《Successful Life After Marriage》 CH 1 ¡°Please marry me.¡± ¡°I do not want to.¡± ¡°I will put 3 million won in your bank account every month.¡± Does she want to buy my life with money? I also can earn about 3 million won a month. Although I will lie down with serious health problems the next month after that. Aside from money in the first place, this is the second time we¡¯ve seen each other¡¯s faces. So, I didn¡¯t expect her to come up with such a proposal all of a sudden. I think there¡¯s a screw missing¡­ ¡°5.¡± ¡°After tax?¡± ¡°Of course. I will give you an extra allowance every time you participate in a family event.¡± ¡°Other conditions besides that?¡± ¡°You just have to live as usual. Just do not get photographed by reporters when meeting a woman just because you have money.¡± So, she just told me to serve the in-laws1 for the rest of my life. It¡¯s not a particularly difficult task. Anyway, I had no intention of dating, let alone getting married, and my circumstances couldn¡¯t support it even if I wanted to. ¡®This¡­ Is too good to be true, right?¡¯ I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯ll get 5 million won every time just by continuing to be half-unemployed that I normally do. It¡¯s an unconventional condition that won¡¯t come twice in life. However, the word ¡®marriage¡¯ came heavier than I thought, making it difficult to accept. ¡°Ah. And I will move Ha Neul ssi father to the VIP room at the hospital run by our group. Of course, free of charge.¡± ¡°Did you do a background check on me?¡± ¡°Of course. I am not a crazy bitch asking just anyone to marry me.¡± So, you¡¯re not. I managed to swallow the words that almost came out of my mouth. No matter how much I listen to it, there¡¯s nothing to lose for me. If I just build a wall with women the way I¡¯ve lived so far. My life. No, my family¡¯s life will be different. ¡®Aiming insurance money¡­ Of course not.¡¯ The youngest of Daehan Group. Thanks to the love of her whole family from birth, she already owns more than a billion shares as a newborn baby. It¡¯s not a metaphor. Literally, as soon as she was born, she received a billion shares from his grandfather. By the time she was an adult, there was another zero after her. Although I can¡¯t imagine it at all because I¡¯ve never even touched 100 million in my life. Anyway, my insurance money doesn¡¯t even amount to this woman¡¯s allowance. ¡°But why is it me?¡± I know it¡¯s a stupid question, but it is also a necessary question at the same time. If she just opened the phone book right away, there would be a lot of men from ¡®prestigious families¡¯ who are more handsome than me, have a lot of money, and are rich for generations. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a web novel writer? Unpopular.¡± Is there a need to say the last word. I feel like she lacks consideration for the other person. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t wrong, so I nodded lightly. Then the other person went on. ¡°When was the last time you went out?¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± ¡°Except for today and going out to buy necessities. Something really worth calling ¡®going out¡¯.¡± When was it. At least not this month. The fate of an unpopular web novel writer means that if you don¡¯t serialize every day, you won¡¯t even earn a minimum amount of living. Besides, I currently have completed my previous work and am enduring the indefinite process of monetization. My work is free, but everything is monetized when I go outside. ¡®¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤I can even count on one hand the number of times I went out last year.¡¯ At that point, I think I know why this woman chose me. She must mean that there is less chance of causing an accident because I never go out in the first place. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°That aspect is also nice, as expected.¡± ¡°Because you do not have to explain?¡± ¡°Yes, and¡­¡± Suddenly, Kang Ba Da reached out and took off my glasses. Afterward, she slowly nods as she brushes my shaggy bangs to both sides. ¡°It is because you are unadorned, but your face also looks fine. The basic physique is also quite good.¡± No female friends. No criminal history. No outdoor activities as hobbies. In addition to those, my strengths described from her perspective are listed one after another. She seems to know me better than I do. ¡°What¡¯s more, you are from Seoul University right?¡± ¡°For now.¡± ¡°My parents and I are also from Seoul University. Here, you get an additional 3 bonus points.¡± Proud of you, me of the past. It was a moment when I became proud of myself for studying even while working part-time day and night. Even when I was in school, I earned quite a bit of money for tutoring. ¡°¡­In addition to this and that, the total score is 95 points. I chose you because you got the highest score among all the candidates.¡± ¡°What are the 5 points for?¡± ¡°Because you are not my type.¡± ¡°Oh, then I will give 10 points.¡± ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°Because we got along well.¡±2 ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± The opponent stares at me silently. At times like this, I realize appearance is really a bully. Even though she is definitely looking at me with a bad feeling, I don¡¯t feel so bad. ¡°So are you going to do it or not?¡± ¡°Everything is good, but let¡¯s revise the terms of the contract a little bit.¡± ¡°If it is a request for physical contact, it is absolutely no-no.¡± ¡°That is a bit of a pity as a man.¡± ¡°¡­!?¡± She flinched and took a step back. I think her face got a little red, too. It¡¯s quite refreshing to see the reaction that only comes out of comics in real life. Surprisingly, she doesn¡¯t seem immune to jokes like this. I wanted to tease her more, but we haven¡¯t stamped the document yet. It¡¯s not good if Miss Customer changes her mind before that. ¡°There is no need to pay extra allowance, but please participate in our family event too. I do not want to upset my parents.¡± ¡°Sure. That will be better off when thinking of perfect disguise.¡± Having readily accepted my offer, she took a wad of paper from her bag and held it out to me. The front page is a marriage registration form. After that, there are various contracts. ¡°It is a contract that you do not claim property division in case we ever get divorced. The rest is a cohabitation contract, also this and that.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The documents were full of personal information about me. Thanks to this, I was able to sign them after only a brief review of whether there were any errors. ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤Did you read it properly?¡± ¡°I have read them all.¡± ¡°Please do not lie. How can you read the contracts so quickly?¡± ¡°I have read a lot of books since I was young. Naturally, my speed reading skills have improved.¡± I really love to read, but there were so many things to see in the world. Thanks to that, I trained myself to read everything as fast as possible from a young age. Naturally, concentration has improved significantly, and short-term memory will not get pushed anywhere. ¡°Books and contracts are different.¡± ¡°Then you can ask.¡± ¡°Number 1.¡± ¡°Party A (Kang Ba Da) and Party B (Kim Ha Neul) manage their respective profits. However, common profits are negotiated.¡± ¡°¡­Number 5?¡± ¡°Meeting or having sexual relations with other people is prohibited during the contract period.¡± After that, we exchanged questions and answers several more times. And ¡®Kang Ba Da¡¯ eventually recognized my speed reading skills. After putting the signed contract in her bag, she readily reached out to me. ¡°Well, I look forward to your cooperation. Husband.¡± ¡°I also look forward to your cooperation. Beloved wife3.¡± When I answered appropriately and took her hand, she frowned. ¡°Beloved wife is a bit too much!¡± ¡°Missus4?¡± ¡°Are you doing this on purpose?¡± ¡°Then shall I call you honey?¡± ¡°Just ¡®Ba Da ssi¡® is enough.¡± ¡°All right. Ba Da-Sea5.¡± ¡°Is that a joke right now¡­¡± Zzzt-! Kang Ba Da stared at me as much as possible and gave a lot of strength to the hands being held. It was a warm hand suitable for the late spring weather. * * * I came straight home. After a simple home training and shower, I lay down on the bed. When I checked my phone, there was a KaTalk message from Kang Ba Da. It was a schedule that listed a simple future plan for the marriage. ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤She¡¯s good at work.¡± I tend to be rather spontaneous, but she was quite the opposite. She even made an Excel table that lists the time, date, number of people, etc. If it was between a normal couple, it would be nerve-racking, but I felt rather comfortable thinking of it as a job. Because all I have to do is follow it. Burr burr-! Suddenly, the phone vibrated. The unique vibration alone let me know that a notification came from the banking app. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Woojoo Bank ¨C Kang Ba Da Deposit 5,000,000 won. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤It wasn¡¯t a dream.¡± It was only when I saw my bank account that I realized. That there are days when there are so many customers on my pay platform. ¡®Is it like winning the pension lottery?¡¯ These days, the pension lottery receives about 5.5 million won after tax, so it¡¯s a little less than that. But there¡¯s a difference that the pension lottery is ¡®only¡¯ for 20 years and mine for a lifetime. In addition, the probability of winning the pension lottery is about 1 in 5 million people, which is 0.00002%, which is a probability that will even make Korean gacha games6 cry. Therefore, I was just grateful. Literally, a ¡®golden¡¯ opportunity has come. ¡®I should tell my parents first.