Tears at the Blind Date
Da-yeon was not the sort who went out often. She spent her time at the hospital, pouring herself into rehabilitation, or attending private cooking classes as part of her bridal lessons. Unable to find any point of contact with Seok-hyeon, she confirmed it again.
“Where did you see me? I don’t go out much, you see.”
“…I saw you in a photograph.”
Was this blind-date partner defective in a different sense as well? A man who fell for someone in a photo and engineered the entire meeting. His tastes were strange. Da-yeon couldn’t decide whether she ought to be flattered by her own looks or angry at the man’s lightness.
Seok-hyeon seemed concerned by her lukewarm reaction and studied her carefully.
“Are you disappointed?”
“…To be honest, arranging a whole blind date just because you fell for my appearance… that’s rather remarkable.”
Seok-hyeon smiled again. This time the smile looked sad.
“I must have seemed like a man who stakes his life on a woman’s looks.”
She couldn’t deny it. Da-yeon avoided answering.
It was meant to be a pleasant chance to get to know each other, yet only silence flowed, contrary to every expectation. As if to clear the air, Seok-hyeon raised a hand and summoned a staff member. The employee approached and offered the menu. Seok-hyeon spoke with a gentle smile.
“Feel free to ask anything else you’re curious about. Shall we talk over drinks? What would you like?”
Da-yeon scanned the menu with her eyes. She couldn’t drink coffee, so she was the type who always hunted for something edible at the very bottom of a menu; this place, however, offered a wide variety of teas. While she chose, the sharp emotions that had flared earlier settled.
After ordering, she faced Seok-hyeon again and steeled herself. Having met only men who automatically pushed coffee first, she found herself thinking that this man’s tastes might be similar to hers simply because he had prepared such a generous selection of teas. The thought that they might suit each other well rose unbidden, and she was the first to pose a question.
“Did Director Jeong tell you anything about me?”
“Nothing special.”
The matchmaker seemed not to have passed on the important facts. Da-yeon hesitated over whether to speak of her own circumstances.
Yet she had no certainty she would ever meet this man again. He might have already sensed her listlessness and decided against a second meeting. Since it could end after a single encounter, she had no desire to volunteer her past with her own mouth.
Just then the tea arrived. The delicate tea set pleased her from the first glance, and the taste that touched her tongue was excellent as well. Her mood lifted.
Gazing at the river view that stretched beyond the windows, Da-yeon said,
“…There’s no one here. It’s a lovely place, yet it doesn’t seem well-known.”
“The quiet is nice. It feels as if we’re the only two people here.”
Reading between the lines, Da-yeon looked at Seok-hyeon.
“…Did you rent the whole place out?”
“Yes. I was worried other men might confuse you.”
Seok-hyeon tossed off the joke and laughed lightly.
“I wanted you to focus only on me.”
He certainly had no hesitation about spending money. She thought she understood now why her mother had pushed so hard. Once more Da-yeon felt uneasy.
“I’m sorry if this seems too earnest, but I’m… not a match worthy of Mr. Shin Seok-hyeon’s fantasy.”
It was self-reproach more than modesty. Seok-hyeon still did not erase his smile as he answered calmly.
“Earnest, yes—but I’m not looking for a fantasy.”
“…….”
“I’m the one who should apologize. My greed dragged you out to this blind date. Still, if you have no one else, I would like to be with you.”
“…….”
“If you would… give me a chance.”
His low voice reached her ear. The sincerity was unmistakable. Even knowing how strange it was for a man she had just met to be this sincere toward her, what rose was not rejection but a nameless sorrow.
This time there was no chance to hold them back; twin streams of tears slid down her cheeks. Had his gentleness made her weak without her noticing? Caught in an emotional current she herself did not understand, Da-yeon was thrown into confusion.
She hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand and rose from her seat.
“Excuse me.”
She fled to the restroom. Because of that, her slightly awkward gait became obvious. Da-yeon was too overwhelmed to care.
It wasn’t even her first blind date, yet she could not understand why she felt this way toward a man she was meeting for the first time. Standing before the sink, she regarded her reflection with clinical detachment.
A woman who suddenly burst into tears at a blind date. Reddened eyes, a piteous expression. It might have inspired sympathy in someone, but as the opening of a matchmaking meeting it was the worst possible start.
Da-yeon rinsed her eyes with water. She struggled to compose her face. When she finally managed to collect herself and stepped out, Seok-hyeon was standing right in front of the restroom. Avoiding his eyes, she said,
“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel well. I think I should go home.”
