episode_0022

Hanryeowon’s parents.

So, my uncle and aunt.

They invited me to have a meal. It was the first time since I met her.

“What’s going on?”

Just as I was wondering what it could be.

Hanryeowon cautiously asked through the speaker.

[Is the time… okay…?]

My uncle once received great help from my mother.

And my aunt has been supporting me through Hanryeowon.

If there’s no time, it’s only right for me as a person to attend somehow.

“Of course, I should go. When should we go? Yeah. Yeah yeah. Okay. Got it. I’ll contact you again later.”

After setting the schedule so simply and hanging up the phone, I looked at the dark screen and thought carefully again.

What made them suddenly invite me?

“…I don’t know.”

As expected, there was no clue.

*

Dressed neatly after a long time, I headed to her house a little earlier than the appointed time.

Since I couldn’t visit an acquaintance empty-handed, I bought a small fruit gift nearby.

“1302… Here it is.”

After checking the number several times on the messenger, I straightened my clothes lightly and pressed the doorbell.

Then I heard the sound of someone running from across the door, and the door opened with Hanryeowon welcoming me.

“Come on in!”

“Not late, right?”

“You came right on time! Come on in.”

“Excuse me.”

And as I entered the house, two neat middle-aged couples greeted me.

“You’ve worked hard coming here.”

“Welcome.”

They were Hanryeowon’s uncle and aunt whom I had met before.

“So good to see you.”

“It’s been a while.”

“Oh, Ryowon was right. You’re very handsome. This is our first time meeting, right?”

“Yes. Thank you for taking care of me all this time. It’s not much, but I bought some fruits on my way here.”

“Oh my! It’s okay to come empty-handed.”

“I couldn’t just come without anything. I’d appreciate it if you accept it.”

“Sure. Let’s eat together later.”

The family of Hanyerwon greeted me warmly.

It wasn’t as awkward as I thought. The atmosphere was quite warm and friendly.

It wasn’t a bad start.

“Have you eaten?”

“No, I haven’t eaten yet. And you can speak comfortably, Aunt.”

“Is that so?”

“Honey, now that we’re all here, why don’t we eat first?”

“Yes, I’ll prepare it right away.”

“Yuchan! I’ll give you the clothes, sit over here.”

“Thank you.”

We moved straight to the dining table and had dinner.

“Oh, you’ve set the table so lavishly.”

Even though the table was quite large, it was secretly overwhelming to see it so full of sumptuous food.

“I will enjoy this meal!”

Having taken antacids before coming, I pushed the food around with all due courtesy.

“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes. Your cooking seems better than my mother’s.”

“To that extent?”

“Yeah. Yuchan really loves his aunt’s cooking!”

“I guess I’ll have to take even better care in the future. Hoho.”

Fortunately, my aunt seemed to like me, which left a not-so-bad first impression.

“It’s not bad to look good.”

So, while eating, we exchanged various conversations.

Everyone knew my situation, so there was nothing uncomfortable or distant, and the three of us created a comfortable atmosphere by leading the conversation appropriately.

“I guess they just called me over for a meal.”

So I enjoyed the warmth of family that I hadn’t felt in a long time without any suspicion…

After finishing the meal in the warm atmosphere, we moved to the spacious living room and shared dessert with warm tea.

“Um, but you know…”

My little uncle, who was laughing just a moment ago, suddenly put on a serious face and spoke quietly.

I’ve always wanted to ask one thing. Can I ask?

“Yes, it’s okay.”

“Well, how… do you plan to take responsibility for our Yewon in the future?”

“… Responsibility, you say…?”

Right now, it’s being managed through part-time work because she’s still young, but that can’t go on forever.

I was slightly taken aback by the unexpected ambush and couldn’t respond. I glanced at Hanyerwon, who was sitting next to me.

Then she quickly interjected, “We’ll handle that ourselves.”

The conversation took an odd turn.

“I think we can handle it well on our own, but as parents, you might want to hear about our future plans. Right, honey?”

“Yes, Yerwon. My sister-in-law thinks the same. We’re not planning to get married right away, but…”

“Sister-in-law! It’s not at that stage yet…”

Responsibility in marriage and future plans.

Hanyerwon nervously looked at me while her parents brought up a rather serious topic, as if they were marrying off their daughter.

“No way…?”

Finally realizing the situation, I was shocked internally.

It seemed like I was sitting there as Hanyerwon’s boyfriend.

“What do you think?”

“……”

“……”

All three sets of eyes focused on me.

Swallowing hard, I tried to calm my nerves and glanced at Hanyerwon.

She, unable to meet my eyes, seemed uneasy.

In this situation, she probably found it difficult to explain, so she couldn’t stop her parents from pushing the matter.

‘I’m relieved I caught on quickly.’

Praising myself for not making a fool of myself, I gathered my thoughts and confidently spoke, meeting her father’s gaze.

“To be honest, I don’t have any concrete plans yet. Marriage and the future feel vague to me.”

A subtle tension filled the living room.

“But…”

Confidently, I grabbed Hanyerwon’s hand and asserted, “I don’t want to irresponsibly make Yerwon suffer.”

Whether it would kill or feed me, I wanted to show something.

Though it was essentially a bluff…

“Yuchan…”

Moved by my willingness to take responsibility, she readily lent me her support.

