Chapter 61

In summary, the doctor’s words—implying her condition wasn’t exactly ideal—cast a shadow over Yaein’s expression.

“When the mother is struggling, the baby struggles too. I know it’s not easy, but let’s try to manage your stress.”

Eat well, sleep plenty, think good thoughts. A mother’s health is the baby’s health. It’s what the books all say.

Yaein had been trying to do all that, but her circumstances didn’t allow her to simply relax. If she wanted to protect the baby, she couldn’t just take it easy.

She could confidently say she was doing everything she could for the child. But if that very effort was taking a toll on her body—there wasn’t much she could do about it.

“Let’s try to stay away from whatever’s causing stress, as much as possible.”

Taeheon and Yaein fell silent. The doctor wouldn’t know what that meant.

“If the husband can help out around the house, that would be even better,” the doctor added lightly.

Taeheon responded just as casually, but with layered meaning.

“You heard the doctor, right? You don’t have to lift a finger. That’s best for the baby, too.”

He wasn’t talking about chores. Yaein shook her head.

“But you’re busy too. How could I let you do everything?”

“You two seem to have such a wonderful relationship,” the doctor said cheerfully. “The mom’s lucky to have such a sweet husband.”

The compliment, though kind, made the air in the room slightly awkward. Taeheon gave a fleeting smile—so brief and faint, it could barely be called a smile.

“Yes. I’m lucky,” Yaein said, answering not the doctor, but Taeheon.

His stiff expression slowly softened. It was a moment Yaein deeply cherished.

The drive home was quiet and warm. She dozed off for a bit and woke up in the garage. Soft indigo sunlight had settled through the front window.

Taeheon had twisted around in his seat, watching her from the driver’s side. Dust motes sparkled in the light.

It was such a beautifully surreal sight that for a moment Yaein wondered if she were still dreaming. She reached out and touched his cheek. It was warm. The light particles shifted as her hand moved.

“Let’s go inside now.”

There was no need to ask why he hadn’t woken her. Of course he’d simply wanted her to rest a little longer—just a little more peace.

How had he come to love her so much? How had the same world around her become this beautiful?

She was curious, but at the same time, felt no need for answers.

Taeheon opened the passenger door for her. As she stepped out, Yaein’s face momentarily twisted in discomfort.

“Does your foot hurt?”

“My feet have been swelling a lot lately. Soaking them in warm water usually helps.”

As soon as he lifted her up, Yaein flailed slightly, clutching onto Taeheon.

“You really don’t have to do this. It’s not that far to the front door.”

“Right. It’s not far, so there’s no need for you to endure any discomfort.”

He might find her heavy now that her belly had grown considerably with the baby. Yaein worried about that, but it turned out to be baseless—Taeheon walked effortlessly, managing to open the digital door lock with one arm while still holding her.

At the entryway, he set Yaein down, and she sat to pull off her shoes. Her swollen feet didn’t slip free right away. Taeheon knelt, removed her flats, and neatly placed them by the door. Only then did he take off his own shoes and step inside.

“Now, to the bathroom?”

As if it were the most natural thing, Taeheon picked Yaein up again. By now, she’d given up trying to refuse. Leaning her head against his chest, Yaein nodded.

“Doesn’t this wear you out?”

Carried once again into the bathroom, Yaein asked, but Taeheon seemed in high spirits.

“I’m the one who’ll get tired if you take too long.”

“Do you want to come in with me?”

Yaein took off her coat and asked Taeheon. His face twisted comically. For a while, he didn’t speak or even exhale, as though he were facing a life-or-death decision. Yaein stifled a small laugh.

“If I go in there with you, I can’t promise I won’t push you too far.”

“In that case, you’ll have to use the guest bathroom.”

“You’re canceling it that quickly? You should invite me a second time at least.”

“If I told you to come in again, would you do it?”

“…No.”

“You’re so adorable.”

He said she had a peculiar habit of finding him “cute,” but Yaein truly did find him cute.

