A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 24

“Wow, I’m so full.”

“Yeah, that was really delicious.”

The dining table, which had been filled with delicious food, was now covered with empty plates, as if the food had disappeared in an instant. Everyone, without exception, expressed their satisfaction, saying things like “It was delicious” and “I’m full,” with happy expressions on their faces. As they all praised the meal in unison, Dayun couldn’t help but smile. She felt proud.

However, not everything could be perfect. While she was grateful that everyone enjoyed the food, the moment she thought about cleaning up, she felt overwhelmed. The messy kitchen from all the cooking and the countless empty plates and bowls scattered on the table made her wonder, “How long is this going to take to clean up?” At that moment, Soojung seemed to be thinking the same thing and spoke up.

“By the way, when are we going to clean all this up?”

She had the same overwhelmed expression. Junseok nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. It was great eating, but cleaning up is a nightmare.”

Everyone seemed to agree, nodding silently with the same expression. Then, Hyunsoo stood up and said,

“Still, if we all clean up together, we’ll finish eventually. Instead of just sitting here, let’s get to it.”

“Yeah, Hyunsoo’s right. If we all work together, it’ll be done quickly. There are so many of us here.”

“That’s true. Let’s hurry up and clean. Then we can start the real drinking party.”

Agreeing with Hyunsoo, Gyumin and Minseok stood up. One by one, the others followed and began cleaning up. Dayun also got up to help them clean quickly. However, Jaehoon, unlike the others, remained firmly seated, watching his friends clean. Seeing Jaehoon like that, Dayun thought,

“Was he really exhausted from all the cooking?”

She figured he must have been tired. After all, this gathering was arranged suddenly, requiring a rushed trip to buy groceries and quickly prepare food. Since the number of people wasn’t small, cooking for everyone had been quite a task. Even Dayun felt exhausted, so she thought Jaehoon, who usually only got to rest briefly on weekends, must be even more drained. Still, she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing, so she reached out to pick up an empty plate. But—

“Just leave it.”

Before she knew it, Jaehoon grabbed her hand, pulling her down to sit beside him. Startled, Dayun widened her eyes and looked at him, confused.

“Huh?”

Jaehoon, seeming a bit embarrassed, slowly let go of her wrist and looked away as he spoke in a slightly shy tone.

“Just leave it. Let them clean up.”

“But still…”

At that moment, Juhyung, who had overheard their conversation, looked betrayed. His face clearly said, “How could you do this to me?” and he spoke with a dramatic expression.

“Wow, listen to Ahn Jaehoon. He told Dayun to just leave it and let us do all the cleaning. Hey, buddy, she’s our guest!”

“Yeah, she’s a guest. And we took good care of you guys, didn’t we? Do you even realize how much effort we put in when you suddenly decided to come over?”

“Well, I mean…”

“And do you know how much food you guys ate? We cooked so much just to make sure you were all full. The least you can do is clean up.”

Hearing Jaehoon’s logical argument, Juhyung pouted for a moment but soon shut his mouth. Thinking about it, Jaehoon had a point.

Just then, Gyumin and Jiwoong walked out from the kitchen, and Gyumin lightly tapped Juhyung on the back of his head. It wasn’t painful, but it was enough to annoy him, making him frown slightly. Gyumin, however, ignored him and said,

“Stop making excuses and just clean up. If you’ve been treated well, you should repay the favor. Especially since you came empty-handed.”

At Gyumin’s words, Juhyung’s expression instantly turned to one of injustice. He stomped his foot in frustration.

“Hey, I wasn’t the only one who came empty-handed! Everyone else did too!”

At Juhyung’s protest, Jiwoong, who had been stacking empty plates, simply picked them up and stood. With an expressionless face, he said,

“That’s why we’re quietly cleaning up.”

Then he walked toward the kitchen. Juhyung was left speechless.

“Dude, just shut up and clean up already. Stop trying to slack off.”

Gyumin added his final remark before walking away. Juhyung pouted, then began stacking plates.

“Fine. The food was good, so I’ll keep quiet and clean up. Hmph.”

Then, as if to emphasize his frustration, he shot a glare at Jaehoon and Dayun, who were still sitting and watching. Seeing this, both Dayun and Jaehoon let out a small chuckle. It was moments like these, when everyone was gathered, that made even small things amusing.

“Alright, now it’s time for the real drinking party!”

At Minseok’s declaration, the living room became lively once more. Earlier, the table had been filled with delicious food, but now it was filled with various snacks and an overwhelming amount of alcohol—soju, beer, and more. Just by counting roughly, there seemed to be around 40 bottles, making Soojung and Dayun widen their eyes in surprise.

“Whoa… Why did you buy so much alcohol? Are you guys crazy?”

“Seriously… That’s a lot.”

Suji also agreed, looking as if she was scared of the sheer amount of alcohol in front of them.

“Guys… If you drink all this, your stomachs are going to explode.”

The girls all looked horrified, while the guys wore expressions of confusion. Minseok, in particular, looked dumbfounded at Suji’s remark.

“What do you mean, explode? We’ll finish it all, trust me.”

“No way…”

“It’s true. Right, Hyunsoo?”

Minseok turned to Hyunsoo, who nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, we can drink a lot. If anything, this might not even be enough.”

“What the…”

The girls looked at them as if they weren’t even human.

“But you girls can drink pretty well too.”

Hearing Hyunsoo’s words, the girls had no choice but to agree. It was true—they weren’t lightweights. So, they started pouring drinks and taking shots. Then, Junseok suddenly spoke up.

“Are we just going to drink like this? It’s so boring.”

Everyone turned to look at him, some with puzzled expressions. Gyumin directly asked,

“Then what do you suggest?”

“I mean, let’s play a game. It’s a housewarming party, and we haven’t all drunk together in ages. This is too quiet.”

“Hmm… That’s true. Should we play a game?”

While Jaehoon and Jiwoong weren’t too excited, everyone else agreed, feeling that the atmosphere was a bit dull. So, they decided to bring back some old drinking games from the past.

Then, Junseok smirked and said,

“How about a truth game?”

Hearing this, everyone gave him a skeptical look.

“We’ve known each other for so long. What’s left to ask?”

Gyumin, in particular, looked doubtful. But Junseok’s next words caught everyone’s attention.

“You never know. Maybe someone here has a secret crush.”

All eyes turned to him, some surprised, but one person—Jaehoon—looked different. Junseok then smirked at him.

“Let’s start. I’ll go first. I have someone I love in this room right now.”

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