17 Looking for a wife

A small 'hmph' it was, not scornful but rather playful. The platinum watch in his hands was certainly beautiful. But he hadn't expected her to be so intrusive. What he had expected was a small little thank you message. But this woman had her own ways to interest him.

"Why didn't you give her your address?" Jae asked his son, sitting on the lounge couch as Yeom Tae tried the platinum watch on.

"She never asked." Yeom Tae scoffed. "Maybe she thinks I live with my parents."

"As you should?" Jae shrugged.

"My apartment is cozier." Yeom Tae pressed his lips together.

"And more vulnerable…" Jae looked at his son from the corner of his eyes. "You should move back in once you two are married. You don't want to put her in danger."

"I can protect ourselves." Yeom Tae said. "Furthermore, our marriage is to strengthen us after all." He said, in all seriousness.

"Don't forget that night." Jae said in a low tone, as if wanting to keep a secret. "Remember it for as long as you decide to stay away from us."

Yeom Tae nodded politely, stood up and bowed down. He walked out of the room with a subtle grimness on his face but as soon as he closed the door behind him, his neutral but playful face returned to him, as if an automatic imprint. He walked out of the house with a sigh, wondering how to reply to the woman. Was she even gonna reply back?

Yeom Tae was confused and needed to talk this out to someone. He sat inside his car and drove to his firm. He walked out of his car after parking it in the parking lot. He took the lift to go above. While walking in the halls of his firm, he was greeted by several of his employees.

"Welcome back, Sir!" One of the employees said, as Yeom Tae had left the premises to receive his gift from his parents' house.

Maybe if Haneul was going to resort to communicating through gifts, he might as well give her his work and apartment addresses. But it sounded awkward. Imagine saying 'Since you don't reply to me like normal human beings, here's my other addresses…'

Yeom Tae felt a chill in his spine while fantasizing such things. He walked inside his office with his best friend, business partner and most of all, his first platonic love seated on the couch, eyes fixated onto the laptop placed on his lap.

"Han Jiwoo!" Yeom Tae shouted loudly, throwing his elegance right away.

But Jiwoo's eyes were still on his laptop. Yeom Tae sat beside him and hugged his arm, being as clingy as possible to divert his attention, but of no use.

"Han Jiwoo." Yeom Tae resorted to looking innocent, like a baby asking back for his toys and a puppy asking for a treat.

"What?" Jiwoo replied, lifting his hands from the keyboard only to fix his slipping glasses. A true nerd, he was.

"I need your help." Yeom Tae said in a pleading tone.

Oh it made the nerd slam his laptop shut and diverted all his attention towards his helpless friend. Jiwoo narrowed his eyes as he looked at Yeom Tae through his glasses. Too much time near the screen was spent Mr. Programmer, too much time.

"It's about the woman I'm seeing." Yeom Tae added to the bits of information.

"Did she throw your gift or what?" Jiwoo asked neutrally.

"My God, Jiwoo." Yeom Tae pulled back. "Who the hell throws diamonds away?"

"Ah," Jiwoo nodded and started to think. "She sold it then."

Yeom Tae sighed. Why did he even come to a nerd for relationship advice? Well, Jiwoo was a nerd so he might've studied about relationships too. Everything Yeom Tae had done so far was Jiwoo's suggestion anyway.

"She didn't reply like you said." Yeom Tae started explaining. "Sent me this instead." He pulled his hand upwards to show his friend the new watch he was wearing.

Jiwoo looked at Yeom Tae's face after looking at the watch, he needed more information.

"Platinum." Yeom Tae smiled sarcastically.

"No notes?" Jiwoo interrogated.

"No notes." Yeom Tae shook his head.

"Get her another gift." Jiwoo said. "This time, in person."

Oh no. The verdict had been stated and there was no turning back now. Yeom Tae decided to rest his back on the couch for the time being though. He was too tired.

"Jiwoo." He called his friend slowly, while his attention was still on him. "Do you think I'm a terrible person for doing this?"

"Family first." Jiwoo said slowly. "People do the worst things for their family. You're not even holding a stick to them right now."

Yeom Tae seemed aloof. Jiwoo guessed he had heard something from his father so he put his hand on his shoulder, very gently.

"Your intention isn't bad." Jiwoo continued. "You promised to love her wholeheartedly."

Yeom Tae turned his head to look at Jiwoo and smiled as playfully as ever.

"Honestly, I was scared." Yeom Tae said. "I was scared that what if she is not an interesting person. You can't just fall in love with people magically, you know?" He added, receiving a nod from Jiwoo. "But I'm glad she's my type. Like so damn glad."

Jiwoo smiled warmly and patted his friend's shoulder. "Now get lost." He said, pulling his arm away and reaching for his laptop again.

"What are you even working on?" Yeom Tae asked out of curiosity.

"Since you can't bother working," Jiwoo looked at him and smiled. "I decided to finish your mess too."

Yeom Tae felt attacked but it was the truth. He did own a gaming firm but the amount of work or planning he did was zero. All he did was approve plans, games, and other products like apps. Whenever he worked, it was celebrated.

Not that he chose not to work, he was just always busy with family affairs. Like now, he was looking for a wife out of nowhere.