Unholy Marriage || minchan

1. Web of Lies

Dedication:
To those who find solace in the storm and beauty in the struggle-

___________________________

Minho

"Good morning, Mom." These words were the first to escape my lips upon answering my mother-in-law's call. "Good morning, sweetheart! How have you been?" A smile crept across my face as I responded, "I'm doing great! How about you?"

"I'm doing better than you, especially because your dad and I are visiting today. I'm so excited to see you! I'm sorry we didn't visit after your wedding." My eyes widened as I tried to maintain my composure. "You don't need to be sorry, Mom. We all were busy. And I'm so happy you made time to visit us. I am excited to meet you too. It's been a while."

We conversed for a while longer before ending the call. "Send me the address when you're free," she said. I assured her I would and hung up. "It's all messed up," I muttered to myself.

Chan and I had been married for a mere month. It was a love marriage-or so our families believed. They thought we were living a typical married life, but that was far from the truth.

I own a design company, well-regarded and recognized across Korea. Having built it from the ground up, I was determined not to let anything hinder its success.

Chan, on the other hand, was the CEO of 'The Bahng Corporations,' following in his father's footsteps and dedicating himself entirely to the business, making it one of the most powerful in Korea. We shared little in common except for our mutual reluctance to marry, which was why we agreed to a marriage but in name only.

Before the wedding, we struck a deal: we would live separate lives, each respecting the other's freedom and refraining from interference. It has been a month but ever since I got here I had just contacted Chan twice. I didn't even know where he lived and neither did he know where I lived.

I opened my messages and decided to text him, glancing at our old conversations:

*Did you reach safely?*

*yes*

*Chan, I know you're busy with work, but don't forget to call mom. She's worried.*

*okay.*

-

*We have a problem.*

I sent the message but received no reply. Calling him, I discovered he had changed his number. Frustration mounting, I left my office, cursing him under my breath.

After navigating through his company, I finally reached his office floor. There, I asked a nearby worker, "Excuse me, may I ask where Mr. Bang's office is?"

"Oh, please take this turn. You'll find his secretary in the cabin in front of his office." I thanked him and followed the directions, finding the secretary engrossed in his laptop. "May I help you?" he asked upon noticing me.

"I wanted-" I began.

"Wait, are you Lee Minho? The owner of Lee Designs?" He stood up, shaking my hand enthusiastically. "It's an honor to meet you, Sir." Though I returned his smile, I quickly got to the point. "I need to meet Chan. It's urgent."

"Do you have an appointment? Mr. Bang didn't mention this. Are you by any chance collaborating with us?" he asked hopefully.

"No, umm.. you got it wrong. I just need to see him now. Is he inside?"

"Yes, he is, Sir but I can't let you go inside." I frowned. "May I ask, why?" He looked at the door and then again at you. "He has been working on a project since 11am, and he told me not to disturb him at all. He even canceled all of his schedule for today. I don't think he can make time for you, I'm sorry."

"Are you fucking serious?" I muttered under my breath. "Could you possibly give me his number?" I asked in hope.

"I'm sorry, Sir, that would be against the rules."

"God!" I raised my voice, running a hand through my hair. "Listen, I need to talk to him now, or he'll be in trouble."

He head the noises outside. He ignored them at first but then suddenly the noises started growing louder. Irritated he stood up from his desk and went to the door with a frowning face.

Chan emerged from his office and opened the door aggressively as his eyes directly made contact with his secretary.

"What's this noise?" he demanded. Spotting me, his eyes widened. "Minho, what are you doing here?"

"Chan, you fucker! Are you fucking serious!? You changed your number and didn't even think of informing me about it!?" I exclaimed. The staff likely overheard, but I didn't care.

"Minho," he began calmly, "Why are you here?"

"To play trampoline. Wanna play?" I said sarcasticlly.

He sighed. "What is it? Why are you so furious?" He kept his calm. I finally calmed down as I started.

"Your par-" Out of the blue, he held my wrist and opened the door for me. He gestured to enter and as I did he followed behind closing the door.

His office was quite spacious. I started looking around. A big glass window that replaced one side of the wall of the room. There was a leather couch set. A nice glass table in between them. I casually sat down on the couch. "Why are you looking at my office so thoughly?"

"I'm not looking, I'm judging. Your sense of design is awful. The couch doesn't match your desk and chair and the tiles on the floor and the stairs are so blunt." He rolled his eyes as he was standing a little distinct from me. "Why are you here again?"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that. So, your parents are visiting us today. I tried texting you, but you fucking never replied. Then I found out you changed your freaking number. What was I supposed to do? I had to come."

Silence followed as he processed this. "That's a big problem. If they find out we're not living together, they'll be disappointed. They'll know I lied about being gay! Minho, I hate disappointing my parents."

"Childhood trauma?" I ventured. He hesitated but nodded. "Same here. Success was my only way to get attention from my parents." Chan gave a faint smile.

"Didn't know we had that in common. But traumas aside, Minho, you have to move in with me while they're here."

"Can't you move in with me?" I suggested.

"My parents gifted us that mansion. They'll think we didn't like it if we don't live there."

"You're right. I'll go home and bring some essentials. And you," I pointed at him, "go home and make space for my things."

-♡-

Another book of my all time favorite ship, Minchan!

I hope you all enjoy this series as much as I did in writing it <3