Chapter 4
That was Jisoo’s sincere belief.
For a brief moment, she had wondered if this man might have feelings for her, but she quickly arrived at the conclusion that there was no way.
He had heard everything from beginning to end—the way Kim Youngbaek had treated her and looked down on her.
And besides, would this man really flirt with a woman who already had a man she had promised to marry?
Why would he even want to?
The answer was clearly no.
Jaegyeom shook his head and took the tie from Jisoo’s hand, slipping it around his neck.
“But Jisoo, I like this one too.”
“What about it?”
“It looks just like a leash you gave me.”
“……A leash?”
“Now, shall we go to Jisoo’s house wearing the leash Lim Jisoo put on me?”
Jisoo hurried after the man as he walked ahead.
In the large full-length mirror to the left of the entrance, she saw their reflections as Jaegyeom put on his shoes.
“Wow. This is crazy.”
“Am I really that handsome?”
“No, I mean me. I look terrible.”
It was true that Jaegyeom looked handsome in his elegant suit.
But now that Jisoo finally looked at herself, her appearance was practically the opposite of his neatness, and she felt as though she might die of embarrassment.
The beige linen dress she had taken out specifically to wear when seeing her mother for the first time in a long while was soaked with sweat and completely wrinkled.
After carrying heavy bags and sweating under the scorching midsummer sun, her hair was disheveled and stuck miserably to her forehead and the back of her neck.
The fact that it was at least still tied up properly was about the only thing she could be grateful for.
“Why? You look pretty.”
“……If I look pretty to you, there’s something wrong with your eyes.”
“No way. I have high standards. You’re pretty.”
Jaegyeom smiled brightly.
There was something unnecessarily warm about the way he looked at her, so Jisoo shook her head.
By then, the sun had finished preparing to disappear, leaving only the sunset behind.
After getting into the car and giving him her mother’s address, Jisoo stared straight ahead and quietly explained everything on the way to her mother’s house.
“My boyfriend’s name is Kim Youngbaek. He’s thirty-five. His occupation is… well, technically, he doesn’t have one, but his family runs a shop in the apartment complex across from Su-gyeong City Hall in Gyeonggi Province. You can just say that he’s helping his parents because he’s going to inherit the store.”
Jaegyeom asked in the same matter-of-fact tone she had used, as though they were reading from a book.
“So that’s why you were going to marry him?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Anyone can see that he’s way beneath your level. I wondered if the reason you were determined to marry him was because of that store.”
“What?”
“Don’t get angry. I’m trying to understand you. If you were thinking of getting married because you wanted something like that, then I think I’d understand. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to live a financially comfortable life, so I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”
Is Kim Youngbaek really that bad…?
He was a little short and didn’t have much hair, but was he really so obviously “beneath her level” that it was apparent at a glance?
Jisoo found that a little strange.
“Okay. It’s not something worth discussing at length, so to answer your question first, I have absolutely no interest or desire for that store.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s just that… Youngbaek Oppa’s mother told me to say that because she was worried my mother might look down on him for not having a job when they met today. Anyway, that’s all you need to know.”
Jaegyeom gave her a cynical look that seemed to ask, So I guess they don’t actually plan on giving you the store?
Jisoo nodded.
By then, they had passed through the town center and entered the narrow two-lane road leading to Gyechon-ri.
There were still many things Jisoo needed to tell Jaegyeom so he could convincingly play Kim Youngbaek, but they were already getting close to her house, making her anxious.
She hurriedly wrapped things up.
“My mom has probably prepared dinner for us. Originally, Youngbaek Oppa was going to have dinner, stay at our house for the night, and take the train to Seoul tomorrow morning. I was planning to stay here with Mom for a few days before going back.”
The man continued listening attentively.
“But we can’t do that anymore.”
“Why can’t we?”
“Because Yoon Jaegyeom can’t sleep at our house?”
His raised eyebrows seemed genuinely puzzled, as though he couldn’t understand what the problem was.
Jisoo shook her head.
“We’ll just eat and then leave, saying something urgent came up. We’ll leave together, and then we can go our separate ways. I’ll go back to Seoul.”
“Why? Didn’t you say you were going to spend some time with your mother?”
“……If I stay with Mom longer, she’ll keep asking about Youngbaek Oppa. I don’t want to talk about him anymore. After what happened today, it wouldn’t make sense for me to keep seeing him anyway. We’re going to break up. That’s why.”
