“But as it happened, that guy was really a bad guy, so after that it became even harder to meet someone on my own terms. When I tried to live alone outside, they attached a bodyguard and had them stand watch 24/7…. Overprotection. Total overprotection.”
Still, up to here was tolerable. If he said that since he couldn’t meet other people freely anyway, this marriage was the perfect chance to escape from his family’s restraints, it would serve as an answer to Kyung-heon’s question.
So, if he had just stopped there, it could have been packaged as a somewhat lengthy answer…
“Honestly, whether it’s a lover or an acquaintance, I don’t even have the motivation to find new people and get to know them anymore. I’ve been backstabbed a few times. There were many people who treated me well on the outside but turned out to have just been determined to squeeze something out of me, and there were also people who pretended to respect me but were actually looking down on me and got caught.”
As he opened up in a trance, the story began to go down a tangent.
“As you’d know, children from prestigious families all have good basic manners, whether they’re born with it or learn it from a young age. Most are like that, but the ones who aren’t go uncontrollably wild.”
“Ah… yes.”
“Starting from middle school through high school, there was someone who kept openly dividing into classes, ostracizing and ignoring me.”
Now it was about to climb back through the years to his school days.
“But I’m not the type to just endure, so whenever something like that happened, together…”
Young, who suddenly came to his senses, hurriedly trailed off. Then Kyung-heon, who had been steadily listening, moved his facial muscles slightly. He seemed to be expressing doubt about why the words were suddenly cut off.
Young tightly grasped the mental thread that had loosened without him knowing. The polite smile returned to his face, which had relaxed while absorbed in chatting.
“Ah… I talked too long about useless things, didn’t I? I went too far while talking.”
“…It was, interesting.”
“I’m grateful you say that.”
After the conversation that started from the question of why he accepted this marriage went off on a tangent and finally came to an end, silence descended once again.
Had he adapted after experiencing this a few times, or was it the effect of comfortably speaking even briefly? It didn’t feel as awkward as when they had just sat down after greeting each other.
“……”
That gaze, where he couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all, was the same. He hadn’t known what to do with the gaze he met whenever he raised his head, but now he had gained quite the courage to meet it.
Young, who had been quietly meeting his eyes, smiled brightly and opened up a new conversation.
“Although we came to meet because we both have something to gain from each other, it’s still a kind of partnership. I heard it’s a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 5 years—I hope we can get along well during the time we’re together.”
Kyung-heon responded consistently.
“Ah… Yes.”
***
It was a time that barely exceeded an hour. After finishing the meal, Young left his seat first and came out of the hotel.
As soon as he exited the entrance, a familiar car was parked right in front. Young glanced at the black body once and immediately approached it.
It was his younger hyung’s car. Having volunteered to be a driver for the day with the excuse that it was hot, he not only brought him here but had been on standby until now.
Young, who familiarly climbed into the passenger seat, first grabbed the seatbelt. Before he could even fasten the clip, questions poured out from the side.
“How was it? He didn’t look down on you or anything? Didn’t act rude?”
These were questions premised on the assumption that it must have been bad, that Young must have been treated poorly because of his origins.
It was a chronic disease of the Lee family. The long history of being subtly looked down upon for having a lot of money but not matching the level had made the family members like this.
“How about, should we raid Joomyeong right now? Should we overturn everything?”
Ah. Maybe it wasn’t because of deeply rooted victim consciousness. He might have had no thought other than to overturn this marriage by finding any fault. Even when bringing him here, his younger hyung had—
— If you don’t think it’s right, say so even now. I’ll turn the wheel right away. Even if not now, just say the word if you get that feeling.
He had chattered like that the whole time.
Usually in such situations, it was Young’s style to give an indifferent answer telling him to stop fussing and that he ate well without incident. But unusually, he had a serious expression. Was it just his expression? The voice that eventually flowed out was also serious.
“…It’s strange.”
