Chapter 67 – Prelude to Collapse (3)
Unable to be treated well by anyone, she finally gave her soul back to Hyunwoo, who acknowledged her existence.
“I love you. Miss, why do I always say things like ‘I love you’ and never give my brother a gift? I wish you could look into my heart. So that you can know how much I love you.”
“Hey, yesterday was a gift to me too. Do you love me a lot?”
“Yes, of course!”
“Then you will never leave me, even if I die, right?”
“Yes!”
“Really? You won’t abandon me, right? Can you understand me?”
“Oppa… You keep asking because you’re sorry about yesterday, right?”
Hyeji lowered her voice while answering Hyunwoo, who repeatedly asked questions. She was feeling anxious about her poor man again.
“Did you show a lot? Honey… You cried a lot because of me yesterday. What should I do if you suddenly say you don’t like me?”
“Ugh. You idiot. You said it was okay in the morning, but why are you saying that again?”
“When I thought about it after sending it off, I felt even more, sorry. I guess it was a bit too much to do in one day.”
“Oh, what is it? There is even a saying that you should remove the ox horn in one go. It will get better after a while, right? My brother said yesterday that it was a special day worth celebrating, right? I think so too. It’s true. I told him that yesterday too. . I wanted to give it to you.”
Hyeji comforted Hyunwoo, who could not hide his bitter expression.
Until yesterday, she had been on the verge of fainting from the pain that had reached her limit, but she mistakes the belief system instilled in her by Hyunwoo as her own from the beginning, and she speaks without any hesitation.
There was not an inch of shaking on her face as she said that she acted according to her own will, not because Hyunwoo forced her.
“We will prepare a course C salad.”
The waiter put down an old-fashioned plate on the table where there was silence as they looked at each other for a moment.
“Wow, the plates here are pretty too. Have you tried making the salad dressing yourself? It tastes amazing.”
Hye-ji tries to raise her mood by making more fuss on purpose. Hyunwoo also gave up his heart because of her dedicated efforts.
She said she would buy her a necklace and feed her expensive meals. She thought it would be okay to briefly recall yesterday’s events, so she deliberately pretended to be anxious and spoke, but her mind was still a flower garden.
I even believed that yesterday’s actions were subjective actions, so no further tests seemed necessary.
“Is it delicious?”
“Yes! Oppa, hurry up and try it too.”
“Sure. Eat it slowly. It might splash on your necklace.”
“Oh, that’s right! A necklace! This is so expensive, it shouldn’t stand out.”
Hyeji fiddled with her necklace and slipped it into the sweatshirt she was wearing.
“I’ll take it out again after eating. As you know, I’m a bit spoiled. I thought I’d be upset if something got on it right after I bought it.”
“Do whatever you want. She will like her mother too if she sees that she cares so much.”
“Huh?”
“I bought it with the money my mother left behind. She is her mother-in-law. Well, in a way, it is a gift to her daughter-in-law?”
“Ah…”
But. The monthly rent from the inherited building was said to be used for living expenses, so the expenses just now must have come from the inheritance my brother was talking about. It didn’t seem wrong to say that it was a gift from her mother-in-law.
Rather than that, it is a gift from a mother-in-law to her daughter-in-law.
Her hand stopped as she moved the salad to her mouth.
“Why are you surprised? It’s not a small inheritance that would cause a big problem if you buy just one necklace, so you don’t have to worry.”
Hyunwoo knew very well why she froze, but she deliberately made her sneer tremble.
“No, brother. That’s not it.”
“Huh?”
“Oppa, are you going to marry me… Uh…?”
“Ah, um… Now that I say it, I think it might sound like that. I really think that it will be difficult to meet someone who understands me as much as he does. But I’m not proposing or anything like that yet… I’m thinking of proposing like this in a cool way. There is no…”
Hyunwoo pauses for a moment.
It feels like I’m watching Season 2, when he somehow seduces her under the pretext of her relationship. Her plan to tie her down under the pretext of her marriage also began.
“It’s been four days now that we’ve been dating. Aren’t we still in the stage of getting to know each other as lovers? Marriage is a lifelong matter, and no matter how well you understand each other, I don’t know if you’ll be able to do that for the rest of your life. For now, let’s get to know each other better. “
Hyunwoo stood in the position of decision maker and spoke as if he had the right to decide whether to get married or not.
He was the one who judged whether to date me, and it was no different when it came to marriage.
Rather, considering the overwhelming economic gap between herself and herself, she did more, not less.
She seemed to know this as well and nodded without saying anything else.
“That’s right, we’ve been together for four days now. Well… It’s still too early to talk about marriage. No matter how much you love each other, there are a lot of things to think about when it comes to marriage, and once you register your marriage, it’s difficult to go back…”
She must have been expecting an answer deep inside, so she hesitated for a long time with an expression of awkward regret.
