By Zephyria 
===
“…That marriage… is it still valid…?”
“Yeah. It hasn’t even been a week.”
“…If we marry… can my father’s company go back to the way it was? I want to know… if everything will really be okay.”
Last time, the kid was just out of it, but today, as expected, he wasn’t just out of it—his mental state had completely crumbled like soft tofu. I already knew from the video how much they had gaslit him using the company, but it seemed there had been more since then. Especially considering he was the one to call me first and ask to meet, something he hadn’t done even on the day the video was filmed.
“Well, yeah. There’s nothing for Baum to lose by becoming in-laws with us. Their status will change the moment the marriage news breaks.”
“…Then my father can… keep working at the company, right?”
“Yeah.”
“…And that article… won’t be published….”
“Article?”
“Ah…. The one saying an employee at my father’s company caused a problem….”
The lies just keep coming the more you dig. Cha Se-jin shook his head and let out a short, incredulous breath. Startled by that reaction, Eun-won looked at Cha Se-jin with desperation.
“Right. The article won’t come out, and Chairman Seo will keep running the company just as he does now. Baum has nothing to lose.”
At Cha Se-jin’s simple and clear answer, Eun-won finally felt relieved. It was such a relief that everything could go back to the way it was.
While he was gathering his composure, a drink was placed in front of him. It seemed Cha Se-jin had ordered one for him as well. Eun-won looked at the snowy white drink topped with plenty of whipped cream, then looked up to meet Cha Se-jin’s eyes.
“…I’ll do it…. The marriage….”
He had vaguely imagined that the world would feel like it was collapsing once he spoke those words aloud. However, it wasn’t as painful as he thought. Perhaps it was because his current reality was even more miserable? He had just spoken words that he thought were absurd only a few days ago, but for some reason… it felt a bit liberating.
However, Cha Se-jin didn’t respond immediately. When they met last time, he had spoken as if it would be better to decide on the marriage quickly, but today was different. He didn’t pour out words like that, and he didn’t have any significant reaction to Eun-won’s statement.
Could it be… that he decided he doesn’t want to marry me in the meantime…? The marriage itself is still valid, but what if Cha Se-jin’s heart has changed…?
Anxious that he might be too late, Eun-won dropped his head lifelessly. He thought this marriage was the best he could do, but if it were already too late… if that were the case, he had no idea what to do or how to beg Cha Se-jin.
“Ah, sorry. I was wondering whether we should live in the main house or move out.”
“…….”
“Well, even if we live in the house, we’d be in the annex, so it’s basically the same as living apart, but hmm, maybe moving out entirely is better? Which do you prefer, Darling?”
Whenever he was with Cha Se-jin, it was difficult to keep up with the speed of his thoughts. Just as Eun-won had barely decided to marry and spoken it aloud, Cha Se-jin was already contemplating where they would live after the wedding.
But…. For some reason, he didn’t hate it. He was glad that Cha Se-jin wasn’t a stifling person like himself. Listening to Cha Se-jin’s words, which seemed laced with playfulness, the tension and anxiety that had stiffened his body began to relax.
“Where do you want to go for the honeymoon?”
“…….”
“Let’s go wherever you want to go, Darling.”
“…….”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
While the lack of stiflingness was a plus, this was still too fast. Eun-won met the eyes of Cha Se-jin, who was resting his chin on his hand and grinning at him.
“…I’ve never thought about it… so I don’t really know right now…. I’ll think about it starting today….”
“Yeah, sure. Then we’ll talk about this stuff tomorrow. What should we do now?”
“…….”
“Since we decided to get married, do you want to kiss?”
“…What?”
Startled, Eun-won instinctively recoiled. The sudden movement caused the chair to make a scraping sound. It was the biggest movement Eun-won had shown so far.
“Why, have you never thought about that either?”
“……Yes….”
“Then think about that starting today, too.”
“…Yes….”
When he saw him at the convenience store, he seemed gentle but still capable of stating his own will occasionally, but seeing Eun-won now—completely subdued and obedient—felt strange. It felt unpleasant, as if he were watching the process of a person breaking down.
