Chapter 193: Suddenly Living Together
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 193: Suddenly Living Together
Screech!
"Welcome, Yoo-Sung."
"……."
Thud!
After the school trip ended, I took the subway home. For a moment, I couldn't process the scene in front of me. I shut the restaurant door I had just opened, stepped back outside, and stared at the sign hanging above.
'Mikoya'
This was definitely my house.
But for some reason, the President, who should have returned to her own home after taking the Shinkansen back to Tokyo, was sitting in our restaurant, calmly eating a meal.
I took a deep breath outside before opening the door and stepping back in.
My mother, who was just setting down kimchi and other side dishes on the President's table, saw me and spoke with a look of disbelief.
"Hey, when you get home, you should say 'I'm home' first. Why did you go out and come right back in?"
"Why is the President here?"
"She said she was passing by and thought she'd stop in. Why? Is the President not allowed to come to our restaurant?"
"No, that's not what I mean…"
I couldn't exactly explain everything that had happened in Kyoto. Frustrated, I looked at the President, hoping for an explanation.
My mother, looking puzzled, naturally turned her gaze toward the President, who was still eating.
After a moment, the President, who had been chewing on some spicy stir-fried pork, swallowed and finally spoke.
"The moment has finally come."
"What moment?"
The President shifted slightly in her seat, then bowed her head slightly to my mother, who was standing in front of her.
"Ma'am, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, would it be alright if I stayed with you for a while?"
"Whaaaaaat?!"
Seriously, why are you reacting like a character in a manga? You're making me embarrassed.
Thanks to her, I missed my own cue to be surprised. I covered my face with my palm.
*
This was now the second time someone had declared themselves a guest in our home.
The first was Meiling, who had lost her wallet in a foreign land and had no choice but to stay with us for a few days.
The long-awaited second guest was the President, who had just arrived in Tokyo after torpedoing her own important engagement ceremony.
The President calmly popped another piece of spicy stir-fried pork into her mouth, facing my stunned mother and me.
My mother asked, her expression bewildered.
"Miss President, what about your home? Did you… run away?"
The President diligently chewed the pork in her mouth before swallowing and replying.
"Yes. I had unavoidable circumstances."
"Unavoidable circumstances?"
"I ran away after calling off the engagement ceremony with the man my grandfather chose for me."
"Engagement ceremony! Ran away!"
My mother was instantly engrossed in the President's story.
After all, chaebol families and engagement ceremonies were staple tropes in K-dramas.
"Why did you run away?"
The President blushed shyly and said, "There was someone else I liked."
"Oh my! Oh my!"
Judging by her reaction, Mrs. Lee Mi-ja was already halfway won over.
It seemed she felt like she was witnessing a real-life love story from one of her dramas.
"My parents passed away in a plane crash when I was young, so I was raised by my strict grandfather. When I was a child, I thought it was only natural to obey him, but not anymore. I want to find my own happiness, too."
My mother grabbed both of the President's hands.
"If that's the reason, I can't possibly refuse! You can stay at our house for as long as you like!"
"Really?"
"Of course! This ajumma doesn't go back on her word!"
"Thank you, Mother!"
The President, looking deeply moved, hugged my mother.
And my mother embraced her back with a benevolent expression.
Anyone watching would think they were mother and daughter.
My father, who had just emerged from the kitchen after rolling up the awning, looked at me with an exasperated expression.
"What's with your mom?"
"I don't know. She must have been binge-watching K-dramas again."
"I keep telling her to watch them in moderation."
After whispering behind my mother's back, my father and I quickly separated, lest Mrs. Lee Mi-ja notice.
"Is the food enough? I'm not sure if the side dishes are to your liking."
"No, it's all so delicious, Ma'am."
Watching the two of them get along so naturally, I shook my head and stepped out of the restaurant.
First, I should unpack my things.
Come to think of it, I had only just gotten home.
*
That evening.
"Miss President, you can use this room."
"Thank you, Ma'am."
"Oh ho ho, it's nothing, really."
The President inherited the very same room Meiling had used for four days.