¡¯ Durrr- I called my mother right away. The basic ringtone rang several times, and the opponent answered the phone. ¨C Huh, son. ¡°Mother. Did you eat?¡± ¨C I did. You? ¡°I ate too.¡± ¨C Did you eat convenience store food again? You¡¯ll really ruin your health if you keep doing that. Should I send side dishes? ¡°No, I had steak today.¡± ¨C Steak? The place where Kang Ba Da called me today was an upscale restaurant with private dining rooms. Thanks to that, I enjoyed the food that I only saw in the movie to my heart¡¯s content. ¡°It was nice there. I¡¯ll take you next time.¡± ¨C You don¡¯t have the money for that. ¡°I won the lottery.¡± ¨C Five thousand won? ¡°No, five million won.¡± ¨C Whaat-!? Oh, I am sorry. I am sorry. I heard my mother¡¯s startled scream and a series of apologetic voices over the phone. She will be in Father¡¯s hospital at this time, so she seems to be apologizing to those who share the same hospital room. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so surprised.¡± ¨C Do I look like I won¡¯t? ¡°I¡¯ll send it to your account as it is. Add them to living expenses.¡± ¨C No need. Buy some more steak. I knew it would be like this. She has spent her whole life taking care of children, but she said she won¡¯t accept a penny from them even if she dies. Even though she¡¯s struggling to cover the hospital fee and living expenses. ¡°I knew you¡¯d be like that, so I already sent it.¡± ¨C No, you¡¯re really! ¡°If you send it back, I won¡¯t see Mom anymore. Just know that.¡± Mom was silent for a long time. When she opened her mouth again, there was a slight tremble in her voice. ¨C ¡­Thanks, son. I¡¯ll use it well. ¡°Yes. Oh, and.¡± ¨C Huh? ¡°I¡¯m getting married now, Mom.¡± Thuck- The call was suddenly cut off. After a while, I called again, but this time Father answered the phone instead. ¨C Why are you making someone else¡¯s girlfriend cry? ¡°Is Mom crying?¡± ¨C Yeah. Just what did you say for her to be like that. ¡°Hm¡­ I just said I¡¯m getting married?¡± Thuck- The call was cut off again. ¡­It seems my parents were more shocked by the fact that I was getting married than by saying that I had won the lottery. ¡®Well, I¡¯ll tell them this again later.¡¯ When I checked my phone, my message box was unusually on fire. The culprit was none other than Kang Ba Da. : Excuse me. : Hey there. : Knock knock. : You have a new gift and message. Check them out now! The last one is not a real gift, it¡¯s just a written sentence. Does she really think I¡¯m going to fall for something like that. : Wow, you just checked. : Are you really going to work like this? : (Throwing phone sticker) I glanced at the clock. The time was just past 11. I realized the downside of this job once again. It seems to be a place where there are no day and night or work hours. ¡®¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤It seems I can¡¯t help it for the time being.¡¯ While I was thinking about this and that, countless messages were flying in. I called before more misunderstandings piled up. ¡°Hello.¡± ¨C W, why are you calling me all of a sudden? Surprising me. ¡°Because Ba Da ssi looks a bit in a hurry. What¡¯s going on at this hour?¡± ¨C ¡­I¡¯m sorry for contacting you so late. Still, we have schedules starting tomorrow, but I can¡¯t confirm them. Did you see what I sent? ¡°We meet at 8 a.m. to go to the hair salon, and then go to the reserved restaurant at 11:30 a.m. After that, go to the department store and buy clothes. That schedule, right? Euht- A flustered tone was heard. I guess she thought I wouldn¡¯t know. ¨C Anyway, I¡¯m taking a long-awaited vacation to go out, so do not be late! ¡°All right.¡± ¨C ¡­¡­ ¡°If you have nothing more to say, I will hang up now.¡± ¨C ¡­Yes, good night. ¡°Ba Da ssi too.¡± Thuck- The call was cut off and a deep sense of silence came. It¡¯s a familiar silence, but it felt somewhat unfamiliar today. I was lying on the bed blankly when my gaze suddenly reached the computer. ¡®¡­It seems I can¡¯t write tomorrow either.¡¯ Today is the last stockpile. Now that the money problem has been solved anyway. It would be better to quit the ruined work as soon as possible. [Please continue to write.] [I¡¯m reading it well.] [I¡¯m enjoying it.] But, because there are still readers who are reading it. I¡¯ll have to go as far as I can. I took out a piece of chicken breast that was piled up in the refrigerator and bit it with my mouth. After that, I sat in front of the desk and began tapping the keyboard. CH 2 Huaaam- I yawned long. I decided to sleep after writing moderately, but I ended up staying all night because of the ¡®feel¡¯ that suddenly came. The amount accumulated like that is a whopping 3 episodes. Normally, it would have taken me all day just to fill in 5000 characters, which is the length of one episode. The writing came out so well that I wondered if I had godsend inspiration today. ¡®¡­Is it because I feel more at ease?¡¯ It is often said that if you want to become a web novel writer, get a main job first. If a stable income is not supported, the writing will not come out well due to pressure. I couldn¡¯t sympathize when I read such posts in the community, but when I experienced it myself, I felt it. ¡®Done setting the upload.¡¯ Usually, I revise the writing after some sleep, but it feels good today, so I only did simple typo corrections. Well, it already indicates that monetization is water under the bridge anyway. I just need to finish this episode neatly, so probably there won¡¯t be a big problem. ¡®I¡¯ll have to prepare and go out soon.¡¯ I got up from my seat, scratching my head with disheveled hair. First, I removed the cans piled up on the desk and finished taking a shower. Though I¡¯m tired from staying up all night. I had enough stamina to last the day, so I moved my body without complaints. ¡®Clothes are¡­¡¯ There was nothing particular to worry about. Because I have certain clothes decided for each season. I¡¯m not going to wear a suit, so I just wore a plain black T-shirt and jeans. Creaack, clack-! I got dressed and opened the door. A door that was older than me screamed and moved away from me. ¡®It seems I¡¯m going to say goodbye to this guy soon.¡¯ Before coming out of the door, I looked around the room for a while. An old and shabby 10-pyeong one-room apartment. A space that feels desolate because there¡¯s no space to decorate or the money to do it. Maybe that¡¯s why. Even though I¡¯ve lived here for more than three years, it wasn¡¯t a place I could feel affectionate about. I shut the door without a word. ¨C This station is Apgujeong Rodeo, Apgujeong Rodeo station. The doors will open on the left. I double-checked that the name on the navigation matched the name of the station and then got off the subway quickly. People poured out before and after me. A space full of people with no gap to set one¡¯s foot. I could barely catch my breath after exiting the station. ¡®¡­My energy is already sucked out.¡¯1 Students in school uniforms. Old people in hiking clothes. Even office workers wearing suits to work. This place, where all kinds of people were mixed, was a very suffocating place for me who is an outsider2a-ssa). A shortened form of ¡®outsider¡¯ in Korean. A term to call people who¡¯re a loner or a nobody. Just imagine a circle of friendships. Those who are popular and friendly to everyone are called ¡®insiders¡¯ as they¡¯re inside that circle, while the loners are outside the circle so ¡®outsiders¡¯. . Where are all these people going. ¡®Hm, I think it¡¯s okay to use this as a novel¡¯s intro.¡¯ What would it be like if I pick one of the countless people here and make a story. Who stands out the most here. ¡®That grandfather for sure, right?¡¯ The colorful colors reminiscent of traffic lights. That free outfit, which is inconsistent from the hat to the shoes, attracts everyone¡¯s attention. After turning on my phone notepad, I recorded the grandfather¡¯s simple characteristics. Although he¡¯s a hard character to use because it¡¯s so unique. ¡®How about putting him in Apocalypse?¡¯ Maybe everyone is afraid. Because it will be the outfit of the commonly referred to as an ¡®old player¡¯3go-in-mul). The literal translation is ¡®stagnant water¡¯. This refers to someone who dwells in a field so long and so deep, so they usually have extensive knowledge or expertise in that particular field. Mainly used by the games community. . If a grandfather dressed like that appears in an apocalypse story, he could definitely be used as an essential character4. Adding the setting of kkondae5kkondae loves to blabber about his past ¡®glory¡¯ days. to him will also serve as a role that explains the complex worldview easily. He¡¯s definitely a great character when I think of it that way. ¡®Hm, and also¡­¡¯ After filling the notepad satisfactorily, I looked around again and found a woman who caught my eye. A tall and well-proportioned figure. The clothes she was wearing had a sense of unity in color and texture, but they were matched with accessories to give simple points. Although her eyes were not properly visible because of the sunglasses, they couldn¡¯t cover her gorgeous appearance by themselves. ¡°¡­Woah, is she an actress?¡± ¡°Even everything she wears is luxury goods.¡± ¡°Is she waiting for her boyfriend? Whoever he is, I damn envy him.¡± Perhaps it wasn¡¯t just in my eyes, I also could hear people around me whispering. Even those who passed by her turned their heads to take a look at her. ¡®Like a female lead in a novel.