A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 21

Before they knew it, the sky had darkened, and after finishing their flower viewing and eating dinner together, they were now heading out of the restaurant to return home.

“Ah, I’m so full. Thanks to Junseok Oppa and Hyunsoo, I ate a lot today~”

Saying this playfully, Sojin looked at Junseok and Hyunsoo, and without anyone saying it first, they both glared at her. Their eyes looked as if they wanted to kill her. Sojin, knowing exactly what was going on, smiled slyly and approached Dayun, crossing her arms as she spoke.

“Right, Dayun?”

Dayun smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. Junseok Oppa, thank you for the meal. Hyunsoo, you too.”

At Dayun’s thank you, Junseok and Hyunsoo smiled back, their gazes now soft and kind, unlike before.

“Don’t mention it. Oppa will always buy you food whenever you ask, so contact me often. Or just knock on the door of the studio.”

“Wow, really? Then maybe I’ll come every day?”

“You’re always welcome. Isn’t it nice that we’re seniors and juniors in the same department?”

“Hehe, thank you for saying that.”

Junseok and Dayun seemed to get along well, but there was someone who wasn’t too happy about it—Hyunsoo. He muttered under his breath with an annoyed look on his face.

“Seniors getting along, huh? They say they have a studio in the same building… Why, of all people!”

“Huh? What did you say, Hyunsoo?”

“Nothing. Just, tell me to contact you often too, okay? Don’t contact others, just me.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Not really understanding, Dayun nodded at his request, thinking to herself, ‘I’m so lucky to have such good friends and seniors.’ Meanwhile, Junseok and Hyunsoo stared at each other, silently competing in a battle of glares. Sojin, watching them, muttered in disbelief.

“Hot, so hot. You know, people who can’t even talk are the worst, don’t you think?”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Dayun, not hearing Sojin’s comment, asked what she had said. Sojin shook her head, as if to say it wasn’t worth talking about.

“Hey, Daon Oppa and Jaehoon Oppa are coming.”

“Oh? Really?”

Daon offered to give Sojin, Hyunsoo, and Junseok a ride, and soon only Jaehoon and Dayun remained in the lively spot. Dayun watched the car of Daon and the others fade away with a disappointed expression.

“Junseok Oppa and Hyunsoo, they could’ve just come with us… Why did Daon and Sojin insist on taking them home when they could’ve just gone with us… right, senior?”

“Well…”

Before Daon’s car left, Junseok and Hyunsoo were supposed to ride with Jaehoon, since Junseok was heading to the studio and Hyunsoo still had schoolwork to finish. But…

‘If they can’t say it, I’ll say it for them. Oh, I know what you’re all up to.’

Sojin’s comment left Junseok and Hyunsoo in shock, their faces turning pale as they climbed into Daon’s car like zombies. Daon and Dayun, completely oblivious, looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what was going on.

“Let’s go too,” Jaehoon said, and both he and Dayun got into the car, which soon drove off.

“Ah, today was really fun. It was fun for you too, right, senior?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t bad.”

Dayun’s face was glowing. After all, since getting married, she had never gone on such an outing, so it was natural for her to be happy.

“The lunchbox was delicious, and talking with everyone was fun…”

Dayun’s cheerful chatter made Jaehoon smile without even realizing it. He tried to hide his smile while driving, but eventually, a soft smile appeared on his face.

“Oh, and the bicycle ride was fun too. Right, senior? We got second place!”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Hyunsoo and Junseok came last, so they had to buy us food. Oh, speaking of which, Hyunsoo and Junseok even fell over. I should’ve asked if they were okay… I hope they didn’t get hurt.”

“Well, probably. They seemed fine, they didn’t look like they were hurt.”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

Dayun smiled brightly, but for some reason, Jaehoon felt a bit irritated. His mind wandered back to the bike race earlier.

“Do you want to ride bikes?”

Everyone looked at Sojin, who had suddenly made the suggestion.

“No, the weather is nice and the atmosphere is great,” she added, lightly tapping Daon’s arm.

Daon awkwardly smiled and said, as if acting, “Haha, should we?”

Sojin then added, “It wouldn’t be fun if we just rode. How about we make a bet?”

At the mention of a bet, Jaehoon, Hyunsoo, and Junseok all perked up, looking intrigued.

“We’ll form teams of two and have a bike race to see who gets there faster.”

Junseok asked, “So, what does the winner get? A prize?”

“Prize? More like praise and congratulations!”

“That’s lame,” Junseok complained.

“But the loser has to do something!”

Hyunsoo asked, “What kind of punishment?”

“Hmmm… maybe writing a name with your bottom? Something like that?”

“That’s childish,” Hyunsoo grumbled.

The guys, including Junseok, Jaehoon, and even Daon, all looked displeased with Sojin’s suggestion. After a brief pause, Sojin thought for a moment and then said:

“Okay, how about the losing team buys us all dinner?”

“Well, if that’s the case, I’m in.”

After everyone agreed, three tandem bicycles were brought over.

“Okay, so how do we split the teams?”

Sojin paused for a moment before responding, “Let’s just pair up with whoever wants to.”

