MPK Ch 20

“Ha, that’s about it…”

After throwing away the spoiled food and setting the scattered chairs and tables upright, I finished ordering from the furniture store to replace what was broken. Woo Baekyeon handed me a sheet of paper. It was the A4 sheet he had taken from me about 30 minutes ago.

“What’s this?”

“An apology.”

‘Today is the day’ cafe has caused great inconvenience and concern to our customers due to our sudden ten-day closure.

We sincerely apologize.

On the night of March Xth, I suffered a sudden accident. While undergoing surgery and focusing on hospital treatment…

…

We will do our best to restore the cafe to normal operation for our customers’ convenience.

“Give me some tape. I’ll stick it on the door.”

“No way, it’s not like I’m a company CEO or a celebrity…”

Even in this situation, each sentence is eloquently written. It’s so well-written, I wondered if they teach this kind of thing in chaebol families. If I put this up and hobble around on crutches, no one would say anything.

Even though it felt a bit excessive… I didn’t want to burst Woo Baekyeon’s bubble as he stood there smugly with a ‘See? It’s perfect, isn’t it? I know there’s nothing to fix. Now give me the tape’ look on his face.

Woo Baekyeon proudly went outside. I had tidied up the place as best as I could, but there was a limit to what I could do with my injuries. I planned to call a cleaning service for the rest. Since the cafe would be closed for a longer period, the apology notice wasn’t a bad strategy.

“Ugh.”

Stretching my arms, I plopped down on the sofa. At first, I was flustered by the sudden turn of events, but now I figured things would work out somehow. That’s how my life has always been.

Speaking of which, Woo Baekyeon hadn’t come back. I peeked out the door, but he was nowhere to be seen. I hoped he hadn’t gotten lost. …Probably not, but I did wonder if Woo Baekyeon had ever walked around these old Seoul alleys without a car.

I could just call him. A monotonous ringing tone sounded.

Ring… Ring…

“Huh?”

The vibrating sound came from the table where Woo Baekyeon had been sitting. He must have left his phone at the cafe. If he didn’t have hands, he would have put it in his pocket. I hung up and went to the table. A cool breeze blew in from the open door, carrying the scent of early blooming grass.

I picked up Woo Baekyeon’s phone, which had been forlornly ringing on the table. Like its owner, it was gleaming without a single scratch. And then I noticed the missed call notification.

“….”

After registering the name, I called my own phone again. Woo Baekyeon’s phone in my other hand started vibrating. The same three letters I had just seen appeared large on the screen.

“Jung Hankyung, I’m back. A bunch of stray cats followed me, so I had to shake them off…”

“Ah.”

“What are you doing,”

Brown eyes quickly scanned my hands. The clever director seemed to grasp the situation after seeing my foolish grin.

“…Give me my phone!”

“Ah, no way. Wait a second. I haven’t taken a picture yet!”

“Don’t!”

I turned my back to Woo Baekyeon, who was reaching for me, and protectively hugged the phone.

Woo Baekyeon’s phone, still buzzing, displayed the caller ID.

010—XX34—XX78

Prince

“Give it back!”

My princess, face flushed crimson, struggled to retrieve the phone from my grasp. Twisting and turning, he darted away between the tables. Woo Baekyeon chased after me as I hopped along, dragging my cast leg. Dust flew up from the sun-baked marble floor.

“Did you make me a prince by marrying a princess? When did you save my number so cutely?”

“Jung Hankyung, stop messing around and quickly…!”

He would have caught me quickly anywhere else, but navigating between the tables, combined with Woo Baekyeon’s hesitance to go too fast because of my leg, gave me an advantage. We finally faced off across a long communal table.

Panting from the unintentional cardio, I leaned on the table. Woo Baekyeon glared at me with annoyance. Then, with a sigh, he crossed his arms.

“…When you were hurt.”

“Hmm?”

“I changed it when you went into surgery.”

His lips twitched, as if he had more to say. While I waited, Woo Baekyeon’s ears turned red.

“The prince who saved the princess is safe, right? …The last scene is a happy ending without any injuries, so I hoped your leg would heal safely too… it’s just, that kind of meaning.”

Wow.

Just the fact that he had saved me as ‘Prince’ was cute enough to make me want to kiss him, but there was meaning behind it too. It felt like the whole world was vibrating subtly. There was no other explanation for this tingling sensation all over my body.

“So I guess you’re not hurting at all now.”

“Don’t say that until I can stand on both feet.”

“Of course, you’ll be able to! Just watch. Watch closely.”

I stepped away from the table and stood like a gingerbread cookie.

“Jung Hankyung, what are you doing? Don’t.”

Woo Baekyeon frowned seriously.

“I said don’t. You’re not a child, why are you showing off?”

Ignoring his nagging, I clenched my fists and shifted my weight onto my casted right foot.

“Here I go. …Ow!!!”

Unable to hold it for more than a few seconds, I cried out and tumbled forward. Woo Baekyeon immediately knelt on one knee in front of me.

“Are you okay? I told you not to do that!”

“Oww… Wow, I think I broke it again. It really hurts, ow…”

“Let me see. No, let’s go to the hospital.”

“No… not that.”

“Then what?”

“If the princess… kisses me… I think it’ll heal…”

“….”

I felt a sharp gaze. Clutching my leg, which wasn’t really that hurt, I rolled around on the floor.

“Oww, if the princess doesn’t save me, I won’t be able to get up from here…”

“Ha.”

Woo Baekyeon let out an exasperated sigh. As I was about to get up, a large hand braced itself beside my face. His name was written on the back of that hand.

Woo Baekyeon leaned over me, his face eclipsing the ceiling that had filled my vision. He grew larger and larger in my eyes.

Peck.

“Get up. Prince.”

I pulled Woo Baekyeon towards me. Casting gentle shadows on each other’s faces, our lips met in a deep kiss.

If I were to describe the color of our love, a love that blossomed after a wedding, physical intimacy, and overcoming hardships together, it would be pink.

Loud, luscious, and fearlessly charging forward.

That very pink that represents the most ordinary kind of love.

The emotional turbulence that supposedly comes right before marriage felt like it was hitting me now. This ridiculously sweet feeling that had arrived so late.