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# Chapter 2. Something Is Going Strangely Wrong
Yura's foot was firmly planted on the accelerator.
A statement that was beyond a bomb, practically a nuclear bomb.
Faced with such an unexpected situation, I had no choice but to become speechless.
Even if I'd gone around in circles, beating around the bush and taking several laps before finally breaking the news, it
would have been shocking.
Yet she had gone straight out and said she was pregnant.
It wasn't just me. Everyone in this room must have been deeply shocked.
But.
‘Is it because they're too shocked…?’
The reaction from Yura's family was quite different from what I'd expected.
Rather than being shocked, they tilted their heads suspiciously.
Or they wore expressions that seemed to say, "Here she goes again."
Had Yura often played cute little pranks on her family?
Even so, the chances of a twenty-year-old, late-born youngest daughter bringing her boyfriend home and announcing that
she was pregnant as a joke had to be extremely low….
Among them,
the oldest-looking of Yura's brothers sighed and spoke.
"Yura, even for you, this kind of joke is going too far."
…Huh?
They really thought it was a joke…?
And what did he mean by "even for you"?
Regardless, I couldn't just sit there and wait for Yura to deliver this shocking news for me.
I immediately opened my mouth to try to clean things up.
"I'm sorry, Father, Mother, Brothers. I'm the one who should have told you this myself, but I hesitated, so I think Yura
found the courage to say it instead. I spent a lot of time wondering what I should say to convey this news to you."
Honestly, I was talking, but I wasn't even sure what I was saying myself.
"I'll accept whatever scolding you give me. I have no excuse. What Yura said is true. The only thing I can say is…. It
may sound irresponsible, but I'll take responsibility somehow. That's all I can say."
Through my words, I managed to make it clear that Yura's statement was by no means a joke.
Only then did everyone seem to realize the seriousness of the situation, and their expressions became solemn.
No one could easily bring themselves to speak.
Why would they?
Their beloved,
adorable youngest daughter, precious enough to keep in their eyes,
had suddenly brought home some young man they'd never heard of, a man who had only just become an adult, and announced
that she was pregnant.
After a long silence,
Father finally opened his mouth.
"Young man."
"Yes, Father."
"If what you're saying right now is some kind of foolish joke…. In other words, if you're simply playing along with
Yura's prank…. I don't think I could tolerate it."
"Of course not, Father."
There was no way this was a joke.
Who would make a joke like this?
I felt like I was risking my life just sitting here.
"Whether it's true or not is something we can find out now. I don't know whether you're familiar with the saying, 'A
man's word is worth a thousand pieces of gold.'"
"I pride myself on not being so pathetic as to lie in a situation like this."
"Then…. I assume you're also sincere when you say you'll take responsibility."
"Of course, Father. I intend to take responsibility even if I have to lay down my life."
"Please don't forget those words."
Surely they wouldn't actually kill me.
As long as I didn't literally die, I was prepared to take responsibility no matter what.
A man should, after all, know how to take responsibility for his own actions.
"I think it would be better to continue this conversation after we've confirmed the facts. Would you excuse yourself for
a moment?"
"Yes, Father."
"Taehо, show our guest to the guest room."
"Yes, Father."
I got up from my seat.
Our Yura….
I couldn't help feeling sorry for her, hoping that they would scold her only enough that she wouldn't be hurt.
Even if she was their precious youngest daughter,
I knew perfectly well that hoping she could completely avoid being scolded was simply too much to ask.
---
On the way to the guest room,
one of Yura's brothers was showing me the way.
I felt an enormous sense of guilt.
The youngest child, born so late.
And Yura, who was nothing but lovable and adorable.
How much must they have cherished her?
They must have wanted her to become an adult, see nothing but good things, and enjoy her carefree youth.
And then, all of a sudden, some damn bastard had gotten her pregnant….
Before I knew it, an apology slipped out of my mouth.
"I'm sorry, Brother. I may seem terribly inadequate, but I'll take responsibility somehow."
"Hmm…."
Of course he wouldn't be pleased.
I had no intention whatsoever of thinking that an apology alone would earn me forgiveness.
