When Eunwon returned to the room he had left because he felt so suffocated and sat down on the edge of the bed, his heart began pounding wildly.
He could not simply let everything come to an end like this.
Even if he could not solve the problem completely, if he could help even a little—if he could buy them even the smallest amount of time…
He was only an ordinary, uninteresting college student who did not belong among chaebol families. Perhaps the other party would change their mind after meeting him. Even in an arranged marriage, they could not possibly marry just anyone.
Yes. It would probably be better to meet them and beg them to give us a little more time.
It would be even better if they were disappointed in him before he had to ask. Simply agreeing to meet would give his father something to work with, which might buy him at least a little more time.
After organizing his thoughts, Eunwon pressed a hand firmly over his still-racing heart and took a deep breath.
It seemed he would not be able to sleep tonight either.
***
The air around the dining table was heavy.
No, heavy was not nearly enough to describe it.
His father’s eyes were so hollow that he looked ready to collapse at any moment, while Madam Seo could barely swallow water through eyes swollen badly from crying.
Afraid his father might leave early and miss him, Eunwon had been waiting in the living room since dawn. He stirred his soggy cereal for a while before cautiously speaking.
“…I heard the two of you arguing early this morning.”
Two startled gazes immediately fixed on him.
Looking at his father’s rigid face, Eunwon let out a small breath and steadied himself.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to listen…. I couldn’t sleep, so I went out to the garden, and I heard you on my way back inside.”
“…I see. I’m sorry you had to see us like that. You don’t need to concern yourself with what you heard. Forget about it.”
“…I’ll meet them.”
At Eunwon’s calm declaration, both of their eyes widened.
He set down the spoon he had been stirring his cereal with and met Madam Seo’s and his father’s gazes in turn.
“What…? What are you saying…?”
“I’m not saying I’ll marry them…. But if it’s only a meeting… if we’re only going to see each other, I think that would be all right.”
“No. Nothing good will come from getting entangled with them. There’s no reason for you to do this. I have no intention of putting you forward to solve the problem. I’ll pretend I never heard you say it.”
“But meeting them would buy us at least a little more time…. I’ll try asking them.”
According to the script they had shown Eunwon, time was precisely what they needed most. His father did not deny it and merely stared at him.
“I’ll speak to them carefully when we meet…. And they might change their mind after they see me.”
“What do you mean?”
“An arranged marriage… is supposed to be between people who belong in that kind of world. But I’m… just an ordinary student. Honestly, I’m not someone who belongs with a family as powerful as S Group. Once they see me, they might be disappointed and decide they don’t want the marriage after all.”
Eunwon deliberately tried to sound cheerful.
He did not want to make the already gloomy atmosphere even worse. It was not that he felt at ease. He was terribly worried and depressed as well, but he did not want them to see it.
“You’re trying so hard to protect the company, and I want to do something too… even if it only helps a little. Please let me meet them. All right?”
At Eunwon’s plea, his father released a trembling breath. He delayed his answer for a moment, pretending to struggle with the decision, before finally speaking.
“Are you certain you’ll be all right? It may be more difficult than you imagine. They may say humiliating things to you.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You may end up getting hurt.”
“I really will be fine. I heard plenty of strange things and met plenty of strange people while working part-time… I can brush off something like that.”
As Eunwon offered them a faint smile, Madam Seo burst into tears, rushed toward him, and pulled him into her arms.
“I’m sorry, Eunwon…. I’m so sorry. We’re so inadequate that we’ve placed a burden like this on you…. I’m sorry.”
Unaware that she was delivering a spectacular performance, Eunwon comforted Madam Seo instead and released a long breath.
Now that he had firmly decided to attend the meeting, he actually felt more at ease.
He desperately hoped the other person would see how utterly unremarkable he was and be deeply disappointed.
He never imagined that “the other person” would be the man who had rubbed a piece of candy around inside his mouth like a pervert.
***
Cha Sejin sank deep into the sofa as he drank the concoction Kang Seohu had made for him—a mixture of coffee and whiskey that could hardly be called coffee, yet was not quite liquor either.
“Why have you been so quiet lately?”
“I’ve been preparing to get married.”
“Hey. Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I told you I was serious. I’m getting married.”
Kang Seohu had naturally assumed that what Cha Sejin said the last time was a joke, so Sejin’s rather serious declaration came as a considerable shock.
