Despite this, Kangjoon’s face hardened coldly as he watched the hand that hesitated to reach out. He had thought that if he showed an opening, she would pretend to be unable to resist his advances. But she was going to play innocent until the very end? Unable to watch her act any longer, he slowly rose, causing his wife to step back. Surely not. To confirm, Kangjoon took a step closer, and his wife retreated again, looking a little flustered unlike how she was in the living room. He thought he knew what she was misunderstanding and a hollow laugh almost escaped him. What did she take him for? Her endless act provoked Kangjoon once more. Let’s see her keep up that act until the end. Backing away from Kangjoon, his wife closed her eyes tightly when her back reached the wall. Without touching her even with a fingertip, his lips, tilted at an angle, brushed against his wife’s reddened cheek. Instead of shouting at her to drop the act, he softly whispered into her ear, where a tight pearl earring glinted.

“What can I do for you?”

His wife, who had flinched slightly, slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at Kangjoon for a moment with a subtle gaze, and then said something even more absurd.

“I... I want to fasten your button right now.”

Was the button the problem now? Should he call this brazen or detestable? Instead of answering, Kangjoon thrust both hands into his pants pockets. As if to say, go ahead and do as you please.

Then, her slender fingertips calmly began to fasten the buttons of his shirt.

“May I choose a different pair of cufflinks for you?”

At Taeryeong’s words after fastening all the buttons, Kangjoon nodded briefly and made way for her. Taeryeong, who had remarkably endured the suffocating moment, muttered to herself as she headed towards the accessories display case.

“Why did I close my eyes?”

Seo Kangjoon was a man she had to deal with using her head, not her heart. Even until she was trapped between the wall and her husband’s embrace, she was fully aware and wary. But his intense eyes looking down at her as if to devour her, yet the breath that brushed her forehead was so gentle, and the lips before her were so dizzying, that she had closed her eyes without realizing it. She felt that she could only regain her reason and escape this situation if she didn’t look at her husband. Taeryeong, having chosen a tie and cufflinks, approached her husband again.

“Could you lower your waist a little?”

Her husband obediently bent his waist, and his lips approached again, as if to kiss Taeryeong’s forehead. She wanted to step back, but she stubbornly endured, not wanting to seem shaken by something insignificant. As she draped the tie around her husband’s neck, Taeryeong constantly whispered to herself. Don’t be swayed, don’t waver. Don’t let your guard down, don’t relax your vigilance. Ignore the seductive allure that hides its true intentions, and deal flexibly with unexpected situations. If she could just endure for eight months and then leave. Taeryeong meticulously tied his tie, fastened his cufflinks, and even buttoned his herringbone jacket.

“The silver embroidery on your shirt collar is quite ornate, so I chose a simple design for the cufflinks instead. If you don’t like them, shall I bring the original ones?”

“I like them. So much so that I’d like to ask you to do it often in the future.”

Watching his sleek, long fingers touch the cufflinks, Taeryeong carefully opened her mouth.

“Kangjoon-ssi seems to have plans, so I’ll be going now.”

“Why don’t you stop making excuses about me and just be honest?”

Surprised, she looked up to see a faint smile in his eyes. He looked down at her with such eyes and yet spoke so frankly.

“Saying that you’re dying of discomfort being with me, so please just let’s part ways now.”

As if he didn’t want to let her go gracefully even at the last moment.

“I apologize if my words offended you. But Kangjoon-ssi returned to Korea so suddenly that all my schedules were canceled. For me, my husband is more important than work.”

Taeryeong’s voice, as she replied smoothly, was low and even. Don’t be swayed by this man’s words, don’t waver at his gaze. It was thanks to constantly reminding herself of this in her mind.

“The call I received earlier was from my secretary. There’s an important contract that seems likely to fall through because I canceled. So, I hope Kangjoon-ssi will understand me this time.”

But she wanted to say this much. I may not have done well, but neither did you. My schedule was canceled because you returned without any notice. Being an intelligent man, he would understand well enough. The problem was how her husband, having understood, would react. Would he become more spiteful, or would he cleanly acknowledge it? In the suffocating tension that made her mouth feel parched, Kangjoon chuckled. Unable to understand the meaning of his laughter, Taeryeong looked at him with a slightly questioning gaze, and he moved.

