"Don't you think you're overworking yourself when you should be more focused on getting married?" Chairman Wang asked Tae-Joon the moment he stepped inside the house.
"Grandfather," Tae-Joon said with a bow as a form of greeting.
"I didn't say I wasn't going to get married, or did I?" Tae-Joon asked, taking off his suit jacket and tie before sitting down on the couch adjacent to his grandfather.
"So why don't I see any results? Why aren't you making progress in your relationship with her?" Chairman Wang asked his grandson with a displeased look on his face.
"Because I first need to know and understand her before committing myself to marry her. Besides, we went out on a date earlier today," Tae-Joon said.
"Oh! You did?" Chairman Wang asked with a delightful smile.
"Yes, I did. I'm going to marry her, so you should try to relax," Tae-Joon reassured him.
"I know you're going to marry her. When you're going to do so is what I'm concerned about. You should hurry things up, or you don't want me to have a grandchild before I die?" He asked with a worried frown.
"You're not dying anytime soon. You look pretty strong to me. And try to stop worrying about all of this. Just give me three months from now. I'll marry her in three months' time," Tae-Joon promised.
"Three months? Are you giving me your word?" Chairman Wang asked.
"Yes, I am. At the end of the three months, I will propose to her myself and marry her immediately," Tae-Joon said, making his grandfather sigh in relief.
"I will just trust you then and take your word for it. Three months," Chairman Wang said before standing up to leave.
"I'm going to bed. You should eat and rest," Chairman Wang suggested before leaving for his room.
Tae-Joon remained seated as he thought about his conversation with Grace during their lunch date. She had asked several questions and had said some strange things he was still thinking about.
*The Lunch Date Earlier*
"Will marrying me make you happy?" Ann asked halfway through their meal.
Tae-Joon considered it for a moment, he knew he was beginning to like her, but he couldn't answer that question yet.
"Marrying you will make my grandfather happy, and his happiness, in turn, will make me happy," Tae-Joon answered truthfully.
"Why are you doing something like this just to please him? Don't you think you have your own life to live? He isn't the one who is going to be stuck with me for a lifetime. It's you. So?" Ann asked, pushing aside her plate to look at him.
"You do know I was adopted, right?" Tae-Joon asked, making Ann look at him in surprise.
"You were?" She asked curiously.
"Yes. So you see, this is the least I can do to repay my grandfather for his kindness in raising me. And that is why I can never just up and elope with any woman, no matter how much I love her. My loyalty is to the family that raised me," Tae-Joon said with a sigh.
"Really? I think It's good that you're grateful, but I don't understand why you would sacrifice your happiness just to show gratitude. Don't you think your grandfather would want you to be happy?" Ann asked, making him chuckle.
"Is it that you don't understand why we are getting married, or you're just playing dumb?" Tae-Joon asked, watching her closely.
"I don't understand your question," Ann said with a confused frown.
"We are getting married to merge both companies, you're your father's first daughter, and I am my family's only heir. Merging the companies will be beneficial to both families," Tae-Joon explained patiently.
"Oh! I see," Ann said before glancing at her wristwatch. "I should return to work now. Thanks for lunch," She said, wanting to stand up, but he quickly stood up and went to help her pull out her chair.
"So, will marrying me make you happy?" Tae-Joon asked her as they walked out of the restaurant and got to his car.
"I will answer your question after you answer one of my own," Ann said as he opened the passenger door for her and then buckled her seatbelt after he shut the door while she waited for him to turn round and get into the car.
"Why? I answered yours without thinking twice," Tae-Joon said with a slight frown the moment he was seated in the car.
"Because it's important I know your answer to this question before answering yours," Ann said with a small smile.
"Okay, go on with the question," He said as he turned on the car's ignition and drove off.
"When you get married to someone, is it their body or soul that you're getting married to?" Ann asked curiously.
"Both. It is to both the body and soul. You fulfill your conjugal duties with the body, and the emotions involved come from the soul," Tae-Joon answered.
"Do you believe in love? In soul mates?" Ann asked again, making Tae-Joon frown. What had that got to do with their discussion?
"You asked something similar the last time. I don't know whether or not I believe in love. Maybe I do," Tae-Joon said with a shrug.
"Why are you asking me more questions and not answering mine?" He asked, turning to glance at her briefly.
"So, what if you married me, for instance, and then found out I'm not Grace? Like, even though this is Grace's body, a different soul is occupying the body?" Ann asked, making Tae-Joon chuckle good-naturedly.
"You seem to have a very wild imagination," He said, forgetting once again that she had succeeded in asking another question and completely ignoring his own.
"I'm asking a serious question," Ann said, looking at him with an unsmiling face.
"Well, that would be such a shame. But since the chances of something like that ever happening is slim, let's focus on reality," Tae-Joon suggested.
"So, back to my question, Will marrying me make you happy?" He asked as he drove into the company's parking lot.
"Yes. But not as Jiang Grace," Ann said with a sad smile before unbuckling her seatbelt and reaching for the door.
"Wait, hold on. What do you mean?" Tae-Joon asked with a confused frown. Why does she always have to say weird things?
"As you must have noticed, I've not yet fully recovered from whatever happened to me in the accident, so I'm probably feeling this way about you because of the accident. Maybe when I'm fully recovered, I might not really want whatever is between us," Ann said with a sigh.
"Hm. What do you want me to do? I understand this isn't easy for either of us," Tae-Joon said sympathetically.
"Try holding off the marriage, at least for three months. Let's hope I would have fully recovered by then. If I still feel the same way about you, and if nothing has changed, then we can go on and get married. And just maybe by then, I would have succeeded in making you fall in love with my soul," Ann said without looking at him.
"Why your soul? Why didn't you just say you?" Tae-Joon asked with a frown.
"Because I believe you're my soul mate. And if that is the case, you should be able to love me regardless of the body I possess or the position I occupy," Ann said with a sigh.
"And what if you no longer feel the same way about me before or by the end of the three months?" Tae-Joon asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"Hopefully, you'll be in love with me by then," And you'll call off the wedding with Grace by yourself. Ann added to herself as she opened the door.
"Hold on. I will help you with that," Tae-Joon offered, wanting to step down from the car.
"That won't be necessary. Thanks for lunch," Ann said as she got down from the car. She walked away without looking back.
*Back To The Present*
'Why was she trying to freak him out with all those talks about love and soul mates and stuff?' Tae-Joon asked himself as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
He stood up and walked over to his bedroom. If what she wanted was love, then he was going to spend the next three months giving her excess of it. He would court her so well that she would plead with him to hurry up and get married to her.
He took out his phone and decided to give her a 'goodnight' call. He dialed her number and patiently waited for the call to connect.
"Hello?" Ann asked with a frown as she wondered why he was calling.
"I just wanted to hear your voice before going to bed. I hope you're fine?" Tae-Joon asked.
"Yeah. Sure. I'm fine," Ann said awkwardly.
"Okay then, goodnight. And Grace?" Tae-Joon called to get her attention.
"Yes?" Ann asked curiously.
"Marrying this present you, will make me happy," He said softly, making Ann's heart skip a bit.
"You mean your grandfather type of happy?" Ann asked with a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
"No. I'm really hoping you don't change," Tae-Joon said.
"Goodnight. Thanks for calling," Ann said abruptly before disconnecting the call.
He wanted to have the best of both worlds, a sweet and humble Jiang Grace from a wealthy family... Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be possible in their case. At the end of the day, he would have to choose between love and wealth.