¡¯ Looking at her, I was troubled for a moment. That type is rather hard to describe in the novel. It¡¯s a pity to just describe her as ¡®pretty¡¯ and it seems too insincere to say ¡®perfect¡¯. Even though there¡¯s no word to describe her more than that. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Then, suddenly, she turned her head. I had been observing her all along, so we made eye contact with each other. Then she tilted her head. Just because I like the name~?[mfn]Beating Heart, Just For Your Name by Autumn Vacation. You can find this on Spotify! It¡¯s a cheerful love song that will remind you of your first love. I listened to this repeatedly while translating. [/mfn] A phone call came in suddenly. The name on the screen is ¡®River-Sea¡¯6kang). Also means river in Korean. . It¡¯s my precious customer whom I promised to meet here today. ¨C What are you doing there? Hm? When I raised my head again, she waved her hand at me. Really to my surprise, I finally noticed that the person I was observing was Kang Ba Da. ¡®I remember she said she doesn¡¯t watch dramas.¡¯ Well, it¡¯s understandable she wouldn¡¯t be interested in fantasy if she lived like that. Her existence itself is like the female lead of a drama, so there¡¯s no need to feel satisfied by vicarious satisfaction. ¡®I¡¯m like a supporting role who was swept away by the main character¡¯s narrative, perhaps?¡¯ The future is bleak. The main character¡¯s path is always accompanied by hardship. By overcoming adversity and winning, they will be reborn as a true main character. Of course, the main character does not die in the process. The only ones that are dying are the numerous supporting roles around. The problem is that the supporting role is ¡®me¡¯. ¡°What the, doesn¡¯t suit at all.¡± ¡°No way, is he the boyfriend?¡± ¡°Eii- No way. Isn¡¯t he just a bodyguard?¡± I slightly raised my hand and walked toward her. Then the eyes of the people naturally shifted toward me. The starkly different temperature difference. Well, of course, this would be the reaction. It was something that I expected to some extent, so I passed it over. I¡¯m also the type who doesn¡¯t care about the evaluations of people around me in the first place. ¡®¡­Ba Da ssi family is the problem.¡¯ Currently, it doesn¡¯t matter because it¡¯s the evaluation of people passing by anyway. But if things go on like this, her family is likely to oppose the marriage. It¡¯s dangerous if I don¡¯t prepare for it surely because I have to satisfy them to earn 5 million won per month. ¡°Honey! What are you thinking about?¡± I was thinking about the future direction when Kang Ba Da suddenly crossed my arms. Then bewildered sounds were heard from the surroundings. ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it wrong, did I?¡± ¡°For real¡­ Wow, did the man hit jackpot with coin?¡± Still, it felt like they were whispering among themselves earlier, but now they don¡¯t even seem to be thinking of hiding it. I hear a lot of things openly. However, I couldn¡¯t concentrate on any of those words. This is because Kang Ba Da put her whole body against me, so I felt a very awkward feeling on my arm. ¡°¡­That.¡± ¡°There are a lot of eyes around.¡± Kang Ba Da whispered quietly just enough to be heard by me. The surroundings went wild again as they saw us exchanging whispers, but thanks to it, I came to my senses. ¡®Yeah. This is work.¡¯ The ¡®eyes¡¯ that Kang Ba Da refers to are not just about the people gathered here. It must also mean the people who are in the hands of her family. It was a matter of course that Kang Ba Da knew all about my personal information and the investigation of my surroundings. Who else would have taught her that. ¡®I¡¯ll work as much as I get paid.¡¯ A full-fledged marriage life has not yet begun. From her perspective, someone like me can be replaced at any time. When that happens, money is no longer the problem. Because it¡¯s unknown how she would deal with someone who knows her deep secrets. ¡®You can¡¯t know what¡¯s in someone¡¯s mind..¡¯ While researching data to write a chaebol story one day, what I was sure about was clean chaebols couldn¡¯t exist in the first place. Kang Ba Da is also smiling naturally, but unless I know if she will send someone to put a knife in my back. I have to do my best to survive. ¡°Euht-!? Wha, what are you doing¡­¡± ¡°You just told me to do it properly.¡± I lightly untied my arms and then joined hands with Kang Ba Da. When we put our fingers together, it became a pretty plausible look. ¡°Isn¡¯t arm-in-arm better?¡± ¡°¡­That feels a bit excessive.¡± Although there was a clearer reason. I didn¡¯t dare to explain it. ¡°¡­Is that so?¡± ¡°Sure. By the way, did you not bring your car on purpose?¡± ¡°Yeah? Oh, well. That¡¯s right?¡± For some reason, Kang Ba Da¡¯s reaction was a bit ambiguous, but it¡¯s probably because she was nervous. To be honest, I¡¯m also tense because I think my life depends on it. How long did we walk like that. We were finally able to arrive at the hair salon which was our destination. ¡°Omo, Ba Da is here?¡± ¡°Hello, Chief Ryu.¡± ¡°Huhuh. It is my first time seeing this gentleman. My name is ¡®Ryu Yeon Hwa¡¯, and I am the chief of this place. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°I am Kim Ha Neul.¡± Chief Ryu¡¯s eyes fell on me. A quick scan up and down. However, it didn¡¯t feel bad. Something is different from those people on the street. Pure curiosity in those eyes. No, there was obvious goodwill in it. ¡®What¡¯s it?¡¯ I didn¡¯t know why right away, but at least Ryu Yeon Hwa and Kang Ba Da. I can see that the two are close enough to surpass simple customers. ¡°Ha Neul ssi, you can follow that person. Our designers will take care of you. Ba Da comes this way.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± After nodding, I moved along with the designer. I looked at the internal structure while walking, and the overall design is very sophisticated. ¡®Is this the hair salon where rich people go.¡¯ The size of the entire building was considerable and there were a lot of employees at first glance. On the other hand, there were few customers. ¡°May I ask you something?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Is the atmosphere always like this?¡± I can¡¯t ask if these are the only customers they have, so I tried to express it a bit indirectly. Then the designer, who understood the meaning, answered with a small smile around her mouth. ¡°It is your first time at our shop, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, I followed my girlfriend today so¡­¡± ¡°We operate on a 100% reservation basis, and we always try to provide a pleasant atmosphere for our guests. It¡¯s a similar atmosphere as usual.¡± ¡°Do celebrities come often, too?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ No. Membership registration is only possible by recommendation, so not just anyone can come.¡± I see. It¡¯s a place where only people who express celebrities as ¡®anyone¡¯ can come. No wonder I couldn¡¯t see a price list no matter how hard I looked for it. ¡°Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.¡± ¡°Ah, that is fine.¡± My mouth kept itching, but if I ask more here, it might give Ba Da ssi a bad image because of me. I tried to act as naturally as possible, taking in the surrounding scenery. ¡®I should use this next time.¡¯ I¡¯ll be able to make a living without writing web novels if this marriage succeeds, however, I didn¡¯t want to put down my pen completely. To put it bluntly, it¡¯s hard to tell when this kind of life will end. It¡¯s a dangerous choice in many ways to rely entirely on Kang Ba Da. ¡°Then I will proceed to wash your hair.¡± As soon as I sat on the chair as instructed, a soft fluffy sensation enveloped my entire body. It was an unbelievably comfortable seating experience for a hair salon chair. ¡°A volume perm, right?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s written on the reservation. Perhaps, if you have changed your mind¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that is fine. I¡¯m here for a volume perm.¡± It seems that Kang Ba Da has already said something. She seems to have an eye for fashion too, so it¡¯s better to follow the expert¡¯s eye here. ¡°Then please wait a moment.¡± The designer left for a moment, and I leaned back completely in the chair. The coziness was like someone hugging me from behind. Honestly, I think it will be more expensive than the bed in my house. At the extreme comfort, the tiredness due to staying up all night flooded in like a tidal wave. I pushed open my eyelids desperately. ¡®Don¡¯t fall asl¡­¡¯ I fell asleep before I could finish my thoughts. * * * Saksaksak- Ryu Yeon Hwa skillfully trimmed Kang Ba Da¡¯s hair. Although there was not much to touch since she had gone this morning, it was to have a natural conversation. ¡°Is he perhaps your boyfriend?¡± ¡°¡­For now.¡± ¡°For now?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get married soon.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!?¡± Ryu Yeon Hwa¡¯s hand stopped. She had been in charge of Kang Ba Da for years, but she, who had never talked about men before, suddenly said she¡¯ll get married. ¡°It¡¯s a bit sudden. Originally, you never had much interest in men.¡± ¡°It still is. Because I just want to concentrate on research.¡± ¡°But why get married?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it calm down a bit when I put on a wedding ring?¡± Kang Ba Da smiled bitterly. Ryu Yeon Hwa also had suffered similar hardships, so she gently stroked Kang Ba Da¡¯s hair. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not necessarily the case in my experience¡­¡± ¡°Yeah!?¡± ¡°Still, I think Ba Da would be fine.