MHLM 10

Chapter 10

“I’m sorry, but could I take just one picture of the food? Everything looks so pretty and delicious… I want to remember it.”

Hehe.

So-yul gave an embarrassed little smile as she asked for permission.

Tae-heon didn’t know it, but this had become a habit for So-yul because she wanted to hold on to the rare happy moments in her life for as long as possible.

“…Go ahead.”

The moment Tae-heon gave her permission, So-yul quickly took out her phone and began snapping pictures.

Her brow was furrowed, and she looked surprisingly serious about it.

I wonder how much happier she’d be if I showed her something even better.

Maybe taking her places like this from time to time wouldn’t be so bad.

Since they were going to be living together anyway, he thought it might be good to broaden So-yul’s world while she was still young.

She seemed to be enjoying herself more than he had expected, too.

As a temporary guardian, if nothing else.

A temporary guardian.

Not a husband and his stand-in wife.

For some reason, Tae-heon felt more at ease with that title.

After taking enough pictures, So-yul diligently picked the meat out of the clams in her oil pasta.

She also stubbornly cut into her steak with an awkward knife, as though she was determined to eat it herself no matter what.

“Give it to me.”

Tae-heon pulled her plate toward himself.

The steak wasn’t exactly being cut anymore. It was practically being torn apart.

Then he began cutting the meat himself.

It was something the usual Tae-heon would never have done.

Even when Ye-jun struggled to use his fork properly, Tae-heon had only taught him how to do it. He had never fed him himself because it could create bad habits.

But with So-yul, he wanted to do it for her.

She wasn’t the type to become spoiled and demand things thoughtlessly. And he could teach her how to use a knife properly little by little.

So-yul stared open-mouthed at Tae-heon as he skillfully cut her steak.

Wow, Tae-heon oppa really looks like a romance novel male lead when he does that… This is exactly what male leads do when they’re especially kind to the heroine…

Ah, no! Seo So-yul, get a grip! You’re Supporting Character No. 1!

While So-yul struggled to suppress her wild imagination, Tae-heon finished cutting the meat and placed the plate back in front of her.

“T-thank you!”

So-yul thanked him, her cheeks turning pink, and popped a piece of steak into her mouth.

Juicy meat burst with flavor across her tongue.

“Mmm…!”

A blissful moan escaped her.

“Is it good?”

Tae-heon asked with a small laugh.

He had asked without thinking because her reactions were so much more expressive than he had expected.

For a moment, the faint, boyish smile that appeared on his usually expressionless face was so striking that So-yul blankly opened her mouth.

“Yes, you’re handsome….”

“What? Handsome…?”

“Ah, no! I mean, it’s delicious! The steak is delicious!”

So-yul hurriedly corrected herself.

Only afterward did she realize what she had really said.

Or rather, what a terrible slip of the tongue she had made.

“Good. Eat plenty. If it isn’t enough, order more. You’re at an age when you’re still growing.”

Huh…? An age when I’m still growing?

So-yul blinked.

That was definitely something you said to a child.

After staring blankly for a moment, So-yul cautiously opened her mouth.

“Um… I’m already past the age when I’m still growing. I’m fully grown. I’m twenty-two.”

It was a timid correction.

I’m an adult too. I’m twenty-two, for goodness’ sake!

This time, Tae-heon slowly blinked.

Then—

“…Oh. Is that so?”

He replied as though it were nothing important.

For some reason, that made So-yul even more indignant.

It felt as though he were saying, Oh, is that right? You’re not a child after all?

“…Yes! I can legally buy alcohol. I can get a driver’s license, vote, and also….”

“Oh?”

His completely unenthusiastic reaction only made So-yul more determined to prove her point.

Then she noticed the coffee Tae-heon had ordered earlier.

It was pitch-black, like some kind of bitter poison.

“I can even drink an Americano! The kind children can’t drink because it’s too bitter. I’m old enough to do everything you do, Tae-heon.”

“Well, that’s quite impressive.”

Tae-heon gave another dry response and leisurely began cutting his own steak.

His skilled knife work—the very same skill that had made him cut her steak for her—seemed to be silently asking her:

You said you can do everything I can. Can you really?

So-yul suppressed the irritation rising in her chest and speared another piece of steak.

Come to think of it, he cut the pieces really small. What is this, baby food?

So-yul puffed out both cheeks in a sulk and focused on her fork.

“Maybe it tastes better because an older gentleman cut it for me.”

Hmph.

It was another timid act of rebellion from So-yul.

Tae-heon let out a small laugh.

“Good. One advantage of getting older is that you have more things you can do for people younger than you. If the meat is difficult to eat, tell me. I’ll cut it into even smaller pieces.”

He spoke casually, the corners of his lips lifting ever so slightly.

Wow, seriously…!

So-yul simply pressed her lips together.

The more she talked, the more it felt like she was losing.

The steak was delicious, though, so she silently moved her fork.

She quietly finished everything that came afterward, including the brownie topped with ice cream.

Then, while Tae-heon was drinking his coffee, his phone rang.

It was Manager Choi.

