Chapter 8

• I squeezed into the space right next to the toilet in the bathroom to talk to Noah on the phone.
• “Holy crap! Why is there so much!” I said too loudly. I could hear my voice echoing around the bathroom so I lowered it and covered my mouth so no one would hear me.
• While I was complaining, there was a knocking sound outside the door. I was paralyzed with fear because of my existing nervousness about this wedding. I was also anxious because I had 100k in my backpack, and I didn’t want anyone to rob me.
• “Hey, come out,” somebody complained from outside.
• “Ah, okay. I will come out. Sorry!” I replied. There was no one waiting when I got there but now there were many people in line.
• [What? Who are you talking to?]
• “Ah, This is the restroom,” I answered Noah as I stood up.
• [No way. You’re talking to me on the toilet?]
• “No, no, not like that...”
• I opened up the door and went to the exit, covering my mouth again.
• “He could still be at the airport. He might overhear our conversation. The female restroom was the perfect place to feel safe.”
• [You are a worry wart.]
• I peeked my head out to look around for Damien before exiting.
• [Ignore him anyway. I will take care of it and you just focus on the marriage.]
• “How about the check? What should I do with this?” I asked, holding my backpack.
• [You use that one.]
• “What!”
• [Take that as an early monetary gift.]
• “It’s 100k!”
• [You were going to receive 500k anyway. Consider it an advance.]
• “Do you think it’s the same? If I take this, it means I’m not going to get married to you. I’m just going to disappear with this money.”
• [Yeah? Return it to him then.]
• “I will, I will...I’m going to...”
• I reluctantly went over the meeting with Damien in my head. The meeting was short, so my reminiscence was as well. However, I unwittingly ended up biting my nails again.
• Alpha Damien. He’s so handsome that anybody would want to meet him again, but I do not. So I timidly ask Noah over the phone, “Would you tell me your brother’s bank account number?”
• * * *
• Noah’s flight is about to leave, so my phone conversation quickly ends. He said he would contact me after the 12 hour flight. I decided to wait for his call at his house, which would soon be mine after a few weeks.
• Noah didn’t remember his brother’s bank account number, so Damien’s 100k was still in my backpack. I was scared of being pickpocketed, so I took a taxi to Seoul from InCheon Airport.
• In the fast-driving taxi, the rate on the meter went up quickly. It felt like I was throwing my money out on the road. I turned to look outside. It’s alright, nothing. Not even a mother-in-law or sister-in-law, just a brother-in-law. It’s cool. I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t a big deal. Somehow, I started praying that these two months would pass by as quickly as the view outside the taxi window. There would be no more meetings with Damien until Noah came back.
• * * *
• When I opened the house with the access card, the 2500 sq. ft house looked really huge. This was where Noah lived alone? And where I would live from now on. For a moment, I felt like I was in love with Noah.
• I took off my shoes and danced into the massive living room. There was a couch and a table that had many bags on it.
• What is this? As I walked closer, I saw an envelope on the edge of the table with my name on it. I opened the envelope to see the letter inside. It greeted me with Noah’s familiar, organized handwriting.
• [I prepared the things you need. If there’s more that you want, you can purchase it with the card on the table. Just don’t spend your money. Buy our furniture and stuff with the card too. I’m going to tell mom that we bought it with your money. You’re already doing me a favor by marrying me, so it makes me uncomfortable if you buy things as well.
• Use everything freely, the house, the card, everything is yours.
• See you in two months.]
• How sweet of him. I put down the letter and opened the bags. Pajamas, outerwear, underwear, foundation and color cosmetics, everything was in there. He’s sweet but his caring nature is even sweeter. His thoughtfulness made me smile. He would have been the best husband if only he wasn’t gay. Of course, he wouldn’t have asked to marry me if he wasn’t.
• Bitter reality turned my smile into a smirk, but I shook my head and took out the pajamas with a happy mind. I decided to take a bath and then put on my new clothes in my new house.
• I went to the bathroom and filled the marble bath with hot water while I took off my clothes. Given that five people; me, my dad, my step-mom, my step-brother and my step-sister all shared a bathroom at my step-mom’s house, taking a bath there was almost impossible. Honestly, taking a shower was even uncomfortable. Especially since I was a new arrival, I didn’t feel comfortable using too much water.
• Now I could use as much water as I wanted to draw a bath in this luxurious bathroom. I sank into the warm water, still unsure if it was even real.
• “Ohhh!” I unwittingly exclaimed. The water was at my knee level. At my eye level, I saw a memo attached to the wall.
• [Put this in the bath, it’s bath foam.]
• I reached for the bath foam next to the memo. As soon as I poured some in the bath, it made lavender scented bubbles.
• “Woohoo!” I giggled to myself.
• There was nothing more I needed. It wasn’t an issue that my husband would never love me. After all, love from a husband dissipates as time passes anyway. There is a saying that the first daughter lives like her mom. If so, I’d rather have a fake marriage than be faked out by a husband. At least my husband won’t be stolen by other girls. And even if he is, there would be no betrayal, no drama at all. Yes. This is the best. There is no such thing as a perfect marriage anyway.
• As I came to this conclusion, I sat in the bath and waited for the water to rise up a bit more. When the bubbles were up to my chest, I turned off the faucet and leaned my head back. I closed my eyes, using the bath as a bed and the bubbles as a blanket. I gradually began to feel sleepy. I decided I wouldn’t mind a nap, and let the sleepiness take over me.
• I opened my eyes after I heard something while asleep. I tried to stand up but felt cold. I had slept a little too long, and the bubbles on the water had mostly disappeared. What was that sound? I stood up, thinking about the sound I heard. Suddenly, the door opened and I came face to face with Damien. For a second, I was paralyzed, but then I screamed and jumped back into the bath. I covered my chest and closed my eyes, still continuing to scream.