II - 27

The family stood lined up at the entrance to greet the newlyweds. 

I-ryeong found this situation unbearably uncomfortable. She hadn’t intended to bring him home, especially not with such a formal greeting. 

“Welcome. Please come in, despite the humble setting.” 

I-ryeong’s father, Gun-tae, greeted his son-in-law first. 

“Humble? Please don’t say that.” 

“Come in quickly. Did you have a good trip, I-ryeong?” 

He awkwardly greeted his daughter and stepped inside, followed by her stepmother and younger brother. 

I-ryeong felt frozen. It was the first time she had experienced her father’s warm hospitality, and it felt strange—she couldn’t adjust. 

“Are you okay?” 

I-jun gently nudged the darkened expression on I-ryeong’s face. 

“Huh? What did you say to me?” 

“I asked if you’re alright.” 

To him, she looked like someone who had lost their soul. 

“Should I carry you inside?” 

He teased her lightly while observing her expression. 

“I was just lost in thought for a moment. Let’s go inside.” 

As the couple took off their shoes and entered the living room, the family stood in a straight line. 

Each of them wore tense expressions, making I-jun take note of the household atmosphere once again. This didn’t seem like a normal family dynamic. 

“Must’ve been tiring coming all the way here.” 

“No, not at all.” 

Among them, I-ryeong’s stepmother, Ji-hyun, seemed the most nervous. Even considering it was a remarriage household, this level of awkwardness felt unusual. 

“I prepared some food. I hope it suits your taste.” 

In the center of the living room, the table was filled with dishes Ji-hyun had personally prepared. 

“Please speak freely, Mother.” 

I-jun bowed slightly to Ji-hyun, expressing his gratitude. To ease the tension, he smiled warmly as he lifted his head. 

“I’ll try to relax as we go along.” 

An awkward silence settled over the living room. 

Unable to bear it any longer, Gun-tae urged everyone to start eating and took his seat first. The others followed, gathering around the table to begin the meal. 

“Jung-min, did you change your room?” 

I-ryeong spoke to her younger brother seated beside her. 

Her actions, which seemed to care for her brother despite her distant relationship with her parents, caught I-jun’s attention. 

“No, not yet.” 

“When I got married, I told you to change it. You should do it tomorrow, alright?” 

Instead of answering, Jung-min simply smiled. 

While eating, I-jun kept glancing at the two of them out of the corner of his eye. He grew curious about how they resembled each other in some ways but also seemed completely different. 

Why did Jung-min, who was brought into the family by the stepmother, resemble her so much? Their kind eyes and lips looked strikingly similar, causing I-jun to slow down his chewing as he pondered. 

After dinner, her parents left for work-related reasons, and her brother headed to the library, leaving the house empty. 

Only the couple remained in the now-awkwardly silent home. 

“Is this your room?” 

I-jun scanned the room with interest, even though there wasn’t much to see. 

“It’s the room I used from the time I can remember until a few days ago.” 

“Then what was that earlier conversation about changing rooms?” 

“Jung-min uses the storage room as his bedroom. Since it’s going to be empty anyway, I told him to switch while we were on our honeymoon, but he didn’t listen.” 

I-jun nodded, finally understanding. 

“Did you oppose bringing in your stepmother’s son?” 

Casually, he glanced at a photo frame placed on the desk and asked without much thought. 

“Did I look like I opposed it to you, I-jun?” 

“I’m not asking with any ulterior motive. If I was rude, I apologize.” 

I-ryeong stared at him as she sat on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the blanket. 

The unfamiliar texture of the blanket felt soft—it was clear her stepmother had put in effort. 

“I did oppose it. Short of wielding a knife, I fought tooth and nail against it.” 

She hated how her father, who had turned away even his own child, doted on someone else’s child. 

“I absolutely didn’t want Jung-min in this house. Back then, I was terrible. I told him that since he wasn’t my real brother, he shouldn’t set foot in this house even once.”

So she had trampled on her youngest and most vulnerable sibling. 

As her thoughts grew complicated, a headache began to creep up on her once again. 

I-ryeong rose from the bed and snatched the photo frame he had been staring at—the one containing pictures from her childhood—and stuffed it into a box in the corner of the room. It was a box destined for storage. 

“That’s what I wanted to do back then.” 

“It’s understandable. You were young after all.” 

His low voice filled the small room, as if gently soothing an old wound in her heart. The sensation made her feel strangely unsettled. 

“Young? I was the same age as Jung-min is now.” 

“Nineteen is still young. You were a minor.” 

I-ryeong touched her burning earlobe and avoided his gaze. 

“Well, by my standards, you’re still young even now.” 

He chuckled softly, clearly amused. 

“Stop blaming yourself. You’re adorable, I-ryeong.” 

He playfully tapped her flushed cheek with his fingertip. 

At his soft touch, her face heated up instantly. 

“...Adorable? At my age?” 

“Do you not look in the mirror? How can you not know how cute and pretty you are?” 

Though she knew it was just teasing, her heart reacted anyway. 