¡± Who would dare to flirt with the youngest of Daehan Group. Even if they generously overlooked them as courtships, it¡¯s a different story if she were to get married. Whether a guy with a crazy lust for sex. Or having strange tastes. Either way, they won¡¯t approach Kang Ba Da hastily unless they get a screw loose. ¡°So. What do you like about that person? I don¡¯t think you¡¯re just marrying him as a talisman against men or anything like that.¡± ¡°Tha, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Chief Ryu, I am sorry. But, I have something to say¡­¡± Ryu Yeon Hwa¡¯s brow wriggled slightly. This is because it is pretty much forbidden to interrupt the conversation with the customer. Rather, that¡¯s why she has no choice but to listen though. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°The customer who came together fell asleep¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Kang Ba Da, who heard the story together, widened her eyes. She put on a dazed expression for a moment and then burst into laughter. ¡°Seriously¡­ Can¡¯t be stopped.¡± ¡°Omo, does this happen often?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that. But I ordered him around a bit too much yesterday and today. I thought he looked tired, but he must have stayed up all night working.¡± A gentle smile crept across the face of Kang Ba Da. Watching that appearance, Ryu Yeon Hwa¡¯s lips also slowly curled up. ¡°All of these are individual compartments, right? Unnie, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± ¡°Oh, my. You only call me unnie at times like this. ¡°Sorry, can I ask you a favor?¡± An awkwardly smiling Kang Ba Da. Ryu Yeon Hwa shrugged at her. ¡°Instead, tell me honestly later, okay?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Miss Park. If we leave it as it is, the customer¡¯s neck will hurt. Put something under the head carefully. And let¡¯s get in touch and ask customers who are available first.¡± ¡°Alright, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back after adjusting the schedule, so wait for me.¡± ¡°Thank you, Unnie.¡± Ryu Yeon Hwa left her seat. Left alone, Kang Ba Da picked up her phone. She turned on an app like a habit and checked her favorite works. ¡°¡­Anyway.¡± Smirk- Realizing that her prediction was right, Kang Ba Da let out a light laugh. There was an updated one among her favorite works. [(New!) Successful Life After Marriage / Type Addict] Type Addict was Kim Ha Neul¡¯s pen name. After confirming the cause of the current situation, Kang Ba Da shook her head and clicked on the novel. Afterward, she could not take her eyes off the novel until Ryu Yeon Hwa returned. CH 3 ¡®Hm.¡¯ My consciousness is hazy. My hands and feet didn¡¯t move as I wanted, and my head was unclear as if there was fog. ¡®¡­Dream, huh.¡¯ It feels familiar. This is because I have studied lucid dreams hoping to find fresh material to use in a web novel someday. Of course, the work completely failed. But, after experiencing lucid dreams several times at that time, there were often cases where my consciousness often woke up in a dream like now. ¡®Here¡¯s¡­?¡¯ It¡¯s a playground. There I was running around with a girl. I¡¯m obviously conscious, but my body moved freely regardless of my will. ¡®It¡¯s been a while.¡¯ This is a nightmare I had regularly when I was very young, but it¡¯s the first time since I became an adult. It feels fresh to see it again after a long time. Unfortunately, the girl¡¯s face was not seen. It was blurry overall and I could barely tell what kind of expression she was making. ¡®Because it¡¯s been over 20 years.¡¯ At that time, my parents were both working. I didn¡¯t have a phone or a computer, so I played alone at the playground every day. The girl who forcibly shoved dumplings made with clay into my mouth was also a child who often came to the playground if not as much as me. As far as I remember, we got along pretty well. Until that guy comes. ¡®There he is.¡¯ A very big black cat entered the playground entrance. He was the leader of the local street cats and was called ¡®Nero¡¯ after the lyrics of a popular song at the time1. He had an unusual size comparable to that of a child at first glance. The guy proudly passed the playground and climbed a tree. ¨C It¡¯s Nero! ¨C Yeah. ¨C But, Nero is a bit weird. ¨C That guy is always like that. ¨C Noo-! Look well! Kim Ha Neul turned his head at the girl¡¯s whining. Nero was restless on the tree and could not come down. ¨C I¡¯ll go save him! ¨C No, dangerous. ¨C Huh? What? ¨C Nero is a bad guy. Nero was a guy famous for his dirty personality. It was usual to hit the same cat and he also attacked young children who were alone. It also had a good brain at that. He was a clever guy who suddenly disappeared when the kids¡¯ parents came out to catch him. ¨C You can¡¯t even climb a tree. ¨C But¡­ ¨C If you leave it alone, it¡¯ll come down on its own. Kim Ha Neul spoke quite bluntly. But like most of their peers, the girl could hardly take her eyes off Nero. Haa- Looking at that, Kim Ha Neul let out a small sigh and rolled up his sleeves. After making the girl back off, he began to climb the tree skillfully. ¡®Indeed, a body trained in the playground.¡¯ In playgrounds at the time, there were ¡®the centrifuge¡¯ merry-go-rounds, jungle gyms, monkey bars, etc. There were a lot of things that could only be seen at a guerrilla training ground. It has now been demolished for various safety reasons. But for Kim Ha Neul, who was trained to the extreme in such a playground, climbing a tree should be easy. ¨C Be careful! ¨C It¡¯s okay, I won¡¯t die. Kim Ha Neul climbed the tree proudly shouting The No. 1 Will That Men Say The Most. Knowing the ending, I felt complicated. ¨C I got¡­ Agh-! At the moment Kim Ha Neul, who eventually reached the top, stretched out his hand toward Nero. He raised his claws and scratched his wrist. Scratched just in words. With a very big size, it was the same as slashing a child¡¯s wrist. Kim Ha Neul inadvertently let go of his hand in the surging pain. ¨C Uh? I clenched my teeth. Even decades later at the present, I can hardly forget this dizzying sensation of floating in the air. Thud-! Falling to the ground, Kim Ha Neul had his consciousness blurred from the shock while Nero leisurely came down from the tree and disappeared somewhere. ¨C Nooo-! The screaming girl came running. Kim Ha Neul¡¯s wrist was bleeding profusely and he couldn¡¯t speak properly due to the shock transmitted to his brain. ¨C Don¡¯t die, you must not die! The girl¡¯s tears dripped over Kim Ha Neul¡¯s face. Kim Ha Neul tried to smile even while his consciousness was blurring. ¨C It¡¯s, okay¡­ Not going to die¡­ Yeah, I don¡¯t die. Because I¡¯m still alive now. However, the scar on my wrist at this time bothered me terribly. I was bullied at school because I was misunderstood as ¡®a kid who attempted suicide¡¯. I¡¯m also not the type of person who just lived through it and had to pay back double if I was hit. Such things piled up and piled up. And eventually, our family¡¯s fortunes declined. I started studying late after seeing my parents¡¯ tears and I entered SNU2 after retaking the exam. But, I¡¯m still half unemployed. So, there¡¯s no other bad son like me. ¨C Sorry, I¡¯m sorry, don¡¯t die¡­ But how long will she cry. With the fading consciousness of little Kim Ha Neul, even the moment I wake up from my dream. She never left my side. Still leaving the girl¡¯s blurry face behind. I slowly woke up from my dream. ¡°Hmm¡­ Huh!?¡± It is often such a case. The moment you open your eyes, you instinctively realize that something is wrong. In this case, there is almost a 100% chance of being late. But¡­ ¡°Gaasp-!¡± ¡°Tha, that surprised me!¡± I got up in surprise. But looking more surprised than me, Kang Ba Da was staring at me. ¡°Ba Da ssi? Did I¡­¡± ¡°You fell asleep. So well that you won¡¯t know if someone is dragging you out.¡± ¡°¡­What time is it now?¡± ¡°Do not worry. It¡¯s only been an hour since you slept. I¡¯ve also postponed the reservation.¡± ¡°That is fortunate.¡± I thought I was asleep for half a day. Of course, just having a deep sleep at the hair salon is a big problem. But, it is still possible to patch things up. However, the eyes of Kang Ba Da looking at me are unusual. It looks expressionless on the outside, but somehow a sulky aura is coming out. ¡°When did you sleep properly?¡± ¡°Yester¡­ Ah, the day before that.¡± As soon as I said yesterday, her eyes turned like an axe, so I changed my words quickly. I guess she found out I had stayed up all night. ¡®¡­It¡¯s a big deal.¡¯ I failed to manage my physical strength from the first appointment and showed my bad side in front of others. I have nothing to say even if the contract is canceled unilaterally. ¡®Then, do I have to spit out 5 million won?¡¯ Damn it. This is why you shouldn¡¯t spend money just because the money came in. I can¡¯t ask my parents to return it now, so I guess I¡¯ll have to work labor for the time being. Then I have to wake up at 5:30 a.m. at the latest, go to the labor office to stamp attendance, and when I come back from the workplace, it¡¯s about 19 o¡¯clock. It takes me four hours to write one chapter on average so¡­ ¡°Ha Neul ssi.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°You just didn¡¯t listen to me, right?¡± ¡°¡­Uh, hm. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m still less awake.¡± ¡°I asked when you slept for more than seven hours without waking up.