By Zephyria It had been a long time since the family gathering. The family members, who hadn’t been able to make time because of Min-young (Yeo Min-young, 2nd generation, college student, beta) who came home at dawn every day, visited the couple’s house after a long while.
“…What is this?”
Min-young was the first to ask. Uncle and aunt couldn’t bring themselves to continue speaking. Only Young-min, who was going through the stormy period of adolescence, seemed utterly indifferent. Aunt, who had been seriously worried about the couple’s well-being wondering if something had happened while they were away, suddenly brightened at a possibility that came to mind and exclaimed:
“Could it be a pregnancy dream…!”
“It’s nothing like that.”
“Then why does the house look like this? Did some rabbit deity possess it?”
Min-young looked around the house once more and was dumbfounded. “I got them as gifts,” Seo-woon answered nonchalantly, wearing Toking slippers. The giggles that unconsciously escaped were a bonus.
“Hyung, think about it carefully. This might not be gifts.”
“They are gifts.”
“That’s ridiculous. The house that used to look like it was from The Sims, what is this mess…”
“Why? It’s cute.”
“This? He’s really my brother-in-law, but our brother-in-law has no middle ground.”
They say even a dog at a village school can recite poetry after three years. Min-young, who had witnessed her brother-in-law’s antics for several years, shook her head knowingly. Seo-woon grinned and said:
“That’s what makes it cute. Are you going to keep standing at the entrance?”
“Hyung calls everything cute. Look at brother-in-law’s build! He’s like a complete statue.”
“Right, right. What did you buy so much of?”
“I didn’t buy much. You have to eat seasonal fruits.”
Finally, the family entered the rabbit burrow. This was before Yi-jin arrived, something he didn’t know about.
* * *
Once he recognized it, the second time was easy. The cracks were happening every moment.
It was an ordinary weekend. He was working as usual. Various electronic devices and paper documents needed for work filled the table.
“What?”
Next to him was his spouse. His spouse was watching a movie while eating popcorn.
“Do you want some?”
Misunderstanding his gaze, his spouse offered him popcorn.
“It’s delicious!”
Before he could say anything, freshly popped popcorn was pushed into his mouth. Crunch! It was so well-popped that the sound of chewing was exquisite. He tasted the popcorn thoroughly. Very diligently and seriously, he tasted the popcorn. Since his spouse had asked if it was delicious, he naturally had to provide a corresponding answer.
“It’s crispy. The texture when chewing is very good. Above all, both the saltiness and oiliness are just right, so it’s not greasy while the savory and salty flavors blend well together.”
“Wow, I thought so too! Isn’t the one from here really delicious?”
Crunch! This time his spouse picked up and ate popcorn. Both cheeks repeatedly swelled up and deflated as they moved busily. When he kept staring at his spouse, his spouse offered him popcorn again as if understanding.
“Ah.”
He quickly accepted and ate the popcorn. He didn’t particularly want to eat popcorn, but since his spouse told him to, he simply complied. Misunderstanding this, his spouse looked quite pleased.
“You eat well. From now on, I’ll have to switch to this place for popcorn.”
Then his spouse turned his attention back to the screen. Crunch crunch, moving his lips and diligently eating popcorn. As if nothing had happened, he seemed to be concentrating on the movie again. He looked at his spouse like that. Watched him. Appreciated him. How could such a thing exist – no matter how much he looked, his spouse seemed amazing to him.
“Am I bothering you? Should I turn it off?”
“No. That’s not the case. TV is a representative example of white noise and helps improve concentration. I’m fine, so please continue watching.”
Had he misspoken? To his thinking, there seemed to be no logical errors, but his spouse was staring at him blankly instead of at the screen.
After quietly staring at him like that, his spouse quickly closed the distance and approached him. His spouse, who had come close, had a sweet fragrance. There was the scent of gentle pheromones pleasantly released and the smell of warm, soft skin. He momentarily forgot to think and deeply inhaled his spouse’s scent. It smelled much more delicious than popcorn.
“What were you looking at, Yi-jin?”
His spouse asked him a question. His spouse had become curious about something regarding him. He quickly showed his spouse the tablet PC he had been holding.
“…Oh my…”
After checking the screen, his spouse instinctively frowned first. Numbers, graphs, and strange languages that weren’t English were mixed together, greeting his spouse.
“It’s last quarter’s Northern European market report.”
