Side Story Chapter 126 - Engagement Ceremony (4)

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Cha Yeon-Joo glared at Oh Kang-Woo in anger. Although she was third, she was also one of Kang-Woo’s lovers.

She questioned aggressively, “You’re not discriminating just because I’m the third, are you?”

Kang-Woo smirked and shook his head.

“Of course not.”

“Then why am I the only one who’s not getting a ring?” Yeon-Joo asked in rage.

“I’m not saying I won’t give you one. If so, I wouldn’t have even bothered to make this one here.”

Kang-Woo took out a ring box from his pocket and shook it in front of her.

“Then what...?”

“I have a condition.”

“A condition?”

Kang-Woo nodded.

Yeon-Joo frowned. “The hell? There weren’t any conditions for Seol-Ah and Lilith unnie.”

“That’s because you’re special, Yeon-Joo.”

“Special how?”

“Well...”

‘You’re fun to tease, obviously.’

The corners of Kang-Woo’s mouth soared. Just thinking about teasing her sent sparks throughout his body.

‘Aaaahh, I’m so thrilled!!!’

He felt like he was dying of joy just imagining it— Yeon-Joo’s red face and her shivers of humiliation.

“Haaa,” Kang-Woo exhaled heatedly.

Teasing Yeon-Joo was like a powerful narcotic he could never free himself from.

“Wh-What? What?! Y-You son of a bitch!!! You’re planning on teasing me again, aren’t you?!!” shouted Yeon-Joo, her face bright red. “Goddammit!!! Don’t you ever get tired of constantly teasing me?!!”

“Man... What are you talking about? How could I ever get tired of it?”

Teasing Yeon-Joo was always a fresh new experience.

“Hehehe. Now, then, I can tell you what my condition is, right?”

“No!! I won’t do it!!! Fuck the condition, I won’t do shit!!!” shouted Yeon-Joo teary-eyed.

“Is that so?” Kang-Woo shrugged and put the ring box back in his pocket as if he had nothing to lose. “Well, forget the ring, then.”

“Ngh...!” Yeon-Joo flinched as she bit her lip anxiously. She stared at Kang-Woo as her eyes shook and asked in panic, “Y-You bastard... Y-You’re joking about not giving me a ring, right?”

She knew Kang-Woo was blatantly teasing her but was also worried that someone like Kang-Woo wouldn’t give her the ring to the very end.

“Hehe. You know what you have to do if you want the ring, don’t you?”

Kang-Woo smiled slyly and tapped the ring box in his pocket over his clothes. Yeon-Joo bit her lip and clenched her fists.

She narrowed her eyes and asked cautiously, “What is... the condition? What do I have to do?”

She didn’t want to fall for Kang-Woo’s ploy but didn’t want to give up on the ring either. Kang-Woo smiled.

“I’m not asking for much.”

He took out his smartphone and handed it to her. On the screen was a short manga titled

The Clichés of an Average Japanese Romcom

.

“What the hell is this...?”

Yeon-Joo frowned and read the manga.

- Welcome home, dear.

The manga showed a woman in an apron welcoming home the protagonist with a seductive smile.

- Would you like dinner? A bath? Or...

“Ah.”

Yeon-Joo’s eyes widened the further she went into the manga. It was such a famous line that even she knew how it went despite not being interested in a subculture like this. She did not even need to read the final part of the sentence to know what it said.

“You want me... to do this?”

Yeon-Joo glared at Kang-Woo, her eyes brimming with fury. She couldn’t believe he wanted her to say something so crazy that no sane person could dare say it.

“Yup.” Kang-Woo nodded with a smile.

Yeon-Joo’s expression crumpled.

“DON’T FUCK WITH ME DAMMIT!!! HOW THE FUCK DO YOU EXPECT ME TO SAY THIS CRAZY ASS LINE?!!” she shouted as she swung her fist.

Kang-Woo jutted his hip back to dodge her fist.

“Really? Well, I guess that’s it, then.” He shrugged and turned to Echidna. “Right, since I’ve given out all the rings, let’s move on to the next event.”

“You son of a...! Hand over the goddamn ring!!”

Yeon-Joo charged at Kang-Woo as she panted heavily. Even if it was a joke, she didn’t want to be the only one who wasn’t given a ring.

‘I-I mean, it’s not like I can’t live without that ring or anything!!!’

She anxiously bit her lip and turned to look at the rings on Lilith and Seol-Ah’s left hands. The ring was so beautiful that even she, who didn’t care much about accessories, was enamored by it. No, it didn’t matter whether the ring was beautiful or not— that ring was the proof of engagement that Kang-Woo had made for this day.

‘It’s just that it’d be w-weird if I was the only one without one! Yeah! D-Don’t get the wrong idea!’

Yeon-Joo was also an official wife so being discriminated against was unacceptable. Her expression was filled with certainty and affirmation.

‘Yeah. This is purely for maintaining my relationship with Seol-Ah and Lilith, nothing more!’

Not even Yeon-Joo was sure why she was bringing up her relationship with Seol-Ah and Lilith out of the blue but that was not important right now. What mattered was the ring in Kang-Woo’s pocket. She needed that ring on her left ring finger as well as proof that she wasn’t just a partner and that they had promised each other’s futures to each other.

“Hahaha!!! Take it if you can!!!”

“Argh!! You motherfucker—!!”

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Kang-Woo cackled as he dodged Yeon-Joo’s swipes. Vessels bulged from Yeon-Joo’s forehead.

“Hand it the fuck over!!!”

Clatter—!!

Countless red chains covered in thorns poured out of her bracelets and slithered freely like snakes, aiming for Kang-Woo.

“Come on, we don’t want your dress getting ruined, do we?”

“Kyaah!”

