This story is fiction
/
"Oppa, marry me"
After school, I came home and someone came striding up to me so confidently and hugged me tightly
Seven-year-old little Kang Taehyun, even his pronunciation is so slurred it’s not even funny
At times like that, I’d bonk Taehyun on the head and laugh softly as if he were cute
"Hng ㅠㅠ Noona, that hurts"
"Aww, did it hurt?"
"Noona, I’m telling you to marry me"
"Okay, let’s get married, little groom. Come find me when you’re 20 hahahaha"
At my teasing words, he pouted and stuck his lips out, then with those big eyes
Kang Taehyun glared at me and what are you gonna do if you glare at me? So insignificant, so cute
Living just to tease this kid, bahahaha, I grabbed his soft cheeks and stretched them out
"I’m serious, you know?"
"Baby, why are you so cute? Look at those squishy cheeks"
Taehyun’s face turned bright red, and the one watching from the side
Mom smacked my back and scolded me
"Oh my, Noona’s doing a good job, a real good one, teasing her little brother!
Go drop Taehyun off and come back. Taehyun’s mom is at home"
"Got it, Taehyun, get on my back"
I crouched down and showed my back, and Taehyun climbed on like he was used to it
It’s a 10-minute walk to Taehyun’s house. Taehyun’s mom is sick, so she has to go for chemotherapy
so she’s been practically living at our house almost every day. At first
it was awkward and I hated it, but now, well, I guess Taehyun is the kind of presence our family can’t do without?
Hmm, should I say it feels like I got a little brother? I’m young too, so I don’t really know
Taehyun must’ve fallen asleep quickly, because he was talking in his sleep, saying let’s get married hahaha. Since when
I don’t know, but I think he’s been like that for about a year now. Like does he even know what marriage is
I laughed it off because the little thing was just too cute
/
He nagged me to marry him all the time. Whenever that happened, everyone chimed in and said
we should get married. Wow, only at times like this do you all match so perfectly, huh?
Sigh, yeah, I thought he’d stop talking about it once he hit puberty, right? I was an idiot
He must’ve had some lingering grudge from not being able to get married
It made no sense for him to be that obsessed! Marriage, you know, is something you have to be careful about
and careful about again. You have to live with the person you love for your whole life, you know?
Yeah, so let’s do it. That bastard talked so logically for someone who’d grown up
I thought he was some kind of professor or something? He wouldn’t listen to reason. He just said he liked me, and if he liked me
that was enough. There wasn’t any reason needed for liking someone. Since the day he was born, he said I’d been more
important than even his mom. Excuse me, I’m not! You grade-school punk!!! I’m 18!!!!
I started avoiding Kang Taehyun. That scary little brat!
Don’t go easy on him just because he’s cute!!
An elementary school kid is this scary, everyone!!!
"Yeoju, isn’t that your little brother?"
"Oh, no, he’s just a neighborhood kid"
"Really? I thought he was your real brother since he looks like you. But, kid, you’re really handsome"
As my friend Mirae showered him with praise and tried to touch his hair, he dodged her hand,
pouted his lips, glared at me, and kept walking, saying he wasn’t a little kid. Like I’d be scared of that?
An elementary schooler, at that! When I turned 21, Taehyun, who was 16, moved
to a place with clean air for his mother. Because I was busy with college life, I forgot about Taehyun too
Of course, Taehyun’s calls became less and less frequent, and now maybe even his number had changed, so he didn’t contact me at all
We each went our own way like that. Sometimes I missed those talks about Taehyun asking to get married
and I laughed at myself. He’d probably call it a blanket-kick black history moment. If we ever met again one day
I should tease him about it, hehe. Time passed quickly, and I, Seo Yeoju, turned 25. In the meantime, I’d dated and broken up, too
and now I’m single, enjoying the solo life and working my second year at a company
I’m on my millionth thought of quitting my job. After work, I was about to go into my house
when a dark silhouette from somewhere was swallowing up my shadow. Mom! I took a defensive
stance. Then he laughed?? Who are you? He was even wearing a hat, so
I couldn’t tell who he was
"Seo Yeoju"
" ..!!"
Was there a man who even knew my name? No matter how I thought about it, only my ex came to mind?
But his looks are way too different, though? I kept saying nothing
and just blinking, and the man opened his mouth again
"Marry... me"
" ..!!"
"Let’s get married, Seo Yeoju"
Whoa... chills ran all over my body. The only person who ever said let’s get married was Kang Taehyun?
My pupils widened and my heart started pounding like crazy
"Why are you so scared? Do you think I’m gonna eat you?"
" ...."
"That stupid look on your face hasn’t changed"
" ..Yo..you’re Kang Taehyun?"
"Yeah, long time no see"
Only then, seeing Taehyun’s face clearly, my tension melted away and I leaned against the wall
Had the streetlight always been this bright? Or was his face just that bright... He still had
the same look from when he was little. His eyes were bigger, and his nose was even more sharply defined. He was really handsome
Without realizing it, I spent a moment just admiring his face
"Remember? What you said back then, to come find you when I turned 20..."
"Hey, that was just a joke. You were 7 back then..."
"I waited until I turned 20"
And that’s how I got caught by Taehyun. No, seriously, how is he this forceful?
He’d definitely been hearing this since he was 7, but hearing it from Taehyun now that he was a grown adult
made my chest feel all ticklish and strange. So he really did come find me
"I’m not a minor anymore, so it’s possible, right?"
"..w..what?"
"(snort)Marriage"
Was his brain seriously okay? I was way too flustered, so I looked up at Taehyun
He was smiling brightly, and that was even scarier
"Dummy, why are you so scared? I’m not saying let’s get married right this second. Let’s date first"
"Huh?"
/
How did things go after Taehyun’s straight-ahead confession? How else—they went like this: the now-adult Taehyun’s nonstop
pursuit had me throwing in the towel, and now we’re in a sweet relationship. These days I like him even more
When I mention his 7-year-old black-history moments, he freaks out, but he’s only gotten bigger; to me, he’s still just cute
"Little groom, please take care of me again this year"
"What do you mean little—? You’re smaller than me, so then you’re the little bride"
"Ssshh, kid, calling a 27-year-old little is a bit much, don’t you think?"
"Then have you ever seen a kid bigger than you?"
Hmm... that was true, so I couldn’t argue back. Ugh, he really won’t let me say anything
"But you keep saying my name, huh?"
"Why, does it make your heart flutter, Yeoju? Yeoju~~ Yeoju~"
"Eek! Go away"
"To me, you were always you. All I could see was you. I was worried you might’ve forgotten me"
"Of course not, how could I forget you? A tiny, cute
7-year-old kid kept begging me to marry him, haha"
Taehyun, watching me concentrate, looked cute, and before I knew it I’d pulled both his cheeks
When our eyes met and Taehyun’s brow furrowed at my action, I felt embarrassed and slowly
put my hands down. Then he hugged me and whispered that he loved me
"Yeoju, I love you"
"I love you too, Taehyun"
Even though you’re a big-grown adult, you’ll always be my little groom
END
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A short story... is this even right? I’m cringing to death
This is my first time writing one, but it feels kind of like I only half-finished pooping??
Blanket-kick🥲 I’ll be posting things as I think of them😏