“Who are you marrying?”
“I’ll tell you if you keep your fucking mouth shut.”
“If I were the kind of bastard who ran around shooting his mouth off, you’d really still hang out with me?”
As Kang Seohu said, he and Do Haejun were both exceptionally good at keeping secrets. They had suffered far too many problems because of groundless rumors, and they despised people who spoke carelessly.
“Baum.”
“Baum? You mean… the construction company?”
“Yeah.”
“Who do they even have? That guy died, didn’t he? Fell at the riding grounds. What, are you planning some posthumous wedding?”
“Ah, fuck. You wanna die?”
“Then what is it?”
Cursing at the irritating remark, Cha Sejin took another drink of the coffee-and-whiskey mixture. This time the whipped cream had blended into it as well, making it pleasantly sweet, and his body relaxed.
“The chairman’s hidden son. It’s still off the record.”
“But why would you marry someone like that? It’s not as though you’re desperate.”
“My father staked everything on the resort. Apparently, they can’t do it without Baum.”
“Ah…. Right, the resort. Baum is fucking good at what they do. They built our headquarters too.”
The sensation of caffeine and alcohol spreading through him at the same time was rather pleasant.
Cha Sejin loosened his tie and propped his long legs on the table.
“But putting that aside, are you okay with it?”
“With what?”
“Even if it’s an arranged marriage, marrying someone who’s completely not your type would be pretty fucking awful. Have you seen the son? Did you already meet him?”
“Not officially.”
“So you saw him unofficially?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“You’re prying awfully deep into someone else’s private life.”
Cha Sejin waved a foot in front of Kang Seohu as he tried to move closer out of curiosity.
At the sound of his phone ringing, Sejin picked it up from the table. The moment he saw Mom on the screen, he immediately lowered his legs and answered.
“Yes, Mom.”
—Sejin, when are you coming home?
“I can leave now. Why, Mom? Did something happen?”
—Baum contacted us. They want to arrange a meeting.
The unexpected news made Cha Sejin abruptly straighten from where he had been reclining against the sofa.
“What kind of meeting? A meeting to discuss the marriage? Or a meeting between me and their son?”
—A meeting between you and Baum’s son. It seems they’ve made up their minds too. We’ll discuss the details when you get home.
“Okay. I’ll come right now. I’ll see you shortly.”
Cha Sejin waited for his mother to hang up, then sprang to his feet the instant the call ended. He summoned the designated driver who always arrived within five minutes, no matter where Sejin called from.
“What is it? Did they suddenly say they wanted to meet?”
“Yeah. Hey, I really am getting married.”
“Goddamn it, tell me more. I’m fucking curious.”
“Later.”
“Ah, seriously! What the hell is going on?”
Cha Sejin flashed a grin at Kang Seohu, who was shouting after him not to leave him hanging, and walked straight out of Kang Seohu’s penthouse.
He wished he could close his eyes and already be home when he opened them again.
***
The meeting was arranged far sooner than expected.
S Group had suggested there was nothing to gain by dragging matters out. Baum was equally pleased with the date being set only two days later, since they had already lied to Eunwon that the news embargo would be lifted the following Wednesday.
Everyone welcomed the arrangement except Eunwon.
Madam Seo would not even tell him who the other person was and merely prepared the clothes he was supposed to wear. Eunwon spent the entire morning so tense that he could barely swallow a sip of water.
“It suits you perfectly. You look beautiful. You don’t have to be so nervous. Just as you said, you’re only meeting him. This meeting is simply meant to buy us time. I thought having a meal together might feel too burdensome, so I deliberately avoided mealtime… Hmm…. Just think of it as going out to have a cup of coffee with someone, Eunwon.”
“Yes….”
“And thank you so much. Thanks to you, your father finally looks a little more at ease. Oh, would you like me to come with you as far as the entrance so you don’t have to go alone?”
“No. I can go by myself.”
“All right, then. Chauffeur Oh will get you there safely. I know our Eunwon will do well, so I’ll wait here without worrying.”
“…Yes.”
That was how he answered, but as the meeting drew nearer, he could not help growing nervous.
He repeatedly tried to reassure himself that it was nothing serious—that, just as they had said, he was only going to meet the person. All he had to do was speak with them briefly to buy some time and then leave.
But the nausea churning inside him refused to settle.