Actually, it had nothing to do with him. At least, it had until a moment ago. He simply liked Eun-won because he had a pretty face, and if he had to enter an arranged marriage, he wanted to do it with the prettiest person possible.
Regardless of how Baum persuaded Eun-won, it was none of his business, and since Eun-won had ultimately stepped forward to marry him, it wasn’t a bad thing for him.
However, watching him sit there with a face that looked like he was about to cry, unable to even do so and just fidgeting with his hands, made him feel dirty, as if he had become an accomplice to those psychos.
“Darling.”
“…….”
“When you act like that, it feels like I’m buying you. Like you’re being sold to me.”
“…I’m sorry…. I know I shouldn’t, but I just don’t know what to do…. If you tell me, I’ll do it….”
Looking at that face, filled with exhaustion and helplessness, he felt a sudden urge to just make him break. Other people might have thought of a kinder, gentler way, but he wasn’t like that.
Lowering the arm he had been using to prop up his chin and leaning back into the chair, Cha Se-jin tilted his head crookedly. His gaze remained fixed on Eun-won.
“Will you do everything I tell you?”
“…Yes….”
“Then cry.”
It was a sudden request. Most of the things that came out of Cha Se-jin’s mouth were sudden and unexpected, but the command to cry bypassed Eun-won’s mind and went straight to his heart, piercing the most fragile spot.
“I like it when people are pretty while crying. Cry a bit so I can see if you’re pretty doing it.”
A playful smile played across his previously expressionless face. It’s just a joke… right, there’s no way he meant that seriously…
He should have said he was flustered by the sudden remark, asked why he was joking with such a serious face, asked who on earth is pretty when they cry, and asked who would check for such a thing in a place like this—but not a single word came out, and embarrassingly, his vision blurred.
Even when his father didn’t answer the phone, even when the Madam told him they weren’t family and spoke cold words with her back turned to him, the tears that had only heated up without flowing now drenched his cheeks and streamed down.
He was so flustered that he burst into tears the moment he was told to, and fearing he would look foolish, he tried to stop them quickly, but there was no way to stop the tears that had finally broken through. No matter how much he rubbed his eyes or wiped his cheeks, his hands only grew damp, and nothing changed.
“So that’s how you cry, Darling.”
He should have felt ashamed at the voice that sounded as if it were observing his crying, but an emotion stronger than that surged through him, making it impossible to think of anything else. The more he tried to hold it back, the more the sounds of sobbing leaked out, and his entire body trembled.
“You cry so fucking sexy, Darling.”
Watching Eun-won burst into tears, Cha Se-jin stood up and moved to sit beside him. To be honest, telling him to cry had been an impulsive act. He had just wondered if he would actually cry since he looked like he would if poked, and seeing him actually sob was cute.
“Crying is fine, but you have to breathe. Breathe, breathe.”
“…Hic, ugh…. Haa….”
It would have been easier if he just wailed out loud, but since he wasn’t the type to do that, he kept trying to hide it and stop, which only made him gasp for air. With one hand propping up his chin, Cha Se-jin used his other hand to playfully fiddle with Eun-won’s neat hair.
“Breathe properly. If you die because you can’t breathe, I’ll actually end up on the main news. Now, breathe in slowly.”
Hearing the small gasps in his breath, Cha Se-jin lowered the hand that had been touching his hair and lightly stroked his back. Following that touch, Eun-won managed to take a labored breath.
“Now, breathe out slowly.”
A breath heavy with moisture barely escaped. Cha Se-jin repeated this a couple more times, intently capturing the face of the panting Eun-won in his eyes.
He wondered just how meticulously this boy had been crafted. Even if someone has a decent face, there are many cases where their smiling face is off or their crying face ruins it, but Eun-won was different.
The eyelashes clinging to tears, the cheeks where tears welled up and flowed every time he blinked, the tip of the nose turned red from crying, the lips parted from panting, and even the sorrowful expression he made because he couldn’t compose his emotions—everything was perfectly beautiful.