Chapter 9
Han Da-yeon stood there trembling from head to toe, apparently unable to contain her anger, huffing furiously to herself.
Joo-ah turned and started walking away.
The moment Da-yeon noticed the suitcase Joo-ah was pulling behind her, she hurriedly called out.
“Where are you going?”
Joo-ah ignored her and tried to leave, but Da-yeon stepped in front of her.
“Where are you going, I said!”
“What does it have to do with you?”
“You… You’re not seriously going to Tae-ha Oppa’s house, are you?”
There was unmistakable anxiety in Da-yeon’s eyes as she asked.
She was afraid Joo-ah really would take that suitcase and go straight to Ryu Tae-ha’s house.
Looking into those anxious eyes, Joo-ah answered calmly.
“I am.”
Perhaps the shock was too great.
Da-yeon froze, her mouth hanging open, her expression blank. A large tear fell from her wide eyes.
As though her entire world had just collapsed.
But whatever shock Da-yeon was feeling couldn’t compare to what Joo-ah had felt.
Joo-ah started walking again.
The sound of the suitcase wheels seemed to snap Da-yeon out of her daze. She grabbed Joo-ah by the arm.
“No. You can’t go.”
Joo-ah pulled her arm free with an annoyed expression, but Da-yeon immediately clung to the suitcase handle.
“You absolutely can’t go!”
Then she dropped to the floor and wrapped both arms and legs around the suitcase.
Seeing Da-yeon’s desperate expression, Joo-ah had a bad feeling this was going to turn into a long struggle.
“Haa……”
A tired sigh escaped Joo-ah’s lips.
What’s wrong with her now?
Ryu Tae-ha leaned against the front door, tilting his head.
He had been waiting in the car when he’d seen Han Da-yeon get out of a taxi and enter the house.
Wondering if something was going on, he’d come inside.
And sure enough.
The scene before his eyes was almost too ridiculous to witness alone.
“You absolutely can’t go! You can’t go even if I die!”
She looked like some kid throwing a tantrum in the middle of a supermarket.
What on earth was she doing?
And of all the ways she could think of to stop Joo-ah from leaving, she had chosen to cling to a suitcase.
Where did she even get such a childish idea?
Round two?
No.
This is already round three.
Haa…… Getting married is fucking difficult.
Is this why the marriage rate is dropping?
There were so many things he had to clean up everywhere he looked.
“I’m tired. So damn tired.”
He said that, but his feet were already steadily carrying him toward Joo-ah.
Hey! Tae-ha can’t do it. He just chooses not to!
What’s the difference? It’s the same thing.
It is different! You… you idiot!
When he was young, there had been many things he couldn’t do because his body was weak.
And because of that, teasing had always followed him around.
Whenever that happened, a little Han Joo-ah would come running toward him from wherever she was, without hesitation.
I wonder if she felt the same way I do now.
As he strode toward them, his eyes met Joo-ah’s.
He had no way of knowing whether little Han Joo-ah had really felt the same way he did back then.
But he knew one thing.
The feelings of little Ryu Tae-ha and the current Han Joo-ah were definitely different.
Because there wasn’t the slightest trace of delight in Han Joo-ah’s eyes at seeing him.
When he was young, dealing with the annoying kids who teased him had been easy.
He only had to tell his grandfather.
A few days later, the kid would be dragged over by his parents, crying miserably as they bowed their heads and apologized to him.
But at some point, Tae-ha stopped telling his grandfather.
Because of a little girl who would run up to him and—
“You guys! Apologize to Tae-ha.”
Like a reliable protector, she’d make them apologize.
Then—
“Let’s go, Tae-ha.”
She’d take his hand and lead him away.
“Looks like the sisters are close.”
Da-yeon’s eyes widened as she desperately clung to the suitcase with her entire body.
As though she’d just seen a ghost.
“Oppa……”
Tae-ha crouched down in front of Da-yeon until they were eye level.
“Why?”
“Huh?”
Da-yeon stared at Tae-ha as though she’d been bewitched, then stupidly echoed him.
“You called me.”
“That, that’s……”
She swallowed hard.
Looking at Tae-ha’s face, which seemed as though he would listen to anything she said, Da-yeon finally came to her senses.
This might be her first and last chance.
Her chance to tell him how she felt.
If she missed it, it would all be over.
Desperate not to lose the opportunity, Da-yeon poured out her words.
“Oppa, you know that thing from earlier? The video. All of it was fabricated! It was a misunderstanding.”
A scoff escaped Tae-ha’s lips.
