E̷n̷t̷i̷c̷i̷n̷g̷

XVII

i originally named this story "down by the ocean" but later settled on "enticing"

do you think "enticing" was a better fit? or was "down by the ocean" better? why?

i love hearing your opinion❤️

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"we will get married."

jaehyun gaped, his jaw dropping. "wha—!"

jaehyun hissed at the feeling of the woman's heel digging into his foot. his parents gasped in worry as well as irene.

"oh my! jaehyun, i'm so sorry!" irene said. she walked in front of jaehyun and helped him stand up. she glared at the man, mouthing at him to shut up in a haste. jaehyun gulped and nodded, tears prickling his eyes because of his throbbing foot.

both pairs of parents stared at the couple-to-be with quizzical expressions. irene stepped away from jaehyun and stood next to him, a tight smile on her face.

"irene!" mrs. bae started. "what happened?"

"you know how it is, walking in heels is just such a pain," irene said with a laugh. "sometimes i just lose my balance."

jaehyun chuckled awkwardly. "i sure do..." his mother looked at him with a quirked eyebrow.

"i don't... i sure don't, is what i meant by that," jaehyun said hurriedly. "i've never worn heels..." he said after.

mrs. bae chuckled, the rest of the adults following soon after.

"well, this is such a pleasant surprise. it seems yoon-oh's trip has done more good than we thought," jaehyun's father said.

irene smiled tightly. she, as well as the man she was marrying, hated mr. jung. the older man had been pushing her toward his son ever since they got into middle school, constantly talking about how proud he was going to be when they married and merged their companies. jaehyun would argue when they were younger and sitting on the roof of their summer house away from all the adults that irene's parents were the stricter ones, which was usually when irene would mention it was the man's parents that were so adamant on them marrying the second they graduated high school.

"well, yoon-oh and i agreed we would like to get married as soon as possible, within the week if possible," irene said.

"within the week?" mr. jung said in surprise. "that's a bit short notice..." he said.

irene, in typical bae family manner, stood her ground. "i have zero doubts that you have enough servants under your care to get it done in time." she had a certain bite in her voice that said she was only going to leave this room if she got her way.

mr. jung turned to his son. "yoon-oh, what do you think of this ludicrous demand?" he asked.

"i— uh... i'm gonna have to agree with irene," the man said.

his father stared at jaehyun with a look of disappointment. "you won't stand up to your wife?"

"well, i just know that she's right," jaehyun said with a shrug.

mr. jung scoffed with a chuckle. irene fumed but kept her mouth shut, no point in speaking up when everything was going smoothly and there was no way she could speak up without ruining it all over one petty comment.

mr. bae cleared his throat. "well, since we are pleased with the arrangements we should start planning the wedding while they get comfortable," he said.

"i am pleased with that," irene said, promptly taking jaehyun's hand and pulling him out of the office.

the woman tugged the taller through the hallways, only stopping when jaehyun pulled his hand back.

"irene! what the fuck!?" he exclaimed.

"what?" irene said while crossing her arms.

"we're getting married now! this wasn't part of the plan!" the man said, pulling at the ends of his hair.

"yes, i know," irene said with a roll of her eyes.

jaehyun's eyes widened in anger. "well what the hell are we supposed to do now?!"

"get married, duh," the woman snorted.

"this is useless... i should just change my name, grow a beard and move to russia," jaehyun said with a nod.

"it's too late for that," irene said.

"no, it's not. just tell them i died," jaehyun said.

the woman chuckled. "as much as i'd love to..." she started. "we can't, because the plan isn't over yet," she said.

"what? what else is there? we're screwed!" the man said.

irene stepped in front of the taller and smacked his cheek a few times. "god, stop being such a coward and listen to me! what do people do when they get married?" she asked.

"have a wedding?" jaehyun said while rubbing his sore cheek.

"no, idiot! what about after their wedding?"

"oh, well... jeez, that's a bit personal don't you think?" jaehyun said truthfully.

irene smacked his forehead. "oh my god you're an idiot... they go on a honeymoon!" she said.

jaehyun made an 'o' with his mouth and nodded.

"you still don't get it, do you?"

the man shook his head.

irene groaned. "let me explain this as simple as possible. we get married, we have our honeymoon, i leave, you leave, we never talk to each other again, understand?" she said.

"wait, so during the honeymoon..."

"our parents won't be there with us, which is when we will separate," irene said.

"but where are we going to have our honeymoon?"

"canada. then when we're supposed to come back, you will go back alone to the countryside and find doyoung," the woman said.

"and what about if they call in to check on us?" jaehyun asked.

"we lie."

jaehyun held his chin while he thought about what his childhood friend slash soon-to-be wife was proposing.

"this is crazy," he said.

"but it'll work," she said.

jaehyun quirked a brow and irene sighed, grabbing the man's shoulders and shaking him.

"look, i get seungwan, you get doyoung, and our parents will be stuck thinking we're married," irene said.

"they even get to merge their companies together, so everyone wins."

jaehyun waved the older off. "if we do this... you're sure it'll work?" he said.

"positive."

the man pulled at the ends of his hair with a groan. let's just hope you'll take me back...

"let's get married, then," jaehyun said with a smile.

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yikes, it's been a while!!!!