David's Husband - Chapter 28

“I’ll do it.”

Ha Yeon barely managed to answer as she retrieved the bowl from Min Je’s hands. Their hands brushed again in the process.

Feeling her heart pounding, Ha Yeon berated herself, wondering what she was doing. She had come to do the dishes, but kept unintentionally making physical contact.

“You will?”

Min Je handed over the bowl with a grin. Ha Yeon chuckled at how ridiculous it was that he readily agreed now, after insisting on doing it himself earlier.

Moreover, when Min Je started humming while washing the dishes, Ha Yeon stared blankly before finally letting out a laugh. Seeing her laugh, a smile spread across Min Je’s face as well.

Only after finishing the dishes and cleaning up did Jun Won and Ji Hoo return. They scrutinized Min Je and Ha Yeon’s behavior, wondering if anything noteworthy had happened in their absence.

“Ah, I guarantee nothing happened.”

Jun Won whispered to Ji Hoo with a deflated expression.

“Even though we went all that way on purpose?”

Ji Hoo shook his head, insisting it couldn’t be. Jun Won looked at Ji Hoo with pity. He might think his dad was the best in the world, but the problem was that even the great Kang Min Je was an amateur when it came to romance.

“It looks like it’s going to take a long time.”

As Jun Won whispered to Ji Hoo again, the child burned with determination to help somehow, not giving up.

Seeing Jun Won and Ji Hoo constantly whispering to each other, Ha Yeon thought:

‘They always get along so well.’

She had no idea they were resolving to be the bridge connecting her and Min Je.

Across from the campsite was a river, and when the sun fully set and darkness fell, the streetlights blended together to create quite an atmospheric scene. A cool river breeze blew, cooling the hot ground.

As they sat drinking tea around the campfire, Ji Hoo stood up rubbing his eyes.

“I’m going to wash up and go to bed now.”

“Okay, then let’s go wash up together.”

Ha Yeon reflexively stood up too. But Ji Hoo shook his head saying no and grabbed Jun Won’s collar.

“I want to go with uncle.”

“That… would be better. The men’s and women’s shower rooms are separate here.”

Jun Won belatedly answered as he awkwardly got up. Fatigue was clearly visible on his face, so Min Je spoke up without thinking:

“I’ll go with him.”

But Ji Hoo shook his head more vigorously, gripping Jun Won’s collar tighter.

“No, I want to go with uncle.”

As the child insisted, both Ha Yeon and Min Je scratched their heads with bewildered expressions. They were even more flustered because Ji Hoo had never been this stubborn before.

“Yes, yes, this humble servant is honored to be chosen by Sir Ji Hoo.”

Jun Won joked as he resignedly went to the shower room with Ji Hoo. Thanks to that, the two were left alone again.

As they were left alone in the space where the blazing campfire and soft yellow lantern light stimulated emotions, they were once again immersed in a strange feeling.

Though Ha Yeon thought it was quite odd how this situation kept repeating today, she couldn’t continue her train of thought deeply as she was conscious of Min Je.

A train passed over the bridge crossing the river. Ha Yeon, who had been quietly watching the train lights, said:

“Whenever I see train lights, I feel inexplicably envious. Even though I don’t know where they’re going, why they’re going, or the circumstances of the people on board. Funny, isn’t it?”

“It’s not funny at all. Are you envious because you want to ride a train?”

Min Je asked, wondering if he should plan a train trip soon.

“I don’t think it’s just that I want to ride one. It’s just that I’m staying still here, while the people on board are busily moving somewhere. I guess I’m vaguely envious of that.”

A somewhat bitter smile appeared on Ha Yeon’s lips. She hadn’t been anywhere far since her parents passed away. There was no one left on this earth to receive her farewells when leaving, or to indulge her whims when she wanted to go somewhere.

Well, even if that weren’t the case, she didn’t have the luxury to go anywhere because she was busy working to make a living.

“Tell me if there’s somewhere you want to go. Don’t just be envious. I’ll take you anywhere.”

At Min Je’s sudden words, Ha Yeon looked at him, unaware that her expression was crumbling.

The composure she had been precariously maintaining seemed to shatter into pieces at his single sentence.

I told you not to be so nice. If you say things like that, I’ll want to depend on you. Ha Yeon looked at him desperately, like someone standing on the edge of a cliff about to collapse, unable to say the words inside her.

A David sculpted perfectly to her taste. How could she not waver with such a man right before her eyes?

Min Je couldn’t help but notice Ha Yeon’s wavering gaze. Her eyes, appearing orange in the blazing campfire light, were yearning for him.

‘Pretend to be crazy and just kiss her.’

A sweet whisper, as if from the devil, rang in Min Je’s ears. He thought that if he could only steal her lips at this moment, he would sell his soul to the devil.

His body slowly leaned towards her. After staring for a long time at the shadow cast by her long eyelashes on her clear face, Min Je slowly lowered his gaze to take in her red lips.

His gaze was fixed as if nailed in place. He knew that only by devouring these lips that stirred all his desires could he quench his burning thirst.

As if to provoke him as he walked a tightrope between instinct and reason, Ha Yeon caught her windblown hair and met his eyes. At that moment, Min Je felt all his patience evaporating.

