Chapter 46
Whether his mother approved of it or not, I was against it. I stood up to argue.
“But what about friends?” I asked “JiKyung’s friends would have known that JiKyung was marrying me that day! What are you going to do about them?”
Lee JiHan looked up at me and replied, “Why would I invite my brother’s friends to my wedding? He can just call them and let them know the wedding is canceled.”
“Then... What about my friends?” I asked. “My friends think I’m getting married to JiKyung.”
“If they are friends that can’t understand true love, then don’t invite them,” Lee JiHan simply said and turned back to his mother.
Wow, I... How did I end up with... I was at a loss for words. My mind was drawing a blank.
In front of a flabbergasted me, Lee JiHan announced his resolution to his mother. “The wedding that was set for four weeks from now will not be canceled. Instead, we will let everyone know it was just an error. Then, you will not have to besmirch your reputation, and I can get married to Na AhJung.”
“But, even if I tell everyone that it was an error, I’ve already told people that JiKyung was getting married,” his mother said. “They will definitely think something is strange...”
“Let’s be truthful. You only told assistant Yoon,” Lee JiHan coldly said interrupting his mother.
“What?”
“I’ve seen the list of people you were planning to send the invitation to, and it barely accounted for more than 10 people,” he said. “All your potential guests seem to be on it. Plus, you didn’t even have time to meet me up until yesterday, so I doubt you had time to personally hand any invitations out. Your schedule didn’t reflect you meeting any of them either. Fortunately, assistant Yoon is good at holding his tongue, so what exactly is the problem?”
Lee JiHan’s mother frowned at Lee JiHan’s question and pressed her fingers against her temple. But, he didn’t stop talking.
“The wedding that was meant for my brother can just be transferred over to me. Why are you so obsessed with trying to get Na AhJung married to my brother?” Lee JiHan suspiciously asked. “Breaking off an engagement isn’t even that serious these days. And, it’s not like you’ve been telling people about my brother’s wedding. Why are you being so sensitive about this whole thing?”
Listening to all this, it did seem a bit strange to be so against a broken engagement.
Lee JiHan’s mother continued pressing on her temple. With her eyes closed, she spoke in a cold voice. “Stop this, Lee JiHan.”
She opened her eyes. Her sudden cold expression made me flinch in fear. She had always been so kind and warm to me. Seeing her like this for the first time made me feel as if I was looking at a completely different person. I trembled as I slowly sat back down.
“It’s because I love your brother to the point where I don’t want a single blemish on any aspect of his life,” she said in an icy tone to Lee JiHan. She then turned to me. “AhJung, you. All right, the broken engagement with JiKyung. I can’t do anything about that. I’ll accept it.”
“Thank you for understanding,” I said. “And, I’m sorry.”
Scared, I kept my head down and tried to relay my regret. Before I could even lift my head, I heard her chilling voice continue. “But, you can’t get married to JiHan.”
I flinched and raised my head. She stood up from her seat.
“My brother already gave us permission to do this,” Lee JiHan said. “We are going to tell my brother’s acquaintances that there are two different people with the name Na AhJung so there will be no damage to his or my reputation. There aren’t a lot of people that know this girl is the same one my brother was going to marry. I can handle everything.”
“Lee JiHan. This is not your brother’s problem,” she told Lee JiHan staring down at him. Her gaze was that of someone putting an inferior being in their place. “Regardless of everything. AhJung is not right for you.”
“What?” Lee JiHan frowned not able to believe his ears.
“All those things you complained about when your brother was going to marry her and now you decide to bring me a daughter in law like her?” she asked.
“Mother!”
“Our household is not a normal household. Our name is on the line. These are all the things you said,” she said. “I’m going to return them back to you exactly as you did. Are you really going to shame our reputation like this? You of all people should know how pathetic AhJung’s background is.”
My hands shook so badly at these words that I squeezed them together on my lap. It didn’t really help since my knees were shaking just as badly.
Lee JiHan’s voice did not seem to be shaking at all. “When I said those things, what did you say to me? I have no intention to sell the seat of my daughter-in-law. Whoever the girl may be, if you two are in love, then I will be OK with it. Why the sudden change in attitude?” He was doing his best to control his anger. “I expected you to be against our relationship because Na AhJung was supposed to get married to my brother. I’ve made arrangements for all that. even if I was to deal with all of that, you are saying that it’s Na AhJung’s background that is getting in the way. That doesn’t make sense.”
Lee JiHan observed his mother coldly. It was as if he was trying to deduce every small change in her expression. “When Na AhJung was going to marry my brother, you didn’t once mention your problem with her background.”
HIs mother replied simply at Lee JiHan’s critique. “You and your brother are different. As each child’s personality is different, a parent’s expectations per child will be different. What I expect from you is different from what I expect from your brother. So, for your partner, AhJung will not do.”