“Right! Yu-chan, he’s not someone to be troubled! If things don’t work out, I’ll take responsibility and make it right!”

“Well, these days, many men are househusbands… right?”

“…If that’s what you think…”

With his mother-in-law on his side, the small father-in-law, unable to say anything, let out a short sigh with a resigned expression.

“There’s no other way. Let’s give it a try.”

“You thought well. Honey.”

“Wow! Thank you, father-in-law!”

“But if you make my daughter cry, you’ll be in big trouble!”

“Do you really think our son-in-law would do that?”

“That’s right! Yu-chan wouldn’t make her cry!”

“Oh come on. Are you going to favor the son-in-law only? Will you live feeling sorry for me?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Were you upset because your daughter was taken away?”

“If so, then yes!”

The three of them, who had quickly brightened up again, embraced each other, creating a warm atmosphere.

Unable to adapt to the change, I felt an indescribable emotion as I looked at them.

“Huh?”

It felt as if I had been inadvertently involved without even realizing it.

“I’ll see them off!”

“Well then, we’ll see you next time.”

Successfully completing the traditional wedding ceremony, we walked arm in arm down the street.

It’s already autumn. The night air is starting to get chilly.

“Um… Yu-chan.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry…”

“For what?”

For calling him out today and causing him trouble…

She readily offered an apology with a dejected look, seemingly feeling considerable guilt about today’s events.

“It seems like she’s become more docile. She looks so cute.”

Even the previously absent dissatisfaction melted away at her appearance.

“It’s okay. It was going to end up like this anyway.”

“…What?”

In truth, she didn’t do anything wrong.

If anything, the fault lies with me.

We were practically in a romantic relationship already.

She was just looking out for me unilaterally.

After all, if I hadn’t had any feelings for her, I wouldn’t have casually brought up taking responsibility in front of my family.

It was a story told with my own resolve.

“Yu-chan…”

“If you’re okay with it, kiss me.”

As I tapped her on the face, she hugged me tightly, and our lips met.

“Hehe. I love you.”

I felt better with her straightforward aegyo, and as we walked closely together, I murmured.

“…Thanks for waiting all this time.”

“…Yeah….”

That’s how we finally became an official couple.

*

After exchanging greetings with Hanryeowon’s family, quite a lot changed.

The most important of which was that she gained freedom in staying out overnight.

However, with the condition of ‘definitely using birth control.’

“Y-you really said that?”

“Yeah….”

“Uhh… Let’s just do it.”

“…Yeah….”

Anyway, from then on, Hanryeowon started spending more time at our place.

“Can I sleep over tonight?”

“Did you let your family know?”

“I told them I might stay over.”

“Then go ahead and stay.”

At first, it was clearly just for one night.

“Are you free first period tomorrow?”

“Yeah. So just sleep here.”

“You don’t just want to sleep with me?”

“That too. Hehe.”

Before we knew it, it started extending to two or three days.

“Hanryeowon, can you not go home today?”

“I don’t know. I think I’ll just stay here again today.”

“What if you get banned from staying out overnight?”

“My son-in-law will handle it.”

“What? This guy…!”

“Kyaa…!”

During exam periods, she practically spent five days a week at our place.

“Hey, hey! Not today. You need to study for your exams.”

“We’ll finish studying later, right?”

“You said the same thing yesterday and ended up passing out first.”

“No, I didn’t. Today, I’ll make you pass out first.”

“You talk big about a lousy topic.”

“It’s not lousy! I’m totally skilled!”

As a result, her belongings gradually filled our house.

“When did you order this?”

“My cosmetics. I hardly use them at home, so I just brought them all.”

“Where should I put them?”

“There, on your desk.”

Even her daily necessities.

Before I knew it, her luggage had become more than mine.

‘When did this happen?’

By the time I realized it, we were practically living together.

‘Should I bring it up once? No, is it even worth mentioning now?’ That’s what I pondered briefly while looking at her subtly settled into our home.

Suddenly, Hanrye-won received an offer of independence from her family.

“Independence…? Suddenly?”

“Yeah. They said they’d find me a room.”

Since I couldn’t live with my family forever, the idea was to secure a vacant room around the end of the semester…

“Oh… really?”

“So, can I live here for a while?”

“At our place?”

“Yeah…!”

Hanrye-won proposed living together outright.

“Uh…”

Honestly, I don’t dislike the idea of living together.

It saves money in many ways, and it’s not uncomfortable being with her.

But, having lived alone for quite some time, living with someone else feels a bit awkward.

“…If you don’t want to, just say so… I’ll find a place on my own…”

Noticing that I didn’t readily agree, Hanrye-won withdrew her proposal with a downcast look.

Of course, I wasn’t just going to silently watch her do that.

“Oh, no! I was just thinking about it.”

“Then… can I live here?”

As if waiting for this, she sought permission with a coy tone.

“…Just get permission from your family.”

Personally, I considered semi-cohabitation and real cohabitation to be different, so I demanded that she seek permission from her small father and aunt.

And then.

Super-gorgeous goddess Ryewon♥ [Got permission!]

As if she had been waiting, she confidently entered our house, even attaching a verification photo.

In the photo, Hanrye-won’s family members were smiling brightly, giving a thumbs-up.

“Really?”

And just like that, I unexpectedly began living together.