Two weeks.
That was how long it had been since Yerin had last stepped onto university grounds.
Two weeks since she had seen Emily and Min-jae.
Two weeks since her life had changed so completely that sometimes she still wondered if she had imagined half of it.
The wedding.
The Choi Mansion.
The strange agreement between their fathers.
The photograph.
And that phone call.
None of it felt real.
Yet the wedding ring on her finger was a constant reminder that it was.
Yerin sat quietly in the passenger seat as Do-hyun drove through the morning traffic.
The city moved around them like any other day.
People heading to work.
Students crossing streets.
Cars filling the roads.
Everything seemed normal.
But inside the car, neither of them felt normal.
Do-hyun kept one hand on the steering wheel while the other rested near the gearshift.
Yerin looked down at her ring.
Then at the road.
Then back at the ring.
Finally, she spoke.
"Do you think we should tell them?"
Do-hyun glanced at her.
"Emily and Min-jae?"
She nodded.
"Who else?"
He looked back at the road.
"I've been thinking about that too."
"And?"
"And I don't know."
Yerin sighed.
"They're going to find out eventually."
"I know."
"Especially Emily."
Do-hyun almost smiled.
"She'll probably find out before we even finish telling her."
Yerin laughed softly.
"Exactly."
For a moment, the tension in the car disappeared.
Then Yerin's smile faded.
"But if we tell them..."
She paused.
"We'll have to explain everything."
Do-hyun nodded.
"The marriage."
"The engagement."
"Our families."
"The agreement."
Yerin looked out the window.
"And we don't even know the whole truth ourselves."
"Exactly."
She was quiet for a moment.
"So..."
Do-hyun finished for her.
"We don't tell them yet."
Yerin nodded.
They fell silent again.
But there was something else weighing on Yerin.
Something she had kept to herself since last night.
She looked at Do-hyun.
"There's something I didn't tell you."
His eyes briefly moved toward her.
"What?"
"About the phone call."
His expression immediately changed.
"What phone call?"
"The one from last night."
Do-hyun's grip tightened around the steering wheel.
"You got another call?"
Yerin nodded.
"Unknown number."
"What did they say?"
She took a breath.
"They congratulated me."
"For the wedding?"
"Yes."
Do-hyun's jaw tightened.
"And then?"
Yerin stared down at her hands.
"They said I didn't know the real reason our fathers needed us married."
He didn't say anything.
She continued.
"They told me to ask our fathers what happened years ago."
Do-hyun's eyes remained fixed on the road.
"What else?"
Yerin hesitated.
"They said..."
She swallowed.
"'Ask them what they did.'"
The silence inside the car became heavy.
Do-hyun's expression hardened.
"Did you recognize the voice?"
"No."
"Male?"
"Yes."
"Did he give you a name?"
"No."
Do-hyun exhaled slowly.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Yerin looked at him.
"I was scared."
He glanced at her.
"Scared of what?"
"I don't know."
She looked back out the window.
"Everything is happening so fast. Every time we find one answer, there's another question."
Do-hyun understood.
He was feeling the same thing.
After a moment, he said quietly,
"If they call again..."
Yerin looked at him.
"Tell me."
She nodded.
"Immediately."
"I promise."
Do-hyun nodded.
Neither of them said anything else.
But both were thinking the same thing.
Someone was watching them.
And whoever it was knew more than they did.
The university entrance came into view.
Yerin suddenly felt nervous.
She hadn't realized how much she had missed the place until she saw it again.
Students were walking across the courtyard.
Groups of friends stood around talking.
Someone ran toward the main building with a stack of books.
Everything was exactly the same.
Yet somehow...
She wasn't.
Do-hyun parked the car.
Yerin took a deep breath.
"Ready?"
He asked.
She looked at him.
"Not really."
"Same."
They got out.
They had barely taken a few steps toward the entrance when a familiar voice echoed across the courtyard.
"YERIN!"
Yerin stopped.
Emily came running toward her.
Min-jae was right behind her.
Yerin's eyes widened.
"Oh no."
Do-hyun looked at her.
"Good luck."
She gave him an annoyed look.
"You too."
Emily reached them first.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
Yerin blinked.
"Hi to you too."
"Don't 'hi' me!"
Emily grabbed her arm.
"Two weeks!"
Min-jae caught up.
"We called you."
"You didn't answer."
"We messaged you."
Emily stared at her.
"Do you know how worried we were?"
Yerin's expression softened.
"I'm sorry."
Emily crossed her arms.
"That doesn't explain anything."
Min-jae looked at Do-hyun.
"You disappeared too."
Do-hyun nodded.
"I had family matters."
"Both of you?"
"Yes."
Min-jae looked suspicious.
"At the same time?"
Yerin quickly answered.
"Coincidence."
Emily narrowed her eyes.
"That's a very suspicious coincidence."
Yerin smiled nervously.
"It was complicated."
Emily looked at her for a long moment.
Then sighed.
"Fine."
She pointed at Yerin.
"But we're talking later."
Yerin nodded.
"Okay."
Emily suddenly grabbed Yerin's hand.
Then froze.
Her eyes went directly to the ring.
She slowly looked up.
"Wait."
Yerin's heart dropped.
Emily lifted her hand.
"What is this?"
Yerin swallowed.
Emily examined the ring.
"It's beautiful."
Yerin smiled nervously.
"Thank you."
"When did you get it?"
"Recently."
"Who gave it to you?"
Yerin's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
She glanced toward Do-hyun.
Emily noticed.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Why did you look at him?"
"I didn't."
"You did."
"No, I didn't."
"You definitely did."
Min-jae looked between them.
"Okay..."
He folded his arms.
"Now I'm curious too."
Yerin quickly pulled her hand back.
