A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 19

“Just boldly call him ‘husband.'”

“Husband, what?”

“Or, cutely say ‘my husband~'”

“Stop saying stuff like that.”

“Ah, then just say ‘oppa’! That’s what you can say!”

“Op-pa? No way.”

“Kim Hyunsoo!! Are you trying to get on my nerves? Why are you picking fights?”

Suji snapped at Hyunsoo, who kept teasing her with his annoying behavior. She had been trying to help Dayun with the awkward title issue by giving examples, but instead of helping, Hyunsoo kept mocking her. But Hyunsoo didn’t seem bothered by Suji’s anger, and he casually said,
“Oh, what do I know?”

However, despite his casual tone, there was clear mischief in his face. His eyes were full of dissatisfaction, his cheeks puffed up with annoyance, and his lips stuck out in a pout. He looked like a spoiled child.

“What? What do you mean, ‘what do I know’? You’ve been making that dissatisfied face this whole time, responding to everything I say with a sharp tone.”

“I didn’t do that.”

“Wow, I’m really mad now. Do you want to see me get angry, like, for real? Huh? You want to see that?”

“No, I’ll pass.”

“Ugh!”

Suji grabbed the back of her neck in frustration. Her blood pressure felt like it was skyrocketing.

Then Sojin, who seemed to know everything, glanced at Hyunsoo with a smug face and patted Suji on the shoulder encouragingly.

“You understand, right? She’s probably feeling like she’s going to explode right now.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

Dayun and Suji exchanged confused looks before asking. But Sojin just smiled mysteriously and looked at Hyunsoo.

“It’s a thing, you know. Right, Kim Hyunsoo?”

“A thing? What are you talking about?”

Hyunsoo suddenly looked flustered, but trying to act nonchalant, he grumbled at Dayun, who was looking at him with doubt.

“Just keep calling him ‘senior’ when you’re around Jaehoon.”

“But… the adults…”

“Then just be careful when there are adults around. You don’t have to talk to Jaehoon that much. If you really need to call him, just say ‘Jaehoon-ssi.’ It’s polite and much better than ‘oppa’ or ‘husband.'”

“Is that so?”

Dayun was unsure, but Hyunsoo nodded vigorously, clearly certain. Sojin chuckled at their conversation.

“Sounds nice, doesn’t it? You can feel the distance, too.”

“Distance? It’s politeness, politeness. You wouldn’t know, Sojin, but guys actually like it when you call them ‘ssi’ instead of ‘oppa’ or ‘husband.'”

“Sure.”

Dayun was curious and asked,
“Then, Hyunsoo, do you like it when someone calls you ‘Hyunsoo-ssi,’ more than ‘oppa’ or ‘husband’?”

Because, before being friends, Hyunsoo was a guy too.

Hyunsoo scratched his neck awkwardly and looked away. Then, in a barely audible voice, he muttered to himself.

“Well… I guess ‘oppa’ and ‘husband’ are still better…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing, nothing. I mean, I like those more.”

“Oh, I see.”

Dayun nodded, realizing ‘guys must like that stuff’ and agreeing. Sojin, looking puzzled, remarked,

“Really? You’re telling me a guy likes being called ‘oppa’ and ‘husband’ but gets red when someone calls him ‘ssi’?”

“My face is not red!”

“Then, is the person in front of me a ripe tomato?”

Hyunsoo, flustered, quickly grabbed his coffee and gulped it down. But when Sojin compared him to a tomato, he choked on his drink.

“Ahem… stop saying nonsense.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, these fools won’t understand, but I’ll still be careful.”

Hyunsoo nodded in agreement, though it was unclear if Dayun and Suji were really clueless or just pretending. Either way, Hyunsoo felt relieved that they didn’t seem to notice. But Sojin knew everything. Meanwhile, Dayun and Suji exchanged another glance, this time with playful irritation.

“Suji, did Sojin just call us fools?”

“Yeah, hearing it from her really pisses me off. How dare someone who couldn’t even study call us fools? Ugh.”

“I feel the same! I probably studied more than Sojin, but it still bugs me.”