¡± I swallowed my silence at the words of Kang Ba Da. I couldn¡¯t think of such a day in my life even if I thought about it carefully. Terrible insomnia I got during my school days continues to this day. After the military even added sleep disorders to it, I¡¯ve never had anything called a ¡®deep sleep¡¯. Now that I¡¯m so used to insomnia, I just drink energy drinks or coffee and work until I pass out halfway. ¡°You don¡¯t even remember, right?¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°¡­I will make an appointment at the hospital I go to. Get sleeping pills there and force yourself to sleep.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really like taking medicine.¡± ¡°At least get some counseling. Otherwise, our contract will be terminated.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°If you want to get paid for a long time, take care of your health thoroughly. I have no thoughts of getting a widow¡¯s title at such a young age.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Kang Ba Da said with an unprecedentedly determined gaze. I nodded heavily because this was a part with no room for excuses or negotiations. ¡°And.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me again.¡± ¡°All right.¡± I didn¡¯t mean to, but I got caught lying to avoid the situation. There is inevitably a loss of trust¡­ Fortunately, the contract didn¡¯t end here and I re-established my plans for the future. ¡®I¡¯ll have to make a routine.¡¯ Taking sleeping pills is something I don¡¯t like, but taking them properly according to the doctor¡¯s prescription will definitely help. In the meantime, I didn¡¯t go to the hospital because it was a waste of money. I think I should go to the hospital as an investment to do my job better and furthermore for my health. ¡®But, does Ba Da ssi also have insomnia?¡¯ Didn¡¯t she just say ¡®the hospital I go to¡¯? After all, appearances on the outside are not everything. Even the rich must have their own worries. ¡®This could also be used in a novel.¡¯ Originally, deficiency is the most basic desire to move people. The same goes for the main character in the novel, so an appropriate deficiency is a great driving force for the flow of the story. ¡®I¡¯ll have to ask her someday.¡¯ In terms of data investigation. And even to do a better job. It is necessary to find out about the worries of Kang Ba Da. Of course, I can¡¯t ask her right away. I¡¯ll have to make an opportunity next time. ¡°I¡¯m going to go somewhere for a while, so Ha Neul ssi get your hair done. I¡¯ll be back before it is over.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Perhaps her anger has not eased yet, Kang Ba Da left the room with a slightly stiff face. Shortly after, Ryu Yeon Hwa came in and picked up the scissors herself. ¡°Ha Neul ssi.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you go if our Ba Da cries.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± It was a little scary to talk with scissors in her hand. No, I was a bit very scared. * * * Coming out to the emergency stairs, Kang Ba Da leaned her back against the wall and let out a small sigh. ¡®That scar on his wrist¡­¡¯ While Kim Ha Neul was sleeping, Kang Ba Da secretly checked his wrist. Kim Ha Neul always wore long-sleeved clothes, so now she finally could check it with her own eyes. ¡®I¡¯m sure.¡¯ He is that boy she was looking for. Well, that¡¯s a fact she had already vaguely guessed. It was a new feeling to check it like this. ¡®¡­How much I¡¯ve been looking for him.¡¯ After that day, she went to the playground every day, but she couldn¡¯t meet the boy. Even after she became a student and asked around, there was no answer. She didn¡¯t know until later that it was handled by the family because they were afraid it would traumatize her young heart. Then she was angry with her family for the first time in her life. Of course, that didn¡¯t change anything. It¡¯s already been too long to find a boy whose name she didn¡¯t know. Just as the family hoped for at first, her emotions slowly eroded over time. ¡®¡­But to think that we¡¯d meet here.¡¯ Something called human relationships is truly mysterious. She could never find him when she was looking for him, but only after giving up everything that he appeared in front of her eyes. ¨C Are you hurt anywhere? ¨C Oh, no¡­ ¨C Don¡¯t walk near the road from now on. If you walk like that with a noticeably expensive bag in your hand, it¡¯s no different than demonstrating to be snatched. The moment she saw him, she recognized him right away. Because Kim Ha Neul grew up just the way he was when he was young. Although he built a wall against people and was a bit more haggard than back then. ¨C Then, I am going. ¨C Wa, wait a minute! Please tell me your phone number! ¨C That¡¯s a bit difficult. ¨C Yeah? ¨C I have to run away now. Kim Ha Neul suddenly disappeared leaving only those words behind. Staring blankly at his back, Kang Ba Da only understood what he was saying until she heard the siren. ¨C Mister Officer, over there! ¨C Oh my¡­ That¡¯s going to hurt quite a bit. ¨C That¡¯s cheap for those guys, though! Those bastards swoosh! Snatched this lady¡¯s bag. But then, a young man wearing a hat suddenly fly-kicked whack! Blow them away¡­ On behalf of Kang Ba Da, an aunty who watched the whole situation explained very enthusiastically. The police approached her after hearing about the circumstances. ¨C Perhaps, do you know that person? ¨C Yeah? Uh¡­ No. Why is it? ¨C Frankly, the law is ambiguous¡­ That person obviously did a good job. But according to the criminal law, he inflicted one-sided violence against the snatchers. He also needs to be investigated together. The gaze of Kang Ba Da turned to the snatchers. The robber duo was just being rescued from under a motorcycle. No matter how slow the speed was, it was still in the middle of running. Since they weren¡¯t even dressed properly, they were covered in blood all over aside from the motorcycle. I have to run away now. ¨C ¡­So, that¡¯s what it meant. ¨C What did you just say? ¨C I will call the company¡¯s legal team to take care of this. ¨C Yeah? The police voiced questions, but there was no time to explain them one by one. Because she had to find Kim Ha Neul who had disappeared somewhere. Afterward, Kang Ba Da handled the case neatly through the legal team and managed to find Kim Ha Neul by searching all the surrounding CCTVs. ¡®¡­He lived a hard life.¡¯ Once she figured out his name and address, it was easy from then on. She quickly learned what kind of life Kim Ha Neul lived and why it happened like that. If she had simply felt guilty about him, she could have dealt with it neatly with a monetary reward. But she felt uncomfortable in a corner of her heart for some reason, so she went to find him herself. ¨C Do you want anything? ¨C That ¡®you¡¯ don¡¯t look for me. ¨C Not that one. ¨C Money. ¨C Not that one. ¨C An awful lot of money ¨C Not that. ¨C Perhaps, are you being told as tactless a lot? Kim Ha Neul¡¯s expression showed that he was annoyed, let alone remember her. The problem was that there was a needless desire to win. She wanted to see his embarrassed face somehow, so she threw ¡®marriage¡¯ as bait that seemed like he would never accept. ¡®You¡¯re crazy. Kang Ba Da.¡¯ Kang Ba Da recalled the marriage registration form in the deepest part of her safe. Then her face flushed for no reason. ¨C Ba Da, so you are serious? ¨C Huh? ¨C Don¡¯t you say you¡¯re not, okay? You¡¯ve been looking at a sleeping person¡¯s face for an hour. The conversation she had with the hair salon director before coming out made a mess in her head. She couldn¡¯t deny it when she had already said that she was going to get married. Kang Ba Da could only smile awkwardly. ¡®¡­What should I do?¡¯ Covering her face with her hands, Kang Ba Da sat down. She consciously took deep breaths, trying to calm her beating heart. ¡®¡­I think I still like this person.¡¯ The innocent love she thought was over. Was burning red. CH 4 Grade B Translation A mix of MTL and Human Translation. Translated and interpreted as best as I can. Mixed with some Korean terms. Misinterpretation may occur due to limited comprehensive ability. Awkward English, bad grammar, and typos may often occur as Translator is not fluent in English and not edited by Editor nor proofed by Proofreader. ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± After the hair dressing that took quite a long time, I was truly amazed when I looked in the mirror. With my glasses off and my hair done, my face, which I had lived with my whole life, seemed unfamiliar. ¡°Honestly, I didn¡¯t expect it to be to this extent. Why have you been covering up this nice face?¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡± I just awkwardly smiled at Ryu Yeon Hwa¡¯s sincere compliment. I had never heard this in all of my life. I wasn¡¯t sure how to react. However, I could see why people pay expensive money to come to hair salons. Whenever Ryu Yeon Hwa pinched my hair and touched the details, my impression changed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to trim it much until the perm is gone, but it¡¯s good to learn these basic things.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Ryu Yeon Hwa kindly taught me how to use a hairdryer, apply hairs essence, use hairspray, and other things. These are skills that I can use forever after learning it, and they might also come in handy if a male character who likes to decorate appears in my work. I kept nodding and trying to remember Ryu Yeon Hwa¡¯s teaching. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the things you need when you go, so please dress up like this daily.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s also included in the cost.