Chapter 41

Bang!  

The revolver spat fire.  

Yaein flinched at the gunshot ringing through her palms. As she instinctively lowered her hands in shock, Taeheon had already ejected the revolver’s cylinder, pouring the remaining bullets onto the table.  “It was the winning shot. You saved my life.”  

He shook the revolver, now tilted open, and smiled as if nothing had happened.  

“…….”  

Yaein’s upper lip trembled as it curled upward.  

She heard something snap in her head.  

On unsteady legs, she stepped forward and struck Taeheon’s chest.  

A tiny, fragile fist.  

Even after getting hit, Taeheon only looked at her, puzzled.  

Yaein smacked his shoulder this time. Seeing his confused expression only fueled her fury.  

He neither dodged nor stopped her.  

She continued to pummel his torso in a flurry of uncoordinated hits.  

His body was so firm it felt more like she was bruising herself rather than hurting him.  

By the time she was gasping for air, exhausted, Taeheon hadn’t budged an inch.  

“You crazy bastard…….”  

The insult spilled from her trembling lips. Taeheon feigned surprise.  

“You can curse?”  

“You son of a…… b*tch.”  

Yaein lifted her chin, glaring fiercely at him—  

But her eyes welled with tears. 

She punched his chest once more, pouring all her frustration into the blow.  

Taeheon caught her trembling hand and placed it against his cheek.  

As if daring her to do more.  

Out of sheer spite, she slapped him.  

A red mark bloomed across his cheek.  

Only then did her anger subside.  

She rubbed her stinging palm, but seeing Taeheon remain completely unfazed made her feel even more wronged.  

“Was it the noise that scared you? Shouldn’t have made such a loud sound in front of a pregnant woman…….”  

She was speechless.  

Did he really think she was angry just because of the gunshot?  

“How can you say you almost died just now—like it’s nothing? How can you tell me that so casually?”  

Taeheon fell silent, as if actually considering her words.  

For a brief moment, he seemed to be processing her reaction before he finally spoke again.  

“But I didn’t die. You stopped me. You saved me.”  

“That’s not the point!”  

“Then what is?”  

He asked so indifferently, so calmly, that it made her look like the irrational one, like the one overreacting.  

As if she were the one who had lost her mind.  

Taeheon’s voice was slow and deliberate, as though he were explaining something obvious.  

“You didn’t let it happen, so you don’t have to feel guilty.”  

“What the hell are you saying?”  

“You’re a good person. If someone died in front of you, you’d be shaken. But nothing actually happened.”  

“Nothing happened?” Yaein muttered, dazed.  

“You almost died. Taeheon, you almost died. Right in front of me.”  

“Did you hate that so much?”  

“Of course—of course I did! Why would you do something so reckless?”  

“You jumped in front of me first.”  

Her breath caught.  

She had no response.  

She wanted to say that it was different, that it was because of the baby, that she had no other choice—  

That it wasn’t some ridiculous ‘bet’ like the one he just made.  

But she didn’t have the strength to argue anymore.  

“Back then, I also…….”

Yaein stood frozen like a ghost, her face drained of color. Taeheon muttered to himself.

He trailed off, lost in thought, then suddenly, as if coming to a realization, let out a quiet, “Ah…”  

“……Were you scared too?”  

Taeheon sounded genuinely curious.  

Yaein’s mind raced to grasp the meaning behind his words.  

“Were you afraid?”  

The idea that something could scare Kwon Taeheon felt absurd, like a bad joke. She had never considered what he might have felt watching her fall into the sea—because she had assumed she meant nothing to him. 

But if she were truly meaningless, then why had he chased after her so relentlessly?  

The contradiction made it impossible to understand him.  

He was too cold to say he liked her, but too kind to say he hated her.  

He was truly an unfathomable man.  

“You looked like you were going to die.”  

Taeheon fell into thought again before nodding, as if confirming his own words.  

For once, he seemed almost… young. 

Like a child discovering something for the first time.  

He didn’t look as calculating as usual.  

“Otherwise, why the hell would I have jumped into the ocean in this weather?”  

“The ocean?”  

Yaein repeated.  

At first, she thought he was talking about her jumping in, but that didn’t quite fit.  

“I told you—I followed after you.”  

“That was real?”  

“You thought I was joking?”  

Of course, someone must have pulled her out, or she wouldn’t be lying here now.  

But she hadn’t thought for a second that it had been Taeheon.  

The ocean was frigid and dangerous.  

Images of that moment flickered through her mind—Taeheon plunging into the freezing water after her, braving the violent waves to search for her, dragging her back to land, pressing breath back into her lifeless body.  

He had risked his life for her.  

Twice.  

Once without her knowing, and once right before her eyes.  

“I really… don’t understand you, Kwon Taeheon.”  

But Yaein did understand one thing—  

No one would risk their life for someone they didn’t care about.  

“Did you ever stop to think,” she asked quietly, “that treating your own life so lightly… might hurt me?”  

Because for all that Taeheon had chased after her, for all that he refused to let her go, he had no problem throwing himself away.  

She couldn’t reconcile the contradiction.  

“You said you were worried about me because I was in danger, right?”  

“But you’re different from me.”  

