Bad Relationship

There must be some other circumstance. Something he can only tell me after we’re married.

“So I’m more curious… about that reason.”

— “You really don’t know?”

“I don’t.”

— “He just asked you to marry him without explaining anything?”

“That’s why I refused.”

— “What’s going on then? A match would need to be at a certain level to accept even forcibly. There’s absolutely no benefit for their side in marrying you.”

Junghyun was about to say “being easy to divorce” but stopped himself. There was no need to mention it since he wouldn’t be getting married anyway. It would be a waste of time.

— “This is too strange… Could he actually have fallen for you?”

“Maybe?”

At Junghyun’s indifferent response, Juwon sighed deeply.

— “You shouldn’t be talking as if this is someone else’s problem.”

“But it is someone else’s problem.”

— “Right, you only understand when the knife is at your throat? Your father is about to lose his mind, but preparations for the wedding are already underway. This isn’t something you can reject or do anything about. They need to resolve it.”

“It doesn’t matter. I just won’t do it.”

— “And what will you do if you don’t?”

“I’ll take the airport railway to the airport right now and flee.”

— “Hey! Lee Jung…”

As he was about to shout in excitement, coughing and wheezing sounds came through the phone.

“Take your medicine and rest first. Don’t end up being hospitalized again.”

— “This… ah, my heart… Don’t make me sick and then offer medicine. Come to the family house right now. Your dad has sent people, so just come voluntarily.”

“People?”

— “Yes. We need to talk and figure out how to resolve this, don’t we?”

“Communication only works when you can understand each other. With that person, communication isn’t…”

As he was about to say “possible,” the screen suddenly brightened. With that ominous feeling, he checked his phone screen while descending to the platform and saw a message from an unfamiliar number.

‘Wedding in 2 weeks, Sunday, Continental Hotel Grand Bloom Hall, 2 PM, 200 guests from each side. Prepare your own clothes, I’ll handle the wedding gifts. Moving scheduled for 10 days later. Just pack your clothes, books, and personal belongings.’

He didn’t need to ask who it was from—the message made it clear.

His head was spinning at this unilateral announcement from someone who had made all the plans on his own. Massaging the back of his neck, Junghyun got in line and continued his call.

“Uncle, this won’t work. I’m really going to the airport. You should go into hiding for a while too. Tell father to handle it himself.”

— “What are you suddenly saying? You’re really going to run away?”

“I got a message from that hyung with the wedding time and venue all set. My passport happens to be in my car, so I’m leaving now. You should either lie in the hospital sick or flee abroad for a while. The wedding is in two weeks on Sunday, so hiding for about a month should be enough. Or you don’t have to come back at all.”

— “Hey, you’re joking, right? You’re not really leaving, are you?”

“Have you ever seen me joke? I’ll go to Japan first, then move to a country that doesn’t require a visa. I’ll contact you from the airport.”

— “Wait, wait a moment! You crazy bastard!”

After ending the call with Uncle Juwon’s scream, Junghyun boarded the arriving subway train and started checking his missed calls and messages.

Perhaps due to today’s shocking defeat, his friends’ messages were full of curses about the team, but messages from classmates, colleagues, and acquaintances who followed baseball all converged on one question, despite being scattered:

‘What’s your relationship with the person using the Hanju owner’s box?’

Just looking at the message inbox made his ears itch. It was obvious that all kinds of speculation and rumors would be flying around, so he decided not to look.

It was annoying.

No matter what people said, they wouldn’t believe him anyway and would keep speculating among themselves, so if he left it alone, it would disappear on its own.

Not worth responding to each one, he cleared all notifications when he felt a peculiar gaze.

It wasn’t malicious, but not exactly friendly either—a gaze filled with pure curiosity. When he looked up, he saw a few people in Hanju Elephants uniforms whispering in the distance.

They had probably heard the rumors, or maybe the live broadcast had appeared on the electronic display boards too.

These people would forget his face as soon as he got off at the next station, but he smiled at them anyway before checking his phone again, which was ringing. Though silent, ‘Heo Yongwoo’ was displayed at the bottom of the lit screen.

It was about time.

