Chapter 11
“…Excuse me?”
“Maybe it’s because you’re young. You seem quite shy, not very talkative. You appear to have an introverted personality.”
“Ah…”
At the sudden, blunt observation, Soeun felt dizzy.
“You look like the type who has a hard time getting along with others, a rather passive personality. Were you always like that, even when you were young?”
The thought that she had been moved earlier by the bouquet and by being lifted into his arms—she took it all back.
“Yes. I wasn’t very talkative even as a child.”
“Next time, you’ll be attending social gatherings with our family. What are you planning to do then?”
“Ah… Right. I’m part of the GH Group family now, so I guess I’ll have to go along.”
“You hadn’t thought you’d be going with us?”
“No… I’ve hardly attended events like that in the three years since we got married…”
“…”
“…”
He didn’t respond.
Silence filled the car.
Soeun glanced at him cautiously, but he remained quiet.
Until now, her in-laws, Hojung and Aekyung, had rarely invited her to social functions.
Perhaps they thought she would feel uncomfortable going without her husband and were trying to be considerate. And it wasn’t like she had ever insisted on going either.
As an introvert, Soeun had actually been grateful that they hadn’t forced her to attend such events alone.
On the rare occasions she did have to go, there were always confident, outgoing sons and daughters of major corporations—people who dominated the atmosphere with ease. Both men and women.
So it was only natural that Hyunjun, who was used to women like that, would be disappointed in someone like her—someone who was shy even around his own brothers and the household staff.
‘He acted so perfectly like a caring husband earlier in front of his parents and grandfather. But now that we’re alone, he’s showing his true dissatisfaction.’
If his brothers and the butler hadn’t been there, even after seeing that she’d twisted her ankle, he might have coldly told her to just get up and stop making a fuss.
Reflected in the lenses of Soeun’s glasses as she looked out the window were the passing lights and Hyunjun’s figure.
Headlights of passing cars and streetlamps shimmered, coloring the night streets.
Feeling slightly hurt, Soeun continued staring outside. But as she realized they were heading home, her tension eased, and the lingering effects of alcohol made her body feel heavy and relaxed.
Before she knew it, sleep quietly overtook her.
She thought she heard someone calling her name.
But Soeun’s eyelids felt too heavy to open.
“Mm…”
Then suddenly she felt her body lifting into the air.
With her head resting against something warm and firm, she was carried somewhere.
She couldn’t think. She couldn’t remember anything.
She was simply too sleepy and exhausted—she just wanted to sleep.
“Mm…”
Wrapped in a pleasantly scented, cozy embrace, she soon felt herself being laid down onto a soft bed.
The familiar fresh scent of the bed she slept in every day.
The soft pillow she always rested her head on.
The blanket she loved wrapping around her body.
And then… a firm arm sliding beneath her neck, pulling her closer into a warm chest.
Half-asleep and drunk, Soeun instinctively buried her face into the embrace that held her.
After that, she remembered nothing.
When she briefly woke at dawn, through her hazy vision she saw Hyunjun’s throat.
She was resting on his solid arm, sleeping in his arms.
His familiar citrus scent filled her nose, and though his muscles felt firm beneath her fingertips, his embrace was incredibly warm.
‘Is this a dream… or reality?’
Just like during their honeymoon, when he had exhausted her every night and then held her tightly while they slept—he was hugging her the same way.
Thump, thump… thump, thump…
Remembering those days made her heart beat strangely.
Confused by the unfamiliar fluttering, Soeun squeezed her eyes shut again.
Swoosh.
When she opened her eyes, bright sunlight poured in.
Blink. Blink.
Frowning at the brightness, she blinked several times.
Then, feeling something was off, she shot upright.
Clear morning sunlight fell across her face.
She was alone in the bed.
“Huh? But my clothes…?”
She was sure she had been wearing a dress and cardigan yesterday.
But now both were gone—she was left wearing only her underwear.
“Wh-what? Wh-who took off my clothes? Kyah!”
Soeun panicked.
She woke up half-undressed, and her husband was nowhere to be seen.
“D-don’t tell me… Did Hyunjun take them off?”
Feeling incredibly embarrassed being in just her bra and panties, she pulled the blanket over herself.
After all, the only person who could share this bed with her in this house was her husband.
‘We just met again after three years and it’s already awkward enough… and he undressed me?’
I have a bit of flab around my sides and stomach… He didn’t see all that, did he?
No, it was dark at night. He probably couldn’t see clearly.
Ahhh, what do I do?
Soeun fidgeted in embarrassment.
“But where did Hyunjun go? Did he wake up early? Why is the house so quiet? Is he not home? He said he only came to Korea briefly—did he already go back to America?”
She craned her neck toward the bedroom door, then turned toward the bedside table to grab her phone.
“Hm?”
There was a Post-it note stuck on the table.
“What’s this?”
She reached over and picked it up, putting on her glasses at the same time.
“If you wake up, call me.”
It was a note from Hyunjun.
Under the message was an eleven-digit phone number.
He had left his number and told her to call him once she woke up.
But there was one thing he seemed to have forgotten: they had already exchanged phone numbers at their wedding.
Not that they had ever used them.
During their week-long honeymoon, they had been together the entire time, so there was no need to call each other.
After that, he had left immediately for America—and in the years since, they hadn’t exchanged a single message.
“Looks like he doesn’t even remember giving me his number.”
Soeun fiddled with the Post-it note.
Well, it made sense.
She wasn’t a wife he had married out of love, after all.
Legally she was his wife, but to him she was probably just…
A woman arranged by their families, someone he had to take responsibility for.
Or maybe just baggage left behind in Korea.
Rrrrr— Rrrrr— Rrrrr—
Suddenly her phone rang loudly.
[Hyunjun]
“Gasp.”
His name appeared on the screen—his number she had saved three years ago.
It was the first time he had ever called her.
“H-hello…?”
– You’re awake?
His low, calm voice came through the phone.
“Yes. B-but why are you calling me…?”
– I’m calling my wife. Is there a problem with that?
“N-no, but…”
– Then are you unhappy that I called?
“N-no, not at all.”
There was a sharp edge to his tone.
– While I’m staying in Korea, I’ll be calling you from time to time.
“Okay.”
– Make sure you answer.
“Understood. Oh, um… and by the way…”
– What.
Clutching the blanket tightly to hide her half-naked body, Soeun continued hesitantly.
“My clothes… who took them off?”
– I did. Who else would undress my wife besides me?
