The Weight of Unspoken Words
When I said nothing, he filled my glass to the brim once more.
“I’m not trying to burden you, Kim. We’re not some chaebol family—we’re just working within our means. That said, I’m not about to lock my wallet. She’s my only daughter, after all. I have to let her keep some face, don’t I?”
Honestly. What kind of say does a son-in-law like me even have? If my in-laws draw up the estimate, all I’m supposed to do is nod and stamp the seal.
“There’s no need to match rhythms or anything. The real star of the wedding is the bride from the start.”
“Then?”
In the end, I gave the answer Representative Choi—and clearly his daughter too—wanted to hear.
“We should do whatever Min-a wants. Her taste is far better than mine anyway. Of course we’ll go together to look at dresses, but I’m sure she already has something in mind. Honestly, what do men know about any of that? It all looks the same to us.”
“Exactly. She does have that artistic eye. In that case, we’ll handle all the preparations from our side so you don’t have to worry about a thing.”
After praising his own daughter, Representative Choi broke into a satisfied smile. But that phrase—we’ll handle everything from our side—stuck in my ear. Of course he had no intention of waving receipts in the face of a penniless family like mine.
So this is his way of telling me to work harder.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. He would give me a wedding in a place I could never dream of on my own salary, one that would make everyone look up to us—so I had better earn my keep. Whether it was for his daughter or for the company, I was expected to give it my all.
“Come on, enough talk. Let’s look together. You need to see the pictures to understand.”
Representative Choi unfolded his flip phone, which had been folded like a folding screen, and held it out to me.
“A wedding can be thrown together anywhere if you don’t care, but since I’m sending off my only daughter, there are reservations and all sorts of things to worry about. Min-a makes the decisions and I just hand over the card, but I still need to see what it looks like, right? I went and took plenty of photos.”
“It looks nice.”
“I’ve already set the date too. Your parents said there’s no problem on their end. Don’t feel too slighted. Young people might not understand, but there are specific auspicious days that elders talk about.”
They had already beaten the drums and gongs without even asking me. They could have waited until the day before the wedding to tell me. Groom, please prepare to enter by tomorrow.
“I’ll just follow whatever you decide. Actually, it’s better this way—clean and no need for me to worry about anything.”
“Good, good. I’ll take care of all the complicated stuff, so don’t you worry, Kim. Look here. This is the most expensive wedding hall…”
I looked at the photos with feigned interest, making sure it didn’t seem fake. Even though I couldn’t care less, I acted as if I were deeply curious. I hid my expression and made the appropriate amount of noise from the side.
“Wow, this is great. Places like this must cost a fortune, right?”
The only things you gain from working in society are stress and acting skills.
Why doesn’t any of this feel real?
This was about my wedding, after all. And not just anyone—an innocent, beautiful, rich young lady that someone like me would never have dared to dream of. The normal reaction to such incredible luck would be to jump around like a madman, beside myself with joy.
Yet I… for some reason, everything happening right in front of me felt completely irrelevant. I wasn’t in any position to say do it if you want, don’t if you don’t, but right now this whole situation just felt like a hassle.
What would my niece say…?
If her uncle told her he was getting married. That the date had already been set. I wanted to see her fly into a rage and try to stop me. I wanted to see her jealous, furious—for me. For her… uncle…
What the hell am I even thinking?
I had resolved to keep my distance from her. If I was going to commit, I should at least last three days. I lifted the glass and drained it again.
“Right. To be honest, I did leave you out a bit even though you’re the groom. Starting next year, you’ll be Manager Kim. Get new business cards made. Now that you’re settling in as my son-in-law, you need the proper status.”
“I haven’t done anything to deserve it. You can take your time. People are watching, after all.”
“No need to be so humble. Our company is going to expand anyway. We’re moving several factories overseas, and it wouldn’t look right if the person in charge was still just an assistant manager.”
All I’ve done is fool around with the daughter you offered me. I wonder if you’d still look at me so fondly if you knew the face I made when I took your daughter’s virginity. I don’t understand how fathers think. My own father passed away early, and I don’t have any children yet.
“And about the house. Let’s decide now. It’s fine for just you and Min-a, but you’ll have children eventually. Honestly, your current place is too small.”
“…… It’s enough until the kids start school. There are plenty of schools nearby.”