Accidents are not worried about before they happen, but after they occur. Recalling this illogical saying, Min Je leaned his face even closer to Ha Yeon when:

“It feels refreshing after washing up.”

Jun Won and Ji Hoo returned with clean, fair faces after washing up thoroughly.

Ahem, Min Je cleared his throat and quickly pulled back. Ha Yeon, flustered, blinked and gulped down her tea.

Jun Won paused, sensing the strange atmosphere.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Sensing something off from Jun Won’s reaction, Ji Hoo asked him in a small voice.

“Hmm… I guess we should have gone for a full body scrub instead of just showering.”

Ji Hoo tilted his head, not fully understanding his words.

“Ji Hoo, let’s go to bed.”

Ha Yeon quickly got up and tended to the child. It had been arranged beforehand that Ha Yeon and Ji Hoo would sleep in the camper van, while Min Je and Jun Won would sleep in the tent.

Dinner had been delayed because they weren’t used to setting up the tent, and time had passed quickly as they laughed and chatted, so it was well past Ji Hoo’s bedtime. Drowsiness was heavily hanging on the child’s eyes.

“Good night.”

“Yes, sleep well.”

As Ji Hoo went to bed, the eventful camping night came to an end for now.

The next day, the difference between those who slept in the camper van versus the tent was clearly evident.

“Oh my aching body. Surely there’s no underground water flowing beneath us?”

Jun Won, who had practically crawled out of the tent, grumbled as he casually combed his messy long hair with his fingers and tied it up.

“We need to change the proverb from now on. Not ‘The early bird catches the worm,’ but ‘The early bird wakes the camper.'”

Min Je ran his hand through his hair with a haggard face. The birds had been so noisy since early dawn that he couldn’t sleep well.

Last night, he had tossed and turned in self-loathing as he reflected on what he had almost done, falling asleep late, only to be woken up by the birds crying at dawn.

In contrast, Ha Yeon and Ji Hoo who came out of the camper van were relatively fine.

“I wonder if the saying ‘leaving home means hardship’ is true?”

Ha Yeon smiled awkwardly as she looked at Min Je and Jun Won with their dark circles.

Just as she finished unpacking after returning home, Ha Yeon received a call from Yu Jin.

― Why haven’t you been in touch? Since you started living with Coach Kang Min Je, have you completely erased this sister from your memory?

Yu Jin’s voice was so loud that it leaked out of the receiver.

“Wait, wait just a moment.”

Ha Yeon cried out urgently, then anxiously clutched her phone and ran to her room, afraid Yu Jin might say something inappropriate.

“Whew, why is your voice so loud?”

― Has my loud voice only been a thing for a day or two?

Yu Jin snorted, clearly annoyed. Ha Yeon thought wryly that lately it seemed like there were only time bombs waiting around her.

― Ahem, anyway, how did it go? Was I right?

Seemingly embarrassed about raising her voice earlier, Yu Jin cleared her throat and asked calmly. Her tone carried the conviction that her thoughts must be correct.

“Well… there’s definitely something going on.”

Ha Yeon only answered that much for now. Even if they were best friends, she didn’t think it was right to freely divulge Ji Hoo’s painful secret.

But Yu Jin, fixated on the accuracy of her intuition, excitedly raised her voice again.

― So Coach Kang Min Je is still single, right?

“Ah, well, probably…”

As Ha Yeon pondered how to explain Min Je and Ji Hoo’s relationship, Yu Jin seemed to have already drawn her conclusion.

― That’s exactly it, a single father.

“Huh?”

― I thought it was strange. Having a six-year-old child already. Well, I guess he had an accident when he was young and foolish. But his sense of responsibility is impressive.

Ha Yeon felt dazed listening to Yu Jin’s continued chatter. So it could be interpreted that way too.

“Well, he is certainly a responsible person. He’s deeper than he looks too.”

Ha Yeon flinched, realizing she had inadvertently revealed her inner thoughts. The perceptive Yu Jin would likely pick up on her feelings from just these words.

― You’ve been going on about Kang Min Je all this time, I guess heaven took pity on you. Seeing how it’s creating a connection where there wasn’t one. You should accept it as fate. Don’t let the opportunity slip by while hesitating…

Her nagging advice continued. Meanwhile, the word ‘fate’ struck Ha Yeon’s ears.

Is that so? Is all of this meeting fate too? As she was lost in thought, there was no response, so Yu Jin raised her voice again.

― Hey, are you listening?

“Ah, yes. I’m listening.”

Ha Yeon hurriedly answered, startled.

― Don’t space out like an idiot, make him your man. That kid likes you too, right? Then there’s no one to object, how great is that?

Make Kang Min Je my man? Ha Yeon felt like Yu Jin’s successive words were getting all jumbled up in her head.

“I-I’ll handle it myself.”

So she hastily cut off Yu Jin’s words. But having known her for a long time, Yu Jin wasn’t about to let it go so easily.

― Huh? That’s the least credible thing I’ve ever heard.

Yu Jin snorted, as if dumbfounded. Then she said to Ha Yeon in an insinuating voice:

― Should this sister teach you the secret?

Feeling like she both wanted and didn’t want to know, Ha Yeon slowly answered.

“What is it…?”

Then Yu Jin said in a voice full of confidence:

― If push comes to shove, knock him down.