How to Marry Jiwoo

The plane we boarded with that hardcore-FM bodyguard touched down on Japanese soil in what felt like an instant. We had arrived at Tsuki's house.

"Hngh... I'm so tired..."

The whole way here I hadn't even gotten a proper look around, and I hadn't been able to eat any street food like last time.

And it was all because of—

I glared at Lee Kangho, the hardcore-FM bodyguard.

I could've eaten a little! We still had plenty of time!

Every time I so much as tried to put something in my mouth, Lee Kangho would materialize at my elbow and snatch the food right out of my hands. Hoyeon unnie even nodded along with a look of deep, satisfied approval.

My fists trembled.

"Jiwoo, unclench that face."

"Unnie... I couldn't even eat because of that guy. I'm hungry..."

"Hmm... can you hold out just a little longer? And you already had breakfast, didn't you?"

"But... it's already one o'clock. I haven't even had lunch yet, and I didn't get my brunch between breakfast and lunch either..."

"Brunch... is that even how you use that word?"

Yuwol unnie looked thoroughly at a loss.

"That will not be possible. I have already received orders from the agency to carry out the thorough management of Ms. Lee Jiwoo. Aside from the designated meals of the day and any meals consumed as content, I am under orders to decline every other meal."

"Y-you—! Get away! Get away from me!"

"You are free to dislike me. I am merely executing the mission I have been assigned."

Gyaaaaaah!!

My head was already starting to hurt. Was I going to starve to death like this? And all because of that hardcore-FM guy?!

"Grrrr..."

"Jiwoo, calm down first. Even if you growl like a cat, you just look like a cute kitten throwing a tantrum."

"But..."

"There, there. Let's greet Tsuki's parents first, then go get lunch."

"...Okay."

"Wow. She's really got Jiwoo figured out now."

Jina unnie looked at Yuwol unnie with genuine admiration. Honestly, I was surprised too. I never thought she'd handle me this well. Even my own parents couldn't manage me like this. How on earth did this unnie do it?

"Unnie, what even are you?"

"Hm?"

"No, never mind."

Yuwol unnie pressed the doorbell and glanced back, but I just shook my head. Some instinct told me that if I dug any deeper, I'd cross a line I wasn't supposed to cross.

"Welcome, everyone from Re:fresh. I'm Murame, Tsuki's mother."

The front gate opened, and Tsuki's mother greeted us with a smile. She had radiated considerable elegance the last time I'd seen her, and this time too she was dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, dipping her head slightly toward us.

"Ah... thank you for having us."

"We'll be in your care."

"Hello."

"Please, come inside."

After a brief exchange of greetings, we stepped into the house.

"Whoa... this is a house? Tsuki's family is rich?"

"Well... former yakuza."

"Ah..."

The room we were shown to was large enough for five people to stay comfortably, with green tatami mats covering the floor.

"You may stay here during your visit."

"Thank you. And this is a gift."

"Oh my, you shouldn't have. I won't refuse it, though."

Tsuki's mother accepted the gift with a pleased smile. Everyone was just starting to relax into that smile when—

Thud-thud-thud-thud—!

The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps came pounding from somewhere.

"Jiwoo-chan! And everyone!"

The door flew open, and there she was, wearing the same clothes as Tsuki's mother, just in a different color and pattern.

"A wild Tsuki has appeared."

"Ah... there goes the peace."

"Come on, everyone, knock it off. It's been a month since we've seen Tsuki."

"Yeah! Yeah! I missed you so much!"

Tsuki ran over and threw herself into our arms.

"Tsuki, you're making the guests uncomfortable. That's enough."

"Hngh... but it's been so long, I'm just so happy. And! You're staying here for a whole three days! Hehe, everyone follow me! I'll give you a tour of the house!"

I'd already seen it once before, but the space we'd be staying in was a smaller house a little ways from the main residence. It had a bathroom, a bath, a kitchen—everything you needed to live. The place Tsuki wanted to show us, though, was nothing so modest.

"Ta-da! This is the best, most pride-and-joy bathhouse in our entire house!"

The room Tsuki introduced us to—no, calling it a room felt wrong. To put it simply, it was a bathhouse. And not just any bathhouse: a massive wooden bath the size of something you'd find in a sauna.

