Chapter 18

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Jun-hyeok stared at Seo-ha, who readily agreed to what could have been a one-sided order. In the end, he sharpened his tone, irritation creeping into his voice.

“You’re too easy. You’re so indifferent about everything, like none of it has anything to do with you. Forget being attached to your life—don’t you have anything you even care about?”

Seo-ha hesitated.

But this was an easy question with an obvious answer.

“There is. Beside me.”

A crooked remark immediately followed her answer.

“Beside you? Me?”

“Yes? No. Dodam…”

There was no way someone as perceptive as him didn’t know she was referring to Dodam.

Realizing she had been dragged into his deliberate wordplay, Seo-ha’s face flushed for no reason.

“Now I’m actually competing with a dog. But do you know something?”

Seo-ha quietly looked in Jun-hyeok’s direction.

For some reason, she had the strange illusion that his face was clearer than before.

“I’m actually pretty famous around here for being more vicious than a dog. Once I start biting, I don’t let go.”

Seo-ha had no idea how she was supposed to respond to a man who was declaring that he intended to compete with Dodam.

Her heart fluttered foolishly at words that were obviously nothing more than a joke.

“A mad dog versus a gentle dog. You don’t even need to see the match to know the result.”

Seo-ha went over his words in her mind several times, wondering if she had misunderstood him.

Because Jun-hyeok’s words almost sounded as though he intended to compete with Dodam for her affection.

Why would this man go to such lengths?

She had already thought there was something unusual about him, but he was also incredibly skilled at making a woman’s heart flutter.

“It won’t be easy to win.”

Seo-ha answered firmly because she didn’t want to be swayed by him.

In her current life, Dodam alone was more than enough to give her something to care about and cherish.

“Good. Shall we make a bet?”

She had only just taken her first step toward the future.

She didn’t want to let Han Jun-hyeok’s way of speaking, which did nothing but confuse her heart, toy with her emotions.

She didn’t know how many women he had seduced with that silver tongue of his, but she had no intention of becoming another trophy in Han Jun-hyeok’s collection.

Wanting to change the subject, Seo-ha spoke.

“Since we’re talking about it, I think we should buy Dodam’s things before mine. Could we stop by a pet supply store nearby?”

Jun-hyeok obviously knew she had deliberately changed the subject, and he gave her a crooked, mocking smile.

“Don’t just take care of the gentle dog. Take care of the mad dog, too. If he gets jealous for no reason, you’ll have a headache.”

“Yes…?”

Her voice cracked for a moment, and Seo-ha hurriedly composed herself.

She felt as though his gaze was fixed directly on her, making it impossible to look away.

“Just imagining one bastard dog getting jealous of another bastard dog is ugly enough. Don’t give him a reason.”

Jun-hyeok muttered lightly before starting the car.

As he moved in the confined space, his distinctive scent drifted toward the tip of Seo-ha’s nose.

The heart she had barely managed to calm began pounding rapidly again.

He really is a dangerous man. I have to be careful not to get dragged into this.

Despite Seo-ha’s determination, the night air felt sweeter than ever.

Unlike the sensation of merely having survived until now, Seo-ha felt as though she was truly alive.

For the first time in a very long while.

After shopping for an enormous amount of pet supplies, Seo-ha felt pleasantly full.

She couldn’t even tell whether she was full because she had eaten well or because of all the shopping.

As soon as they got back into the car, Jun-hyeok’s phone began ringing incessantly.

Even after he switched it to vibrate, the persistent buzzing continued.

Unable to stand it any longer, Seo-ha cautiously asked,

“Don’t you need to answer the phone?”

“If I answer it, you’ll probably have to go home.”

“Oh…”

It must have been a call from his family.

No wonder things had seemed strangely quiet.

It was already late, and Cha Mi-yeon must have realized that even Seo-ha’s phone was turned off. She was clearly trying to get to Jun-hyeok’s family home.

“I’m leaving it alone because turning it off would only make things more troublesome. Don’t worry about it.”

After thinking over what was likely to happen next, Seo-ha spoke first.

The sequence of events unfolded clearly in her mind as though they had already happened, making it easy for her to reach a conclusion.

“Um… I don’t think we should go to your house right now.”

“Why?”

“My mother’s people will probably already be there.”

There was a good chance Cha Mi-yeon had already found out Jun-hyeok’s home address.

Seeing Seo-ha’s serious expression, Jun-hyeok asked cynically,

“Did you run away after stealing your parents’ money or something?”

