturb them because Jaehoon and Dayun slowly began to wake up.

They could feel each other’s warmth. Their eyes fluttered open, and as soon as they fully woke up, they found themselves staring straight into each other’s faces.

“?”

“What… is this?”

Both of them were still too dazed to fully grasp the situation. They blinked at each other with blank expressions, clearly trying to process what was happening.

Then Daon, watching from the side with a mischievous smirk, crossed his arms and looked at them disapprovingly.

“If you’re awake, maybe it’s time to separate a little? I mean, even if you’re a married couple, aren’t you at least a little embarrassed when a third party is standing here watching?”

At his words, the two of them instantly snapped back to reality. They jumped up and practically flew off the bed, scrambling to put some distance between themselves.

“Gah!”

“What the—!!”

They shouted in surprise, their flustered expressions a sight to behold.

What was so shocking? What was so hard to believe? They were married, after all. But then again, their marriage had been arranged by the adults, so maybe their reaction was understandable. Watching them panic, Daon shook his head slightly, thinking they were overreacting.

“Why are you so surprised? Now that you’re up, hurry up and get washed. Breakfast is ready.”

With that, Daon left the room, leaving Jaehoon and Dayun alone. They were still standing there awkwardly, stealing uneasy glances at each other.

“Uh… I should go wash up,” Jaehoon finally said.

“Oh? Ah, yes. Right. Me too,” Dayun replied hastily.

“Um…”

“I’ll use the bathroom on the first floor, so you can use the one upstairs,” she quickly added.

“Oh? Ah… okay.”

“Alright then.”

After that, Dayun practically bolted out of the room. Left alone, Jaehoon let out a groan and ran a hand through his hair.

“Ugh… I can’t live like this…”

He frowned as if he was frustrated, but oddly enough, his expression didn’t seem full of irritation. Instead, there was something flustered and embarrassed about it—maybe even something a little… shy.

After washing up and getting ready for work, Jaehoon was the first to go downstairs. As he walked down, a delicious smell filled his nose. It seemed that his mother-in-law had been showing off her cooking skills since early morning.

“Good morning, Father, Mother,” Jaehoon greeted as he entered the kitchen with a smile.

His mother-in-law returned the smile and nodded warmly. His father-in-law, on the other hand, looked at him with a knowing and amused expression.

“Well, of course, we slept well. How about you, An Seobang? I heard you slept very comfortably with Dayun last night.”

“Yeah, they were really cozy together,” Daon muttered from the side, looking displeased.

Jaehoon was caught off guard.

“What?”

His father-in-law chuckled.

“So, how was it? Did our Dayun take good care of you last night?”

“Huh?!”

Jaehoon’s eyes widened in shock. What was he even asking? He tried not to let his mind wander to the wrong places, but the implications made his thoughts spiral.

His father-in-law grinned mischievously and continued,

“I mean, did she take care of you properly? A husband comes home from work—did she give you a nice massage? Keep you company? And…”

“And…?”

Jaehoon gulped. Just as things were getting worse, a familiar voice interrupted.

“What and? Stop exaggerating, will you?”

Dayun had walked into the kitchen, cutting off her father’s teasing with an unimpressed look.

“Nothing happened, okay? No massages, no chit-chat, nothing. We just slept. So stop asking weird questions. And stop looking at us like that—especially you, Dad.”

Hearing her words, her father looked a little sheepish.

“What? I was just curious.”

“Yeah, well, maybe think about whether your curiosity makes someone uncomfortable? You’re such an old man sometimes.”

“I am an old man!”

While her father pouted, Dayun turned to Jaehoon and pushed a plate of food toward him.

“Eat up, Senpai.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

Jaehoon smiled awkwardly as he picked up his chopsticks.

But before Dayun could even take a bite of her own meal, her father quickly snatched her last fried egg and stuffed it into his mouth.

“Dad!!!”

Her father smirked as he exaggeratedly chewed in front of her.

“Too bad~”

“Ugh, you’re so childish! Gross! Just eat your own food!”

But before their bickering could escalate further, their mother smacked her husband on the back.

“Ouch! Honey, that hurt!”

“Serves you right. Now shut up and eat properly.”

Jaehoon watched the lively family interaction and thought to himself: This house is never quiet in the morning.

But strangely, he didn’t mind it. In fact, it felt… warm. Like a real home. Like a real family.

After Jaehoon left for work, and both Daon and their father also went out, the house became quiet in an instant.

“Did you go see your husband off?”

“Yeah. I didn’t really have to, but he insisted so much that I stayed until he drove off.”

“Aww~ Good job, sweetie. Come sit here.”

“Okay.”

Daon sat down beside her mother, right where she gestured. Naturally, she leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder and smiled as if she were truly content.

