TSS 10

Chapter : 10

Meanwhile, Hayun’s moans, growing increasingly frequent, seemed beyond even her own control. More… more. She just kept wanting more of something she didn’t even fully understand. In response, Geonhyung’s hand movements grew bolder. What was he supposed to do when she kept urging him on?

“Ugh.”

Suddenly, Hayun’s sobbing stopped. Had it been too much? Geonhyung looked at her in surprise, and she let out a deep sigh. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with her quickened breathing, which made him smile faintly. Despite having no experience with women at his age, it didn’t feel as bad as he had expected.

Then again, Geonhyung had always been good at anything that required physical skill.

“Hhh…”

Hayun’s breathing, which had briefly stopped, flowed again. For a moment, the world seemed to spin before her eyes. She couldn’t predict exactly what would happen next, but having experienced it once, her heart swelled with even greater anticipation. What comes next? What could it be?

But then…

“…Haa…”

Geonhyung let out a long sigh. The warmth near her thighs, felt with his exhale, quickly turned cool. He then stood and strode off with a fierce determination. She couldn’t hear clearly, but it seemed he muttered some curse words under his breath.

“…For now, this.”

As Hayun tried to sit up halfway, Geonhyung draped something over her shoulders. When she realized what it was, it was his jacket. Why suddenly? she wondered, looking confused.

“I just grabbed what was at hand.”

He had been about to put on her tiny clothes, but the idea made him irritable. Muttering while adjusting the jacket, he avoided her gaze.

“…Do you want me to put clothes on?”

Ignoring Hayun’s question, Geonhyung walked away. It was just a jacket, but it was enough to cover her small frame.

This should be fine now.

Narrowing his eyes to observe her, he nodded to himself. Then, heading toward the door, he muttered a string of curses under his breath.

‘Damn it…’

Just as he was lost in thought, a small bell chimed near his ear.

Ding-dong.

In an instant, Geonhyung’s blood ran cold. It was a warning that someone was approaching—a courtesy typical of a traditional fairy with many secrets. Yet for Geonhyung, who had been coming and going there since childhood, it was a sound he had never heard before.

“What the hell is this…?”

He flung the door open, bracing himself to deal ruthlessly with whoever might be there.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—there was no one. Instead, two bowls of red bean shaved ice were neatly placed on an ottoman.

“Ah!”

Seeing the dessert, Hayun’s face lit up. She seemed to have completely forgotten the earlier events. Geonhyung asked bitterly,

“…Is it good?”

“Yes, it’s really delicious!”

“Good… then that’s a relief.”

It was just a small consolation, but Geonhyung let out a hollow laugh. He felt defeated by the shaved ice.

“Um… um…”

Hayun’s hands, which had been moving busily for a while, paused. Her face flushed a deep red. Geonhyung’s lips curved into a subtle smile. His efforts weren’t in vain after all.

“…Why?”

“After eating this… the cat…”

“Oh. The cat.”

Geonhyung sighed. Between the cat and the shaved ice, he couldn’t tell which one had bested him.

That evening.

After seeing Hayun off, Geonhyung went to bed early. He felt utterly exhausted. But he hadn’t been asleep long when a persistent thumping at the door forced him awake.

“What the hell….”

Struggling to open his eyes, he also noticed his phone ringing wildly. The screen clearly displayed a name: Lee Taeseon.

“Taeseon, you little brat, I’m going to kill you.”

Frowning and growling, Geonhyung opened the door.

“Ha, ha, haha. Hyung… as you can see…”

Taeseon stood awkwardly, hunched over, but he wasn’t alone at the door.

“You’re blaming Taeseon for nothing. Hey, move aside. I want to get in too.”

It was his mother. Geonhyung followed her into the house in stunned silence. Though she said “move aside,” she had already stepped halfway into his home. Taeseon started removing his shoes as he followed.

“What brings you here all of a sudden?”

“Do you think it’s a good idea to go to sleep after causing all that fuss?”

“This….”

