A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 55

Dayun came back, and the dinner event ended safely.

“Thank you, Jaehoon. Really, I ate so well today thanks to you.”

The event itself wasn’t anything special. It was just a warm dinner to celebrate that she came back and that their hearts were going in the same direction. But even though it was something small, seeing Dayun happy in her own way made Jaehoon think the dinner was quite a success.

“Let’s get along well from now on. I’ll never cause a misunderstanding again.”

“Alright. I’ll trust you just one more time because it’s you, Jaehoon.”

As if to prove he wasn’t wrong, the atmosphere that day was so warm and cozy.

A few days passed, and as usual, Dayun was seeing him off while getting ready for work. As Jaehoon was about to open the front door and leave, he stopped and spoke.

“Do you want to come to my office for lunch today?”

“To your office for lunch?”

“Yeah. Let’s eat together.”

“Oh…”

After that day, something had slightly changed between them, just a little, but enough to feel it.

“Why? You don’t want to?”

“No, it’s not that. I was planning to go to my studio today. I feel like I haven’t used it in a while.”

“Oh… Then should I come to you instead?”

“What?”

“It’s a hassle for you, so I’ll go. It’s a short drive anyway.”

Unlike before, Jaehoon had become more forward, and Dayun was acting a bit distant—she wasn’t just obedient like she used to be.

“You’re busy. You don’t have to do that.”

“No, I’ve got some free time these days. I’ll come.”

For example, in the past, Dayun used to follow Jaehoon’s path. But now, it felt like Jaehoon was following hers. Their relationship had changed in a subtle way, but strangely, neither of them seemed to dislike it. Actually, they both kind of liked it. Dayun felt loved as a woman, and Jaehoon finally didn’t have to hide his feelings.

“No, Jaehoon. I’ll go to you instead.”

“Huh? I can come.”

“No, I think it’s more of a hassle if you come. I’ll just go.”

Anyway, hearing Dayun say she would come made Jaehoon smile secretly. He was happy that she said she’d come, but he especially liked the way she sometimes dropped the formal tone—it made him feel all warm inside. And at the same time, he thought,

‘Can’t she stop calling me “Jaehoon” and start calling me “oppa”? Or maybe… honey, babe…?’

He really hoped for that. After that incident, Jaehoon had become a bit cuter, with a strong desire to win her heart.

“Oh, Dayun! Hey~”

Dayun had just finished cleaning up at home and was walking to her studio. As she opened the door to go inside, she ran into Junseok, who seemed to be returning from the convenience store with a bag in hand.

“Oh? Hey, long time no see. You went to the convenience store?”

“Yeah. There wasn’t anything to eat, so I went out for a bit.”

“Ah…”

Inside the bag, she saw cup noodles, triangle kimbap, and other instant food. Maybe once in a while is fine, but seeing him always eating that kind of food made Dayun feel a bit sorry for him.

“Oh, right. Here, strawberry milk. I always buy one for you just in case, and today I finally get to give it to you.”

He looked after her just like her real brother Daon did. To Dayun, Junseok was like a second big brother.

“Ah, thank you.”

“No need to thank me~”

“But seriously, you should eat proper meals. Every time I see you, it’s always convenience store food.”

“Oho~ Are you worried about me?”

“Of course. After everything you’ve done for me.”

“Hehe, that makes me feel good. But don’t worry. As long as I eat something, I’m fine. Besides, it’s not bad.”

Junseok seemed happy at her concern. Even if it was just friendly worry, the fact that she cared only about him, even for a moment, didn’t change.

After saying a bittersweet goodbye to Junseok, Dayun went into her studio.

“Ugh… I need to open a window.”

She had been writing at home lately, so it had been a while since she came here. The air felt stuffy, and she could see dust in some places. Looking like she had no choice, Dayun aired out the room and wiped the dust.

Seeing the room clean and fresh, she smiled, feeling like she could write something good today.

Tap tap tap

How long had she been sitting in front of her laptop? Her shoulders started to ache, and she finally stretched.

“Ugh~ I’m so tired.”

Sitting in one place for a long time, typing and thinking, made her whole body feel sore. Writing something creative was so hard. She hadn’t even written that much, but time had already passed a lot.

“I should get ready to go out now.”

