Marriage Blues
“I’m not doing anything like marriage.”
At Seon-woo’s blunt declaration, the chairman looked as if he’d been hit by a bomb.
“Why not!”
The fact that he genuinely sounded clueless was enough to make Seon-woo feel dizzy. Letting out a heavy sigh, Seon-woo leaned back.
Christmas Eve had somehow been salvaged, but that hadn’t solved the root of the issue. Not until he sat down face-to-face with the chairman would anything be truly resolved. After spending a pleasant time with Seung-hyeon, Seon-woo had immediately stormed over to the family estate the moment he had a free moment. That day, the chairman apparently had shown up within twenty minutes. But with Seon-woo already long gone, the old man had been left standing there in disbelief and forced to apologize on Seon-woo’s behalf to Jin Ye-jin, who kept playing dumb.
But how exactly does one convince someone that they simply don’t want to get married? If he said he was seeing someone, they’d demand to meet them. If he said he wasn’t interested in dating because of work, he’d be treated to a lecture about how having a family helps a man focus on his career.
The chairman would probably go on about how important a supportive wife is for success. But that argument didn’t hold water for Seon-woo, who had a cousin better at that kind of support than anyone else.
So, he had a different tactic in mind.
“Have you forgotten what happened to my mother?”
The chairman immediately shut his mouth. He looked like he had no idea why she was suddenly being brought up—but the memory of her was apparently enough to silence him.
Seon-woo had never even seen her face, but the thought of her left a bitter taste in his mouth. He wasn’t sure if that was because he was swept up in this body’s emotions or if it stemmed from his own instinctive sense of compassion.
Gwak Seon-woo’s mother had been in poor health. She died quietly, neglected by a husband who prioritized work over family. Using that as ammunition left a sour feeling in Seon-woo’s mouth, but for her sake—for the woman who had suffered because of an indifferent husband—her son shouldn’t be dragged into blind dates or forced into marriage.
“You said it yourself, didn’t you?”
“Father should never have started a family. Even when his wife was dying, even when his child was withering away, he didn’t spare them a single glance.”
That had indeed come from the chairman’s mouth. When Seon-woo was young, the old man had once said he was proud of his son’s cold, rational, and competent nature. But over time, as that son grew into someone incapable of caring for anyone around him, the pride turned into concern. He even admitted that Seon-woo had inherited much of that same nature.
“And I can’t say I’m completely different from him, either.”
Starting with the fact that they looked exactly the same. If it weren’t for the fact that this Seon-woo was someone else entirely inside, he probably would’ve ended up just like his father—no better, no worse.
If there was any difference, it would be this: where Gwak Sang-gyeong had destroyed his family through neglect and indifference, Seon-woo—if he had been the original Gwanggong version of himself—would’ve destroyed Seo Eun-jae by loving him in an utterly unhinged, obsessive way, pushing him right to the edge.
Either way, honestly? It would’ve been hell.
“You said I was suited to be a businessman. Yes, and that’s exactly what I’ll strive to be—the best I can.”
The chairman was so flustered, he couldn’t even muster a reply—something entirely unlike him. Seon-woo continued on, his words flowing as smoothly as a well-rehearsed speech.
“But not a family man. I don’t want to pass down this bloodline, this temperament, any further. It’s a curse.”
The chairman’s face turned pale. Yet, even as his lips quivered with a ‘Yes, but…’ he didn’t seem inclined to deny it. That had been Seon-woo’s intent—to make him understand—and oddly enough, it seemed the old man actually had. It left him momentarily stunned.
So he really did think that about the grandson he doted on so much…
Then again, if he was capable of calling the son he adored a man utterly devoid of human emotion, why would a grandson be any exception?
“But people can always—”
“You’re the one who taught me that people aren’t things you can fix up and reuse, Grandfather.”
The chairman clearly wanted to argue back. But that philosophy—that people don’t change—was one of his own most oft-repeated beliefs. No matter what he said now, he’d only be contradicting himself. And since he was still a rational man at heart, there was no way he’d push any further.
At last, the chairman raised both hands in surrender.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations. But this is the person I’ve become.”
Seon-woo buried the inner scream of Yes! Got him! and mustered a calm, earnest tone for his apology. He saw the chairman slowly shake his head, his expression conflicted.
