IMFOBO | CH 20 | Can You Handle It?

Can You Handle It?

 

The once bustling house fell silent all at once.

Was it because the tension had eased?

Eun-cho, feeling weak in the legs, plopped down onto the porch with a thud.

How could she have let Grandma and even Tae-san discover her feelings for Gyu-won?

The memory of the proposal kept replaying in her mind, making her demeanor towards Gyu-won stiffer than usual.

Could he have noticed?

“Ha…”

Right now, Gyu-won wasn’t the main issue.

It was Ryu Tae-san, who, despite having successfully wrapped things up, wore a frown that hinted at his dissatisfaction.

He was truly a formidable man.

Tae-san had followed her instructions perfectly, yet why did it feel like she had been the one caught off guard?

He hadn’t even mentioned marriage and had confessed that he was merely in unrequited love.

When someone with such depth speaks, it’s hard not to believe them.

In reality, he didn’t have an ounce of sincerity.

Even she, who knew all the facts, almost got confused.

Her heart sank as if it had dropped into her stomach, leaving her in a daze for a while.

She even forgot that her first love, Gyu-won, was watching.

“Cover yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

Huh? What is she supposed to cover?

Why is he suddenly taking off his clothes? Is he showing off his body?

All the questions that had filled her mind vanished without a trace as she looked down at her own chest.

“…!”

This is insane. Eun-cho.

She must have lost her mind.

At first glance, it wasn’t obvious, but upon closer inspection, a faint brown hue peeked through the fabric of his shirt.

He must have seen it. That’s why he’s acting this way.

Her face—and even her ears and neck—turned bright red as Eun-cho pulled Tae-san’s shirt down to cover herself.

“What on earth is going on? Why are you undressing?” 

“It’s too hot.”

Jung-seok had been silently observing Tae-san but finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer and stepped forward.

He took a few steps closer but still maintained some distance.

“What’s happening?”

At least there was a small silver lining in this unfortunate situation. 

Jung-seok was too preoccupied with what had happened to notice Eun-cho’s predicament. 

If Jung-seok had figured it out too, she would want to bury her face in water out of embarrassment. 

“Say hello. This is going to be your sister-in-law.”

“W-What? Sister-in-law?!”

There couldn’t have been a clearer declaration than that. 

Jung-seok looked like he was about to spit out his heart from shock. 

His eyes widened to an impossible size and shook uncontrollably. 

“Ryu Jung-seok! Lower your voice!”

Eun-cho felt like she had done something irreversibly crazy because of Jung-seok’s astonished expression and worried that someone might overhear them. 

This wasn’t exactly a town known for keeping secrets. 

“I-I heard you! You said I would die! You said eating it would kill me!” 

“…Uh-huh. That’s how it turned out.” 

At this point, Jung-seok was family anyway. 

It would be better to tell him the truth from the start rather than deceive him and ask for his cooperation. 

“If this goes on, it feels like I’ve ruined your life! Why! Why! Why did you make such a choice?” 

Jung-seok’s eyes widened with disbelief as he listened to Eun-cho’s straightforward answer. 

It was as if he couldn’t bear the moment when vague speculation turned into certainty. 

His frantic behavior resembled that of a wild horse. 

“Hey, Ryu Jung-seok.” 

Tae-san strode over toward Jung-seok, who was shouting angrily. 

Without hesitation, he slapped Jung-seok on the back of the head, causing the big guy to stagger. 

His touch was charged with emotion. 

“Am I poison? Will you die if you eat me?” 

“It’s poison! You crazy fool! How dare you touch my friend when there are no women around? Skipping dating and going straight to marriage? What nonsense!” 

“I’m done for!” Jung-seok exclaimed dramatically as he began to resist properly. 

He reached for Tae-san’s hair but quickly found himself kicked in the shins by Tae-san, who wouldn’t easily back down. 

“Agh! How can you be so shameless as to touch my brother’s friend? Who do you think you are?” 

Unfazed by receiving two hits, Jung-seok lunged at Tae-san as if nothing mattered anymore. 

Tae-san dodged skillfully and repeatedly delivered light strikes toward Jung-seok. 

In terms of agility and skill, Tae-san was several steps ahead. 

“Enough already!” 

Jung-seok persisted stubbornly without tiring out and continued attacking Tae-san. 

Seeing the two brothers fighting made Eun-cho anxious enough that she finally stepped in between them. 

“…!” 

Tae-san hesitated for just a moment, and Jung-seok seized that fleeting opportunity with fierce determination. 

He shifted direction slightly to avoid Eun-cho and lunged straight at Tae-san instead. 

Tae-san lost his balance and fell backward in a straight line as if gravity had taken hold of him. 

“Ugh.”  

Tae-san groaned softly after hitting his back on the step hard.  

The pain was evident from his grimace; he was clearly trying to suppress it.  

Although she felt she had no choice but to intervene to stop the brothers from fighting, guilt washed over Eun-cho for inadvertently causing Tae-san’s injury.  

“Are you okay?”  

“I’m less okay than you think.”  

