“How did this person get my number?”
“Your information is already public property in our family.”
“Wow, where are my human rights?”
“You’re the only one in our family who talks about human rights.”
“I’m a megalоdon, that’s why. So, what should I do about this person?”
“I told you not to answer.”
“What about from now on? They’ve sent quite a few calls and messages and don’t seem like they’ll give up easily. Should I block and ignore them? Or just pretend I’m not receiving them?”
“Block them.”
“Okay. So I should treat it like a phishing attempt?”
As the call ended abruptly, Junghyun quickly registered the number and immediately added it to his block list.
Watching this, Jaehyuk, who was applying the brakes, stared at Junghyun intently.
As if he had discovered an actual megalоdon in modern times.
“Don’t look at me with those eyes like you’re captivated by my charm.”
“To be honest, it’s unpleasant but certainly charming. Calling you our family’s mad dog is actually quite thrilling.”
“That’s why I have this.”
With those words, Junghyun showed him the back of his phone case.
On the black background with a white dog drawn on it, there was a sentence at the top:
‘My pet really bites.’
Although he had definitely seen that phrase throughout yesterday while watching baseball since Junghyun kept his phone face down, he had just thought it was part of the phone case design, but now he could see it suited him perfectly.
“Does it really bite?”
“If necessary.”
“I definitely need to marry you.”
Looking at Jaehyuk’s face with narrowed eyes and a greedy gaze as if he was dying to possess him, Junghyun laughed as if dumbfounded.
“What kind of chaos do you live in?”
“I’ll tell you about that later. After we’ve registered the marriage and finished the wedding ceremony.”
“Are you afraid I might run away before then?”
“Yes. Because I absolutely must marry you.”
Seeing his sweet and benevolent smile for the first time in a situation without cameras, Junghyun shuddered as if feeling goosebumps.
“This is the first time in my life I’ve met someone who wants me this fervently, but why do I feel such a chill?”
“Your instincts are certainly good.”
Saying that, Jaehyuk looked ahead again, checked that the traffic light had changed to green, and stepped on the accelerator.
Meanwhile, he glanced down at his phone. As expected, it had been flashing continuously, but he had only given it momentary attention without really caring.
But this time, noticing that he seemed concerned about the caller, Junghyun looked at him curiously before glancing back at his phone.
The name “Seo Yeonwoo” was displayed on the screen.
“You can take the call.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Just drop me off nearby. I’ll take a taxi home. You should take the call if it’s urgent.”
“I can do it later. I’ll take you home.”
As he said that and reached out to press the reject button, Junghyun looked at him with curiosity.
“You look really concerned about it.”
“I am concerned. But right now, you’re my priority… so it’s fine.”
At his calm but characteristic response, Junghyun wore a gentle smile on his lips.
That’s what I thought he’d say, this person.
That’s why I tried not to get close to him.
“In that case, please take me home. Ah, the weather’s so nice, I want to have a daytime drink.”
“Not for a while. You can drink as much as you want after we’re married, but please bear with it for two weeks.”
“Because of the killer whale?”
“Your mind works well, which is good.”
“Then I’ll drink at home, whatever.”
As Junghyun declared he would finish all the remaining alcohol at home before moving, Jaehyuk looked at him disapprovingly.
“It seems the grounds for divorce are already established. We won’t even need to discuss custody.”
At Jaehyuk’s disgusted reaction, Junghyun burst into hearty laughter.
Seeing how he actually seemed to enjoy the negative reaction, Jaehyuk clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Looking at him and laughing, Junghyun opened the window completely and leaned against it.
The sunshine was getting stronger, but the wind was becoming cooler.
* * *
After arriving at the apartment in a short time, Junghyun immediately unfastened his seatbelt.
“Thank you for the ride. Then, please contact me tomorrow.”
As he was about to open the door with that indifferent farewell, Jaehyuk greeted him.
“I’ll call you.”
At those sudden words, Junghyun stopped while pushing the door open and turned to look at Jaehyuk. Then he asked.
“…Why?”
To Junghyun’s question asking if there was still more to say, Jaehyuk immediately continued.