Hmm hmm~ Jaehoon’s humming filled his office. In just 10 minutes, he would have lunch with Dayun. He was already excited. Because of that, he couldn’t focus on his work at all.

“Does my hair look okay?”

He kept checking the time and sighing. He also kept looking in the mirror and fixing his appearance, even though he didn’t usually care.

After spending 10 minutes fussing, he checked the restaurant reservation one last time and stood up.

“Team leader, are you going out for lunch?”

“Yes, I might be a little late. Enjoy your meal, everyone.”

With a polite smile, Jaehoon left the office. Watching him from her desk, Hyeyun frowned. As soon as he came out, she stood up and stared at him, hoping he would notice. But whether he ignored her on purpose or just didn’t care anymore, Jaehoon walked out without even glancing at her.

‘So now he’s going to treat me like I don’t exist?’

Hyeyun clenched her teeth without anyone noticing.

Meanwhile, Jaehoon, unaware of any of this, moved his car from the basement parking lot to the front of the company. He wanted to make it easier to pick her up.

“Is she on her way yet?”

He looked around while waiting. He knew which direction she would come from, but just in case, he looked around. After about three minutes, he saw Dayun walking toward him. His face lit up with a big smile.

But… that smile quickly turned into a frown.

“What the…”

“Hey, Jaehoon. Did you wait long?”

“Ah… No, not really… But… why are they…”

For some reason, she wasn’t alone.

“Hey, buddy~ Long time no see!”

“Hyung, how have you been?”

Hearing those familiar voices, Jaehoon let out a deep sigh without realizing it. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Lee Junseok, Kim Hyunsoo… Why are you guys even here?”

It was because Junseok and Hyunsoo were stuck to Dayun like they belonged there.

Jaehoon was really unhappy about the situation, but with them saying, “Let’s go, let’s go~” and pushing him into the car, he had no choice but to get in.

“Hey, Junseok, why are you sitting next to me?”

“Why not? We can sit wherever.”

“Ha…”

Junseok sat in the passenger seat next to Jaehoon, not Dayun. And Dayun, who Jaehoon hoped would sit beside him, sat next to Hyunsoo instead. That made Jaehoon quietly frustrated, but he tried not to show it. He didn’t want to be the only one who cared so much.

He didn’t notice Junseok and Hyunsoo exchanging knowing smiles as if saying, We won this one.

“Hey! Hey!”

“Hyung, drive a little more carefully. You’re scaring Dayun.”

“Yeah. You’re driving too rough.”

Jaehoon’s driving was especially harsh today.

“Dayun, this is good. Try this.”

“This too, this one’s tasty.”

“Mmm, it’s good. You eat too, oppa. You too, Hyunsoo.”

Jaehoon bit his lips—not the food. He didn’t say anything, but inside he was thinking, What a joke.

What am I even doing right now…

He felt stupid wanting to give her food or bring her water but never acting fast enough. And then watching Junseok and Hyunsoo do it before him made him even more annoyed. He always thought he was the type who didn’t get jealous, who was chill. Even when dating Hyeyun, he barely felt jealous. He just pretended for appearances. But now? Things were completely different since Dayun came into his life.

“Can’t you guys just eat your own food? She can eat by herself, don’t bother her.”

He got irritated seeing them take care of Dayun when she kept saying she was fine. And seeing Dayun smile at them made him even more jealous. What made it worse was that he had used a connection to book a nice restaurant with a great view, only to end up eating jajangmyeon because of these two uninvited guests. It was so ridiculous it made him speechless. Sure, they ordered other dishes too, but Jaehoon had wanted a proper lunch date.

Sigh…

So he kept sighing, and nothing he ate tasted good. It was such an awkward feeling.

“Jaehoon.”

“Huh?”

While he was poking at his noodles with his chopsticks, he suddenly heard Dayun call his name. He looked up, surprised, with wide eyes full of hope.

Then Dayun placed a piece of food on his plate and said,

“You must be tired from working. Eat a lot.”

“Thanks. You too, eat a lot.”

“Okay.”

Maybe she gave it to him because he looked like he wasn’t eating, but Jaehoon smiled. He took a big bite of the food she gave him, and for some reason, it tasted sweet. Just moments ago, everything had tasted bland.

“This is good.”

With that, Jaehoon smiled shyly. He started to think—maybe he had fallen for Dayun even more than he realized.

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