Chained by Expectations | Park Sunghoon

Twenty-three

The following week, Haneul found herself at her favorite coffee shop after running errands, and to her surprise, she ran into Jake. "Hey, Jake," she greeted, approaching him with a coffee in hand. "What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, hey Haneul," he responded with a smile. "I'm here to pick something up. I lost the company cell phone last week, and the person who found it told me they'd drop it off here," he explained. Jake quickly went to the counter, inquiring about the phone. After retrieving it, he rejoined Haneul, waving it around jokingly. "Two weeks on the job and already losing things."

"Speaking of which, how is everything going with your internship?" she inquired.

"It's good. I really like it so far. I hope I get a job offer from them after graduation," he laughed. As they chatted, the two continued their conversation before parting ways, and Haneul headed home.

Upon arriving, she was surprised to find Mrs. Park approaching their penthouse door. "Oh, hello Haneul," Mrs. Park greeted upon seeing her. "Hi mom, what are you doing here?" Haneul asked as she opened the front door for them to step inside.

"I just came to drop these off for you and Sunghoon," Mrs. Park explained, handing Haneul a folder containing some of their wedding pictures. As Haneul looked through them, she commented on the apparent distance between them in the photos. "It's crazy how things can change," she laughed lightly.

"I can't believe the time is almost up. Have you two managed to make things work?" Mrs.Park  asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

Confused by Mrs. Park's comment, Haneul looked up from the pictures. "We have," she answered, a slight hesitation in her voice.

"That's great! I just... I was so worried now that the year is quickly approaching and the contract is—" Mrs. Park stopped short, realizing that Haneul confused face hadn't changed. Understanding that she still had no knowledge of Sunghoon's actions.

"Contract? Do you mean our marriage? Oh, it wasn't a contract, Mom. The license was just a regular marriage license, nothing like that," Haneul explained, hoping to clear up the confusion. However, Mrs. Park's smile faltered, understanding that Haneul was still unaware of what was to come.

"Oh, I see," Mrs. Park awkwardly laughed, unable to bring herself to reveal the truth she knew. "Well, please take care, dear. I should get going; I still have a few errands to run. It was nice to see you again," she said, making her way out of the penthouse. Mrs. Park couldn't help but ponder Sunghoon's silence about his actions as she left the building and headed to her car.  "I can't believe that boy; he hasn't told her what he did?" she pondered as she headed to her car, concerned about the potential fallout.

As Haneul finished up tidying around the place the phone rang, interrupting Haneul's leisure time at home. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw that it was Sunghoon. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked.

Confused, knowing that she was supposed to be working, Haneul replied, "I'm at home, why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just miss you," Sunghoon admitted, causing a smile to spread across Haneul's face.

"I wanted to hear your voice, that's all," he continued.

She giggled, "You're supposed to be working, Mr. Park."

"I know, but I can't focus when you're the only thing on my mind," he confessed, making her laugh.

"Well, I miss you too if that makes you feel better," she said. "By the way, your mom stopped by a little bit ago and left us some pictures. I can't wait for you to see them." She chuckled at the thought of their awkward wedding pictures.