He hadn't even taken off his jacket when the questions started flying like darts at a board.
Temu blinked as an older man — maybe an uncle? — leaned across the glass table with curious eyes.
Uncle No.3 leaned forward with narrowed eyes.
"So, Temu-ssi, were you ever married before?"
"Are you gay?" Aunt No.1 asked, like she was asking if he liked sweet potatoes.
"How often do you have sex?"
Cha-yeon coughed.
Temu coughed lightly into his fist.
Stay calm. They're just… curious. Don't be rude. Just smile.
He gave a polite nod and answered simply, quietly, like someone who'd been trained for royal dinners.
"No, I've never been married."
"No, I'm straight."
"That's a bit private, don't you think?"
He could feel Cha-yeon fidgeting beside him, her hand twitching like she wanted to disappear into the wall.
But the questions didn't stop.
"Is it true you're a vampire?"
"Share some of your business with us, hmm?"
"We're family. You owe us respect."
"The rich should always give back to people like us."
"Your face… it's from surgery, right? It's too perfect otherwise."
Temu inhaled slowly.
This is not an interview. It's a test. No — it's an ambush. But… I can survive this. I've survived worse.
He adjusted his posture and kept his voice calm.
"I sleep during the day sometimes, but I promise, I'm no vampire."
"Business is my inheritance from my grandfather . But I'll always support family."
"I respect everyone here. And I'm happy to be part of this family."
That earned a few laughs.
But before he could catch a break, someone leaned too far on the glass coffee table.
CRACK.
Time slowed.
The table shattered like ice beneath a dancer's heel. Cups rolled, plates jumped, sugar cubes flew.
Temu stood up instinctively, brushing glass off his trousers. His heart thudded once, heavily.
He turned to Cha-yeon. Their eyes met for a second — hers wide, embarrassed, pleading.
Temu's Inner Voice:
"This is her family. Don't make it worse. Smile."
So he did.
Even as someone accused the sofa of being "too soft to be real leather," Temu smiled like it was all perfectly normal.
...
Night
My wife's whole family is lying on the floor of the hotel room, which has already been cleaned. And this is a hotel. I offered to take other rooms at the hotel at my own expense, to which I received the answer "save this money for the future of my children".
I went to the balcony to get some fresh air. Cha-yeon is standing there.
Cha-yeon:
"Am I sorry..?"
Apparently she said that to see if I was angry.
Temu:
"I am not angry... Rather, he's shocked that your family doesn't like being helped."
Cha-yeon:
"are you talking about their refusal to buy them hotel rooms? They just know how much they cost."
The balcony stretched wide and bare beneath the heavy sky, the stars trembling like shy confessions. The city below was hushed — just distant murmurs of traffic and wind brushing the rails like whispers.
Three meters of space stood between them. Neither crossed it.
They had just finished laying down spare sheets across the floor of the hotel suite — one labeled "Uncle Baek-chul," another "Yeon-hee & Co." The chaos of unexpected family visitors lingered like static in the air.
But now there was only silence.
Cha-yeon stood with her arms wrapped around herself, face tilted toward the constellations like she was looking for answers. Temu had his hands in his pockets, leaning slightly on the railing. The wind slid between them, carrying her faint shiver across the space.
Then—without a word—Temu slipped off his blazer and gently draped it over her shoulders.
For a second, the gesture hung in the air, weightless and warm.
But then—
Cha-yeon:
"You'll freeze."
Temu:
"I'm fine."
Cha-yeon:
"No, really. I'm not that cold."
She started to slip the blazer off.
Temu:
"Keep it."
Cha-yeon:
"Take it."
Temu:
"I insist."
Cha-yeon:
"You'll get sick and I don't want to take care of you."
Temu:
"I already took care of you—"
Cha-yeon:
"—By throwing your jacket at me?"
Temu:
"You looked like you were going to sneeze."
Cha-yeon:
"I have allergies!"
Icy:
"Romance dissolved faster than should have. Perfect."
Temu:
"What?"
Icy:
"oh, I think I said that out loud."