“No. You’ve never once failed to meet my expectations…”
The old man looked genuinely pained, already fretting that his beloved grandson would grow into another stiff, solitary old bachelor like his father. But since he had tried to force that blind date with a firm belief that he was doing the right thing, now that belief had been shattered, he wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
“If you’re that against marriage, I won’t ever force it on you again. But just know—if one day, you meet someone you truly want to build a family with, don’t hesitate to reconsider.”
“Understood.”
Yes! Again, inward celebration, outward poker face—this time wearing a slightly skeptical look, as if saying, Well, I doubt that’ll ever happen. The chairman gave a bitter nod and waved a hand to dismiss him.
Well, actually… there is someone. Someone I’d want to build a family with, from the bottom of my heart.
Technically, they were already living together. Functionally a family. And legally… well, they were already family, on paper.
If the chairman ever heard that, he’d probably clutch his neck and collapse on the spot. Just the fact that Seon-woo hadn’t confessed everything and instead arranged this kind of conversation was an act of mercy. Maybe someday, the chairman would even be thankful.
With a faint smile hidden beneath his calm expression, Seon-woo gave a polite bow and turned to leave.
With that, the issue of marriage was finally—seemingly—put to rest…
Or so he thought.
A few days later, a phone call would stir it all up again.
***
Seo Eun-jae was in the midst of a serious dilemma.
After taking an extended vacation and traveling to the tropics, Eun-jae found himself completely enthralled by the warm, exotic atmosphere—so much so that even as winter approached, he still couldn’t bring himself to snap out of it. The trip had started out as a half-hearted gamble, but it turned out to be far more satisfying than he’d ever expected.
While he was there, he stared at the ocean for what felt like an eternity, made friends with locals, got his pale skin tanned to a nice bronze, and nearly got into trouble at customs on his way back thanks to the mountain of farewell gifts his new friends had loaded him up with. It had been one hell of a ride, full of wild, unexpected adventures.
Coming out of it all, Eun-jae felt like a frog finally escaping the bottom of a well. His daily life had always felt like being stuck in a hamster wheel—tedious, repetitive, inescapable. He used to think of his life as a scripted play where every moment had already been decided for him, so trying something new, or even dreaming of breaking away from routine, had never crossed his mind.
Maybe that’s why he’d become so emotionally fixated on Gwak Seon-woo.
He didn’t want to say his feelings had been fake or mistaken—that much was still true. But at the very least, he could now proudly say that he had reached a point where he could genuinely wish for Seon-woo’s happiness without a hint of bitterness.
In the warmth of the tropics, Seo Eun-jae had been reborn.
If anything, he hoped Gwak Seon-woo would find happiness. Seon-woo had been an entirely unexpected variable in Eun-jae’s life. And people are naturally drawn to the unexpected. Maybe that was why, even though he’d despised characters like him in novels, it hadn’t taken long for Eun-jae to fall helplessly under Seon-woo’s spell.
In the end, Seon-woo hadn’t chosen him. And yes, that stung. But Eun-jae still felt grateful to him—for dragging him out of the prison cell that had been his life. That alone was enough for him to be able to wish Seon-woo well.
But when it came to Gwak Seung-hyeon… that was a slightly different story.
In the original novel—at least, as far as he could remember from having read it ages ago—Seung-hyeon had been a very sweet, kind character toward Eun-jae. Someone who left the impression of a gentle love interest, which was a lot more appealing to Eun-jae than the aggressive, domineering Gwanggong Seon-woo. Eun-jae had never cared for the whole “bad boy” allure, so Seung-hyeon had seemed like the better option.
Of course, that was only as a character in a book—not as someone he ever imagined dating in real life.
Still, there had been a time when he thought Seung-hyeon was a good guy. That it didn’t make sense for him not to be chosen. That it was a little sad, even.
But these days…
“Team Leader, heading out early again today?”
“Yeah. Someone’s waiting for me.”
“There you go again~ You are seeing someone, aren’t you?”
“Haha… who knows? Maybe.”
Watching Seung-hyeon lately brought only one thought to Eun-jae’s mind. No matter the situation, no matter the context, it always came back to this:
Gwak Seung-hyeon was insufferable. Seriously, just so damn annoying.
It was like he was going out of his way to get under Eun-jae’s skin.
Te está regresando todas las que le hiciste jajajjaa, aquí amamos a nuestro rencoroso bb 💕