Chapter 25. Married but Still Just Family

“Cha Haeyoung.”

“Haeyoung…?”

Taeseong and Gijun both looked stunned at Haeyoung’s unfamiliar appearance.

Haeyoung was wearing an off-shoulder dress made of layered see-through fabric.

The color of the fabric looked like black ink mixed with water, so instead of her usual bright look, she gave off a calm vibe.

Her makeup also focused on making her skin look smooth, with very little color.

But with carefully added shading, her face looked more defined and mature.

It was makeup that highlighted Haeyoung’s natural features while adding a mature look.

It felt like this might be what Haeyoung would look like five years in the future.

As she reached them, Haeyoung placed a hand on her chest and let out a deep sigh.

“Whew.”

The two, snapping out of their daze at her heavy sigh, blinked and focused.

“I know I look strange.”

Haeyoung pouted as if confessing something.

“So don’t stare at me like that… it makes me nervous.”

“You think we’re staring because you look weird?”

“It’s not that. It’s because you’re pretty.”

“What?”

“We both looked because you’re pretty.”

Gijun honestly said it before Taeseong could finish his sentence.

Haeyoung coughed awkwardly, embarrassed.

“Ahem… You don’t have to flatter me.”

But Taeseong cut in firmly.

“It’s not flattery.”

Then he casually threw in a compliment.

“This is the best you’ve ever looked.”

He then glanced sharply at Gijun and continued talking to Haeyoung.

“I thought being tacky was your personal style. This is unexpected.”

“Ugh, can’t your compliments last more than three seconds?!”

Annoyed, Haeyoung swung her fist at his shoulder.

But wearing unfamiliar high heels, she lost her balance and tilted forward.

“Oh—”

Just as she was about to fall, Taeseong quickly grabbed her shoulder.

Half in his arms, a small sound came from between Haeyoung’s lips.

“Ah…”

“Be careful.”

His voice, whether worried or scolding, tickled her ear. The place where his hand touched burned.

Her heartbeat sped up.

‘Why is this happening again…?’

Her heart, which she had worked hard to calm down after mistaking her feelings, started racing again. And it scared her.

But before she could process that fear, something else hit her.

“Taeseong!”

“Minju noona…?”

Taeseong had turned around and called out the name of his first love.

Before the main wedding ceremony, Haeyoung walked around greeting people with Chairman Joo.

“This is Cha Haeyoung, the granddaughter of my dear friend. She’s my granddaughter-in-law now.”

“Hello, I’m Cha Haeyoung.”

“Oh my, now I understand why Chairman Joo rushed the wedding. She’s such a lovely girl.”

“Thank you.”

When Haeyoung politely bowed, the chairman proudly added more.

“I hurried a lot because I didn’t want to lose our Haeyoung.”

“You’re such a show-off!”

Even while the friendly conversations continued, Haeyoung kept glancing at Taeseong and Minju.

Earlier, when she accidentally ended up in Taeseong’s arms, she had quickly stepped away after Minju appeared.

Then they exchanged greetings.

“Noona, this is…”

“I heard, Taeseong. You got married.”

“Oh, yeah. I did. Earlier this year.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jo Minju. I study piano. I’ve known Taeseong since we were little.”

“Ah, yes. Hello. I’m Cha Haeyoung.”

She couldn’t think of the right way to introduce herself.

It felt weird to say she was a student, and also strange to say she was Taeseong’s wife.

“I didn’t expect Taeseong to get married so soon. I mean, it’s not rare in our world to marry young, but getting married as a minor is still unusual.”

“Ha ha, yes. It just happened somehow.”

“Taeseong is very popular. You’re lucky, Haeyoung.”

Minju’s relaxed voice and confident eyes stuck in Haeyoung’s mind.

She thought she understood why Taeseong liked Minju.

In pictures, she looked just pretty—but in person, she gave off a cool and confident vibe.

Very different from plain old me.

No matter how much I try to dress differently, I’m still the same inside.

Realizing that made her chest ache a little.

“Haeyoung. I think we’ve greeted almost everyone. Want to go eat something?”

“Oh, yes.”

Haeyoung, who had been zoning out, smiled lightly.

Come to think of it, she’d only had one roll of gimbap all day.

After bowing once more to the hotel owner couple, she headed toward the catering area.

Standing in front of the catering table, Haeyoung looked serious.

There was a lot of food, but because of the dress, she felt she couldn’t eat too much.

In times like this, choosing the right items was key.

“What should I eat…”

As she muttered and eyed the food, Gijun came over.

“The salmon salad here is really good. And also the jambon-beurre sandwich over there.”

Hearing Gijun’s confident voice, Haeyoung smiled.

“How do you know what’s good?”

“I’ve been to many events at this hotel. I know the food well.”

At his answer, Haeyoung smiled and picked up some salmon salad.

“Coming to a place like this really makes me realize— you and Joo Taeseong are from a different world than me.”

Her voice came out a bit gloomy, and Gijun tried to comfort her.

“But I think the world you live in looks better.”

“Oh come on, really?”

Haeyoung laughed like it was a joke.

“You’re really good at saying sweet things, oppa.”

She picked up a jambon-beurre sandwich and casually spoke like usual.

But Gijun’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“I’m not joking.”

“…”

“I mean it. Including when I said you looked pretty earlier.”

Haeyoung paused, her hand still reaching for food.

At that moment, Taeseong walked over.

“Hyung. Isn’t it kind of wrong to flirt with someone who’s already taken?”

With his hands in his pockets and that usual tilted smirk, Taeseong fired at him.

But Gijun calmly replied without reacting.

“She feels like a younger sister to me.”

“…”

“Sorry if that made you uncomfortable.”

Taeseong’s lips curled up in annoyance.

“Hyung, you know saying someone is ‘like a sister’ is the most cowardly and cheap excuse, right?”

“Taeseong. I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding…”

“Just don’t hang around Cha Haeyoung using that excuse. Please.”

Even though he said “please,” Taeseong’s eyes were cold.

But Gijun remained completely calm.

“You don’t need to worry, Taeseong. You know me—we’ve known each other a long time.”

The tension between them was subtle but intense, even if invisible to others, it could be felt in the air.

Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Haeyoung grabbed Taeseong’s arm.

“You. Come here for a sec.”

After placing her plate on a nearby table, she pulled Taeseong aside to a quiet corner.

Once there, she asked,

“Why are you like that to Gijun oppa? You’ve been weird since before.”

“I told you, Kwon Gijun is not okay.”

“I told you—you’re imagining things.”

Haeyoung lightly patted her chest in frustration.

Why is he having feelings that not even I have?

“Joo Taeseong. Seriously, there’s nothing going on.”

“Guys know how other guys think.”

“Oh, this is driving me crazy.”

Haeyoung waved her hand and shook her head.

“Look, I don’t care if you like someone else. But until we stamp the divorce papers, we’re married and we’re family.”

“…”

“Until then, I won’t just sit back and watch you jump into a fire.”

“Divorce papers…”

The word “divorce” felt like a small thorn in her throat.

It wasn’t suffocating, but it was annoying and painful.

“Fine. Until we divorce, I’ll behave.”

“Cha Haeyoung.”

“I don’t want to cause trouble for you or Grandpa.”

Haeyoung looked straight at him with calm eyes, trying to stay composed.

Seeing that, Taeseong leaned slightly toward her and tried to explain.

“That’s not what I meant. Why are you acting so—”

“Taeseong, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you.”

But before he could finish, Minju appeared and naturally linked arms with him.