“What kind of schools? Just mediocre ones full of snot-nosed neighborhood kids. Are you only planning to have one child? You should have at least two—no, three. Don’t worry about money. We’ll cover everything.”
“That’s not something I get to decide. Child planning is up to the mothers. Fathers don’t have a say.”
“Min-a will come to her senses. I’ll talk to her properly, so you just focus on keeping up your stamina. You still don’t play golf? There are plenty of unused clubs at home—take them with you.”
I wasn’t sure if having a child counted as coming to one’s senses. The smartest person I had ever known—my older sister—had abandoned her household the moment she got pregnant and left with her husband. Was that what he called sensible behavior?
I drank again. I had already emptied one bottle. I needed to contact my niece. Tell her I’d be home late today. That some damn dinner or whatever had come up and it was grating on my nerves.
Since I rarely drank these days, the alcohol hit me quickly. How was I supposed to end this irritating meeting? Had my niece already fallen asleep? There were too many things to think about; my chest felt tight.
“Let’s buy a new house while we’re at it. Min-a’s place is some officetel or whatever. She bought it just to look stylish, but you need a proper home. You know what I mean, right? That duplex or whatever—it looks so strange. No matter how many times I told her to quit it, she never listened to her father.”
“I’ve already talked with Min-a. We plan to start our newlywed life in the current apartment.”
“No, there’s no need for that. When an elder offers, you just accept. Why do you keep making me repeat myself?”
If Min-a and I had children, would we end up like this? I couldn’t tell if she would become like a rich mother or a poor father. Whether she would be like the daughter of a representative who had lived her whole life as a princess, or like the worthless son full of inferiority complex.
“Representative, please… just this once, listen to me. Can’t we take care of it slowly later?”
“Then what about your niece, Kim?”
“Pardon?”
The effects of the alcohol vanished in an instant.
“I’m asking what you plan to do with your niece. I thought we had already settled on you and Min-a living in the new apartment while your niece stays in your current place.”
Settled on it? How? When neither I nor my niece—the people involved—were even part of the conversation? They had just decided and moved on without us.
I didn’t care if the two of them did whatever they wanted. I had no pride left to speak of anyway. But my niece was different. If anyone touched my niece, I wouldn’t care who it was. I would raise hell and make sure they regretted it.
“That would be the perfect arrangement. You wouldn’t want to make her live alone anyway, so you’d send her to a dormitory. She’d only come back on weekends or during breaks, and an apartment that size would be more than enough. Anyone who’s raised a daughter knows. Girls have so much luggage, right? Or wait—were you actually planning to bring your niece into the newlywed home?”
Noticing the change in my expression, Representative Choi asked in return.
“How do you think she would feel coming home to an empty house by herself? She’s going to be in the dormitory anyway and won’t be able to come except on weekends. I’ll just take her with us to our place.”
“No. I’m saying she can come over to your apartment to visit. Why does she have to move in? Are you planning to rent out your apartment? How much could the rent even be? If you need money, I’ll raise your salary.”
Uncle’s house and aunt’s house. The nuance was completely different from the start. Even if my niece came to visit the newlywed home, Min-a would obviously give her attitude. Why does your brother’s niece keep coming over so often when she has her own house?
“It’s not about the money… Never mind.”
“Kim. I understand that you care for your niece, but I need you to care for my daughter too. Honestly, I don’t like this. You’re about to become the head of a household. Shouldn’t you be focusing on your wife and children rather than your niece?”
“……”
“I know both you and your niece have been through painful things… but the living must go on. It’s good that you want to look after her, but you need to raise her strong. It’s all well and good to be a good uncle, but as a father with a daughter, I hope you understand where I want your focus to be.”
Without answering, I tilted the glass once more. My stomach burned hot. If I stayed any longer, I was going to make a mistake. I stood up from my seat.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Alright. Get home safely.”
Representative Choi—Choi, the representative—had things to do as well, so he didn’t try to hold me back. The moment I stepped outside, he would probably call his daughter. Daddy talked to him and made everything clear. Kim says he’s come to his senses. The date and everything else is set, so don’t worry about a thing.
On the other hand… I didn’t want to tell anyone. That I was getting married. That the date had been set. Especially not my niece. I was terrified of what she might say when she heard.