“I’ll see you to the elevator.”

She desperately wanted to go alone, but unfortunately, Taeryeong had no excuse to refuse his unwelcome favor. Walking shoulder to shoulder with her husband down the long hallway, Taeryeong flinched and curled her fingertips inward. A casual brush of fingertips, a heart pounding as if it would burst. Unlike Taeryeong, Kangjoon walked with an impassive face. Entering the elevator, Taeryeong lightly bowed her head, just like on their wedding day. Kangjoon also lightly bowed his head with an emotionless face. That was the farewell of a couple reunited after three years. As soon as Kangjoon disappeared behind the slowly closing doors, Taeryeong leaned against the wall as if she would collapse.

“He’s a master at making people suffocate.”

If Madam Jo was a yellow card, Seo Kangjoon was a red card. *** Returning to his room, Kangjoon threw everything off. The shirt, the tie, even the jacket that Yu Taeryeong’s touch had lingered on. Today, his wife had slipped away from him smoothly and flexibly. In the end, she had even retorted calmly, with a composed gaze, saying that she may not have done well, but neither had he. But would she be able to do that in the future? Kangjoon called his friend, Kyungjin.

[What is it, you? Don’t tell me you’re in Korea?]

“I arrived today.”

[Who tells someone they’ve arrived after they’ve already gotten here!]

“Save the nagging for when we meet. I’ll cover the expenses, so throw a wild welcome party.”

[Hey, don’t joke around.]

No alcohol, no cigarettes, no women. The Seo Kangjoon his friends knew was an upright man who lived by the book. So, for him to ask for a party, it was natural for Kyungjin to be incredulous.

“Does it sound like a joke?”

[Then it’s real?]

“Yeah.”

[So, why?]

“Just because.”

He hadn’t done it before, but he could probably imitate it.

“All the fun I missed out on, I’m going to start having it now.”

After ending the call, Kangjoon sat on the sofa and muttered to himself.

“What on earth could it be?”

The reason why Yu Taeryeong was hiding her true self and putting on such a detestable act. At the same time, the absolute bait that had persuaded the unruly daughter at Ino. With that kind of personality, she wouldn’t live her whole life putting on an ill-fitting act. As he pieced together the scattered puzzle pieces one by one, a thread began to emerge. There was an end to her act. His wife was enduring, waiting for the day she could find freedom. Divorce. As soon as he reached that conclusion, he couldn’t help but laugh. His wife, who was naturally talented at captivating men, didn’t seem to have the foresight to see far into the future.

“Could it be... she’s even harboring some hope?”

From Yu Taeryeong’s perspective, it might be possible. An unofficial arranged marriage, a husband who left for Germany right after the wedding, an indefinite wait. Even their reunion was cold, and to top it off, he had even suggested they stay apart today, so perhaps that hope had grown even bigger. If so, how many years and how much had Ino promised their daughter? Considering the time it would take for Ino to secure facilities for the development and mass production of core electric vehicle battery technology with Hanshin’s massive investment, it would be at least five or six years. But what a pity.

“There will be no divorce, Yu Taeryeong.”

His wife hadn’t stopped her detestable act until she disappeared into the elevator. Little did she know that her act was actually fueling his raging, wicked heart. He wanted to be mean to her, torment her, break her down, make her explode. He wanted her to resent him, hate him, despise him. To the point where she would scream, hit him, and thrash about, asking why he was doing this to her, why she had married him. Only then would she desperately realize and acknowledge that her husband’s current 모습 was exactly like her own past 모습.

“Because we have to take responsibility together.”

The face of that kid, smiling so brightly, was still vivid in his mind. The very person who had dragged Kangjoon into a marriage he never wanted in his life. But that kid was dead, and he was also responsible for that death. If he had paid just a little more attention, he would have known, but he had been consumed by work and hadn’t. He had thought it was a fleeting game, that it would burn out as quickly as it had flared up. He hadn’t even been able to recover that kid’s body. That kid had been lonely in life, and the thought of him being lonely even in death, in the cold sea no less, bothered him. So, they had to take responsibility together. Yu Taeryeong, you and I, the two of us together. Becoming a hell from which neither could escape for the rest of their lives. That was the purpose of this marriage. *** A secluded Korean traditional restaurant on the outskirts of Seoul. Two people were already in the room where the staff had guided them. The younger madam of Ino Group, Jo Younghee. And Director Jung, a former athlete who did everything Madam Jo said. What Director Jung placed in front of Taeryeong, who had just arrived, was a weighing scale. Taeryeong stepped onto it familiar.