“Oh…”
“Would you like to take a look?”
“Um, well… Yes. I’ll look.”
After a moment’s hesitation, his spouse nodded. What was important here was the fact that his spouse nodded. He did his best to explain the report. He also didn’t forget to briefly explain related global issues.
“As you know, recently international oil prices have…”
“Oh.”
“As a similar example, Western Europe…”
“I see.”
“Compared to last year’s quarter…”
“Oh oh.”
“In Southeast Asia…”
“Ah.”
He tried to resolve his spouse’s curiosity with more enthusiasm and sincerity than when giving work briefings at the company. Fortunately, seeing his spouse generously responding, his answers seemed to be well-received.
“Is it over now?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I see. Our Jini gives good presentations too.”
The briefing was finally over. His spouse smiled and patted his head. At the gentle touch stroking his head, he was once again overwhelmed by the urge to take out his heart and scratch it vigorously. He quietly offered his head to his spouse and concluded the presentation.
“Are there any questions?”
“Yes!”
“I’ll take questions. Please ask.”
“So when will it end?”
The next question came to his spouse! He roughly skimmed through the remaining materials and quickly provided an answer.
“It will take about 1 hour and 10 minutes.”
“Oh, perfect. I have about 1 hour and 30 minutes left in my movie too.”
Perfect, he says – there’s about a 20-minute difference between them, but he nodded in agreement first. After n years of married life, he had developed much better intuition.
“After you finish work and I finish the movie, want to go to the mart?”
“I’ll go. Is there something you need?”
“Yeah. We need to buy snacks.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s buy more popcorn too.”
“Yes, we’ll do that.”
“See you later then.”
“Yes, I’ll see you in 1 hour and 30 minutes.”
The two exchanged brief farewells from beside each other. Crunch crunch, his spouse started eating popcorn again. He continued skimming through the report. To finish all work within the promised time, every moment was precious. Even though he knew this fact, before long he was looking at his spouse again.
“Hmm?”
When he looked at his spouse, his spouse would unfailingly look back at him.
“What. Want some popcorn?”
With popcorn crumbs at the corners of their mouth, completely forgetting about watching the movie, they looked at him like that.
“Ah.”
His spouse fed him popcorn again. This time too, he obediently ate the popcorn. Because his spouse told him to eat it, that’s why he ate it. As he was silently chewing popcorn, his spouse, who had been watching him, smiled and said:
“Say something. Did you want to eat it that badly?”
“……”
“Are you done eating?”
“Yes, I’m done.”
“Open up again.”
Crunch! When his spouse fed him popcorn, he ate the popcorn. The act of feeding and being fed was repeated several times. When his spouse’s gaze was no longer directed at the screen and he had completely put down his tablet PC, he realized one surprising fact.
“…There was caramel flavor too?”
It turned out there were two flavors of popcorn. If his spouse hadn’t accidentally given him caramel flavor, he would have never known until the end.
“…Ah.”
“…Seo-woon…”
A brief awkward silence followed. His spouse was the first to speak. His spouse, who had excellent adaptability and quick wit, quickly showed their cleverness.
“Di, ding dong dang! Correct!”
“……”
“The person who got it right will receive a prize.”
His spouse cheekily handed over caramel popcorn. Looking closely, the caramel popcorn was a different color from regular popcorn. It had been a premeditated crime from the beginning.
“Are you sulking?”
“No. I’m not sulking.”
“Then why aren’t you looking at me?”
“……”
“Yi-jin.”
“…Please speak.”
“Yi-jin.”
“…If you called me, please talk…”
“Honey.”
“…Yes.”
Finally, the two made eye contact. His spouse had a strange expression that was both apologetic and very amused.
“I ate all the caramel so there was hardly any from the beginning. It’s worse to eat just a teasing amount than not to eat at all, so that’s why I didn’t give you any.”
“…Is that so?”
“Of course. Naturally!”
The way they strongly claimed their innocence was a little, no, quite a lot suspicious, but he obediently offered his face to his spouse’s touch. If his spouse said so, then it must be so. Nothing else mattered.
“You’ll go to the mart with me after this ends, right?”
“…Yes, I’ll go.”
“When we go, I’ll buy you caramel popcorn.”
“…Thank you.”
…How cute…, *smooch!* Along with an awkward compliment he would never hear from anyone but his spouse, the touching lips tasted of sweet caramel. It was delicious. That day the two of them cleaned out the popcorn at the mart.
