24. Wedding Arrangement

The couple arrived in time for lunch and Hyeon Ji was just relieved to see the covered dishes her brother dropped on the table, “Thank goodness for bringing the food. Yonghwa barely have anything in this kitchen.”

Sung Gwang watched his sister unpack the dishes they brought from home but his mind was only set into the thought of seeing his granddaughter. He had been thinking of the baby girl the day Yonghwa told them that outrageous statement. He didn’t believe a word of it and when he was told by his sister that day that Seohyun had agreed to stay with Yonghwa, he wanted to rush to his son’s house. Hyeon Ji didn’t agree though telling him to wait the next day as the two needed to get settled in first.

He couldn’t sleep that night. “Where are they?” He finally asked.

“Oh, they haven’t left the bedroom since this morning,” she laughed but she continued thoughtfully, “I don’t even think Seohyun had breakfast.”

“They must be hungry, we better call them for lunch,” Eun Suk said looking over her shoulder towards the hallway.

Hyeon Ji took it as a sign for her to cement the situation so she spoke seriously, “Wait, let’s talk first.” She motioned for the couple to sit across her on the dining table then she started, “I may probably share your feelings of excitement over this. Yonghwa managed to convince her. He told me about her living condition and it looked as if he wasn’t really happy about that.”

“But why did Seohyun told him he was not the father?”

It was Eun Suk who asked and she realized that her sister-in-law was still doubting. This maternal instinct might create a problem for her so she decided to be careful in sewing her story together. Hyeon Ji sighed, “Because, I guess, she was shaken with the appearance of Yerin. If I was her, it would also be a big warning sign for me. And what else could she say to escape from Yonghwa? “

Eun Suk took a deep exhale while her husband clicked his tongue. It all made sense somehow but it must have been hard for both of them.

“What’s more important now is that she agreed to give Yonghwa a chance.” Hyeon Ji, of course, felt guilty with all these lying but this was what she called necessary evil. She kept her serious expression as she continued, “And there’s something I want to warn you about. Try not to mention or ask her about her life because she gets emotional about that. I think that’s because her parents didn’t like Yonghwa from the very beginning and they might be upset because she chose to leave Japan and be with him.”

“Her parents might want a wedding, at least to give Euna a name,” Eun Suk insisted and her husband nodded when she looked at him, “And that’s our duty now if they won’t do it by themselves.”

“Probably but they may not be happy with Yonghwa,” she shrugged.

“She’s right,” Sung Gwang said after a few moment of contemplation. If he had a daughter, he’d probably wouldn’t want her to be with a man like Yonghwa. It was not to discredit his son, after all he has achieved so much, more than what he expected from him. But if he was Seohyun’s father, he’d rather take care of her and Euna without Yonghwa. He truly understood how her parents were feeling. “It makes me wonder though if Yonghwa wants to get married.”

“As far as I know, he let’s Seohyun decide.”

“It only goes without saying that he might probably not want to,” Sung Gwang scoffed then added with a sigh, “Maybe he could convince her.”

“Let’s give them time, that’s what they want right now,”

“To live together?” Eun Suk cried in almost disbelief, “I don’t really agree with them living together like this without being married.”

“That’s the best choice right now,” Hyeon Ji nodded and gave a bit of a warning, “If not, she’d go back to Tokyo and live with her parents.”

“That would mean bringing Euna,” Sung Gwang shook his head.  

“Yes, and of course Yonghwa won’t be happy with that,” Hyeon Ji smiled. Of all the lies she told, this wouldn’t be one of them because she saw with her own eyes that Yonghwa loved Euna like she was really his own daughter.

The three of them fell into a contemplative silence after that as if each of them was thinking of the best solution for this situation. After a few moment, she sighed, “Anyway, I think they should come down now. Seohyun didn’t eat breakfast.”

“You call them,” Sung Gwang murmured, “I don’t want to get in there.”

Eun Suk laughed at her husband, “What are you thinking?! They just had a baby, for pete’s sakes!”

“Knowing Yonghwa…” he grumbled and the women laughed.

Hyeon Ji chuckled shaking her head then stood, “I’ll go get them.”

~~~

The conversation during lunch was rather lively. They talked about business, family members, plans— but the young couple were mostly quiet. As quiet as the baby in her carrier placed on one corner of the dining table.

After what seemed to be like the longest lunch of her life, Seohyun managed to convince all of them that she should do the dishes. They remained around the table though as the conversation continued but when the focus shifted to Euna, Seohyun was just as thankful. In truth, she was actually praying for her to wake up during lunch since she didn’t like the thought that the conversation would divert to things she didn’t want to talk about— especially getting married.

Sung Gwang couldn’t get his eyes off the little darling. Her little head was topped with the darkest hair that would soon look prettier with a big flower headband. Her skin already showed signs that she would be as radiant as her young umma. Euna looked more like her mother but he could also very well tell that there’s a Jung in there.

For one, her temper.

“Appa, you’re bothering her!” Yonghwa grumbled when his father rubbed his face on Euna’s tummy and she started to whimper.

Sung Gwang laughed when her little eyes propped open and her brows furrowed. Her arms lifted and her legs kicked. She rubbed her little fists on her face and whimpered a little louder. Then her head turned towards her grandpa who was cooing at her and her eyes trained on him. She blinked a couple of times but she looked as if shooting daggers at him to everyone’s amusement.

They all laughed at her dejected expression as if she was too upset that her grandfather deliberately woke her up. When the whimpers turned into a full blown cry, Yonghwa stepped in and took her from her carrier. And as if she was just showing off, she stopped crying the moment her appa lifted her up. Seohyun turned for a bit and saw him smiling as he rocked Euna in his arms. It was almost like the most normal sight in the world that he was casually talking to his parents while swaying gently to keep Euna calm and happy.

Then their eyes met.

Seohyun looked away.

The other people in the room didn’t notice the awkwardness that suddenly fell on the two as the conversation went on. His mother was just talking about Tiffany who was planning to return to her business a month after giving birth and she was really not happy about it, “Three months break would be better. That’s usually how long I took a break back when I was still working with Unnie…”

“Hmmm…” Hyeon Ji nodded in agreement as she set her cup on the table. Even before