II - 36

The breath she had been forcing down finally burst out uncontrollably.  

“…Haa. Oh!”  

Startled, I-ryeong let out a sigh without meaning to.  

“Is the bed uncomfortable?”  

She shook her head vigorously at his question, both hands clamped tightly over her lips.  

The sigh was an unintended mistake. She had wanted to quietly slip away into sleep as if she weren’t even there.  

“If it’s uncomfortable, should we change the blanket? Or I can adjust the humidity and temperature. Just say the word.”  

I-jun’s kindness felt unwelcome at the moment.  

Everything he mentioned required the help of Mrs. Choi, who managed the annex.  

Eventually, she opened her eyes, reached for her phone, and checked the time—it was just past midnight.  

She began to regret her stubbornness. Maybe she should have stayed at the hotel like he suggested. Her unease grew heavier.  

I-ryeong started searching for a way to reassure him—something that wouldn’t draw more attention to herself or require calling Mrs. Choi.  

Turning over to face him, she squinted against the brightness of the bedside lamp he had left on, then relaxed her eyes.  

I-jun came into clear view. His drooping eyelids made him look genuinely worried.  

But since he rarely revealed his true feelings, she didn’t want to jump to conclusions.  

“Do you want some warm water?”  

His low, soothing voice caressed her as he stroked her hair. Once again, she found herself helplessly drawn to him.  

He was definitely worried about her. The way he looked at her so attentively screamed sincerity, and her heart pounded loudly in response.  

I-ryeong pressed her flushed cheeks with her hands, trying hard to calm herself.  

Closing her mouth, she took a deep breath, filling her chest. The ringing in her ears seemed to fade with the flow of air.  

“I guess I’m just not used to it yet.”  

But the trembling she had tried so hard to hide spilled out anyway. With him looking at her so intently, she couldn’t calm down easily.  

Placing her hand over her rapidly beating heart, she pressed down firmly. Her emotions toward him seemed to pulse through her small palm.  

Feeling her irregular heartbeat, she thought it oddly mirrored her own restless state.  

Every time she saw him, her heart raced like she was on a rollercoaster—sweet and bitter sensations colliding all at once.  

“…”  

I-ryeong tried to organize her uncontrollable emotions as she held him in her eyes and heart. She swallowed the baseless meanings she kept attaching to his smallest, most trivial actions.  

“It’s nothing you need to worry about.”  

She tried to brush off his concern, hoping to divert his attention. If only she could avoid his piercing gaze, maybe this maddeningly racing heart would settle down.  

“If I close my eyes and force myself to relax, I’ll fall asleep eventually. So you don’t need to—”  

She was about to tell him not to worry when—  

“What exactly are you not used to? The house? Or the bed? Just tell me.”  

He asked earnestly, as if ready to do anything to make her comfortable.  

What answer could satisfy him? I-ryeong searched for an answer in his deep eyes.  

The annex—and the bedroom—felt more uncomfortable than expected, as it wasn’t yet a true sanctuary.  

And tonight carried symbolic weight: it was her first real night in Dogok-dong. That added to the heaviness in her heart.  

But she didn’t reveal all of it. She feared what expectations he might harbor if she shared her thoughts.  

“It’s just… I feel tense. It’s strange to think, ‘I’m really married now,’ and ‘This is my home.’ I’m not used to that feeling yet.”  

She smiled awkwardly as she spoke, hoping he wouldn’t hear the wild pounding of her heart. Calmly explaining her feelings, this seemed like an answer that would satisfy both him and herself.  

At that moment, I-jun faintly smiled.  

“Sleeping in the annex is new for me too.”  

His sudden confession puzzled her for a brief moment.  

“This place was exclusively Mother’s space. I heard she flatly rejected Hyung’s request to use it as their honeymoon house.”  

I-ryeong vaguely recalled Yoo-Jin’s resistance during their formal meeting. Why had the elder daughter-in-law been denied while the younger one was allowed?  

Seeing her mother-in-law’s blatant favoritism, she now understood why Yoo-Jin harbored such hostility toward her.  

But that was all. She had no desire to understand Yoo-Jin, who acted like she couldn’t wait to devour her alive every time they met.  

“Mother seems to like you quite a bit.”  

I-jun twisted one corner of his lips upward. Curiosity mingled with playful mischief in his smile.  

Realizing he had read her tension, I-ryeong felt an unexpected wave of relief.  

Having at least one ally in Dogok-dong wasn’t so bad. His promise to always take her side when they were together seemed to hold true even tonight.

Her heart raced again.  

“I’m honestly curious which part of you Mother liked. Why did she allow you, but not my brother and sister-in-law?”  

As I-jun’s quiet voice washed over her, her irregularly pounding heart began to calm. The foggy haze in her mind gradually lifted, allowing her to think clearly once more.  