Then suddenly he had this thought.
“…Therefore, the executive secretary will accompany us this afternoon. To avoid external exposure as much as possible, we’ll take the route directly from the main building basement to the reception room. The basement 5th floor that the executive director will use has been under control since the day before, so you don’t need to worry about cameras.”
Is this what marriage is originally like? After the weekend with popcorn passed and Monday morning came again, he woke up at the same time as always and went to work at the same time. In front, his secretary was reporting today’s schedule, but what was circling in his head was a completely different voice.
“…Leaving already?”
He hadn’t woken up earlier than usual. Perhaps having difficulty waking up, his spouse grabbed his waist fumblingly without even opening their eyes. His spouse’s palm, still drowsy, was warm, and sleepiness emanated from the hand groping in the air. Having gotten up from bed only to have his waist grabbed by his spouse, he said in an awkward position:
“No, it’s not already. Last week too, and the week before that too, I woke up at exactly the same time.”
“……”
“Seo-woon? Are you sleeping?”
“Yeah…”
“…You can talk while sleeping?”
“Mm-hmm…”
His spouse was truly amazing. For a moment, he observed his versatile spouse. The strength gradually left the hand holding his waist, and even after he finally became free, he couldn’t easily leave the bed. Then his spouse, whom he thought was sleeping, suddenly threw out a question.
“When will you rest again…?”
“I’ll rest this weekend.”
“…Not that…”
“Do you mean weekdays?”
“Yeah…”
“…When should I rest?”
“Tomorrow…”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll get back to you after adjusting the schedule.”
“……”
“Seo-woon?”
His spouse didn’t respond. It seemed like he had never woken up in the first place. Well, otherwise there was no way he would have made the unreasonable request for him not to go to work tomorrow.
Even knowing this fact, the reason he didn’t refuse was because the person in front of him was his spouse. Since they were married, this was how it should be. His spouse’s satisfaction was his top priority.
“Seo-woon, are you sleeping?”
“…Mmm…”
“Seo-woon.”
“Mm…”
The sound of tossing and turning, breath languidly scattered in sleep-soaked drowsiness. He kept thinking about it. While preparing for work alone and coming to the company, no – even after arriving at the company, it continued to circle in his mind.
“…Managing Director?”
Yes, for the first time he didn’t want to go to work. Was marriage always like this? Did everyone become like this when they got married? Thanks to this, he came to face a dilemma of a lifetime.
“That’s right. Good work.”
…Since it’s a schedule that includes a meal, I was asking how you’d like to handle lunch. Before the secretary could finish reorganizing, his superior beat him to it.
“Secretary Hwang, may I ask you a personal question?”
A personal question! Had something finally happened? The secretary answered gravely.
“By all means, Managing Director. I will absolutely keep today’s conversation confidential.”
Good, he nodded briefly with gratitude. Then he asked:
“Am I cute?”
Crash! The tablet PC in the secretary’s hands plummeted straight to the floor.
“Are you alright?”
“…Of course, Managing Director. No problem at all.”
It was one of the advantages of the XX Electronics tablet PC released this quarter. Strong against external impact and waterproof too. The secretary quickly picked up the tablet PC, trying to cover up his unprofessional behavior.
“Or perhaps, do I seem like a baby?”
Smash! This time the screen fell face-first onto the floor. Cracks spread in all directions across the protective film. The secretary picked up the tablet PC with trembling hands. Indeed, his superior was strange.
“Seo-woon keeps calling me cute, but since I’ve never heard such words before, I don’t know how I should react.”
He had always been strange, but after getting married, he became even stranger. “…I see.” The secretary, who had been living alone for n years after meeting his workaholic superior, gritted his teeth.
“That’s not all.”
“Yes…”
“This morning…”
“Yees…”
“Sigh… No. I’m experiencing so many things for the first time that it’s hard to list them all.”
“…I see.”
“Secretary Hwang, you’re still unmarried, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“I asked a question inappropriate for the target audience. I apologize.”
“…Not at all.”
Yes, yes. Of course you would. The secretary answered only in his mind. Even though his superior had been married for several years already, it was puzzling why he kept getting stranger.
“Let’s return to work matters.”
He wanted to wrap up the small talk here, having gained no benefit. The secretary had been waiting for this as well. Now was the time to confirm the meal schedule with his superior.
