★Chapter 08 : The Single Life Is Completed By Marriage★
“Guys, I’m getting married.”
Slap!
Suddenly, Tae-sik slapped Jin-gu, who was standing next to him. Usually, Jin-gu would have retaliated and thrown a fit, but instead, he held his cheek and spoke softly.
“Wow… This isn’t a dream, right?”
“Is this for real?”
“This is insane.”
They stared at me, as if they couldn’t believe it. Well, if I put myself in their shoes, I probably wouldn’t believe it either.
I’ve never even mentioned marriage, let alone a girlfriend. I suddenly jumped several steps ahead.
“What happened? Give us some explanation first.”
Cheol-su summarized the situation. He’s a bit older than us, having experienced three relationships, so naturally, he often takes on this role.
Thanks to him, I felt a little more at ease. These guys haven’t changed a bit, even as time goes by.
“Literal as it sounds, I’ve decided to get married.”
“You? When? With whom? How?”
“One question at a time. One question at a time.”
“You?”
“……”
As I glared silently at Jin-gu, he pretended to zip his mouth shut. It lightened the mood a bit.
“Well, it happened. We haven’t set a wedding date yet, and I’ll introduce her next time.”
“Is she pretty?”
“She’s beautiful.”
“Do you have a picture?”
I displayed a photo on my phone. It was a selfie of me and Kang Ba-da taken together at a café, a staged shot prepared to show to acquaintances.
The eyes of my friends widened at the sight. They alternated their gaze between my face and the photo on the phone, shaking their heads in disbelief.
“You scoundrel.”
“What?”
“A guy who graduated from college a long time ago dares to seduce a fresh-faced freshman!?”
“She’s older than him. Two years.”
“How can a clueless kid like him handle a lady…”
“Hey, you crazy bastard.”
Ha-ha-
My friends burst into laughter at my reaction. Even in the midst of it, they couldn’t take their eyes off Kang Ba-da’s photo.
“Show us.”
Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I quickly snatched my phone back and put it in my pocket. Yet their gaze still lingered there.
“Hey, Ha-neul.”
“What?”
“What do you think the next skyrocketing cryptocurrency will be?”
“Why are you asking me? You know I’d never touch cryptocurrencies even if I died.”
“But you hit the jackpot with cryptocurrencies, right?”
“What’s that supposed to mean…”
“Everything you’re wearing now is all luxury brands. And this woman… I mean, sister-in-law doesn’t seem like an ordinary person either.”
Jin-gu’s eyes sparkled.
He may seem like a fool most of the time, but he’s sharp in strange ways. He’s a guy you can’t let your guard down with in many aspects.
‘I can’t let them find out it’s a fake marriage.’
I feel sorry for my friends, but this is also for their sake. I trust that they will stand by me even if they know all the details, but going beyond that is risky.
Just like now. If I were to suddenly disappear, they would sense something strange. Besides, they are loyal enough to take care of at least my family.
“She bought it for me.”
“……?”
“My girlfriend has quite a bit of money.”
“How much?”
“Um…”
I couldn’t answer hastily. Come to think of it, how wealthy is Kang Ba-da? Should her family’s wealth be included when calculating her riches?
‘I guess I should exclude that?’
After all, I won’t inherit any of it.
But even if I consider excluding it, I’ve never heard an exact estimation of her wealth, so I can’t gauge it accurately.
Based on recent developments, it seems like she has much more than I anticipated. Anyway, it’s not a question I can directly ask.
“I don’t know exactly either.”
“At least roughly. You should have some sense of it.”
“Do you see the buildings outside?”
“Well, the Street of Culture?”
“Yeah.”
The window I pointed to was a commercial area where quite a few people were passing by. Although it’s not Seoul, it’s undoubtedly in the metropolitan area.
“Can she afford everything that’s visible?”
She probably can.
She’s someone who can spend billions in a day of shopping. Just the official stocks I know about make me shudder.
Clatter!
Cheol-su dropped the chopsticks he was holding. He was so surprised that his hand trembled.
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why would such a woman meet you?”
“Because I’m incredibly cool.”
“You have… persuasiveness. That’s for sure.”
“Huh?”
I expected them to respond with disbelief, but they nodded as if understanding. It actually caught me off guard.
“…Why are you suddenly like this?”
“Come to think of it, it’s not really surprising. Haneul was popular even in school, right?”
“Clearly, women’s instincts are different. I just thought it was average back then, but now that it’s all dressed up, it really shows how handsome he is.”
