A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 31

Inside the car, heading toward an unknown destination,

“…”

“…”

A quiet silence lingered between Jaehoon and Dayun, starting with the casual but sincere compliment, “You’re pretty.” It wasn’t an awkward or uncomfortable silence, but more like the atmosphere between a man and woman on their first date—nervous, yet sweetly awkward.

At this moment, Jaehoon, feeling the discomfort of the silence, glanced at Dayun sitting next to him and asked. His question was cautious, though.

“Um… should we listen to some music?”

“Ha-ha… should we?”

Dayun nodded in agreement, though her voice had an awkward laugh. It seemed like she shared the same feeling. She was touched by his compliment, happy, but also shy about it.

In this atmosphere, Jaehoon turned on the music, and soon a gentle but sweet song filled the speakers.

[“I found you, looking different, you seem so beautiful~
I want to confess today, I fell in love at first sight with your beautiful face.”]

As they listened to the song, the expressions on both of their faces slowly changed to one of embarrassment. The more they listened, the more the earlier conversation came to mind, making their faces turn red. When their eyes met, they quickly turned their heads forward, pretending like they hadn’t looked at each other.

“Ha-ha… the song is really nice. Whoever sang it sings well.”

“Hmm… right? I think it’s a good song too.”

“Yeah, it’s really good. Ha-ha…”

“Yeah, ha-ha…”

Then, in this awkward mood, they both smiled weakly, as though they were trying to laugh at something that wasn’t funny at all. After a moment, Jaehoon’s eyes lit up as he saw a sign for a rest area and excitedly said.

“Ah, we haven’t had lunch yet, right? Want to stop by the rest area and grab something quick?”

It was like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert. At his words, Dayun nodded with a pleased expression.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

She thought it would be more comfortable than just the two of them in this situation.

The car soon entered the rest area, and they walked toward the car while eating hot dogs, a popular snack at the rest stop.

“Are you sure this is enough? Aren’t you hungry?”

Even though they hadn’t had lunch, Jaehoon felt uneasy, seeing Dayun okay with just a hot dog. He worried that she might be uncomfortable, and he also felt uneasy that she didn’t ask for more. Dayun smiled gently and nodded.

“Of course. It’s been a while, and this is fine.”

“Still…”

Despite her words, Jaehoon felt uneasy. He had even mentioned that he had eaten a sandwich, and now he worried she was pretending not to be hungry. Dayun, however, smiled brightly as if reassuring him.

“It’s really fine. I snacked on some things earlier at Sojin’s, so I don’t even feel hungry. By the way, are you okay? Even though you had a sandwich, our brother or Hyunsoo would hardly even feel full after eating.”

When she mentioned Hyunsoo’s name, Jaehoon couldn’t help but frown. It seemed like Hyunsoo’s name came out of her mouth so naturally, even when they were talking about other things. He couldn’t help but feel bothered. But he didn’t want to show it, so he shook his hot dog and said, pretending not to care.

“Really? But you know, he doesn’t look like someone who eats a lot. Is he surprisingly a big eater?”

“Yes, our brother eats a lot, surprisingly. But he doesn’t gain weight.”

“Really?”

With her chattering like a little chick, Jaehoon smiled without realizing it. He looked at her face as if he were gazing at a loved one. But soon, his smile faded and his face turned annoyed.

The reason was simple.

“Yeah, it’s so annoying. I gain weight when I eat a lot, but my brother doesn’t. Oh, Hyunsoo is the same. He eats a lot like my brother but doesn’t gain weight. They must have a body type that doesn’t gain weight.”

Jaehoon tried to ignore it, but once again, Hyunsoo’s name slipped so naturally from her lips. He couldn’t help but frown again, muttering under his breath.

“Ah… really, Kim Hyunsoo…”

‘Kim Hyunsoo’ seemed so powerful. Back in school, when you said Dayun, it was always Kim Hyunsoo, and when you said Kim Hyunsoo, it was always Dayun. That’s probably why he felt so annoyed now. How could he stop her from mentioning Hyunsoo?

Seeing his expression, Dayun looked at him with her wide eyes, puzzled.

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just thinking I might be a little jealous.”

“Ah~ I see. I really wish I had that kind of body type. Then I could eat as much as I want.”

“Well, you’re also pretty thin. You can eat as much as you want.”

“No, that’s really not true, Jaehoon. The next day after eating a lot, my face gets so swollen. Like when we had chicken last time… Ah…”

Dayun suddenly realized she shouldn’t have said that. She looked at herself, regretting saying it. Jaehoon, remembering how swollen her face had been that time, couldn’t stop laughing.

“… You’re laughing because you’re remembering how swollen my face looked, right?”

Dayun glared at him playfully, her face pouting as she pretended to be upset, though it wasn’t scary at all. To Jaehoon, it seemed like a cute little child who had her candy taken away. He couldn’t stop smiling.

“…”

The car continued on its journey to the destination, and this time, the silence was different. There was no awkwardness at all. In fact, it felt strangely comfortable.

Jaehoon glanced at Dayun, who was staring out the window, and smiled quietly. She was still so cute.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you upset?”

Hearing this, Dayun flinched slightly, surprised that he had noticed. She quickly denied it.

“No, not at all.”

“I think you’re upset.”

“No, I’m not!”

But with her eyes avoiding his and her lips pouting, anyone could tell she was upset. Jaehoon wasn’t fooled by her attempt to hide it. He found it cute, though. He thought he needed to cheer her up, or else she might stay upset the whole time.

“I wasn’t laughing because your face was swollen. If I made you feel bad, I’m really sorry. There was no other meaning. It’s just that you were so cute back then.”

At his words, Dayun’s eyes widened in surprise. Then, to her shock,

“Hiccup!”

She started hiccupping, so startled by his words. After a while, she drank some water that Jaehoon offered and calmed down. Jaehoon couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Ah, seriously… how are you like this?”

“Huh?”

Dayun, confused by his laughter, looked at him, unsure. Jaehoon smiled again, saying something unbelievable.

“I really didn’t expect you to be like this. I knew you were nice, but I never imagined you’d be this cute.”

Suddenly, Jaehoon felt a bitter realization. He realized that this was Dayun’s true self, the one she couldn’t show because of his discomfort. He regretted not noticing sooner. He felt foolish for not seeing her real self earlier and resented himself for not being the one to discover how cute and lovely she truly was, while Hyunsoo, Junseok, and Jiwoong had already known her like this.

“Well, we can get to know each other properly from now on.”

“Huh?”

Jaehoon spoke with determination, thinking that it wasn’t too late.

“From now on, let’s get to know each other better.”

Support