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His wife’s whisper, like a tremor, was faint and soft. The wind, unfortunately, blew strongly. So Kang-joon couldn’t hear properly and was caught in an illusion, unsure. He clearly said something like “sa...” He definitely said something like “sa...” The first word that came to mind was “I love you,” but of course, it couldn’t be that. Kang-joon smiled softly and leaned in slightly.
“I couldn’t hear you because of the wind. Can you say it again?”
“...ranghandago.”
This time, one more syllable was heard. He heard “sa,” and he heard “rang.” As his thoughts reached that point, the smile faded from Kang-joon’s face.
“...Once more.”
At that moment, his earnest desire to hear it properly was fulfilled.
“I love you.”
This time, he heard it clearly. The moment his wife’s soft lips articulated “I love you,” it pierced his heart. All the surrounding sounds became muted in his ears. Kang-joon had everything before he was even born, before he even desired anything. Whether it was people or objects, intangible or tangible. He had never desired anything, and so he didn’t know earnest longing. Until he met Joo Se-hee. That’s why this situation felt terribly unfamiliar. This situation where he had earnestly desired something for the first time and had now obtained it. He felt indescribably strange. Dazed and stunned, as if in a dream. It didn’t feel real. As Kang-joon sat up and stared, his wife calmly asked again.
“Did you not hear me this time either?”
“I heard you. But can you say it one more time?”
“...”
“Because I can’t believe it. Or you can slap me across the cheek.”
Because if it was a dream, he had to wake up quickly. But his wife, with a face that seemed to be barely holding back a smile, came closer to Kang-joon. It seemed his wife was very strange today. He had always been the one to approach first, to be mischievous. Today, not only did she approach first, but she also stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Kang-joon’s neck. She met his gaze tenderly, smiled lovingly, and moved her lips beautifully.
“I love you, Seo Kang-joon.”
The confession, which was neither a hallucination nor a dream, felt incredibly good. His wife’s confession, and even his name, boldly spoken informally. Speaking informally at a time like this is cheating, Joo Se-hee. How am I supposed to endure this? Kang-joon wrapped his arms tightly around his wife. He was so happy his heart felt like it would burst, but also so sorry his chest felt like it would tear apart. Kang-joon spoke softly, like a deep sigh.
“Why didn’t you tell me a little later?”
I haven’t done anything for you yet. I haven’t even properly shown you my love.
“After you’ve used me to your heart’s content, made me work hard, and teased me a bit. If I knelt and begged and pretended to die, then you could say you’re saving a life.”
If you tell me you love me so easily, I’ll feel too sorry.
“So, you don’t like it?”
His wife’s voice, softly asking back, was a little playful. So Kang-joon chuckled.
“How could I not like it? I’m already madly in love with you.”
His wife’s whispered “I love you” had perfectly disarmed Kang-joon. Kang-joon released his wife, whom he had embraced, and spoke calmly.
“Actually, I had set it for one year. The period I could wait until you revealed your secret to me.”
“...”
“If you still didn’t say anything by then, I was going to push forward my way.”
He had planned to investigate, assess the situation, and push through cleanly, according to his personality. Because he had the brains, the ability, and the bulldozer-like drive to do so.
“You said you were very patient.”
“That’s why I’m voluntarily admitting my mistake. That I won’t do it again.”
His wife gave him a pretty glare. Kang-joon continued slowly, thinking even that gaze was beautiful enough to die for.
“If you ask me to wait a lifetime, I will. Without asking anything, without calling you Joo Se-hee.”
A sharp, animalistic instinct whispered. That the name Joo Se-hee was like a celestial maiden’s feathered robe. The moment he knew the real Joo Se-hee, he felt as if his wife would put on that feathered robe and disappear. Perhaps, giving up the name Joo Se-hee was the only way for his wife to remain by his side. That was why. He intended to wait without asking anything and pretend not to know. Sometimes, ignorance could be bliss.
“I’ll grant you anything you want, just stay by my side.”
“Kang-joon, do I look pretty right now?”
Kang-joon earnestly hoped. He hoped it was his imagination that his wife’s expression, quietly asking out of the blue, looked sorrowful.
“You are the prettiest, uniquely beautiful. And you always will be, until I die.”
“Then will you always remember me in this current appearance?”