That would just be selfish.
After I apologized, Brother looked at me.
Was I at least lucky that he wasn't glaring at me like he wanted to kill me?
"Since this relationship has brought us together somehow, we might as well introduce ourselves first. I'm Jin Taeho. I'm
Yura's second-oldest brother."
"I'm Kang Dojin, Brother. I'm still a student, and I came up from Yeosu."
"Really? If you're a student…. Which university do you attend?"
"I attend Seoul National University."
I could feel his gaze change slightly at the mention of Seoul National University.
But even that changed expression was quite different from what I'd expected.
Why did it seem like he was looking at me with pity…?
Was something wrong with my head right now…?
"First of all…. You must have studied very hard, so I respect you for that."
"…Pardon?"
"You aren't really at fault for this. If you're from Yeosu, getting into Seoul National University would have been
difficult unless you studied extremely hard…. It's unfortunate that something like this happened before you could even
see the fruits of your labor."
"…It's nothing."
"Dating Yura can't be easy, can it? You look perfectly normal, and being a Seoul National University student, you
probably would have been popular. And yet, of all people, you ended up with Yura…."
Was he testing me?
As expected of someone from a diamond-spoon family, even his acting was on another level.
He genuinely seemed to feel sorry for me.
"As you know, Brother, Yura was raised with a lot of love from her family, so to me, she's simply an adorable woman who
is far too good for me. If anything, before Yura could properly enjoy an ordinary life…."
"…Are you a spy?"
"What?"
"Or are you acting like this because you're after our family's wealth?"
"Excuse me, Brother?"
Was there something in what I said that could have been misunderstood?
I was bewildered by his suddenly sharp reaction.
Well, whatever I said right now would probably make me look hateful anyway.
Even so, I wanted to convey my sincerity to him.
"I only found out today that Yura grew up in such a wealthy environment. I could make a rough guess because she's always
so cheerful, but…."
"And you think that idiot's personality is lovable?"
"…Yes."
"Wow…. You're truly a match made in heaven. You two found each other."
Hmm….
At this point, I started wondering whether he might not be acting after all.
Or perhaps he was still testing me.
"Well…. Whether what you're saying is true or a lie, the advice I can give you is this: if you're after our family's
wealth, give up on that dream right away."
"Of course not, Brother. I'm dating Yura because of Yura herself. I never considered anything else."
"Huh…. An unusual taste, I suppose. Still, Yura looks perfectly normal. Anyway, I'm telling you just in case. If you're
going to give up, give up early. That girl Yura once screamed at the entire extended family when everyone was gathered
together. She said she didn't need any money and told everyone to stop interfering."
"…Haha."
What kind of test was this?
Were they testing the size of my character?
Did he think I'd approached Yura because I wanted her wealth?
But wouldn't they normally express their anger rather than conduct some kind of test like this?
Their late-born younger sister.
Their beloved Yura.
If she suddenly announced that she was pregnant….
‘I have no idea.’
No matter how deeply I thought about it, I couldn't come up with a suitable answer.
In the first place,
this situation had long since gone beyond anything remotely normal.
I'd never once imagined that I would have a wife at the age of twenty.
Of course, since that woman happened to be someone as lovable as Yura, I was more than grateful to accept it.
Still, it was strange that I was maintaining my sanity in this situation.
Maybe I'm the one who's actually lost my mind.
We arrived in front of the room.
Brother Jin Taeho patted me on the shoulder.
"People make mistakes when they're young. As long as you take responsibility, that's what matters."
"Yes, Brother."
Thank goodness he seemed like a warm-hearted person.
Honestly, even if he cursed me out, I had no grounds to complain.
"Just don't even think about running away."
"Of course not."
"You'd better not."
"…Yes."
Of course I'd take responsibility.
---
About thirty minutes passed.
I was facing Father again.
At least one thing was a relief.
He still wasn't looking at me like he wanted to kill me.
"I hear you're a Seoul National University student?"
"Yes, Father."
"Hmm…. Good grief…. Such a young man who worked so hard at his studies, and somehow this happened…."
"…Pardon?"
