If there had been a little more interaction between the passionate young man and woman, expressing their feelings and getting to know each other, Siyoon might not have felt so uneasy. But by skipping that interaction and pushing the contract first, Siyoon felt the anxiety that Mi-joo might disappear like a sandcastle in his hands.
‘Meeting a woman and winning her heart, it was never difficult at any moment.’
They had already marked the end with the marriage registration and wedding. However, the severe omission of the interim process made Siyoon strongly feel the need to fill it up with love and attention.
Until Mi-joo goes crazy with happiness. But before that happens, Siyoon, who can’t hold Mi-joo, feels like he might go crazy with the burning thirst for her at this moment.
Unable to stay in cold water all night, Siyoon dried himself off and left the bathroom. Wearing only a bathrobe, he came to the living room and gulped down bottled water.
‘Has she sobered up by now?’
Amused by unnecessary thoughts, Siyoon let out a light laugh. Last time, Mi-joo had a severe hangover until morning, but there was no way she would be sober at this hour. And even if she was, what difference would it make?
“Well, whatever.”
Siyoon looked around the bedroom.
Although she had a bit of a buzz after having some drinks last night, Mi-joo got up at her usual time, like a machine. Probably because of the physical strength she had developed through long hours of part-time work.
The sunlight was shimmering through the large window covered with chiffon curtains. Mi-joo, who woke up on time without feeling hungover, felt a strange emptiness.
Mi-joo raised her hand and carefully felt the empty space next to her. It felt empty. She slightly turned and lay down to check the space next to her.
‘Well, we don’t have to wake up and get out of bed together.’
Mi-joo reconsidered their relationship. Still, she felt a bit sulky.
‘Last night, when we shouted “stop” countless times while passing each other’s hair, he pretended not to see. But he stopped at some point!’
At that moment, Mi-joo felt another kind of emptiness. She felt it because she was in a slip without an outer garment. She pulled the blanket to cover her chest.
‘It’s strange. I’m sure I was wearing clothes until I fell asleep.’
Carefully looking around, she searched for her traces. Mi-joo’s clothes were neatly hung on the back of the chair.
And her small handbag with her bankbook and shoes were neatly placed next to it.
“Phew.”
A sigh of relief escaped her. It meant that Mi-joo herself hadn’t carelessly thrown off her clothes, and it wasn’t as if she had been undressed in a daze by Siyoon.
‘Right…’
Looking at the neatly arranged clothes, a sense of relief and an inexplicable emptiness overwhelmed her.
In the past few days, Mi-joo had been experiencing indescribable emotions. Sometimes excitement, sometimes regret and emptiness.
Now it was emptiness. However, it seemed she could understand the reason for the emptiness she felt now.
The emptiness stemmed from Siyoon not being there as soon as he opened his eyes, even though he promised to be with her.
Mi-joo got up and put on a bed gown. With expectations that Siyoon might be up early and drinking coffee, she went to the living room.
“Mr. Kim Siyoon.”
He wasn’t in sight. The emptiness began to turn into anxiety.
“Where did he go?”
Siyoon wasn’t visible in the bathroom, dressing room, or office room. She distinctly heard him last night.
After warmly saying that, where could he have gone?
Mi-joo looked around for Siyoon, but not even one of his belongings was in sight.
“Maybe he went out for a morning exercise.”
Even though there was not a single trace of him, Mi-joo just wanted to think that way. She sat still and waited for Siyoon, and quite some time passed.
‘Oh! The phone.’
Mi-joo thought of making a call, wondering if Siyoon had left a message. She opened her bag, but the phone had run out of battery and was turned off since last night.
‘To feel cut off from the world just because one phone is off.’
But the feeling of being truly left alone made her heart ache. She neatly arranged Mi-joo’s clothes, but there was no trace of Siyoon.
‘Maybe I made some mistake with Mr. Siyoon last night. Or with Grandpa?’
There were people like that. People who, if they grew up in an orphanage, would treat you casually at first, but then turn away and draw a line.
‘Maybe Director Kim was one of those people.’
It didn’t seem likely at all, but if they were such people, Mi-joo felt she would experience a greater sense of loss and shock than ever before.
Mi-joo stood blankly in the living room.
‘Until yesterday, the world was bright and affectionate. But in an instant, it feels like they are happily turning away, leaving only me behind.’
Tears seemed to well up.
And unable to endure, thick tears fell down her cheeks. Finally, Mi-joo wiped away her tears and looked at herself.
“Choi Mi-joo, wake up.”
She patted her cheeks with the palms of her hands.
“Since when have I depended on people and lived relying on others for comfort! I’ve been living well on my own until now, so why am I weak now?”
Mi-joo couldn’t help but repeat words that seemed like both comfort and reproach. She showered, pondering over words that seemed neither comforting nor reproachful.
And without properly drying her body, she picked up the two-piece outfit she wore yesterday.
‘Even if I work hard to fill a whole month, I won’t be able to buy another outfit. Thanks to the contract marriage, I got to wear this two-piece outfit, and it’s not a bad deal.’
Mi-joo kept reassuring herself every moment. At that moment, she suddenly became worried that something might have happened to Siyoon and Grandpa.
‘Right, something might have happened to Grandpa overnight!’
Mi-joo picked up the living room phone and dialed the front desk. With a cheerful ringtone, an employee answered the call.
“Can you connect me to our grandpa staying in Suite 3401 by any chance?”
“Just a moment, please.”
She heard the sound of a keyboard.
“Room 3401 is in a checked-out status.”
“What?”
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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