“What? What are you talking about…?”

“It’s not like they’re coming to drag back some runaway slave. They’re making way too much fuss.”

This wasn’t something that required Jun-hyeok’s understanding.

And Seo-ha had no particular reason to explain herself.

She would have been grateful if he simply considered it overprotectiveness and let the matter go, but he seemed quite displeased.

“Sending someone after you when they know perfectly well that you’re with the person you’re going to marry? That’s practically a mental illness.”

As expected, he was perceptive.

He already knew about Cha Mi-yeon’s obsession as well.

Suppressing a laugh inwardly, Seo-ha chose to remain silent.

She didn’t want to take Cha Mi-yeon’s side, but she couldn’t exactly agree with Jun-hyeok either.

“If she finds out we already registered the marriage, she’ll probably faint.”

Cha Mi-yeon wanted this arranged marriage more than anyone.

But that was only because she wanted to keep Seo-ha completely within her grasp.

What would happen once she found out?

Wouldn’t she completely lose it?

A moment later, Jun-hyeok spoke calmly.

“Besides, we weren’t going there anyway.”

“Then where are we going…?”

“Unlike you, I have several places I can call home.”

Seo-ha found Han Jun-hyeok rather infuriating for cleverly throwing her own words back at her.

Even though there was an age difference between them, she had never felt such a huge gap between them before.

Yet today alone, Seo-ha had already felt the difference between herself and Han Jun-hyeok several times.

As if he possessed clairvoyance, Jun-hyeok always noticed what she was about to say or do and acted before she could.

It probably wasn’t because he was doing it specifically for her.

It was simply the result of his judgment and quick reflexes.

Seo-ha thought that no matter how old she became, she would probably never be like that man.

He was always one step ahead, and that only made her more wary.

First, I need to recover my eyesight as quickly as possible.

If she wanted to broaden her freedom of movement, she had to somehow endure until her condition improved without going anywhere near Cha Mi-yeon.

That was why she was going this far.

“Then where are we going now?”

“I’m thinking of going to a studio not far from Karon’s hospital. Is that okay?”

“Yes. That’s fine.”

“You really don’t want to go home, do you?”

Seo-ha forced the corners of her lips upward, and Jun-hyeok added incredulously,

“Yoon Seo-ha must have been a good kid when she was young.”

No. Not at all.

If she had truly been a good kid, she never would have survived this long.

Han Jun-hyeok would never understand that.

Completely unaware of her thoughts, he continued speaking casually.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard of the law of conservation of adolescent rebellion. Basically, it means it’s better to act up while you’re still under your parents’ roof.”

“……”

“From Assemblyman Yoon’s perspective, it must be pretty unfortunate. He probably never dreamed his grown daughter would stab him in the back like this.”

Jun-hyeok hit the nail on the head with a voice that sounded anything but sympathetic.

Every single one of his casually spoken words struck her heart like an alarm bell, leaving Seo-ha unable to relax her guard.

In the end, one thing was certain.

Her newly acquired husband was about as far from the word ordinary as a person could get.

The place Jun-hyeok took Seo-ha to was an upscale officetel slightly removed from the bustling downtown area.

Fortunately, the neighborhood was quiet, which she liked.

She had spent her entire life trapped in the same familiar surroundings, yet ever since she had become entangled with Jun-hyeok, everything felt unfamiliar and new.

Seo-ha hoped that this excitement wasn’t because of the man standing firmly by her side.

She sincerely hoped it was because she was looking forward to the new world unfolding before her.

“Ah.”

Jun-hyeok let out a short exclamation as he unlocked the officetel’s door.

Seo-ha asked what was wrong.

“Why?”

“I forgot there’s practically nothing here because I’ve left the place empty for quite a while. I’ll go down to the convenience store on the first floor and get some water and a few things we need.”

“Should I come with you?”

“No, there’s no need. You can stay by yourself, right?”

“Yes. Dodam is here, so I’m fine.”

Once Jun-hyeok left for the convenience store, Seo-ha cautiously stepped inside.

He had said the place had been empty for a long time, but the interior didn’t feel that way at all.

If anything, there was a warmth in the air that made it seem as though someone had been staying there continuously.

Seo-ha tilted her head.

She thought she could even smell alcohol lingering in the air.

Finding it strange, Seo-ha gave Dodam an instruction.

“Dodam, shall we go to the sofa?”

Understanding his owner’s words, Dodam slowly began moving forward, and Seo-ha followed him.

But suddenly, Dodam stopped.