45
The location shifted to the rooftop of a training camp with no listening ears.
Taking a deep drag from his e-cigarette, the trainer cautiously scanned his surroundings as he muttered in a heavy tone.
“I heard rumors that they’ve been looking into wedding catering companies in Mercury.”
“Since when?”
“Well… Ah! That’s right!”
He claimed to have been closely researching companies in Mercury even before the news of Ma Yeon-seo coming to Korea spread.
“I heard it from my girlfriend, and shortly after that, I heard news about your girlfriend, so it roughly lines up.”
From the circumstances, it seemed like he had been planning a wedding since the moment Ma Yeon-seo decided to come to Korea.
He had come to Korea with the intention of pushing the wedding onto her.
“I can’t believe it.”
Ever since they started talking about arranging a meeting with the President, he had vaguely suspected something, so he wasn’t completely caught off guard.
However, he didn’t like the fact that such a huge event like a wedding was secretly being planned without his knowledge.
“…When did they say the scheduled date was?”
“It was in early next month.”
“Ugh….”
And to make matters worse, there were less than two months left until the wedding day.
Even without hearing Ma Yeon-seo’s thoughts, it was obvious.
He must have planned to inform him unilaterally right before the wedding, leaving him with no choice but to accept.
“It’s really harsh. How can she keep a straight face and do something like this?”
It hadn’t even been a month since he made a promise to himself not to go out anymore.
In that moment, I felt deceived by that promise.
“Was it a plan to catch me off guard?”
In a situation where she and I were trying to deceive each other, a hollow laughter escaped.
There is no comedy like this comedy.
“What should I do about this?”
Unexpectedly, I thanked the trainer who unintentionally acted as a spy and promised to handle the information leak. Then, I sat on the rooftop for a while, taking a breath of fresh air.
“If I make a mistake, it could backfire.”
It would be the worst to get emotional or argue with Mayeonseo here.
I thought I had trained her well, but she has climbed all the way to the top of my head.
It may sound crazy, but Mayeonseo might have even calculated that I would get angry.
Perhaps she already knows about Hanyeo-won and the wind blowing.
Wasn’t the timing of occupying Jeongjodae also unreasonable?
She’s even targeting my terrible monopolistic desire, waiting for any gap.
…Suddenly, I felt suffocated.
“…Let’s stay calm… There’s still a chance… Yes, it’s not over yet.”
Thump thump. Calming myself down while soothing my uncomfortable pounding heart, I first took out my phone and informed Hanyeo-won about this fact.
Me: “Are you busy by any chance?”
I happened to find out that Mayeonseo was secretly planning a wedding for me.
Me: “She’s secretly planning a wedding for me.”
♥: “?”
♥ [What nonsense is that?]
Me [It’s a long story. Let’s talk on the phone.]
I thought Hanyeo-won would be furious or greatly agitated.
Even though she was my fiancée, she was in a position to be angry enough.
[What are you talking about? A wedding?]
Of course. Soon after she called, she showed a very bewildered reaction.
“…My trainer at the gym was a hotel employee. I guess she had been preparing before I arrived.”
I calmly conveyed the information I received from the trainer.
Soon, a heated voice came through the speaker.
[Is she really crazy? How is that even possible?]
At that moment, she began to spread malicious gossip about Ma-yeon.
[Is it not enough to ruin someone else’s life once? You crazy psychopath…! You only care about your own emotions, and you don’t care about other people’s feelings, do you?! How much of an idiot do you have to be to see you that way?!]
Her harsh words felt somewhat unfamiliar.
[Argh… I’m really angry…!]
While she continued to vent her anger, she took a deep breath and apologized.
[Sigh… I’m sorry. I was so angry…]
“It’s okay.”
I managed to ask calmly, as if trying to calm down.
[…So, what are you going to do?]
“I’m still thinking. I don’t know how far she’s thinking.”
I calmly asserted that Ma-yeon-seo might already know about our relationship.
Using some of the suspicious behaviors she had shown as evidence, I supported my claim.
“What should we do in this situation….”
