Chapter 3: The Unexpected Morning

After everything that had happened, I made my way back to the Moonlit Garden House. This place had become my temporary refuge, a place I now shared with a complete stranger who I somehow ended up marrying under strange circumstances. The house had been left unused for quite some time, so I had spent the previous day cleaning and setting it up.

As I opened the door and stepped inside, I heard the faint sound of running water. That's when I realized someone was taking a shower. My heart raced for a moment as I processed what was going on. Just as I stepped further inside, the door to the bathroom swung open. There she was Ji-yu, fresh out of the shower, her skin glistening from the moisture, wrapped only in a towel.

For a split second, she froze in place, our eyes meeting briefly. I could see the shock on her face, and before either of us could react, the towel slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. My brain went blank. Is this a movie? Why is this happening in real life? I thought to myself, bewildered.

Acting purely on instinct, I quickly turned around, covering my eyes with one hand and mentally praying for the ground to open up and swallow me. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't see anything!" I mumbled awkwardly.

Ji-yu let out a startled yelp, scooping up the towel from the floor as quickly as she could, and dashed back to her room, the door slamming shut behind her. I could hear her embarrassed muttering through the door, but I was too embarrassed myself to make out the words. What is my life turning into? I thought as I exhaled deeply, my heart still racing from the awkward encounter.

Later that evening, after calming down and realizing we'd both just have to move on from the embarrassing moment, I decided to cook dinner. The house was quiet, save for the occasional creaking of the old wooden floors as I moved around in the kitchen. It wasn't anything fancy just a simple stir-fry but I figured it would suffice.

Once the food was ready, I knocked on Ji-yu's door and told her, "Dinner's ready. Come out and eat."

From inside the room, I heard her say, "I'm not hungry right now. I'll eat later."

Her voice sounded distant, almost hesitant, but I didn't press her. I shrugged and set the table for myself. As I sat down to eat, I couldn't help but think about how strange my life had become. Getting married at my age? And to someone I barely know? I mused as I took a bite of my food. At least the food turned out okay, I thought, trying to find some silver lining.

Once I finished eating, I left her portion of the food on the table. "I've left your dinner on the table. Eat when you're ready," I called out, my voice echoing through the house. There was no response, but I assumed she had heard me.

Later that night, I did some light exercises to unwind, hoping they would tire me out enough to sleep. I was still processing everything that had happened and trying to figure out what our next steps were. When I finally drifted off to sleep, my dreams were filled with strange, surreal images of weddings, awkward silences, and long, confusing conversations that went nowhere.

The next morning, I woke up to a strange, pungent smell. My eyes snapped open, and I immediately felt a sense of dread. Oh no, is something burning?

Jumping out of bed, I rushed to the kitchen, half expecting to see the place engulfed in flames. To my surprise, I found Ji-yu standing in front of the stove, her face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to stir something in a pan. Smoke was billowing from the food, and the smell was nearly unbearable.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing?" I rushed over, waving away the smoke as I turned off the stove. The food in the pan was completely charred.

"I was just trying to cook breakfast," she said, her voice a mixture of frustration and embarrassment. "But I think your stove isn't working right."

I looked at her, then at the stove, and sighed. "The stove's fine. It's just... I don't think you're used to cooking."

She crossed her arms, clearly upset with herself. "I just wanted to help out," she muttered under her breath.

I felt a pang of sympathy for her. It was obvious she had tried her best, but things had gone wrong. I knew the feeling. "It's okay. Why don't you sit down? I'll take care of breakfast," I said, gently guiding her away from the stove. She didn't argue, but I could tell she wasn't happy about it.

As I started making something edible, I asked, "Hey, by the way... I just realized something. What's your name?"

She looked at me, surprised. "You still don't know my name?"

I chuckled awkwardly. "Well... no, because you never told me."

She blinked, then laughed lightly. "I guess that's true. And I don't even know your name either."

"Well, let's fix that," I said, flipping a pancake. "My name's Jun-ho. And you are?"

"Ji-yu," she said with a small smile. "Nice to meet you... I guess."

"Nice to meet you too," I replied, trying to ignore how absurd the whole situation was. We had been married for a couple of days now, and we were just learning each other's names. This really is like some bad movie plot.

As the food finished cooking, I brought it to the table. Ji-yu joined me, and we ate together in a more comfortable silence. It was strange, sitting there with her, sharing a meal like a normal couple. But nothing about this was normal.

I still had no idea how we were going to handle this situation or what our lives would look like from here on out. But at least, for the moment, we were making it work. Or at least trying to.