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“Surely not.” Jin-woo swallowed hard, his eyes widening as he turned his head. The man’s fist was embedded in the wall, precariously close to his face.
“What are you doing?!”
“You heard me, it missed.”
The man, looking down with a casual gaze as if nothing had happened, was utterly unperturbed. Yet, the aura emanating from his large, solid body was formlessly overwhelming.
“There’s only one warning, and only one miss. Next time…”
His elegant voice, slow and drawn out, sounded sinister in the restroom.
“What do you think will happen?”
The man remained the same. Informal honorifics, arrogance disguised as politeness. Making it impossible to dare talk back. That infuriated Jin-woo even more, and he glared, snapping, “Assault is clearly a criminal act!”
“I didn’t lay a finger on you, what did I do?”
“You said it missed, but you just tried to smash my face, didn’t you?”
“Next time, I’ll properly smash it.”
The man’s lips curled into a sneer, cold and mocking.
“Mr. Kim Jin-woo’s face.”
His cold eyes, which had briefly looked away, reattached themselves to Jin-woo’s face. The gaze, sharp as a blade, savagely twisted Jin-woo’s pupils. In a nonchalant voice that contrasted with his eyes, the man asked again, “They say an entertainer’s image is their face, isn’t that right?”
What the man threatened was an invisible violence. Meaning, he would shatter his career as an entertainer. “Who do you think you are?” But Jin-woo, despite his indignation, dared not snap back. He had no information about the enemy in front of him. Whose child he was, what he did, how great and distinguished his family was. Yet, the man’s unapproachable aura, despite the lack of information, whispered instead, “You are nothing to me.”
“If you want to maintain a clean image, let’s stop here.”
The man’s threat was elegant and polite.
“As a public figure, you should cleanly delete a married woman from your mind.”
His seemingly casual, gentle words were laced with a potent, thick venom. Jin-woo trembled and glared at the man. But the man slowly stepped back and washed his hands at the sink. He checked his hands, where red blood had been washed away by the water, leaving only clean wounds. Then, the man calmly left the restroom as if nothing had happened. Once the intimidating man disappeared, Jin-woo’s brain, which had stopped, slowly started working again. He could only think that the man was a psycho.
“I have to tell the little one.”
“It’s okay if you reject my feelings. You said you’d return to your original place anyway. I’ve watched you for over 10 years, there’s no reason not to keep watching.” Anyway, his schedule was busy, and he didn’t have the luxury to focus on dating. As time passed, the little one would forget that man, and his chance would return. “Good things come to those who wait, and opportunities come.” Still, he felt he had to tell the little one this. What that man’s true nature was. To prevent her from falling too deeply for him and changing her mind later. Jin-woo spun around, his eyes wide.
“…!”
The restroom’s yellow-ochre wall was deeply indented with a long crack. “That psycho monster bastard!”
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“How dare he try to touch her.” Coming out of the restroom, Kang-joon tried to compose himself, but it wasn’t easy to calm down. He was numb to the burning sensation on the back of his right hand. He shouldn’t have dwelled on it, but his mind kept replaying it. The tender gaze he gave his wife, even the hand that had secretly tried to brush hers. He didn’t know what their past relationship was, but he was certain his wife wasn’t interested in Kim Jin-woo. She had taken off her heels and run away to avoid Kim Jin-woo, refused his confession, and today, she tried to pretend she didn’t know him. “But who are you to keep approaching and touching Joo Se-hee, making her uncomfortable? Even I, her husband, pretend not to know and don’t expose it, so who are you to dare?” Once with words, once with action. Now, all that remained was to put that warning into action. Even without having to use his power, the method was actually simple. An entertainer, whose image was everything, confessing to a married woman and constantly following her around? It would be a juicy tip for the media.
As soon as he entered the restaurant, Kang-joon quietly found the restaurant manager. After discussing compensation for the wall, he sat down, and Tae-ryeong was already tasting the pre-set side dishes. When Kang-joon sat across from her, she looked at him with round eyes and smiled softly.
“Kang-joon, the side dishes here are so delicious too.”