The dizzying emotions she had been holding back crumbled, and her lips softened involuntarily. 

“Don’t joke around like that.” 

“But you’re pouting right now. You’re so cute whenever you do that.” 

Without hesitation, he traced her lips with his fingertip. 

“…!” 

I-ryeong froze, unconsciously parting her lips as she held her breath. 

“You make me want to keep teasing you.” 

He handled her lips as if they were a precious treasure, carefully caressing them. 

I-ryeong found herself helplessly crumbling under his gaze, his eyes crinkled with amusement. 

She hated him, yet she couldn’t deny how much she liked him. 

“You’re incredibly honest.” 

His amused laughter tickled her ears. 

Her body grew hotter by the second. She feared she might fall for him all over again. 

“All your feelings show so clearly on your face and in your eyes…” 

His hand, which had been brushing her eyelids, moved down to cup her chin and then slid to the nape of her neck. His touch, heated with desire, burned against her skin. 

I-ryeong’s legs gave out beneath her; she could barely stand anymore. 

“Your face turns completely red. I can see how much you crave me.” 

“Stop joking around.” 

“What do you mean, joking? I’m always sincere.” 

I-jun shrugged as if to express regret, then brushed past her to perch casually on the edge of the bed. 

Left standing awkwardly alone, I-ryeong closed her eyes and tried to shake off the unbearable heat clinging to her body. 

“Hoo...” 

She pursed her lips into a small circle and exhaled quietly. 

She released several heated breaths, careful not to let him hear, but her racing heart refused to calm. 

Unable to keep standing any longer, she finally sank onto the desk chair. 

“I-jun, you sleep on the bed.” 

She decided to put him to bed first. 

“And what about you?” 

“I can’t sleep because of the jet lag.” 

“Are you really not sleepy?” 

I-jun’s expression darkened in an instant. 

“You only slept briefly on the plane, didn’t you?” 

“T-That’s…” 

When had he noticed? She had thought he paid no attention to her at all. 

“I’ll sleep later. Not now. So you go ahead and rest first. You must be tired.” 

“Are you sure you’re not sleepy? Can you take responsibility for those words?” 

As if the darkness had never been there, a playful smile spread across his face. 

“I said it before, didn’t I? You’re honest.”

“What does honesty have to do with sleep?” 

I-ryeong stared blankly at him as he took off his jacket and slipped under the blanket. 

“I’m tired, just like you said. Don’t make me say it twice.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

At that moment, she couldn’t understand the cryptic things he was saying. 

“My arm is getting tired, so hurry up and come here.” 

I-jun extended his arm, lifting the blanket as if inviting her in. 

They had slept in separate rooms even in Greece. Why was he acting differently now at her parents’ house? It was hard to comprehend. 

I-ryeong gazed at him, scraping the inside of her cheek with the tip of her tongue. 

“I-jun, I…” 

“Come closer and talk to me.” 

She barely managed to speak, but even that was drowned out by him. 

“If you have something to say, say it here. I’m ready to listen all night.” 

She concluded there must be a reason for his sudden change in behavior. 

“It’s going to be cramped.” 

Reluctantly, I-ryeong gave in and nestled into his arms. 

“You’re right, a small bed isn’t so bad. Maybe we should’ve bought a smaller bed for the guesthouse too.” 

“You know that’s nonsense, right?” 

The moment she lay down on the pillow, he pulled her close, as if he’d been waiting for it. 

Unable to face him, I-ryeong turned away, exposing her back to him. As a result, the rhythmic thumping of his chest against her back reverberated through her. 

The slightly rapid heartbeat made her feel strange. 

For instance, her lips trembled faintly, or her eyelashes fluttered uncontrollably. 

While holding onto those peculiar sensations, she quietly listened to the sound of his heartbeat when— 

“I have something I want to ask you.” 

I-ryeong nodded, signaling that he could go ahead. 

“About Mother and Jung-min… Earlier, during dinner…” 

His serious tone made her heart race. What kind of question could it be? 

She couldn’t guess what had made him so earnest. 

“No, forget I said anything.” 

Frustrated by his unfinished question, she felt suffocated. Was it because of her father’s remarriage? Or had he noticed her neglect of Jung-min and found it uncomfortable? 

With no clear idea, she could only stay silent. 

“For now, let’s just stay like this.” 

I-jun took a deep breath and swallowed it silently. 

In truth, there were many things he wanted to ask her. 

He wanted to pry open her Pandora’s box, uncovering the dark secrets tangled in her strained family relationships. 

But now wasn’t the time. 

If he revealed that he already knew one of her secrets, there was no telling what kind of storm might follow. So, for now, he chose silence. 

“Tomorrow will be busy.” 

I-jun’s voice grew fainter. 

“We need to file the marriage registration, just as we promised in Greece.” 

His words were heavy with sleep. 

“And we need to get you a new ring—one that suits your taste…” 

The fact that he hadn’t forgotten what he’d said ten days ago stirred something warm within her.