Honeymoon in Honolulu
Whether the matter had already been settled or not, Baek Yeo-eun showed no particular change in expression. She even seemed indifferent, as if discussing someone else’s business entirely.
“What about you?”
Still, Kang-hyun asked for her opinion just to be certain. Even if she appeared to have no particular thoughts now, there was no telling when she might capriciously reverse herself, so he meant to secure her confirmation in advance. He thoroughly detested anything bothersome.
“…Huh?”
As if she had not properly heard his question, Baek Yeo-eun asked back a beat late.
“What do you think of it?”
Kang-hyun calmly repeated the question. But Baek Yeo-eun remained silent.
The combination of her wide-round eyes and slightly parted lips left her looking dazed, like someone whose soul had slipped away. It felt somehow familiar. Even the much younger Baek Yeo-eun of the past would sometimes wear that face. Always on edge, ready to attack anything that came near her, yet suddenly crumbling without warning, like a soldier who had been disarmed. And every time, Baek Yeo-eun would hurriedly avert her gaze and turn her head away. Just like now.
“I’m… fine.”
The woman, lowering her eyes as if turning away from him, murmured so softly it was barely audible.
Kang-hyun unconsciously released the tension that had gathered in his fingertips and looked away from her. Then he focused once more on the reality before him.
“If Yeo-eun is fine with it, then so am I.”
“Oh my, you two are already getting along so well.”
Song Min-jin narrowed her eyes and laughed coyly. Beside her, Baek Chae-young merely twisted one corner of her mouth upward.
“Then it’s roughly settled.”
Chairman Baek stepped in to wrap up the situation. Boredom had already spread across his face like age spots.
“You’ll go on the honeymoon first, and combine households after that. According to Yeo-eun, you’ve decided to live together for now at the place you’re currently staying.”
What was this about now? But Kang-hyun could not ask. Baek Yeo-eun cut in before he could even open his mouth.
“Since Kang-hyun happens to be in Seoul right now, I thought we’d live together for the time being and gradually look around. There’s no need to rush, is there?”
Her confident voice carried not a hint of hesitation, as if she and he had gone through thorough prior consultation. In reality, Kang-hyun, who had never even received a word of notice, let alone discussed it, could only swallow the sigh that was boiling up.
“But do you really have to insist on Seoul like that?”
At that, Song Min-jin slightly furrowed her brow as if displeased and spoke in a persuasive tone.
“Anyway, Kang-hyun comes to Cheongbaekwon often for work. Now that he’s our son-in-law, he’ll come even more. So there’s no need to leave—just as I said before, Kang-hyun can move into Cheongbaekwon…”
“Ahem, that talk is already over. Why bring it up again? How long do you plan to keep clinging to your fully grown children?”
“Still…”
At Chairman Baek’s scolding, Song Min-jin could not continue and merely pouted her lips. Even so, unable to fully shake off her lingering attachment, she sent a persistent gaze toward Baek Yeo-eun. Though he could not be sure, it seemed the option of him moving into Cheongbaekwon to set up their newlywed household had also been discussed. And Baek Yeo-eun had rejected it on the grounds that she wanted to live in Seoul.
“We’ve gotten married, so it would be a bit much to keep freeloading off our parents. There are so many eyes watching here, too.”
Baek Yeo-eun chided Song Min-jin in a deliberately calm tone. A mother who wanted to keep her daughter close even after marrying her off, or a childish girl who, despite growing up like a greenhouse flower her whole life at Cheongbaekwon, yearned for life in Seoul. To Kang-hyun, it was nothing more than like mother, like daughter.
“Kang-hyun thinks the same as I do. Right?”
In that moment, Baek Yeo-eun turned to him with a bright smile, seeking his agreement. It was a pure and innocent smile, as if all she had ever received in life was love. To him, who remembered the Baek Yeo-eun of the past, it felt somehow alien. But his memories had stopped twelve years ago, and considering that the last Baek Yeo-eun he had seen was a girl in the throes of turbulent adolescence, it was not all that strange. How Baek Yeo-eun had spent those twelve years could be roughly guessed just by looking at Song Min-jin, who fretted and stamped her feet, unable to let go of the daughter in her arms. Such extreme love only made him feel all the more nauseated.
