Marriage Mate: 38

What’s going on? 

Yu-young tilted his head and walked toward the team leader’s office. Seeing Ju-yeon looking at him with a puzzled expression, Yu-young shook his head, signaling that he didn’t know either. 

Was the report he submitted last Friday not good? Was he about to get reprimanded for it?

It was always nerve-wracking standing in front of this door. Yu-young swallowed nervously and knocked lightly.

-Come in.

As always, his voice was cold. Yu-young opened the door and entered. Do-won, who had been sitting at his desk, looked up from his monitor. Yu-young lightly bowed.

“Did you call for me?”

Before he could even speak, the frown on Do-won’s face made it clear that it wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. 

Was it about the report? Or was it about the message from earlier? Could it be that he was already regretting their act? 

If it was something like that, he couldn’t do anything about it. If the report was the problem, he could just fix it. And if it was some other personal issue… if he finds it unreasonable to go to his home, he didn’t have much to say about it.

“”It seems like meeting my parents is too much for you, so I should just be grateful for your help that day.”

But what if it was really something like that? What would he say to his father? Looking down at Do-won’s troubled face, Yu-young’s mood also turned complicated. However, the words that came from Do-won’s mouth were entirely different.

“Assistant Han.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“I’m sorry, but… I have something to ask of you.”

Hearing that, Yu-young was so shocked that he stared blankly, mouth agape. Was he really asking him for something? A person who usually seemed like a robot was suddenly speaking like this… It was a little surprising.

However, the expression on Do-won’s face as he made the request wasn’t so much troubled as it was a displeased, almost bitter look. Because of that, Yu-young couldn’t even begin to guess what kind of request he might make.

“It’s about visiting your house next weekend.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Was he uncomfortable or annoyed by it? Yu-young sighed inwardly as he fiddled with his hands.

“And related to that, could you possibly come with me to my house this weekend?”

“Excuse me?”

Yu-young’s eyes went wide.

“…So, what you’re saying, Team Leader… is that I should go to your house pretend to be dating?”

“If you don’t mind, Assistant Han.”

Do-won nodded calmly, and Yu-young couldn’t close his mouth in surprise.

Of course, Yu-young had made the same request to Do-won before, and he had acted brilliantly in front of Yu-young’s father. So, asking the same thing in return wasn’t unreasonable. It was something they had both agreed to for mutual benefit.

But this was Do-won. And his parents… Yu-young swallowed hard.

His own family wasn’t exactly lacking, and neither was his background. In other words, he had no reason to feel inferior. With his guts and confidence, he had been on several dates with children from prestigious families without ever feeling nervous or intimidated.

And yet, the thought of going to Do-won’s house made him feel oddly nervous. But still, nervousness was just that, and he had to do what was asked of him. Yu-young steeled his resolve and nodded.

“I understand. Then I’ll assume we’re going to your house this weekend.”

“Thank you… But.”

Despite Yu-young’s cheerful answer, Do-won seemed somewhat distrustful in his reaction.

Yu-young, blinking, hesitated for a moment and then asked.

“Please, go ahead.”

“Ha…”

It was the first time he couldn’t answer immediately. Do-won frowned and rubbed his face with his hand before slowly speaking.

“…There’s a chance that Han Yu-young might feel uncomfortable.”

“Excuse me? About what…”

“It might be about your family or your trait… things like that.” 

Now Yu-young understood why he had looked so uneasy. He nodded slowly. He had avoided blind dates precisely because he hated being questioned about his trait.

Even so, for some reason, hearing Do-won say this to him now didn’t make him feel bad.

Ah, he’s just giving me a heads-up in case it bothers me. Yu-young smiled and nodded, feeling a little relieved.

“It’s fine. It’s always the same on blind dates.”

“…”

“And I’m not someone who’s easily intimidated. Haha… I might even get treated well.”

He said it jokingly, but Do-won just stared at him silently without any particular response. Feeling awkward, Yu-young scratched his cheek and awkwardly said goodbye.

“Well, I’ll go now. Please let me know when the exact time is set. I’ll clear my schedule for that day.”

