At First Sight
Part 1: The Present
“You’re finally back.”
The sharp voice of her stepmother was what greeted Da-yeon the moment she returned from going out. As if determined not to grant her even a moment to change clothes, her mother sat in a living-room chair and gestured her over. Da-yeon walked forward weakly and sat at her side.
The stepmother pointed at the table with a perfunctory flick of her hand. A single photograph lay there.
“This is your matchmaking partner.”
No amount of wording could have dressed up the man’s appearance in the photo. He wore glasses, and the lines of his face were uneven. Every feature was petty and small. Had affection grown naturally over time it might have been different, but for a matchmaking meeting—where first impressions and looks decided so much—he was hardly suitable.
When Da-yeon did not answer, a prompting sound came again, as if urging a response.
“He’s nothing much to look at, but I hear he has plenty of money. Enough that he could support your father’s political career.”
Communication with her stepmother, Yoon Ju-ha, was always like this. Instructions. Commands.
Before Da-yeon could even reply, a woman emerging from the dining room cut in. It was Na-bin, Ju-ha’s own daughter and Da-yeon’s half-sister. Na-bin peered at the photograph and scoffed.
“If he’s so rich, why didn’t he even retouch his own photo? Is he dirt-poor?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. He’s confident in his wealth, so he’s showing his honest self.”
“Well, yeah.”
Her sister fanned the flames and then slipped neatly away. Ju-ha looked at Da-yeon and pressed on again.
“This is more than you deserve. It isn’t even a remarriage, the age gap isn’t large. His educational background is good, too.”
Da-yeon raised a timid objection.
“…Would someone like that even like me?”
“You make up for each other’s shortcomings as you live. You’re not lacking in looks, so if the child takes after you, it’ll come out pretty, won’t it?”
“What if the man says it’s a fraudulent marriage?”
“What, are you going to tell every man you meet that you’ve been pregnant before? Just keep your mouth shut and it’s fine.”
She stabbed casually at Da-yeon’s wound. Ju-ha did not care in the least as she cornered her.
“Remarriage matches are hard to come by these days. And it isn’t as if I can marry you off to just anyone, either.”
“…….”
“Who would want a high-school graduate who’s half-paralyzed?”
“…….”
“Go gratefully. I’ve given Director Jeong your number.”
She mentioned the matchmaker famous for her high success rate. With that, the conversation with her stepmother was over.
“What shall we do for you today? The usual demure, pure look would be best, right?”
The staff member in charge greeted Da-yeon warmly the moment she saw her. It was the routine for matchmaking meetings.
Receive notice of a match. Get the meeting place and time from Director Jeong. On the day of the appointment, go to the shop her mother had instructed and be prettily dressed up. Become a pretty doll, smile in front of the man, and come home.
Sitting before the mirror, Da-yeon simply nodded obediently.
The woman in the mirror was pretty by anyone’s standards. Delicate features clustered close together, long hair falling past her chest, a body so slender it was almost withered, and listless eyes that made her look like a beauty with a story. As she stared blankly at her reflection, her hair was styled and color was gradually layered onto her face. The makeup brought a little life to her pale complexion.
Once her makeup was finished, Da-yeon took a taxi toward the matchmaking venue. Seated, she watched the scenery change rapidly outside.
Everything felt busy, fast. Only she seemed unable to find her place, floating slowly along. She was already tired.
She was exhausted from meeting people only to refuse them. She no longer had the strength to listen to her parents’ marriage pressure, either. She needed neither love nor attention. She would sit harmlessly as a beautiful ornament in the house, so she hoped this matchmaking partner would purchase her. If she could escape Yoon Ju-ha’s gaze, she thought she could endure even if the other party did things with someone else. Her own mother had done the same, after all.
She arrived at the hotel that was the meeting place and forced her body up toward the café on the upper floor. Stepping inside, she meant to give the staff her match’s name. But without even asking, the staff guided Da-yeon forward. There was only one man inside the café.
The man was looking out at the view. Soon sensing a presence, he turned his head toward Da-yeon.
The moment their eyes met, Da-yeon couldn’t help but be flustered. It was not the matchmaking partner she had seen in the photograph. The only resemblance was the glasses.