"I'll tell you later."
Emily pointed at her.
"You better."
The bell rang.
Min-jae sighed.
"We're going to be late."
Emily turned toward the building.
"Fine."
Then she looked back at Yerin.
"But I'm not forgetting this."
Yerin forced a smile.
They headed inside.
Do-hyun walked beside her.
"You handled that well."
Yerin whispered,
"She almost discovered everything."
"She'll discover it eventually."
"That's not helping."
He smiled.
The first few lectures passed slowly.
Yerin tried to focus.
She really did.
But every time the professor wrote something on the board, her mind somehow returned to the same questions.
What did their fathers do?
Why was the marriage planned years ago?
Who was the person on the phone?
She stared at her notebook.
She had written nothing for the last ten minutes.
Emily leaned toward her.
"You okay?"
Yerin quickly nodded.
"Yeah."
Emily looked at her suspiciously.
"You're acting weird."
"I'm tired."
"You've been weird since you came back."
Yerin smiled.
"Maybe university made me weird."
Emily rolled her eyes.
"You're impossible."
The professor called for everyone's attention.
Yerin turned back toward the front.
But her mind never really returned to the lecture.
By afternoon, the final lecture ended.
Students began gathering their things.
Then the professor made an announcement.
"Before everyone leaves, I have something important to announce."
The room quieted.
"There will be a farewell trip for the final-year students."
The room immediately filled with excited whispers.
The professor raised his hand.
"Please listen."
The whispers slowly died down.
"The trip will include camping, hiking, outdoor activities, and several group events."
Emily's face lit up.
Yerin already knew what was coming.
Emily turned toward her.
"We're going."
Yerin shook her head.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Absolutely."
Yerin sighed.
"Emily."
Emily turned toward Do-hyun.
"Do-hyun."
He immediately shook his head.
"Don't involve me."
"You're going too."
"I'll think about it."
Emily smiled.
"Good."
Yerin stared at him.
"You agreed?"
"I said I'll think about it."
Emily pointed at both of them.
"That's enough."
Min-jae laughed.
"You two have no chance."
Yerin sighed.
"Fine."
Emily smiled proudly.
"I knew you'd come around."
When they finally returned home, Yerin didn't even stop for lunch.
She walked straight upstairs.
She entered their room.
Dropped her bag.
And collapsed onto the bed.
She stared at the ceiling.
A long, exhausted sigh escaped her.
She didn't want to think anymore.
Not about the fathers.
Not about the phone call.
Not about the wedding.
Not about the trip.
She just wanted silence.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
Do-hyun stepped inside.
He stopped.
Yerin was lying across the bed without moving.
For a second, he thought she was asleep.
Then he noticed her eyes were open.
He didn't say anything.
He understood.
She needed time.
So he quietly placed his things on the desk.
He sat down.
Yerin glanced at him.
"You came."
"Obviously."
She closed her eyes again.
"I'm tired."
"I know."
"I don't want to think."
She opened one eye.
"That's easier said than done."
He smiled faintly.
Silence returned.
For once...
Neither of them needed to fill it.
The sun had disappeared by the time someone knocked.
Yerin sat up.
A servant stood outside.
"Mr. Choi, Mrs. Choi. Everyone is waiting for you downstairs."
Do-hyun nodded.
"We're coming."
The servant left.
Yerin looked at him.
"Do we have to?"
"Unfortunately."
She sighed.
"Fine."
They went downstairs together.
The family was already seated.
Yerin sat beside Do-hyun.
Dinner began quietly.
Everyone spoke about ordinary things.
University.
Work.
The trip.
But neither Yerin nor Do-hyun mentioned the mysterious phone call.
Neither mentioned the agreement.
And neither mentioned what they had learned the previous night.
Those secrets remained between them.
For now.
After dinner, they returned upstairs.
Yerin changed first.
Then Do-hyun went to change.
When he came back, Yerin was sitting on the edge of the bed.
She looked at him.
"The trip."
He nodded.
"I was thinking about it."
She moved slightly, giving him space.
He sat beside her.
For a moment, they stared ahead.
Then Yerin said,
"I think we should go."
Do-hyun looked at her.
"Why?"
She shrugged.
"I need a break."
"From university?"
"From everything."
He understood immediately.
She continued.
"Just a few days."
"Somewhere nobody knows what's happening."
"Nobody asking questions."
"Nobody watching us."
Do-hyun looked down.
Then nodded.
"I could use that too."
Yerin smiled.
"So we're going?"
"Yeah."
She nodded.
"Okay."
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Yerin smiled.
"Maybe it'll actually be fun."
Do-hyun looked at her.
"You hate camping."
"I don't hate it."
"You complained about it for ten minutes."
"I was exaggerating."
"You said you'd rather stay home."
Yerin looked at him.
"I changed my mind."
He laughed.
She smiled.
For the first time all day...
The weight on her chest felt slightly lighter.
Maybe getting away was exactly what they needed.
Maybe a few days away from the mansion would give them time to breathe.
Maybe they could forget about everything.
Even if only temporarily.
Yerin leaned back slightly.
Do-hyun reached for his phone.
The screen lit up.
He glanced at it.
Then froze.
An unknown number.
A new message.
He opened it.
His expression changed instantly.
Yerin noticed.
"What?"
Do-hyun didn't answer.
She leaned closer.
"What happened?"
He slowly turned the screen toward her.
There was only one sentence.
You shouldn't leave the city.
Yerin's smile disappeared.
Neither of them spoke.
Do-hyun stared at the message.
Yerin's fingers tightened around the edge of the blanket.
Someone knew about their trip.
Someone was watching them.
And whoever had sent the message...
Didn't want them to leave.
...To Be Continued...