Then,
[ …Yoo-chan. ]
Hanyeowon, who had been listening to the conversation, interjected with a powerful voice….
[ Just marry her. ]
“…What?”
For a moment, I thought I misheard.
[ She already knows everything and is intentionally turning a blind eye. So what’s there to lose? ]
Or maybe Hanyeowon had gone crazy.
“Are you in your right mind…?”
Even if I managed to cancel the wedding somehow, the suggestion to propose suddenly didn’t sound so bad.
But.
[ I’m serious right now, Yoo-chan. ]
She was sincere.
[ You’re not going to completely surrender to her just because of a stupid stamp, right? ]
“…That’s not it.”
[ You’re mine, right? ]
“…Yeah.”
“Fine. So just have the wedding. Tell that damn woman she can do whatever she wants! Like it matters anyway.”
Hanyeo-won argued that a loveless marriage is meaningless and advised against provoking unnecessarily.
As the person involved, it was a difficult argument for me to accept.
“Marriage is the end.”
I had already broken societal norms and crossed the line between two women, but I believed that marriage held a different significance.
Whether I liked it or not, from the moment the ceremony was held, we would officially become one family.
No matter how abnormal my situation was, I didn’t want to betray my family.
It was a matter of pride, quite literally.
“…That’s not possible.”
“Yoo Chan.”
A voice trying to persuade me came through the speaker.
Even when I reconsidered, I couldn’t accept the idea of getting married quietly, so I firmly shook my head and said to Hanyeo-won.
“Instead… Let’s register our marriage between us.”
“…Between us?”
“Yes! Then Ma Yeon-seo won’t have a choice either!”
Rather than endure it, let’s cancel the wedding and give Ma Yeon-seo a taste of her own medicine.
I would receive criticism from everyone as a national adulteress, but my conclusion was that as long as I had the person I loved by my side, it would be enough.
“…That’s…”
However…
“…Hmm…”
From Noble mtl dot com
For some reason, Hanyeowon showed an unexpected reaction, which was not very welcoming.
“Huh?”
It was a completely unexpected response.
“Do you dislike it…?”
I cautiously tested the waters.
[It’s not that I dislike it… ]
Hanyeowon, who had been lost in thought for a moment, countered cautiously.
[Even if we do as you say, what if we have a child later…?]
“…!”
[I can handle the criticism, but… what about our child…?]
She was looking far into the future, much farther than me.
[Clearly, our child will live a life full of criticism… And what kind of life will they have with a magician as a father?]
“…Th-that’s…”
I was speechless.
[Yuchan.]
Hanyeowon let out a short sigh and calmly tried to persuade me.
[Getting married to a magician doesn’t mean we have to have a child. He said he won’t have one.]
In reality, Mayeonseo doesn’t like children.
She doesn’t have confidence in taking care of them.
That’s why she regularly undergoes magical procedures.
It would be better to get married and then divorce due to differences in personality. That way, you won’t be the only one to receive criticism. It wouldn’t be that strange if we got married later on.
Hanryeowon had been considering public opinion and proposing solutions.
Every word she said made sense, but somehow it didn’t sit well with me.
“Will she agree to a divorce…? Absolutely not!”
“It’s important that we can file for a divorce. It’s a world where even the famous Inggobo couple gets divorced.”
“But this situation is different! Even if we get divorced, I’ll still be her summoner…!”
“Then, since you’re still her summoner, we won’t meet anymore?”
“….”
Unable to refute anymore, I sighed in frustration.
“Let’s endure it for a little longer. Okay?”
Hanryeowon comforted me as if she was dealing with a child.
“…Okay.”
“Yeah. Thanks for telling me first.”
“…Sure.”
“I have to go now, so I’ll talk to you again tomorrow.”
“Hurry up and go.”
“I love you. Smooch!”
“…Me too.”
“And the kiss?”
“…Smooch.”
“hehehe. I’ll hang up!”
Thud. After hanging up, I blankly stared at the screen that had turned black.
“……”
In the end, nothing had changed.
*
A while later, around lunchtime.
Mayeonseo headed to a restaurant located on the outskirts of Seoul.
