Survival Diary of a Secretarial Worker in the Wilderness - c146
#029
“Are you Mr. Baek Sion by any chance…?”
“…What kind of joke is that? It’s not funny at all.”
Kang Seok-ho, who came to pick me up at the airport, made an unnecessary joke. It wasn’t funny at all.
“I asked because you didn’t seem like the person I knew…? What happened on your honeymoon to make you look… like that?”
“You talk too much.”
“…Sorry, sir. It seems like it was indeed your expertise. Haha.”
Ah, that’s what he meant. I understand. I also got a shock seeing my pale face in the mirror every day.
Fortunately, the rut that started on the first day of the honeymoon ended much earlier than usual. It was about three days, so it was unusually fast to recover. But even after that, we couldn’t properly go sightseeing because I didn’t have the energy to leave the bed.
“So, let’s just take it easy… Phew….”
“I can’t entirely blame you, can I? But why do you keep getting energetic only at night?”
That’s right. I slept like a corpse during the day to replenish my energy, and only felt somewhat better at night. Since there wasn’t much to do late at night, we ended up doing that thing with Yoon Tae-oh again, and it became a vicious cycle of falling back into deep sleep.
Is this how honeymoons are supposed to be? Probably. What would healthy alpha and omega do on a trip?
“Then, are we going to have a nephew, sir?”
“Are you insane?”
Unbelievable. What… asking someone who just got married…. Yoon Tae-oh… my child…. If the child takes after him, it could be very risky. But would it be cute if it’s small? It’s strangely embarrassing.
“Um… I’m not quite into that either.”
“R-really? Me neither… not really….”
I found it somewhat strange seeing Yoon Tae-oh, who seemed to have no thoughts. Doesn’t he like children much? Well, it doesn’t really matter. He just got married, so it’s possible. I don’t even have thoughts of having children yet, and because of my nature, pregnancy might not be as easy as he desires.
“Let’s go home.”
“Was the construction completed well?”
“They said it was.”
“Did you check everything except me…?”
“It’s a kind of wedding present, showing it beforehand wouldn’t be fun. But you can still look forward to it.”
Hmm. Strangely, rather than excitement, anxiety surges first. Whenever Yoon Tae-oh makes such big promises, he usually ends up causing some ridiculous accident…. Well. What could go wrong in a house that’s already perfect?
I rode in the car driven by Kang Seok-ho, heading to Yoon Tae-oh’s house… No, now it’s our house. Although it was a house I visited every day, it felt strange and yet familiar because our relationship had changed.
I used to think the tall stone walls surrounding the house were cold and ruthless, disconnecting it from the world. But now, even they seemed like a sturdy barrier protecting our sanctuary.
“Let’s go in.”
I followed his guiding hand holding mine. As we passed through the stone steps leading up from the garden, I couldn’t perceive any significant changes. The trees and stones remained just as they were before my touch.
But as soon as we opened the main entrance to the mansion, I felt like I had entered someone else’s house.
“This… this is all… different….”
Nothing looked familiar. The walls and floors had been replaced with bright-colored natural marble. Not only that, but the sofas, tables, dining table, and decorations, everything had changed. The previous dull colors were nowhere to be found, replaced entirely by brightness. As the sunlight poured through the large living room window, the interior became dazzlingly bright.
“Do you like it? I thought Baek Sion would like this kind of thing, so I put some effort into it.”
“I… I love it too much, is it okay…?”
“Since it’s where Sion will be staying, I think I like it. Now that I see it, it doesn’t seem bad at all.”
He used to prefer entirely black interiors. I thought it was weird yet strangely suited him. But standing in this bright space, he seemed to blend in perfectly. It was as if he had lived like this all his life.
He smiled at me with a dazzling smile brighter than the cheerful sunlight. There wasn’t a trace of darkness from the past anywhere on his face.
“Well then, I like it too. Thank you, hyung.”
“I’ll become even better if you look at other places.”
I couldn’t praise him. Yoon Tae-oh, who seemed both new and familiar, took my hand as if it were nothing and led me inside. Our new room used to be where Yoon Tae-oh’s room and the adjacent room I used were located. By combining two rooms, it became a spacious bedroom, almost like a small apartment.
“…I haven’t been able to change the bedding yet.”
The concept seemed to match the living room, but the bedding was a different color. Seeing the light gray tone, it seemed to be the maximum that Yoon Tae-oh could tolerate. Somehow, it was cute. Honestly, bedding didn’t matter much.
“I like that color too. Next time, I’ll change it myself.”
The new bed and the en-suite bathroom were also twice as spacious, and the bathtub… This seemed to be Yoon Tae-oh’s plan. It was as large as a swimming pool, just like he intended for that thing to happen here tonight.