After finishing the conversation, Yu-young walked out with a dazed feeling. When Kim Ju-yeon messaged him asking what had happened, Yu-young just brushed it off, saying it was about the report.

His heart was beating faster as the reality of the situation started to sink in. So, this weekend, it was his team leader’s house, and next weekend, it was his own house…?

That’s when the full scale of this massive act that he and Do-won had plotted hit him. What would happen if one of their families found out? He didn’t even want to think about it. And with Do-won, it would be even worse, considering his connection with the company president.

…I really have to do well.

Here’s the translation:

Determined, Yu-young took out his diary. After scanning the surroundings, he began writing down his thoughts on paper. He had managed to handle the sudden situation the day before, but this time, with a meal involved, it would probably take longer, and he would likely face a barrage of questions. He needed to properly plan a scenario and review it before going.

Yu-young glanced around once more, then turned on the document and began slowly writing.

Things to know before visiting both families

Duration of relationship: 3 weeks

 Meeting’s location: Gym

How we met: Met by chance at the gym, felt an attraction. Had a casual conversation, shared a drink, and discovered they worked at the same company. 

Future plans:…

Yu-young paused as he wrote the “Future plans” section. The earlier part was information he had roughly agreed on with Do-won at the hotel last time, but the rest would need to be discussed and filled in with Do-won.

Future plans, huh…

He followed his usual habit of writing about the future, but honestly, what future plans did he have to discuss with him? The elders would probably expect “marriage” to be written there, but Yu-young had no interest in marriage whatsoever.

He hadn’t asked Do-won in detail, but he also didn’t seem particularly interested in relationships or marriage. After all, if Do-won asked him to do the same thing meant he wasn’t thinking about marriage at this moment.

Now that he thought about it, why didn’t the team leader want to get married? Yu-young pondered briefly. He was a successful alpha, had a great career, and looked fine, yet wasn’t interested in marriage.

Having been pushed into the marriage market a few times, Yu-young knew well that someone like Do-won would be considered VIP-level in the matchmaking circle. 

He didn’t know much about his family, but at least in terms of looks, trait, and career, he was second to none. 

He was at a level where he could easily pick and marry anyone, unless there was some hidden reason. It reminded him of how Do-won had acted like he was allergic to omega pheromones.

I don’t know. He must have his own reasons. Well, maybe I’ll ask him when the time comes. 

Yu-young quickly printed out the document he had written and carefully put it in his bag.

…

Perhaps because he had a big challenge to face over the weekend, Monday and Tuesday, which he usually thought were slow, passed in the blink of an eye.

“Good job!”

“Thanks for your hard work.”

It was around 7:30 PM. The office was full of lively greetings and the noise of people cleaning up their desks. As Yu-young was packing his bag, Yoon-seok rushed over to greet him.

“Hey, aren’t you leaving yet, Assistant Han?”

Yoon-seok blinked in surprise, and Yu-young gave an awkward smile.

“Oh… I’m just going to finish a bit of work.”

“Huh? Didn’t you already finish everything earlier?”

“Uh…”

Why is Yoon-seok so unnecessarily loyal like this… Yu-young waved his hand with a smile.

“It’s just something personal. I need to print something.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Hurry up and go home, Yu-young!”

Yu-young pointed to Ju-yeon, who was about to leave, and pushed Yoon-seok out the door.

“Come on, go together. Timing is everything when it comes to leaving, right?”

“Haha… Alright, I’ll go. Thanks for today!”

“You too, Yoon-seok. Have a nice dinner.”

Yoon-seok quickly ran to join the other team members, who were heading out. Yu-young glanced toward the team leader’s office.

We agreed to meet after work today…

In preparation for visiting Do-won’s family this Saturday, they had decided to meet tonight to carefully plan the scenario. It was a secret agreement between them, and the plan was to visit his parents as his boyfriend. It made him feel a bit strange and nervous, but he took out the paper he had printed earlier.

Grrr!

Suddenly feeling his stomach rumble, Yu-young grabbed his it.

Ah, it’s past meal time.

At that moment, the team leader’s office door opened, and Do-won walked out.