IMFOBO | CH 50 | Beautiful Bride

Why am I seeing that ten-won piece of shit fly here?

From the moment I saw him in Cheongnim-ri, his neat impression never sat right with me.

Tae-san looked down at Jin Gu-won with an openly suspicious face.

Gu-won and a skinny man were holding back Bonghwang, who was shouting at the top of his lungs in excitement.

He’s really showing off.

He needs a good beating to come to his senses.

“Let me go. Let’s see if I can land one punch.”

“I said, let go!”

When will he ever stop that fiery temper that’s more useless than dog shit?

The reason Bonghwang had never managed to touch a single strand of Ryu Tae-san’s hair was because of his easily excitable temperament.

Even as he ages, he shows no sign of improvement.

It was when Tae-san, bored, turned his gaze to the pale moon hanging on a branch that it happened.

Suddenly, there was a flash before his eyes, and his head snapped to the side.

What the hell? Did I just get hit?

“Huh.”

Tae-san pressed the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue.

A small curve formed at the corner of his mouth as one side of his cheek bulged.

The moment he tasted the metallic flavor of blood, Tae-san’s eyes transformed.

“You think you can hit me?”

The habit of returning ten blows for every one received was something that originated from within himself.

Just as Tae-san extended his fist, Jin Gu-won swiftly intervened between them.

He couldn’t hit an innocent person.

That was something only gangsters would do, as Eun-cho would say.

As he instinctively stopped his movement, the tightly drawn arm muscles tensed up like a knot.

Tae-san’s eyes remained firmly fixed on Gu-won, who had suddenly jumped in.

His expression was solemn, as if he had prepared himself to take a hit.

Despite intervening at the moment a fist was about to fly, Gu-won didn’t even blink.

“Let’s stop this. If you start a fistfight here, both of you will be at a disadvantage.”

Why did seeing that upright face make his gut twist?

It wasn’t just because he had intervened in countless physical altercations with Bonghwang.

“You should be careful. You might get hit instead.”

“Get out of the way, you bastards!”

Bonghwang was still being restrained by two people, continuously kicking into the air.

Suspecting he would look like a zoo monkey if left any longer, people were forcibly dragging Bonghwang out.

A sensible decision.

There’s no need to get embarrassingly beaten up here and have our faces side by side in tomorrow’s viral social media news.

Especially Bonghwang’s side—it’s not like he has a pretty face anyway.

Those slitted, fierce eyes plastered all over the internet would be a real nuisance.

‘Ha, what a disgrace.’

Tae-san pressed his thumb against his split lip while looking at Guwon.

He noticed the lawyer’s badge pinned to the lapel of his immaculate classic suit

 “I apologize for the intrusion. I acted on the judgment that it would be problematic if any unfortunate incidents occurred. I’ll take my leave now.”

From the general atmosphere, it seemed he had been meeting with people from a law firm here.

Somehow, Bonghwang had learned about his meeting with Deputy Minister Kim and had recklessly jumped in without thinking.

The situation was becoming clearer in his mind.

“Wait. Lawyer Jin Guwon, I didn’t expect to see you in a place like this.”

“Yes, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you before.”

“Right. I’m quite famous.”

Tae-san touched his face with a mischievous smile, as if playfully asking how he could not recognize this face.

“I apologize for my rudeness.”

“Ah, rudeness. Lawyer Jin Guwon seems to be the type who’s often rude.”

Guwon’s voice flowed steadily and neatly.

That day, Jin Gu-won had not only accused him of trespassing and stalking but even questioned his relationship with Eun-cho.

It would be natural to feel embarrassed recalling that moment, but the well-groomed man showed no sign of humiliation.

He remained the same before and after learning who he was dealing with.

‘How irritating. This ten-won piece’.

From the beginning, it was a title that Eun-cho had never used in front of others except when she needed to show their relationship.

From the moment he was called that “oppa,” Jin Gu-won had been marked by Ryu Tae-san.

And the more he thought about it…

Ah, so it’s this bastard.

“My type is someone neat, smart, and kind.”

That neat, smart, and kind person Eun-cho had described as her type. Damn it. If it’s Jin Gu-won, everything makes sense—why Eun-cho looked at that ten-won piece mixed among the grandmothers at the Cheongnim-ri estate with such lingering eyes and why she drowned herself in alcohol after meeting Jo Tae-hee, who said she was marrying a lawyer.

Like scattered puzzle pieces coming together.

‘What am I, Sherlock?’

His curiosity was satisfied, but this realization left him feeling utterly disgusted.

Even from their first encounter, he somehow felt overshadowed by this ten-won piece, and it turns out that wasn’t just his imagination.

