The moment his lower lip was gently sucked in, the moment his eyes, looking down at a slant, met hers, Taeryeong slowly lowered her fluttering eyelids. His hot and tender lips, his breath thick with alcohol, slowly surged in like a quiet wave. Taeryeong had started the kiss, but at some point, her husband was leading. Gently coaxing, carefully delving in, stealing away even her gasping breaths. Overwhelmed by her husband washing over her like a quiet wave, she tried to pull her face back. But a large hand wrapped around the back of her neck and increased the pressure firmly. His soft lips parted even more.

“Hmm.”

At the sensation of him delving deeper, the small hand that had been cupping his dry cheek slid down. The hand that had briefly rested on his firm shoulder desperately clutched his suit lapel. In her head, in her heart, all over her body, hot echoes pounded. It seemed she loved this man very much. So much so that she was greedy, jealous, and going crazy wanting to possess him. ...What should she do? The moment the emotions she had been stubbornly ignoring exploded, Taeryeong turned her head away. Avoiding the lips that persistently followed, she murmured,

“That’s enough, it’s enough.”

She couldn’t take it anymore. Her heart desired him this much, and if her body also desired this man, it would be too unfair and unjust. So, this was enough.

“Not enough.”

But her husband, who had murmured in a hoarse voice, pressed his lips against hers again.

“I don’t want to.”

As Taeryeong tried to push his shoulder away and avoid him, her husband spoke soothingly over her lips.

“...It was a dream, you said.”

So, it’s okay to do this. Her husband’s next words melted into Taeryeong’s mouth. Hot lips met, and warm breath spread into her mouth. Her husband surged in hotly once more. Piercing her heart with a sharp pain, filling her head tightly, awakening the cells all over her body. Just then, at the loud noise that echoed through the parking lot, Taeryeong barely managed to break free from her husband’s embrace. Crazy, how could we in a public place! As Taeryeong covered her flushed face with both hands, at a loss, her husband pulled her into his arms.

“......Come here.”

Held in her husband’s arms, listening to his strong heartbeat, she slowly calmed down. She really hated it. The fact that she could feel safe and rest in these arms. The car engine turned off, and she heard the sound of the car door opening and closing. She had thought the loud newcomer would disappear just as quietly.

“Park Kyungjin? Jang Jaewoo? What are you guys hiding there?”

Until she heard familiar names in her ears. After some conversation between the men at the entrance, it stopped. When she cautiously lifted her face, her husband was already asleep. Thinking it was a relief, Taeryeong got up and headed for the entrance.

“You two, come out instead of hiding.”

At her calm voice, the two men sheepishly revealed themselves.

“How long have you been watching?”

They poked each other’s sides with their elbows, and in the end, Jaewoo took the lead.

“Um, from when that woman got angry earlier?”

So, they had seen everything. When Taeryeong narrowed her eyes, Jaewoo was terrified and made excuses.

“Kangjoon suddenly disappeared, so we came out to look for him! The staff said Kangjoon left looking very drunk, and some lady followed him.”

“......”

“There are so many women after Kangjoon. So, would you believe us if we said we were trying to rescue Kangjoon and offer him to Taeryeong-ssi?”

The two men looked at her with pitiful puppy eyes, as if begging her to believe them. But that wasn’t what was important to Taeryeong.

“Then you must have seen Kangjoon-ssi and me kissing too.”

The two men’s mouths dropped open. Oh my god, unbelievable. As expected, Yoo Taeryeong was no ordinary woman. To the two men who were pouring out all sorts of words with their expressions instead of their lips, Taeryeong spoke calmly.

“I’d appreciate it if you kept what you just saw a secret from Kangjoon-ssi. If only the two of you pretend not to know, Kangjoon-ssi won’t remember.”

“Kangjoon not remembering?”

Then Kyungjin cautiously asked,

“When he drinks a lot like today, he blacks out.”

Taeryeong’s gaze sharpened as she read the subtle expressions on the two men’s faces.

“That’s what I know, is that wrong?”

Instead of Kyungjin, who was gaping like a fish, Jaewoo quickly replied,

“That’s right! Kangjoon told us to keep it a secret, so we haven’t been saying anything, but you already knew.”

“Could you also keep it a secret from Taeryeong-ssi? He’s such a meticulous guy, I think he’d be embarrassed.”

