A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 26
“….”
Silence lingered. That was because Hyunsoo didn’t respond at all to Gyumin’s question—he didn’t say a word. He just stared at his drink with a troubled and flustered expression. Seeing this, Gyumin asked again.
“Why can’t you answer? Is it…?”
Gyumin, ignoring the still-silent Hyunsoo, turned to the three women sitting there.
“Shin Suji, Jung Sojin, and Choi Dayun… Is it really one of them?”
As Hyunsoo quietly listened, he slowly lifted his head and met the eyes of the many people looking at him. The stares made his heart race—awkward, confusing, and overwhelming—but still, Hyunsoo couldn’t make a choice. Once again, he simply lifted his drink and downed it.
Seeing him drink instead of answer, Juhyun and Minseok let out disappointed sighs.
“Man, I really thought Hyunsoo would say something. That’s a bummer.”
“Right? But seeing him drink like that… maybe it really is one of them?”
“Oh? So it seems like it?”
As Minseok and Juhyun continued talking, it became clearer that Hyunsoo probably liked someone among the group, someone they all knew. Meanwhile, the more they talked, the more anxious Hyunsoo became. He tried to act unfazed, but he was nervous inside. Sure, revealing his feelings might lighten his heart, but it would definitely stir up some trouble. Love and friendship couldn’t coexist peacefully in this situation.
Just when Hyunsoo thought this should end, as if to save him, Sojin stepped in. She already knew about Hyunsoo’s feelings for Dayun.
“Oppas, that’s enough, okay? He drank because he didn’t want to say it. If you keep pushing, that’s just low. No manners.”
Suji chimed in in agreement.
“She’s right. Hyunsoo’s turn is over already, you guys went too far. Right, Dayun?”
“Yeah. He drank because he didn’t want to say anything, so it’s kind of unfair to keep pushing.”
After Dayun spoke, Minseok, looking embarrassed, scratched his head.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just curious… Sorry, Hyunsoo.”
“Me too. Sorry.”
When Hyunsoo gave a small nod in response, Sojin added:
“Also, the person he likes might not even be here. Remember when we asked if it was someone we knew, and he drank? It could be someone we don’t know. Anyway, what’s clear is he just didn’t want to reveal it, so he chose to drink instead.”
At that moment, Hyunsoo and Sojin exchanged a glance and shared a faint smile only the two of them understood. In that short moment, they exchanged comfort and gratitude.
Gyumin nodded, seeming to accept Sojin’s words.
“Yeah… Knowing Hyunsoo, that’s possible. The guy can be sly sometimes.”
“That’s true.”
Everyone seemed to agree, though Hyunsoo muttered to himself.
“Sly? What’s sly about me…”
Only loud enough for himself. Then, Junseok changed the subject.
“Alright, let’s spin it again. Hyunsoo, your turn to spin.”
Hyunsoo spun the spoon, and it pointed to someone.
“Oh, Dayun?”
“Okay, the host gets picked~”
Junseok and Gyumin spoke in turn. As they said, it was Dayun’s turn now. She looked startled and unsure what to do, while the others looked entertained. Everyone seemed pleased the host was picked, especially Minseok and Juhyun.
“This is the fun of the game—when the host gets picked.”
“Exactly. And she’s not just any host, she’s a newlywed. We’ve got to ask some good questions now—this could get interesting.”
Juhyun grinned, glancing between Dayun and Jaehoon, thinking about how to make them both squirm. But then someone threw a snack at Juhyun’s face.
“What the hell!”
Juhyun looked around annoyed, and Jiwoong, stone-faced, said:
“Keep it reasonable.”
A short but pointed warning. Then Gyumin and Junseok followed up.
“Yeah, dude. You’ve been way too excited today. Calm down.”
“Look at Dayun’s face. She’s already scared and you haven’t even asked anything.”
Hearing that, Juhyun glanced at Dayun. As Junseok said, she looked awkward and flustered. Meanwhile, the person he meant to tease, Jaehoon, sat calmly, unreadable but confident. Feeling guilty, Juhyun said:
“Sorry, Dayun. I wasn’t trying to mess with you, just Jaehoon. No hard feelings, okay?”
As if in response, another snack flew at Juhyun’s head—this time hitting him squarely.
“What, so you do have hard feelings for me?”
The thrower was Jaehoon. He frowned, clearly annoyed by Juhyun’s words. Juhyun awkwardly smiled but spoke honestly.
“…Well, not none?”
“Oh, you—”
Just as Jaehoon looked ready to throw another snack, Gyumin stepped in.
“Alright, alright, calm down~”
He held back Jaehoon’s hand.
“Let’s keep the game going. We just won’t let Juhyun ask any more questions. Fair?”
“Sounds good.”
Jaehoon nodded, clearly liking the idea.
“Okay, so who wants to ask?”
It went quiet. No one knew what to ask. Sojin, Suji, and Hyunsoo were all too close to Dayun to not already know everything. Then, Minseok, deep in thought, said:
“What do we even ask Dayun? You can’t really ask a married person if she likes someone else… and Jaehoon…”
He stopped himself just in time from asking how things were between her and Jaehoon, realizing it could hit a sore spot. Everyone already knew Jaehoon had someone else. Then an idea popped into Minseok’s head.
