During the lunch break and the afternoon block, Taeyeon met with exactly two people.
They were male developers who, for several days now, had kept sneaking glances at Seong Tae-hee—or had taken her somewhere and then come back wearing dark looks—and who, ever since, just stared blankly at their monitors.
Of course, Seong Tae-hee had done nothing wrong.
If you really had to point to something, it would be that she is almost too attractive and good-natured.
Considering that most male game nerds… male developers… are lifelong singles with zero resistance to women, her mere existence is practically fatal.
“It’s just… she keeps weighing on my mind. She turned me down, sure, but she wasn’t nasty about it, and even now, when we talk about work, she smiles and treats me kindly. That only makes me more confused and my feelings keep growing.”
So said the systems developer, now past thirty…
“Honestly, is there a single male dev who’s worked with Tae-hee and hasn’t felt shaken? She was only being nice as a coworker; I was the fool who, even for a moment, mistook that for something special.”
The concept artist who spends the most time with her actually blamed himself for his own stupidity.
Taeyeon had never felt a romantic spark toward a teammate, so true empathy was hard, yet he was not completely incapable of understanding. He listened with a sympathetic face.
No advice was needed.
They themselves knew better than anyone what they should do.
Simply listening and talking to them on the same level was comfort enough. Taeyeon knew that well from experience.
These are people I don’t want to lose, so I’d better look after them.
It would be troublesome if they quit over something like this.
After finishing with the two youths, Taeyeon looked over at Seong Tae-hee. She was at AD Lee Yeong-ae’s desk, chatting with a smile.
“AD Lee handles the women in Art just fine… no need for me to butt in.”
Except for legitimate work reasons, he avoided bumping into female staff and mixing in private chat whenever possible.
That was one of the rules he had kept up to now. He had seen too many people get into trouble or tangle things and leave the company for not following it.
Even aside from that, I have to be more careful now.
Because he was no longer alone.
Grinning at the little flowerpot on his work desk, Taeyeon started sending someone a text message completely unaware that someone was watching him closely.
These days, whenever he clocked out, Taeyeon headed straight to Seopan-gyo’s café street.
The moment he entered a pretty café that looked like a flower shop, he greeted the woman behind the counter.
“Hello.”
“Yes, welcome.”
“She’s here, right?”
“Yes, second floor.”
She was an old acquaintance of Kim Yuna’s. Taeyeon had been formally introduced not long ago, and since then he used this place like a meeting square.
The second floor too was full of flowers, pots, decorations that felt like a jungle. In a nook divided by partitions sat Kim Yuna, cap pulled low over her face, lost in reading with her earphones in.
Taeyeon sat down carefully across from her; sensing someone, she removed an earbud and smiled.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah. What were you reading?”
The book she held was a collection of essays by a famous author—something Taeyeon had given her.
Knowing she was a bookworm, Taeyeon had begun taking an interest in books. He thought that to talk on equal footing he needed to match her tastes in small things.
He pulled the very same book from his bag.
“How far did you get? I’m on page 124 right now…”
Thanks to efforts like that, they never ran out of things to talk about.
It had been only about a month since they officially started dating, but a lot had happened before then.
On their first movie-theater date, certain of his feelings, Taeyeon confessed late that night. Before midnight he got her positive answer by text.
Later they learned that each was the other’s very first lover.
She had devoted herself to gymnastics, Taeyeon to game development. That made it possible.
After dinner at a nearby Chinese place, they were strolling through a dark park when she seemed to hesitate. Clearly, she had something awkward to say, so Taeyeon asked first.
“Something wrong?”
“…My parents want to meet you, and I was wondering how to bring it up.”
Startled, Taeyeon asked,
“Your parents know we’re dating?”
“I tried to hide it but Seol-a unnie…”
“Ah, my sister-in-law…”
One more thing Taeyeon had learned lately: Han Seol-a is quite the chatterbox.
Kim Yuna’s mother is a famous fashion designer who runs a large company and, of course, has had ties with top star Han Seol-a for ages.
“Nervous?”
The way she looked up at him was so lovable.
“It is nerve-racking. I’ll be meeting your parents for the first time, after all.”
Taeyeon began asking about her parents’ tastes.
What clothes he should wear that day, what gifts would be good—he wanted to discuss and prepare in advance.
Yuna was delighted with that side of him.
It showed how precious and serious he considered their relationship.
Three days later, dressed in a casual semi-suit, bouquet in his right hand and a shopping bag in his left, Taeyeon stood before Yuna’s home.
Let’s do this.
He pressed the doorbell gently.
“You’re here?”
Yuna, neatly dressed in jeans and a shirt, came out to greet him. Together they entered the living room, where a middle-aged couple radiating formidable poise awaited.
First Taeyeon handed Yuna’s mother, Choi Yun-ok, the bouquet and a wrapped box containing luxury perfume; for her father, Professor Kim Hyowon, he handed over a somewhat heavy square package.
