“Besides, this is my first time being set up on a blind date, and since my marriage has already been delayed a lot, Grandfather gave permission because he wants me to get married quickly, not because he approves of you.”
“I’ll be living with you, hyung. Do I really need to be liked by your grandfather?”
“That’s fine if you’re okay with him showing up at the office every day.”
“Then I’ll just quit the company.”
Jaehyuk let out a small exclamation of admiration at Junghyun’s serious conclusion that he could quit his job and spend his days going where no one could predict his schedule.
It was pure praise, as if he hadn’t expected this level of commitment.
“Amazing. So this is when you use the phrase ‘neck and neck in ability.'”
Strictly speaking, they were both equally terrible, making it difficult to determine who was worse, but Jaehyuk packaged it in nice-sounding words.
And Junghyun understood exactly what he meant.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“That’s right, it is a compliment. I like you more the more I see you.”
Junghyun decided to end the conversation there after Jaehyuk’s small murmur about how accurate his judgment was.
In his 27 years of life, he had been criticized countless times for having personality issues, but this was the first time someone had liked him this much.
What kind of chaos did this man live in…?
“Suddenly, I’m curious about your environment, hyung… but let’s not find out more.”
“Why? Want to know more?”
“I feel like I might find something scary if I dig deeper. Besides, I’ll find out soon enough anyway, so there’s no benefit to knowing in advance.”
“Right, good thinking. Then, back to the main point—I won’t stop you if you want to use such troublesome methods. But you should keep in mind that our grandfather isn’t an easy person. If you quit the company and try to run away, he might assign someone to monitor you 24 hours a day. And if he thinks he can’t control you, in the worst case, he might summon you to the main house, so judge for yourself.”
Jaehyuk’s position was that he didn’t care either way. The fight was between the two of them; it had nothing to do with him.
“…He seems like quite a bothersome person.”
“Not ‘seems like’—he definitely is bothersome.”
Should he endure the inconvenience and play hide-and-seek, or should he pretend to comply, at least initially? Faced with these two options, Junghyun fell into deep contemplation.
Either way would be troublesome, but if he had to choose the less bothersome option…
“So to avoid running around like a madman every day, I need to share a bed with you, right?”
“You catch on quickly.”
“Alright. Then I’ll go to sleep first.”
“If you go to sleep first?”
To Jaehyuk’s question of what difference that would make, Junghyun immediately responded.
“I told you before. I fall asleep as soon as my head touches the pillow. If I go to sleep first and you come to bed later, the problem will be solved without any issues. And occasionally when needed, I can sleep without clothes. I’ll probably get used to it quickly. I adapt fast. Additionally, just to confess in advance, that’s why I also have trouble waking up in the morning. You’ll have a hard time with my alarm sound.”
“I’ll wake up earlier than you anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
“What time do you wake up?”
“Usually at 6.”
So that’s why the housekeeper comes to check at 5, Junghyun realized.
“Then you can wake me up in the morning.”
Junghyun was very satisfied with this unexpected addition of an alarm. Throughout his life, while he’d never had trouble falling asleep, he’d had countless instances of not being able to wake up, but having someone sharing the bed with him seemed like it would solve that problem.
An unexpected benefit from this absurd marriage.
“Well, I think we’ve covered the basics. Any additional points you want to add?”
“There is one thing that concerns me, but…”
“But?”
“It won’t happen with you, so we can skip it.”
“What is it?”
“Falling in love with each other.”
“Ah…”
When Jaehyuk mentioned the cliché commonly seen in contract dating or marriage movies, Junghyun understood what he was trying to say.
“Shouldn’t we include it just in case? The cliché is that these things always happen to people who say they never will.”
“It’s a waste of paper.”
Jaehyuk was confident that neither he nor Junghyun would ever fall in love with each other. And even if they did fall in love, he firmly believed they would manage their emotions appropriately.
He wouldn’t fall in love, and Junghyun was literally like a human AI.
Junghyun agreed with this opinion as well. Not because he thought, like Jaehyuk, that it could never happen to him, but because he believed that even if it did happen, they should still get divorced.
Such things weren’t in his plans, and they were bothersome and troublesome.
“Then even if something like that happens, let’s pretend it never did. Such things won’t happen at all, and even if they do, they never happened.”
“That’s what I want.”
The most ideal approach was that if emotions developed, the person would hide their feelings and sort them out themselves, while the other party would pretend not to notice even if they did—that was the most ideal approach.
“Good. Let’s go with that, then. Is there anything else?”
“One more thing. This isn’t related to the contract, but it’s the most basic manner in our relationship and personally the most important part for me. So I’ll tell you in advance. I basically believe that anyone can make mistakes. Whether it’s deliberate disguised as a mistake, or simple negligence. So if you talk to me first and we compromise, I can forgive. But lying is unacceptable. That’s absolutely not a mistake but an intentional act.”
In contrast to his light attitude until just now, Jaehyuk’s voice was heavy and serious, and Junghyun, looking at him, laughed softly after a moment.
Jaehyuk found that laugh quite irritating.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I’m sorry if you felt offended. But your life was revealed in those words. The fact that you can handle everything else but cannot tolerate that one thing means you’ve lived a life with enough power to not care what others do to you. You’ve truly lived as the one in control.”
“I won’t deny that. It’s the truth.”
“That’s refreshingly honest. Then, what’s the penalty if I lie?”
“There’s no need to write down a penalty. I’ll take care of it myself.”
“But you’re talking as if only I would lie.”
“I have no reason to lie.”
Junghyun couldn’t argue with this statement either.
Lies are told to people you fear or want to impress. But this man had no one to fear or impress.
So he had no reason to lie.
“That’s true. I acknowledge that. In return, you should also try not to lie if possible. I won’t lie either.”
“That will happen whether you want it or not. Everything shows on your face anyway.”
“Is that also why I was chosen?”
“About 10% of the reason?”
“You trust me more than I expected.”
“You’re brilliantly clever, but not the type to lie.”
“It’s better to get to know someone for a long time before judging them.”
“I’m about 90% distrustful of you, so it’s fine.”
“It would be better if you distrusted me even more. Any other points to add?”
“The most crucial content is all included. I’ll think about other details and add them later.”
“Great. When can we meet your lawyer friend?”
“Tomorrow would be fine.”
“Can we meet tomorrow morning? I’ll be busy from Monday, and I have some things to organize tomorrow afternoon.”
“What things?”
“If we’re getting married in two weeks, I need to pack up. I want to organize in advance since I’ll be busy again from Monday.”
“That’s a good idea. Especially the photos.”
As he spoke, Jaehyuk’s gaze moved toward the top of the display cabinet. Following his gaze, Junghyun noticed a frame on top of the cabinet and muttered a small “Ah.”
It was a photo taken in Hawaii about four years ago.
“Um… this was taken before we were dating. We didn’t go on a trip together; I went with my friends… Those two guys in the back are guys we met at a bar.”
He hadn’t deliberately kept it; it was just one of the few photos taken on a trip with close friends, he involuntarily explained, and interest gleamed in Jaehyuk’s calm eyes.
“…Pipeline?”
“You know it?”
“I used to go often until four years ago. Come to think of it, didn’t you mention you surf?”
“Yes. That was probably four years ago too. It was fall, right before graduation.”
“Fall? September?”
“Around that time.”
At that answer, he stared intently at the photo.
“…I remember going there during that period too… It’s odd to call it a coincidence.”
“Indeed. We might have passed by each other there. Or perhaps we even met?”
“Big Wave?”
Looking back at the photo at that question, Junghyun soon understood.