“Well, it’s also a significant symbol as a man. I was even surprised when I first went to the public bath…”
“Please, stop it!”
Seeing them utter nonsense with serious expressions, it was clear that they were completely intoxicated. Perhaps because it was an intriguing topic, I could sense their eyes subtly glancing in my direction.
However, despite my objections, these guys, whose enthusiasm had completely skyrocketed, even brought up embarrassing moments from the past.
“Yeah, come to think of it, we could have bought half of the White Roses. Yet you still followed her because you liked her.”
“Why are we talking about that now?”
“Well, to put it bluntly, what’s lacking in her? She’s pretty, comes from a wealthy family, and excels in her studies. Huh?”
“Her personality is strange, though.”
“Yeah, actually, we were a bit scared too.”
Baek Jang-mi was a girl who took charge of the student council as a freshman in college. She openly declared herself as the protagonist.
With her looks, wealth, and the personality she displayed, she had it all. She was famous throughout the entire school, and naturally, she had a good reputation.
“Thanks to her, it was tough.”
As someone who was bullied during my school days, I wanted to do better at least in college. But because of her political games, everything went downhill.
The reason she chased after me was probably something like, “How dare you not like me?” Even thinking about it now makes me frustrated.
“If it weren’t for you guys, I would have dropped out of college.”
“Yeah, yeah. You should be forever grateful to us.”
“Anyway, tell me if you have any useful information. Has our sister-in-law given you any hints?”
Saying that, Jin-gu pricked up his ears. Kang Ba-da, who would turn from his friend’s girlfriend to wife. It was quite amusing to see.
“Hey, that’s illegal.”
I rebuked Jin-gu’s words.
In a world where public companies engage in illegal land speculation with insider information and openly collude with prosecutors to cover it up, what does illegal even mean?
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Read from the original site [ https://moonlightnovel.com/ ]
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I’ve never asked Kang Ba-da about such things, nor do I have any intention to. Therefore, I naturally don’t know any high-level information to share with my friends.
“As much as I can help within my boundaries, but-“
Borrowing Kang Ba-da’s influence is a completely separate issue. And even if I were to try to help them, these guys would definitely refuse first.
Even if we’re close friends, when money gets involved, things can change in an instant.
“Well, it’s a shame. I was hoping to benefit from your sister-in-law’s connections.”
“We had a great time hanging out with friends and playing cards.”
“Of course, because our sister-in-law is the best, right?! Isn’t that right, guys? Let’s drink up!”
Jin-gu raised his glass, instantly lifting the mood. He was indeed an easygoing guy.
We continued to have a good time, discussing various topics. We mostly reminisced about our military service and school days or talked about Je-su, who recently had his first child.
“So, how tough is it?”
“It’s tough for my wife. She’s juggling work and taking care of the baby. I just help with household chores.”
“You lucky bastard. Enjoy this time while it lasts.”
“Are you jealous?”
Cheol-su shrugged his shoulders.
Jin-gu got into an accident with his junior during his student days and immediately got married. Everyone tried to dissuade him, but he had an incredible sense of responsibility. His son was already five years old.
“Do you know how much I struggled to make it here today? My son was saying, ‘Daddy, don’t go~’ I thought I was going to die holding back my tears.”
“I bet it was tough. Wasn’t it your son who refused to play with my daughter last time and ended up crying while drinking?”
“···Let’s just drink!”
And so, empty bottles piled up under the table, and my face turned red as I chatted casually with my friends.
“Hey, Heavens!”
“What?”
“When you have a daughter, arrange a marriage with my son, will you?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“If my son marries your daughter, he’ll have some breathing room. Honestly, I just want our child to have a comfortable life.”
“······.”
Jin-gu dropped out of school to support his child after getting married. The job he hastily took was far from ideal, and he went through some difficult days.
He was the friend who lived the hardest but received the least recognition. The weight of his words struck me deeply.
“Jin-gu, you’re drunk.”
“I’m sober, okay!?”
“Damn, even cold water has its highs and lows. My daughter comes first. Heavens, you know what my wife looks like, right? Our daughter will definitely be beautiful too. Once I have a son, I’ll···.”
“What about the third one, with my child…”
As they chatted among themselves, they agreed that their firstborn would marry Jin-gu, the second would marry Cheol-su, and the third would marry Tae-sik’s child. Watching their conversation, I let out a bitter smile.
