Two days.
It's been two days and nothing eventful had happened. Well, maybe Yuri's wrath-filled rant the other day would count as eventful, but Hyun-Shik didn't really care as much as he would have liked. Maybe it's because her anger was justified at the time.
Hyun-Shik shook his head as he drank his beer. He had been loitering around his backyard for the better part of the day, trying to enjoy his rest day. But his mind decided to keep him busy and he began recalling everything that had happened the past two days.
He recalled the day he met Chung Ji-Eun at his Aunt's company. He didn't think that he would be seeing her anytime soon, in fact, just a day after their marriage meeting. What's worse, they met at a place so unexpected that he had failed to even notice his actual girlfriend's presence.
He had been so preoccupied at the time that when he finally noticed Yuri at the company studio, her initial surprise already made a turn for the worst.
She had mouthed to him, "What are you doing here?"
To which he responded with a simple word, "Aunt."
Yuri raised an eyebrow at him and glanced at the heiress retreating back.
"You know her?"
Hyun-Shik glanced at Ji-Eun and nodded.
"Later," he had mouthed and slowly followed his Aunt's group out of the studio.
A little while later, he recalled that Yuri sent him a text message just as he was about to chase after the young heiress after their goodbyes.
Wait for me. We need to talk about something.
He remembered staring at his phone for a full minute before deciding to give up on his former plan. His Aunt had already begun a conversation with him about the Song Corp, but he was so out of it that she just clicked her tongue at him and playfully remarked, "You're really distracted today."
Hyun-Shik ran a hand through his hair and looked at his Aunt sheepishly.
"I'm sorry," he had said. "I just didn't think I'd be seeing Ji-Eun here."
"Ji-Eun?" His Aunt's smile grew wide. "So, you and Ms. Chung already knew each other?"
"Yes," he said.
"May I ask how?" His Aunt pushed gently.
"Marriage meeting," Hyun-Shik decided to tell his Aunt the truth. "Mother and President Chung knew each other and decided on it."
He remembered seeing the surprise on his Aunt's face. A minute of silence passed and she laughed.
"What were your parents thinking?" His Aunt remarked. "I'm sorry, Hyun-Shik. I didn't know. And here, I tried to do something unnecessary."
Hyun-Shik looked at his Aunt's apologetic face. "Auntie, it's not your fault. Don't worry too much."
His Aunt looked at him for some time before deciding to ask him, "You... Do you like this girl? Chung Ji-Eun?"
Hyun-Shik didn't answer her right away. "I'm not sure, honestly. She's a nice and beautiful girl and all that. But I'm not interested in..."
His voice trailed off. He felt his Aunt's eyes boring into his brain, so he decided to continue.
"Auntie, she's not a bad choice, isn't she?" Hyun-Shik said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, even you sought her out," Hyun-Shik said. "Maybe she can help Song Corp.-"
"Let me stop you there," his Aunt had interjected sharply. "Hyun-Shik. There is a difference here. I approached her because of business and that's it. The marriage here is purely between our companies. Whereas you..."
Me? Hyun-Shik thought to himself. What about me?
"Hyun-Shik," his Aunt said in a gentler tone. "I know the family has been having a hard time with the company. But having you marry... I mean, Ms. Chung really is not a bad choice, given her family's influence. But... what about her? Have you had a chance to ask her what she thought about it?"
Hyun-Shik could only nod. If you only knew, Hyun-Shik thought to himself.
"Auntie," Hyun-Shik said. "I'll think about it carefully. Don't worry too much."
They left the conversation at that and Hyun-Shik said goodbye to his Aunt, declining her invitation to have dinner. He remembered he still needed to meet up with his girlfriend.
So, he waited for Yuri at their usual meeting place, parked along the street where no one could see them. As soon as she arrived and got into his car, he immediately drove to his villa.
They did not speak a word to each other until they were inside his house.
"Have you eaten?" Hyun-Shik asked Yuri.
"Forget about that," she said. "What were you doing at the company earlier?"
Hyun-Shik looked at her as he removed his suit jacket. "My Aunt invited me over."
"Your Aunt... Right." Yuri exhaled.
"Is there a problem?" Hyun-Shik had plopped down on the sofa while Yuri remained standing. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
Yuri sneered a little as she looked at him. "You were flirting with that girl from earlier. That Chung Ji-Eun girl."
Hyun-Shik felt a headache coming. "We briefly spoke with each other, yes. You really consider that flirting?"
Yuri stared at him. "You seemed really sweet to her," Yuri said.
Hyun-Shik sighed. "Yuri... Let's not-"
"How do you know this girl?" Yuri asked.
Hyun-Shik stared at his girlfriend for a while, wondering if he should tell her the truth or just placate her.
I don't really want to dig my own grave, but... He sighed.
"Well?" Yuri huffed after Hyun-Shik fell silent. "Answer the question, Hyun. How do you know this girl?"
Hyun-Shik looked at her and said, "Chung Ji-Eun... is my marriage partner."
At that moment, he knew that he had just opened Pandora's Box and there was no way he was going to escape alive.