Lady Spring

11.4

“Huh? T…to my apartment?”

Saeun’s heart fell. She wasn’t expecting this question from him. Back home? Was he telling her she should go back to her own home now? But… But then why was he hugging her right now as he asked the question? Was he tired of her? He has never mentioned anything that suggested he wanted her gone. So why…

“No, not to YOUR place. I meant to see your parents. Are you going to see them any time soon?”

Saeun blinked and looked up at him. Wooyoung was still smiling faintly, but his eyes looked very serious.

“I don’t visit my parents often. I just go during major holidays, like Thanksgiving or New Year’s Day. Why do you ask?”

“Didn’t you say they live in Daejun? It’s not that far from here, so why don’t you go there more often?”

Saeun shrugged. She didn’t go because she didn’t want to see her parents, but she didn’t want to give Wooyoung her honest answer.

“You know… I’ve just been busy and… You know how it is when you live away.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Well, then… are you going to go on Thanksgiving?”

Thanksgiving was still far away. Saeun contemplated in confusion before shaking her head. 

“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”

“Well…”

Wooyoung hugged her tighter and remained silent before murmuring,

“I thought I should meet your parents the next time you go see them.”

“What?!”

Saeun looked up at him in shock. She almost hit his head with her own. Frowning, Wooyoung said to her,

“It’s about time I meet your parents, don’t you think? We’re basically living together and you know… You must’ve noticed that… umm… we haven’t been careful. I haven’t used any condoms lately, right?”

Saeun blinked and stared at him. Wooyoung, looking embarrassed, rubbed his face before pulling her head close to his chest. 

“You know, I’m not an idiot. I do think through things before doing things. I would never do something like that with a girl unless I’m serious about her. And by the way, you should take care of your body, Saeun! If a man comes at you without a condom, you should be running the other way. Or kick him in the nuts! Why would you let me do that? Are you an idiot? Are you slow? Don’t you know there are plenty of guys out there who would get you pregnant and just run away?!” 

“You know that if I get pregnant, you’re the one who’s going to have his life ruined. It will be like digging your own grave.”

“Me? What are you talking about? I’m the one who is serious about us! So we need to tell your parents about us and if you are really pregnant, we need to set the wedding date.”

Saeun pushed him away and looked up at him once more. Wooyoung’s face was bright red, but his eyes were dead serious. After taking a deep breath, he said to her again.

“I’m serious. Let’s get married.”

“Min Wooyoung, are you ill or something?”

When Saeun checked his forehead for fever, Wooyoung frowned. 

“How could you think that? I’m serious. Marry me.”

“But you’re only 28. You’re still so young and you’re in the middle of a very successful career. Besides, you haven’t even done your military service yet.1 So I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Wooyoung scratched his head in frustration and sat down. Saeun also sat down and faced him.

“I can do my military service after we get married. I mean… how can I leave you and enter the military without a guarantee that you’ll be waiting for me?  And… Why aren’t you answering me? Don’t you want to marry me?”

“N…no, that’s not…”

Speechless, Saeun stared at him. Marriage… She did think about it a few times, but never dreamt that it was a real possibility. Saeun was a realistic girl who knew her own worth. Wooyoung was a star and she was a nobody. The only positive thing about her was perhaps the fact that she didn’t have any debt. Sehyun said that even the celebrities are just men, but still… She was not a marriage material. Especially for someone amazing like Wooyoung…

Wooyoung stared at her and waited for an answer. He was no longer red. Instead, he began to become pale. His frown deepened.

“Yun Saeun. Tell me right now. Could it be that you really don’t want to marry me? Is that why you can’t answer me right now? You just want to date me for a while, but you don’t want to marry me? Is that it?”

“N…no, it’s not like that! I…I just… I’m just really surprised…”

“Are you sure?”

Wooyoung narrowed his eyes. With a loud gulp, Saeun nodded hurriedly. Wooyoung sighed in relief and turned away.

“Good. And I’m not saying we need to get married right away. I know this might seem sudden. I understand that. I’m sure there are things you want to do before getting married, but I just wanted to let you know… that I wasn’t being irresponsible when I didn’t use condoms with you. I really love you. I’ve been so happy ever since I met you again. There has never been a time in my life when I was this happy. I don’t want to lose you, Yun Saeun, so… Marry me.”

“I might not be pregnant. I mean… with all the pollution nowadays, they say it’s really hard to get pregnant.”

When Saeun protested, Wooyoung chuckled and kissed her lips soundly.

“Who cares? I’m fine without having any kids! We’ll have fun on our own! Just the two of us.”

“Won’t your parents object to us getting married?”

“My parents’ worst fear is me getting married to another celebrity. They used to hate everyone I dated before. They don’t mind me being a celebrity, but for some reason, they don’t like the idea of me marrying another celebrity. They have this old prejudice that female celebs are loose or something. No matter how many times I told them this wasn’t true, they wouldn’t listen to me. Anyway, if I tell them I’m marrying you, I’m sure they will dance with joy.”

With a hopeful smile, Wooyoung kissed her again, this time a little deeper. His soft tongue danced inside her mouth. Saeun became breathless and her eyes became dazed. 

“So will you marry me, Saeun?”

***