Only then did Taeryeong calmly ask again,

“Of course, I’ll keep it a secret. Then you two will also grant my request, right?”

“Who would dare refuse your request? We’re on Taeryeong-ssi’s side, not Kangjoon’s. That’s why we contacted you today, and we’ll continue to do so in the future.”

“Of course, we will!”

Kyungjin nodded vigorously at Jaewoo’s words.

“I have one more favor to ask. Could you please put Kangjoon-ssi in the car?”

Before Taeryeong could even finish speaking, the two men were already walking towards Kangjoon. With Kangjoon, who was 188 centimeters tall and weighed 78 kilograms, slumped over, the two men groaned as they barely managed to get him into the passenger seat. After thanking them, Taeryeong got into the driver’s seat. A woman who looked as fragile as if she would fly away with a puff of breath smoothly drove the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and disappeared. Only then did Kyungjin open his mouth with a strange expression.

“Jang Jaewoo, is that bastard Seo Kangjoon the type to black out after drinking?”

“Of course not. That tough bastard who could withstand chemical warfare gas wouldn’t succumb to alcohol.”

“That bastard, I thought he only did useless acting, but he can even do this kind of acting. What a sly guy.”

The conversation soon ended, but the two men shared the same question. They clearly liked each other to death, so why were they wasting time? Was love difficult, or was marriage difficult?

________________________________________

It was late at night when the photoshoot finally ended. Jinwoo hadn’t had a single sip of water all day for his six-pack, and he even did push-ups in between. Yet, Jinwoo’s expression as he greeted everyone in the studio one by one was bright.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard!”

Softly wavy, dark brown hair. Long eyes with a double eyelid on only one side, a sharply defined nose, and a refreshing smile. Dimples that appeared every time he smiled and soft eye smiles. These were Jinwoo’s trademarks that had earned him the nickname “National Puppy.”

“Senior, it was an honor to work with you.”

At Jinwoo’s greeting, Seojin, who had filmed the commercial with him, smiled brightly. As a top 3 luxury model in Korea, her cool face and well-maintained figure were breathtaking. Even Seojin was helpless before Jinwoo’s puppy-like charm.

“Jinwoo-ssi.”

As he was about to turn around, Seojin called out to him.

“I have about 30 minutes to spare, want to grab a coffee?”

“I really need to leave right away, so what should I do about this heartbreaking regret? Instead, that coffee you mentioned, senior, is saved in my heart! Next time I have time, I’ll treat you to something much better than coffee!”

With a soft, eye-smile and a finger heart, even the usually cool Jung Seojin couldn’t help but laugh.

“Then your contact information...?”

“Oh? Director, you’ve worked hard!”

Contrary to his words, Jinwoo turned to greet another director, his face showing no regret whatsoever. Only after getting into the van in the parking lot did he reveal his exhaustion.

“Haa, I thought I was going to die from being tired.”

Yet, a smile spread across Jinwoo’s face as he looked at a photo on his phone.

“Just you wait, my little one. Your oppa is making tons of money right now.”

Jinwoo had been in a one-sided love with the expressionless girl next to his brightly smiling younger sibling for 13 years. What was so great about that little kid who was only interested in money? As his first love, which started late, Jinwoo was cautious and clumsy. So, he had patiently waited to confess responsibly when he became an adult, but then the country told him to join the army. He thought it would be presumptuous to ask her to wait, so he planned to confess after his discharge. But that little kid had become a successful shopping mall CEO. Recalling that time made Jinwoo sigh involuntarily.

“How can someone so small have such great business acumen?”

He had heard it was difficult to succeed in the overheated online market, but her monthly net profit was over five million won. So, he had no choice but to postpone his confession again. As a man’s pride, wouldn’t he need to earn more than the woman he liked before confessing? But the little one’s profits increased every year, beyond Jinwoo’s reach. It was like a crow-tit trying to follow a stork and splitting its legs. He had recently been doing well with his modeling work and thought about confessing, but then the little one disappeared. Even when he pressed Jin-kyung, all he got was “personal reasons,” which was driving him crazy. He had seen a woman who looked similar to the little one twice recently.

“No matter how I look at it, it’s my little one.”

