When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 13

Han Wool coughs into his fist to hide his laugh.

I quickly press my lips together.

“Work hard?” Grandmother echoes,
shaking her head. “That’s like saying you breathe air. Everyone works hard, child.”

Harin flushes.

Han Wool finally steps in, his voice calm. “Grandmother, I don’t think—”

“I know,” Grandmother cuts him off. “You don’t think. That’s why I’m here.”

Han Wool groans.

His mother sighs. “Mother, please, this isn’t necessary—”

“It is necessary,” Grandmother says, looking at Harin again. “This girl is meant to stand beside my grandson, and yet she can barely answer simple questions about herself.”

Harin grips her dress tightly, clearly embarrassed.

I shift uncomfortably.

I should not be enjoying this.

But… okay, maybe I am. Just a little.

Grandmother sighs, as if deeply disappointed. “I expected more.”

I should not be enjoying this.

But… okay, maybe I am. Just a little.

Grandmother sighs, as if deeply disappointed. “I expected more.”

Harin clenches her fists, visibly flustered, but before she can recover, Grandmother speaks again.

“Do you cook?” she asks.

Harin blinks, thrown off. “W-what?”

“I asked if you cook.”

Harin’s mouth opens, then closes. “I—uh—well, we have a chef at home, so…”

Grandmother’s lips purse. “So, that’s a no.”

Harin shifts uncomfortably. “I mean, I could cook if I needed to—”

Grandmother raises an eyebrow. “Could you?”

“I—”

“I see.”

Silence.

Han Wool coughs into his fist, clearly uncomfortable. His mother presses her lips together, looking like she wishes she could vanish from this room.

I cross my arms, trying really hard to keep a neutral expression.

Grandmother tilts her head. “What about household management? Grocery shopping? Finances?”

Harin looks like she might throw up. “I—”

“You expect your husband to take care of that as well?” Grandmother asks.

I exhale through my nose. Okay. That’s enough.

I shift forward in my seat, tilting my head. “Why can’t he?”

Silence.

Grandmother turns to me, eyebrows raised. “Excuse me?”

I cross my arms. “Why can’t Han Wool take care of the household?”

Han Wool, who had been slouching in his seat trying to disappear, suddenly straightens. “Wait, what?”

I ignore him. “If Harin is working hard—whether it’s in her father’s company or somewhere else—why does the household automatically become her responsibility? Isn’t marriage about sharing responsibilities?”