It was a distant gaze as if replaying the meeting with Kyung-heon. As he murmured hazily, chaos erupted from the driver’s seat.
“Strange? I knew it! But what, how is it strange?”
“Somewhat slow, clumsy… and he says his head hurts. Chronic headache, he said.”
“His behavior is strange and his health is bad too? Isn’t that crazy? Some defective bastard like that from who knows where!”
“But he keeps staring at me?”
“Even a deficient guy’s eyes can see pretty things! I need to contact Father right away. We need to discuss this again, this.”
Despite causing a commotion with every word thrown, Young had nothing much to say. He was still absorbed in his own thoughts with dazed eyes.
The image of Kyung-heon constantly watching him came vividly to mind. The face that had focused solely on him without showing displeasure or signs of boredom even as he pathetically chattered on about things he wasn’t even asked about was clear before his eyes.
Come to think of it, it was a very unfamiliar experience. Those who pretended to be friends on the outside while looking down inside didn’t want to hear Young’s stories. Was it only friends? The idiots whose minds were only occupied with face and body wanted physical conversation rather than verbal.
The reason he had laid out even his past in one breath seemed to be because of that. He had never experienced someone he didn’t know well being so immersed in his story.
“Hey, this won’t do. This isn’t about him being a beta. Right away, with Noona…!”
“But.”
“Huh? Uh, but what.”
“Even though he looks a bit strange in this and that…”
“And?”
Young closed his mouth for a moment. Then he lightly rolled his eyes looking for an appropriate expression. Even as his younger hyung fretted saying “Why, what is it,” he took his time at his own pace.
The words he spat out after agonizing were very concise.
“…The kid is nice.”
It was true. The cautious attitude of carefully speaking to him or focusing on him didn’t seem like just well-learned manners. Even if he seemed lacking somewhere, his attitude toward him at least seemed sincere on that side too.
Well, the possibility of it being his own delusion was high. After all, Young had been backstabbed several times by those he had given his affection to. The fact was that his eye for people wasn’t very good.
Even so, it was difficult to dismiss it as completely wrong. Even setting aside his nature, it was an obvious truth that his face and body were nice. Young thought he had defined the Joo Kyung-heon he had met quite well with this.
“What? Hey, isn’t that the thing you say when you’re forced to compliment someone who’s not worth much? Or trying to mock them.”
It didn’t seem the intention was correctly conveyed, but it didn’t matter anyway.
“The light changed. Let’s go.”
Whether his hyung, who had become extremely serious, ran wild or not. He leisurely gazed out the window alone.
***
Since accepting Joomyeong’s proposal, there hadn’t been a quiet day in the household atmosphere.
First when Young declared marriage for the first time, next when they learned the other party was a beta, third when reactions came out wondering if he wasn’t some deficient guy after the meal with Kyung-heon. And also…
Right today. After the entire family including Young met Kyung-heon, another commotion arose.
“No, why would you marry off Princess Pyeonggang to the fool Ondal? Even if it’s Joomyeong, there’s a limit!”
“Looking at it, it seems like they’re trying to do business without loss somehow with a son who can’t fulfill his role properly anyway. We’re completely being taken for fools!”
“Say all that’s true. Didn’t you see him saying his head hurts every few words? He’s only sound in size but so feeble like that…. In crude terms, what if he dies young like that? We’d be wiping their ass like crazy and get dumped before we even suck any benefit!”
There was no need to distinguish who was saying what. The expressions were just different, but everyone was of one mind and one will anyway.
It seemed the shock of actually seeing Kyung-heon was great for everyone. Even though they must have prepared themselves mentally to some extent after hearing Young’s impression that he looked a bit strange in this and that.
Well, wasn’t he the precious youngest’s partner? The standards for looking at the other party wouldn’t be ordinary. They already didn’t like this marriage that was like being sold off, yet the other party was only sound in appearance and was a simpleton. It was enough to cause a commotion.