Though he was seated, one could guess from the length of his legs alone that he was tall. Broad shoulders made his build stand out further. The lines of his face were smooth, and his features were distinct yet clean. The glasses were more of an accessory that made his good looks shine. Captivated by every neat, appealing detail of his bearing, Da-yeon missed both the timing to approach and the timing to step back.
The man rose from his seat. The moment his intelligent gaze turned on her, Da-yeon finally realized there had been a mix-up and hastily bowed her head, turning away. Since there was only one guest, they must have naturally connected her to him. She meant to reconfirm the reservation with the staff.
“Kim Da-yeon.”
A calm, low baritone confirmed it for her instead. Da-yeon turned around again. The standing man approached her slowly, a smile filling his face.
The man facing her was even more striking than she had thought. Da-yeon lifted her head to look at him. He welcomed her with a warm expression.
“I’m Shin Seok-hyeon.”
She had received a contact number, but there had never been any exchange of messages. She had come without even knowing her match’s name. From the matchmaker she had only been told that once she arrived at the venue she could look for Representative Shin. Only now did she realize that “Representative Shin” was Shin Seok-hyeon.
“I hope it wasn’t too hard getting here.”
The man kept talking to the silent Da-yeon. At the warm voice that sounded almost plaintive, tears suddenly welled in her eyes.
This was the first time something like this had happened in front of someone she was meeting for the first time. Was it the kind of thing that made you cry just because someone spoke in a kind voice? Da-yeon was only flustered by the flow of emotion she herself couldn’t understand. She tried to gather her tears and calm herself.
“Hello.”
As if guiding the Da-yeon who had lowered her head, the man angled his body slightly to open a path. It meant for her to sit. She sat and settled her heart. Across from her, Seok-hyeon still had not taken his eyes off Da-yeon, smiling fully. Da-yeon wrung out what little strength she had left and tried to be faithful to the matchmaking meeting.
“…Seeing you in person, you’re much better-looking than in the photo.”
She honestly voiced her first impression. Even searching her memory, the man in the matchmaking photo had been close to ugly. Had he gotten plastic surgery in the meantime? Was that even a face plastic surgery could create? As Da-yeon weighed various possibilities in her head, Seok-hyeon smiled at her.
“Thank you.”
“…Actually, you look different from the face Director Jeong showed me, so I didn’t recognize you. Is the photo I received really of you…?”
Thinking Director Jeong might have made a mistake, Da-yeon meant to have him check the photo. But Seok-hyeon answered at once, with no intention of looking.
“There seems to have been a mix-up. Director Jeong said she accidentally sent a photo of another friend.”
She couldn’t believe that a matchmaker famous for her high success rate would make such a mistake. But Seok-hyeon’s attitude was so nonchalant that Da-yeon was even more bewildered.
“Didn’t you think to correct it? What were you going to do if I didn’t show up…?”
“That could have happened.”
“…Were you testing me?”
Da-yeon shot back sharply without realizing it. Even so, Seok-hyeon continued calmly.
“To be honest…. I wasn’t testing you, Da-yeon. Your mother said she dislikes it when a man’s appearance is too polished. So I requested it of Director Jeong.”
“My mother?”
“She likes them wealthy but with a flaw, I was told.”
The gaze that had seemed warm grew sharp for an instant. Seok-hyeon exhaled a sigh as if suppressing something and gave a small, cold smile.
“Whether his looks fall short…. Whether he has complicated relationships with women or men, it doesn’t matter, as long as he has money, she said.”
“…….”
“Still, I didn’t want to lie about having complicated relationships.”
Da-yeon knew her stepmother was fully capable of such a thing. She had hated Da-yeon simply for existing. But even if Ju-ha had laid down such a strange condition, Da-yeon had nothing to say. She had a flaw herself, after all.
What was suspicious was that a man named Shin Seok-hyeon had gone to such lengths just to meet her.
“How did you know about me and ask to be introduced…?”
Fearing it might sound like an interrogation, Da-yeon belatedly checked his expression. For the first time, Seok-hyeon hesitated. As if recalling something, he didn’t meet Da-yeon’s eyes and sighed briefly.
“…I fell for you the moment I saw you.”