Chapter 301: Sudden Proposal

I got out of the car as we arrived at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong.

“Leave the engine running, just in case. We might need to make a quick getaway,” I said.

Leaving my bewildered attendants behind, who clearly didn’t understand, I hurried up the courthouse steps.

Despite having been here a few times, it still felt unfamiliar. The glances from passersby made me uneasy, but today I didn’t have the luxury to care.

I found the right office on the 7th floor and opened the door.

“Oh, you’re here? Long time no see.”

The man who jumped up from his seat the moment he saw me greeted me with a bright smile.

“Sir, is Judge Seo in her office?”

“Oh dear, didn’t you make an appointment? She’s in the middle of a trial…”

“Which courtroom?”

“Courtroom 425.”

“A single judge case, then.”

“Yes. Hold on… it looks like it might be ending soon…”

“Understood. Thanks for your help.”

I went back downstairs. I quietly opened the door to Courtroom 425, and my eyes met hers at the judge’s seat.

I gave her a quick smile and sat down in the back of the public gallery. I didn’t have time to watch the trial. I raised my hand and made a throat-slitting gesture a few times, and she frowned.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so glad she was a judge.

At least within the confines of Courtroom 425, she was the chairman, the CEO. She held the most power.

A few minutes later, she glanced at her watch.

“We’ll take a one-hour recess. Testimony will resume in the afternoon.”

Ignoring the bewildered prosecutor and lawyer, she quickly got up, and I left the gallery.

“What’s going on? Why are you here without calling?”

She sounded a little annoyed as we met in the hallway. It meant she was either hungry, frustrated with how the trial was going, or annoyed with me.

“Did you have lunch?”

“No.”

“Let’s eat. My treat.”

“Didn’t you hear? We only have an hour. Let’s grab something quick.”

“What’s something quick?”

“Don’t you know? We’re going to that Gomtang place down the street.”

Without giving me a chance to respond, she took off her judicial robe, slung it over her arm, and strode ahead.

Damn it, should I just leave?

Doesn’t she realize how I feel or why I rushed here?

Then again, there’s something I always say, so I guess I can’t blame her.

“Say it. How will I know if you don’t say it? Feelings are mute.”

That’s what I always told her whenever she looked disappointed.

As we entered the restaurant, the gazes of the other diners turned towards us, and whispers began.

We ignored it and ordered two bowls of Gomtang.

“What’s wrong today? You don’t look so good…”

“What do you mean how I look?”

Just as she was about to say something, the steaming Gomtang arrived.

She started mixing a bowl of rice into her soup after I cut up some Kkakdugi and Kimchi and placed them on a plate.

Maybe because it was well past lunchtime, she moved her spoon quickly.

I quietly watched her eat for a moment before speaking slowly.

“Let’s get married.”

“Ptooey!”

I quickly grabbed a napkin and handed it to her as she spat out the rice from her mouth.

Seo Min-young didn’t even look up as she dabbed at her mouth a few times, then aimlessly stirred her Gomtang with her spoon.

“Don’t you want to? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Hold on. I’m looking for it.”

“Looking for what?”

“The ring. If there’s no ring in this Gomtang, you’re dead.”

Oops. Big trouble.

She finally looked up and started glaring at me.

“How many people entering divorce court after fighting like cats and dogs do you think got proposed to in a Gomtang restaurant without even a ring?”

Her voice was calm, but her eyes were blazing.

“Not a single one. Even those couples started out on a flowery path. Does this situation even make sense?”

I couldn’t give her an excuse to bring this up for the rest of our lives. I had to get through this smoothly.

“Someone just offered me an incredibly expensive diamond ring and tried to seduce me, but I turned it down. And I don’t regret it.”

Her eyes wavered.

“How much was it worth?”

“A billion.”

The fire in her eyes subsided.

“If you’re lying to cover up, I’ll have you arrested in court.”

“There’s a witness. Someone who can testify that I’m telling the truth.”

“Who?”

“Assistant Manager Kim Yoon-suk.”

“He’s practically your right-hand man. His testimony lacks credibility.”

“I have evidence too, but it’s from a borrowed-name account with slush funds, so I can’t submit it. What should I do?”

“Everyone in this restaurant is a judge or prosecutor. Shut your mouth.”

Her voice dropped, and her expression changed to one I’d never seen before. She looked unusually serious.

“What is marriage to you? Just another step you have to take? One of your many tasks? Or… is it the same as what most people think?”

I had to come up with a good strategy and answer carefully. My honest thoughts could be a good answer, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Even if she knew my answer wasn’t entirely sincere, it didn’t matter. What was needed now was romance.

“Min-young.”

“What?”

“Dating is the process of turning a ‘woman’ in the third person into a ‘you’ in the second person, and marriage is a promise from me, that second-person ‘you’, to exist as ‘your’ one and only second person. That’s what marriage means to me.”

I saw the joy spreading across her face.

That was a top-tier answer.

Seo Min-young jumped up.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“If you say another word, the proposal is off.”

I mimed zipping my lips shut.

Outside the restaurant, she hailed a taxi.

“To the Seocho District Office, please.”

The district office? Really?

I nudged her arm and blinked, getting permission to speak.

“Say it.”

“Are you sure we can just rush this through like this?”

“You always said, if you hesitate when something is right in front of you, you’ll miss it. Quick judgment, decisive action, and swift execution. Those three are inseparable, right?”

She leaned her head on my shoulder with a soft smile.

