Reason for Marriage - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Three prohibited things

Hiss- Hiss-

Jerry protested against Sang-yeon, perhaps because he felt sorry for his owner.

At the threatening sound, Sang-yeon looked back at Minju instead of cleaning up the broken trophy.

“Why is he doing that?”

“I’m sorry to make you angry. Jerry is usually not like this.”

Minju said timidly with her eyes wet as if she were about to shed tears.

“I’m not angry.”

“…”

“I just told you not to touch the broken glass because you might get hurt. As you can see, there are so many awards that I can’t even tell that one is missing.”

“Still…”

“Don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll be angry.”

Holding back the tears that were about to fall, Minju nodded. Having comforted Minju, Sang-yeon said this time, petting Jerry.

“Jerry, you have a lot to learn to live here.”

“I won’t let you in this room from now on. Jerry, apologize quickly. Come on!”

Sang-yeon smiled as if he was having fun watching Minju scolding Jerry with a solemn face and immediately changed the subject.

“We need to go somewhere. Let’s go.”

Following Sang-yeon, Minju, who came out of the music room, looked with curiosity at the end of the hallway on the first floor, where she had not looked around.

Sang-yeon turned around and strode toward Minju, who did not follow him straight away, as if he could no longer wait for her.

Oops! Minju looked at Sang-yeon… and Sang-yeon picked her up and held her in his arms.

“Ah! Wait a moment. Let me get dressed.”

Minju struggled, but Sang-yeon did not care and put her in his car.

The car leaving Seoul went farther and farther.

Minju’s romance on an unexpected date disappeared, leaving only anxiety.

Minju still lacked the ability to read Sang-yeon’s expression. However, the atmosphere did not allow her to ask about the destination.

Sang-yeon’s temperature changed every minute, and whenever that happened, Minju did not know what kind of attitude to take, so she kept getting nervous. Of course, that was also Sang-yeon’s charm.

Minju knew that the destination of this car was at least not a fancy restaurant. If that were the case, he would not have brought her out wearing only a shower gown.

As expected, the car took Minju to a very unexpected place.

It was neither fancy nor romantic at all. The place had rusty signs telling that it was a now closed children’s shelter named ‘Evergreen Nursery Center’.

Why the hell did he bring me here? Questions beyond curiosity confused Minju.

Sang-yeon opened the car door, picked up Minju in his coat and went into the nursery.

Inside the ruined building, it exuded a gloomy atmosphere as if a ghost would appear. Every time he stepped on the creaking wooden floor, a hazy cloud of dust rose. There were scraps thrown everywhere and spider webs. Minju hung on Sang-yeon’s neck more tightly because she was scared.

Sang-yeon went up to the second floor and stopped in front of a classroom. When he opened the door, they saw an abandoned piano inside. Sang-yeon dropped Minju in front of the piano.

What? Are you telling me to tune this piano?

Minju stared at Sang-yeon without knowing what to say.

Sang-yeon quietly walked to the window and pulled up the dusty curtains. The afternoon sun poured into the dark classroom, and Minju realized why Sang-yeon brought her here.

The piano in front of Minju was the very one that Minju had to sell ten years ago.

It was clear that Minju’s piano was everything the same, including character stickers that she had put on as a child, small scribbles, and the name Choi Minju that she had carved with a knife.

Last night, they had had a short conversation after making love.

“Sometimes I’m sorry for it, not knowing where it is. I wonder if it’s doing well.”

She said that she had to give up her piano while telling the story of how she became a tuner. That was all.

However, Sang-yeon, who understood Minju’s heart, found the piano.

“Looking at your expression, it’s your piano, right?”

“…How the hell did you find it?”

“I’m a player, looking for anything. As long as it’s not completely gone from this world.”

Sang-yeon was genuinely relieved, as if he had found the owner of the glass shoe.

“Can I cry now?”

When Minju asked in tears, Sang-yeon nodded.

It was hard for you as well as me. I’ve been living a tough life, and you’ve been ruined like this without a single holy place. I’m sorry I threw you away… I gave you up… I’m so sorry.

Back then, the piano was Minju’s dream and was everything to her.

For a while, Sang-yeon watched Minju sobbing silently from a distant place. And when Minju’s tears subsided, Sang-yeon spoke in a deep voice.

“I’m thinking of moving this piano to our home.”

“Our… home?”

Minju, who was still amazed by her encounter with her old piano, trembled again when she heard ‘our’ house.

“The house in Pyeongchang where Minju and I live together.”

Where I and you live ‘together’? Together in that beautiful house? Minju thought Sang-yeon must have gone crazy. So she also pretended to be crazy and decided to ask.

“Is that a proposal?”

“Yes, it is.”

Sang-yeon’s voice sounded perfectly normal.

“You don’t know anything about me. If I have a family, what kind of person I am on the inside, which school I went to, where my hometown is, if I have debts, and…”

“What else do I need to know?”

“You don’t even know how old I am.”

“Is that important? I love you.”