It was his wife’s disarmed smile when she ate something delicious.
“This is an herbal jangajji (pickled vegetable); it tastes good, and the more you chew it, the healthier you feel. Try some.”
His wife picked up a piece of jangajji and held it to Kang-joon’s mouth, as if telling him to eat it. He didn’t want to eat it, but he couldn’t ignore his wife’s goodwill, so he opened his mouth and accepted it. In truth, he felt like he should be eating grass, not meat, right now. He had just snarled at that annoying guy like a ferocious carnivore. But now he was in front of his wife. He had to chew on grass, behaving like a docile herbivore.
Finally, the bulgogi marinated in peaches arrived. As Kang-joon picked up the tongs and placed the meat on the grill, the smile disappeared from his wife’s face.
“Kang-joon, what happened to your hand? It looks quite hurt.”
He should have used his left hand, but his right hand had instinctively gone out.
“Ah, I just scratched it a little in the restroom.”
Kang-joon replied as if it were nothing, then held the tongs in his left hand and lowered his right hand under the table. But Tae-ryeong, who had already seen it, got up and sat next to Kang-joon.
“Give me your right hand.”
Tae-ryeong silently glared at her unmoving husband and held out her hand. “…Aren’t you going to give me your hand?” When she gave a silent command with a fierce gaze, his right hand reluctantly rested on Tae-ryeong’s hand. Like a large dog offering its paw at its owner’s command. At a glance, the injury on his hand was quite severe.
“How is this just a slight scratch? Your flesh is completely…”
Unable to finish her sentence, Tae-ryeong paused to catch her breath, then spoke again.
“It must have bled a lot, what did you do?”
“I washed it thoroughly under running water for hygiene.”
“Does he think his wound is a vegetable?” Tae-ryeong silently glared at her husband, who answered seriously, “Confess.” But Kang-joon subtly avoided her gaze, exercising his right to remain silent.
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“…”
“I was trying hard to gain weight, but now, a diet again…”
“I was catching a bug.”
His husband’s excuse was so absurd that Tae-ryeong blinked rapidly a few times.
“Kang-joon, do you catch bugs with the back of your hand, no, with your fist?”
“How big was that bug, and how hard did you hit it?” To be honest, she was more concerned about her husband’s injury than why he got hurt. It must have hurt a lot. It made her so upset and sad that her eyes welled up. She wasn’t usually this emotional. She thought her tears had dried up, crying only a handful of times. Her husband, flustered by Tae-ryeong’s silence, cautiously opened his mouth.
“For men, it’s about fists.”
“If only he couldn’t speak.” Her husband, who had been as mature and solid as a mountain, now felt like a naive child. So, Yeon-sook’s words came to mind again: that men are children until they are in their coffins, and you have to coax and soothe them to live with them. Tae-ryeong smacked her husband’s back, not hard. But she still liked this man. And so she was upset, so upset she felt like she would die. She feared that when she returned to her place, this man would linger in her mind for a long, long time. With tear-filled eyes, Tae-ryeong looked up and nagged, “Are you stupid? How old are you, getting hurt like this? Catching bugs with your fist?”
“It’s really just a slight scratch. My bones are fine and…”
Unaware of her true feelings, her husband leaned in and whispered secretly into her ear, “The fingers my wife likes are fine too.”
That was truly an immature answer. She was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t even force a laugh; Tae-ryeong just stared blankly. At this upsetting moment, her husband, who insensitively summoned the naughty roar. When did this perfect, calm man become so sly and brazen? Tae-ryeong wasn’t the only one who had become a fool. Seo Kang-joon had also become a fool. In the name of love, both of them were fools. So Tae-ryeong decided not to ask her husband anything either. Just as her husband had done for her. If he wanted her not to know, she would pretend not to know. Because she had learned from her husband that sometimes, that was consideration for the other person.
“So, did you catch the bug?”
Tae-ryeong asked with a sigh, as if defeated, and only then did her husband grin.
“It missed. Only the innocent wall got a crack.”
“…The wall got a crack?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already negotiated compensation with the restaurant manager to replace the entire restroom wall.”