Since this bet was mostly for Jaehoon and Dayun, it didn’t make sense to overthink the teams. Besides, since they were a married couple, it only made sense for them to ride together. Sojin, though, secretly wanted to ride with Daon.

“Should we?”

“Yeah, Daon Oppa, ride with me.”

“Well… okay.”

Daon hesitated for a moment, remembering that Sojin had confessed to him in the past. Still, he thought it was long ago and decided it would be fine to ride together. However, something else was bothering him.

“I’ll ride with Dayun, Junseok-hyung. You should ride with your friend, I’ll ride with mine.”

“Friend? Do you really think of him as a friend?”

“What are you saying? You probably don’t think of Jaehoon-hyung as a friend either, right? Why are you acting like you don’t want to ride with me?”

“Oh, you’re so difficult. I’ll ride with good old Dayun, and you can ride with Jaehoon.”

“I don’t want to ride with Jaehoon either. Plus, if I do, the bike won’t move because he’s so heavy.”

It was because of Junseok and Hyunsoo. As soon as Sojin said they should ride together, the two guys began loudly protesting, claiming it was unfair. Soon, Dayun and Jaehoon exchanged confused looks, and even Daon and Sojin were perplexed. Jaehoon, especially, was taken aback by how childish the situation had become.

“Ugh…”

Jaehoon was getting slightly annoyed by the situation. He had known Hyunsoo liked Dayun, but he had never considered Junseok might feel the same. No, he had suspected it, but he had always thought Junseok was just a good junior. However, looking at him now, he could tell that Junseok’s feelings for Dayun were more than just that of a junior.

Sigh… two guys in love with her.

Jaehoon silently thought. Although his marriage with Dayun was a forced one, it still bothered him that these two men were so interested in his wife. He tried to ignore the discomfort rising inside him.

Finally, Sojin, growing tired of the bickering, furrowed her brows.

“Ugh, how long are you going to keep this up? Oppa, are we going to bet or not? Hey, Kim Hyunsoo, are we betting or not?”

Daon, also showing signs of irritation, started frowning, just like Sojin. Meanwhile, Dayun seemed unsure of what to do, and Jaehoon, deciding it was time to end it, spoke up.

“Choi Dayun.”

“Yes?”

Dayun looked at Jaehoon, who had suddenly called her name.

“Can you ride a bike?”

“Well… I can, but…”

Dayun hesitated, unsure if she should admit it. Sojin, watching her, interjected.

“She can’t ride a bike properly. She gets scared if a car or another bike comes near her and falls over.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad.”

“No, you’ve fallen before. Remember that time you fell when a car passed by? We all thought you were hurt.”

Dayun had nothing to say because Sojin was right. Jaehoon then said:

“So, let’s just ride together. I’ll make sure no one gets hurt.”

“Well, okay, if you say so.”

After the confusion settled down, they started the race.

At Jaehoon’s words, Junseok and Hyunsoo had completely different reactions. Junseok frowned and muttered a short “Damn it,” while Hyunsoo grinned and said, “Yes!” But that smile quickly disappeared because of what Jaehoon said next. As he got on the bicycle that was standing nearby, he said,

“Dayun, get on.”

Hyunsoo stared at Jaehoon blankly, as if he’d been hit in the head. His face said, “What is this?” But would Hyunsoo know? Jaehoon was actually enjoying Hyunsoo’s reaction. Why? Because Jaehoon didn’t like Hyunsoo very much.

“M-Me?”

But Hyunsoo wasn’t the only one who was flustered. Everyone was surprised—especially Dayun. She couldn’t believe that Jaehoon was the one who suggested riding together first.

“Junseok can’t ride a bike like you, and more importantly, he said he doesn’t want to ride with me. Same goes for Hyunsoo. So that leaves the two of us. If we ride together, neither of them has to ride with me. That’s fair, right?”

“Ah…”

For a moment, Dayun thought, Is that right? Jaehoon’s explanation actually made sense. To her, it felt more like the others didn’t want to ride with Jaehoon than he wanted to ride with her. So if she rode with him, it really did seem fair.

“Well then, I’ll be in your care.”

Dayun gave a small nod and got on the back seat. Watching them, Sojin and Da-on smiled like proud parents. It felt like watching their own child take their first steps.

“Sojin, shall we ride too?”

“Yes, let’s do it.”

Da-on and Sojin also got on their bike.

“Let’s just go around once for now. Practice time~”

With Sojin’s words, their bike took off. And now, only Junseok and Hyunsoo were left behind, looking like kids who had their toys taken away.

“See? That’s why I told you from the start to just ride with Jaehoon.”

“What are you talking about? You can’t even ride a bike. If someone had to ride with him, it should’ve been you.”

“Ugh, whatever. Let’s just go too.”

So all three bikes started moving, and Junseok and Hyunsoo’s team ended up in last place. Rather than competing, they were busy trying to catch up to Jaehoon and Dayun. In the end, they even fell and really became last place.

Anyway, that day became a different kind of memory for each of them. For some, it was a fun and happy memory. For others, it was full of frustration. And for someone else, it was a memory that sparked a sense of danger.

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