A Taste of Temptation

01 - Mrs. The Mark

Meet the soon-to-be missus

"We're going out tonight! Pick you up at 7. Wear something cute. 😎"

Jeongyeon read the text and sighed. And not the dreamy sigh she'd always hoped to befit the man she was to marry. No, her sigh was laced with frustration. This was his idea of romance. A text instructing her to wear something cute.

"What the hell does that even mean? I make everything cute," she thought with a giggle.

It was last-minute notice. Again. They'd had multiple discussions about how uncomfortable it made her to not have sufficient time to prepare. On occasion, spontaneity was OK; it was fun, necessary to keep the mundane bits of life exciting. But it was painfully obvious to her now that he lived at the last minute.

Jeongyeon realized much of his behavior was not as endearing as it originally appeared. "Boyish charm" was a euphemism for inconsiderate immaturity. Everyone assured her this was a normal part of being engaged; learning each other's quirks. She was told she was experiencing cold feet as their wedding date drew near. Jeongyeon wanted to believe her family, friends, and fellow church congregants. But in reality, Hyun-woo wasn't quirky; he was annoying. But she loved him, most of the time anyway.

He showered her with affection and led her as she was taught a man of God should. Well, he did a pretty good job. He loved God, gave his heart to serve, and he was incredibly handsome. Muscular, chiseled. He kept his dark hair short, had the most tender eyes, and his lips — she did love his full lips. Unfortunately, she already learned pretty little lies slipped from those pretty little lips more often than they should.

Originally, she wasn't interested in him. He was just that handsome guy from the choir and dance teams. She knew he helped out with the campus ministry too, but he just wasn't her type. Until he was. He noticed her one day and he made sure she had the opportunity to notice him.

She didn't think she was his type either but Shownu, as his close friends called him, reached out to her and captured her heart. Except right now. At the moment he had her last nerve in his hand instead of her heart. Was this really what she'd always dreamed about? Was this what she had to look forward to?

Oh, God! Would the children be just like him?

"Jeongyeon, stop," she cautioned herself out loud. Surely she was nervous. The wedding was in three months and there were preparations to finish. Maybe that's why she was so on edge. Those lies weren't really a big deal; right? Everyone told the occasional white lie. OK, this lie was blood red, but...

"You know if you'd just let me find you a nice woman to date instead you wouldn't spend half your day telling yourself not to worry about that idiot," Chaeyoung said bringing her sunshine into her friend's office for their afternoon meeting. The young woman's presence did bring life to the bland box, illuminated by the flickering fluorescence of seemingly every office building on the block.

"Hey, 'that idiot' is the love of my life," Jeongyeon looked at the clock on her computer. "You're early; why?"

"My gaydar warned me you needed rescuing," she replied with a sly smile as she closed the office door.

"Son Chaeyoung, I swear you're being a brat."

"I thought good, 'Christian' girls didn't swear," she sat across from her teammate with a smug look, giving no regard to the threat.

"You know I love Shownu," a sudden cough stifled her words.

"Even your body knows that's a lie. He doesn't deserve you," the younger woman's voice was serious, all hints of joking removed.