Nine

“Date?”

“O,” Yeon Joo could almost imagine him nodding his head with a serious look on. “ I do not want to depend on what I have read. I want to know how it really felt like, to be your husband.”

Oh Yeon Joo couldn’t help but blush at his charming words. She fan her face and compose herself before she replied, “Arasseo. Just give me an hour to prepare, okay?” 

“O, I’ll wait.” He ended the call and Yeon Joo couldn’t help but collapse at the sofa. She hug herself before screaming in delight. She couldn’t help it. She was so happy that she is slowly winning her husband back. 

She went to her room and strip her clothes. She open her wardrobe and pulled a couple of clothes. She tried them all and smiled as she got the perfect one. Right before she even made her way to the bathroom, her phone rang again. 

“Yeobeose-“ 

“Open the door, I’m right on front.” Oh Yeon Joo remove the phone from her ear and stared at the front door. She tied the bathrobe  tighter on her waist and turn the knob. Kang Chul was surprise as he saw her there, her neck bare and her face flush. 

“mwoya? Is this how you treat your husband after he comes home from work?” He stared at her longer and Yeon Joo couldn’t help but shield herself from his gaze. “Aisshh, I--” Kang Chul raise both of his hands and acted as though he wanted to eat her. 
 
Oh Yeon Joo raise a hand up at him and said, “Stay where you are. Just give me 5 minutes. Just 5!”

“Wae? Aren’t you going to invite me inside?” he peek over her shoulder before pushing her to the side. He look around the room. He had his hands position on his waist as he stood there in the middle of the room, eyes scrutinizing everything. “Nice and cozy. This felt like my childhood home.” He smiled at her and she just shrugged. “Well, it is our home.”

Her words shock him for awhile. Taking it as her cue, Oh Yeon Joo entered the bathroom so she could change out of her bathrobe. Though , this time, his words have shocked her. “Since you are already in your bathrobe  couldn’t you take it off?”  

Yeon Joo clutch the robes tight with her hands as she blushed. Geez. He was giving her a heart attack. 

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s just unfair that you get to remember everything and I don’t. It frustrates me every time I hear you say something about me and get it right.” Oh right. He’s supposed to know everyone, Yeon Joo thought. “Seeing you is not only the thing I wanted. I’d also like to kiss you about…five times?” Yeah right. Oh Yeon Joo couldn’t help but stare at him, her jaw hanging.

 Is he serious?

While she is gawking at him, Kang Chul continued, “I just want to feel what the Kang Chul in this book feels.”

She ring her hands together and smiled awkwardly, “Are you joking right now?” 

He made his way close to her and back her up on a wall. He shook his head and said, “No. I am perfectly serious.”
 She bit her lip and duck, shutting the door behind her. This gave Kang Chul some time to explore their home. He went inside the bedroom to see their wedding picture on the wall; her mountain of clothes and her undergarments sprawled all over the floor. He snatch a brassier and smiled as he squeeze at it, blushing. He was enjoying himself by simply touching it when his attention was caught by the pictures over the window. He stood and smiled as he saw the cut outs from the manga. 

Kang Chul turned away from the pictures only to see Oh Yeon Joo entering the room. “Thank you for not forgetting me and for missing me.” Oh Yeon Joo blushed at that, avoiding his gaze only to notice her underwear on  top of the mountain of clothes. She dove and tried to hide it together with the clothes as Kang Chul shook his head at her. 

“Omo. If your husband only knows that you are this messy, he would’ve thought twice or thrice about marrying you.” She glared at him and said, “Well, he has married me against all odds and was happily teasing me while I rush.” She return the clothes back to her closet and continued, “If only he have followed my instructions and have arrived later than expected, I would’ve—” 

She was not given any chance to complain some more as  Kang Chul tackled her and gave her a swift kiss. He pulled Oh Yeon Joo close and started directing her down the parking lot. They headed out on their date. Yeon Joo insisted that she will treat him since he has no money and doesn’t know where to go. Chul simply agrees, spouting facts about the manga like: that Kang Chul and Yeon-joo got married too quickly even with those unlikely circumstances.
Though, Kang Chul understands that he have married her the second time and have probably done sweet deeds with her… he can’t remember this. So he dawn into a decision, “Let’s date, like other couples do. It’s a little funny to find out that you are married and decide to date after, but let’s not do the sweet things you want to do like it’s homework to get out of the way.” This version of Kang Chul shocked her that she doesn’t know how to react. “Plus, we have another thing to deal with,” He glance down on her stomach and she shield it away from his eyes, almost instinctively. 

While they are waiting for the traffic light to turn green, he suggests doing things naturally as they come, one by one, and Oh Yeon Joo agrees happily. But then as soon as they arrive at the restaurant and he sees that no one is around, he turns to her in the car and ask, “When can we start with the kisses?” 
Yeon Joo blush at this and said, “Ya! Stop messing with me,” though Chul only says, “I’m serious. Really, but about the show…” He smirked at her reaction, earning him a slap from her, “I’m only joking about that.” He look at her reaction and realize that it’s too soon and backs off, but then she blurts “It’s not like that awkward because we have done it a lot in the past.”
Kang Chul gaze at her and said “Then can I?” She simply nodded but before she can even say something, he leans over and tilts her face towards his,  kissing her softly.
Chul stares at her intently for a beat as they pull away. And then he says cryptically, “So this is the feeling. Hmm, it was...I see now.” 
Yeon Joo stared at him and asked, “What do you mean? How does it make you feel?”  He just smiled at her and said, “No comment.”  

He led her inside the restaurant and they both ordered the same meal. Kang Chul have already finished taking the orders when Yeon Joo took the menu from him. She asked for a bowl of cold noodles, pork dumplings, and some jelly which made Kang Chul raise his eyebrow at her. 

“Mwo?” Yeon Joo said after she notice him staring at her. Chul just shook his head and smiled sheepishly.

The food arrived after a while. Chul was delighted to eat his favorite- braised chicken. He ate to his hearts content, occasionally staring at  Oh Yeon Joo. She was eating the jelly with her chopsticks, slurping the cold noodles and stuffing the braised chicken on . He was shocked to see her eat like that but nodded in understanding as he remembered. She was pregnant after all. 

“Mwoya? Why do you keep on staring at me like that?” She pouted, her cheeks puffy with all the food stuck inside . “I know. I am eating like a pig but what am I supposed to do?” She push the cold noodles and jelly towards him and sniffed. Kang Chul just stared at her, amused. “Why would you ask me on a date, kiss me—” he just stared at her as she blink back angry tears, making him remember something about the past.

*
He looks at her curiously as she started complaining about his demands. He pointed out that he never said anything about making it a dream.
“Even though. You are about to tell me that you wanted me to draw it like a dream”

“Ani,” he counters. “That was what Kang Chul in the manga did—I’m not about to make the same mistake twice” Chul put his hand on the table and said, “ this time I’ve had the chance to think it through, and I have no intention of living that same life all over again, or of becoming nothing but a memory to you.”

*

His own memory shocked him. He blink back only to see Yeon Joo crying. He transferred on the seat next to her and comforted her. “Shh, I won’t let you do anything so harsh again. I won’t ask you to do something you do not want.”

Yeon Joo was shocked to hear him, “I am tired of living alone. Now that you are here with me, I won’t let anyone or anything take you away from me.” He kissed her forehead which made her look at him. “Mwo?”

Yeon Joo felt puzzled. Why does he sound like he had just a flashback? Is he starting to remember? She just look at him, a million thoughts running on her head as she finish her cold noodles. 

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