episode_0077

In the dimly lit theater, the ajusshi and I settled into our seats, maintaining silence as we began to focus on the movie.

The movie chosen by the ajusshi was a romance film depicting the love between a man and a woman, where the protagonist, a woman, ends up marrying the man she fell in love with at first sight during middle school.

However, the man, who was a college student at the time, was not only 8 years older than the protagonist but also engaged to the protagonist’s older sister, causing the protagonist to suppress her feelings for him and lead a melancholic life.

Despite this situation, the reason why the two could eventually get married was because on the day of her older sister’s wedding a few years later, her sister, who was forced into an arranged engagement due to family circumstances, ran away after finding true love.

As a result, both families were in a panic, but the protagonist stepped up and offered to marry in place of her sister, resolving the situation.

I never thought I would be interested in a romance movie, but I found myself strangely immersed in the film, feeling a lot of empathy towards the protagonist without realizing it.

Although there were many obstacles between the two characters in the movie, it was heartwarming to see that they could eventually come together sincerely in the end.

“I guess I was really engrossed in the movie. It still feels so vivid.”

“Yeah, I was worried about what would happen if the man misunderstood the protagonist until the end.”

“Right. But in that situation, anyone would misunderstand… If the protagonist’s sister hadn’t shown up in the end, what would have happened?”

After the movie ended and the dark theater brightened up again, the ajusshi and I discussed our thoughts on the movie.

Seeing the scenes of the protagonist being misunderstood and the man feeling sorry for her, the ajusshi probably felt a similar sentiment as me.

Even after leaving the theater, the impact of the movie continued to linger, showing how captivating it was.

Especially the scene where the protagonist, instead of pressuring or blaming, appeals to her sister that the marriage was a choice made out of love for the man who came to find her out of concern, was truly a touching moment.

“…But ajusshi, we only came to watch one movie, did you really have to rent out the whole theater?”

It was when we had moved on from the movie’s lingering effect and were about to head to the restaurant the ajusshi had reserved.

Turning my gaze away from the movie and looking at the ajusshi, I couldn’t help but ask the question that had been on my mind.

“Yeah, it was necessary.”

I was slightly taken aback by the ajusshi’s nonchalant response.

“Why? Why was it necessary?”

“Well, I didn’t want our date to be interrupted by anyone else.”

“W-what… What do you mean by that…”

As the ajusshi continued speaking, my face flushed bright red. While he chuckled and drove the car, I was still lost in confusion, unable to lift my head.

“We’ve always been together, why did I forget until now?”

I knew the ajusshi was a special man, but I had only felt that he was special to me. However, it was only after recalling the rented theater, the eager attitude of the movie theater staff rushing to clean up a broken plate, and the presence of bodyguards surrounding the theater that I truly realized the ajusshi was a special man.

But the burden of all the things he had done for me, the feelings of guilt that arose, were inevitable.

However, why did the feeling of joy outweigh the burden or guilt?

Wasting money is a big no-no for me, I’ve always lived frugally, so why…

*

About 30 minutes after leaving the movie theater, the uncle and I arrived at the restaurant we had reserved in advance.

The restaurant was located on the first floor of a hotel building, and it exuded an elegant atmosphere that made me feel a bit overwhelmed for no reason.

Well, a place like this isn’t really the kind of place for someone like me, an ordinary commoner… But maybe because of my experience at the movie theater, it wasn’t too difficult for me to enter.

At least entering wasn’t difficult.

“Eunhye, there’s no need to be nervous, just relax.”

“But, this is my first time at a restaurant like this…”

Feeling overwhelmed by the luxurious interior and the presence of guests with a different level of dignity, I found myself relying on the uncle’s hand as we followed the staff downstairs.

Although the uncle looked uncomfortable because of me, he soon put his arm around me and smoothly escorted me to our reserved table.

Thanks to the subtle lavender scent emanating from the uncle’s body, my anxiety was greatly relieved.

For dinner, we were served tuna pizza topped with thinly sliced tuna, abalone, and salmon dishes made with special sauce.

Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations because of the visuals, but the taste exceeded my imagination, so I couldn’t help but be satisfied.

Moreover, the steak that came as the main course was juicy and tender, allowing me to experience firsthand how it melted in my mouth.

But there was one problem.

“Eunhye, is this your first time using a steak knife?”

“…Yes.”

The fact that I was handling the steak so poorly, causing a strange phenomenon where the meat was being torn apart, was not only due to nervousness but also because I had never used a steak knife before. Or maybe it was because I had never had steak before.

“Haha, don’t be discouraged by this, let me take the plate. I’ll cut it for you.”

As I awkwardly put a piece of meat in my mouth, the uncle skillfully began cutting the steak into bite-sized pieces on the plate he had taken from me.

As I watched him in a daze, I realized that I was relying on the uncle from one to ten, and for some reason, my heart felt warm.

“Let’s see, the final course should be coming soon…”

“What else is there here? I already feel too full to eat more.”

“Don’t worry about that. You can take it home if you can’t finish it… Oh, here it comes.”

As the last piece of steak went into my mouth, I followed the uncle’s gaze with my eyes and saw a waiter pushing a cart towards us with a cake on it.

“But why is there a cake in the restaurant? Uh… Wait, is it your birthday today, sir?”

“…Are you really asking me because you don’t know?”

As I stared blankly at the cake on the table, the uncle looked at me with an incredulous expression.

No, upon closer inspection, he seemed a bit angry… Wait, could it really be the uncle’s birthday today?!

“I-I’m sorry, sir! I should have known in advance. It’s your birthday, and I didn’t even make seaweed soup…”

“Sigh… You fool, it’s not my birthday today!”

“What?”

When I heard the uncle’s response that he really didn’t know, he lowered his head and let out a deep sigh.

“Look closely, Eunhye. There are two candles on the cake, right?”

“Yes.”

“However, if it’s my birthday, there should be seven more small candles in addition to these two, right? Isn’t that so?”

“Yeah. Since you’re 27… huh?”

“Alright, then the candles on the cake are two. In other words, it means celebrating a 20th birthday. So, here’s the question, between the two of us, who is 20 years old?”

“Huh?”

As I stood there dumbfounded, the man looked at me and lit the two candles on the cake, a soft smile on his face.

“Happy birthday, Eunhye. Thank you for always being by my side, and I hope we can continue to be together in the future.”

I never expected the man to remember my birthday, let alone go to the extent of creating this moment to celebrate it.

“How did you know? Today is my birthday…”

“You’re not just anyone, Eunhye. You’re my family, living together under the same roof. How could I not know? Besides, we may not be blood-related, but we are family in every sense of the word.”

Listening to him, I extinguished all the candles on the cake and began to calm my heart.

“But, sir… even though we’re living together now, we’re not really family, right? We’re just a fake couple, so why go this far…”

That’s why we have to draw the line. Even though I care for him enough to allow a physical relationship, it’s just my selfish desire.

So, there’s no need for him to feel responsible for me.

After all, our relationship started with such an agreement.

“So, if we stop pretending to be a fake couple from now on and become the real family you mentioned, would that be okay?”

…

..

.

“…Yes?”