“But what if I don’t have any children?”
“Are you crazy?”
“Why? Even if you don’t know, your sister-in-law’s genes must be passed down for generations!”
Well, it was a fake marriage after all.
Of course, I don’t know what will happen if the plan to ‘make Kang Ba-da a real lover’ succeeds. But still, wouldn’t raising a child be difficult?
I had never heard Kang Ba-da’s thoughts, but he originally chose a fake marriage because he wanted to live comfortably. I couldn’t imagine him wanting to raise a child.
Of course, I couldn’t say it so blatantly, so I slightly twisted the topic.
“Well, don’t you usually discourage getting married? But why are you guys talking about having children first?”
“Heavens. Weren’t you the one advocating for being single?”
“Yeah, why? Do people like you say things like that?”
“No, I actually think people like you should get married even more. Because being single is completed through marriage.”
“······?”
“If you get married, you’ll be able to confirm that your thoughts were not wrong.”
Inhale- Cough, cough!
Everyone burst into laughter after listening to Jin-gu’s story. Immediately after, they looked around, as if making some sort of unspoken agreement.
“Hey, you guys! Married life is so happy.”
“Your mindset changes once you have a child.”
“Well, naturally.”
The two of them, excluding Jin-gu, exchanged glances and nodded. Seeing this, Jin-gu raised his voice in frustration.
“Hey, you ungrateful bastards! You were just laughing and agreeing with what I said, weren’t you?!”
“Hey, shut your mouth, you bastard!”
“If you want to die, go die alone, you crazy bastard!”
Hahaha-
The laughter of the four people filled the tavern.
* * *
‘..Are they having fun?’
Having finished all her tasks, Kang Ba-da lay sprawled on the bed, idly scrolling through her phone.
She had given Kim Ha-neul her card because she was going to meet her friends. It was already quite late, and there had been no contact from her, no payment notification.
“Maybe you should try contacting her first, miss.”
The nanny, who had been by her side since she was very young, cautiously advised.
A faint smile appeared on her lips. It was because, even though she had watched Kang Ba-da for a very long time, this was the first time she had seen her like this.
‘She’s so cute.’
When she returned home, Kang Ba-da would spend the whole day just staring at her phone. If you asked her indirectly, she would shake her head and say, “It’s nothing,” but it was obvious to anyone that she looked like a girl in love.
“It might seem like you’re being too clingy.”
“Men often don’t know unless you tell them directly. Sometimes you have to make it clear.”
“But…”
I’m not really his girlfriend.
Kang Ba-da buried her face in the pillow, swallowing her words.
Even if I’m busy, couldn’t I send at least one message? But then again, it’s a business relationship. What am I expecting?
In the end, she thought she was a fool for feeling even the slightest bit of disappointment over something so trivial.
“I should have included it in the contract.”
Contact once an hour.
If only there was something like that, I wouldn’t have to wait like this. Does Kim Ha-neul really have no feelings for me at all? As time goes by, I feel unnecessarily gloomy…
Uwoong-!
In the midst of her thoughts, her phone vibrated. Kang Ba-da quickly raised her head and checked her phone.
: Ba-da-ssi~
: [Photo taken with friends]
: I’m sending my friends off and coming to see you now!
Haha-
Kang Ba-da let out a small laugh. The moment she saw the message with a lingering scent of alcohol, her surprisingly melancholic mood vanished completely.
Although the photo with her friends was shaking so much that it was hard to see clearly, for some reason, Kim Ha-neul’s bright smiling face caught her eye.
“Did you get a message?”
“Yeah. But it’s a complete mess.”
“Is that so?”
“Totally. I should tell him to only drink in front of me.”
I don’t want other people to notice how cute he is. I want to be the only one who knows forever.
Kang Ba-da checked the photo again. She zoomed in and saved only the part where Kim Ha-neul’s face was captured.
“He’s really cute.”
“Really?”
“Yes, very.”
Heheh-
Feeling oddly pleased by the nanny’s words, Kang Ba-da hummed a tune and typed a reply.
: Be careful on your way.
Kang Ba-da was highly satisfied with her chic response. Finally, she put her phone aside and prepared for bed.
“You should go to sleep too, Nanny.”
“Yes, have a good rest.”
The nanny quietly withdrew.
Alone in the silent room, Kang Ba-da slowly closed her eyes.
“…There are still three days left.”
She felt that the weekend she had promised to meet Kim Ha-neul seemed so far away.