Since he had something to ask anyway, he pressed the call button as the subway slowed down approaching the next station.

As soon as the call connected, a shout loud enough to echo through the corridor beyond the receiver burst out.

— “Hey! Where are you?”

“Where would I be? On the subway. Where are you guys?”

— “You’re already at the subway station? Wow, that’s the owner’s box for you. We haven’t even made it out of the stadium yet!”

“Well, that’s one advantage.”

Just as he was saying “not getting crushed by people when leaving,” the subway stopped. With a hissing sound, the doors opened, and he stepped out and headed straight for the stairs as Yongwoo’s voice grew louder again.

— “No, no, forget that! Hey, hey! That person who was with you on the display board, was it that hyung we met at the bar the week before last?”

“That’s right.”

— “I knew it! I thought so! I have an amazing memory for faces, unlike Jisung who insisted it wasn’t him! He said the face was different!”

“That guy has face blindness.”

Saying it’s fortunate he can even distinguish between men and women, Junghyun quickly climbed the stairs and passed through the ticket gate as Yongwoo laughed triumphantly.

— “See! I told you my eyes can’t be deceived. So, did you have a blind date with that hyung today? Was this the interesting thing Junyoung hyung mentioned?”

“Well…”

At his indifferent tone implying “not what I wanted,” Yongwoo’s voice rose to a different pitch.

— “Wow! What a coincidence! No, at this level, is it fate? I guess the Elephants and I are destined to be together!”

“Discuss that with the Elephants. More importantly, I’ll be out of Korea for a while, and I left my car at the hotel. There’s a car key in the first drawer of the nightstand next to my bedroom. It’s at B34 on the second basement level, so please take the car to my apartment. Or you can use it for a while.”

— “Why? Where are you going?”

“I won’t be coming back to Korea for a while. Depending on the situation, I might not come back for quite some time. Please look after my place for now.”

Without any pets, plants, or even food in the refrigerator, there wasn’t much to worry about, but he still needed someone to occasionally turn off the power and close the veranda windows to avoid neglecting the place for too long.

Did he leave the veranda open this morning…?

— “I can do that for you, but wouldn’t you rather ask Seojun? He lives right across from you.”

“He’s busy these days too. I’m heading to Japan now, so please help me out for a while.”

— “Wait, why are you suddenly going to Japan? Is it a business trip? No, hey, wait a minute…”

As the conversation suddenly cut off, Junghyun took the escalator out of the station and walked toward the hotel visible in the distance.

Though the sun was setting, the busy streets were still crowded with people. As he walked quickly, Yongwoo asked an unexpected question.

— “Hey, are you getting married?”

“…Huh?”

— “Check the article link Jisung just sent.”

At that, Junghyun took the phone away from his ear and opened the group message chat used by his friends. He clicked the link that appeared, and a new window opened with the article headline:

‘Hanju Industries Director Cha Jaehyuk’s Public Baseball Date with Fiancé. Wedding Planned in Two Weeks.’

After reading the headline, he scrolled down to see a clear screenshot-like photo.

It showed him and Jaehyuk sitting in the owner’s box, appearing to have their cheeks pressed together.

Looking at it this way, it was clear that due to the camera angle, it could easily be mistaken for a kiss.

“Wow…”

His head was spinning.

It was like being hit too hard on the back of the head.

“So this is how you’re playing it…?”

— “Hey, what’s going on? Are you really getting married?”

Hearing Yongwoo’s curious voice from the phone, Junghyun put it back to his ear.

“No.”

— “But it says here that the date is set? Two weeks from now, on the weekend?”

“They set that unilaterally.”

— “So you are getting married!”

“I’m not.”

— “Can you really refuse when the other party is Hanju?”

“I still won’t.”

— “You’re not trying to flee abroad because of this, are you?”

As expected, his old friend was sharp.

“Why else would I be going to the airport now? I’m prepared to lose my job to run away.”

— “That’s not a good idea. I guarantee they’ll hold the wedding ceremony and file the marriage registration even without you.”

Junghyun was prepared for that too. His father was certainly capable of such things.

He just hoped that hyung’s pride would be too hurt to go that far.