48 – 48.
After returning to Seoul, I immediately got into a taxi and headed to Mayeonseo’s house.
“Come home. I’ll be waiting.”
Since it was an urgent matter, she also cleared her schedule and waited for me.
It seemed like she noticed that I was more determined than usual.
…I had a feeling it would be like that.
“Welcome back. Did you have a good trip?”
As soon as I arrived home, she came out to the entrance, casually greeting me.
Not only that, she hugged me tightly and even acted cute.
“…I missed you.”
Her unexpected reaction made me feel like I had fallen into a different world for a moment.
*
A heavy silence filled the quiet study.
“……”
“……”
I glanced at Mayeonseo, who was sipping her tea on the opposite sofa, without saying a word.
She still had a thick metal plate covering her beautiful face.
How could she be so shameless after committing such a terrible act and being caught?
I was so astonished that I couldn’t think of anything to say anymore.
“…Yeonso.”
“Yeah?”
She looked up at me with a hint of surprise in her eyes while drinking her tea.
“…You secretly prepared a wedding, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
Mayeonseo easily admitted to her own crime.
During the journey here, I felt a sense of emptiness as everything I had anticipated turned out to be in vain.
“…Stay calm.”
In order not to be swayed by her expression, I suppressed my anger and took a short deep breath before opening my mouth again.
“Why did you do that?”
As she put down her teacup, she briefly met my eyes and left a concise response.
“Because I want to marry you.”
It was a straightforward answer that cut off any further questions.
“…What I’m asking is why you hid it from me and proceeded with the plan.”
“Because I thought you would try to stop me.”
I knew it all along, yet I intentionally acted that way.
Waiting for me to react emotionally.
With that thought, I felt a bit more at ease.
“…Even though you knew that, you still did it, knowing that I would react negatively when I found out?”
Were you prepared for the consequences when I caught you deceiving me?
Marianne calmly answered my question.
“Yes.”
She had prepared for everything.
“……”
Taking a deep breath, I tried my best to calmly press her further.
“You won’t do anything reckless from now on, will you?”
“….”
“But how is this happening in less than a month?”
“….”
“If you keep doing this, how am I supposed to like you? How can I trust and like you? Huh?”
Mayeonseo averted her gaze, quietly listening without showing any particular reaction.
Instead, her calm demeanor made him slightly uneasy.
“…Cancel all the reservations right away.”
“….”
“…And let’s take some time apart for a while.”
As he made suggestive remarks, Mayeonseo finally met his gaze.
Her indifferent gaze, as she looked at him, showed no trace of wavering.
Indeed, she was not someone who would be shaken by such provocation.
“…There’s a vacant room in the annex.”
“…What?”
“You said you wanted to be apart from me. So, use the annex.”
Even though Mayeonseo was in the wrong, she still maintained a stiff attitude.
She still seemed to think that she was in a superior position.
“You haven’t come to your senses yet.”
In human relationships, it is common for the regretful person to back down.
If it were Hanyeo Garden, it might be different, but there was nothing particularly regretful for Mayeonseo.
So, with an even more confident attitude, she made a demand.
“…Since you’re going to vacate the room by today, that’s what I know.”
“…Yoochan.”
“If you’ve done something wrong, at least pretend to reflect on it. Mayeonseo.”
“……”
“I have my limits too. I don’t want to deal with you and this kind of nonsense anymore. I’ve made an effort myself.”
Suppressing my anger, I got up abruptly, putting on a composed expression.
“Don’t contact me until I contact you.”
And with that, I tried to leave the room, slamming the door shut…
“Kang Yoochan.”
Mayeonseo grabbed my ankle with a voice that seemed helpless.
“Before you go, I have something to give you.”
“…What?”
As she got up, she approached the desk and took out a thick envelope from the drawer.
Then, she came closer, with a cold face, and subtly handed it to me.
“Since I won’t stop you from leaving, just take a look at this and go.”
“……”
I nervously received the envelope, thinking that it might contain evidence that she was pregnant or something…
“Huh?”
What was inside the envelope was nothing other than a stack of documents.
“What’s this?”
Glancing at the envelope, I cautiously took out the documents and read the title written on the top page.
[ Kang Yoo-chan Project ]
For some reason, my name was written there.
“…What is this?”
“I took it from the Association.”
Marianne, who was looking at the documents with a disapproving gaze, crossed her arms and quietly explained.
“Just so you know, I didn’t suspect you. I took it because I suspected the Association.”
I didn’t understand what she meant at all.
“Read it.”
“….”
Without asking any further questions, I slowly flipped through the report.
“Oh?”
And soon enough, I was able to understand the meaning of my name written on the top page of the report.
The report contained information about ‘me’ literally.
[ Kim Yoon-jeong: From Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk-do. Elementary school… ]
Starting with my mother’s personal information that I didn’t even know.
[ At the age of 5: Had multiple hospital visits due to an unknown condition called ‘magic-induced fever’, and then the symptoms suddenly disappeared. ]
Old information that I myself couldn’t even remember.