“Okay. I like that conclusion.”
At last, they entered a familiar neighborhood.
A sign came into view.
WELCOME TO GYECHON VILLAGE, WHERE RECOGNITION AND LOVE ABOUND.
After parking in front of the gate, Jisoo looked at Jaegyeom just before getting out.
“Thank you. And I’m sorry I didn’t remember you.”
“You don’t really need to be that grateful or sorry.”
“No. I’ll find some way to repay you for all your trouble. Give me your bank account number.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to repay me with money.”
Before Jisoo could even wonder what else she was supposed to use to repay a debt, the man got out and opened the passenger door for her.
He also took out the gifts Jisoo had prepared beforehand.
“Look me over. It’s my first time meeting my mother-in-law. Give me a final inspection and make sure I look okay.”
Jisoo straightened the slightly crooked knot of his tie and smiled.
“You really have an amazing personality. I can’t tell if you’re shameless or confident. ‘Mother-in-law,’ really.”
“I’ve been calling her that since earlier. Didn’t you notice?”
“……Please take good care of me.”
“Don’t worry.”
The moment they entered through the gate, Baekgu began barking loudly.
Jisoo hurriedly bent down to pet him first.
“My Baekgu, have you been well? It’s been so long since your big sister came home, hasn’t it?”
Hearing the commotion in the yard and the dog’s barking, her mother came out to greet Jisoo.
Her mother’s face was flushed with nervous excitement.
“Jisoo! Oh my goodness, my daughter. Good heavens, I almost forgot what your face looked like.”
“Mooom.”
Living alone in Seoul as a working adult had exhausted Jisoo enough already.
And after everything ridiculous that had happened that day, she couldn’t help becoming childish and burying herself in her mother’s arms.
She hugged her mother tightly and took a deep breath.
Her mother’s familiar scent filled her lungs.
For a moment, everything felt all right.
With Yoon Jaegyeom, a man who didn’t resemble Kim Youngbaek in even the slightest way, standing beside her, she had to put on a little act.
Jisoo reassured herself that she could pull it off.
Then she took another deep breath.
“Daughter. You have to introduce the person who came with you to Mom, too, okay? Oh my, he has such a good impression. He’s so tall and handsome…”
Under her mother’s expectant gaze, it was time to tell the lie.
It’s okay.
This is better than walking through the gate alone and telling Mom that Kim Youngbaek had come as far as the town center but turned around and went back.
“Mom, this is the man I’m going to marry—”
“Mother-in-law. How are you? I’m sorry I’m late in introducing myself. My name is Yoon Jaegyeom.”
Jisoo froze in shock.
She stared at the man smiling brightly as he introduced himself—not as Kim Youngbaek, but as Yoon Jaegyeom.
She was so stunned that she forgot to breathe.
After they moved inside, dinner passed at an agonizingly slow pace.
Her mother and Yoon Jaegyeom were laughing and chatting happily, while Jisoo sat there feeling so uncomfortable and restless that she thought she might get indigestion.
“Oh my, the more I look at our Jaegyeom, the more familiar your face seems. Is it because you’re so handsome? Do people often tell you that you look like some celebrity?”
“Mother-in-law, please speak comfortably with me.”
“Oh ho ho! Goodness! You’re so nice, too! Handsome men are usually difficult, you know. Pretty people are like that, too.”
“Mother-in-law, you’re beautiful, but you’re incredibly kind.”
“Oh, stop flattering me! You’ll make me dizzy!”
Jisoo wanted to cry.
It felt like it had been ages since she’d seen her mother laugh so loudly.
When Jisoo had told her over the phone that she had been dating a man for six years, her mother had been hurt, asking how she could hide something so important from her without telling her even a word.
But the mother sitting here now seemed like a completely different person from the one who had scolded her just a few days ago.
She was so happy.
And all because of Yoon Jaegyeom, whom she would never see again after tonight.
“Mother-in-law, could I have another bowl of rice?”
“Oh my, even the way you eat is so lovely. Of course, have as much as you want. I don’t know whether the food suits your taste. I worked so hard preparing everything…”
“I was so excited about your cooking that I haven’t eaten since dinner yesterday.”
What is wrong with this man? Seriously.
Jisoo glared at Jaegyeom with words nearly as harsh as curses in her eyes.
Jaegyeom simply smiled.