Tae-ryeong’s eyes widened.
“You really…!”
She felt like she should ask what kind of bug it was that it could crack a restroom wall. The moment Tae-ryeong’s lips parted, a piece of perfectly cooked meat slipped into her mouth.
“First, eat your meat. After we finish eating, we’ll go home and put medicine on your wound.”
When she stared at him in disbelief, her husband pleaded with his eyes, asking her to forgive him just this once. His husband’s flustered expression was unfamiliar, yet she didn’t entirely dislike it. Knowing that this side of her husband was a privilege only she could see. And the bulgogi marinated in peaches was incredibly delicious. She couldn’t help but give in.
“Only if you promise… you won’t catch bugs with your fist again.”
“I promise.”
As her husband made a solemn vow, Jin-woo was seen opening the restaurant door and entering. Their eyes met, and Jin-woo stared at Tae-ryeong for a moment before abruptly turning his head and returning to his seat. Chewing the meat that melted in her mouth, Tae-ryeong suddenly had an absurd thought: “Surely the bug her husband mentioned wasn’t Jin-woo oppa, was it?”
________________________________________
After leaving the hospital, Alicia’s daily routine was repeating according to Madam Jo’s schedule. She had a new credit card and phone, but her every move was monitored. Her destination, her route, whom she met and contacted, and how she spent her time. It was Madam Jo’s strong will to firmly control her daughter, whose mind had become lax. As the departure date approached, she became anxious. She had to meet her sister and confirm things, but there was no way to contact her, and she was distraught. Fortunately, Madam Jo took her to a dinner with her sister, and she used that opportunity. And today was that day. The day they were to meet by pretending to be coincidentally at the same nail salon, like regular customers.
As Alicia got out of the car, Madam Jo’s driver said like a robot, “I will pick you up in two hours, young lady.”
With that, the car drove away. It was noon, and the harsh sunlight, bad for the skin, was scorching. Alicia, pulling her wide-brimmed hat down, squinted. A dazzling luxury SUV, costing a fortune, stopped on the roadside. The man who got out of the car was strikingly handsome, noticeable even from a distance. That’s why her gaze had been drawn to him. The moment the man walked around the hood and opened the passenger door, Alicia’s face stiffened. The woman elegantly stepping out of the car, holding the man’s hand, was her sister. Looking closely, the man’s face also seemed familiar. Not only Alicia but also the gazes of people walking on the street simultaneously focused on the two of them. Such a visually captivating couple radiated clear affection for each other. Everyone was looking on with envious eyes. Only Alicia stared with a gaze entangled with jealousy. The elegant manners, the incredibly handsome husband, the husband’s tender affection, the envious gazes—they were all hers originally, things she should be enjoying. As her thoughts reached that point, Alicia’s stomach twisted so much it made her feel sick.
As if reluctant to part, Seo Kang-joon tenderly escorted her sister to the front of the department store. The man’s back, whose face wasn’t visible, again drew attention with his superior physique. Seeing him again like this, the ambition she had decisively folded away began to creep back up. That man, that man’s wife’s position. “If she can do that, what can’t I do? He’s Seo Kang-joon, and Seo Kang-joon acts so tenderly.”
“…He was said to have incredibly good manners.”
Suddenly, Alicia wanted to test Seo Kang-joon. She was curious about the boundary of his manners. Would it be limited to his wife, or limited to beautiful women? Men were all pretty much the same anyway. Alicia knew better than anyone that the manners men showed often turned into flirtation. As her sister disappeared into the department store, Seo Kang-joon finally turned and began to walk. Seeing that, Alicia also started walking. Click-clack, click-clack. The sound of her stiletto heels echoed crisply on the cement pavement. As their distance grew closer, Alicia deliberately pulled her wide-brimmed hat down low and lowered her gaze. And the moment she brushed past Seo Kang-joon, she intentionally bumped his shoulder. His solid body was like granite. Just a slight bump was enough to twist her ankle, even while wearing 11-centimeter high heels.
“…Ouch!”
She saw Seo Kang-joon reflexively reaching out his hand.
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