Minhyuk gently placed the embraced Danjung on the bed and then stared at her as if she were prey, quickly stripping off his t-shirt and pants.

“Are you saying you want to eat me?”

Danjung, fully receiving the predatory gaze of Minhyuk, blushed as she watched him approach.

“Is there anything else here to eat?”

Minhyuk, now naked, climbed onto the bed, explored Danjung’s lips with his, grabbed her top, and pulled it off over her head.

In the meantime, Minhyuk’s fingers brushed against Danjung’s skin, and suppressed moans escaped her lips.

“Haa~.”

At her moans, Minhyuk began to get excited as if he had been waiting for this.

“Still, it took me all day to make that health food...”

Danjung lowered the already loosened bra straps, looking somewhat regretful.

Why did he want to eat her instead of the health food she had told him to eat?

“Health food?”

Minhyuk tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand why he needed health food.

“Um... well, it’s because you seemed tired, Minhyuk-ssi.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Because you fell asleep while we were doing something naughty last night.”

“Good heavens!”

Minhyuk’s pride was deeply hurt that he had been treated like a weakling.

Of course, he was tired, but he wasn’t so weak that his newlywed wife needed to prepare health food for him.

“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding. I simply needed sleep.”

Minhyuk roughly pulled off Danjung’s pants as if to prove that he was healthy.

In an instant, Danjung’s pants were down to her ankles, and she waited for Minhyuk’s next move, wearing only her panties.

“But we should save the health food for later.”

Minhyuk, not wanting to skip the dinner his wife had prepared with such care, moved close to Danjung’s face, whispered in her ear, and licked her plump earlobe.

At that, a subtle moan escaped Danjung’s lips, and Minhyuk, stimulated, unknowingly nipped her neck.

“Ouch.”

As Danjung, frowning, covered her nipped neck with her hand, Minhyuk took her hand down and kissed the spot where his teeth had marked.

“It won’t taste as good later when it’s cold...”

Feeling his breath, Danjung’s face flushed again, and her heart started pounding once more.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll eat anything you make deliciously. But we won’t need any more health food.”

Minhyuk, tasting his way down from Danjung’s neck to her slender arm, soft back of her hand, and delicate fingers, raised his head and fixed his gaze on Danjung’s flushed face.

“Pfft~.”

Danjung, excited by the ticklish pleasure Minhyuk was giving her, burst into laughter at his words.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because I’m happy.”

Minhyuk couldn’t understand why Danjung was laughing.

Was it because he said he would eat anything she made deliciously, or because he was stimulating her skin?

But looking at Danjung’s happy smile, Minhyuk didn’t care what the reason was.

***

Ding-dong, ding-dong. The doorbell of Jinhee’s officetel rang precisely at the appointed time.

“Who is it?”

Jinhee, picking up the intercom, looked at Jiwook on the screen and calmed her racing heart.

“It’s me.”

As Jiwook looked at the small camera and shook the chicken he was holding, the beautifully dressed Jinhee opened the front door.

“Come in.”

“Wow~ you look beautiful today.”

Jiwook, surprised by Jinhee’s dressed-up appearance, hesitated for a moment.

“Thank you. I just dressed up a little for the first time in a while.”

Jinhee felt awkward about her appearance but was pleased by Jiwook’s compliment.

Just then, Hayeon crawled over and sat at Jiwook’s feet.

“Hello, Hayeon.”

Jiwook waved at the smiling Hayeon and greeted her innocently.

“Hayeon-ah, come here.”

As Jinhee, feeling embarrassed, picked up Hayeon, Jiwook smiled brightly as he faced Hayeon.

In fact, he had always been someone who loved animals and babies.

Of course, the fact that this baby was the child of the woman he might become involved with was a bit of a burden, but he couldn’t help but adore such a cute and charming child.

“Can I hold Hayeon?”

“Yes, but could you please wash your hands first...?”

“Just a moment. This is the bathroom, right?”

“Yes.”

Jiwook, excited at the thought of holding Hayeon, quickly washed his hands as Jinhee had asked and came out.

“Come here, let’s play with Ajussi.”

As Jiwook took Hayeon from Jinhee, Jinhee strangely felt like tears were welling up.

Why was the next-door neighbor fulfilling the married life she had dreamed of?

Jinhee had always been depressed because of Taejoon, who had only gone out after the baby was born.

She hadn’t asked for much in her married life with her ex-husband.

She didn’t want gold or jewels, nor did she want grand dates.

She would have been content just to have him hold Hayeon and share a piece of chicken together after coming home from work like this.

“What does Hayeon like? Can she eat snacks?”

Jiwook thought that from now on, he should take care of not only Jinhee but also Hayeon.

