She had been confident that she was fully armed. But her husband’s one sentence instantly crumbled Taeryeong. If only she had been innocently ignorant. Her face seemed to heat up as much as her burning head, and Taeryeong slowly blinked her eyes open and closed. After repeating this several times, reason slowly filled her cooling mind. His blatant, mischievous behavior had only one intention: to trouble and torment Taeryeong. But even a worm wriggles when stepped on.

“Kangjoon-ssi, do you want to sleep with me?”

Taeryeong asked, looking at him with clear, emotionless eyes, just as he had done. Perhaps he hadn’t expected her to ask so directly, as Kangjoon narrowed his eyes.

“If I were so inclined, would you be willing?”

“Since we’re married, I should consider it. For your information, if you let me know a few days in advance, I’d be willing to consider it in a positive light.”

Hah. Taeryeong found her husband’s soft, low exhale at that moment rather pleasing. It somehow felt like she had gotten one over on him.

“Yu Taeryeong-ssi.”

A subtle, peculiar light flickered in Kangjoon’s eyes as he called his wife’s name. He had thought she was just self-willed with a knack for attracting men, but she had unexpected talents. The new sides she revealed, like peeling an onion, were both baffling and amusing.

“How many men do you think would give you a few days’ notice for something like that? It’s not something that needs to be expressed in words.”

As always, his wife’s act was perfect. Her demure posture, her obedient expression and tone. But the eyes that calmly refuted him were more stubborn than anyone he had ever seen. Those eyes were intensely provoking Kangjoon. They seemed to say that no matter how much he tormented and provoked her, she wouldn’t budge. If that’s what he wanted, then he had no choice but to provoke her.

“If I were to feel that way, it would be spontaneous. The moment we have an unspoken physical connection.”

“The fact that we’re married doesn’t make everything permissible. Shouldn’t we, as a married couple, respect and care for each other even more?”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do—respect and care for you.”

His voice lowered further, and his tone became gentler. But the cold eyes staring at Taeryeong were sharp, as if they could see right through her.

“For a wife who’s desperate to run away just from being with me.”

And indeed, Taeryeong felt as if her mind had been pierced through.

“I’m also worried about how you’ll handle anything more intimate when you can’t even handle being together.”

Her small face, hiding her eyes beneath her long eyelashes in embarrassment, turned pale.

“That’s why I went to the hotel. At least to prevent something like that from happening between us. My thoughts haven’t changed even now.”

Slowly raising his gaze, Kangjoon asked again, “Let me ask you one last time. Does Taeryeong-ssi still want me to come home?”

She knew the answer her husband wanted. And Taeryeong also wanted to give him that answer. But if she failed to meet even one of Madam Jo’s demands, the contract would fall to pieces. That was the price for the three years she had gotten by thanks to her husband’s long absence. Even after being discharged from the hospital, her grandmother needed to take medication regularly. What if she couldn’t get the medication from the Gayang Hospital Clinical Center? The image of her grandmother convulsing and having seizures as if she were about to die flashed through Taeryeong’s mind, and her vision blurred. ...No way!

“Drink this.”

The low voice seeping into her ear pulled Taeryeong back to reality. But even as she quickly composed herself, she turned away from the cup her husband offered.

“......If you don’t want to, then don’t.”

Kangjoon was equally confused as he looked at his wife, who was stubbornly holding her ground with a face so pale it was pitiful. He had drawn his sword for an attack, and his powerless opponent was right in front of him. Yet, why couldn’t he strike? It was all because of this bewitching wife. With that fragile appearance, as if a puff of breath could blow her away, she was instead rendering him powerless. Was this another new tactic? It was enough to make him suspicious.

________________________________________

“Taeryeong, weren’t you on a diet? Short ribs seem like they’d be high in calories because of the marinade.”

At Madam Jo’s words, Taeryeong’s hand, which had been reaching for the braised short ribs, stopped.

“Your stomach is weak; what if you get indigestion from eating meat? Huh?”

“Oh dear, these young people these days. Taeryeong, you’re already so thin, what kind of diet are you talking about? You actually look like you need to gain some weight.”

When Yeonsuk took her side, Madam Jo nonchalantly retorted, “Actually, Mother, our Taeryeong takes after me and gains weight just by drinking water. It’s only because I manage her like this that she maintains that face and figure.”