Tae-ryeong wanted only one thing from her husband. Not Yoo Tae-ryeong, not Joo Se-hee, but simply to remember her exactly as she was now. That even if he learned about Joo Se-hee later, he wouldn’t look at her with disgust.
“Are you sick anywhere?”
His husband’s expression as he asked back was too serious, so Tae-ryeong smiled brightly.
“I’m healthy.”
“Then why do you say things that make me uneasy?”
“It’s just, women are like that. They always want to look pretty to the man they love.”
She didn’t know about other women, but she was like that. She wanted to look as beautiful to him as she did now, and she wanted him to remember her exactly as he loved her.
“So, will you promise me?”
The doubt lingering in his dark eyes as he gazed at Tae-ryeong hadn’t yet vanished. But Kang-joon willingly answered that he would.
“Thank you.”
Knowing he was a man who always kept his promises, Tae-ryeong smiled brightly. Then, for the first time, she took her husband’s hand and intertwined their fingers.
“Let’s go home now.”
________________________________________
They arrived home and showered in their respective bathrooms. When Tae-ryeong entered the bedroom, Kang-joon was just coming out of the bathroom. Kang-joon glanced at Tae-ryeong casually, then fixed his gaze on her and closed the distance. His narrowed eyes lingered persistently on Tae-ryeong’s face.
“You’re not wearing makeup.”
“You said my bare face was prettier. Should I go back and put on makeup if it looks strange?”
As she pretended to turn away in a huff, Kang-joon quickly pulled Tae-ryeong into his arms.
“Don’t put on makeup because you’re too pretty. At least when you’re alone with me.”
But his husband’s large hand, softly whispering, subtly moved over Tae-ryeong’s body. The hand that caressed her shoulder, stroked her back, and gripped her waist, flowed lower. Her face flushed with embarrassment, but Tae-ryeong endured it. Because she had an instinctive feeling that tonight would finally be their second night together.
“Even though I fed you so much.”
Tae-ryeong lifted her flushed face at the soft voice descending from above her head.
“You seem to have lost more weight.”
Unlike the suggestive touch that had explored her body, her husband’s eyes, looking down at her, were plain.
“Oh, I lost a little less than 1 kilogram.”
It was only 1 kilogram. Yet, it was amazing that her husband could feel her body and instantly notice it.
“Let’s go to bed now.”
As always, as soon as he lay down, her husband pulled Tae-ryeong into his arms. The fear and anticipation she felt as she was pressed against her husband’s firm body. Tae-ryeong’s heart 괜히 pounded. But quite some time passed, and nothing happened. Carefully raising her head from his embrace, just in case, she saw her husband with his eyes closed. No, he wasn’t just closing his eyes; he was actually asleep.
“Kang-joon, are you really sleeping?”
She asked, just in case, but the only answer was her husband’s soft breathing.
________________________________________
Perhaps because her husband wasn’t there, Tae-ryeong woke up early and felt a chill.
“It wasn’t a dream.”
When she opened her eyes in the morning, the spot next to Tae-ryeong was empty.
‘I’ll go to work first today.’
She remembered it clearly, even through her sleepiness. Her husband’s tender voice whispering in her ear, and the kisses that touched various parts of her face. Tae-ryeong curled up in the sheets and recalled last night. From the moment she confessed until they came home, she had been nervous, expectant, and fluttering with an ethereal excitement. But despite all that, her husband calmly fell asleep, making everything feel meaningless and embarrassing. Why on earth did her husband just sleep?
“...I wanted to be held.”
After meeting her husband, every time they were together, Tae-ryeong felt alive. Her warm blood flowed, her heart beat, and she felt emotions. Especially when held in her husband’s arms, it resonated most intensely. That’s why she wanted to be held. She liked that intimate, sensual, and noble connection she shared with her husband, feeling alive. Last night, her husband was definitely a “Roaring Tiger.” His hot eyes that looked as if they would devour her, and his angry muscles that snarled fiercely. But her husband ignored all of that and fell asleep. Why on earth? Was he planning to proceed with physical intimacy in stages, now that they had started dating? As her thoughts reached that point, Tae-ryeong smiled brightly.
“He’s a more timid Roaring Tiger than I thought.”
Tae-ryeong slowly got out of bed and changed the saved name in her contact list. From Seo Kang-joon to Timid Roaring Tiger. When she finished preparing for work and went downstairs, Secretary Kim greeted her with a bright expression.