¡± Then, I should accept it. After all, it¡¯s not an additional payment, but it¡¯s calculated in the cost considering that in the first place. It¡¯s definitely a loss if I don¡¯t accept it. ¡®Just how expensive is this?¡¯ My mouth was itching to ask. Ryu Yeon Hwa seemed to have already noticed that I¡¯m not a rich young master, so can¡¯t I ask? ¡°Unnie, is it all done?¡± ¡°Huh. Come and see it here.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°How¡¯s it, totally fit well right? Ha Neul ssi also deserves to be called good-looking. Where did you find this gemstone?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Kang Ba Da was silent. I could clearly feel the way she looked at me through the mirror, but she didn¡¯t even budge. As I glanced up, I could vividly sense Kang Ba Da¡¯s hardened expression. No matter how blunt I was to others¡¯ evaluation, it was a bit hurtful to see her react like that. Ryu Yeon Hwa also tilted her head at Kang Ba Da¡¯s lukewarm reaction. ¡°What¡¯s it. You don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°No. It is better than I thought.¡± ¡°But what¡¯s with your reaction?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just¡­ Unnie, we don¡¯t have time. So we¡¯ll go first.¡± ¡°Oh, huh. Yeah.¡± Swish-! At the end of her words, Kang Ba Da turned around and left. I stared blankly at her back, then quickly rose to my feet. ¡°Thank you for today, Chief Ryu!¡± ¡°Ha Neul ssi! You have to take the stuff!¡± ¡°I will take it next time!¡± It¡¯s not something like a hairspray that matters now. I don¡¯t know what happened outside, but the priority is to relieve Kang Ba Da¡¯s mood. ¡°Ba Da ssi!¡± Flinch-! Shortly after I left the hair salon, I found Kang Ba Da standing blankly in front of the door. She looked back in surprise when I raised my voice. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Kang Ba Da¡¯s condition is strange. As she looked back, she stared at my face. I thought she was angry at me for falling asleep, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the issue. ¡°Do I have something on my face?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Kang Ba Da also didn¡¯t say anything to my question. Did something serious happen? While I worried about this and that. Swoop-! Kang Ba Da came closer to me. She looked closely at my face from a distance where, with a little exaggeration, we could reach each other¡¯s breath. ¡°What¡¯s this. How can a person change so fast like this? Did you get botox while I was out? Perhaps, is this a mask?¡± ¡°First of all, please calm douwnnn¡­?¡± Suddenly Kang Ba Da began to pull my cheek. She didn¡¯t pinch it that hard, but it was enough for my pronunciation to leak. ¡°It¡¯s not a mask, though?¡± ¡°Deefeeneetly¡­ Not!¡± I grabbed Kang Ba Da¡¯s wrist and removed it. Then this time, she stared blankly at her wrist held by me. I realized it at that moment and quickly removed my hand, but she kept looking back and forth between her wrist and me. Stunned by this, I carefully opened my mouth. ¡°¡­That side pinched my cheek first.¡± ¡°That side?¡± ¡°Ba Da ssi¡¯s side.¡± As soon as I corrected the title, Kang Ba Da¡¯s eyes, which had risen sharply for a moment, returned to their original state. So, it seemed that she was pretty sensitive about things like this. ¡®I¡¯ll have to be careful about this, too.¡¯ If I inadvertently say something bad and the news gets to her family. I could literally be buried alive. ¡®Just in case, I should talk to my friends about it.¡¯ If you don¡¯t get any contact from me for about a week, please call the police. They should at least be able to find my body. ¡®I¡¯ll have to let them say hello someday.¡¯ I¡¯ll invite them to the wedding ceremony, but before that, we¡¯ll have to share connections. Even if things go wrong, my chances of survival will increase. In the worst case scenario, we may end up in the grave hand in hand, but my friends will probably forgive me for that. ¡°I am sorry for suddenly pinching your cheek. I couldn¡¯t believe it even after seeing it. In fact, even now.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re overreacting a bit¡­¡± ¡°I would rather that be the case. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I¡¯m blinded with love. But, does that make sense? Right?¡± Is this a compliment or an insult. Somehow, it feels strange. While I was silent because I didn¡¯t know how to react, she nodded to herself and muttered things like, ¡®Yeah, that doesn¡¯t make sense¡¯. ¡®¡­But that¡¯s a relief.¡¯ For once, I don¡¯t think she was angry. It seemed like she even liked my hair somehow. It¡¯s a much better situation than what I was worried about. ¡°But our restaurant reservation¡­¡± ¡°Plans have changed. Let¡¯s go buy clothes first.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Your hairstyle and clothes don¡¯t match at all right now. It keeps bothering me that I won¡¯t even know where the rice goes in.¡± Kang Ba Da looked me up and down. I nodded quietly at her firm attitude as if she would never receive an objection. ¡°Do whatever you want, Ba Da ssi.¡± That¡¯s right, the customer is the king. Because I get paid accordingly for taking her to the destination she wants. All I have to do is not get lost in the middle. ¡°Then let¡¯s go to the parking lot first.¡± ¡°Yes, sure.¡± After that, we drove together to the department store. . . . ¡°¡­It¡¯s comfortable to ride.¡± ¡°Right? I custom-ordered the seats myself.¡± ¡°Are you originally interested in cars?¡± ¡°Not really, actually. It¡¯s just that as soon as I saw Scarlett, my feelings got hooked and recognized her a little?¡± For your information, ¡®Scarlett¡¯ is the nickname of the car we are riding now. That¡¯s how much she cares about her car. Well, it costs about 160 million won just for the metal without any options. It¡¯s the romance of all car poors, Porsche 911. ¡®This obviously has full-options.¡¯ Porsche is a well-known brand for customization, to the extent that it¡¯s said to be ¡®making my own unique car¡¯. If you add that many options, the belly button gets bigger than the belly. But there was an example right before my eyes. ¡®Is it going to be 300 to 400 million won altogether?¡¯ As soon as Kang Ba Da started the engine, Scarlett responded vigorously with a ¡®vroom-!¡¯. That sound still lingered in my ears. ¡®It¡¯s pie in the sky.¡¯ It is impossible to operate such a car, even if I receive twice the amount of 5 million won per month. It would be hard to afford the maintenance fee too. ¡°Would you like to drive yourself?¡± ¡°Can I do that!?¡± ¡°Woah. That¡¯s the most intense reaction I¡¯ve ever seen. I heard you were a driver soldier in the military, so you really like cars.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡± I blurted out my thoughts without realizing, so I slightly turned my head out of the window in shame. I have liked cars since I was young. ¡®Although, it¡¯s just decoration for me.¡¯ There¡¯s a reason for that. I only leave the house once or twice a week. It would be a serious waste to operate my own car. Whenever I write a new story, it¡¯s a small pleasure in my life to window shop and think, ¡®if this work becomes a hit, should I buy this?¡¯. ¡°Hmm, but never mind.¡± Suddenly, Ba Da shook her head. I felt a bit disappointed inside. But if this was my car, I would never leave it to anyone else, so I fully understood her change of words. ¡°It¡¯s okay. This is too much for¡­¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s not like that. Ha Neul ssi, you stayed up all night last night, right? You even fell asleep at the hair salon earlier.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s right?¡± ¡°I can never allow drowsy driving. So, make sure to come out in full condition tomorrow. I¡¯ll let you drive her yourself then.¡± ¡­Is she an angel? A halo seemed to emanate from behind Kang Ba Da. I couldn¡¯t believe she was handing over a foreign car that people couldn¡¯t even lend to their family. ¡°You promised me.¡± ¡°Huh, promise.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know this either, perhaps?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not it¡­ ¡° ¡°Then promise me quickly. Here.¡± Kang Ba Da took my hand and led me. That¡¯s how we promised each other on our little fingers. ¡®¡­I feel like I¡¯ve become a child.¡¯ When was the last time I held pinkies with someone. Maybe ¡®Little Kim Ha Neul¡¯ should come out again. I think the girl I met at the playground was the last one. ¡®What did I promise then?¡¯ It¡¯s been so long that I can¡¯t remember. It won¡¯t matter much. Maybe we made a typical promise like kids, saying ¡®let¡¯s get married when we grow up¡¯. ¡°Shall we get off now?¡± ¡°Oh, yes.¡± I shook my head lightly to shake off my thoughts. It¡¯s not polite to think of someone else in front of another person. ¡°Welcome.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± We parked the car and entered the department store, but suddenly many staff came out to greet us. I was wondering what on earth was going on. ¡°Ah, Chief Park! It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you.¡± ¡°Thank you for remembering me.¡± ¡°Of course I remember. Thank you for listening to this hard request. Everyone is having a hard time because of us.¡± ¡°No. Because we get that much bonus. Rather, it was harder to pick out because it was overflowing with volunteers, so please feel free to use them.¡± At the end of that remark, other attendants, including a person called ¡®Chief Park¡¯, bowed down in unison. I had never received such a folder greeting before. ¡®¡­I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen this in a drama either.