“I understand your feelings of regret, but for now, we plan to manage on our own.”
Still maintaining a posture so proper it was rigid, he gave a response befitting a proper son-in-law. In the past, he might have tried to move into Cheongbaekwon, but not anymore. He was not the type to cling to a discarded hand. Above all, sleeping with the enemy was more than enough with just Baek Yeo-eun alone.
“Instead, I’ll visit often from now on.”
Kang-hyun drew a line with a neat smile for his mother-in-law, who still could not let go of her attachment.
“I was thinking of going to Hawaii for the honeymoon.”
After the family meeting, Baek Yeo-eun, who had followed him out saying she would see him off, unilaterally announced. Of course, Kang-hyun was not surprised at all. He might have yawned at the banal choice, if anything. Honeymoon and Hawaii. It was literally a formulaic combination. Even though they had not even booked the plane tickets yet, a boredom as if he had already been there washed over him.
“Do as you like.”
With that perfunctory reply as his last, Kang-hyun got into the car without lingering. Before long, the car smoothly slid away. Out of habit, he checked the rearview mirror. The woman was still standing there as if nailed to the spot, gazing blankly at the rear of the departing car. The woman, shrinking to a dot, completely disappeared the moment he turned the wheel. Kang-hyun averted his gaze as if the afterimage in the rearview mirror was of no concern and increased his speed. Not a shred of hesitation weighed on the tip of his foot pressing the accelerator.
After that, Baek Yeo-eun contacted him several times under the pretext of the honeymoon. Trivial messages discussing accommodations or activities intermittently invaded his daily life. To the thoroughly bothersome contacts, Kang-hyun’s response was complete indifference. Truly, he had no intention of getting involved in the honeymoon. After all, what Baek Yeo-eun wanted from him was nothing more or less than to play the role of a trophy and go along with her moderately. When he consistently responded with indifference, the one-sided contacts soon quieted down. While savoring the remaining peace, he never thought of Baek Yeo-eun again.
By the time they exited Honolulu Airport, the sun had already set. The two of them rode in a limousine that had come to pick them up from the resort. Under a sky where the pink sunset spread like a watercolor, the tall palm trees repeatedly disappeared and reappeared beyond the car window. Kang-hyun’s gaze never left that utterly tedious scenery. Therefore, he had no idea what the woman sitting next to him was doing.
“Once we pass this light, you’ll be able to see the resort.”
Amid only old popular pop songs playing, the driver, focused on driving, carefully opened his mouth. The man’s face, which had cheerfully shouted “Aloha” when greeting them at the airport gate, no longer held any trace of a smile.
“Well, we’ve finally arrived. Welcome to our resort.”
With a bright voice that showed determination to somehow lift the drooping atmosphere, the limousine stopped in front of the resort lobby. The waiting bell staff quickly opened the door. As soon as they got out of the car, lukewarm air clung to their skin. For an island surrounded by sea, it was not particularly humid, but his once-furrowed brow showed no sign of smoothing out.
“Aloha!”
At that moment, hotel staff wearing not uniforms but colorful Hawaiian T-shirts made a fuss as they hung flower leis made of plumeria around Baek Yeo-eun’s neck. Witnessing the woman who had become buried in flowers in a daze, Kang-hyun coldly eyed another employee who was approaching him with a flower lei as well. Sensing his uncomfortable mood, the man made an excuse and backed away. Unfortunately, however, the unwelcome greeting did not end there. From who knows where, one employee suddenly thrust forward the Polaroid camera hanging around his neck and shouted.
“Alright, both of you, smile big!”
“Wait.”
Kang-hyun hurriedly covered his face with his hand, expressing his rejection.
“No photos.”
“Don’t worry. It’s a free special service we provide to all couples visiting our resort.”
In the moment he was left speechless, having instantly been reduced to a miser fretting over costs, another staff member pressed Baek Yeo-eun right up against him. The woman, already dazed from the mind-numbing hospitality, was pushed right into him just like that.