“Please confirm tomorrow’s schedule.”
“Lunch is… Excuse me?”
“I should take tomorrow off.”
“Ah, tomorrow, you mean tomorrow. I under-, stand. First I’ll check the schedule and then… again…”
This was serious. His superior had finally lost his mind. The person who used to go on blind dates during business trips saying time was precious had not only been diligently using up his annual leave for the past few years, but now was openly announcing his absence from work. (He had already used up all his annual leave.)
Even while the secretary hurriedly checked the schedule, he was blankly staring at the office wall. He came to his senses because of a phone call that came to his personal mobile phone.
“Yes, Seo-woon. Please speak.”
– Can you talk right now?
“I can talk as much as you’d like.”
He might not know it, but his eyes were blazing as he answered the phone. The secretary silently stepped back from his superior. Even so, since he immediately turned up the volume, there didn’t seem to be much effect. The contents of their phone conversation could be heard all too well.
– Did you get to work safely?
“Yes, I did well. Did you sleep well too, Seo-woon?”
– Yeah. I slept really well. But when did you leave? I couldn’t even say goodbye today.
Indeed, his spouse had been asleep the whole time. While talking with his spouse on the phone, he hurriedly scribbled a memo. Then he gestured to call the secretary over to check the memo he had written.
[Has tomorrow’s schedule been confirmed?]
The secretary who checked the memo silently reported the next day’s schedule on the tablet PC.
[There are three meetings in the morning, one marketing presentation in the afternoon, and one video conference in the evening.]
He received the report, but with all the cracks in the screen film, it was a bit hard to make out.
[Reschedule them.]
Having finally succeeded in decoding it, he gave work instructions faster than anyone. He was still on the phone with his spouse.
– …I came out for a bit, would you like to have lunch together if it’s okay?
“Yes, that sounds good. Where should I come to pick you up?”
– I’ll come to the front of your company.
Managing Director, you have a schedule that includes a meal this afternoon! The secretary shouted silently. Naturally, the secretary’s cry reached no one.
– I’ll be in front of the cafe on the first floor again.
“You could come up to my office.”
– No. It’s a workplace.
“…Ah.”
– …….
“…I’m sorry. Back then I…”
– No, I liked it too… ahem, I’ll just be on the first floor. Come there.
“Understood. Then I’ll see you in front of the cafe on the first floor.”
What was that? It seems like I just heard some very TMI. The secretary gripped the tablet PC with trembling hands. No matter how strong it was against external impact, his heart couldn’t accept dropping electronic devices.
“I’ll have a car ready so you can leave immediately after your meal.”
“Good.”
After finishing the phone call, he nodded pleasantly, having become much softer.
“I’ll contact the security team in advance as well.”
“Triple the security personnel and deploy plainclothes guards separately inside and outside the cafe. As for people secretly taking photos like last time, you can handle them after we leave.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
While making several preparations ahead of his spouse’s visit, the monitor had turned black before he knew it. He looked at his reflection on the monitor. He saw the face of an adult man who could absolutely never be called childlike, even as a polite lie. Far from baby fat, his sharp jawline and distinct features looked nothing like a child by any measure.
“Cute” was an expression used for babies or young animals. Why on earth did his spouse call him cute? He genuinely couldn’t understand his spouse. If anything, it was his spouse, not him, who was closer to being a baby.
His spouse was warm. He had a body as warm as a child’s. It wasn’t that his body temperature was particularly high, but to him, it felt infinitely warm. Perhaps the 1°C of warmth that had accompanied his childhood instead of family had transferred to his spouse. Of course, this wasn’t a scientifically proven fact.
There were plenty more similarities between his spouse and a baby. His spouse slept when sleepy and ate when hungry. He was happy when eating delicious food and smiled when good things happened. He even slept hugging the rabbit doll he had bought him. Though he would throw it to the floor not long after, observation showed there didn’t seem to be any malicious intent. Therefore, it was his secret alone that he picked up the fallen doll from the floor every dawn and put it back.
And he smiled. His spouse smiled as much as a baby did. He smiled while looking at him, and also while watching TV programs or other people. When his spouse smiled, especially when he smiled while looking at him, it felt like the world was distorting. His world, the air surrounding him, distorted. Collapsed. Shattered. It had been that way since he first saw his spouse.