At their teasing, Sojin’s face turned red. Unlike Hyunsoo, who was just being playful, Sojin was feeling genuinely embarrassed.

“Hey, why are we talking about studying? And it’s not that I couldn’t study, I just didn’t do it!”

“Yeah, sure, sure.”

“Hey! I really didn’t do it, okay? I didn’t!”

Sojin was sensitive about this topic because, as a teenager, she had distanced herself from studying, and now that she was an adult, she felt embarrassed by her past academic performance.

In contrast, Hyunsoo felt a sense of satisfaction watching Sojin get flustered. It felt like a small victory, seeing Sojin, who always acted like she knew everything, unable to do anything in front of Dayun and Suji. But of course, Sojin had no idea what Hyunsoo was thinking.

Still irritated by being called a fool, Suji continued to tease Sojin. Hyunsoo enjoyed watching the exchange, with Sojin glaring in annoyance. Dayun, sensing Sojin might actually get upset, decided it was time to intervene. She knew she was the only one who could stop this.

“Suji, stop. If you keep this up, Sojin’s going to get really mad.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll stop teasing her, like you said, Dayun.”

Suji agreed, though it seemed she was a bit disappointed. Teasing Sojin wasn’t easy, after all.

Sojin, encouraged by Dayun’s support, flashed a smug smile and said,
“Yeah, stop teasing me, Suji. Even though I didn’t do it, I would have been great if I did.”

Hyunsoo suddenly remembered something and said,
“Right. Sojin here, she once studied hard to go to the same medical school as Daon. She actually made it into the top seven in our class once, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. Everyone was shocked.”

“Yep. But it only happened once—during the midterms.”

“Yeah, right after that, Daon got a girlfriend, and Sojin’s grades dropped dramatically after that.”

Hyunsoo and Suji shared a laugh, making Sojin’s face turn bright red again. It seemed the memory from her younger days was still fresh.

“So, how’s Daon doing? I haven’t seen him lately, especially since he’s so busy, and I’ve been busy too.”

“Yeah, me too. I only saw him briefly at a wedding. Is he doing well?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. Well, for the most part.”

Dayun seemed distracted, but she casually asked,
“Sojin, are you really over Daon?”

Sojin paused, and Dayun, sensing something, nudged her gently.

“Well, if Daon has a girlfriend, she must be really amazing, right? Maybe a prosecutor or even another doctor?”

Dayun gave Sojin a sly glance.

Sojin’s face darkened, and Hyunsoo noticed. Maybe she was still holding onto old feelings for Daon, given her reaction.

“So, is Daon seeing someone?”

“Good work, Team Leader.”

As the day ended, people began leaving the office. Jaehoon was walking out, heading home, when he ran into Hyeyun.

“Are you leaving now?”

“Yeah.”

After their rooftop conversation, Jaehoon and Hyeyun had reconciled. It wasn’t exactly a big fight, but they had cleared the air. They promised to be more understanding and considerate of each other. Still, Jaehoon felt uneasy, as though he was carrying a hidden guilt.

“Hyeyun, you still haven’t left?”

“Um, just a minute…”

Unlike before, Hyeyun’s face now looked brighter as she glanced around the hallway. She confirmed no one was around and cheerfully said,
“I still have some work to finish, so I won’t leave just yet.”

“Ah, do you want me to wait and walk you out?”

Jaehoon offered, feeling like he needed to do it to avoid making Hyeyun feel uneasy. He knew that if it were his old self, he would have said this too.

“No, it’s fine. I’m working with some other people, and we’re not done yet.”

“Ah…”

‘Thank goodness.’

Jaehoon suddenly felt surprised at his own reaction. Why did he feel relieved? He had said he’d wait for her, but was he secretly not keen on it? He was confused, his mind in a mess.

At that moment, someone called out from the office,
“Hyeyun, come on! What do you want for dinner?”

“Why are you always yelling for me like that?”
Hyeyun laughed loudly and followed, leaving Jaehoon behind.

Her cheerful energy made him feel strangely calm, as if his worries were swept away.

“Let’s just go.”
“Okay!”

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