Chapter 36. First Date

As Euna grew, her ‘parents’ fell into a comfortable routine. Although their lives inside the confines of the lake house revolved around the baby, the two really did follow Aunt Hyeon Ji’s advice of becoming good friends. They cared for each other more than they admitted to themselves nor to each other, and, it was no surprise that they managed to influence the other so much.

Seohyun was able to coax him into visiting his parents once in a week. The first was when she decided to go to their parents’ house while he was at work and hired a taxi instead of driving the car for her personal use. Yonghwa had no choice but to pick them up after work but she insisted for them to have early dinner with his parents before they leave.

This pleased his mother so much that she secretly sent an approving grin at Seohyun’s way while she was trying to argue with Yonghwa about dinner. His father was a silent audience during that whole feat but she could tell that he was happy as well. Slowly, she wanted him to go back being the son his parents adore. And slowly, Seohyun also wanted his parents to try and see him more than the disagreeable son that they thought him to be.

And she would do that by showing them how he adored and took care of their own little girl.

And so their visits to his parents became frequent.

He too allowed her to have back one piece of her life missing for a long time. Yuri became a constant visitor in their home and also managed to get Seohyun and Euna out once in a while. Seohyun, however, limited their meeting to weekdays since Yonghwa would be home on weekends and she gave that time for him to spend with Euna— and probably her.

Her Unnie was a needed part of her life. She was able to be to tell her things and talk about things that she could really not do with Yonghwa or the other people around her. She was herself— the woman that she was and the woman that she is. Yuri too didn’t fail to ask her about her non-existent intimate relationship with Yonghwa and only laughed when she commented that she didn’t want them to be intimate.

But her unnie warned her. And she knew that it was a necessary warning.

Not that being intimate with him was some kind of a dangerous situation but a warning that said it was going to happen.

Seohyun knew that, Yonghwa, as far as she knew was ual. She knew that he had mostly ual relationships with the women he was seeing. But she was highly doubting of someone he was seeing at the moment.

That brought some kind of a relief for her in a weird sense.

But thinking that they would do it made her admittedly anxious especially since his teasings got a little more daring. Setting that aside, she was liking how their relationship was progressing. It was easier now than before like it was easier to take care of her little baby. Thankfully, Euna doesn’t get sick as often and she was weighing heavier than a normal two month old baby. But the only thing that worried her so much was that her little baby was still as brooding as it gets.

Euna did give those smiles, coos and even, at times, laughter, but most of the time she was just scowling. So they cherish every gummy grins she would bestow upon them. And as time goes by, she also noticed that Yonghwa was becoming too attached to her daughter that it added to her worries. Their set up was temporary and she was beginning to believe the impact of them separating in the future. Although Euna would still be young to understand, Yonghwa would probably be devastated especially if she decides to go back to Tokyo.

Japan was still home for her and she loved her parents despite everything that happened and she knew that they would still accept her after the long haul. But Korea— Korea was starting to feel like home. The lake house was becoming more of a home for her that sometimes when her baby was asleep and the house was quiet, she would sit outside the nursery and stare out of the lake. Peace and an overwhelming sense of belongingness would envelop her.

It felt like this was home and she belonged here.

Seohyun sighed and smiled at her sleeping child. Perhaps she should shove these sad thoughts at the back of her mind and deal with them when the end draws near. Her eyes drifted towards the door and frowned when she noticed him leaning by the doorframe grinning silly at her, “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to wonder what makes you look like you’re trying to think of global domination,” Yonghwa sauntered in the room and sat on the bed. His eyes dropping on Euna.

Seohyun took a deep breath and stood. She didn’t notice the time and hadn’t prepared their dinner yet. She was about to leave the room thinking he would follow when he called out her name and put a paper bag on the bed. She didn’t ask but she took the paper and peered inside to find a blazing red silk of a cocktail dress. She frowned, “What’s this for?”

“It’s Jonghyun’s birthday party this weekend. You can wear that.”

The provocative way the material slid on her fingers made her wonder how it would feel having it on her body. The V-neck sleeveless dress was almost conservative up front but at the back, it was almost bare. The length too wasn’t too daring but the way it felt would make the skirt sway when she walks. It was a gorgeous dress but she looked at him questioningly.

“If you don’t like it, I can ask the shop to replace it,” Yonghwa sighed watching her expression.

“No, it’s not that…” she shook her head apologetic that she appeared to be ungrateful of this gesture. She asked instead as if to distract his thoughts, “Jonghyun, your bestfriend and business partner?”

He grinned, “The one and only. He had been bugging me to meet you. This would be the best time.”

“A party,” she murmured.

He laughed softly noticing how wary she got whenever she faces the prospect of her being exposed to more people, “Don’t worry, the guests are mostly the staff in the office and some of our friends. It’s nothing grand really…”

She nodded but she couldn’t help the anxiety. He never asked anything of her; in fact, he had been too generous and she knew that this sort of a request was something she should agree on since it’s the least she could do. With a heavy sigh, she mumbled, “Okay…”

“Okay, as in you’d go with me?”

She smiled and raised the dress in her hand, “You leave me with no choice.”

He smirked, “I hope you like it…”

“I sure do, thank you so much,” she smiled, “I hope I can fit in this though.”

He smiled almost patronizingly, “You fit in the yellow one I got you before, right? They gave me the same size.”

The yellow sundress fitted well. The length was a problem for her because it fell a little above her knee which was okay by any standards but she was not comfortable wearing it around him. He had been bugging her to wear it but she would just shrug him off saying that they were just in the house for her to be wearing that nice. This one though was not long enough although it would be exposing her. Somehow she was excited to wear this— for him at least.

“Thanks really,” she mumbled.

“You’re welcome,” Yonghwa only nodded then asked, “Have you had dinner?”

“I just remembered dinner when you arrived,” she grinned. He laughed and tapped her shoulder, “Let’s eat then. I need some job done tonight too…”

~~~

Their dinner was unceremonious and that he even finished soon since he was catching up with the next day’s deadline. Afterwards, he retreated to his study burying himself in the final adjustments he had to make for the plan he was working on. When he as just about done, his thoughts drifted to what happened moments ago. Yonghwa winced realizing something.