What had he done to deserve this? Was it the faint noise he had heard? He couldn’t think straight. His mother frowned at him.

“I told you before—you could have met a few more times without objection.”

Finally realizing what she meant, Geonhyung let out a small laugh. She was referring to the phone call he had made on his way home.

‘No matter what my parents say, I’m marrying her. No more delays. From tomorrow, we start preparing. Tell Hayun’s family the same.’

He had always been confident in a fight, but whether it was the shaved ice or the cat, he had been utterly defeated. So he declared it firmly.

“Anyway, it’s a marriage that was going to happen.”

His mother sighed deeply at her son’s cheerful tone.

“Cut the nagging, and… Taeseon.”

“Yes, just a moment… Ah, I’ve sent it, Hyung.”

With a sudden notification sound, Geonhyung’s phone alerted him. He looked at his mother in disbelief.

“…The list of wedding halls?”

“Normally, the bride’s side should handle this… but my instinct says that since you’ve decided, it’s better to act quickly.”

With a sympathetic expression, she tutted. Having participated in fairy affairs before her own marriage, she knew the psychology of those in power. Her “instincts” were rarely wrong. Half of the Ise Group now existed because of those instincts.

“They already seem to be underestimating you.”

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have lined you up alongside all these mediocre families as potential grooms.

Her mother muttered in annoyance.

“Of course, you should also consider the bride’s feelings.”

“The bride’s feelings?”

Geonhyung asked in confusion. Didn’t she just say the bride’s side decides the venue? Now she mentioned the bride’s perspective while deciding things on her own.

“…Chances are they’ll choose a hotel. A bunch of old people gathered together.”

Her words reminded Geonhyung of the weddings he’d seen before. The bride and groom hardly mattered; the guests were busy with their own schemes, and the bride seemed depressed, trapped in the middle.

“A wedding without excitement is pure hard labor. Even if it’s just once in a lifetime—or multiple times these days—the bride should at least have control over the venue and the dress.”

She muttered, sighing. The bride, who couldn’t even be the main character on her own wedding day, deserved better.

“Do we really have to choose the venue first?”

Geonhyung grumbled. He understood her point but still found the interference frustrating. He was probably thinking it was better to just get married quickly.

His mother sighed so heavily her shoulders lifted.

“You haven’t experienced love. You’ve never had an unrequited crush. And now you’re suddenly getting married. Aren’t you worried?”

“Is that something I need to be taught?”

“Look at your father.”

She always said: If I were reborn, I’d fall in love with your father again and marry him. His father, with no experience in love, had been captivated by her mother at first sight and married her in three months.

“The problem isn’t you. The problem is that family.”

Her mother said seriously, and Geonhyung reluctantly nodded. He had also thought that something suspicious was worth investigating. Preemptive strike—winning comes first with the first strike.

Pointing to Taeseon, his mother seemed to try persuading him.

“Taeseon worked hard to select these options. There are plenty of good choices.”

“Yeah, I picked based on trending spots on social media,” Taeseon said, scratching the back of his head.

“As a mother who brought a brat like you into this world, that’s my small sense of responsibility. Next time, even if you beg, I won’t care. Do it yourself.”

Seeming to have come only to deliver the venue list, she got up and headed toward the door. Geonhyung finally exhaled in relief.

“Oh, by the way.”

Prompting Taeseon to see her out, she turned back to Geonhyung as if she had just remembered something.

“You’d better not forget this. Ever since the engagement talks started, who knows what they might say. Be careful. They’ll pounce like crazy.”

“Be careful with what?”

“Don’t try anything before marriage. I said, don’t do anything before marriage. Even today, something seemed suspicious.”

Geonhyung thought of Manager Baek, who had been watching Hayun closely. He frowned fiercely.

“Manager Baek…”

A lifelong servant of the old fairy establishment, he had surely noticed the two of them—or perhaps an aunt had spread the news.

In any case, whether it was to avoid being pestered or for other reasons, Geonhyung decided they needed to marry quickly.