Even though her style had changed, the little one’s unique aura hadn’t. He had seen that woman he saw at the fashion show after-party again in the Inno Fashion lobby. The woman was among stylishly dressed people, and his manager had subtly told him she was from the secretarial team. He had barely managed to get into the secretary’s office under the pretense of wanting to greet the president. But he was chased out again without being able to do anything because of a handsome man who suddenly appeared. Now that he had some free time, Jinwoo began to calmly sort out his complicated thoughts.

“Let’s see. They said Inno was going to acquire Dora Shopping Mall with a huge amount of capital.”

The timing of the little one’s sudden disappearance and the sudden surge in Inno Fashion’s stock, which had been on the verge of becoming worthless. Her natural business acumen and meticulous, thorough personality, being a secretary at Inno Fashion, the president’s absolute trust. Inno Fashion trying to acquire Dora Shopping Mall. Putting it all together piece by piece, an invisible current slowly deepened, and connections emerged. Perhaps all of this was the big picture of that clever little one. Now, all that was left was to revisit the Inno Fashion secretarial office to confirm.

“Kim Jin-kyung, do you think I can’t find my little one just because you won’t tell me?”

I’ve already got a hunch. Jinwoo grinned.

________________________________________

Arriving home, Kangjoon walked into the house on his own two feet and headed for the bathroom. He had refused help even while staggering as if he would fall, making her heart drop several times. Taeryeong pressed her ear close to the bathroom door Kangjoon had entered. She was ready to rush in immediately if she heard any crashing sounds. She was dumbfounded at what she was doing, but she couldn’t help it. After throwing up everything inside him and flushing the toilet, there was a moment of silence before the sound of water came from the shower booth. Only then did Taeryeong let out a long sigh of relief and head to the second-floor bathroom. When she came downstairs after showering, her husband was asleep in bed. Taeryeong carefully climbed onto the bed and moved closer to her husband.

“He’s handsome even when he’s sleeping.”

It felt like she could live off his face for the rest of her life. Taeryeong, who had been freely admiring her sleeping husband’s face, chuckled. Confessing when drunk and secretly looking at him when he was asleep. She wondered what she was doing. Taeryeong quietly whispered into her sleeping husband’s ear. A desperate wish that had just arisen.

“I hope you’ll divorce me in six months.”

So that you won’t be Alicia Barton’s husband. I hope you’ll meet a woman as good as you, fall in love, get married, and be happy. So that I won’t dare to covet you. The moment Taeryeong, who had let out a soft sigh, turned her body, a firm arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close, and a warm body temperature enveloped Taeryeong.

“Your body is so cold.”

A sigh-like breath tickled the top of her head.

“And I’m burning up.”

A low murmur vibrated through Taeryeong’s body.

“So, let’s sleep holding each other tonight.”

It was a languid and heavy voice. Was he not fully awake from the alcohol, intoxicated by sleep, was it a sleeping habit, or a drinking habit? Confused, Taeryeong carefully lifted her face, but her husband’s face was still serene as if he were asleep. Confused by that, Taeryeong asked in a whisper,

“Are you perhaps still drunk?”

“......”

“Kangjoon-ssi?”

Beneath his thin eyelids, his half-closed, pitch-black pupils quietly stared at Taeryeong.

“If that’s what makes you comfortable thinking.”

His eyes were so deep that Taeryeong unknowingly swallowed.

“......Let’s say I’m drunk.”

Taeryeong quietly nestled in her husband’s embrace and slowly blinked. Rather than trying to escape now and waking her husband, she planned to slip away after he fell asleep. She just had to stay awake. But like a lie, the tension in her body began to ease. In the warmth emanating from her husband’s body, in the coziness his embrace offered. It was so warm and comfortable that she must have fallen asleep. Taeryeong vaguely woke up at the sound of her husband moving. But she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. Her husband’s careful touch as he held her, laid her back in her original place, and covered her with the blanket was too gentle. Just then, clumsy fingertips touched Taeryeong’s hair.

“......!”

A subtle tremor spread from her husband’s fingertips as he awkwardly but tenderly brushed back her hair.

“I think I love you.”

A heavy voice quietly seeped into her ear. Like a sigh, like a breath.

“I’m trying to give up too, but it’s not working out well.”

Could it still be drunken words? Or was she dreaming? The tender fingertips moved away, her husband moved away, and she heard the sound of the bedroom door closing. Taeryeong, who had opened her eyes and gotten up to check the time on her phone, felt her pupils tremble slightly. AM 5:30. It was neither the time for Taeryeong to dream nor for her husband to be drunk.