The gentle expression Tae-heon had worn while looking at So-yul moments ago disappeared as his brow tightened.

I told him not to contact me unless it was important, since I finally managed to make time for this.

It must be something serious enough that the risk would grow if he didn’t deal with it immediately.

“Keep eating. I’ll step outside to take this call.”

Tae-heon briefly left the restaurant.

So-yul stared after him.

“He must have been busy today, too….”

And yet he had still taken the time to go out with her.

After lunch, he had said they would go to a department store and buy clothes for her to wear when she went out to eat with the family or attended family events.

She hadn’t expected anything like that from someone so busy.

Her disappointment from being treated like a child slowly faded.

Instead, her heart began to swell with a mixture of guilt and excitement toward Tae-heon.

Ah, no… He’s only taking care of me because he thinks I’m Min-chae unni.

She shook her head.

“Hmm? Ji So-yul?”

Her name came from beside her.

So-yul reflexively turned toward the voice, her eyes widening.

“Hyung-joo oppa!”

“It really is you, So-yul!”

“Eek!”

So-yul jumped to her feet and excitedly grabbed the hand of her old friend whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“It’s my parents’ wedding anniversary, so I tagged along with them.”

So-yul politely bowed to Hyung-joo’s parents, who were standing behind him.

The couple exchanged a brief greeting with their son’s friend, then went ahead to their reserved table, telling the two of them to catch up.

“I can’t believe we ran into each other here! Do you know it’s been six months? You kept saying you were busy, and I was honestly really hurt!”

So-yul gave a bitter smile at Hyung-joo’s complaint.

So-yul and Hyung-joo had been classmates in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at university.

She had always missed Hyung-joo and her other university friends.

That was why she wanted to return to school even more.

“I’m sorry, oppa… But I think things will be okay now! Should we meet up soon?”

“Really? It’s a promise, then? We can finally have a meal together!”

Hyung-joo happily ruffled So-yul’s hair.

“But… Come to think of it, who did you come here with?”

…Oh no.

So-yul’s body suddenly went stiff.

I came with Tae-heon. As Ji Min-chae, not So-yul.

If Tae-heon oppa comes back while I’m still here with Hyung-joo oppa, I’m in trouble.

She shouldn’t have been happy to see Hyung-joo.

She needed to send him back to his table as quickly as possible.

“Um, just someone I know…. Anyway, oppa, you should go back to your parents….”

“Someone you know… Who?”

When So-yul tried to brush it off, Hyung-joo’s expression hardened as he glanced around the table.

His eyes settled on the seat across from So-yul, where it looked like someone had been sitting moments ago.

“Uh, uh… Just someone I know….”

Sweat began to bead on So-yul’s forehead.

She had never imagined that, while living as Min-chae, she would have to explain Tae-heon to someone who knew her as Ji So-yul.

“You weren’t so busy that you didn’t even have time to meet me because….”

“N-no, it’s not that… Ah….”

So-yul was trying to come up with an excuse when she suddenly sucked in a breath.

Over Hyung-joo’s shoulder, she saw Tae-heon walking toward them.

Maybe it was because of his long legs, but with his large strides, Tae-heon crossed the distance in the blink of an eye and came to stand beside So-yul and Hyung-joo.

“…Who is this?”

The low voice from above made Hyung-joo turn around.

Gasp.

Hyung-joo swallowed his surprise and looked back and forth between So-yul and Tae-heon with wide eyes.

His expression seemed to say that he was the one who wanted to ask who this man was.

So-yul felt dizzy.

“Uh, th-this is my friend…. And this is… my… my….”

Should I say he’s my husband to someone who knows me as Ji So-yul instead of Ji Min-chae?

But to Tae-heon oppa, I’m Ji Min-chae right now, so he really is my husband!

As So-yul stumbled over her words, one of Tae-heon’s eyebrows rose.

“He’s my husband.”

“M-my… husband….”

Hyung-joo stammered as though he had nearly forgotten how to breathe.

Not her boyfriend.

Her husband?

“You… You’re really married?”

“Y-yes….”

So-yul nodded.

For now, there was no other choice.

Even if she cleared up the misunderstanding later.

At So-yul’s admission, Hyung-joo felt as though he had been hit hard on the head with a hammer.

Hyung-joo had actually been secretly in love with So-yul.

And now, after not seeing the girl he loved for months, he learned that she had somehow gained not just a boyfriend, but a husband.

“You’re my wife’s friend?”

This time, Tae-heon prompted Hyung-joo to introduce himself.

For some reason, the word wife seemed especially heavy in his voice.

Hyung-joo stared blankly up at the man who was apparently So-yul’s husband.

He was a head and a half taller than Hyung-joo, with a chest and shoulders nearly twice as broad as his own. Dressed in a perfectly fitted semi-casual suit, he radiated the presence of a grown man.

Hyung-joo had always boasted about being a year older than his classmates because he had taken the college entrance exam twice, proudly acting like the senior among them.

Standing before this man, he suddenly felt as small and pathetic as a puppy.

Defeated, Hyung-joo finally opened his mouth.

“Yes…. I’m So-yul’s—”

So-yul nearly had a heart attack.