Kang-Woo moved to Yeon-Joo’s shadow behind her using the Authority of Shadows and hugged her from behind to restrain her arms. The chains slithering freely fell to the ground helplessly.

“Y-You motherfucker...!”

Yeon-Joo glared at Kang-Woo fiercely. She was so frustrated that she was tearing up a little. Kang-Woo smirked and grabbed her chin to turn her head toward him and kissed her.

“M-Mrrp!” Yeon-Joo’s eyes widened.

Kang-Woo whispered in her ear, “I’m just joking. Did you seriously think I wouldn’t give you a ring?”

“You son of a...”

Yeon-Joo bared her teeth as she glared at Kang-Woo. She used the pointy part of her high heel to stomp on Kang-Woo’s foot.

Kang-Woo erased his smirk and stared at her seriously to say, “But Yeon-Joo, I’m serious when I say I want to hear you say that line.”

“You... Are you still saying that kind of shit?”

“What do you mean, that kind of shit?” Kang-Woo shook his head. “I know that line is childish and embarrassing.”

“Why do you keep asking me if you know that?”

“But what does that matter?” Kang-Woo stared at her in seriousness. “So what if it’s embarrassing? So what if it’s childish?”

There was no one but him and his lovers in the engagement ceremony.

“I only want... to see the lovely side of my beloved Yeon-Joo.”

“L-Lovely side?” Yeon-Joo’s eyes shook. She shook her head and shouted, “S-Stop bullshitting, dammit!! You’re just trying to tease me again!!”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then, what?!! Why do I have to say that embarrassing line?!!”

“Darling and Lilith ask me for weird requests like calling them noona or Mommy.”

“What? Th-They did?”

Yeon-Joo turned to Han Seol-Ah and Lilith in disbelief.

“My, you’re saying that here?”

“Hohoho.”

The two women stepped backward as they smiled awkwardly after being called out.

“What the...” slurred Yeon-Joo in bafflement.

“I mean... I get embarrassed too when I say that kind of stuff, but I think I understand why Darling and Lilith ask me to do things like that.”

“Why...?”

“Because it’s nice seeing a side of your lover that you normally don’t get to see.”

“...”

It was a load of bullshit that didn’t even deserve to be refuted.

‘But... why is it so convincing?’

An inexplicable sense of thrill rose from deep inside Yeon-Joo when she imagined Kang-Woo calling her noona.

“F-Fine! Leaving all that aside!! Why am I the only one who has to say that embarrassing line?!”

“Because you’re the most special to me!!!”

“Wh-What?”

Yeon-Joo stepped backward, her face as red as a tomato. Kang-Woo walked forward and grabbed her by the waist.

“Darling and Lilith feel like newlyweds to me. No, it goes beyond that; I sometimes feel like we’ve been married for years.”

However, Yeon-Joo was different. Unlike the two women who were not embarrassed to express their love, Yeon-Joo was still embarrassed to actively express her love for Kang-Woo.

“I don’t want anyone else. I want to see... a fresh side of you, Yeon-Joo,” said Kang Woo as seriously as one traveling the world in search of the truth.

“U-Urgh...” Yeon-Joo bit her lip, influenced by his mellow words.

“Here, I’ll give you the ring. It’s up to you whether you want to do it or not.”

Kang-Woo took out the ring box from his pocket and placed the ring on Yeon-Joo’s left ring finger. Yeon-Joo’s eyes shook.

“D-Do you want to hear it that badly?”

“Yeah.” Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation.

His eyes no longer carried any hint of playful emotion; they were completely serious. They were blazing with pure desire to see a new side of his wife.

“...”

Yeon-Joo hesitated. She dragged the tip of her heel on the floor and repeatedly opened and closed her fists.

“D-Do you really want to hear me say it because... I’m the most special to you?”

“Of course.”

“A-Ahem!!” Yeon-Joo coughed as she averted her gaze from him. “D-Don’t you dare... tease me for it afterward, got it?”

“I swear I won’t.”

“A-And don’t take pictures of videos!!!”

“Okay.”

Kang-Woo took out his smartphone and tossed it on the couch.

“Urghhh,” Yeon-Joo groaned as she twisted around. She recited the words she had read in the manga, “W-W-W-W-W-W-Wel... Welcome h-h-h-h-ho...”

She couldn’t stop her voice from trembling. A mind-whitening sense of humiliation and embarrassment filled her head.

“H-H-H-Home... Dear.”

Her teeth clacked. She opened her eyes and saw Kang-Woo staring at her lovingly without any intention of teasing her.

‘Th-That fucking pervert!’

She was getting hot despite criticizing him in her head.

‘D-Does he love me that much?’

The moment of Kang-Woo calling her the most special to him continuously replayed in her head. The corners of her mouth rose despite being so embarrassed that she could die at any moment.

“W-Would you like... dinner? A-A-A-A b-bath? Or... Or...”

It was time to say the final word.

“M-M-M-M-M-M-M...” Yeon-Joo shut her eyes tightly and said, “Me...?”

‘O;noa;dnfonqo;ncvo;andfklj;;lasdbnfkj wl;dbclASD fl e cvk;aBD’

Fragments of language stormed inside her head. She was so embarrassed that she felt like she was about to puke out her intestines.

‘B-But...’

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

She was also curious to see Kang-Woo’s reaction. She wondered if he was just as embarrassed as she was or if he was happy despite the embarrassment. She opened her tightly shut eyes and stared at him full of anticipation.

“Wow,” Kang-Woo chuckled as he stared at Yeon-Joo.

“...?”

“Dayum, you seriously said it?”

“...”

“You’re in your thirties. Don’t you have any shame?”

Something broke inside her head.

“YOU MOTHERFUCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!”

Yeon-Joo’s red hair, which was in a ponytail, fluttered as she landed a clean somersault kick on Kang-Woo’s chin.