Under Madam Jo’s cold gaze, Taeryeong picked up a piece of rib and placed it on Kangjoon’s plate.

“I wasn’t going to eat it; I was going to give it to Kangjoon-ssi.”

Her reply was calm, but her heart was pounding. What if he refused? Fortunately, Kangjoon didn’t refuse and put the meat in his mouth with rice. Looking at her son affectionately, Yeonsuk asked softly,

“So, when have you decided to go home?”

“Well...”

Turning his head, Kangjoon looked at Taeryeong with an obvious gaze. Should he tease her one more time? He seemed to be pondering mischievously. Taeryeong felt suffocated by the gaze that tightened around her throat like a hook.

“I’m thinking sometime next week.”

A moment later, a slow reply laced with a low chuckle. Only then did Taeryeong exhale the breath she had been holding.

“You’ve thought well, son. If a married couple doesn’t live together, only strange rumors will circulate; there’s no good that will come of it.”

“No one knows I’m married, so what rumors could there be? Besides, it’s not like they’d be wrong.”

Kangjoon’s emotionless, indifferent eyes turned to Madam Jo.

“Mother-in-law has probably heard rumors about me too. What do you think?”

As if she had been waiting for the question, Madam Jo placed her chopsticks on the table.

“Actually, I hope you enjoy yourself to the fullest right now.”

The most surprised by those words was Yeonsuk.

“Madam Jo! What are you saying...?”

“Madam Choi, please listen to me. You know better than I do that Kangjoon’s relationships with women were impeccably clean before the marriage, right? So, suddenly getting married and only looking at one woman must be incredibly frustrating and unfair for him.”

Madam Jo smiled elegantly and patted Yeonsuk’s hand reassuringly.

“So, let’s give Kangjoon about a year of leeway. He should enjoy himself fully so he has no regrets, and then he can focus when it’s time to prepare for a baby, don’t you think? This marriage was all for the good of the families, and my daughter and I aren’t that narrow-minded. Right, Taeryeong?”

“Mother is right.”

Unlike her demure reply, Taeryeong seethed inwardly at Madam Jo. She had boasted to her that the groom had fallen in love at first sight with her. Madam Jo’s voice became even softer.

“Taeryeong has been so busy lately that you suddenly returned to Korea and haven’t been able to take proper care of him, have you? Without a wife’s support, you probably didn’t even want to go home.”

The implication was that Kangjoon was staying out because of Taeryeong.

“I will apologize on her behalf, so please wait just one year. Our Taeryeong will also quit her job around the time we officially announce the marriage next year.”

Madam Jo had thought things through quite well in a short amount of time. She was offering to turn a blind eye to his affairs as compensation for his wife being too busy to support him. Since he wouldn’t be near Taeryeong while he was seeing other women, it was a win-win situation. And then, after a year, when they each returned to their proper places, they would start their real married life. The conclusion was that she herself would bear all the emotional hardship now, and the reward for that hardship would go to Madam Jo’s daughter.

“I don’t think my wife needs to quit her job. It would be a shame to let her excellent management skills go to waste.”

Even at Kangjoon’s reply, Madam Jo didn’t lose her composure.

“Isn’t a wife’s greatest virtue supporting her husband? A woman also needs peace of mind to prepare for a child. As you can see, our Taeryeong is a workaholic like you and is working herself into the ground. If she works like that, her health will deteriorate, and it will be difficult for her to have a baby due to lack of stamina.”

Yeonsuk, who had been listening quietly, asked Taeryeong as if she had been waiting for the opportunity, “I hear you’re doing a great job managing the company, Taeryeong. But can you really quit without any regrets?”

“Work is important, but family is more important. I also want to have children.”

What happened a year from now was none of her business. Thinking that, Taeryeong’s eyes flickered.

“Then, at least show us you can eat well.”

Her husband had placed a piece of short rib on Taeryeong’s plate with an indifferent gesture. Could it be that he noticed she wanted to eat it? No, that couldn’t be it.

“Health and stamina aren’t built up in a day or two. I need to make an effort starting now.”

He was speaking to Taeryeong, but Kangjoon’s cold gaze was directed at Madam Jo.