As Eun-cho rushed over to Tae-san’s side, Jung-seok huffed angrily beside them.  

Despite only having bruised his waist slightly, Jung-seok looked disheveled with no redeeming features left intact on him.  

Rrrrrr Rrrrrr.

At that moment, Jung-seok’s phone rang from his pocket.

After checking the caller ID, he took a deep breath before answering the call.  

“Yeah, babe? Sorry about this; something came up here. Are you still in town? I’ll come pick you up right away.”  

It was puzzling why Ryu Jung-seok and Bong Su-ji were still in Cheongrim-ri when they were supposed to be in Seoul for the weekend.  

Whatever the reason may be, it had certainly complicated matters significantly now.  

As Jung-seok exhaled harshly in frustration, his hair whipped around messily in response.  

He wiped away blood from his split lip with his thumb and shot a fierce glare at his brother.  

“I’m just stepping out for a bit to pick up Su-ji; don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”  

His intimidating demeanor suggested that he was quite angry indeed.  

It wasn’t unreasonable for him to be furious since he had just been told not to get involved with someone who might become family soon enough.  

Once Jung-seok left, only the two of them remained again.  

“Can you get up?”  

Tae-san grimaced slightly as he pushed himself up using his waist for support.  

The step was solid enough that it must have hurt quite a bit upon impact.   

Moreover, being bare-skinned left red marks where he scraped against it.   

“I told you to cover up unless you want me to see on purpose.”   

Eun-cho gasped in surprise and instinctively crossed her arms over her chest again.

In her frantic attempts to break up the fight between the two brothers, she had completely lost track of Tae-san’s shirt long ago.

“This is one thing; let’s just take a look!”   

“I’m not that fragile.”   

Eun-cho felt uneasy. She thought Tae-san might have gotten hurt because she intervened unnecessarily.

Seeing him resembling an elderly patient visiting acupuncture clinics added to her discomfort.

As she examined him like she would any other patient without hesitation, her lips curved into an involuntary smile at how smooth they were now.

“You’re bolder than I expected.”   

“That’s not what I meant!”   

As she let out an exasperated sigh akin to foolishness, Tae-san chuckled softly while shaking his shoulders lightly.

Realizing that this man was teasing her again made her feel somewhat annoyed but also determined not to back down easily.

“If we leave this alone, your muscles will cramp up later; let’s go inside so I can give you acupuncture.”   

Tae-san gently grasped Eun-cho’s wrist as she inspected his injury closely.

“…!”   

He pulled her closer toward himself while looking down at her with an arrogant gaze.

The way his lips curled upward felt strangely enticing somehow; they were so close their lips could almost touch at any moment now.

With an innocent smile spreading across his mischievous face, Eun-cho bit down on her lip nervously.

“If we share a room together… can you handle it?”   

“You’re quite bold for someone who’s injured.”   

“What do you think I’m capable of?”   

His smile remained playful until the end; there seemed genuine joy behind it all too.

Upon reflection though… perhaps he really did have some peculiar interests after all; teasing her seemed amusing enough for him!

“I’m good at acupuncture; if you’d like I could even give you one right on your philtrum.”   

“I think kissing would be more romantic.”   

As Tae-san tilted his head slightly downward, Eun-cho felt shivers run through her body as if anticipating something more intimate between them now—so close yet so far away!

The air around them grew quiet enough that even their breathing felt amplified against one another; every little sensation sharpened into focus like never before!

“I think there’s been some misunderstanding; I didn’t mean anything intentional.”   

“What do you mean?”   

“My… chest.”   

Perhaps they had taken ‘marriage’ too lightly while focusing solely on maintaining their ancestral home without considering its deeper implications—like sharing kisses or fulfilling other marital duties together!

Suddenly overwhelmed by reality crashing down upon them both, caused Eun-cho’s cheeks to flush warmly under Tae-san’s intense gaze lingering upon her form too closely now!

Trying desperately not to reveal how flustered she felt inside led her lips to inwardly retreat, while he gently tapped against them with his thumb instead…

A gentle touch against those trembling lips caused involuntary fluttering sensations within herself as well…   

“I promise I won’t cross any lines.”   

“…”   

“There won’t be any forced awkwardness either.”   

She wasn’t naive enough not to understand what went unsaid between them either…

Heat radiated across every inch of skin exposed beneath layers of clothing worn today—her forehead flushed warmly alongside her cheeks, reddening further still!

Finding somewhere untouched by heat seemed increasingly difficult now…    

Laughter echoed through the air around them as they were both playfully teasing each other further still—Eun-cho resolved firmly that if given a chance, she’d ensure the acupuncture needle went right into the center top of Tae-san’s head next time around!  

That would surely become the only form of revenge possible against him after all!    

“For now though… I’ll be staying here for a bit longer.”    

Perhaps sensing how frightened Eun-cho appeared made Tae-san take several steps back from their previous closeness instead…    

He gradually released his hold upon her wrist, which was held captive earlier, allowing warmth dissipate slowly between them both finally…    

Yet lingering traces of heat remained where contact once existed—and it definitely wouldn’t fade away anytime soon either…