¡¯ My brain, trained with a wide range of inputs, also gave up on understanding the situation, so I barely managed to follow Kang Ba Da who went ahead. Three attendants followed behind me. They seem to be observing our side continuously while keeping a certain distance. ¡°Ba Da ssi, these people are¡­? ¡°Ah, they are entourages assigned to Trinity Members. They will carry our luggage for us.¡± ¡°I see.¡± For now, I understand. I also have researched ¡®Trinity Members¡¯ while writing a chaebol story. In the department store, it is a special grade given to only a few individuals based on their performance, status, and other factors. ¡°But why aren¡¯t there any customers at the department store?¡± ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be a day off for the department store today. But I asked Chief Park to open it.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± I see. So people use the common term ¡®paid out a yearly rent¡¯ at times like this. My home¡¯s monthly rent alone is too much for me, but this woman even uses a department store like her own home. ¡®They said that the top 1% are responsible for 30% of total sales¡­¡¯ I was a little flustered by the scale of different dimensions. If this situation were written in a novel, how would the readers react. [Does this make sense? Don¡¯t even research?] [Writer nim, it¡¯s too unrealistic.] [No sense of probability, it¡¯s hard to be immersed.] I¡¯m sure there will be comments like these. In reality, much more exaggerated things happen than in novels. I think I may need to tone it down a bit to public taste if I want to write this scene in a novel. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± This nonchalant expression. There is no lie or pretension. I bet Kang Ba Da has no idea what she has done now. She has lived in a world where this is ¡®natural¡¯. ¡®A person living in a completely different world from me.¡¯ I have to be careful and cautious. Because if her world and mine collide, this side will disappear without a trace. Knowing that, I smiled softly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Where shall we start?¡± ¡°First of all, perfume! I¡¯ve picked a few. But it depends on the body scent and time. So, let¡¯s experiment with various things while shopping!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Kang Ba Da ran forward like a very excited child. Looking at her back, I walked slowly. CH 5 ¡°Let¡¯s try this on.¡± ¡°Can you try this on too?¡± ¡°Put this on top.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice, too.¡± ¡°Ba Da-ssi. No matter how I look at it, aren¡¯t we buying too much?¡± Kim Ha Neul could not hide his embarrassment when he saw a department store employee following behind him. It was because both of his hands were full of shopping bags. Even though the staff had already been replaced once because it had overflowed, Kang Ba Da shook her head firmly. ¡°We haven¡¯t even gone halfway yet.¡± At first, she asked Kim Ha Neul to choose on his own, but he chose the same black T-shirt and jeans that he wore today. So, Kang Ba Da went out by herself. From then on, Kang Ba Da had been asking him to try on all the clothes that caught her eyes. In stores that were quite sensible, she simply bought everything the mannequins were wearing. ¡°I think we¡¯ve bought all the clothes I can wear for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°Even though what we bought today are only seasonal clothes?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Kim Ha Neul¡¯s expression seemed genuinely embarrassed. Just by looking at him, the clothes she had bought felt worth the price. As her lips kept wriggling wildly, Kang Ba Da quickly turned her back. ¡®¡­But really, I¡¯m in trouble.¡¯ Kang Ba Da clearly knew what kind of thing she was doing. Nevertheless, she couldn¡¯t stop. The eyes of Kang Ba Da swept through Kim Ha Neul. He shuddered at that gaze, but her eyes remained unfazed. ¡®¡­Everything looks good on him!¡¯ This was the problem. Kim Ha Neul could pull off any style, including casual, street, modern, classic, dandy, and minimalist. She was going crazy wondering how far he could take it. ¡®These are all his clothes, but how can he tell me not to buy them!?¡¯ She wondered if this was the blinded-by-love situation that people often refer to, but when she tried to exclude such feelings as much as possible, his overall body proportion was quite good. Once he put something on, it was too bad to take it off, so she dragged him to the next store like that. ¡®¡­I¡¯m gonna look like a crazy shopper, right?¡¯ In fact, she usually only buys one or two pieces when she comes to the department store and rarely buys in bulk like this. Of course, she had her own justification. Even at a glance, Kim Ha Neul didn¡¯t seem to have much to wear. ¡®I¡¯m sure there are only a lot of those black shirts in his closet.¡¯ Such doubts were inevitable because Kim Ha Neul was wearing the same clothes as the last time she saw him. Besides, he had also picked out similar clothes at the department store. ¡®Even if I look disgraceful, I shouldn¡¯t stop.¡¯ If she bought enough clothes to wear for each day of the week, he would dress up next time just to show his sincerity. She was buying everything with that in mind. ¡®I didn¡¯t have a boyfriend, not money.¡¯ She had been scolded by people around her for living too frugally. They said she had to spend as much as she earned so that the economy could move. By the way, she had a boyfriend now. It¡¯s much better to use money like this than to buy a lot of clothes that she wouldn¡¯t use and leave them in the closet. ¡®Still, I bought them quite frugally.¡¯ She considered Kim Ha Neul¡¯s character as much as possible. She only chose clothes that could be easily mixed and matched and that could be worn for a long time. ¡°At least let me pay¡­¡± ¡°It is a necessary expense. Ha Neul-ssi, you can wear anything when you¡¯re alone, but you can¡¯t do that now that you¡¯re my husband. Otherwise, our group will be criticized.¡± ¡°Still, it¡¯s a bit too much.¡± ¡°Not at all. It is rather not enough.¡± She knew it was a ridiculous excuse even if God thought about it. However, even the coat Kim Ha Neul was currently wearing cost 1.5 million won. Although she selected quite popular brands1 because Kim Ha Neul seemed to be burdened, the price would be considerable by his standards. ¡®I don¡¯t want to cut his pride for nothing.¡¯ She bought it for him to dress nicely, but she didn¡¯t want to see Kim Ha Neul become timid because of it. ¡°Then just buy this much. There¡¯s no place in the closet anymore.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what Chief Park said earlier? It¡¯s a long-awaited holiday, but since they came out for us, we¡¯ll have to take care of that much, so¡­¡± ¡°Ba Da-ssi.¡± Suddenly, Kim Ha Neul grabbed Kang Ba Da by the shoulder. Surprised by this, she raised her head and immediately made eye contact with Kim Ha Neul. ¡®Th, this distance is dangerous!?¡¯ The scent of the perfume she had sprayed earlier was mixed with Kim Ha Neul¡¯s body scent, showing off its presence like crazy. A sweet yet dangerous scent permeated Kang Ba Da¡¯s nostrils, soon spreading through her veins and throughout her whole body. ¡°This is enough. Got it?¡± ¡°O, okay. So, this, please¡­¡± As if it was not an intentional action, Kim Ha Neul quickly widened the distance. Kang Ba Da was very embarrassed that she felt fortunate yet also had a sense of regret at the same time. The dizzying smell of perfume continued to linger on the tip of her nose, disturbing her mind. ¡®Wasn¡¯t he a bit too cool just now?¡¯ This was enough. The way he spoke resolutely felt anew. Wass this what people call the reverse charm, ¡®Lose in the morning, win at night¡¯2 that she had only heard about? ¡®¡­Is it okay like this?¡¯ She had heard that men get bored quickly if women seem too easy. If you looked at novels, wasn¡¯t it time to play hard to get at this point? Kang Ba Da¡¯s mind became more and more complicated. * * * After many twists and turns, the shopping was finally over. As I returned home, a sigh of relief escaped my lips. I nearly collapsed into my seat, feeling the tension in my body dissipate. ¡®Just how much did we buy?¡¯ Those didn¡¯t even fit in the trunk, so she even arranged the remaining clothes to be sent by courier after selecting some clothes to wear right away. I¡¯m not an idiot. Despite Kang Ba Da picking them out as if she were casually shopping at a grocery store, I was well aware of the value of these clothes. ¡®Even just what I¡¯m wearing right now¡­¡¯ It would cost twice as much as all the clothes I had ever worn in my entire life. If I were to sell them on the secondhand market, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about living expenses for a while. If she hadn¡¯t mentioned that the employees received bonuses for every purchase we made, I would have reduced the number of shopping bags by at least half. ¡®Although spending a lot of money could be mutually beneficial.¡¯ People like Kang Ba Da should spend money. After all, the amount we spent today would probably find its way into her bank account while she slept. As a human being, it felt good to wear luxury items I had never dreamt of wearing in my life. However, there should be a limit to it as well. ¡°Whoo.¡± I took a deep breath and calmed my racing feelings. After folding the clothes neatly and organizing them, I took a shower to clear my head. Shaaa- As the water poured over me, I pondered over the events of the past two days and contemplated the future direction. ¡®First of all, Ba Da-ssi is¡­¡¯ Pretty. That¡¯s what I thought when I saw her in front of the subway station. The sweet scent tickled my nose, and the soft feeling when we crossed our arms¡­ ¡®No, this isn¡¯t it!