Chapter 05
After running into my brother-in-law at the Myeong Heon-jae fitness room, I somehow felt uncomfortable going there.
So Ji-an sometimes ran around the Myeong Heon-jae garden with Tteok as a walk, and other times she went outside the building and took walks around the neighborhood along the high walls.
It’s late. Don’t wait up and go to sleep.
Do-gun didn’t ignore her messages or brush her off. He gave appropriate answers to her questions, but the problem was that it always felt like he was drawing a line.
As a polite person, he seemed to be properly observing the etiquette befitting a housemate.
In the afternoon, she looked up prenatal checkups and also asked Yu-jeong about them.
Clearly, the details and results of the tests would reach the ears of the grandmother and grandfather before the person themselves. There was no way to hide it.
She didn’t want to offend the elders of Myeong Heon-jae over something like this, and it would be just as embarrassing if Do-gun found out.
She didn’t want Do-gun to discover what kind of existence Han Ji-an was at TS Law Firm.
She just wanted things to remain as they appeared to outsiders—that she was the granddaughter cherished by the chairman of TS Law Firm.
Every year on the founding anniversary of major domestic corporations, her grandfather would make sure to bring Ji-an along. On that day alone, she would dress up from head to toe and politely greet the adults.
Her grandfather treated her like a beloved granddaughter, and young Ji-an smiled even harder to earn praise. Maybe then, someday, she too would receive the love of her grandparents, just like her other cousins.
But that day never came. All of it was just her grandfather’s grand scheme to put her up for marriage through a business match.
Ballet, piano, violin, art history—the arts and sports she had learned as rigorously as her school subjects since childhood were all for the sake of marriage.
“Huff, Tteok-ah. Wait…!”
Tteok ignored Ji-an’s call and headed straight for a deep puddle. It was still wet from the rain that had fallen that morning.
Watching its white fur turn pitch-black, Ji-an snapped out of her thoughts.
“Han Tteok! You look like a lump of charcoal now.”
Happy with the evening walk, Tteok wagged its tail and rubbed its whole body against Ji-an’s shoes and calves. It flopped onto the ground and rolled around, then came back to Ji-an, panting as if asking to be held.
Seeing its mouth moving, Ji-an crouched down.
“Tteok, ah—say ah. What did you eat? I told you not to eat just anything! Han Tteok, you still haven’t forgotten your street life…!”
Tteok was an abandoned dog. Ji-an and her mother had rescued it and brought it to Seongbuk-dong.
“You can’t pick up and eat things off the ground. We’ll have to take you to the hospital too…”
Ji-an opened its mouth to look inside, putting on a stern expression. Seeing her like that, Tteok licked her fingers.
It was so cute that Ji-an hugged it tightly and peppered it with kisses.
He made a point of drinking in moderation.
The text message asking him to come early had been on his mind, and he also needed adequate sleep to be clear-headed for breakfast the next morning.
He didn’t want to show a loosened-up side of himself in front of Han Ji-an, who saw him as an adult.
Upon returning to Myeong Heon-jae, Do-gun went straight up to the second floor.
He went into the dressing room, removed his watch and cufflinks, and placed them on top of the dresser. He also unbuttoned his shirt.
Soon wearing only his underwear, Do-gun turned toward the bathroom.
As he walked to the bathroom, he was methodically organizing tomorrow’s schedule and future work in his head when he encountered an unexpected moment.
“……!”
Do-gun stopped in his tracks, and the other person also froze upon seeing him.
Ah, damn. He hadn’t expected to run into Ji-an just as she was coming out of the shower. But Han Ji-an….
The pale swell of her chest visible through the silk robe and her smoothly extended legs blurred his vision. The moisture dripping from her hair had soaked the silk robe, making the lines of her body stand out even more.
The navy-blue robe contrasting with her pale skin, her moist, glistening lips, her vibrant skin.
A shiver ran through Do-gun’s body. His fingertips itched, and heat rose in his body.
As Do-gun, momentarily lost for words, stared at Ji-an, she was the first to pull her voluptuous chest together with her robe and lower her eyes.
Ah, this won’t do. Damn.
Of all things, just drawers.
It was already too late to cover up.
After washing Tteok, Ji-an took a half-bath. Since Do-gun had said he’d be late, she took her time, put on some music, and worked on her assignments on her tablet.
By the time the water had cooled down, she finished her homework and stretched.
She’d only see her husband in the morning anyway. She figured she’d have a serious talk with him about their duties as husband and wife tomorrow morning.
She didn’t want to live as a window-dressing couple for three years only to end up divorced, and she even more so didn’t want to go three years with nothing happening between her and her longtime crush.
First things first, she needed to be seen as a woman by her husband. Her body had grown this much, so why did he still see her as a little sister?
…Should she just pounce on him? No. What if he gets turned off and recoils?
She didn’t know what kind of women Do-gun liked or what kind of stimulation he was weak to, which was frustrating. She knew next to nothing about Do-gun.
So she washed up and came out wearing only a loosely draped robe….
She came face to face with Do-gun, who had just come home from work. Since he had said he’d be late, she hadn’t put on any underwear and was just wearing the robe loosely.
In the six months they had lived together, this was probably the first time they had exposed so much of their bodies to each other.
Ji-an, too, stared blankly at Do-gun, who was also only in his underwear.
His masculine Adam’s apple and broad shoulders. Beneath that, his firm chest and well-defined abdominal muscles. His wide chest formed a perfect inverted triangle.
Below that, his thighs—which looked like they could be three times the size of Ji-an’s—and his long legs filled her vision.
He looked even more savage undressed than when clothed. It seemed his clothes were what made him appear courteous and polite.
His black briefs left nothing to the imagination.
Do-gun, seemingly surprised as well, couldn’t find his words, and as his gaze roamed over Ji-an’s body, her face grew hotter.
“Um…”
Ji-an called out to Do-gun. But he didn’t answer, as if he hadn’t heard. Only the muscle in his jaw twitched.
“…Oppa?”
At that call, Do-gun moved. As he approached, she instinctively took a step back.
“Why are you backing away.”
“Because you came so suddenly…”
At nearly 190 cm, Do-gun was over two heads taller than Ji-an. His broad shoulders and pectoral muscles looked almost intimidating.
The muscles of his abdomen, with not an ounce of fat, also had clearly defined lines. And below that, the fabric was gradually being pushed outward, revealing its shape more distinctly.
It was shocking.
To see so vividly the reality of what she had once glimpsed from a distance.
“Han Ji-an.”
“Yes…? Yes?”
“Stop staring. How long are you going to look?”
Having returned to being an adult man, he took a large step closer to Ji-an. He bent down, tightened her robe more securely, and pulled the robe sash from one of its pockets.
Because the robe was thin, it felt as if his fingers were touching her bare skin. Along with the silk texture around her thighs and buttocks, she could feel the hot warmth of his fingers.
As he slowly tied the sash, he let out a breath. At his hot exhalation, her upper body tensed up.