Taeheon denied it immediately.  

“If I disappear—you’ll finally be free.”

Yaein didn’t know where to begin correcting him. She slumped into the chair, completely drained. After putting all her strength into hitting him, she had nothing left.

Taeheon, who had been approaching her, let himself be pulled forward when Yaein grabbed his arm. He lowered himself onto one knee before her, leveling their gazes.

For someone so domineering, who ignored her pleas and made decisions entirely on his own, Taeheon sometimes did this—submitted.  

His imposing frame was now lowered at her feet.

“Do you really want me by your side?”  

Taeheon nodded. Clearly. Without hesitation.  

“Why?”  

It was an easy question for her, but for him, it seemed impossibly difficult.  

Taeheon hesitated.  

“I need you,” he finally said.  

“Why?”  

Again, silence settled between them. Yaein waited.  

After a long pause, Taeheon finally spoke. His voice was rough, hoarse.  

“Because… you’re clean.”  

The words didn’t make sense.  

But more than the words themselves, what caught Yaein’s attention was Taeheon’s demeanor.  

He was sincere. Maybe even desperate.  

Did Taeheon himself even understand why? Was there something even he couldn’t quite grasp?  

Maybe she was foolish to think so. Maybe it was just another false hope.  

But the thought had already taken root, and she couldn’t tear it out.  

“Don’t hurt the baby. Will you promise me that?”  

So, she asked him again. The request he had already denied.  

Not because she had no choice but to stay—but because she wanted to.  

“…Even if it hurts you?”  

“Taeheon, even if I suffer because of our baby, that won’t be the baby’s fault.”  

“If that thing wasn’t inside you, you wouldn’t be hurting. So how is it not its fault?”  

“It’s not.”  

“You don’t understand. That thing will be worse than you expect.”  

The words stung.  

Stop saying that.  

She wanted to yell. She hated him for speaking about their child this way.  

And yet, for some reason… she no longer saw him as cold and detached as before.  

“Don’t throw me away.”  

She remembered his whisper, the way he had clung to her.  

Yaein reached out and cupped his cheek. The spot where she had slapped him was still warm, slightly redder than the rest of his face.  

“I love this baby. No matter what happens, I will love them. And if they take after you… I’ll love them even more.”  

Underneath her palm, Taeheon flinched.  

“I hate it,” he muttered stubbornly.  

Before, she would have thought he simply despised the child itself.  

But now… she wasn’t so sure.  

The way he had pointed a gun at his own head, the way he had spoken so casually about erasing the baby—it all felt too similar.  

As if the same thing that made him reject their child so violently… made him reject himself.  

“You said you needed me.”  

She didn’t fully understand him.  

But one thing was clear—Taeheon needed her more than she had ever imagined.  

Even now, his eyes burned as he looked at her.

“I need this child. If you truly want me, can’t you accept the baby too?”  

Silence fell between them. This pause was longer than any before.  

“…Do as you wish.”  

At last, Taeheon spoke. Then, he firmly shut his mouth again, exuding the resignation of a prisoner facing execution.  

Yaein knew—he hadn’t truly accepted it.  

She realized it the moment she saw him, yet she chose to turn a blind eye.  

For now, she didn’t want to shatter this fragile truce.  

***  

The sweetness of cocoa coated her tongue. The warmth of the drink melted away the lingering chill.  

“That’s strange.”  

Muttering to herself, Yaein emptied her cup.  

Earlier, she had seen Taeheon’s car rounding the corner and driving toward the house. By now, he should have parked and come inside, yet he was nowhere to be seen.  

Her gaze shifted to the front door.  

A small thud echoed as if something had bumped against it. What was that?  

Yaein rushed over and pulled the door open.  

The very man she had been thinking about stood there, greeting her.  

“I’m back.”  

“…Welcome home.”  

It took Yaein a few seconds to gather herself and respond. She was too distracted by the sheer amount of things Taeheon was carrying.  

She had assumed he might pick up some groceries or necessities since the house lacked many essentials after their abrupt move.  

But she hadn’t expected him to be hauling moving boxes, shopping bags, and various other items draped over his arms.  

“You bought all this?”  

Yaein’s face showed disbelief as she surveyed the stacks of boxes he had set down.  

Prenatal vitamins, stretch mark cream, a foot spa, and even children’s books labeled for prenatal education… There was so much that it made sense why he had brought them in by the boxload.  

“There’s more to prepare than I thought. This place had nothing.”  

It didn’t seem like he had only picked out the essentials.  

Yaein swallowed her retort and started unpacking.  

For now, she had decided to stay in this seaside house.  

A two-story home with a terrace, a garage, and a small garden—quiet and picturesque, perfect for resting while gazing out at the ocean.  

The nearest stores and neighbors were far away, a fact that was both an advantage and a drawback.  

To compensate, Taeheon had taken it upon himself to personally fetch and deliver supplies.  

Yaein wanted some time away from her life in Seoul—to distance herself from everything that had happened and process it all.  

“You still have work. Won’t you need to go back to Seoul?”  

Taeheon, who had been setting up a portable heater, frowned slightly.  

Yaein shook her head as she placed the children’s books on a shelf.