Chapter 18

Nari

I huffed and puffed as I put on my third outfit. Somehow over half of my things were in Tae's apartment but since we were going to pick up my family and go to his parent's house tonight I wanted to look—respectable. I frowned and wondered if I should wear my red dress or if that might seem garish to them. Although this navy one would look nice with my slip-on cream shoes.

They would be cute, right?

"Why don't you try on the first two again?"

I swung around to see Tae lying on the bed slicing up an apple with a small silver knife.

"Why are you always spying on me? Uh, I give up. I'm sticking with this one."

"Are you sure?" he asked, biting into a piece of apple.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Did you like one of the other ones better?" I asked in a calm manner, which I did not feel.

"I like everything on and off you," he said with a boyish grin. "Although this one does say I'm a good girl who doesn't take it up the ass."

My jaw fell open, but I didn't have anything to throw at him.

"You are being impossible today," I grumbled.

He swung his legs off the bed and strode towards me.

"I don't care what you wear or what they say. It doesn't change how I feel or the fact that you are the only woman who will be my wife," he said as he held a thin slice of apple to my mouth.

Annoying, but sweet.

I opened my mouth for him to place the apple in my mouth.

"In three weeks you will be Mrs Jeon."

"Ah, about that. My mum kept her maiden name and I'd like to do the same. It's traditional. So it will be Mrs Choi."

He didn't look too happy about that.

"Didn't your Mum keep her maiden name?"

"My Dad did everything he could to fit in when he moved here. Her name was changed." he scoffed. "You can keep it or you can double barrel the name if you want."

I didn't say anything because I wanted to keep my maiden name it made me feel closer to my Dad, but I didn't want to hurt Tae's feelings.

"Our children will be Jeon's," I murmured as I slipped my hand beneath his jacket to put my arm around his waist.

He smiled and kissed my forehead. "Yes, they will be. Only a few weeks left until our wedding," he said.

"I know," I said with a sigh as I held onto him.

I was excited about the event since we were going to Bali for five days afterwards, and we could finally have proper sex. When he asked me why I hadn't had sex with anyone I told him the truth. I was too busy studying. My parents came from a modest background. My Dad went back to school, studied hard, and worked full-time. It paid off because he is a corporate accountant now.

It wasn't a conscious decision, but I saw too many of my fellow students in pieces after on-and-off or getting dumped scenarios. I couldn't cope with that kind of turmoil and focus on my studying. By the second year, everyone knew I was off-limits and the boys eventually got the message. I wasn't interested. I was regretting my decision now since Tae was making me wait until we got married. I didn't take him as a traditionalist. He had girlfriends in the past.

"Let's go and pick up your family," he said.

◆◆◆

It was a nightmare. A complete shitshow. Tae wasn't wrong, his Dad was a total asshole. I'd never met anyone so pretentious, arrogant and rude. I was surprised that Tae ended up being as normal as he was. He rudely asked me if I was a half-caste because I had pale skin. The longer my parents stayed quiet, the more brazen he became, irrespective of the fact his son and wife kept trying to shut him up. There was so much food laid out but I wasn't hungry due to the company.

"What is it you do for work, Dohyun?" his Dad asked mine.

"I'm an accountant," my Dad said with a polite smile.

"Do you have your own practice?"

"No."

"Dad—" Tae growled.

"I'm only curious. At his age, he should have accomplished more," his Dad said with a snide look on his face.

I glanced at his mother, who bowed her head as if she wanted the floor to swallow her up.

"And you? You couldn't make it into medicine is that why you're a dentist?" he said as he turned his attention towards me.

"What about you, Beom-Seok, why do you still work for someone? Shouldn't you own a hospital by now?" I asked as I looked him in the eye.

It was the worst thing I could have done to use his given name disrespectfully as I did, but I was so done with this charade.

My parents gasped and my Mum snapped my name.

His father's face was satisfied as Tae placed his hand on my lap.

"You see? This is their true colour, Tae. She is after your wealth."

Tae stood up and bowed down towards my parents.

"I apologise for the inconvenience, sir, but I'd like to take you home now," he said ignoring his father's outrage. "You're not welcome to our wedding. Mum, you can come if you want to."

"Is this how you treat your own father?" his Dad said as he slammed his fist on the table.

His Mum visibly jumped and turned white.

Tae took my hand and pulled me out of my chair.

"Yes, I don't want you anywhere near my future wife or her family. You had the option to remain civil this evening," Tae said in a calm manner but his hand was crushing mine.

It wouldn't have made a difference what dress I wore. His Dad was appalling. My little sister came and held my other hand with a solemn look on her face. Tae glanced at my little sister's hand, and I saw his resolve strengthen.

He began to usher my parents out. I glanced back and saw his mother was in tears, but his Dad was giving me a beady-eyed stare. I couldn't imagine living with a man like that let alone being married to him.

I tightened my hand around Tae's. As the days passed, I was still learning new things about my fiancé, but I hadn't encountered anything that was a deal breaker. My Dad paused as we reached Tae's car. I could tell he was very uncomfortable about how we left his parents' house.

"Mr Choi, would you really want your daughter around that man? What about when she is expecting our child? I won't have her going through any unnecessary stress. He won't change."

My Dad looked at me uncomfortably for a moment before hesitantly nodding at Tae.

"I understand, but he is your father. You can keep a distance but still remain in contact with him as his son. It is up to you, I can only offer you my sincere advice," my Dad said.

Tae nodded but didn't say anything. I could see the tension in his body and he was holding back his anger. He had come to my parent's house several times over the last two weeks and he had quickly become part of our little family. My mum warmed up to him, and my dad joked with him. My sister was definitely crushing on him. We climbed into the car in silence. Tae reached for my hand and I linked my fingers through his and gently squeezed it.

I used to joke with my Dad that I wouldn't find anyone as sweet as him, but Tae was a close second.