marriage trial \ j. jaehyun

iv.

| 12:56pm

+ aera.

“uh, im sorry about that.” i apologized, murmuring quietly as I pertained to the interrogation Chaeyoung has pulled on him, “i told you, you didn't need to listen to her rants and  answer her absurd questions.” jaehyun lets out any airy laugh, shaking his head. “it's fine. all of it was just introductory questions about me, nothing uncomfortable. also, her lecture about you is quiet helpful. she just truly cares for you.”  I smiled awkwardly as we wait for the elevator to open.

The elevator door opens and he gestures me to step in first, “so, what are we doing today?” He pushes the button of the lobby, “should we go and eat first?” he questions, a small smile on his lips, “i don't want to get on your nerve for not feeding you.”

I was not wrong when I described Jaehyun as someone who has enough money, I can finally say so when he brought me to a fancy French restaurant that serves dishes that costs more than I do. After saying our orders, we jumped on to knowing each other, exchanging basic facts and some trivial details.

In a span of minutes, I learned that his birthday is on Valentine's Day, he stayed in America before for his education, his favorite foods include meat, spicy pork, also he likes green tea flavored ice cream and now he's working under a rather huge and known company.

“mhm, i have a question. we were literally complete strangers, why did you agree in marrying me?” jaehyun has a small smile on his lips, his eyes bright as he patiently waits for my answer. “i just got proposed to, who am i to decline?” shrugging, I took a sip on my drink before continuing, “given that, i have this weird moral; do stupid things and laugh at it later or you don't and regret it someday. so, i thought fuck it and agreed.” he let out a laugh and nods, “yeah, that is indeed a weird and risky moral to live by.”

“how do you know im not some jerk trying to get in your pants?” he cocks his head to the side, “at first, you seemed like a fuckboy to me actually,” jaehyun gasps and pouts, faking a hurt expression, “that's why I tried to flirt with you but you waved me offㅡ i mean you said something flirty but you never went overboard. jerks who wants to get into a girl's pants always overdo their flirting.”

“so, you're heartbroken? you said someone cheated on you.” i made a face hearing his new question, “um no, not heartbroken. 3 months had passed since my last relationship and i can say i'm over him but not over with the fact that he cheated on me. Like, what the hell? he could've just break the relationship off formally. Finding out that I was cheated on was like a slap on the face, it lowers my self-esteem and gives me trust issues. it's making me bitter until now.” Jaehyun smiles warmly, “it's okay. but you shouldn't give yourself a hard time just because he made the stupid choice of cheating on you than seeing your worth. plus, it just proves that he didn't deserve you.” I can't help but to smile fondly at him, propping my elbows on the table, “so, now its my turn to ask. why did you asked me to a marriage?”

“you mentioned that the thought of marriage excites you so i thought why not ask you into one?” he answered shortly, “oh, so this is all about me? how thoughtful of you.” i smirk at him, leaning back against the back rest of my chair. “i know there's more than that, jaehyun. you can tell me.” Jaehyun shifts on his seat, “what if it'll make you upset?” i shrug, “try me.”

“i have bad lucks in dating, so i thought maybe a marriage can help me finally settle with someone?”

At that, my eyes widened comically, “bad lucks? what exactly do you mean by that?”

“i dated before, 3 relationships actually but all of it didn't end well. if they don't want money, then they're after fame or just the satisfaction that they once dated meㅡ or all of it and if they had it already, poof they're already after a different guy. it was the same with the past flings i had.” my brows furrow, “dude, who would do something as petty as that? that's just disrectful.”

He looks at me, surprised, “so, you're not upset that i'm kind of using you in some way?” i roll my eyes, “it's actually weird but no. i'm just pissed off knowing that some girls really did that for their own advantages. how can you let them do that to you?” he just shrugs as a response, taking a drink.

I blink for a couple of times, still shocked, “i literally thought it was the other way around. i meanㅡ duh, it's you, i'm sure numerous girls would throw themselves at you. Maybe some of them comes with good intentions, you shouldn't settle with girls who just like you for your appearance or fame or money.”

“we tend to do stupid things when we're inlove.”

and then a thought came up, “how can you say i'm different from them? that i'm not after your money and such.”

He looks at me with a duh expression, “then you should've done the same thing they did, pull me into the dancefloor and grind up to me while asking where i work and how much money i make..” he pauses and grins, “instead of whining about how it disgusts you remembering the future plans you and your exboyfriend made.” I made a face at him, “wow, i feel honored that you thought differently of me.”

I narrow my eyes at him, mentally debating if I really need to ask him something or not but I already parted my lips, thoughts escaping loudly, “jaehyun, what if this goes wrong? the marriage, i mean.”

Jaehyun stops what he's doing and looks up at me ardently, “think of it like this,” he propped both of his elbows on the table before contunuing,  “if this goes well, we're lucky. if not, it's still an experience to the both of us, something we're going to look back years from now.” he maintained eye contact while talking, “in a way, we both benefit from this; i'm helping you live by your weird fuck it moral and experiencing a married life. While you, you're giving me the chance of being in a normal relationship and not like the failed, taken-for-granted ones i've already experienced. also, you're going to help me be more rational and less dumb when in a relationship.” jaehyun then shrugs, “and if this goes bad, then we'll stop. if one of us ones to stop, we stop.”

A smile creeped into my lips, “you know, chaeyoung actually said something. It seems to her that i was just treating this as a trial for marriage.”

“a trial for marriage?” jaehyun has an amused smile on his lips. i shrug, admitting honestly, “and now, i'm starting to think of it that way, too. like we're just experimenting.”

“okay. a marriage trial it is then.”