II - 32

I-ryeong wanted to say it wasn’t that, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak as his expression grew fiercer, almost as if he were angry. 

We’re different from other couples. Even though she didn’t want to overthink it, the fact that they were a contract-based couple out of necessity made her thoughts spiral. 

“Chae I-ryeong.” 

I-jun pressed her again, his voice sharp. He hadn’t meant to sound so impatient, but his anxiety bubbled over uncontrollably. 

Her hesitating lips seemed to speak for her, conveying her indecision. Despite telling himself there was no reason to be anxious, his heart burned like an active volcano. 

Just as he began to worry whether she might refuse, the memory of Team Leader Han Yu-seong greeting her at the gate flashed in his mind. 

Though their builds were different, he recalled how much Han resembled her ex-lover. 

Damn it. He should’ve been more attentive, but he had overlooked this detail. 

“After returning to Korea, does registering our marriage feel… wrong?” 

The thought that seeing Han might have changed her feelings slipped out raw and unfiltered. 

“If you regret it, tell me now.” 

He boldly asked for her decision, but his anxiety didn’t fade. Instead, a tense pressure built up in his thighs, making them ache. 

I shouldn’t have suggested having sex earlier—regret washed over him in waves. 

“Are you okay with this, I-jun?” 

I-ryeong finally spoke, her tone casual, as if nothing were amiss. 

“We held a ceremony in front of so many people, so we’re seen as a married couple by others who don’t know our situation.” 

She hadn’t fully sorted through her thoughts, but sensing his voice growing strained the longer she delayed, she hurriedly gave her response. 

“It’s not like we desperately wanted to become a married couple.” 

She lowered her voice as much as possible, trying to sound neutral and avoid sounding petulant. 

“Registering our marriage legally makes us official spouses.” 

She firmly reminded herself that divorce would be the only way to end things if they went through with it. 

“If you regret it even a little, just tell me the truth.” 

He wanted to assure her that any answer would be fine, but fear stopped him from saying it. He honestly didn’t know how he’d react to her response. 

At that moment, I-jun pushed the blanket aside and got out of bed. 

Seeing him rise naked left I-ryeong speechless. 

“Are you expecting me to wash you?” 

His attempt at humor lightened the heavy atmosphere. 

She caught the shift in mood, but while fidgeting with the blanket covering her body, she cautiously gauged his intentions. Did this mean they were close enough for her to bare herself without hesitation? 

Caught up in another pointless train of thought, I-ryeong rolled her eyes in frustration. 

“Let’s get ready and go.” 

I-jun leaned down, bringing his face closer to hers. 

The familiar yet strange scent brushing against her nose made I-ryeong blush—it lingered from their intimate encounter. 

“As long as you’re okay with it, I think we need to register our marriage.” 

“…Alright. Let’s go.” 

Without realizing it, I-ryeong turned her head away from his gaze as she responded. 

Why did she recognize that scent as if she were obsessed with sex? She felt ashamed of herself for being so attuned to such sensations, making it hard to look him in the eye. 

“Once you say something, you have to keep your promise. Both me and you.” 

I-jun cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. Her reluctant, half-hearted attitude unsettled him. 

At that precise moment, the image of her staring intently at Team Leader Han overlapped in his mind, fueling his irritation. 

Her genuine smile when looking at Han felt starkly different from how she acted around him. 

“You can’t back out of registering our marriage.” 

“I know. So let go of me.” 

It seemed he had misinterpreted her words. His sudden change in tone and forceful actions hinted at that. 

“Don’t regret this later, either.” 

I-ryeong lightly brushed his hand away. 

She was grateful for how he had taken her side that morning. 

She appreciated that he kept his promise to always support her when they were together. 

But moments like these reminded her just how different their reasons for marriage were from others, leaving her feeling hollow. 

She hated how these situations chilled her heart and blanked her mind completely.

---

The couple arrived at the district office accompanied by their chauffeur-driven car and secretary. 

The late afternoon district office was bustling with last-minute visitors, but fortunately, the marriage registration counter was quiet, allowing them to fill out the documents without waiting. 

“We’re really becoming a married couple.” 

“Yeah.” 

I-ryeong began filling out the paperwork first. 

“Are you nervous about officially becoming a married couple?” 

“Why do you keep confusing me with these questions?” 

But after filling in just a few blanks, she looked up. She was already preoccupied with transferring information from her family certificate. 

“So you’re not nervous?” 

I-jun stared at her, genuinely curious. 

“Of course I am. We’re becoming each other’s legal guardians. Aren’t you nervous too, I-jun?” 

“Me? Well…” 

He had expected her to ask him questions, not the other way around. 

