Business owner Kim Ji-won and lawyer Kim Soo-hyun are under intense family pressure to marry. Ji-won's parents want her to wed her ex, photographer Ji Chang-wook, while Soo-hyun is bombarded with blind dates, including persistent heiress Seo Ye-ji...
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As the days passed, Ji-won and Soo-hyun settled into their new reality, their relationship blossoming in the quiet spaces of their everyday lives.
It was in the stolen moments—walking hand in hand to a café, catching each other’s eyes during conversations with friends, or the whispered goodnights before they hung up the phone—that their bond deep but with each passing day, the reality of the world outside their little bubble started to creep in.
Family expectations hung over them like an unspoken cloud.
Ji-won’s parents, ever traditional, had started hinting about marriage again, only now, with Ji Chang-wook back in the picture, their comments became more pointed.
They weren’t overtly pushing her toward Chang-wook, but she could sense their subtle disapproval of her choices.
Every conversation with them felt like a delicate dance—she wanted to stand her ground, but she also didn’t want to upset them.
Her family had always been a cornerstone of her life, and the thought of disappointing them gnawed at her.
Soo-hyun, too, wasn’t without his own pressures.
His sisters, always supportive, had started teasing him about the seriousness of his relationship with Ji-won, wondering if marriage was on the horizon.
Though their words were said in jest, Soo-hyun knew there was an underlying expectation that he would eventually settle down, especially now that he had been dating someone his family already adored.
The weight of those expectations made it hard for both of them to fully enjoy the simplicity of being together.
One evening, after a family dinner that left her feeling drained, Ji-won found herself venting to Soo-hyun over the phone.
“They keep bringing up Chang-wook,” she said, her voice tired. “It’s like they don’t understand that I’ve moved on. He’s in the past, but they keep trying to pull him into my present.”
Soo-hyun listened patiently, his heart aching at how torn she sounded.
He hated that Ji-won felt this way—that her family’s expectations were making her question what they had together.
“They’ll come around,” Soo-hyun said gently. “It’s just going to take some time. They’ve known Chang-wook for years. But they’ll see what we have. They’ll understand eventually.”
Ji-won sighed, leaning back on her couch, closing her eyes. “I hope so. I just wish they could be happy for me right now instead of always comparing.”
“They love you,” Soo-hyun reminded her. “That’s why they’re trying to push what they think is best for you. But you know what’s best for you, Ji-won.”
Ji-won smiled softly, comforted by his words.
He always knew how to reassure her when she felt overwhelmed. “You’re right. I do. And I’m choosing you.”
Soo-hyun’s heart swelled at her declaration, but he knew that navigating their relationship would continue to be a balancing act between honoring their families’ expectations and staying true to themselves.
The next few weeks tested that balance even further.
Ji-won’s family had arranged a dinner and invited Chang-wook—without telling her.
When she walked into the restaurant and saw him sitting at the table, her heart sank.
It was as though her parents were setting up a reunion between them, despite Ji-won’s clear feelings for Soo-hyun.
Soo-hyun, on the other hand, had his own run-in with family expectations.
His sisters, during a casual weekend dinner, brought up the topic of marriage again—this time not as a joke, but as something serious to consider.
“So, you and Ji-won have been together for a while now,” Soo-hyun’s eldest sister Hyun-joo said, raising an eyebrow playfully. “You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
His second sister, Go-eun, chimed in, “Yeah, Mom’s been wondering if you two have talked about the future yet. You know how she is—she wants to start planning her grandchildren’s future before they’re even born.”
Soo-hyun laughed, trying to play it off, but inside, he felt the pressure building.
He and Ji-won hadn’t even had time to talk about the long-term future in detail.
They were still figuring out how to navigate their relationship in the present.
Marriage wasn’t off the table, but it felt too soon to be discussing it seriously.
Later that evening, Soo-hyun called Ji-won, needing to share the weight of what he’d been feeling.
“Is it just me, or does it feel like everyone is pushing us toward marriage?” he asked, lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Ji-won let out a small laugh, though there was a hint of exasperation in it. “It’s not just you. My parents practically ambushed me with Chang-wook at dinner tonight.”
“Wait, what?” Soo-hyun sat up, surprised. “They invited him without telling you?”
“Yeah,” Ji-won sighed. “It’s like they don’t get it. They’re so stuck on what they think is best for me that they’re not even listening to what I want.”
Soo-hyun frowned, feeling protective. “You shouldn’t have to deal with that.”
Ji-won’s voice softened. “And you shouldn’t have to feel pressured either. I know your family has been hinting at marriage, too. We’ve only just started dating officially, and it feels like everyone’s already planning our wedding.”
Soo-hyun chuckled, though the weight of their shared frustrations was clear. “I know. It’s like we can’t just enjoy being together without all these expectations hanging over our heads.”
For a moment, there was silence between them, the heaviness of their situation settling in.
“I don’t want to rush into anything,” Ji-won said softly. “I want us to figure things out at our own pace.”
“Me too,” Soo-hyun agreed. “I want us to build something that feels right for both of us, not just because our families are expecting it.”
They both knew that finding that balance wouldn’t be easy, but the important thing was that they were in it together.
And that, at the end of the day, was what mattered most.
“We’ll take it one step at a time,” Ji-won said, her voice filled with quiet determination. “We’ll deal with our families, but this—what we have—it’s ours. We’ll figure it out together.”
Soo-hyun smiled, a wave of calm washing over him. “Yeah, we will.”
And with that, they knew that, despite the pressures from their families, they had the strength to navigate this new chapter of their lives—side by side, heart to heart, forging their own path forward.
