20. Acquainting

Yonghwa stood outside the master bedroom. The muffled noises on the adjacent room at the far corner struck him with a sudden realization— he made a terrible mistake.

The baby room had no other doors leading through it but here— his bedroom. He grumbled to himself. After all, the decision was made on his sleeplessness so he didn’t calculate well enough.

“Oh well, I guess I’ll have to give you up for a year…” he sighed to himself.

So he wasn’t only sharing this sacred temple of singlehood but also giving up his throne.

The door to the other room opened and Mr. Lee appeared. He is one of his trusted foremen and thankfully he was between projects at the moment. “Are they here?” The older man asked and accepted Yonghwa’s handshake.

He nodded, “I’m sorry to call so suddenly.”

“That’s okay. At least my men have something to work on,” he wiped his forehead.

“I know,” Yonghwa sighed, “The negotiation for the Daegu account will be ending soon so you’d be busier until then.”

“Until then,” the man chuckled then elbowed him playfully, “I was surprised when you gave us the address this morning. I always thought you are still enjoying your freedom.”

Yonghwa laughed lightly, “Well, unexpected things happen…”

“And they do happen unexpectedly,” Mr. Lee added as they walked out of the room, “That nursery of yours will be ready tomorrow. The furniture and fixtures are in the garage. Just show the boys how you want them when the room is ready.”

“Thank you again,” he led the man towards the open kitchen, “You should have been spending your downtime with your families.”

“Oh, stop,” Mr. Lee took a quick gulp of water and shrugged, “Besides, the wife’s always happy to see me gone. Meaning more money for the family.”

“It must be hard being away a lot…”

He laughed and pointed a finger at the younger man, “You’ll know that very soon, young man.”

Yonghwa only shook his head. He turned when Mr. Lee tipped his head at the direction of the living room in time to see Seohyun walking towards them.

“I-I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice, “I was looking for you…”

Yonghwa shook his head with a smile and gestured towards the other man, “This is Mr. Lee. His team is fixing the nursery. She’s Seohyun… my uhm—”

“I think I know exactly who this young lady is…” Mr. Lee grinned somewhat surprised to notice how different this girl was from the ones he would usually parade in the office. “It’s nice to meet you, Seohyun-ssi. We’ll have your baby’s room ready in no time.”

“Thank you…” that was all she could say as she lingered between those two men who continued talking about shelves and paints until the foreman turned to her.

“I’ll go check on the boys now,” Mr. Lee gave her a fatherly smile then added, “You have no idea how surprised I am to know that Yonghwa has turned his back to the dark side.”

Yonghwa laughed behind them then walked to her and much to her surprise, he put his arm around her shoulder. Seohyun almost shivered when he pulled her even closer. It was obvious that he was teasing her and he was aiming to make her feel uncomfortable. She’d throw it back at him though as she muttered, “If one more person tells me that I’ll be soon out of this house.”

Mr. Lee laughed but Yonghwa saw through her and pulled her even closer, “Not funny, baby…”

When the man was out of sight, she pushed him away and raised a finger at him, “You’re enjoying this…”

He laughed at that deadpanned look she was wearing but when her expression did not falter, he groaned and moved slowly back in front of her. Once again, he surprised her and even himself when he took her hand. As if unthinking, he studied her fingers. Her skin was soft, so soft he imagined she barely did any physical labor in her life. It made him wonder what her life was before having Euna. Yonghwa finally looked up and meet her scrutinizing gaze, “You know I’m just glad you agreed to do this.”

Seohyun shivered from the way he was touching her. But the frown she was wearing did not seem to bother him so she snapped quietly, “You have a really sweet way of showing that.” Another fits of laugh was his only response to that so she rolled her eyes. Seohyun could not believe that her sarcasm was only amusing him. “And you’re glad of what you’d get from your father because of this?” She added and regretted right away. The way he was holding her hand loosened as if what she said affected him. She should feel relieved but she wasn’t.

Yonghwa took a deep breath stopping for a second before replying. He knew that it was what she wanted to hear so he nodded and repeated what she said like she needed a confirmation. And before he could ruin her mood, he shifted to the safest subject, “Let’s get you and Euna settled in first then later I’ll show you around the house…”

With the guilt hidden still, she nodded then spoke in a small voice when she realized that he had become unconscious of the fact that he was still holding her, “Uhm, you can let go of my hand now…”

It was only then that Yonghwa realized that he was indeed still holding her hand but before letting go, he grinned at her, “Should I?” Lucky for him, Seohyun laughed so he added, “What if I don’t want to let go?”

With a click of her tongue, she tugged her hand but he only held her tighter with that silly grin pasted on his lips. “You have to…” she muttered almost whiningly but groaned out loud when he shook his head, “Let go already!”

“Arasso…” Yonghwa chuckled but before they could eve