“You’ve gained 0.8 kilograms.”

“You act so busy, and yet you’ve gained weight? Your life must be very comfortable.”

Even at the sharply sarcastic words, Taeryeong calmly asked Director Jung, “How many kilograms do I need to maintain this time?”

Once a month, she was given a target weight.

“You need to lose another 2 kilograms from your current weight.”

“I understand.”

As soon as Taeryeong sat down opposite her, Madam Jo asked irritably, “How are things with your husband, Seo?”

“As you told me, Mother, we’re living like appropriate strangers. Not too close, not too distant.”

It wasn’t a lie. They didn’t even know each other’s contact information, but they always shared their schedules through their secretaries. She had also heard through her secretary that he had successfully completed his inauguration ceremony as the president of Hanshin Motors.

“I told you to arrange a dinner, why haven’t I heard anything? Tell him to have dinner with us this Sunday.”

“He seems busy since it hasn’t been long since his inauguration. But I’ll let him know.”

“Are we strangers? We’re family. Just make the appointment.”

“But Mother...”

“Enough with the excuses.”

Madam Jo cut her off with a venomous expression. “Do you think I’d entrust such an important matter to someone as clueless as you and risk having everything ruined? Do you know how many people are after your husband, even though he’s married? Someone like your husband would be snatched up as a son-in-law even if he were divorced. So, shouldn’t I step in and keep him happy?”

Taeryeong wanted to retort to Madam Jo. What was the real reason a man like Seo Kangjoon had married the eldest daughter of Ino Group? Her husband had definitely not fallen in love with his wife at first sight; if anything, he had scorned her. A man who never revealed his inner thoughts had made that much blatantly clear. Respectfully and elegantly, as if wanting Taeryeong to realize it. Being subjected to this without knowing why was driving her crazy. When she first received this proposal from Madam Jo, she had refused outright, but a week later, she had gone back and agreed. This wasn’t a marriage, it was just a contract, and she just had to grit her teeth and endure for four years. For her grandmother, who was her everything. To seize the opportunity to take revenge on Madam Jo, who hated her so terribly. That was the purpose of this marriage. She only found out who her groom would be after signing the four-year contract. Seo Kangjoon, the sole heir of Hanshin Group. Due to his significant position as the head of Hanshin Motors’ overseas business division, he had been in Germany for two years. Even after the marriage, he wouldn’t be coming to Korea for at least four years, she had been told. So, she hadn’t been curious about the reason this marriage had come about. Once the wedding was over, he would be a husband she would never see again. Just then, Director Jung handed her phone to Madam Jo.

“It’s the Madam of Hanshin.”

Director Jung naturally followed Madam Jo as she headed out of the room. At that moment, Taeryeong’s eyes flashed. She had seen Director Jung’s hand naturally wrap around Madam Jo’s waist. Thud. The moment the door closed, Taeryeong’s mind raced. Madam Jo was widely known as the second daughter-in-law of Chairman Yoo of Ino Group, a wise wife who was good at supporting her husband. But Taeryeong knew Madam Jo’s true colors. Director Jung, who was with Madam Jo all day, was not only in good shape but also eight years younger. Indeed, was their relationship truly just that of an employer and employee? That was something she would find out soon enough by assigning someone to follow them. Just then, Madam Jo opened the door and came back into the room, approaching Taeryeong with a menacing air.

“……!”

Slap-. Her face snapped sharply to the left. As she licked her lower lip with her tongue at the stinging pain, she tasted a metallic tang of blood.

“Not only did you dare to disgrace my face, but you also treated me like I was blind!”

Madam Jo asked Taeryeong with eyes that seemed to want to tear her apart.

“Answer me straight. Are you and Seo living separately right now?”

With a terrified expression, Taeryeong immediately begged for forgiveness. “I was wrong, Mother. We just needed some time apart before living in the same house, so I didn’t tell you it wasn’t a separation.”

Thinking about what she would repay you with after this contract ended. This much pain and humiliation on her lips, she could endure anything.