It’s a shame to see him gulping down kimchi soup without knowing how to use it, but I can’t leave a stain on him by eating expensive rice.
Hyunwoo cut off her muttering and took out her random words.
“Someone said, if I want to do things with you, I like you, and if I only want to do things with you, I love you.”
There are jokes that used to connect a man’s love with a man’s sexual desire. Those words suddenly came to mind.
It wasn’t an appropriate word for a luxurious restaurant, but it was a perfect fit for her level.
Since long ago, men’s sexual desire was taught as instinctive and natural, so there was nothing to hesitate about.
“I want to be with you all the time. I believe that you are my destined partner who can understand and accept me.”
Hyunwoo stared at her as if she didn’t understand what he said, but then he explained it to her in simpler terms and said it again.
“You’re the only one in the world… I love you so much. So much that I want to continue being with you and not with another woman. Even though it’s a little early to talk about marriage, my love for you is real.”
Anyway, she is a woman who takes a lot of effort. Only after she spoke up to this point did he seem to understand what she was saying.
In the end, he was just saying that he was going to fucking fuck you, but adding love to the end made it sound quite romantic.
Hyeji put down the fork she was holding and opened her mouth with moist eyes.
“I… I love you so much, too. So much that I can’t live without you. Ah! I should also say thank you to your mother. My mother bought me the necklace as you said…”
Hye-ji confesses her love and takes out the necklace she had hidden under her clothes.
She closes her eyes and offers her prayers, like a priest holding his cross in both hands.
“Um… Mom, thank you for giving me the necklace. I will make your son… The happiest man in the world on my behalf. I… I will be by your side for the rest of your life so that you never feel lonely. Absolutely. I won’t leave, so don’t worry and rest in peace in heaven.”
In a way, it is a pledge of love that sounds like something said to Hyunwoo.
Hyunwoo watched her foolish actions and reluctantly praised her.
“As expected, she has a beautiful heart. Mom is also watching everything. What should she do now? If she leaves me and runs away, my mom will appear in her dreams.”
As she watched him praying for the woman to rest in peace, disgust welled up inside her, but she held it back with all her might. Anyway, my current situation was all thanks to the woman who went to that world first.
“Well, that won’t happen, so does that mean I won’t be able to meet my brother and mother even in my dreams? But… If we get married, you’ll appear in my dreams at least once, right?”
“Maybe so.”
Hyunwoo answered dryly, washing away the dryness in his mouth with a refreshing salad.
As she said, the taste of the dressing sauce was very good.
“Hmm…”
By the way, is this what happened?
As he savored the crunchy texture of the salad, he recalled the psychological manipulation techniques he had seen that afternoon.
It subtly hinted at the mission she should focus on after enjoying the luxury she had enjoyed for the first time in her life.
I was concerned about yesterday’s violent behavior, so I only gave him a hint, but looking at the way he was acting now, I didn’t think that even if I spoke strongly, it would have an adverse effect.
“Honey. Have you answered what I said yet?”
“Huh? What?”
“Can you still understand me from now on?”
“Oh, that was so obvious that I didn’t say it. Even though I said it this much, do you really want to hear it?”
“Yes, let me hear it.”
Hyunwoo met her gaze as she munched on her salad and demanded firmly.
She gulps down the salad in her mouth and recites the words of promise with strength in each word.
“I will continue to understand you. I will become a woman who can understand you. You endured the pain well yesterday too, you know? So don’t worry and trust me.”
“Yes, I will believe it. Thank you for saying that. Now, all my worries are gone.”
Hyunwoo waited until she finished speaking and smiled brightly.
She even takes her worries, which should have been her right, as her own and does not give the person who actually has to worry any space to worry. Instead, she just took on the cumbersome role of soothing someone who was worried.
“It’s good. It’s really… Good. She gave herself a present, and the food is delicious.”
She felt like her homework for the day was over as she successfully completed the task assigned to her.
Her mission given to her by Hyunwoo.
Believing and understanding that all the insults that will be inflicted in the future are love.
She repeatedly emphasized understanding as if it was the greatest virtue she could demonstrate, putting her in a position where she had to somehow understand all the things she could not understand.
Of course, the manipulation of her psychology has only just begun, so the intensity may still be weak.
But as always, the only thing Hyunwoo lacks is time.
She said that she believed in you and that she could do it because she was special and could understand me, so she didn’t spare her treatment as a hero, so all you had to do was wait for her desire to be special to drive her.
Hyunwoo put the freshly cooked steak in his mouth and savored its flavor.
It was a day that wasn’t a waste of money, as I thought I was training her differently than yesterday.