“Dayun, when was your first kiss?”
“What? Excuse me?”
“Your first kiss.”
The sudden and unexpected question left Dayun completely flustered. She had expected something like “first love,” not this. At that moment—
“Dude, are you a perv?”
“Hyung! Why ask something like that? Especially to a girl?”
“No manners, man.”
“Psycho.”
In order: Jaehoon, Hyunsoo, Junseok, and Jiwoong, all looking displeased. Embarrassed, Minseok scratched his head.
“Come on, I didn’t mean it like that… I was just curious! You guys used to ask the student teacher about first love and first kisses, so why am I the creep?”
Junseok looked incredulous.
“Dude, that was an adult. Dayun’s a kid.”
“What? That teacher was barely older than Dayun is now.”
“Still…”
Junseok was speechless. Then Jaehoon added:
“But back then, we were kids. Now we’re older than her.”
Junseok nodded.
“Yeah, totally different context.”
Annoyed, Minseok snapped.
“So none of you are curious, huh? Want me to change the question? Should I?”
No one answered. Sojin and Suji likely already knew, and the guys clearly were curious—they just didn’t want to admit it. Then, Juhyun joined in:
“Actually, yeah, I’m curious now. Dayun never dated during school, right? I don’t remember her having a boyfriend. Right, Hyunsoo?”
“No, she didn’t date during college.”
“College? Then that means she did in high school?”
Hyunsoo quietly nodded, voice trailing off.
“Well… her choices weren’t great though…”
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
The guys focused back on Dayun’s romantic history.
“Whoa, I always thought she was totally inexperienced. Never dated in school.”
“Me too. Did you just not want to date anyone?”
Dayun smiled awkwardly, and Sojin jumped in.
“Oppa, was that your question just now?”
“What? No, it was just a casual question!”
“Same thing. Anyway, Dayun wasn’t inexperienced. She probably dated around three times before 20.”
“Oh really?”
Then Suji added:
“Yeah. Dayun did date. Actually, I think Hyunsoo was the one who never dated. He didn’t even have a girlfriend in high school.”
Everyone turned to Hyunsoo, looking surprised. Feeling awkward, he cleared his throat.
“What? I didn’t want to. Is that a crime?”
Sojin backed him up.
“It’s true. He had a lot of girls confess to him, but he turned them down. He’s always been like that.”
“Ooh, so even back then it was one-sided love?”
Gyumin said with interest. Hyunsoo frowned.
“Could you not make that face? It’s kind of offensive.”
“Wow, so you’re secretly the romantic type?”
“Unlike you, clearly.”
“Oh, is that a confession that it’s unrequited love?”
“Can you all not?”
Clap clap
The sound of clapping. It was Junseok.
“Alright, we got way off track. There’s a drink waiting. Aren’t we gonna hear the answer?”
Everyone turned back to Dayun. Minseok asked again:
“So? When was your first kiss? If you dated in high school, was it then?”
After a pause, Dayun took a deep breath and answered quietly.
“No… I didn’t kiss any of the guys I dated.”
Suji and Sojin nodded knowingly. But the guys didn’t seem to believe it.
“Wait, so you still haven’t had your first kiss?”
“No… I mean… I have, but not exactly…”
Gyumin asked again, and Dayun hesitated. No one seemed to notice how awkward she felt.
“Oh, so when was it then? You said you didn’t date after you turned 20.”
“Hey! Choi Dayun! You traitor. You didn’t tell me or Suji anything!”
As everyone made a fuss over her first kiss, someone else was not amused—Hyunsoo. He suddenly said:
“Can you all quiet down for a sec?”
Then turned to Dayun.
“When was it? Your first kiss.”
“Huh? Oh… when I was 20.”
“Where?”
“Um… the beach…”
She could’ve just drunk instead of answering, but for some reason, she couldn’t. Maybe it was Hyunsoo’s clearly upset expression.
Then Gyumin pondered out loud.
“She didn’t date after 20, so that means it was either a classmate or a senior.”
“Was it someone from your major? Or a club?”
Junseok asked, but Dayun picked up her drink and drank it instead. That made Juhyun suspicious.
“Oh-ho, so you drank? Then it must be someone from the club. If it was someone from your department, only Junseok would know. No reason to hide it otherwise.”
“Ah…”
Dayun made a flustered sound. She hadn’t thought that far.
“Let’s see, who was in that club again? Oh yeah—didn’t all the guys from the club play truth or dare one time?”
Minseok suddenly remembered.
“Right! We did! Jiwoong got caught too, remember? He said his last kiss was during a club trip, and we were all trying to get him to reveal who it was…”
Minseok and Juhyun laughed—until their faces suddenly froze.
“Wait… that was early junior year, right?”
“Yeah, I think so. But didn’t Jiwoong say it was at a ski resort?”
“Oh yeah… the ski resort.”
They tried to laugh it off, but couldn’t—because of what Gyumin said next.
“What are you talking about? She just said the beach. At night, too.”
Gyumin turned to Jiwoong.
“No way… it was you?”
“Whoa.” Suji’s voice. The room fell silent.
Two people who were now married. A guy who loved the woman. And that woman’s first kiss—sitting right there too.
It was the kind of awkwardness that could suffocate the whole room.
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