Eun Jae, trying to keep her composure, continued her words.
“You didn’t know, did you? It’s an abbreviation for Studio, Dress, and Makeup.”
“Is that so? So, what did you decide?”
The man seemed unfamiliar with that word too. Knowing that it was related to marriage, his expression changed.
The chopsticks the man was holding were neatly placed on the rest, and his arms crossed and were placed on the table. He leaned towards Eun Jae, as if he was about to listen to the story seriously.
“I understand about the dress and makeup, but the studio is for taking wedding photos. I wonder if there’s a need to leave a photo for this contractual marriage.”
“Would you prefer an outdoor or indoor wedding venue?”
“Mr. Yoon Sun Woo.”
The man responded to Eun Jae’s words with a question.
Come to think of it, that man was always like that. He didn’t even give room to refute what he wanted to do.
“Uncle, teacher, Mr. Yoon Sun Woo. Let’s unify one of the three. I’m confused every time I hear it.”
“……”
It’s a relief that I didn’t make a mistake. The man chuckled as he muttered softly.
“I understand that we agreed to not omit anything from the last conversation. If you didn’t like any of the options, I’ll change the planner for you.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. Why do we need to go to such lengths for a contract marriage—”
The man narrowed his brow as if something was uncomfortable. Seeing his expression, Eun Jae stopped what she was saying. She felt an intuition that she shouldn’t say any more.
Sure enough, the man’s mood sharpened.
“You keep mentioning a contractual marriage, but isn’t a contractual marriage still a marriage?”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I’m curious if Ji Eun Jae would think the same if this were a real marriage.”
As she listened, the man’s question was strange. No, it was the same a few days ago.
“Even if I were your helpless lover, would you give up on me?”
He said it would be enough to act, but now he’s asking for sincerity, attaching a ‘what if’ scenario.
Why was he intent on making something that would be thrown away in a year, spending money on it?
Even though he wouldn’t be able to throw it away.
The words he really wanted to say were the former, and what had lodged uncomfortably in a corner of his mind were the latter.
In fact, strange emotions had been budding ever since she was hugged by the man in the courtyard.
No. Those feelings had been taking root for a long time. Beyond fondness, the heart definitely tilted towards the man.
After impulsively hugging the man, her face flushed and her heart raced told her so.
Because Tae Kyu was wandering nearby, the time she spent in his arms lengthened. Thanks to that, she was able to listen to the man’s heartbeat for a longer time.
At first, she mistook it for her own heartbeat, but it wasn’t. The man’s heartbeat was similar to hers. It was very fast and vibrant.
In fact, she secretly wished that Tae Kyu would stay longer. His embrace was warm, and it even smelled good. Even the man’s breath that occasionally brushed against her neck felt sweet.
The man who was quietly looking at Eun Jae, who kept her mouth tightly shut at the question of curiosity, spoke.
“Since we’ve already stamped the contract—”
The man kept confusing her.
“You and I, we’re no different from a real married couple.”
Even if it wasn’t sincere.
The man’s hair was wet after he took a shower. The man, dressed in a dark green nightgown, slowly walked out into the darkened living room and turned on a small mood light.
He poured red wine from the cellar into a glass. Sun Woo’s wrist, which had been spinning the stemmed glass, suddenly stopped.
“Why go to such lengths for a contract marriage.”
The woman’s words kept touching Sun Woo’s heart. It was definitely an irritating feeling, but laughter came out.
He was annoyed with the woman who was only thinking about quickly getting it over with and running away. Then and now, the woman is just thinking of running away from me.
Sun Woo, who was looking at the schedule, seemed to hesitate for a moment before picking up his phone. At the end of the short dial tone, the voice of a middleaged woman came through.
“Nurse, do we have many patients scheduled for tomorrow?”
[No. Is there something going on?]
“I would like to cancel the morning clinic.”
[Then I will arrange it like that, Professor.]
Sun Woo, who had put down his phone, chuckled as he recalled what had happened at dinner a while ago.
What was that all about?
The woman’s cheeks, flushed like a peach at the words “no different from a married couple”, were incredibly adorable. As if, if he bit into them, juice would immediately flow out.
Emotionless artificial intelligence robot. That was the phrase he heard most in the past 33 years.
The woman’s trivial actions keep making him laugh. Somehow his laughter has become hearty.
Sun Woo, who went into the study, let out a deep sigh.
Sun Woo, who was blankly staring at the previously written marriage registration form, put it back in the drawer.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