"Wow... it smells amazing. Is this that cypress wood?"

"Yep! Hinoki! And... hehehe."

Tsuki looked at me with a wicked little grin. What was that face? A wave of unease washed over me.

"The naked, steamy bath I never got to take with Jiwoo-chan last time...."

"No thanks. I'll go by myself."

"That's not allowed! This bathhouse has a time limit. So we all have to bathe together! My grandpa is dead serious about bathing, and just cleaning it takes a whole day! So we can only enjoy the bath for three hours a day!"

I almost shouted that that was a ridiculous excuse, but if it was Tsuki's grandfather, it seemed entirely possible.

"So Tsuki will wash every last inch of Jiwoo-chan's body, nice and thorough!"

"...Should we just go to a neighborhood bathhouse?"

Not washing at all was also an option.

"That's not happening. You're not going to show Kumongdan an unwashed Kuro, are you?"

"Hmm... they might actually like that?"

The name itself was Kumongdan. Kuro's Chest Is the Best Squad. If I showed them my real body in all its glory, they'd probably go wild with joy.

"Ah, whatever. Let's just go eat lunch. If we're in Japan, we've gotta eat that!"

"Eat what?"

"That would be! Drumroll, please...."

I slapped my thighs to pull everyone's focus.

"Ramen! Tendon! Udon! Takoyaki! Sushi! Yakitori! Oden! Okonomiyaki! Niku! Curry! Onigiri! And..."

"Stop, stop. You can't eat all of that. Let's just... take it slow over the three days we're here."

I hadn't even finished listing everything, and three days was nowhere near enough to eat every food I'd thought of. I'd need at least ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a week, and even then it would be a maybe.

And it was all because of that hardcore-FM bodyguard, Lee Kangho. If it weren't for the bodyguard, I could've just wandered around and eaten everything I wanted.

"Don't be like that, Jiwoo. You have to start filming the second break is over."

"Well, that's true..."

"Let's just start shooting. We'll film a vlog."

"Okaaay~"

We'd already filmed the entire journey here from the crack of dawn. The plan was to edit all the footage later and upload it to NewTube. And since this would also be my first NewTube video, I was going to give it everything I had. Even now I was getting questions about whether I was planning to start a NewTube channel. I'd been dodging it by saying I'd do it later, but this was the first video.

"Everyone, let's gooo!"

I was bursting with energy.

"She's going to crash in no time."

The unnies' prediction was not wrong.

"Hah... hahh... I-I'm dying... this is so hard. Can we rest a little? Or at least take a taxi."

"Jiwoo-chan. Japanese taxis are really expensive, so even Japanese people don't use them much. Most people take the bus or the train."

"I... hah. I know that, but..."

Knowing something and living it are two different things. They say even Japanese people think taxis are expensive, but don't they still take them all the time? So let's just take a taxi~

"No."

"Tch."

The news that Jiwoo had left for Japan had already spread through countless communities. No—it hadn't just spread. It had swept through them like a swirling typhoon.

"What is this now?"

Jina had been digging through the community reactions when she stumbled on a strange post. No—it wasn't just a strange post. Right now, the number one real-time community search was split almost evenly between Jiwoo's parents' jobs and those airport photos of Jiwoo.

"So? What's the actual truth?"

"Mmff mmff mmff?"

"Jiwoo, swallow what's in your mouth first, then talk."

Gulp.

I swallowed the food in a hurry and spoke.

"What truth?"

"Look at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this."

The phone screen Jina held out was packed with posts asking what my parents did for a living.

"Why do they care about my parents' jobs..."

"Probably because of something like this?"

Jina tapped the screen a few times and held it out again. A post like this had gone up.

"What is this? That's actually terrifying?"

"So? What do they do?"

"Wait."

Why was Tsuki's mother curious too? Of course, she was also the one covering the entire lunch bill...

"Well, the high-ranking official part is true... and the doctor part is also true."

That was something I'd only found out recently myself. Dad was a professor at Seoul National University Hospital, and Mom had once been a prosecutor who'd been doing very well for herself... Which was why they'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pushed me so hard to study. These days, though, both of them had mellowed out considerably.

"A prosecutor... and a doctor. How nice."

Hold on. What are you writing down?