Her furious eyes bounced over to me. With a quiet, yet sophisticated voice, she told me, “There’s not much more to say, so let’s end it here. I hope we won’t be seeing each other anymore. I don’t know what I would do if I do see you again.”
She gave me a slight smile. Her lips may have been smiling, but her eyes were not.
My breath got caught in my throat. I watched Lee JiHan’s mother unable to either speak or breathe. She turned away her gaze from me and swiftly headed toward the door.
As she was about to pass Lee JiHan, he coldly said to her, “Mother. You know, don’t you?”
His voice was foreboding. What does he think his mother knows? I looked at Lee JiHan feeling that this was a pivotal moment. His mother stopped and looked down at him.
Lee JiHan was on the receiving end of both of our stares, but he ignored it and looked straight ahead. With certainty in his voice, he asked again, “Mother, you know JiKyung is gay, don’t you?”
At Lee JiHan’s out-of-the-blue response, my mind went blank. How could he tell her that JiKyung is gay? And, to his mother of all people! My body froze in shock.
His mother’s voice sounded just as perturbed. “You... How do you... know...”
I turned my head upon hearing her utter those words. His mother eyed Lee JiHan with bulging eyes and trembling lips.
“You... You also knew this?” I hesitantly asked.
She didn’t seem to hear me and continued staring at Lee JiHan. He turned his head toward his mother and sharply said, “That’s why you allowed this. You knew that my brother was gay and needed a girl to hide it. That’s why you approved of this girl marrying him so easily. And, that’s the reason you are so against her breaking off the engagement. You needed to marry off my brother to someone, and there was no one safer than Na AhJung. You’ve seen her since she was a child and knew that she would be an easy target to use for your own benefit.”
Lee JiHan momentarily halted the conversation and turned to me. “Na AhJung, could you step out for a moment?”
“What?”
“I don’t want you to hear the rest of this conversation.” Lee JiHan got up from his seat and held my hand.
As he helped me up, an icy voice interrupted us. “Forget it. She’s heard enough already. She can stay to hear the rest.”
When we both turned to look at his mother, she had returned to her straightened composure. “Everyone here seems to already know about JiKyung’s condition, so what’s the point of hiding it? Yes. I assumed that even if AhJung found out about JiKyung being gay, she wouldn’t do anything about it. Even if I was to find an appropriate match for JiKyung, the moment she found out he was gay, she would run out on him. AhJung on the other hand? She knows her place and will stay with him regardless. With her background, she would be thankful for being able to live with the mere shell of JiKyung. She doesn’t even have her own proper family, so where would she go.”
“Mother!” Lee JiHan was having a hard time staying in control.
“That was the extent of her purpose,” his mother said. “How dare she even think that she is a suitable match for you!”
The loud sound hurt my ears, but it didn’t hurt as much as it did my heart. I had thought JiKyung and I had been fooling his mother. So, I always had a guilty conscience and felt sorry toward her. I had thought that it was a simple white lie to give her peace.
But, his mother had been acting on her end. She knew my situation all too well, and she used it to protect JiKyung. I couldn’t speak because my heart hurt so badly.
She turned viciously toward me. “AhJung, I’ve already had to say this much, so I’m assuming you understand what’s going on. You’re not going to continue with this nonsense are you? I’ll compensate you fully for this issue with JiKyung, so just keep your mouth shut and live with him. And, JiHan...”
I couldn’t hear the rest of the words. Lee JiHan placed his hands over my ears. I was left staring at his mother mouthing silent words.
I didn’t know if it was because she had said she had wanted to or if she was just so flabbergasted, but her mouth stopped moving. Only then did Lee JiHan remove his hands from my ears and place them on my back.
“If you continued to disprove of this wedding, then I won’t marry Na AhJung,” he said.
I stiffened at the unexpected declaration. His mother didn’t seem to believe it either. She observed Lee JiHan carefully.
“Now that Na AhJung knows what you think of her life, I can’t in good conscience ask her to marry me even if you granted us permission,” he said. “I would only be able to go through with it if you begged us to get married. A wedding that you disprove of? I won’t beg you to go through with it. So, if you disprove, then I won’t marry Na AhJung. No, I can’t. But, disprove with caution. Because I won’t marry or do anything with any other girl.”
Lee JiHan dropped his hands from my shoulders and wrapped his arms around them. “Look carefully. This girl is the one girl I will get married to, and the only girl that will allow me to continue the family line.”
His mother looked at Lee JiHan with her eyes round in disbelief. “What?”
“My brother is gay, and I won’t meet any girl unless it’s this one,” he replied. “Then, this is the end of the line for our family.”
“Lee JiHan!” Even at her yelling, not even one of Lee JiHan’s fingers twitched.
“I gave up my dream for you, but it won’t matter what you do now,” he said with all seriousness. “If you continue to go against this girl, I’m going to declare celibacy.”