“Ah~ This feels so nice~”

“You’re happy to be home, aren’t you?”

“Hehe, of course I am. I got to see Mom, Dad, and even my brother. Honestly, at home, it’s just Jaehoon and me, so it’s pretty quiet.”

“I see. You must get lonely. Your husband doesn’t come home until evening, right?”

Daon nodded as if to say that was true. But then, with a faint smile, she added as if to say it was alright.

“Yeah, but it’s okay. I do some housework, write a little… before I know it, it’s already evening. And then, it’s time to sleep.”

“You’ve grown up so much, sweetie. If it were the old you, you would’ve been throwing a fit saying you were bored and lonely. I guess you really did get married.”

“Hehe, I know, right?”

“By the way, your husband made a big decision.”

“Huh?”

Daon looked at her mom with a confused expression. She couldn’t understand what that meant and clearly wanted an explanation.

“If it were the old Jaehoon, I don’t think he would’ve come here on his own. He probably would’ve come only because he had no choice. Since your marriage was arranged by the elders, I’m sure he still feels awkward and uncomfortable around our family. So coming here—doing this for you and us—was a big decision. He’s enduring his discomfort for your sake.”

“Oh…”

Daon agreed with her mother’s words. And then, slowly, she began to feel grateful.

“Your dad told me that your husband isn’t the type who easily opens up to people. Especially adults. Apparently, he’s been hurt a lot, so he’s always been uncomfortable around older people. He’s never really known what family is.”

He doesn’t know what family is? What does that even mean? Just like she has Mom, Dad, and Daon, he has his parents too—how could someone with a family not know what family is? Daon couldn’t understand.

“What do you mean? How can someone with a family not know what family is?”

In response to her question, her mother gently stroked her hair. Her touch and gaze were both warm.

“Because he’s been hurt. So he keeps the door to his heart tightly shut.”

“?”

“If he doesn’t open that door, no matter how good the people around him are, they can’t become real family. Just like he is now.”

Daon pondered her mother’s words and mulled over them in her head. Eventually, she came to one conclusion: maybe Jaehoon was someone who didn’t understand the happiness or love that came from family. And maybe, he still wasn’t willing to show himself at the door of what family could be.

As she was deep in thought, her mother looked at her and murmured softly, almost too quietly to hear, a gentle smile on her face.

“Maybe… that door will open soon.”

Two days passed—two days that were full of happiness for Daon, but perhaps awkward or uncomfortable for Jaehoon. In other words, they had returned to everyday life.

“Hmm… Maybe I shouldn’t go to the studio today. Should I meet up with the girls instead?”

Jaehoon had gone to work. Daon had eaten lunch with her mom at her parents’ house and was now on her way back. But for some reason, she didn’t feel like going home. And going to the studio to work felt even more unappealing. The sky was full of fluffy spring clouds, and the warm weather made her want to avoid responsibility even more. A sudden thought crossed her mind.

“Ah, I want to go out and have fun.”

She truly wanted to go somewhere far away, anywhere. The weather was just too perfect. But she didn’t really have anywhere to go. So instead, Daon took out her phone and started sending a group message.

[Looking for someone to hang out with Cho Daon! When? Right now!!]

Buzz A short vibration rang out. Jaehoon, who had been working, picked up his phone to check what it was.

[Come up to the roof. Let’s grab a coffee.]

The message was from Hyeyun. Jaehoon got up from his seat, put on the jacket he had taken off, and stepped out of the office. The elevator ride to the top floor… felt strangely short.

“Phew…”

Since when had it started? He didn’t know, but these days, whenever he was about to meet Hyeyun, he let out a heavy sigh. It was a mix of inexplicable discomfort and a guilty conscience. What used to be happy, exciting meetings were starting to feel burdensome and unsettling. Unlike before, he worried about being seen, and when he was with her, it even started to feel like they were doing something wrong—like having an affair.

The elevator, unaware of his heavy heart, soon reached the rooftop, and the doors opened. What would they talk about today? After he’d blurted out, “I’m tired. I’m frustrated,” during their last emotional exchange, this would be their first real conversation. Since then, they’d only treated each other like superior and subordinate—just enough to stay polite and professional. So her sudden message had caught him off guard. It felt like it would be awkward.

Thinking about all this, Jaehoon walked across the rooftop. Soon, he saw Hyeyun sitting on a bench. Maybe she heard his footsteps—she looked up at him, and their eyes met in the air.

And then, suddenly, Hyeyun stood up and ran toward him. Before he could say anything, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Sorry? Sorry for what?

Caught off guard by her sudden hug, Jaehoon didn’t know what to do with his hands. But as her tearful voice reached his ears, his arms slowly dropped—just hung there helplessly at his sides.

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