It was a clear rejection.
Seok-hyeon spoke with easy warmth.
“I’ll take you.”
“No, that isn’t… I’m just a little off today.”
“Please let me do at least that much. I’m worried.”
She could not refuse the kindness any further. Drawn along by Seok-hyeon, she went straight outside.
She had begun the blind date by looking out the car window; now she was finishing it the same way, gazing once more through the glass. Sitting in the passenger seat beside Seok-hyeon, she simply watched the scenery. She never turned her eyes toward the man who was driving, yet her mind was filled only with the blind date and with Seok-hyeon himself.
The stepmother who had chosen a man with money but nothing else to recommend him.
Shin Seok-hyeon, who had played along by pretending to be nothing special.
She reasoned coolly that her stepmother was unhinged and that Seok-hyeon was no ordinary person either—then she turned over and over the question of why tears had come the moment she saw him. Had his face or voice simply been to her taste? That was the only explanation that came to mind.
“Are you all right?”
At Seok-hyeon’s check she offered a vague excuse.
“I’m sorry. I tire easily.”
“Meeting people is tiring, isn’t it.”
Whether the pretext worked or not, Seok-hyeon accepted it without fuss. Da-yeon turned her head and looked at the man in the driver’s seat. She felt he would listen generously to anything she said.
They were near her house. The car stopped at a red light.
“Rather than wear yourself out meeting many people, how about meeting me instead.”
It was a promise of a next time.
“Unless there’s already someone you have in mind.”
Caught off guard, Da-yeon could only blink.
“Think it over and let me know.”
His refusal to demand an answer on the spot brought relief. Seok-hyeon dropped her off in front of her house. Even when Da-yeon went in first and glanced back, he remained standing in the same spot, watching her leave.
Everyone seemed to be out; the house was empty. Feeling oddly at ease, Da-yeon walked to the living-room window. Seok-hyeon’s car would already have gone, yet her feet somehow carried her that way.
A phone notification arrived.
The message landed, and not long after she saw Seok-hyeon’s car pull away. Only then did a sense of relief settle over her, and she finally sat on the sofa.
Her mood was stranger than after any previous blind date. It seemed to be because of Seok-hyeon’s existence. Da-yeon kept staring at the message. Would this man really contact her again? He had acted suspiciously sincere from the very start, yet there was no knowing what the next time would bring.
Having never received a second meeting after any blind date, Da-yeon tried hard not to hope. Telling herself it might be nothing more than a polite, empty message, she replied as dryly as she could so that her own feelings would not show.
What followed unfolded differently from everything Da-yeon had expected.
Seok-hyeon’s messages accumulated steadily. There were also messages that hinted at wanting to meet if she was willing. She could have met him if she chose, yet she put him off with the excuse that she was free only on weekends.
It was not that she disliked Seok-hyeon; rather, because there was nothing that might naturally advance their relationship, his eagerness to meet began to feel suspicious.
She came home after finishing a flower-arrangement class. When she opened the door, a familiar face was there together with Ju-ha. The middle-aged woman with the open, friendly expression was chatting and laughing with Ju-ha.
“Miss Da-yeon, it’s been a while.”
The matchmaker noticed her before her mother did and offered a greeting. Da-yeon bowed in return.
“By the way, Director Jeong, that’s a lovely bag. Where did you get something like that?”
Ju-ha did not even address Da-yeon; she spoke only to Director Jeong. Director Jeong lifted the bag with a bright smile.
“Madam, isn’t it beautiful? Your prospective son-in-law gave it to me.”
“…Prospective son-in-law?”
“CEO Shin, the one who had the blind date this time. It seems Miss Da-yeon has taken his fancy.”
“They haven’t even become engaged yet and already—?”
“He’s such a simple soul. He just wanted to show his gratitude for arranging the meeting.”
“He must have plenty of money.”
“Exactly. If he treats me this well, imagine how well he’ll treat his mother-in-law. You won’t need to envy anyone. The ones who seem a bit high-class always have high standards and endless things to fuss over, but with this one, Madam, you won’t have a single thing to worry about.”
“His personality must be good. If only his face were better, it would have been nice to introduce him to Na-bin.”
“Hahaha…. Indeed.”
Director Jeong laughed while watching Da-yeon’s reaction. Da-yeon did not bother adding a word. She went straight to her room.
She changed clothes and was about to lie down on the bed when she heard a knock at the door. When she opened it, Director Jeong was standing there.