It took a while to tour the master bedroom due to its size. Even while holding Yoon Tae-oh’s hand again, the house felt unfamiliar. It wasn’t the structure I remembered. Even the kitchen I passed by had completely changed like a different house, and the space where I used to stay as a secretary had disappeared completely. And the room next to it was the same.
“What is this place…?”
“I thought the theater I visited before was a bit shabby. The image quality was also poor.”
At first glance, it felt empty. There was too much space. There were only two sheets in the room that made it hard to distinguish between a bed and a chair. Perhaps it was designed for sitting or lying down like airplane seats. A large white screen hung in front, similar in size to a regular movie theater, and speakers were mounted on the walls and floor to face the center seats. Even if you didn’t know the brand, the sound quality seemed excellent.
“So I made a theater at home…?”
“It’s just leftover space anyway, might as well make something out of it. Let’s have a screening tonight.”
He’s still crazy. But it’s fine. It would probably be more fun than watching on a small TV screen. Can we watch something explicit…? I’m looking forward to it.
“But… it seems like there are fewer rooms in the house now…?”
“I told them to get rid of unnecessary things. Otherwise, Baek Sion might run away.”
He’s actually putting it into practice. The balcony was expanded, and the living room was opened up for a refreshing sense of openness. Thanks to that, the new living room had antique pieces that were previously tucked away, making it feel like a museum.
“And there’s one more gift.”
Yoon Tae-oh led me back to the master bedroom. When he opened the door on one side, a space divided into left and right sides was revealed. One side was familiar. The location had changed, but it seemed like Yoon Tae-oh had moved the dressing room where his clothes were stored. But the opposite side was unfamiliar.
“What’s this side for?”
“You can’t tell just by looking.”
I couldn’t tell. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like the area where my clothes should be, but strangely, everything was unfamiliar. The spacious dressing room was filled with clothes on both sides and shoes lined up underneath. And between the aisle in the middle, there were watches and accessories displayed on a rack. Each one looked expensive, and I have no memory of buying such things. To begin with, buying these things would require more money than I could afford.
“It’s a gift. Call it a bridal suite or something.”
“A gift…? Is this… all of it?”
It felt both good and burdensome. We had decided not to have a bridal suite. Since it was just the two of us, and we already had a house, there was no need to prepare anything separately. Maybe it was just Yoon Tae-oh’s annoyance, or maybe it was considerate of me, who had no money to spare.
“Well… don’t feel burdened because it’s for me. Still, as a married couple, if Sion looks like a beggar, people might talk badly about us.”
Ah. Did he originally think I looked like a beggar…?
“You didn’t need to say that just to accept it, you know? Thank you. I… I’ll get you something nice later.”
I know he’s saying that on purpose. He doesn’t want me to feel unnecessary pressure.
But our married life has just begun. It’s like saying we have a lot of time ahead. Right now, I might not be able to afford Yoon Tae-oh an appropriate gift, but soon I’ll give him something heartfelt. I can’t talk about money like this, though.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
He’s such a thoughtful man, what can’t I give him?
Coming to our house makes me feel married. Sleeping in the same bed as Yoon Tae-oh, having meals together, and going to work. Then coming home, having a drink while watching a movie, and relaxing together in the bathtub to unwind. On weekends, it would be nice to lazily roll around in bed and go outside to soak up the sun in the garden.
In this house, with Yoon Tae-oh, I’ll share everything, for a lifetime.
I’m lucky that Yoon Tae-oh is the one I’ll spend my life with. I really think I made a good decision to get married.
***
The breeze carries a chill. After experiencing one season, it’s now a time where you can’t find any traces of warmth. The trees that were once filled with green are now tinged with red and yellow. Even the wind, weakly blowing, can’t overcome the cold and falls powerless.
“Hyung.”
“What’s wrong? You seem anxious.”
Suddenly, memories of the past come to mind. When our honeymoon with Yoon Tae-oh ended in failure, it didn’t matter. I thought we could go on another trip whenever we wanted. Time was on our side then, and I never doubted that opportunities would come to us in the future.
But… it wasn’t as simple as I thought. If we had known that the trip we could take together would be the last, would we have treated that time more preciously? If we had known that such opportunities were not as common as we thought, would we have valued that time more?
Shaking off the momentary distraction, I focused on Yoon Tae-oh, who was sitting across from me. He was waiting for me to speak with a serious expression. How should I say this? Would he welcome this conversation or not? I couldn’t predict his reaction. But I have to say it.
Slowly, I opened my mouth.
“I… I’m pregnant.”
【Epilogue, End】