But he knew nothing about babies, just like he knew nothing about Jinhee.

“She doesn’t eat snacks yet. Instead, I give her a little bit of fruit.”

“What kind of fruit does she like? Bananas? Or apples?”

“She eats all kinds of fruit well. You can buy anything.”

“What about Jinhee-ssi?”

“Yes?”

“What does Jinhee-ssi like?”

“Ah...”

At Jiwook’s question, Jinhee paused for a moment, trying to recall what fruits she liked.

Come to think of it, she had completely forgotten about herself all this time.

She had only bought things that her husband liked or things for Hayeon...

“I like persimmons.”

Thinking about it, she really liked soft, ripe persimmons.

“Then next time, I’ll buy some of your favorite things and some fruit for Hayeon.”

Having learned one thing about Jinhee, Jiwook felt happy and raised the corners of his mouth in a smile.

After making love with Danjung, Minhyuk ate the health food she had made deliciously, just as he had said.

Although it was difficult to identify the exact taste, hunger was the best seasoning.

“Is it good?”

Danjung watched Minhyuk eat with a satisfied smile.

“The broth is rich, so it’s good.”

Minhyuk could easily compliment the taste without lying because the broth had become thick and rich after being boiled several times.

“I’ll learn properly and make it for you next time.”

“......As I said before, I’ll pass on the health food.”

“Then what do you want to eat?”

“The woman sitting in front of me.”

“Oh, really!”

There were times when Danjung didn’t know how to react to Minhyuk, who occasionally became quite sly.

“Just kidding. I’ll eat anything you make deliciously.”

Minhyuk chuckled, amused by Danjung’s reaction to his joke.

Actually, he had unknowingly developed a smooth-talking side because of Danjung’s reactions like this.

“Um... but Minhyuk-ssi, about the Jeju hotel...”

Danjung, suddenly remembering her conversation with Siwoo, paused for a moment and then cautiously brought up the topic.

Actually, she knew it was right to give up applying, but a part of her didn’t want to miss this good opportunity.

“?”

Minhyuk, surprised that the Jeju hotel story had come out of Danjung’s mouth, stopped eating and looked at her.

“I heard that our hotel is hiring experienced staff.”

“How did you find out about that?”

“Someone told me.”

“Who?”

“......Siwoo.”

Danjung didn’t want to talk about Siwoo because Minhyuk and Siwoo didn’t seem to have a good relationship.

But for some reason, Minhyuk persistently asked, and his reaction wasn’t as good as Danjung had expected.

“So? What do you want?”

Minhyuk frowned deeply and asked in a sharp voice.

Had she upset him with his sharp tone?

Danjung, who had been cautiously broaching the subject, changed her attitude and stated what she wanted directly.

“I want to apply to the Jeju hotel.”

“......”

She had a feeling... Minhyuk looked at Danjung intently with a hardened face, as if he was angry at her words.

Of course, what he wanted to say to Danjung was, “Absolutely not!”

But he knew about Danjung’s passion and dreams for her work, so he couldn’t rashly oppose her.

“Working at the Jeju hotel means living apart from me... Are you really okay with that?”

Frankly speaking, Minhyuk didn’t want to be apart from Danjung for even a moment.

He had been missing her all day today to the point of madness, and he had focused on his work more than ever to finish his tasks quickly and go home as soon as possible.

But Danjung was saying she would go to Jeju, unlike him... Minhyuk felt suffocated and his mood was very bad.

“I’m not okay! I don’t want to be apart from you either, Minhyuk-ssi. I like you so much... but... I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”

Danjung’s eyes welled up with tears as she confessed her honest feelings.

Compared to Minhyuk, she felt so insignificant, and it seemed right for her to go to Jeju if it meant she could grow even a little.

Had her desperate feelings reached Minhyuk’s heart?

Minhyuk reached out and wiped away the tears welling up in Danjung’s eyes.

“If that’s what you want... you should do it.”

“Really?”

“But there’s a condition.”

“A condition?”

There it was. As expected, her husband was a very conditional and calculating person.

‘Is he a natural businessman?’

Danjung thought that no one could beat Minhyuk when it came to making deals.

“Report to me about yourself in real time.”

“Yes? Do you mean I have to call you every hour?”

“If possible, that would be good too.”

“You know that’s impossible, Minhyuk-ssi. You have work, and I have work, how is that possible!”

“Then every two hours.”

“Every four hours! No more than that.”

“Alright, then report every four hours.”

Minhyuk felt that he would only feel at ease if he did that much.

Siwoo, he didn’t know why that guy had leaked information to his wife... but Minhyuk resolved to protect her this time no matter what.