“Good morning, CEO!”
As soon as the car started, her phone vibrated. Tae-ryeong, confirming the caller was Young-guk, answered with a cold expression.
“Speak.”
[I called early to adjust your schedule in advance.]
“...”
[Your father wants to buy you a delicious meal today. Which is better, lunch or dinner?]
Tae-ryeong almost laughed out loud. He was a man who had never treated her as a daughter, much less given her a call or even any attention. But now, it was amusing that he so easily uttered the word “father.”
“I decide whether or not to adjust my schedule based on the purpose of the meal. So please just tell me directly.”
She didn’t want a long conversation with this man. Especially not on a morning starting her day.
[Tae-ryeong, Father knows everything.]
He needs to stop with that ‘father’ talk. But Young-guk’s next words were beyond disconcerting; they were outrageous.
[As expected of my daughter, you’re smart. To figure out that if you just control President Seo, you can have everything in your hands. There’s no way you’d fall in love. You’re just after the Han Shin family’s daughter-in-law position, aren’t you?]
As she debated how long she had to listen to this insane talk, Young-guk continued, [Then you should definitely meet Father. Before Young-hee finds out.]
Tae-ryeong found Young-guk, speaking as if he knew everything, contemptible. He truly knew nothing. Yet, a faint curiosity sparked within her. What nonsense would this man, who knew nothing of love and only knew how to satisfy his own desires, spout?
“Is Cheongdam Garim Korean Restaurant at 6 PM okay?”
[Of course. See you then.]
Young-guk answered as if he had expected it, and the call ended.
________________________________________
The atmosphere in the secretary’s office was subtle. More precisely, the secretaries’ eyes, when looking at Tae-ryeong, were filled with a certain emotion. When Tae-ryeong looked at him, Secretary Kim shrugged, indicating he didn’t know either. The reason became clear when she entered the office. The emotion that filled the secretaries’ eyes as they looked at her was envy. The large table was full. A large flower basket exuding a rich floral scent. Beside it, a row of snack baskets. Bread, cookies, tarts, macarons, handmade chocolates and candies, sliced cakes, and so on. But it wasn’t the food and flowers on the table that made the secretaries envious. Her husband, who was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window with his hands in his pants pockets, talking on the phone, turned at her presence.
“The UAM (Urban Air Mobility) market is definitely viable. Everyone predicts explosive growth over the next 20 years. We’ve signed a business agreement for the UAM project with Incheon International Airport Airlines and J-Com, and we established the business unit this year, so...”
She could see herself reflected in her husband’s jet-black eyes, which seemed to swallow even light. Even a step away, an invisible barrier was drawn across her perfectly flawless husband’s perfection. She disliked that distance, that sense of otherness. Tae-ryeong approached her husband and first reached out her arms to embrace his firm waist.
“Grandfather, I have to hang up. You can get additional reports from Director Young-man.”
Kang-joon unilaterally ended the call, pulled her small body tighter into his embrace, and met her eyes.
“There was a flower shop on the way. And a bunch of stores next to it. So, somehow...”
It meant he had impulse-bought everything, as if sweeping them up. And he had carried them himself. Last night, he was a timid “Roaring Tiger,” but this morning, her husband was a romantic “Roaring Tiger.”
“It’s like I want to sweep up everything that looks pretty and good and offer it to you, wife.”
Suddenly overcome with strong emotion, Tae-ryeong stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to her husband’s. She expected a hot kiss as passionate as her hot lips. Chok—. He merely made light physical contact and then her husband pulled his lips away. Tae-ryeong gazed at the timid “Roaring Tiger” today. Why didn’t he even kiss her, somewhat reproachfully. At her gaze, her husband chuckled briefly.
“Even just stopping here was pushing it; if I kissed you, I don’t think I’d be able to leave.”
As if to prove it, Kang-joon’s phone rang in his jacket.
“I’ll head down now.”
Even while on the phone, his dark eyes remained fixed on Tae-ryeong.
“I’ll be very late today, so go to sleep first.”
Tae-ryeong, who had been gazing at his broad back as he turned away, wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist from behind. She felt his firm back tense.
“I love you, Kang-joon.”
The important truth Young-guk truly didn’t know. Tae-ryeong wasn’t coveting this position. She had simply fallen in love with her husband.
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