9 How very out of character, you two! (2/2)

He placed a cooked piece of beef on her plate and said casually, ”The President called me earlier, before I boarded my flight home... He said he thinks you found a match?”

A match? Her brows furrowed as she tried to recall some unknown memory. Oh... that's right. She had her arranged marriage meeting earlier.

”Well...” She said as she prepped her meat. ”I did meet with the son of the Song Family.”

He thought about it for a moment. The Song Family? The guy who's been appearing in the newspapers recently?

”Song Hyun-Shik? The CEO of Song Corp?” he asked her, passing her the sauce.

”Yeah...”

He waited as she gobbled up her food.

”Remember when I made Song Corp a model for my business plan last time? When I presented the idea to Father, he actually said he liked it and that he knew the former CEO of the company. A week before today, I was made aware that the elders had talked about marriage along with the business proposal.” She sighed. ”That's how it came about.”

”Hmm..” he refilled her glass. ”How did it go?”

”If I remember correctly,” she started to say. ”I asked him earlier if he's willing to marry me.”

His eyes grew wide in surprise and the bottle of alcohol slipped from his hands. It hit the table, the fragrant liquid spilling all over their table.

”Oh, for Christ's sake...” he muttered under his breath and Ji-Eun laughed at him. He quickly pulled at his apron, removed it, and placed it over the spill, so it won't get close to their clothes.

”I never knew that the men in my life were all Mother Hens...” she grinned lazily at him. ”I mean, you and Father actually gossiped about it. How very out of character, you two!”

She laughed again.

”That was not funny,” he said. ”Wait... Were you being serious?”

”We agreed never to lie to each other,” she answered him as she downed her drink.

He was silent as he watched the girl in front of him carefully. His mind was in chaos that he did not understand how he should be feeling at the moment. At this time, he gestured for the proprietress to bring them another bottle of alcohol. He suddenly felt a strong urge to drink.

”Jaehyun?” He heard her call him.

He turned his attention back to the girl. She had said his name so familiarly that he couldn't help but lower his guard.

”Do you think I made the right call?” She asked him, her eyes a bit glazed over as she looked away from him and towards the view outside. ”I mean, Father trusted the Song Family and he talked me into the idea too. But... Can I trust a person like him? Would he really help me? Protect me even?”

His heart ached a little as he continued his silence. He wanted so much to tell her that not every person's like her Mother, but he just kept his mouth shut. That's a rabbit hole he didn't want to jump into right now, so he silently pleaded with her to stop asking him.

When he didn't answer, she looked back at him. ”I guess... Even you think it's not a good idea.”

She took the bottle that was offered by the old lady and poured herself a drink.

”It's really not,” he said as he took the bottle away from her. ”But you have your Father and I don't think he'll ever sell you out.”

She smiled at him ruefully. ”But I'm scared.”

”I'm right here,” he reached over and ruffled her hair. ”I will never let anything happen to you. The same way your Father will not let anything happen to you. If the President really trusts these people, we'll have to give them the benefit of the doubt.”

She sighed and nodded.

”Ji-Eun, if you really are just making a business exchange with your potential husband, then he's bound to understand that he has to do something for you too... Even if it's just for a while, he has to protect you.”

”You really are... the most sensible person I've met.” She slurred on her words. ”If Hyun-Shik can be half as loyal and reliable as you...”

She had been drinking a while, so he calmly understood when she lowered her head on the table. He noticed that her eyes were closed.

So, it's the sleepy drunk alter-ego... He thought as he stood up and moved to her side. He removed his suit jacket and placed it over her head and shoulders, shielding her face from onlookers. As he sat beside her, he could only deduce how much stress she had endured during the time he went abroad.

At the very least, when he was beside her, she always had someone she can show her true self to.

”It must have been terrifying, right?” He rubbed her head. ”But I'm proud of you, you know.”

At the time, she might have been indifferent and cool, as everyone had been looking at her, expecting something great out of her. It was only at these rare moments that she would say how she really felt.