Love! It was so unrealistic, but the power of that word was truly remarkable. Minju forgot the next sentence!

Are you really going to accept me for who I am, full of scars?

Minju was overwhelmed by Sang-yeon’s reckless confidence. His ability to take whatever he wanted, ignoring basic information and calculation for marriage, was truly amazing.

“Say it again.”

“I love you. I’m in love with Choi Minju, you.”

The spell of love blinded Minju’s eyes and ears. Why? How come? She decided not to give reasons to the pure miracle of love, and to put such questions aside.

Everything became clear because of love. It was the only and sufficient reason to understand Sang-yeon’s words and actions, which she was anxious about not being able to understand, like a code that she could not solve.

But for some reason, Minju did not say that she loved him too. It was probably because of the heartache that was caught too early.

“Just leave this piano here. We probably should.”

“Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

Minju stroked the piano for the last time and nodded.

Goodbye, my piano…

After saying goodbye to her shabby past, Minju hurriedly left without looking back.

The bedroom of the home was full of gifts that Sang-yeon bought for Minju. All of them were shopping bags with the logo of luxury brands that women wanted and dreamed of.

Minju was completely taken away by luxury items she had never dreamed of.

While Minju was lost, Sang-yeon untied the waistband of her shower gown without any warning.

Minju was surprised and looked up at Sang-yeon with her eyes wide open.

The front of the shower gown opened up. When Sang-yeon pushed her hand into Minju’s shoulder, her shower gown fell to the floor.

As if she had been searched unprotected, Minju was engulfed in a strange shame and blushed.

Sang-yeon put a dress on Minju’s head without a change of expression. Minju turned around quickly, shyly avoiding Sang-yeon’s eyes.

“First, don’t disclose our relationship to anyone.”

When Sang-yeon zipped up the dress, Minju’s body was trapped in the clothes.

“Second, refrain from going out as much as possible. Ask me for my consent before you go out.”

As Sang-yeon tightened the waistband of the dress tightly, Minju’s breath stopped.

“Lastly, don’t enter the room at the end of the hallway on the first floor.”

Sang-yeon placed high heels that were dizzying enough to be 15cm under Minju’s feet.

Minju put her foot in the shoes without hesitation. I’m the owner of these shoes! Minju was relentless, as if trying to show to the prince that she was the one and only Cinderella he had been looking for so much.

The leather of the new shoes, which had not yet been tamed, completely bound Minju’s feet, and her ankles staggered precariously on the thin, pointy high heels.

Sang-yeon stood up and kindly held Minju’s stumbling hand.

As soon as he held his hand, it seemed that Minju could go to an infinite height. To a place she would never climb alone.

Thanks to the high heels, her new height made Sang-yeon’s lips feel much closer.

It was Minju who broke the tension between the two lips first again. She lost her balance on the steep slope and bent forward, pulling Sang-yeon’s lips. Like a magnet.

“Wait… Wait a minute!”

Frustrated, Sang-yeon took off his lips and took some distance from Minju.

“What else is left?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“You’re not the type to reveal your private life, and I expected it at this point. And there are pretty cafes, sports facilities, and pianos in the house, so I don’t even want to go out. It doesn’t feel particularly good not to be allowed to enter a room, but I will respect it. That’s enough, isn’t it?”

It was such an easy and simple agreement that Sang-yeon’s mood was relieved.

Minju touched Sang-yeon’s belt with a playful face. Sang-yeon then held Minju’s wrist strongly and stopped her.

“Oh, and one more thing! Sex only once a week, on a fixed day.”

Minju closed her lips when she felt ashamed that she was too active in physical contact.

In front of the depressed Minju, Sang-yeon showed her a small and shiny thing. It was a diamond.

As soon as she saw the diamond pendant shining as if seducing, Minju’s heart could not help but flutter. And there were the initials “CMJ” on the back!

When the hell did he prepare all this?

The perfect proposal was more than a surprise to Minju.

From Sang-yeon, who planned everything thoroughly and moved without any error, Minju’s desire to be completely controlled and at the same time, there was a very conflicting feeling of wanting to run away immediately.

She felt like she could see why marriage was called a shackle for a woman. Of all things, the shackle was a brilliant diamond that meant eternal love, so she could not easily resist it.

Minju eventually swept her hair up to put the hypnotizing pendant called love on her neck, as it was going back and forth between her two eyes.

Sang-yeon put aside his desire to kiss Minju’s fluffy, white and thin neck immediately and fastened the necklace.

The two stood in front of the mirror. Looking at Minju, who was only dressed up with what he had bought for her, Sang-yeon smiled, pleased.

“It looks good on you.”

“I want to be a woman who really suits you. I’ll try.”

She meant it. Minju stared at herself and Sang-yeon in the mirror.

The woman in the mirror, for whom everything had changed except her name, shined brightly as if she were born anew and was more beautiful than ever.

“To be my wife, you have to keep the three things I said earlier. Can you do it? Go back now if you don’t want to.”

Sang-yeon handed over the final decision to Minju.