“Oh my, you shouldn’t have brought all this…”
In front of the lovely bouquet and perfume, Choi Yun-ok’s charisma melted in an instant.
Professor Kim, by contrast, looked puzzled.
“This feels substantial. What’s this?”
“Yuna advised me, and I hoped it might be useful.”
Right there he unwrapped the gift.
It was the latest MacBook, a higher-end model of what the professor used for lecture prep.
Taeyeon had learned from Yuna that Professor Kim loved the newest gadgets and had been checking price-comparison sites to replace his lecture laptop, so he prepared exactly that.
“Thorough preparation.”
At those words Taeyeon let out a small breath of relief. Yuna was smiling too.
But it was far too soon to relax.
Yuna’s parents, even more than Taeyeon, had dealt with countless people. When it came to probing a person’s mind, they were masters.
The interrogation—no, the real conversation—began.
“What do your parents do?”
It was Professor Kim’s first question.
“They live in Yeosu. My father trades rice and my mother runs a flower shop.”
Their dialogue felt like a major-corporation interview.
Mother and daughter were bewildered by the sight.
Regardless, the questions continued.
“You only finished high school. Any special reason you didn’t go to college?”
“At the time all I wanted was to make games as soon as I could, so I entered the industry right away.”
“Where did you serve in the army?”
“The company I’d joined then was a defense contractor, so I fulfilled my duty there.”
“You must have been very capable.”
“I worked hard.”
Those were hard times, but he endured with dreams and passion. Thinking of that, Taeyeon smiled.
Professor Kim, watching his face, threw another question.
“You manage a company nowadays, yes?”
“Yes. It sort of ended up that way.”
“You never studied business administration. Have you ever felt difficulties from lack of specialized knowledge?”
Struck by that, Taeyeon hesitated, then answered frankly.
“I feel it keenly these days.”
“Ever thought of entering university later and studying properly?”
“I have thought of it, but I’m not sure when I’d find the time…”
The questioning went on and on.
Until then, Choi Yun-ok had listened silently. Checking the time, she suddenly spoke up.
“That’s enough for now. Shouldn’t we let him at least have a bite? I’m Mr. Yoo, your son-in-law, skipped breakfast.”
“What? ‘Mr. Yoo,’ your son-in-law? Who said he’s the son-in-law already?!”
“M-Mom!”
Father and daughter were flustered.
Taeyeon, on the other hand, accepted eagerly.
“I’d be grateful for a meal, Mother-in-law!”
“It’ll take a bit of prep. Wait a moment and I’ll set the table.”
“I’ve lived on my own for over ten years. Anything short of gourmet, I can whip up just fine. If you need help, I’d be glad!”
Choi Yun-ok laughed aloud, delighted by Taeyeon’s warm attitude. Watching that, Professor Kim looked displeased and said firmly to the embarrassed Yuna:
“I haven’t given permission yet.”
“Dad!”
After washing the dishes himself and returning to the living-room sofa, Taeyeon found that tea time had begun, led by Choi Yun-ok.
He was tense, but her style was different from Professor Kim’s.
“I saw it in an interview. You bought a place in Pangyo, right?”
“Why ask something like that when you just met?”
“Oh, hush and sit still!”
“Why hush? You keep asking pointless questions!”
“What’s pointless about it? It’s important. Tsk, you still don’t understand how the world works.”
Most of her questions centered on Taeyeon’s personal circumstances especially his finances.
No problem there either. Taeyeon answered earnestly.
He left their house around five p.m. Yuna was very sorry.
“That must have been awkward.”
“Hm? No. I fully understand how your parents feel. If it were me, I’d have grilled even harder.”
A cute little wrinkle appeared between her brows. Taeyeon poked it with a finger.
“What’s that face for? Don’t want to marry me?”
“You haven’t even proposed yet.”
“I will. I’m getting ready.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Something big, like at a baseball stadium with thousands of people watching…”
“Don’t you dare!”
“Or I’ll go on a TV show, ask for a bit of airtime, face the camera, drop to one knee and sing—”
“Don’t do that either!”
Taeyeon couldn’t help laughing at Yuna’s horrified reaction.
Right. No need to drag this out any longer.
His mind was already made up.
Taeyeon put an arm around Yuna’s waist and walked, watching the sunset. After a shy moment, Yuna leaned her head on his shoulder.
Only after quite a while did Taeyeon whisper,
“Let’s go see my parents next week.”
“Okay. But are we taking the express bus or the train all the way to Yeosu? I’m fine with it. Will you be okay?”
Taeyeon, caught off-guard, cleared his throat.
“Guess I’ll have to go look tomorrow. Which car do you like? A mid-size sedan? Or…”
T/N: *looks at the number of chapters and prays* Please, please, please, I hope Taeyeon’s happy story continues because it’s so early…
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