Reason for Marriage - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A ghost bride

What he wanted from Minju was a wife who could only talk, a ghost bride.

A being that exists, but does not exist.

Unfortunately, however, Minju was in such a state where she could raise objections to the unreasonable proposal, but could not completely reject it. Knowing herself so well, Minju smiled and accepted the conditional proposal.

“No, this is my home now. I’m not going back.”

As such, Minju and Sang-yeon agreed to a secret marriage between the two unbeknownst to the rest of the world. One day he would give her a real wedding ring, not an initial necklace.

The would wear couple rings together and go out in front of the world, calling each other ‘dear’ and shouting ‘I love you’.

Even if it all ends in a dream, I will never regret the choice I made now.

Minju made such a promise.

That was the only thing she could do for Sang-yeon, so she was glad she could do it for him.

* * *

Minju had no talent for cooking. She had lived alone for a long time, so she was used to eating more sparingly. She did not attach much importance on what she ate, so her taste buds were not sensitive.

Perhaps all of this was a lack of opportunity. Both sense and talent grow in repetition and experience, but Minju did not have the chance to do so.

After Minju started to live with Sang-yeon, she tried to cook.

The sink and the counter were a mess, but the menu was simple. Minju was staring at the frying pan, wearing an apron covered with flour, and frowned.

At that time, Sang-yeon came down from the second floor after getting ready for work.

In a hurry, Minju turned the pancake upside down with a feeling that she had no idea how to do it. It was a failure as expected.

Crushed pancakes, bacon, omelets with broken sides and green salad filled with grass were set up on the table.

Sang-yeon took a bite of the pancake and spit it out. The thick dough was cooked over high heat, so the outside was burnt black and the inside was not cooked properly, so the taste of the raw dough remained intact.

“Would you like some fruit?”

“I don’t usually eat breakfast, so don’t bother. You must have a hard time cleaning up.”

Sang-yeon stood up, comforting Minju with a playful tone. Although she was discouraged, Minju quickly followed Sang-yeon and sent him off on his way to work.

Unlike Minju, who expected a goodbye kiss, Sang-yeon left home with a light kiss on her forehead.

After returning to the table, Minju looked at the food for a long time and took a fork and knife with determination. Then she pushed the food into her mouth in a combative manner.

Yes, you get punished for leaving food. I failed today, but tomorrow will be better, of course…

While she was evaluating the food herself, she heard the front door open again.

“What did you leave behind?”

She ran to see if it was Sang-yeon, but a woman with a bulky figure was taking off her jacket.

“Who…? No, how did you get in here?”

Astonished, Minju asked, with still food in her throat.

“Oh, my! The conductor-nim didn’t tell you I was coming, did he? It’s a great pleasure to meet you. I look forward to your kind cooperation, Madam.”

Minju barely managed to hold back her shoulders and laugh at the title ‘Madam’, which was used for her for the first time in her life.

The lady put the mail on the console in front of the front door and said.

“I’m going to work at this hour every day, except Monday, and then I’m going home after dinner. If there is anything you want me to do, please feel free to tell me, Madam.”

Oh, that’s why Sang-yeon told me not to try cooking. That’s a relief for sure. Minju, who was worried about cooking until a while ago, was relieved when she saw a reliable housekeeper.

“I went grocery shopping to cook some codfish soup for the dinner. Madam, are you okay with codfish soup?”

“Of course.”

The lady smiled brightly and took a shopping basket that filled her hands and headed to the kitchen as if it were her own house.

“Were you still eating?”

“No, I’m done. Please clean it.”

Although Minju had never had anyone working for her, a directive sentence automatically came out of her mouth as if she had just adapted to the wife’s behavior.

Instead of following her to the kitchen, she looked at the mail on the console that the woman had brought.

There were card statements, cell phone bills, various performance pamphlets, etc.

Among them, a particularly large envelope stood out and the recipient had the name ‘Seo Hye-ryeong’.

Seo Hye-ryeong… Seo Hye-ryeong… Why does it sound familiar?

Minju glanced at the kitchen and carefully opened the envelope.

It was a promotional catalog for the new season program from the hotel fitness club.

She thought that it was a mail that arrived incorrectly, so she took out the envelope, but the woman’s name ‘Seo Hye-ryeong’ written on the recipient caught her heart.

* * *

Minju had never been absent without permission while working at the store. Such a sincere employee was not coming to work without contact.

‘The phone you are trying to reach is off, you will be connected to the voice mail box after the beep. There will be a call charge after connection.’

Despite leaving several voice messages, there was still no reply.

At first, Kang, the owner of the used instrument store, felt disappointment and regret, but he soon started to worry.

It was already a week ago that Minju had said that she would go to the bank with an excited face and go to Pyeongchang right away.

He did not know the details about her family relationship and circumstances because she did not talk about anything personal, but he knew that Minju lived alone.

He went to the home address written on her resume, but it did not seem like there was anyone inside. He could not even hear the cat she was raising. The old car in the alley in front of the house was the only trace of Minju that Kang found. It was clear that there was a problem.

