A Marriage with A Reason - Chapter 77

“Everyone has arrived.”

The taxi, speeding through with regret, suddenly stopped in front of Dayun’s studio. Dayun spoke.

“Sir, just a moment.”

Then she opened the car door and shouted.

“Oppa! It’s the station!”

There, in front of her, was Junseok. He was standing, probably waiting for her, leaning against the wall. He smiled slightly and then walked toward her.

Meanwhile, Jaehoon, still driving on the road, was becoming more anxious. He was worried. He was worried about Dayun, who had left the villa empty-handed, and what if he missed her? He feared that if he lost her now, she might never come back. But…

“Ah… why is this happening!”

It felt like the red lights blocking his way were mocking his urgency, and his heart was burning in frustration.

“Just a little more, we’re almost there.”

The distance that felt so far away began to shrink, and before long, his car stopped in front of the building where Dayun’s studio was. Jaehoon quickly got out and rang the doorbell.

Ding dong, ding dong.

But no matter how much he rang and waited, the door didn’t open. It was as if the door, like her wounded heart, was firmly shut.

“That’s what happened… You must have been really upset…”

At that moment, Dayun, whom Jaehoon had been desperately looking for, was sitting with Junseok at a nearby restaurant. The soup and rice, which had been steaming, were already cooling down, but neither of them seemed to be about to touch it. Actually, they weren’t hungry. Dayun had come along reluctantly because Junseok, worried about her after she had been traveling since early morning, insisted she sit with him.

“A little.”

“…”

Or maybe, at this moment, she just wanted to talk about the pain she had been carrying.

“No, actually, it hurts a lot.”

She wanted someone to understand her pain, listen to her, comfort her, and embrace her.

“I trusted you, senior. You said you wouldn’t hurt me anymore, that your love for me was real. You said that. But…”

“…”

“How could you do this? You made promises to me. You could have told me beforehand. If you had said that you married me because of your mother’s revenge, but now it’s real, it would have hurt, but I wouldn’t have felt betrayed. I could have dealt with the pain with you.”

Junseok couldn’t say anything. Just hearing her trembling voice made him feel how deeply hurt she was, and how disappointed she was in Jaehoon, the one she had trusted. In the end, Junseok could only look at Dayun with a sad gaze.

“I’m angry, and I’m sad. Why do I always have to get hurt? It makes me frustrated.”

“…”

“And yet, part of me understands. Both your mother and you… You’re both mothers, no matter whether you lived together or not. I know how lonely and hard it must have been for you, and I understand that. So, I also feel sorry. I know how scary and painful it is to be rejected by someone you love. I felt that way when I married you, and at first, I was so lonely and tired. So, I understand all of that. But…!”

“…”

“I understand, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to understand. The pain I feel is too great. My trust in you feels so foolish, and I feel so small. I’m scared now. I wonder if everything you said and did was real. Honestly, I don’t know what to do now. I just regret it. I wish I hadn’t married you… I wish I hadn’t fallen in love. Then, none of this would have happened, and I wouldn’t have been hurt by you. The price of loving you is too great. It hurts too much, and I keep regretting it.”

Then, Junseok gently approached and patted her shoulder. He wished his touch could comfort her, heal her wounds. But her pain was too great.

Click The sound was heavy.

“Ha…”

When he saw the empty house, it felt like his heart was heavy too. In the end, Jaehoon walked with weary steps and slumped onto the couch.

“Ha…”

Deep sighs kept escaping from his lips. He was exhausted from waiting, and his face showed how much he missed Dayun.

“Where did she go?”

Thinking about her, Jaehoon’s face was filled with worry and curiosity. Where had she gone? He knew that Dayun didn’t want to trouble her family, so he assumed she had gone to the studio. But she wasn’t there, and when he called, only voicemail responded.

“There’s no one to ask.”

Frustrated, Jaehoon fiddled with his phone. He had already tried calling Sojin and Suji, but neither seemed to know anything about it. They had brushed it off when he asked, saying it was nothing, but he thought they’d figure it out soon enough. Right now, that wasn’t the important thing.

“I really miss her…”

He felt so sorry for Dayun and really missed her.

How long had he been sitting there when the doorbell rang?

Ding dong.

Jaehoon opened his eyes. He couldn’t believe he had fallen asleep while worrying about her. He felt foolish. But after everything that had happened since early morning, and then driving all the way to Seoul to look for her, he couldn’t help it, though he still felt frustrated.

Ding dong.

“Who is it?”

He hoped it was Dayun. Jaehoon quickly got up and opened the door. But, contrary to his wish, it was Junseok.

“Hi, long time no see?”

“What is it? You didn’t even call, what are you doing here?”

Jaehoon was a little surprised. He wasn’t expecting Junseok, and since it wasn’t Dayun, he was disappointed.

“Let’s go inside for a moment.”

Junseok pushed Jaehoon aside and entered the house. Jaehoon followed him into the living room, his face filled with curiosity.

“What’s going on? What’s happening?”

Junseok shrugged his shoulders and said,

“It’s just that I was asked to do something.”

“A request… from Dayun?”

Hearing the word “request,” Jaehoon immediately thought of Dayun. From Junseok’s actions and expressions, it seemed like he already knew everything.

“Yeah. She called me this morning. She was in a taxi but had no money, nothing. She was crying a lot. She said she was hurting, tired. I heard some of the story, but she seems to be really hurt.”

Jaehoon’s heart ached. He already knew, but hearing it from someone else made him feel even worse, and the pain grew.

“Why didn’t you just be honest with Dayun? If you had, even though she would have been hurt, she wouldn’t have lost her trust in you.”

“Where is Dayun now? Is she at the studio? I need to go right now…”

Jaehoon was about to rush to her, but Junseok stopped him.

“Calm down. If you go now, things will just get worse. This all happened a few hours ago. Right now, Dayun hates you and is blaming you. But she also understands because you’re her mother. She’s confused, still wondering if everything you said and did was sincere.”

“… But still, I should apologize. Even if it sounds like an excuse, I want to explain how I feel. I want to, I really do. I feel so sorry, and at the same time, I just want to see her. I miss her so much.”

Junseok sighed deeply. This was a side of Jaehoon he had never seen before. He had always seemed perfect, but now he was disheveled, desperately wanting someone.

Junseok thought, ‘Is this love? It was love.’ He knew Jaehoon had changed. Dayun had told him, and he could see it in her happy face, which showed that Jaehoon’s feelings were real. But he still thought it wasn’t complete love. It seemed like a shallow love. But now… seeing Jaehoon so desperate to see Dayun, Junseok realized it was the love he had always wanted.

‘Ah… now I really don’t even have a chance.’

In this situation, both of them wanted each other, and it seemed like they loved each other. Seeing this, Junseok felt that he no longer had any chance. Love was between them, and there was no gap.

But soon, Junseok gave a small smile.

“Is there really a problem with waiting a little? You both feel the same way.”

“Huh?”

“What you need right now is just a little patience. If you rush to Dayun, nothing will change. It will just make things worse and make her uncomfortable. First, you need to solve things with your mother. Then, Dayun will believe in you again. She’ll see that everything you’ve done was sincere.”

Love isn’t just about winning someone’s heart. It’s also about protecting them so they can love. Helping someone be happy is also love. Love alone, even when alone, is still love.

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