“You shouldn’t be in such poor health that you get indigestion from just a few pieces of meat. Isn’t that right, Mother-in-law?”

It was as if he was firmly stating, what’s the problem if I want to feed my own wife?

“Since you take such good care of my daughter’s health, I don’t need to worry anymore. Right, Taeryeong?”

Unlike her smiling lips, Madam Jo’s eyes as she looked at Taeryeong were like a viper’s. *** In the parking lot, Kangjoon calmly watched his wife’s composed back as she saw off the adults. It was supposed to be a 30-minute meal. Yet, his wife’s earnest effort not to sit next to him made him realize something. The most efficient way to torment this woman was to live with her. To slowly suffocate her by her side. Of course, even then, he had no intention of changing his plans.

‘Kangjoon-ssi, do you want to sleep with me?’

Until his wife had looked at him with innocent eyes and asked in a soft voice. Kangjoon had almost burst out laughing. Everyone had always told Kangjoon, who had lived like an AI without a single deviation, that he was a ruthless bastard to the core. But Kangjoon had been living instinctively. There simply hadn’t been anything to pique his interest, attract his attention, entertain him, or make him deviate. But his wife was properly stimulating and provoking him. So, he couldn’t help but be curious. About the intentions she kept hidden deep inside that small head, the real 모습 she concealed within a body less than half the size of his. Yet, such a sharp and formidable woman hadn’t even been able to eat comfortably today because she was so concerned about her mother’s reaction. Braised short ribs, of all things, and she couldn’t eat them in peace. It could have been a calculated ploy by the cunning mother and daughter to evoke sympathy. But even a dog isn’t bothered while eating; wasn’t that too petty a tactic? As the two cars left the parking lot, Taeryeong approached.

“Will you let me know the date you’ll be coming home through your secretary?”

Kangjoon’s gaze, looking at his tired wife, became intense. The neckline supporting her small, slender face was white and delicate. Small face, small body, small hands. Everything about his wife was small and delicate except for her eyes. This was why he felt a pause in his tormenting; it wasn’t satisfying. In the face of his wife’s protective instincts, Kangjoon was also just a helpless man in that moment. Reason told him to ignore it, but the instinct to feed his wife clashed fiercely. There was no need to hesitate.

“Let’s go eat dinner first.”

Kangjoon was one to live by instinct.

“......What did you say?”

Suspicion filled his wife’s eyes as she stared at him, wondering if she had misheard.

“There’s a restaurant that makes delicious braised short ribs.”

“Didn’t we just have dinner?”

“Did you do something wrong to your mother-in-law? You couldn’t even eat properly because you were so worried about her.”

If Yu Taeryeong had been playing a trick, it had worked this time. It had shown him that even in his cold, arid heart, a faint sense of pity existed.

“My stomach isn’t very good, and I’m the type to gain weight just by drinking water. And every parent has a different way of loving their child. It’s overprotective, but my mother is just...”

“I’m not curious about whether you gain weight by just drinking water.”

I’ve let this much slide, so you should stop with the detestable act now, okay? As Kangjoon took a step closer, cutting off her words sharply, his wife took a step back. Kangjoon, who stubbornly closed the distance until their shoes almost touched, couldn’t help but chuckle. If she had stayed still, she would have at least broken even, so why was she avoiding him and pulling him in like this? Then, his wife’s eyes, looking up at him as if she didn’t understand, became clear, and her gaze softened. He had the absurd thought that it might be because of those eyes. Not Alicia Barton, not her detestable act, but those eyes, which even she might not know about, he strangely liked. He had to admit that this unfamiliar feeling of slowly getting to know his wife wasn’t unpleasant. He felt this way, but what about you, Yu Taeryeong?

“How much do you know about me, Taeryeong-ssi?”

His wife became speechless. Of course, she wouldn’t know anything. Taeryeong was now watching Kangjoon’s slowly reaching fingertips with resigned eyes. Receiving her unspoken permission, he gently pulled her closer, and his wife’s body, pressing against him, was surprisingly soft and pliant.

A faint smile spread across Kangjoon’s lips as he leaned his face towards his wife, who stood facing him.

“See? You don’t know anything.”

So, let’s go eat. Fattening up the prey before devouring it. It was the leisure of a relaxed predator.