Sometimes a man’s intuition can be frighteningly accurate.

“It’s fine. That’s all in the past. I hear you’re getting married?”

“Ah, it seems that will be delayed a bit.”

Is it because Go Hwaran couldn’t return from the Philippines?

Whatever the reason, it had nothing to do with him.

“Looks like we’ll be married first. See you at the wedding venue.”

Tae-san smiled smugly.

At this moment, the institution of marriage, which had merely been a means to an end, felt surprisingly alluring.

It would allow him to confine Lee Eun-cho within his domain and deal with those creeps who kept eyeing her.

It would also serve as a pretext to protect Eun-cho from that inhuman woman, Go Hwaran.

“Congratulations on your marriage.”

“Thank you.”

It wasn’t like he’d nudged him for a formal greeting but rather a courtesy received after bringing up the topic of marriage first.

Nevertheless, the businesslike congratulation felt quite satisfying to his ears.

Confirming to whom Eun-cho belonged gave him a considerable sense of elation.

* * *

Maybe it’s an aftereffect of seeing Jin Gu-won.

Suddenly, he wanted to see Eun-cho right away.

“The groom has arrived. The bride has just started changing into her dress.”

Tae-san nodded as he looked at the tightly closed curtain.

Fortunately, it seemed he had arrived on time.

“The bride is coming out.”

Just then, the curtains parted widely from both sides.

Eun-cho stood there in a pure white wedding dress, wearing a faint smile as if feeling awkward.

“Oh my, bride, you look so beautiful!”

“Groom, isn’t the bride pretty?”

A group of dolphin-like women with unusually high-pitched voices squealed as they greeted Eun-cho.

“Groom, bride.”

Despite the unfamiliar titles coming one after another, it wasn’t all that bad.

Tae-san remained seated on the sofa with his fingers interlocked, simply gazing at Eun-cho, who would soon become his bride.

As he stared without saying a word, Eun-cho awkwardly smoothed the hem of her dress.

“How do I look?”

A titillating question typical of couples about to be married.

Though he might not show it outwardly…

She was damn beautiful, enough to make him stare blankly, as if spellbound.

“Risqué.”

“This? I like it. Is it really that bad?”

“Yeah, it’s bad.”

From her pristine, spotless, snow-white skin to the slender line of her deer-like neck down to her rounded shoulders.

Ha, the thought of other bastards looking at her inexplicably irritated him.

The shop employees looked confused by Tae-san’s firm response.

Objectively speaking, he knew the dress wasn’t particularly revealing, but this was an entirely subjective matter.

Regardless, he couldn’t allow that snow-white skin to be exposed.

“Ah, then we’ll select another dress according to the groom’s preference. Bride, would you mind waiting while you change?”

The curtain closed again, and Eun-cho disappeared from view.

He was still savoring the lingering image in his mind.

Perhaps because his vision was blocked, his hearing became more acute.

The rustling sound of the dress fabric and her faint, scattered breathing scratched at his ears quite provocatively.

The sounds, seemingly coming from very close by, were unusually sensual.

“I think one button is still fastened. Could you help me”?

“I’m sorry, bride. I’ll help you right away.”

Just then, Eun-cho’s voice addressing the employee came from behind the curtain.

Tae-san, who had been watching quietly, stood up.

“I’ll be here, so you can step out.”

“Ah, yes, understood.”

Tae-san dismissed the employee approaching Eun-cho and strode inside the curtain.

He quite liked how Eun-cho looked at him with an astonished expression.

“W-what are you doing? Really.”

“I don’t know; I just felt like it.”

Tae-san approached Eun-cho with a faint smile.

The elegant curve from her nape to her shoulder and her smooth skin caught his eye.

The line tracing running down her straight spine was serenely beautiful.

In an awkward position, unable to put on or take off the dress, Eun-cho shot him a displeased look.

With a soft click, the last remaining button came undone, and his fingertips brushed against her smooth skin.

“Huh? What happened to your lip?”

Eun-cho discovered his split lip and opened her eyes wide in surprise.

Afraid the dress might slip, she held it with one hand while caressing Tae-san’s wound with the other.

“Why don’t you kiss it better?”

Seeing her scrunch her eyes as if she’d heard something outrageous moved his heart.

Smooch.

Tae-san lightly kissed Eun-cho’s cheek.

“Oh my! You must be crazy.”

What’s the big deal about a peck on the cheek?

Eun-cho’s cheeks flushed bright red.

He didn’t forget to keep an eye on the inner door where employees were coming and going to fetch the new dress.

“Because you’re beautiful.”

At his final words, her movements froze.

She was beautiful. My bride.

So beautiful that he couldn’t resist kissing her.