Instead of Father's stern expression, something much more natural appeared on his face.
Then Yura, who was sitting beside him, gave him a look.
Father flinched and immediately put his stern expression back on.
What exactly was going on right now…?
Was it because our Yura was such a lovable daughter that she was precious enough to keep in one's eyes?
Did he simply not want to hurt his daughter?
So this was a father's heart….
I felt even more apologetic.
"Ahem. All right. How much do you know about Yura?"
"Actually, Yura and I were still getting to know each other better when this blessing came to us. I'm sorry, but I don't
think I can confidently say that I know everything about Yura yet."
"I suppose that's why…."
Once again, Yura gave him a sharp look.
Flinch.
His stern expression returned.
He explained something about her that I hadn't known.
"I don't know if you've heard of it, but do you know the Changseong Group?"
"If you mean the Changseong Group…. Gasp! The Changseong Group…."
I instinctively covered my mouth.
"Hmm…. I suppose you take quite an interest in economics. Usually, many people who have only just become university
students wouldn't know about it…."
"…"
There was no way I could not know.
Ah, my head.
How did things end up going this way again?
My older brother worked at Changseong Construction.
I should keep my mouth shut for now.
I didn't want my brother to suffer any disadvantages because of this.
He'd worked hard studying to finally secure his position.
The last thing I wanted was for my mistake to cause trouble for him.
‘Sigh…. My head….’
It was obvious that I needed to make a good impression before.
But now, I needed to remind myself to be even more careful.
Why did fate have to be like this?
In a way, it wasn't even an impossibly rare coincidence.
Changseong Group.
As far as I knew, even if it wasn't quite one of the top ten conglomerates everyone commonly heard about,
it was at least somewhere within the top twenty or thirty.
And I knew its main business was construction.
For my brother, who wanted to work for a major construction company, it was perhaps one of the most coveted choices.
So this kind of connection wasn't quite as unlikely as getting struck by lightning.
In the first place….
‘If it's the Changseong Group….’
How many employees could a company ranked somewhere in the top twenty or thirty possibly have?
When I thought about it that way, perhaps it wasn't so strange.
What was truly unbelievable was—
‘How….’
That Yura was the late-born youngest daughter of the Changseong Group.
That was what made even less sense.
Strange.
I hadn't felt that much of a sense of incongruity before.
Then why hadn't there been any bodyguards that first night…?
One thing was certain.
The bastard who had gotten the cherished daughter of the chairman of the Changseong Group pregnant the moment she became
an adult
was me.
"I'll ask you something. If we hold a wedding, there will be no going back. Our family's reputation is at stake, and so
is your family's."
"If I can spend the rest of my life with Yura, I'm willing to take any responsibility necessary."
"Oh, dear…. You're still so young…."
A sharp glare.
Flinch.
"Ahem. Y-Yes, but since she is pregnant, we'll have the wedding after she gives birth."
"Yes, Father."
Perhaps my willingness to take responsibility had made me look somewhat acceptable.
The gaze I'd prepared myself for was somewhat different.
Perhaps very different.
"Good grief…. How did this young man end up in such a situation…."
"Father?"
"F-Father…?"
"What's wrong, Father?"
"Ah, no, it's just that you called me Father…."
A sharp glare.
Flinch.
"Oppa, don't worry too much. I've saved up a lot of allowance."
"R-Right…."
Now I finally understood.
When Yura said she'd saved up her allowance.
The scale of her allowance was definitely different from normal.
"Where are you currently living?"
"I'm staying in a one-room apartment near Seoul National University."
"Move in here. You might run away, so…."
"Yes…?"
"Ah, no. Anyway, if our Yura is pregnant, shouldn't you live together with her? You can't exactly live together in a
one-room apartment…."
"I'll do that, Father."
Perhaps it was only natural.
How could I possibly have Yura, such a precious and beautiful girl, sleep in a tiny one-room apartment?
"Then…. Our cute…. Ahem. Precious? Lovable…? Youngest daughter…."
"Father?"
"Eek!"
"…"
The first day of entering my future in-laws' home.
Something was definitely going strangely wrong.