TPYH 05

Chapter 05

“Your sleeping habits are quite loud.”

With that calm observation, Baek Juheon’s gaze was entirely fixed on Haryeong.

That familiar sense of unease made her instinctively feel as if her breath had been caught in her throat.

At the same time, she sensed something strange, almost instinctively.

“Why are you here…?”

At Haryeong’s murmur, Juheon’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.

He let out a quiet sigh before answering.

“Talking in your sleep? We got married today. This is my room.”

“Married…”

Only then did Haryeong realize the source of the strange feeling she had sensed since opening her eyes.

It wasn’t winter anymore.

The warm air enveloping her entire body was telling her that.

And that wasn’t all.

The Baek Juheon staring at her was very different from the thirty-four-year-old Juheon she had last seen.

Much younger, handsome, with sharp features.

There was no doubt—it was how he had looked the first time she met her husband, five years ago.

Only his cold expression and icy eyes remained unchanged.

Still in shock, Haryeong parted her lips slightly.

Juheon, meanwhile, casually tossed a blanket onto the bed and muttered in his usual detached tone, devoid of emotion.

“At the wedding, you were all sweet and cutesy—I thought you were sick or something—but here you are, sleeping comfortably in someone else’s bed.”

Marriage… wedding…

Haryeong silently chewed over the words in her mind.

She still couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality.

What happened? She had been on a cliff…

She had met Doyoon there, and then…

“…!”

As the memory that had been buried deep in her eyelids finally resurfaced, Haryeong nearly called out Doyoon’s name.

A child who shouldn’t exist right now.

The name almost slipped past her lips, but she swallowed it with effort.

Juheon watched her, raising one eyebrow.

“What are you doing? If you want to wash up, go ahead.”

“…What? Wash up? What do you mean?”

“And what do you mean by that? Weren’t you the one just sleeping comfortably, taking over the bed and tossing off the blankets while I went to shower?”

“….”

Only then did Haryeong look straight at the man standing before her: Baek Juheon.

She finally noticed a fact she hadn’t realized in her shock over the sudden turn of events.

And it was a truly shocking sight.

As he had said, water droplets were falling from Juheon’s hair, freshly out of the shower.

The clear droplets traced down his defined neck, across his strong chest and taut abs.

Baek Juheon was naked.

Of course, only his upper body was exposed, but the towel on his lower half barely covered him.

Her gaze accidentally fell on the slight reveal of his hip bones, and Haryeong’s cheeks instantly burned red.

Even though they were married and had a child, Haryeong had rarely seen his body.

And now, Juheon was a vigorous twenty-nine years old.

She knew from his height and solid build that he was in good shape, but seeing his naked body up close had a completely different impact.

Smooth, wild skin and long, lean muscles were overwhelmingly intoxicating.

Haryeong was so stunned that she forgot even to cover her face with her hands.

Similarly, Juheon seemed completely unconcerned about covering himself.

“…Why are you staring like that?”

“And you—why are you acting like that? Do I need your permission to shower in my own room?”

My room…

Haryeong suddenly remembered what he had said earlier.

They had gotten married today—it was the first night.

Inevitably, her mind returned to the harsh memories of her first night.

She didn’t even remember how the wedding was conducted.

Just like now, she had found herself in Baekya’s main house.

Everything superficially luxurious had been lavishly arranged, but the truly important aspects as a couple had all been missing.

There was no wedding ring, no honeymoon.

The entire third floor of Baekya’s main house had been for Juheon alone, and from the very first night, he had told Haryeong to pick any room she wanted.

As she hesitated to formally say something like “Please take care of me,” he coldly said, “I’m tired.”

In short, it was a notice for her to leave.

From his space, from his life.

It had been her wedding, her husband—but that day, the two of them didn’t exchange even ten words.

After quietly wishing him a good night, she left and curled up in the farthest corner of the third floor.

Nothing had changed.

Only the place where she curled up had shifted—from her home to Baekya’s main house.

On a normal first night, Haryeong would never lie in the bed Juheon had used alone.

But now, a strange and unexplainable event had occurred.

After jumping off the cliff, Haryeong seemed to have returned directly to this time and place.

Meaning… she had truly gone back to before Doyoon was born.

As that thought reached her, a sharp pain spread throughout her body.

Everything had returned to the beginning.

And in front of her stood Baek Juheon, the cause of that pain, as if nothing had happened.

Perhaps noticing that Haryeong was staring too long, Juheon nonchalantly shook his wet hair and made a subtly peculiar expression.

“How long are you going to stare so openly? You were so different at the wedding. Were you pretending to be shy back then?”

It was a pointed remark, but it was true, making Haryeong feel embarrassed.

She had been staring at him for too long, lost in thought.

“Oh, no. I was just… mi—”

She bit her lips, stopping herself.

The habitual apology, “I’m sorry,” almost slipped out.

The words that always made her feel guilty for trivial matters—she didn’t want to say them now.

“Mi… what?”

“Nothing.”

Clinging tightly to her blurred thoughts, Haryeong unconsciously straightened her clothes.

Then she noticed something strange.

She didn’t remember wearing anything like this before—but she was only wearing a thin slip.

It was semi-transparent, adorned with bold lace, a garment she had never seen before.

Her cheeks flushed instantly.

Could this also be the doing of that unknown presence? Why?

She didn’t know the truth, but she certainly didn’t want to show such a defenseless state to Baek Juheon.

Yet her movements were clumsy, as if her senses were dulled.

The strap she tried to adjust slipped, revealing the pale skin beneath her collarbone.

“…!”

Flustered, Haryeong hurriedly pulled the slip back up.

In doing so, the hem that had been modestly covering her thighs rode up dangerously.

Over the alternately exposed skin, Juheon’s gaze settled, sharp and intense.

For some reason, his dark eyes seemed even darker.

“Th-this is a nice bed.”

Embarrassed, Haryeong awkwardly finished her dry washing, then stretched her legs beneath the bed as if trying to act nonchalant.

This was no time to linger.

As the strange presence had told her, if another chance had come, she couldn’t afford to waste a single moment.

Her feet landed firmly on the floor as she got off the bed.

The sensation confirmed that this reality was real.

She had truly… truly gone back five years.

A mix of sorrow and joy swept through her heart.

But now she needed to think rather than be consumed by emotion.

She needed a perfect way to decisively and thoroughly reject this man—her cruel husband, Baek Juheon.

Of course, that meant she first needed to leave his space.

“Rest. I’ll use another room.”

This time, she would willingly turn her back on him.

But an unexpected situation occurred.

Thwack!

As Haryeong tried to leave the bed, Juheon suddenly grabbed her hand.

Caught completely off guard, she could do nothing.

“…?”

Her stunned expression reflected clearly in Juheon’s eyes.

The hand he held was as hot as touching a freshly boiled kettle.

From his endlessly cold, calm, and indifferent eyes, a foreign warmth flickered for the first time.

Maybe it was just her imagination, but it even felt heavy somehow.

Then his red lips parted, and a shocking statement came out.

Bright red and undeniable.

“Where are you going? I told you—today is our first night.”