My mother had decided to keep it empty for guests, just in case, instead of turning it back into a storage room. It turned out to be a godsend.
Since we hadn't put any furniture in it, the room was completely empty aside from a set of bedding.
The President looked around with fascination.
"This is the first time I've ever lived in such a small room."
"I suppose so. Yes."
When would the daughter of one of Japan's most prominent noble families ever have slept in a place like this?
Even though it was my own familiar house, I felt strangely embarrassed today and couldn't stop fidgeting. The President smiled with her eyes and asked, "Why are you so nervous?"
"Huh? Oh, no, it's not that… No, you're right, I am nervous. Yes."
I might as well admit what's true.
I was now living under the same roof as the person I liked.
Even if it was only temporary, I couldn't stop my heart from pounding.
"Hehe, you're so cute."
Hearing my explanation, the President said this as she covered her mouth with her sleeve and laughed.
She looked so incredibly lovely, like a finely crafted Hina doll.
I sat formally and asked, "How long are you planning on staying with us?"
"That… I'm not sure myself. Perhaps until my grandfather acknowledges the relationship between you and me, Yoo-Sung?"
"Do you think he will?"
"Probably not, right? You're Korean, and I'm Japanese."
Although international marriages were becoming more common these days, there were still many Japanese people who disliked mixing blood with foreigners.
The President's grandfather was probably one of them.
As my expression darkened on its own, the President patted my shoulder as if to tell me not to worry.
"Even if that's the case, I have no intention of giving up on being your girlfriend, Yoo-Sung. If my grandfather won't permit my relationship as the head of the Saionji family, then I'll rise to the top of the Saionji family myself."
The President declared this, puffing out her chest with confidence.
It wasn't baseless confidence, either.
Knowing the President's capabilities, I felt she could genuinely climb to the pinnacle of her family.
She might act a little air-headed at times, but she was someone who got things done when it mattered.
I looked her straight in the eye and said, "If you're going to aim for the top of your family, President, I'll take responsibility and support you. After all, I'm the one who caused you to call off your important engagement."
"Hehe—hearing you say that, Yoo-Sung, makes me feel very reassured."
The President smiled faintly and reached out to take my hand in hers.
"Then there's one thing I'd like to ask of you first."
"A request…?"
"A kiss to seal our vow, can you give me one?"
"Excuse me?"
I was so taken aback by her completely unexpected request that I stammered.
But the President seemed to have no intention of backing down. Without a change in her expression, she spoke with a bold look on her face.
"You said you'd take responsibility, didn't you?"
"……."
How could I back out when she put it like that?
I swallowed hard.
The President's eyes slowly closed.
I rarely got to see them up close, but her eyelashes were very long.
Her fair, delicate features were so truly noble that I felt hesitant to even dare touch her.
But I squeezed out my courage.
It would be foolish to kick away an opportunity that had been handed to me.
I carefully tilted my head.
The President's face drew closer and closer.
We were now so close our noses were almost touching. I leaned toward her pink lips…
"Son! Come out and eat!"
You have got to be kidding me.
As if my mother's voice, arriving at the most exquisite timing, had completely shattered the mood, the President's closed eyes fluttered open. She blinked, her eyes as innocent as a goldfish's.
"President, let's do this later… Mmph!"
As I tried to pull back, I was cut short by the President's face suddenly pressing against mine.
A soft press.
The distinct, soft feeling of her lips.
It was just skin touching skin, but a shock like a lightning bolt shot through my head.
"Puah—"
A moment later, our lips parted.
It had been a brief touch, like a game of house between children, but we couldn't meet each other's eyes, our faces flushed bright red.
"S-so, how was it?" the President asked first.
Having been unexpectedly led on, I averted my gaze and replied, "I-it was nice."
"I'm glad, then. I thought I'd be clumsy since it was my first time."
The President said this with a bashful smile and stood up first.
"Your mother must be waiting outside. Let's go quickly."
"Ah, yes."
I scrambled to my feet to follow her. The President opened the firmly shut door and walked out into the living room.
Following her small back from behind, I thought to myself,
She's way more assertive than I am.