I held her hand tightly until we arrived at the district office.

We filled out the marriage registration form at the district office.

We filled in most of the blanks, but some were difficult.

“We need to write down the witnesses’ information.”

Seo Min-young pouted, and I took out my smartphone. A reply came as soon as I sent a text.

“Write this down.”

“Who is it?”

“My attendants waiting for me at the courthouse.”

“Good.”

We quickly filled in the blanks and submitted the paperwork. A district office employee who recognized me stared with his mouth agape.

“Do you need anything else?”

Seo Min-young asked, her eyes sharp, making the employee stammer.

“Ah, no. It’s been accepted. It’ll take about three days to process.”

“Okay. Thank you for your help. Please make sure it’s not missed.”

She made sure to emphasize her request, and we returned to the courthouse.

As soon as she got out of the taxi, she transformed back into the Judge Seo Min-young I knew.

She checked the time and started making a fuss.

“Oh my gosh, I’m going to be late for court. I have to go.”

“Hey! We just got married, and you’re going to work?”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Married? When did we get married? We only registered the marriage. The order is just different! If you try to gloss over this, you’re dead.”

She showed me her clenched fist before hurrying into the courthouse.

I shouted after her, “Finish work early and come home! Got it?”

She didn’t turn back, just waved her hand dismissively.

I had just married that kind of woman.

Someone who had always been by my side, the only person outside my family who had never asked anything of me.

It felt so natural, as if nothing had changed despite being married.

A smile crept onto my face.

As I got into the waiting car, the two attendants in the rearview mirror were looking at me with eyes full of curiosity, wondering what had happened.

Finally, unable to contain themselves, they cautiously asked.

“Um, Chief of Staff, why do you need our personal information…?”

“Oh, I needed witnesses. It’s nothing serious, don’t worry.”

“Witnesses?”

Their eyes widened.

“Yes. Turns out you need two witnesses to register a marriage.”

“Ma-Marriage registration…?”

“That’s how it is. I guess we just got married. Haha.”

The two men seemed too shocked to speak.

They just stared at each other, blinking.

“Alright, alright, let’s go.”

“Ah, yes.”

The driver, who was behind the wheel, answered, but the car still didn’t move.

Unable to hold back any longer, the driver turned around, his voice full of concern.

“But, Chief of Staff, why would you do something like this?”

This friend was married. His eyes were full of pity.

I was starting to get scared.

Wait, did she say it would take three days to process?

* * *

As Seo Min-young left the courtroom after finishing her trial, the lawyer who had been waiting blocked her path.

“Judge Seo, what’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

“Oh, Sunbae-nim.”

“You were just sitting there spacing out, weren’t you? It looked like you weren’t listening to a word we said.”

“I heard everything. I reviewed the documents perfectly, too. You don’t trust me, Sunbae-nim?”

Even between close seniors and juniors, they were still a judge and a lawyer. The moment a judge felt offended, the trial could strangely turn unfavorable.

“Oh no, how could I not trust you? Judge Seo, your trials are known for being incredibly fair. This lowly lawyer was just being overly dramatic. Hehe.”

The lawyer chuckled nervously, and Seo Min-young gave a small smile.

“Actually, I was thinking about something else. Please understand, Sunbae-nim. I’m a bit anxious about whether my marriage registration will be processed correctly.”

“Marriage registration? Why would a judge worry about something like that?”

“Because it’s my marriage registration. Should I casually call the district head? I wonder if they can do it in a day?”

The senior lawyer, who still didn’t understand what was going on, was already out of Seo Min-young’s mind. She left the dazed lawyer behind and headed to the chief judge’s office.

“Chief Judge.”

“Ah, Judge Seo.”

Even for a chief judge, a judge with Seo Min-young’s pedigree was a lot to handle.

Just gathering her family members would be enough to form a small court. Among them were people who controlled his personnel appointments.

The chief judge swallowed hard as Judge Seo Min-young appeared with a completely serious face.

He quickly racked his brain, trying to recall if there had been any external pressure or powerful defendants in the trials she was overseeing, but he couldn’t remember any.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Chief Judge, if I were to call the district head and ask them to expedite one of my civil service documents, would that be considered a violation of the public official’s code of ethics?”

“A civil service document? Which one?”

“My marriage registration.”

“Marriage? Ah, surely that’s… wouldn’t it be unreasonable to call that a solicitation? The affectionate desire of a couple wanting to receive legal recognition quickly? Something like that. It’s not illegal, and it’s not like you’re offering a bribe to get it done faster.”

The chief judge was relieved that it wasn’t anything serious, but her meticulousness in checking even this made him even more uneasy.

“Who is it? A friend? Or a colleague?”

“No. It’s me, which makes me even more hesitant.”

The chief judge dropped the glasses he was holding.

“Ju-Judge Seo… what? Marriage? When did you get married? No, wait, what’s going on here…?”

“Oh, it just happened. We just took care of it suddenly today.”

“A-Are you saying you had a secret wedding?”

“No. We registered the marriage first. And of course, I’ll be taking my wedding leave.”

Seo Min-young bowed politely to the still-dumbfounded chief judge.

“I think I should make a call. I’m too worried about it to focus on work.”

After she left, the chief judge, who had been in a daze for a while, realized this was no time to be idle.

He quickly picked up the receiver.

“Get me the Chief Judge of the High Court, quickly…! Hey! Where else? The Seoul High Court!”

The chief judge wanted to be the first to inform the highest-ranking relative of the bride still in office.