Frustrated, Kang want to the Seokgyeong Police Station closest to the store.

“Oh, you were eating.”

Police officers were eating jajangmyeon for lunch again today.

“Come on, that’s fine. What’s the matter?”

“I’m looking for someone.”

When the senior winked, the new employee stood up with a big mouthful of jajangmyeon in a slumped posture.

“Are you going to report a missing person?”

“Oh, yes, yes. Her name is Choi Minju and she is 30 years old this year… Oh, this is her.”

Kang handed out Minju’s resume, which he had brought with him in a hurry, to the new police officer.

“Oh, this woman?”

“Choi Minju, the girl from a while ago who stayed around all day because she had lost her check?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Did my employee lose her money?”

Kang was so surprised that he asked out loud.

“Is Choi Minju your employee?”

“Yes. She is working as a coordinator at my used instrument store, but I haven’t heard from her for days, so I’m very worried.”

“You cannot report a missing person for unexcused absence. Besides, you’re not family.”

“Can’t you report missing unless you’re family?”

“Yes. I think she just quit her job… You need to hire a new employee.”

The officer, who quickly emptied his bowl, did not even get up from his seat.

“She’s not like that, quitting without saying a word…”

“You didn’t ask her to pay in advance or anything, did you?”

“I didn’t. Oh, but what happened to the money she lost? Did you find it?”

“No. I think she left a number and asked to contact the store when we found her bag… But we couldn’t find anything.”

“She asked you to contact the store?”

“Yes, I think it’s because she didn’t have a cell phone anymore because she lost her entire bag to that motorcycle thief… Am I right?”

While police officers looked of each other to avoid responsibility, Kang was convinced that it was not simply a resignation. It was because the money issue was entangled.

For some reason, he felt that Minju would be where her money was. If not, then she would have been scammed while looking for her money.

“By any chance, if my employee visits the police station to pick up her check, could you give me a little call?”

Kang left the police station without hesitation, leaving his contact information on a note, thinking that the police officers would never be able to find Minju.

If something like that happens, you should contact me first… Sigh, you stupid thing.

Kang blamed himself for not being there to support Minju and pulled out a cigarette. He sighed heavily under the pretext of inhaling and exhaling cigarette smoke.

Was it because of the sense of debt after failing to take care of a person who was too polite and friendly? Kang decided to look for Minju a little more.

* * *

“Madam, would you please taste it?”

The friendly helper scooped up the soup of codfish soup and gave it to Minju.

“Wow! The soup is great. It’s really an art. Do you have a secret?”

“If there is a secret, then it to use cod with good water. Would you like to have it like this? Or shall we put some red pepper powder to make it spicy?”

“I don’t know what he likes yet.”

“The conductor-nim prefers a clear soup. He likes to savor the natural taste of the ingredients.”

“Then I’ll just eat it like this.”

“It’s an excellent choice, Madam.”

Minju liked red and spicy soup with MSG much better, but decided to match Sang-yeon’s taste.

“It’d be nice if I did everything myself, but it will be better if you add some water parsley in right before you eat it. Heat it up, add water parsley, cook it slightly and put it in a bowl. This is a tip. If you add a few drops of vinegar when you eat it, it has a much cleaner and refreshing taste.”

Minju could not understand why she should add vinegar, but she thought she should do as she was told.

“I want to be a good cook like you.”

“Codfish stew is really not difficult. What are you struggling with? You just need to season it neatly with salt after making the bottom broth and adding the trimmed ingredients. There’s nothing difficult.”

“As you’ve seen earlier, I’ve messed up the breakfast so badly…”

“Don’t tell the conductor-nim I cooked this, tell him it’s your skill. You’ve watched everything from beginning to end. It’s as if we did it together. Madam took care of everything.”

“Ah, but…”

“A man’s dream is to find the table for dinner prepared by his wife as he comes back from work. If you’re interested in cooking, I’ll teach you a little bit and you’ll get better soon.”

“Are you sure? I really want to learn.”

Minju was more motivated than ever.

“You have a keen sense of taste, and you’ll learn pretty quickly. The ladies of wealthy families have tried and now they’re really good at it. If it’s codfish soup, they could probably do it with their eyes closed.”

Do I look like a born high-class woman? Minju knew it was lip service, but hearing that made her feel like she was already a 9-dan grader cooking king housewife.

“What side dishes do we choose? Since the soup is clear, how about spicy stir-fried pork?”

“It’s an excellent choice, Madam.”

Ding dong ding dong-

The two women who were laughing and talking suddenly became quiet when they heard the doorbell rang.

“I’ll go out, Madam.”

Said the lady, nimbly wiping her hands on her apron.

“No, stay here, I’ll go out.”

Minju stopped her with a dignified gesture and moved to the living room alone.

Who is it? At this hour? Surely he wouldn’t have left work already?

The video phone screen showed the face of a person outside the gate waiting and ringing the doorbell.

He was not Sang-yeon, but he was definitely someone Minju knew.