I-jun placed his hand over his chest, feeling his heart pounding. Despite the obvious tremor, he clamped his lips shut. 

Suddenly, memories of a senior from a university alumni gathering crossed his mind, leaving him unsettled. Was this truly the right path? He found himself questioning everything, especially now that they were on the verge of registering their marriage. 

“Damn it.” 

I-jun muttered an expletive under his breath. 

Startled, I-ryeong dropped the pen she was holding. “Damn it”? She thought she must have misheard and doubted her ears for a moment. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Seeing him apologize confirmed that she hadn’t misheard. So who was the curse directed at? 

She looked at him with suspicion brimming in her eyes. 

“It wasn’t directed at you.” 

“Then who?” 

I-jun bent down to pick up the pen. 

“I don’t know why I said it. Here.” 

“Why did you say it?” 

I-ryeong simply stared at the pen he offered, refusing to take it. 

His indifferent expression and tone almost made her overlook it, but there had to be a reason behind the curse. 

“Something came up.” 

“What do you mean, ‘something’? What could possibly make you curse like that?” 

He was the one who had rushed the marriage registration. But now, as they were about to proceed, was he regretting it? Or was the intimacy they shared earlier meaningless? I-ryeong was utterly confused. 

“I need to know.” 

I-ryeong had no intention of taking the pen until she got an answer. They could always tear up the half-filled document if needed. 

“Let’s not overthink this.” 

“Stop complicating things yourself and tell me why you cursed.” 

I-ryeong’s gaze grew serious. 

The more he hid, the greater her unease grew. To mask her anxiety, she tried to appear composed. 

“It was directed at myself. Sorry, it was my mistake.” 

“…Don’t lie. Do you think I’ll believe you?” 

I-ryeong stared directly into his eyes, signaling that she wouldn’t back down. 

“It really was my mistake. I’m sorry.” 

He looked apologetic, his gaze dropping helplessly as he cautiously observed her reaction. 

Could it really be true? A growing sense of unease told her she might frequently face situations like this during their marriage. 

“See? You don’t trust me. That’s why I wanted to let it go.” 

“I-jun, I… I…” 

How could seeking the truth feel so regrettable? Disappointed by his apparent refusal to reveal the facts, I-ryeong finally closed her lips. 

I-jun felt a sharp pang in his chest at her resigned expression. Yet again, he swallowed the truth he couldn’t bring himself to reveal, forcing it down his throat. 

“Do you really want to hear the truth?” 

His voice cracked harshly, strained from suppressing the truth. 

He leaned closer to her, pressing his body against hers. 

“Don’t regret this.” 

Whispering softly into her ear so no one else could hear, he murmured, “Don’t ever regret us.”

I-ryeong flinched at the damp warmth of his breath and the sticky sensation of saliva mixing with her skin. A throbbing sensation below her navel made her instinctively press her lower abdomen with her hand.

“It was directed at me, alright? I got excited.”

His rough voice made her shoulders twitch involuntarily.

“How can I help it when your focused gaze on the paperwork and the rustling sound of the pen are turning me on?”

The man even laughed as if this were a fact.

I-ryeong was well aware of his intention to divert her attention.

“To lust after you even here at the district office—what else could this be but acting like a damn dog?”

His heated lips and soft tongue deliberately brushed against her burning earlobe, sending shivers down her skin. The sensation felt almost like a caress.

In that moment, I-ryeong’s mind went blank, and she raised her arm to press firmly on her rapidly rising chest. Overwhelmed by arousal, she held her breath and tightened her stomach muscles.

Her body, so well-trained and accustomed to him, craved him desperately, as if consumed by desire.

She bit her lip, trying to suppress the impure trembling by swallowing dryly several times.

“…Are you insane?”

Finally, she managed to utter a single phrase.

Her face was completely flushed red as she glared at him.

“Going crazy for my wife—isn’t that a good thing? For both me and you.”

“W-What did you say?”

Her eyes widened in shock.

She had been caught succumbing to him despite not having fully erased her suspicions.

If only her face hadn’t turned so red—it might have been some consolation. Feeling as though her inner thoughts had been exposed, I-ryeong couldn’t help but gnaw on her lips.

“Don’t forget that even that little action of biting your lip is stimulating to me.”

Biting her lip was considered stimulation?

With an expression tinged with dismay, I-ryeong stared at him intently.

“That’s why I told you not to overthink things. Did you take my warning lightly?”

“…”

Just as an ominous feeling of being toyed with began to creep over her—

Chu. His lips touched hers again.

She never expected him to be so bold in such an open place with so many eyes around, and as a result, I-ryeong froze completely.