She remembered the day before the wedding ceremony when she had visited Dogok-dong at President Lee Jung-Ae’s request.  

That day, Jung-Ae hadn’t spoken to her as a mother-in-law but as the CEO of AE Cosmetics. She had urged I-ryeong not to settle for being just someone’s daughter-in-law or wife. She wanted her to achieve success on her own merits. She hadn’t asked why I-ryeong had hidden her previous career—only encouraged her to shine.  

With a clear mind, I-ryeong felt her tension slowly easing.  

“Well, I’m not sure myself. I don’t know why Mother allowed it.”  

“Maybe figuring that out is my mission.”  

He hadn’t thought deeply during their conversation.  

He simply wanted to help her shake off the lingering anxiety she couldn’t seem to let go of. Seeing her relax through their talk made him feel relieved.  

“Tomorrow might be better than today, and the day after tomorrow even better. As you grow more accustomed, sleep will come easier too.”  

I-ryeong tried to ease his worry and rolled over to settle down.  

Their conversation didn’t reach a clear conclusion, but she realized that sometimes unresolved discussions were the most comforting. And perhaps searching for answers was better than counting sheep—or grains of sand. With that thought, she closed her eyes, ready to drift off.  

“What are you doing?”  

He rustled the sheets and stretched his arm toward her.  

Caught mid-turn, I-ryeong looked back and forth between his outstretched arm and his face.  

“Are you really clueless tonight, or are you pretending?”  

I-jun smirked, his lips curling into a bright smile.  

“You said you couldn’t sleep, right? Then this is the only solution.”  

His fingers brushed against her cheek as he teasingly tapped it and traced small circles.  

Realizing his playful intent, I-ryeong felt her tension melt away completely.  

“I-jun?”  

“Pretend I’m your body pillow.”  

He urged her to rest her head on his arm, but I-ryeong hesitated, wearing an awkward expression.  

“It’s our first night in the newlywed house. Doesn’t it feel like a waste to just sleep like this?”  

Finally, I-jun pulled her close, drawing her into his embrace.  

On this sleepless night, they would spend the long hours listening to each other’s breathing.  

“Let’s hold each other like this while we sleep. Coincidentally, I needed something to hold onto too.”  

Pretending to give in, I-ryeong nestled her face against his chest.  

Thump, thump. The sound of intertwined heartbeats created a soothing harmony.  

---

In the dim light of dawn, when the night air still lingered, I-ryeong stirred from her deep sleep.  

“…”  

Her eyelids felt heavy, refusing to open. It wasn’t just the weight of the thick blanket wrapped around her—it was as if her entire body felt sluggish.  

Deciding she needed more rest, she turned toward the window with her eyes still closed. The rustling of the blanket drew her attention as she pulled it tighter around herself.  

“…Ah.”  

A sudden chill against her back jolted her awake. She realized belatedly that she had fallen asleep in his arms.  

Rolling over, she searched for any trace of him—but he was gone, leaving no warmth behind.  

Had he gone to shower?  

“I-jun?”  

Her voice sank to the floor, calling out to him, but only silence greeted her.  

I-ryeong listened carefully again. No sound came from the attached bathroom.  

Where could he have gone? Forcing her heavy body up, she perched on the edge of the bed.  

The room was pitch dark since the bedside lamp had been turned off.  

Sitting there in the oppressive silence, I-ryeong felt an overwhelming emptiness wash over her. For a moment, she cleared her mind.  

After all, this was his house.  

Realizing her worries were pointless, she quickly rose to her feet.  

Slipping on flat slippers, she walked to the window and drew back the curtains.  

“Morning is coming.”

Stretching her arms wide, I-ryeong gazed out at the garden before dawn.  

The garden, bathed in the soft glow of early morning light, was breathtakingly beautiful—words like “gorgeous” felt insufficient to capture its splendor.  

“So I really did get married.”  

Her faint breath fogged up the windowpane in patches. The white mist on the glass reminded her of last winter, stirring a strange feeling within her.  

In that biting cold wind, she had met Vice President Seo I-jun by chance and received an absurd proposal. And now, as a result, she stood here gazing down at this very garden.  

“What a tremendous thing I’ve done…”  

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of her lips as I-ryeong rubbed away the condensation with her palm.  

It was too late to dwell on the past or regret anything—she had already set these events into motion.  

Her marriage to Vice President Seo I-jun, and becoming the younger daughter-in-law of AE Cosmetics—she didn’t want to be weighed down by the past. Her family home had never been a place where she could rest peacefully.  

“What meaning could it possibly hold?”  

I-ryeong acknowledged with relief how much her daily life had changed from before.  

From now on, this place would become her only sanctuary.