Did they all rehearse the same excuse together?
How many times had he already heard that?
No originality whatsoever.
And even less sincerity.
“Really?”
Da-yeon didn’t know what he was thinking.
Seeing the hint of a smile on his face, she nodded frantically, clinging to him like he was her last lifeline.
“Yes! I didn’t want to do any of it. I kept saying I didn’t want to, but Ryu Jin-ha threatened me, so he forced me. He made me do it against my will.”
“Oh, dear.”
To Da-yeon, his voice sounded genuinely sympathetic.
As though Tae-ha believed her.
Tears rolled down Da-yeon’s cheeks as she blinked her innocent-looking eyes.
But the look in Tae-ha’s eyes as he stared at her was utterly indifferent.
This is why tears can’t be trusted.
Was there anything easier to manufacture than tears?
“I’ll get you a lawyer.”
“What?”
The word lawyer came out of nowhere.
Da-yeon could only blink in confusion.
Still smiling, Tae-ha continued.
“You were treated unfairly, so you should sue him. You’ll hear from my lawyer tomorrow. Sue Ryu Jin-ha. Don’t worry about the cost. I’ll pay for everything.”
He smiled pleasantly.
“I should at least do that much for my sister-in-law.”
Da-yeon stood there with her mouth hanging open, completely dumbfounded.
Tae-ha rose to his feet.
“The little sister really loves her older sister.”
His hand settled over Joo-ah’s hand, which was still gripping the suitcase handle.
“If you love her that much, take this, too.”
Tae-ha removed Joo-ah’s hand from the suitcase and placed the handle directly into Da-yeon’s hand.
Da-yeon stared at him, still unable to understand what was happening.
Tae-ha gently curved the corners of his eyes.
“It suits your taste, doesn’t it?”
His voice was gentle.
“Something that’s already been touched by your sister.”
The cruel words, spoken with such a tender expression, made Da-yeon’s face burn with humiliation.
“That’s not……”
She tried to deny it, but a sob surged up her throat, choking off the rest of her words.
“You even have a habit of picking up things your sister has already used and thrown away.”
Tae-ha looked down at her crumpling expression without the slightest sympathy.
Then he took Joo-ah’s now-empty hand.
“Let’s give this to your sister. I’ll buy you whatever you need from now on.”
His hand wrapped gently around Joo-ah’s shoulder.
“As a wedding present.”
“Let’s go.”
“Aaaahhhhh!”
Da-yeon collapsed onto the floor and began screaming and crying at the sight of them.
Behind them came the sound of Da-yeon’s sobs, followed by the suitcase being shoved over and crashing onto the floor.
Neither Tae-ha nor Joo-ah turned around.
Tae-ha simply kept walking as calmly as though nothing had happened.
Contrary to Joo-ah’s expectation that it would turn into a long struggle, Tae-ha had settled everything without raising his voice even once.
Except for one thing.
My suitcase……
Why did he just throw mine away whenever he felt like it?
But somehow, it felt awkward to demand an explanation right now.
They left the house and walked toward Tae-ha’s car.
Perhaps because the heat that had risen inside Joo-ah thanks to Da-yeon had finally cooled down, she suddenly noticed that the night breeze was a little chilly.
“Han Joo-ah.”
Tae-ha stopped walking.
He took the jacket he’d been carrying and draped it over her shoulders.
Then he asked,
“Do you know the easiest way to deal with trouble when it comes up?”
“Throw away the suitcase?”
Tae-ha laughed out loud, as though she’d said something completely absurd.
The smile on his face looked strangely similar to the one he’d worn as a child.
Joo-ah stared at him for a little longer than she meant to.
“I’ll buy you another one.”
“You don’t even know what’s inside.”
He said he’d buy her another one so easily.
In truth, Joo-ah thought she wanted to tell him thank you.
But when their eyes met, different words came spilling out instead.
Because his dark eyes, seen from this close, looked exactly the same as they had when they were children.
“Whatever it is.”
He paused.
“All of it.”
Tae-ha started walking first.
Joo-ah followed beside him, then brought up the question he’d asked her a moment ago.
“What is the easiest way to deal with trouble?”
Tae-ha stopped.
He adjusted the jacket slipping from one of her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes.
In his dark eyes, there was nothing but Joo-ah.
“Call your husband.”
Call me.
That was what Ryu Tae-ha seemed to be saying.
And as he stood there looking at her, he really did look like a husband.
Like he could solve anything and everything if she simply called for him.
Even though he wasn’t her husband yet.