¡¯ Swish swish-! I quickly shook my head to dismiss those thoughts. I almost had a very embarrassing physical reaction. ¡®¡­It¡¯s dangerous.¡¯ It¡¯s a normal thought and reaction for a man in his mid to late 20s, but I had witnessed people being consumed by their instincts and ruining themselves. In a world where even non-existent evidence can be fabricated, I couldn¡¯t afford to let everything go wrong because of a single mistake. I had too much on my shoulders for that. ¡®Didn¡¯t she also move Father¡¯s hospital room already?¡¯ She was a woman with a really impressive execution power. The urgent voices of my parents, who were desperately looking for me, still echoed in my ears. ¨C My gosh, Ha Neul. What the hell is this? Suddenly, a man in a suit comes and moves Father¡¯s hospital room to a magnificent place! ¨C ¡­Oh yeah? ¨C Because it is! I heard that you won the prize by writing our story, but you can¡¯t just believe it in this world these days. You¡¯re not doing anything dangerous, right? At the time, I was in the middle of shopping with Kang Ba Da. When I turned my head slightly, she overheard the call and smiled brightly. It was very scary because it was like a smile that meant ¡®Your family is already in my hands¡¯, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to express it openly. ¨C It¡¯s not like that, so don¡¯t worry. You can just stay comfortably. They said they will cover the hospital bill until Dad is discharged from the hospital. ¨C Oh yeah? Really? ¨C Huh. ¨C My gosh, that¡¯s a relief. You¡¯re a filial son. A filial son! You should have told us in advance if there¡¯s such a thing. It was only then that Mother¡¯s voice brightened again. My anxiety wasn¡¯t completely gone either, but if I showed my anxiety, my parents would be even more worried. I forced myself to speak in a more confident tone. Tap, tap. At that time, Kang Ba Da, who had been eavesdropping on the call, suddenly touched my hand. When I glanced back, she formed a word with her lips. ¡®Sur.prise.¡± ¡­I almost screamed back then. The memory of somehow ending the call by swallowing those words passed through my head. Shaaa- The stream of water wet my body. At that moment, I had an urge to also soak my hair, but I couldn¡¯t bear to do it because I was afraid the perm would come off. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± How long had I been like that? I slowly woke up from my thoughts. In the meantime, I had clearly grasped the situation I was in. ¡®Yeah, I¡¯ve already stepped into the abyss.¡¯ Like the ¡°Princess Maker¡± game that was popular in the past, I became the main character inside Kang Ba Da¡¯s game. But it was truly horrendous that it happened in reality and even on a larger scale. Anyway, it¡¯s definitely the path I had chosen. Death was the only way out of this game. But if I persevered, everyone would be happy. ¡®Kim Ha Neul. You jerk. You¡¯ve got really lucky.¡¯ When I went to a hillside slum and an orphanage to research materials for a web novel, I came back empty-handed after going with a big heart. It was because I thought that I would not be able to digest their fierce lives as mere entertainment. There were many people in the world who never come across an ¡®opportunity¡¯ in their lifetime. My fear of this situation right now was like a child whining about side dishes. ¡®Yes, as long as my family is happy.¡¯ That was enough. What more reason was needed. Tuk- I turned off the shower and stepped out. After changing clothes, I immediately sat down in front of my desk and switched on the computer. ¡°Hm?¡± As I habitually visited the web novel serialization site, I was slightly taken aback. Because the notifications had piled up. Of course, there were at most 20 notifications. For an unknown writer like me, being blessed with even two or three notifications a day was enough to make my heart race. ¡®¡­Did it attract wannies?¡¯ Wannabe writers often refer to themselves as ¡°wannies¡± in an ambiguous way. Many of them turned evil after failing to monetize their work multiple times. These evil wannies would relieve their stress by leaving malicious comments on other writers¡¯ works. I had experienced it a few times before, so just the thought of it made my heart pound already. ¡°Whoa. But I still have to check.¡± No matter how strong one¡¯s mentality was, it was really rare to find a writer completely unaffected by malicious comments. Sometimes, it hurts more to have one¡¯s child cursed than to be cursed at oneself. That¡¯s why many writers chose not to read the comments at all. However, I tended to accept them humbly, considering them as feedback. Taking a deep breath, I checked the notifications with determination. As I read through the comments, I froze for a moment. [All the best.] [Please write well.] [Why is there no next chapter?] What¡¯s this hot reaction? All comments were favorable. Even ¡®Wind God Warrior¡¯, who was called one of the guardian spirits of the web novel site, left a comment. ¡°¡­And did I even get sponsorship?¡± [Title: Imperial Princess Sent a Donation~] : Imperial Princess sent the Writer a donation with a warm heart. If you cheer up and write good content, I think Imperial Princess will like it. Of course, this was not the first time I had received it. However, the limit for common sponsorship was 500 to 1,000 won. But this person sent a whopping ¡®ten thousand won¡¯. ¡®Is this the happiness of 10,000 won that I¡¯ve only heard about?¡¯ It was an amount that couldn¡¯t be settled right away, and even if it could, it would disappear in one meal. However, that happiness simply couldn¡¯t be expressed in money. It was really thrilling to feel that my baby was recognized by others. ¡°I have to write right aw¡­ Hm.¡± I was trying to type on the keyboard in excitement, but my gaze suddenly landed on my phone. Naturally, Kang Ba Da came to mind, and her words were replayed. ¨C Take good care of your health. ¨C Make sure to come out in full condition tomorrow. I¡¯ll let you drive yourself then. Maybe it¡¯s because I took a shower for too long. When I looked at the clock, it was already past 10 p.m. After thinking for a while facing the monitor, I eventually turned off the computer and picked up my phone. Shortly after, I clicked on the chat room that was pinned on the top. : Ba Da-ssi, did you get home safely? I sent a message carefully, but the number ¡®1¡¯, which means that the message was read, did not disappear. ¡®Is she sleeping?¡¯ She must be tired after walking around for a long time. Whatever the reason, she had worked so hard for me, so it¡¯s right to say thank you. : Thank you for today. : I will wear the clothes well around. Hm- When I actually sent it, I thought it felt too rigid. After much thought, I decided to make a bold investment. : [Sticker of a man throwing a thumbs up] As a picture went in, it definitely became less stiff. The sticker was purchased with a huge discount, so the cost-effectiveness was doubled. ¡®This should be enough.¡¯ I lay on the bed with a satisfied smile. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep even if I died, but I felt like I could fall asleep today somehow. * * * ¡°Huhuhu¡­ I knew you¡¯d be like that.¡± Checking all Kim Ha Neul¡¯s messages from the notifications, Kang Ba Da¡¯s lips ascended to heaven. ¡®If I check them right away, it¡¯ll look like I¡¯ve been waiting, right?¡¯ But that shouldn¡¯t be the case. After all, dating was about playing hard to get. Kang Ba Da, who decided to honestly admit her love for Kim Ha Neul, completely changed her approach. ¨C Ba Da, you¡¯re a member of Daehan Group. Even if you develop feelings for someone in the future, you should never give them the upper hand. The second Unnie¡¯s teachings that she heard one day echoed in her mind. Kang Ba Da believed those words made enough sense. In a relationship, the one who liked the other person inevitably ended up losing more from the start. However, if you let yourself be constantly dragged along, the other person would quickly grow tired of you. ¡®That should never happen.¡¯ Love was nothing but the action of hormones. Biologically, eternal love couldn¡¯t exist in this world. However, there were some aspects that could be controlled. If you understood the principle of love, you would be able to have a happy married life with each other. ¡®This Noona will seduce you!¡¯ Still, it was the first romantic relationship in name and would be the last one with a high probability. So, she wanted to get a confession from Kim Ha Neul at least once. Thanks to this, she desperately suppressed her desire to answer quickly and turned on the ¡®airplane mode¡¯. Even if she went into the chat room in this way, the ¡®1¡¯ wouldn¡¯t disappear from the other person¡¯s screen. ¡°¡­What did this mean?¡± The content of the message was okay. The problem was the emoticon sent after a while. A man raised his thumb and slashed his neck. A gesture similar to a murder notice ¡®Di, did I get caught!?¡¯ Did Kim Ha Neul draw a line after noticing her heart? Did he notice that I was playing hard to get? Or did he notice that I¡¯m ¡®Imperial Princess¡¯? ¡®Could it be that the sponsorship amount is too small!?¡¯ There were too many corners that she felt guilty about. Having a complicated mind, she eventually couldn¡¯t stand it and turned off airplane mode. Her hand became urgent as she tapped the phone. : Ha Neul-ssi? : What does this mean? : Excuse me? However, the ¡®1¡¯ did not disappear no matter how long she waited. She didn¡¯t think he would be sleeping at this time because of his insomnia. But, why was there no reply? Tak tak tak! Biting her nails, Kang Ba Da ended up staying up all night that day.