It was a place that stood loosely by the road, with only the phrase “Reservation Required” standing out instead of a sign….
Behind the store, the parking lot hidden by trees was filled with expensive branded cars.
“Welcome.”
As Yeonseo and Yena entered the restaurant, a middle-aged woman dressed in elegant hanbok greeted them.
Contrasting with the slightly shabby exterior, her attire was fitting for the sophisticated and refined interior.
“I will guide you to your room right away.”
After confirming Yeonseo’s face, the waiter guided them to a room inside without any further confirmation.
As the two entered the room, a plump-looking man who was already sitting stood up and greeted them.
“Oh my. You must be tired from the long journey!”
Kim Seonghwan, the director of the Awakening Association.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Please sit first and have something to eat. The food here is delicious. hahahahaha!”
Sitting across from him with Yena by her side, Yeonseo glanced casually at the lavishly set table and without much interest, she went straight to the point.
“Did you bring the documents?”
And so, Kim Sung-hwan, who had been waiting in the car, eagerly put his hand into his pocket.
“I thought I was going to die trying to get this.”
What he pulled out was a USB drive.
“I’ll check it.”
At the gesture from Ma Yeon-seo, Lee Ye-na immediately took the USB drive and retrieved her prepared laptop to check its contents.
And after a while, she nodded silently to Yeon-seo, signaling that the data was intact.
“Take your time. There’s a lot, so it might take a while.”
Kim Sung-hwan, who was about to take a sip of his drink, reached out towards a bottle placed on one side to refill his glass.
And then.
Swiftly, Yeon-seo grabbed the bottle first and poured it into her own glass.
“Thank you for cooperating quickly. Honestly, I thought it would take a little longer.”
Startled, Kim Sung-hwan laughed nervously and trembled slightly.
“If we make a mistake and miss an opportunity, who will take responsibility? We have to do it right when we have the chance!”
“….”
With a faint smile, Yeon-seo picked up the bottle and placed the almost full glass in the center of the table.
“…?”
Looking at Kim Sung-hwan with a puzzled expression, she calmly met his gaze and spoke.
“I hope this incident doesn’t cause unnecessary noise. I would like to continue our dealings in the future.”
“Please trust me. It will never happen.”
Of course, Kim Sung-hwan promised with confidence and absolute trust, but…
Ma Yeon-seo fundamentally did not trust people.
“Well, it won’t be easy to cover the expenses for our daughter’s study abroad.”
“……Excuse me?”
Instantly, a look of confusion appeared on Kim Sung-hwan’s face.
It was only recently that the decision was made for their eldest daughter to study abroad.
And even that was something only their family knew about.
“H-how did you…?”
“I managed to save some pocket money, so please take it easy.”
Yi Ye-na handed a bag she had been carrying to Kim Sung-hwan.
“Please check it.”
Gulp. Kim Sung-hwan immediately opened the bag.
Inside, there was a stack of 50,000 won bills and a bundle of 100-dollar bills, as if proudly displayed.
“S-since when…?”
Once again, he looked at Yeon-seo with a bewildered face.
Yeon-seo, who had completed the transaction, stood up with an indifferent expression and said,
“Well then, take your time and enjoy it. I have some other things to do.”
“……”
Although it was a short conversation, it was enough time for Kim Sung-hwan to realize who Ma Yeon-seo really was.
*
On the way to their next destination after completing the transaction.
“……”
Ma Yeon-seo was carefully reading one of the projects that Kim Seong-ho had brought.
‘Kang Yu-chan’s project…?’
It was about a project centered around none other than Kang Yu-chan.
[Birthplace: Chungcheongbuk-do……]
There was quite a lot of information about Kang Yu-chan written in it.
Starting from his birthplace, his upbringing.
His mental aspects and tendencies.
There were even detailed descriptions of his habits and preferences that were difficult to know, even in bed.
‘…Why?’
While reading the material, Yeon-seo had endless questions.
“…!”
Among the sources of the material, a very familiar name caught her eye.
[Material provided by… Hanyeo-won, ……]
“…Hm…”
Yeon-seo finally understood how the situation was unfolding.