Contract Marriage 18+ [A Hopekook Fanfiction] ✓

9.3🥀

"They're going to love you," he reassured, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"They?" She asked queasily, suddenly filled with doubts. "I thought it would be only your father."

"My mother and grandmother will probably be there... maybe a couple of my sisters. With my father so sick, they're probably all there."
"Your father's at home?" He nodded, his eyes darkening again.

"He refuses to be hospitalized, he says that if he's going to die, he wants to do it at home... he has the best medical care and facilities money has to offer to him at home."

"That's understandable," she nodded sympathetically. "He's waited so long to go back home." There was a moment's awkward silence.

"I'm really glad you could get it back for him, Jeon," she blurted impulsively. "Even if it cost you more than it should have." Again the silence, before he nodded tautly, his grim face looking hewn from rock.
"Uhm... when do you want to do it?" She broke the uncomfortable silence a few moments later and he cleared his throat. "Do they know I'll be... are they expecting to meet me?"

"I've been making noises about wanting them to meet you for a while now," he informed. "So they won't be too surprised by it."

"Always thinking ahead aren't you?" She asked caustically.

"If you mean that I'd anticipated having to introduce you to my dying father by these less than ideal means, then no, I wasn't really preparing for this eventuality!" He snapped irritably.

"I didn't mean it like that," she whispered defensively.

"Of course you didn't," he agreed sarcastically and stung, she managed to lever her bulky form up from the sofa, ignoring him when he jumped up lithely to offer assistance.

"I'm tired, I think I'll take a nap before dinner," she said wearily. "I'll see you later..." She left him behind without a single backward look, just plain sick and tired of the constant tension that they both had to live with.

"Are you ready?" He asked her quietly a few hours later. They were both in his huge study where he had set up the computer and camera for the video conference. No simple webcam and computer screen for Jeon, he had proper video camera with a large screen television screen set up. He explained that it would enable to allow his family to see both of them at the same time, further explaining that his parents had a similar setup at their home.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," she nodded nervously and he led her to a large, comfortable sofa that was facing the camera. He made sure she was sitting comfortably before kneeling in front of her unexpectedly.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he said softly, his dark eyes piercing as they stared intently into hers. "Being around you is a curiously humbling experience... I do not believe I have ever apologized this much to one person in my entire life before. I always seem to be getting it wrong with you. "

"You're under a lot of emotional strain at the moment, Jeon... and I know that I probably wasn't making it any easier on you. Please just forget about it." He sighed deeply before nodding and sitting down next to her. He picked up a small remote control from the coffee table in front of them and started up the camera, indicating towards the blinking red light that he had told her would mean that the camera was on.

An image of an elderly couple suddenly filled the previously blank screen of the big television to the left of the camera. Broad smiles suddenly lit up their faces and they both started chattering at the same time. Hobie knew that they were his parents from the pictures she had seen in Jeon's study. His father looked a lot frailer and more tired than the robust man in the photographs though and Hobie could see from the sallow skin and sunken eyes, how very ill the older man was.

Jeon was smiling warmly as his parents continued to chatter, before he finally raised a hand and they reluctantly fell silent. He said something to them in japanese, before indicating towards Hobie, who sat with a frozen smile on her face. She wasn't sure what to do, or what to say, she wasn't even sure if they spoke Korean anymore.

"Mama, papa... I know this has been a long time in coming," he said, in heavily accented korean. "But this is Hobie... , my wife."