TDIMEH Chapter 62

62. Marry Me Again

At that moment, she finally realized why Junhyuk was in a bad mood.

It was obvious—jealousy.

There was no way to mistake it.

Se-ah stifled a laugh and grabbed his hand, which was still searching for another rock.

"There's nothing between Marino and me."

"You said there was nothing between us either. You even called me a good person."

Seeing his sulky face, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"That was completely different. He just feels like a friend, but when I said that to you, it was because I saw you as a man and wanted to keep my distance."

"Really?"

He stared at her intensely as if trying to read her true feelings.

"Of course. Otherwise, I'd just keep wanting you. I was holding myself back. So, about Marino..."

Before she could tell him not to be jealous, he suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace.

His large hands wrapped around her shoulders.

Se-ah's eyes widened in surprise.

The other hand gently stroked her hair, and from above her head, Junhyuk's deep voice rumbled.

"For the first time, I resented losing my memory. When I heard that guy—or rather, that man—talking like he knew you so well, I felt uneasy because I couldn’t remember anything about you."

"What’s there to be anxious about? I'm right here."

"Still… I have no memory of what we were like together."

Leaning against his firm chest, she finally decided to say what had been weighing on her mind.

Now was probably the perfect time.

"Um… Captain?"

"Yeah?"

"We weren’t just… nothing to each other."

"Then what were we?"

His eyes sparkled with anticipation, waiting for her answer.

Facing that gaze, her confession almost got stuck in her throat again. But she knew there wouldn’t be another chance, so she steeled herself.

"We… were married. Then we got divorced."

"What?"

He pulled back slightly and looked at her, his eyes widening in shock.

As if he couldn't believe what he had just heard, he reached up and rubbed his ears.

Se-ah pressed on, making sure he understood.

"My ex-husband… is you, Do Junhyuk."

Even if lightning struck from the sky, he wouldn’t have looked more shocked.

Junhyuk had turned into a human statue, his mouth opening and closing silently.

"Not only were we married… but we also got divorced?"

His voice cracked like a broken robot.

"That’s right."

"Ha… this is crazy."

He let out a heavy sigh and shook his shoulders as if telling her to continue.

"We separated three years ago. After that, I moved to the Philippines."

She tried to sound calm, but deep down, her heart pounded nervously as she watched his reaction.

He rubbed his face repeatedly, still struggling to believe her words.

Just as she was waiting for him to process it, Junhyuk suddenly grabbed her shoulders and, in a tense voice, asked.

"Marriage is one thing, but why did we get divorced?"

Junhyuk seemed more concerned about the divorce than the marriage itself, but Se-ah answered him honestly.

"It was an arranged marriage between our families, but my family went completely bankrupt. Usually, when one side collapses, the marriage doesn’t last, right? Besides, it happened just three months after we got married, so we separated right away."

"And I just let that happen?"

"No. You even gave me money when I left."

A generous amount, at that.

Even now, she still felt grateful to him for that. But…

"That’s insane!"

Junhyuk raised his hand as if he was about to smack his own head in frustration.

"Calm down!"

Se-ah quickly grabbed his arm.

"How can I stay calm? Just how much of an idiot was I to let you leave without even trying to stop you—no, to even send you off with money?"

"That’s not exactly what I meant..."

"Oh, really?"

Junhyuk fumed, his breath coming out in harsh bursts.

"What kind of boss can’t even protect his own woman?"

"Well, it was a forced marriage, so that probably played a role. The future version of you didn’t seem too thrilled about getting married."

"Why? What was wrong with you?"

"Uh… I don’t know? No, that’s not what I meant."

Se-ah almost nodded in agreement before catching herself.

"Who would be happy about an arranged marriage with someone they barely know? I completely understood how you felt."

"Then what about you? Were you forced into it too?"

"No. I actually wanted to marry you."

Junhyuk, who had been tense and glaring, suddenly froze. His sharply furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

"…Really?"

"Yes. Everyone at our wedding thought I was the one chasing after you because I was so happy about it."

At her words, Junhyuk’s face crumpled in frustration again.

"I’m such a bastard. Should I just die here? That way, at least future you wouldn’t have to be a divorcée."

"What?! What kind of nonsense is that? It’s all in the past now."

Se-ah looked up at him with an innocent expression. He let out a rough sigh and lowered his head.

"…I’m sorry."

The sudden apology made Se-ah blink slowly.

She had expected him to get angry upon learning the truth. That’s why she had hesitated to bring it up.

At the very least, she thought he would be disappointed.

But his reaction was completely different from what she had anticipated.

"What are you sorry for?"

"For letting you go. For not protecting you until the end. No matter the reason, I should have stood by my woman. I can’t believe I was such a pathetic man."

He let out a deep, regretful sigh.

"Back then, I didn’t even have the chance to ask for help. My family went bankrupt, my father collapsed, and I was too busy just trying to survive."

Se-ah patted his shoulder reassuringly. The fact that he cared about this now made her happy.

Watching Junhyuk continue to blame himself, her lips curved into a gentle smile.

"And because it ended well, I still think of you as a good person. If things had gone differently, I might have resented you. So, you don’t have to feel guilty."

As she smiled brightly at him, his gaze darkened slightly.

Then, with a hint of regret in his voice, he muttered,

"…I bet you looked beautiful."

"Huh?"

"In your wedding dress. You must have looked breathtaking."

Junhyuk closed his eyes as if trying to picture it.

Se-ah’s face flushed.

Back then, she hadn’t cared whether Junhyuk was interested in her or not. But hearing his words now, she found herself hoping that he had thought she looked beautiful.

Of course, she had been sure at the time that he didn’t have any feelings for her.

She had been fine with it before, but now, as she recalled those days, her heart ached as if a thorn had been lodged in it.

Would things have ended differently if they had been closer back then?

It was a pointless thought, yet she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret.

Suddenly, Junhyuk’s eyes snapped open, and he firmly grasped her hands.

Muttering, "Right, that’s an option…", he seemed oddly determined.

And then, as expected, he dropped a bombshell.

"Let’s do it again."

"Do what?"

"Get married. Let’s get married again."

"What?"

"You married that guy, so there’s no reason you can’t marry me again."