“What?!” Celibacy?! I spun around in shock.
Lee JiHan glared at his mother with an intense expression and threw out one last shot. “I do what I say. I’m insane, a nutcase, a ticking time bomb.”
I feel like I’ve heard this somewhere before... No, I’ve said this before...
“Disprove if you want, and I’ll give up marriage,” he said. “If you are going to give us permission, then apologize to this girl and ask her politely to please marry your son.”
Lee JiHan looked like a person who wouldn’t bleed a drop if he were stabbed.
Uh... But, why is my heart starting to heat up...
The rising heat from my heart seemed to be melting the pain it had felt earlier. Maybe because the fear had disappeared with it, I followed Lee JiHan and turned my gaze to his mother. I placed my hand over his hand on my shoulder.
Looking in the same direction as Lee JiHan, we both waited for the answer. I now believed that there was nothing that was impossible.
***
There really was nothing that was impossible. Still, I had not expected it to be possible to get married within four weeks. But, here I was, sitting in the bridal suite.
I sat there numbly wearing the same wedding dress that was hanging in my closet and thought back to the past four weeks.
The play they had sponsored wasn’t set to be finished for a few months, and Lee JiHan would be leaving for America in a month’s time, returning several months later. He had asked me for a reason not to get married when we were in such a situation the moment I had received both an apology and permission for the marriage.
He had said, “I’m saying that we should go live in America after we get married. You can learn English there and watch Broadway plays. After a few months, we can return back to Korea when your play is ready. The timing is perfect. So, what are you hesitating for? This wedding is the best option.”
After hearing Lee JiHan’s explanation, I couldn’t find a reason to be against this wedding. So, I had nodded in agreement.
I don’t know how time had gone by after that. We had our parents meet again with Lee JiHan this time. We announced that the invitations had been a printing error. Then, there were studio photographs.
I had gone out of my mind planning the wedding. When the planning was done and I was finally able to wrap my head around everything, I found myself now sitting in a wedding dress with five minutes left to go before the wedding.
It was an immensely private and small ceremony, so the bridal suite was empty. In comparison to our tiny guest list, the ceremony hall was incredibly big.
“AhJung!”
I had been lost in my thoughts for a while when the sudden sound made me look forward. I saw HeeKyung walking towards me.
“What happened? Isn’t the groom, the man that was supposed to be your future brother-in-law out there?” she asked.
I realized the time had come for me to face it, so I smiled awkwardly and answered her calmly. “I told you my groom got switched.”
“Well, I didn’t expect that to be your future brother-in-law,” HeeKyung replied.
“Well... After a lot of interesting scenarios, it sort of just happened,” I said. “I was hoping to give you the revised invitation personally and explain the situation, but you weren’t available until today. So, I couldn’t let you know beforehand.”
Cold sweat was running down my back but I squeezed my bouquet tight and continued. “So, what happened was...”
“I built a bridge between the two of them.”
HeeKyung and I turned our heads toward the interrupting voice. JiKyung was standing a few steps away from us.
“As we were preparing for the wedding, we found that we weren’t a good fit for each other, but those two seemed to be well matched so I played matchmaker,” JiKyung said naturally as he walked toward me. He stood in front of me and put out his hand. “It’s almost time for the bride to enter.”
“Oh, already?”
Feeling rushed, I hurriedly grabbed JiKyung’s hand and stood up. As I followed him, I remembered HeeKyung and looked at her. She stared at us both curiously. There was no suspicion or reproach.
JiKyung led me to the closed doors of the ceremony entrance. With our hands held, we waited for the announcement of the bridal entrance. Nervous, I swallowed dryly.
“You’re probably the first bride to enter the wedding ceremony with her brother-in-law,” JiKyung joked to lessen my nervousness.
A small laugh escaped me. I gratefully looked into JiKyung’s eyes. “Thank you. Truthfully, I thought it would be weird going into the ceremony holding my father’s hand. My father said he didn’t want to do it either. When you told me you wanted to, I was so thankful.”
“I’m doing this so you can be comfortable,” JiKyung said with a shrug. “You could have ended up being the happiest girl who wouldn’t be loved by her husband because of me, so I think it is appropriate that I lead you to become the happiest girl who will be very much loved by her husband.”
As if this was the most natural thing in the world, he smiled sweetly. Finally, the doors slowly opened. At the same time, JiKyung and I turned our heads to the front. Inside, the bridal wedding march started to play.
Still facing forward, JiKyung whispered so only I could hear, “Tell me the truth. Aren’t you embarrassed that your groom’s hair is gold?”
Facing forward, I replied with a smile, “I wanted it that way.”
We started the procession. I suppressed the desire to run forward. Lee JiHan was sparkling and waiting for me. There was nothing more I wanted to do than run to him.
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