That day, he had gone to see someone briefly before departing for his business trip. Since he had a flight to catch, the time available for meeting was predetermined from the start. That was why he hadn’t left his seat even when he received contact that the other party would be a little late due to traffic. Whether the other party came or not, the time for him to leave that place had been decided from the beginning.
He was sitting at a window seat with a direct view of the cafe entrance. The air brushing his nose was cold, and the sunlight outside the window was hot. It was midsummer when the news talked about record-breaking heat waves every day. For him, who never experienced midday heat, it wasn’t a particularly realistic season. Rather, wherever he went indoors, the air was frozen cold due to air conditioning, so he only felt alienated when people conveyed news of heat waves as greetings.
And ‘he’ appeared. Boom! The moment ‘he’ entered the cafe, a tremendous roar came from somewhere and struck him. He could no longer feel the artificial chill transmitted through his shirt or the alien sunlight that had been disturbing his vision.
That person. That’s the person. He recognized his spouse at first sight. Perhaps because the heat wouldn’t easily fade, his cheeks were slightly red as if retaining the midday heat, but his eyes scanning the inside of the cafe had coolly settled. He seemed like someone who had avoided summer all by himself.
In that alien yet mysterious atmosphere, people glanced at his spouse. Amidst the pouring gazes, his spouse looked around the cafe with an indifferent expression, not giving anyone a glance. He stood there as if it didn’t matter, as if nothing was of any concern.
He needed to move, he needed to say something to his spouse before he left the cafe, but his whole body was frozen and he couldn’t move. It was a sensation he was feeling for the first time in his life. His lips were so dry that his mouth simply wouldn’t open.
Then his spouse smiled. He had a conversation with a cafe employee who cautiously approached and smiled gently. Boom! Boom! Boom! Recognizing this, his pulse began to fluctuate rapidly. Extreme thirst arose as if his throat was burning up, and he forgot even to blink. The sweet warmth hidden beneath those cool eyes instantly captivated him. This was his memory of his first meeting with his spouse.
“Are you going out now?”
As soon as he left his office, his secretary immediately checked in. His capable secretary was as clear about separating public and private matters as his superior, so he wouldn’t carelessly show interest in his superior’s private life, but the situation was different now. The security team was on alert.
“Yes. I’m going straight down to the first floor.”
“Then please go and come back. …The managing director is going down now. Currently before boarding the elevator.”
Even with the earlier-than-scheduled outing, the secretary showed no sign of being flustered. “No. The madam will come on time.” He simply calmly reported the situation through the receiver. If it were several years ago, maybe, but now this much wasn’t even a big deal.
He got on the elevator. He took the gold elevator he always used from arrival to departure and went down to the first floor. When the gold elevator doors, implicitly forbidden for use, opened, people’s gazes momentarily focused, but that was all. It was the moment when the security personnel, doubled from usual, became instantly understood. People’s gazes found their way again.
There were still 18 minutes until the appointment time. From now on, it was waiting time. He sat at a cafe seat with a direct view of the company’s main entrance and handled simple work on his mobile phone. Since tomorrow’s schedule had suddenly changed, the work to be handled today had doubled, so he couldn’t waste even a minute or second. He mechanically checked documents and opened files. At the same time, he thought about his spouse.
What kind of food would his spouse want to eat today? The French home cooking recommended last time had small portions and didn’t please his spouse. He should also ask how he planned to spend the afternoon. What would be good for dessert? He must not forget to ask what he should buy on the way home from work.
And he would tell him. After finishing the meal and when the ordered iced latte came out, he would tell his spouse. That he would be taking tomorrow off from work, that he didn’t have to go to the company – how would his spouse react? Would he be happy? Would he be pleased? He couldn’t stand the curiosity. He wanted to meet him right now. Touch him. Feel him.
Ah, how colorful life was. He was still unable to escape from the flood of sensations that poured in every day. His days were no longer regular. Now he looked forward to weekends, and after work, he had a post-work routine. He became more curious than before and developed things he wanted to do outside of work.
A sweet fragrance came from somewhere. Thump, thump, thump. The thicker the fragrance became, the more his heart pounded. Now he could recognize his spouse by pheromones. It was the effect of imprinting.
The world remained the same, but everywhere was filled with sweet fragrance. His spouse was beyond the revolving door. Coming to him. Then suddenly he wanted to ask.
Why did you come only now? Why did you come so late?
“…You’re late.”
I might have been born to meet you.
*A Worn-Out Romance, End.*