The Chairman's Shock
Cha Seong-mok, who had been calling early in the morning to hurry them over to the family home, looked as if he might fall backward upon seeing Dayeon entering with Siheon.
“W-what? The two of you coming in together right now?”
“Since we're getting married anyway, what's wrong with bringing you along in advance?”
“You… saying that now…!”
The chairman's angry voice echoed through the space. Dayeon, standing a step behind Siheon, looked back and forth between them anxiously.
Teacher. Why are you doing this.
It was already enough to explain, but why deliberately say something like that? Dayeon couldn't understand why Siheon was acting this way.
They had spent the night at his house, but nothing had really happened, right? The only thing from last night was showering and sleeping in their separate beds.
There had been a small incident, but it was an unforeseen accident. Nothing that would worry the chairman.
“I already informed Lawyer Kang about this.”
Siheon replied casually and went to sit on the sofa. He didn't seem to have any intention of justifying last night's events.
Dayeon, who had been behind him, looked over and bowed her head in greeting, then followed Siheon and sat beside him.
On the opposite sofa, a middle-aged woman who appeared unfamiliar was sitting and drinking tea.
She was a strange woman. Not a single piece of jewelry adorned her ears, neck, or body, yet she exuded elegance and dignity with every fiber of her being.
Dayeon greeted her with her eyes and thought she seemed to resemble Siheon in some way. When their eyes met, she smiled quietly in response.
While Dayeon and she exchanged silent greetings, Chairman Cha sat down and let out a sigh.
“What on earth. A marriage contract? Our family has never had such a nasty thing in our house, nor has anyone used it.”
“These days, many people do it. No problems, and it's clean.”
Siheon sat with his legs crossed and gulped down the tea in front of him. He drank it without even checking if it was hot.
The chairman's gaze on Siheon was displeased.
“Marriage isn't like that. Based on deep affection and love…”
“When pushing this child in front of you for marriage, when did you ever do that?”
“W-what…!”
The chairman's voice, which had just calmed, rose again at those words.
“There are rules and procedures for everything. If the fact that this happened in a marriage is known before, I won't have any face left. And what face will I have when I see Teacher Do Hee-ok's face later!”
The chairman's scolding continued for a long time with him in front.
After that, words like "our family is different from other families" and "in our era, it wasn't like this" flowed endlessly from the chairman's mouth.
Siheon had a face as if he wasn't listening at all. Only Dayeon nodded her head diligently while listening to the chairman's words.
“…as I have told you since you were a child.”
The chairman furrowed his brows as his words got stuck. Siheon poured water into the glass cup as if to drink it while listening to the scolding.
The chairman drank the water and there was a brief silence. In that moment, a quiet voice came through.
“What do you think, Miss Dayeon?”
The question was sudden, so Dayeon's head turned toward the chairman. Then, the woman sitting quietly like a beautiful still life was seen staring directly at her.
Her thoughts? Dayeon found it hard to guess the meaning of her question and blinked in surprise, then cautiously opened her mouth.
“Excuse me. I don't quite understand what you mean by asking…”
“Miss Dayeon’s opinion hasn't been heard yet.”
Sim Jeong-hee, Siheon's mother, asked Dayeon again with a calm expression.
“Miss Dayeon, do you also agree to marry our Siheon?”
Dayeon realized that the current answer was very important.
She swallowed hard and firmly expressed her will. She had already told Chairman Cha her feelings.
“Yes. I also want to marry Teacher.”
Dayeon added in a small voice, hesitating.
“I’ve liked Teacher for a long time.”
The sudden confession left Chairman Cha with wide eyes.
For the first time in his 80 years, a woman had confessed her love so boldly in front of him.
“Hah. Young people these days are so bold, it's good.”
To ease the awkward atmosphere, he slightly lifted Dayeon's chin, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
I thought he was just answering reluctantly because he was forced to. But hearing that his granddaughter had liked him for a long time was pleasing.
“No, why such a young lady. What’s so good about this boring old tree.”
The chairman forcibly lowered his twitching mouth corners and observed Dayeon's feelings.
“Old tree? Teacher is so humorous and gentle.”
“Humor? What? That kid?”
The chairman's words trailed off in disbelief. There was no one as cold and icy as this kid, even though he was his granddaughter.
When he asked back with a face that didn't believe it, Dayeon nodded with a shy face.
“Yes. That's right. He's tall, handsome, smart, and there's not a single thing about him that's not cool.”
Chairman Cha, not to mention Sim Jeong-hee, had a stunned expression at Dayeon's sincere admiration.
“Well… Of course, our Siheon is perfect in every way, just like me.”
A slight pride showed on Chairman Cha's face as he cleared his throat. It was true; among his children and grandchildren, there was no perfect bloodline like Siheon.
It’s like seeing my young self.
Siheon's appearance of expanding his business without restraint reminded her of her spirited past. With the chairman satisfied, Dayeon's words continued.
“I don’t know how surprised I was when I first met Teacher. He’s a person who looks like a model and studies well too.”
Dayeon’s praise for Siheon continued endlessly. Siheon, who had been listening silently, let out a deep sigh.
There was nothing wrong with the words, but the praise for himself in front of her was unbearably embarrassing.
He lightly poked Dayeon’s side as if to stop her. Dayeon, who seemed to have realized her mistake belatedly, flinched and closed her mouth.
“I’m sorry. I talked too much. I usually don’t do this, but I got excited talking about Teacher.”
Dayeon’s embarrassed smile made the chairman shake his head.
“No, no. I’m more grateful that you like our granddaughter so much. After all, aren’t they people we’ll be with for the rest of our lives?”
“People we’ll be with for the rest of our lives.”
That word pricked Dayeon’s heart. Dayeon could not be with Teacher for the rest of her life. She was just a theatrical prop temporarily placed by Teacher to deceive the late grandfather.
In her mind, the words Siheon had said before coming to this house resurfaced.
“Listen. There are exactly two things I want from you in our marriage.”
The teacher's voice, colder and lower than anything.
Yesterday, Siheon, who was saying the conditions he demanded in exchange for repaying her father’s debt, no longer had the gentle face of the teacher she knew.
“What do you want from me? I can do anything.”
“One is, as I said earlier, to fulfill the perfect granddaughter-in-law role in front of Grandfather.”
“Yes. And?”
“The other is, after this fake marriage ends, to return to the life of the old Dayeon perfectly.”
The fake marriage that would end with the chairman’s death. Siheon, who was preparing their ending from the beginning, was just detestable to Dayeon.
“Must it be like that? Maybe I can appeal to Teacher’s heart.”
“No. That won’t happen. I have no intention of getting married.”
“…”
“So, when our contract ends, you’ll return to your place.”
When the conversation with him resurfaced, one side of her heart settled quietly.
It felt bitter in her mouth. However, Dayeon smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
“Yes. That’s right.”
She had to. That was the contract between her and Teacher.