“There’s a family gathering in the evening. There’s a lot to discuss about my marriage issue, so I’ll let you know as decisions are made.”
“You’ll handle everything anyway.”
“That’s true, but you must have your preferences too.”
“I don’t have any preferences in that regard. For a project moving this quickly, it’s safer to have one person with full authority proceeding rapidly. Things only get complicated if people add their opinions unnecessarily. Professionals will be involved anyway, so please handle it. I’ll just walk in on that day.”
“Alright. Then I’ll share the schedule as soon as it’s finalized.”
“And while you’re at it, please take care of your father. See you.”
After saying his final farewell, Junghyun got out of the car, closed the door immediately, and stepped back. After waiting for a moment, Jaehyuk’s car turned around and left the complex.
After confirming that the car had completely disappeared, Junghyun finally entered the building and headed for the elevator.
Unlike the outside, the corridor was quite cool as he pressed the button in front of the elevator, and he could immediately see the display panel moving.
Looking at the rapidly moving numbers, he entered the elevator as it finally opened and pressed the button for the 19th floor. Only then did he take out his phone.
Though better than yesterday, quite a few messages had been pouring in, so he had set his phone to silent mode, and sure enough, several messages had arrived in a short time.
Annoying as it was, leaving them would only make them pile up more, and since he would be getting busy again starting tomorrow, he reluctantly checked the notification screen, and it was as expected.
Messages were coming from everywhere to the point where he wondered if his notification screen had ever been this noisy before.
High school classmates, middle school classmates, university peers, company people, and even business contacts.
As he read the shocked reactions asking if he was really getting married in two weeks, planning to send a single copied and pasted response when he got home, there was one name that stood out among them.
While he could ignore or briefly respond to the others, this one couldn’t be ignored.
[Yoonho hyung] If you have any conscience, answer the phone. If you keep ignoring me, I’m coming over.
At the threatening tone that pretended to be angry, Junghyun exhaled a long sigh and ran his hand through his hair.
“This is troublesome…”
This couldn’t be avoided.
This person unnecessarily knows too much. And is too involved.
He had been trying to contact him, but Junghyun had been dragging it out because he needed to deal with the situation, but now he couldn’t avoid it any longer.
This person also needed to be prepared to some extent. They needed to coordinate their stories.
Unable to avoid reality any further, he stepped out of the newly arrived elevator and searched for his number to press the call button.
And as he went to the right side of the elevator to open the door, sure enough, sarcastic comments poured out without fail.
– Wow, I’m so grateful that you contacted me this quickly.
“I was busy.”
– Of course you were busy after causing such a major incident.
“Right. I’ll continue to be disgustingly busy dealing with the aftermath of that major incident, so just get to the point.”
– If that’s what you want, certainly. So, the main point. How are you going to handle this?
As he opened the heavy front door and entered, he could feel a slight heat in the sunlit house.
Unlike the cool entrance, heavy air had accumulated inside.
Disliking that feeling, he immediately went to the veranda to open the door, then headed to the refrigerator while leisurely continuing the conversation.
“I’ll handle it somehow, and to be fair, I didn’t intend to get married. I only found out about the blind date yesterday morning. I told you from the beginning that I couldn’t enter the marriage market because I was ranked F.”
– Don’t be ridiculous. You must have done something.
“Even I can’t force a broker to circulate my file. If I were that omnipotent, I wouldn’t be living like this; I’d have established a religious order. I didn’t expect my father to immediately circulate my profile.”
– …Your father still hasn’t given up on you?
At his hyung’s reaction of surprise, he opened the refrigerator door and immediately retorted.
“Neither my father nor I can stand losing. He desperately tried to get rid of me quickly by circulating my profile, but when unexpectedly a big shot got hooked, he was quite shocked.”
– Wow, both you and your father have incredible tenacity. I wondered where your strange personality came from, but you’ve completely taken after him?
“I can’t deny that.”
While his appearance was entirely from his mother’s side to the point of being called a carbon copy, his personality was 100% from his father’s side.
That’s why they fought more, as they could see right through each other.
Reading someone else’s mind was surprisingly unpleasant.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
