Chapter 15
“Didn’t I tell you that today’s your chance? I’ll be generous and understanding, so if there’s a man you’ve been hiding, deal with it now.”
Soeun’s mouth fell open.
Apparently, during the three years they were apart, he really thought she might have been seeing another man.
“I’m not seeing anyone! I really mean it!”
Her cheeks burned red as she stammered.
Hyunjun, noticing the signal, slowly stopped the car and turned his head toward the passenger seat.
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
His tone was cold.
It seemed that Hyunjun had no concept of trust.
“The guy you’re closest to—your friend—I assumed he might at least know you’re married, even if he didn’t know you were with GH Group. I didn’t expect you to hide it completely.”
“Ah…”
“If you hid the fact that you’re married that thoroughly, then hiding another guy wouldn’t be a problem at all. So that’s why you weren’t wearing our wedding ring?”
Soeun’s eyes shook under his sharp gaze.
Even on the day of their reunion, he still seemed bothered that she wasn’t wearing her ring on her left hand.
“I’ve never taken this ring off since our wedding. Even when I was in the U.S., my close friends knew I was married.”
It had been a misunderstanding caused by the difference between his way of handling things and hers.
Soeun took a steady breath before speaking.
“The ring… as I said, I’m just not used to it. On busy mornings, when I shower quickly and wash my hair, the ring kept getting in the way. And my hair is long, so I got into the habit of taking it off while washing. I just forgot to put it back on.”
It seemed that this was the first time Soeun had spoken at length to Hyunjun. She swallowed once and continued.
“After school, when I came home, the ring wasn’t there. I was worried sick for days thinking I’d lost it. But then I found out…”
“Found out what?”
“My cousins came over while I wasn’t home, found the ring, and played a little prank. They hid it. I didn’t know, so I panicked thinking it was lost. Eventually, I got the ring back and then hid it deep where no one could touch it.”
Soeun spoke rapidly, a little frustrated, not even noticing that her thick glasses were slipping down her nose.
Hyunjun, who had been silently listening to his wife, blinked dryly.
“So that’s what happened. If it’s really uncomfortable for you, I won’t force you to wear the ring.”
“Oh, no. Now that you’re in Korea, I’ll try to get used to wearing it even if it’s uncomfortable.”
“If you don’t want to, you can leave it off. But you need to deal with the men, now.”
“I-I’m not hiding any men!”
“Is it possible that no man has tried to approach a woman like you?”
“……?”
Soeun froze mid-chatter.
“I assume, since you’re beautiful, there have probably been more than one or two men confessing to you. Am I wrong?”
Soeun opened her mouth in shock, unsure if she had heard correctly.
Was he scolding her, or complimenting her? She didn’t know.
Her face flushed red, and she fidgeted with her lips.
“Ever since I married you, Hyunjun, I haven’t had anything to do with any other man. I’m a married woman. Even if I didn’t reveal my marriage to anyone, I never put myself in a situation that would make you suspicious, so don’t worry.”
“……”
“And when I decided not to reveal my marriage to others, I discussed it with both my father and mother. They agreed, saying that attracting attention could interfere with my studies.”
Hyunjun pressed his lips into a thin line and fell into thought.
He hadn’t realized that Hojung and Aekyung had agreed.
Listening to his wife speak like that, it seemed clear that there really had been no other man.
From when she entered college at twenty, surely male seniors had noticed her.
His wife was stunning and academically excellent; anyone would have been interested in getting close to her.
Even his younger brothers, Hyunmin and Hyunho, couldn’t take their eyes off Soeun.
Yet she would have felt a sense of distance with him—eight years her senior—and the younger men in their early twenties.
She probably felt a generation gap, thinking they couldn’t communicate.
By his side, she constantly looked tense and nervous.
At times, she would jump in surprise if he merely spoke to her.
Maybe she disliked him, maybe she didn’t like an older husband.
He realized he had probably never seen her genuinely smile at him.
“…Huh.”
Except, of course, for that one fake smile she gave at the wedding in her dress.
Since it was his first time visiting her parents’ house, Hyunjun behaved properly.
He wore a sharp, clean suit, and brought all sorts of rare foods and fruits as gifts.
