CH 52

Yiyoung glanced at Muyeol. His acting was flawless. He clearly didn’t mean them, but his nice words were enough to fool anybody. Still, Yiyoung felt great because she finally had someone she could share everything with instead of frantically figuring out life all on her own. It felt as if she had earned a real companion for life.

“Thank you, but you already know me. I can take care of myself, just like I have until now. If you meddle in my career, I’ll slap you,” she said, mirth dancing in her eyes.

Muyeol laughed silently. It was so like Yiyoung to say such a thing. She loved money, but only if it was earned through her own hard work.

Sangsu and Honghee’s nerves eased up. Though Yiyoung was talking rudely, Muyeol was smiling. Their worries gradually disappeared with Muyeol’s smile; the man was totally focused on Yiyoung.

Relief coursed through the older couple. Sangsu and Honghee looked at each other and nodded. This was a new beginning to Yiyoung’s life, and hopefully, her journey would be filled with happiness.

Sangsu turned to Muyeol excitedly. “You two make a great couple. I can tell you care about Yiyoung a lot. Please continue to love her as much as you do now.”

‘Love…’ Yiyoung thought. She peeked at Muyeol, wondering how he would respond.

“Yes. I will,” he said.

“Now, I’m being cautious, but I want to ask you just one thing.” Sangsu looked at Muyeol. “You aren’t going to be like those people, right… The ones on the news for…”

“Uncle!”

“Honey!”

Yiyoung and Honghee yelled in chorus, but the man in question continued, “What I mean to say is, don’t make Yiyoung cry. Ever.”

Muyeol looked right into Sangsu’s eyes and confidently declared, “Yoon Yiyoung will be the only woman in my life, sir.”

Yiyoung’s head snapped toward Muyeol, hands freezing in mid-air as she brought the chopsticks to her mouth. Sure, she was the one who had asked him to pretend to be in love with her, but hearing him announce it so confidently shocked her beyond belief.

She was obviously grateful to him for putting her family’s worries to rest, but it also made her expect a positive outcome from the marriage. Perhaps, now she would be able to learn how to live with another person instead of falling into the habit of living alone. Her own worries were suddenly alleviated, and she felt much better about this whole plan. Marrying Muyeol did not seem scary anymore.

However, just as the atmosphere turned pleasant again, Yiyoung’s phone started ringing loudly.

Honghee began to fret, “Oh, no. You can’t even eat in peace. You might get sick from eating so fast…”

“That’s from the ER.” Yiyoung instantly dropped her chopsticks and grabbed her coat. “I wish it could be peaceful everyday, but what can I do? There’s no patient who gets sick or injured willingly.”

Muyeol stood up after her. “Wait, I’ll drop you off.”

“It’ll be great if you could.”

“I’m sorry for leaving before the dinner is over,” Muyeol politely apologized to the older couple.

“Oh, no. Please don’t apologize. We can meet another time. We’re already accustomed to Yiyoung’s erratic schedule. In fact, we want to apologize to you instead. You’re such a busy person, yet we kept you here for so long.”

“No, please don’t say that. I will host a gathering for us again.”

“Yes, please. Be careful on your way.”

“I’m sorry for leaving the two of you like this,” Yiyoung said.

“Don’t worry about us and just go, Yiyoung.”

“Okay, I’ll call you later.”

“Okay.”

Yiyoung strode away in such a hurry that Muyeol almost had to jog to keep up with her pace. When they got to the car, Muyeol started the engine, and Yiyoung aggressively pulled her hair into a neat bun. “Your acting seemed so real. Good job out there. I’ll try my best to do the same when we meet your grandmother tomorrow.”

In truth, they had already signed the marriage certificate so they could show it to Muyeol’s grandmother. They were officially a married couple now, though they hid that fact from Sangsu. It took a week for the process to complete, so they would get the certificate sometime tomorrow. The plan was to pick up the certificate together and then go to Madam Choi’s place.

“I wonder what it’ll feel like when we finally get the certificate.” Yiyoung said out loud.

Muyeol looked straight ahead, choosing not to reply. He obviously didn’t like talking, but Yiyoung knew that already, so she continued chattering without expecting him to respond. “Even though this is a fake marriage, I still feel nervous. My husband… Cha Muyeol.”

She turned toward Muyeol. “But I guess you feel good about the marriage, since it’s going to give you an opportunity to fight Mr. Cha.”

“When I told you about my family, did you think it was weird?” Muyeol finally asked.

“There’s nothing weird about it. My time at the ER has let me see all kinds of people everyday. I’ve seen human beings act cruelly like villains. It’s unfortunate that your family’s like this… I mean, who calls his own father ‘Mister’? Or his mother ‘Madam’?” Yiyoung said, “It probably wasn’t easy for you to experience something like that. I know you don’t bother with other people unless they attack you first. It was the same with Jaeho, too, right? Who would have thought he was a psycho? Nobody in the school knew about it.”

“…I see.”

“I talked about you for so long, and your only response is, ‘I see’?”

“What else should I say?”

“You should say… we’re soulmates!”