From Noble mtl dot com
[ It is presumed that there was a long period of mental domination by Marianne before and after the growth period, leading to a close relationship. ]
Even information related to the “Mayeonseo” was written.
“What…?”
With each page I turned, chills ran down my spine.
“…What is this?”
As if urging me to continue reading, Mayeonseo glanced at the report.
Gulp. Swallowing my saliva, I continued flipping through the report…
“!”
Finally, I could grasp the significance of this insane report.
[During the Awakening Inspection, the Central Magic Stone was destroyed.]
[Based on this, it was discovered that the wavelength of the collected magic matches that of the European Union’s “Stone of Origin.”]
The Stone of Origin.
It was unexpectedly connected to something I never could have imagined.
“The Stone of Origin… Me?”
According to the report, the Association concluded that I have a very close relationship with the Stone of Origin.
[In concern of potential talent leakage, immediate implementation of the Association’s dependency plan.]
[Simultaneous execution of the Kang Yoo-chan dependency plan and the Mayeonseo dependency plan.]
And so, they secretly began implementing a plan to keep me captive.
And Mayeonseo was used as a pawn in the process.
The core forces of the Association, who were behind all of these plans, were none other than…
[Former lover and former fiancé, Han Ryu-won.]
It was Hanyeo Garden.
“What…?”
Hanyeo Garden, who harbored deep resentment towards Mayeonseo, was actively involved in the plan, as stated.
[Provided by: Hanyeo Garden]
To the extent of offering most of the information about me to the Association.
[Attempted to mentally dominate using guilt over infidelity.]
Based on this, people from the Association began to devise a plan to dominate me.
[Intentionally avoiding contact and inducing impatience. Success thereafter.]
[Emphasizing anger and sadness to highlight guilt. Success thereafter.]
My mind turns pale and cold sweat trickles down.
[Inducing an acceleration of the relationship by having a night together on a business trip. Failure thereafter.]
It was all clearly lies.
[Sensing Mayeonseo’s wedding plans. Using this to solidify the relationship later.]
[Attempting to control the timing of pregnancy through induced ovulation magic ritual but failing to have a night together.]
[Planning to try again in the third examination.]
I had to do it.
*
These days, Hanyeo Garden was happy day by day.
Of course, at the center of it all was Kang Yuchan.
Of course, it was less happy than when we were about to get married without any hindrance…
Compared to the hellish days that had been spawned from the recent occult novel, these days were blissful beyond measure.
In particular, it was incredibly satisfying to have gotten the upper hand against that scoundrel for those two years.
“Ah, I miss Yoochan.”
It was during those peaceful moments when Leeyowon longed for Yoochan and waited eagerly for the end of the workday.
Uwung─. Uwung─.
Suddenly, a messenger alert popped up in the corner of the monitor.
It was a message from Yoochan’s secret phone for his affairs.
X [Are you busy right now, by any chance?]
X [Can I call you for a moment?]
He said he had returned from Gangneung and was at home.
It seemed like he couldn’t bear it any longer and wanted to hear her voice.
“Yeah, you can’t live without me either, huh?”
Without showing that she had read the message, Leeyowon secretly checked it and couldn’t help but giggle.
Recently, Yoochan had shown a slightly uncomfortable reaction regarding their wedding with the occult novel.
Sure enough, since then, the frequency of their contact had mysteriously decreased…
But now, after taking a breather in Gangneung, it seemed like he had regained his senses.
Leeyowon, who was practically his real owner, couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Me [Are you outside?]
Me [I’m in the middle of something right now, so can I call you in about 10 minutes?]
With Yoochan being her new responsibility and her work becoming less busy, Leeyowon deliberately dragged out the time, pretending to be busy.
And precisely at 7 minutes, I made the call.
I intentionally called earlier than planned to show that I cared about him.
“Hello?”
[…Hello.]
Even before the signal tone could ring, Yoochan, who had answered the call, spoke in a strangely lower voice than usual.
It either seemed like a temporary phenomenon or an indication that he was not in a good mood.
“Are you at the training camp?”
Leewon intentionally changed the subject to gauge Yoochan’s state.
[…Yeah.]
A short answer came back from the other end of the speaker.
It didn’t have a particularly pleasant tone.
“Why does your voice sound so weak…? Did that guy bother you again?”
[…No. Just… I’ve been working out too hard, that’s all.]
Leewon didn’t believe Yoochan’s words.
But he didn’t bother probing further.
There was no point in forcing the question when Yoochan would spill the beans on his own soon enough.
“Working out is good, but take care of your body first!”
[…Thanks.]
“hehehe. But what’s the sudden reason for the call?”
Finally, Leewon asked Yoochan why he had called.
And then.
[…I have something to ask you.]
“What is it?”
A serious voice came through the speaker.
[Do you have anything to say to me?]
“…!”
At that moment, Lyewon’s face wavered.