He even prepared a beautiful bouquet for Soeun’s aunt, Joo-ok, who was now the head of Jusan Foods.
“I’ve prepared a lot of food since it’s my first time at my wife’s home. I hope you like it, Auntie.”
Hyunjun waited at the gate of the detached house, asking politely.
“What kind of food does Auntie like?”
The backseat was filled with the bundles of luxurious food.
Soeun hesitated, then replied.
“I-I’m not really sure. We haven’t eaten together that often, I think.”
“Haven’t eaten together often? I heard you lived at your uncle’s house for two years while Chairman Yang was in the hospital.”
“Yes, that’s true. But I was so busy studying that I often skipped breakfast or left immediately. At school, I’d eat dinner and come home, so we rarely had a meal together.”
“What about weekends?”
“On weekends, I’d go to the study hall from morning and study all day, so I ate alone outside.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“That makes sense if you were studying. So at your uncle’s house, you rarely ate together?”
“Exactly.”
Soeun gave a bitter smile.
It wasn’t that she deliberately avoided meals with her uncle, Yang Min-cheol, from the beginning.
She had just started feeling uncomfortable and preferred to avoid being there herself, thinking it was fine as long as she wasn’t present.
During breaks or when she had free time, she would go visit her grandfather in the nursing hospital.
Clack—
The sound of the gate opening.
“Oh my! My dear husband! Our dear husband is here, honey!”
Joo-ok was overjoyed to see Hyunjun and Soeun arrive.
The housemaids carried Hyunjun’s gift bundles inside, delighting Joo-ok.
She barely looked at Soeun, greeting only Hyunjun.
“Dear husband, sit here. I’ve prepared the meal. You must be hungry. Why did you bring all this?”
“It wouldn’t be proper to come empty-handed on my first visit.”
“Indeed, GH Group has a different scale. I thought you’d just stop by to greet, yet your hands are full. Hoho. Ma’am! Hurry and put the gifts down, and warm up the soup for our dear husband!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The maid set down the gifts and hurried to prepare the evening meal.
Min-cheol, wearing slippers, came over to shake Hyunjun’s hand.
“Dear husband, I heard you returned yesterday. It must have been a long trip.”
“No. I’m sorry I couldn’t attend the chairman’s inauguration ceremony. Congratulations, even if belatedly.”
“Heh. You weren’t in Korea anyway. I understand. Besides, my succession as chairman was always going to happen. No need to congratulate me.”
Since Soeun’s father, the eldest, had passed away, it was natural that Min-cheol would inherit Jusan Foods, and he laughed as if to confirm that.
Then Soeun’s cousins, Hyein and Min, ran up to Hyunjun to greet him.
“Oh my, brother-in-law is here?”
“Hello, brother-in-law. Wow, you haven’t aged a bit. You look even more handsome!”
“Right? Right? I want a husband like that. I envy Yang So-eun.”
“Tsk!”
As Hyein and Min gushed, Joo-ok clicked her tongue in warning.
“Dear husband, sit here. Soeun, you sit here too.”
Joo-ok quickly gave Soeun a displeased look as she scanned her from head to toe.
At that gaze, Soeun’s body tensed immediately.
“But Soeun, why have you been so out of touch? It’s upsetting.”
She sounded like an aunt waiting for her niece to call, but there was a sting in her words.
Meeting Joo-ok after so long and being scolded immediately made Soeun shrink back.
She hung her head; her heavy glasses slipped down further, making her look even more timid.
“I-I’m sorry. I’ve been busy with my final year.”
“Of course, getting married into a good household, we’re not in your mind. Sit. Let’s eat first. Your husband must be hungry.”
Joo-ok’s tone was sharp, and Hyunjun’s gaze slowly swept over the room.
Yang Min-cheol, Lee Joo-ok, Yang Hyein, Yang Min, and finally, the quiet third son, Yang Cheol-in, who walked out last.
“Soeun, you’re here?”
“Yeah, Cheol-in. Long time no see. How have you been?”
“Good. It’s nice to see you again, Soeun.”
“Me too.”
Hyunjun’s eyes carefully scanned each person.
He suspected something about his wife’s uncle’s household, where she had stayed for two years.