“As long as you think I’m cute, that’s fine. Now go shower. I’m going to take a while.”

“A while?”

Yaein asked innocently, then realized what he meant and bit her tongue. Taeheon pointed to his pants’ front before leaving, unhurried.

She always wondered what exactly set him off at times like this. She was tempted to ask, but she knew his answer would probably fluster her, so Yaein suppressed her curiosity and turned on the warm water.

When she came out after showering, instead of her husband, she was greeted by a foot bath in the living room, already filled with warm water. “Oh, right, we got one of these,” she thought. Yaein sank her feet into the water, enjoying the soothing warmth that seeped up through her soles. She sensed someone watching and looked up to see her husband standing nearby.

He’d undone the neatly slicked-back hair, making him look younger than his age. A light scent of body wash hovered around him.

“Just observing?”

“Will that alone help?”

“It’ll help a bit. Then, if I sit and get a massage—”

“I’ll do it.”

Taeheon slid one arm under Yaein’s knees and easily raised her foot from the water, causing lukewarm droplets to splash around.

“But my feet aren’t even dry yet, Taeheon!”

“I’ll dry them, too.”

With a towel he’d prepared in advance, Taeheon wrapped her wet foot. It felt oddly sensitive—perhaps because her husband was personally tending to it—so Yaein curled her toes as the soft towel moved over her soles.

“Do you even know how to do a massage?”

“Hmm. I don’t know how to loosen muscles, but I know how to hurt them.”

The unsettling remark made her uneasy. Catching on, Taeheon stroked her foot gently, as if to reassure her.

“Relax. I learn things fast.”

He positioned himself confidently beside Yaein and started massaging. Though his hands felt strong enough to crush anything if he wanted, they were surprisingly delicate as they rubbed at the bottom of her foot.

“Wait, that tickles.”

“How about this?”

Taeheon pressed more firmly on the arch of her foot.

“That’s… ugh, that hurts.”

“For a foot massage, the sounds you’re making are way too suggestive.”

“…You really need to stop having such indecent thoughts.”

“Hard not to, when my spouse keeps giving me such strong stimulation.”

All she’d said was that it hurt when he pressed on her foot. Yaein silently protested inside.

“I heard that if you think dirty thoughts, your hair grows faster. Your beard does grow quickly, doesn’t it?”

Yaein sat up and brushed Taeheon’s chin. When she gently teased under his chin, he didn’t pull away.

“How’d you know? Nobody else notices.”

“Easy to miss. You shave morning and night. When you come to bed after showering, I can still smell the shaving cream.”

Yaein’s fingers grazed the corner of his mouth. It felt perfectly smooth, without any roughness.

“I don’t like leaving it unshaven. It looks messy.”

“Yet you don’t mind touching my feet?”

Rather than answering, Taeheon leaned down and kissed the inside arch of Yaein’s sole. A ticklish warmth rippled up her leg.

He’d run his rough hands over her ankle like this before. Back then, she found his firm grasp terrifying—maybe even a bit unfair. She couldn’t fight the strength in that grip.

“There’s nothing about you that’s dirty.”

When his lips reached between her toes, her foot curled. The ticklish, almost erotic shiver intensified.

“Your nails are like pieces of glass.”

He mumbled it like he was talking to himself, and suddenly her feet felt hot all over. Yaein had never given much thought to how her feet looked before.

It was still confusing figuring out how to respond to a man who studied her so thoroughly, marveling at every little part of her.

Only  after Taeheon planted a kiss on each toenail did he lift his head.

“I love your eyes,” Yaein said, as though waiting for this moment. She placed a kiss at the corner of Taeheon’s eye.

“They’re a bit scary, though.”

“Yeah, I hear that a lot,” Taeheon said, a smile curling his eyes.

“Some people say they can’t bear to look at me straight on.”

It was a statement so arrogant it might sound almost comical, but seeing him now, she understood. Taeheon typically spoke of himself this way.

Seeing him made it obvious one could get cut if careless. His sharply angled eyes seemed drawn in a single stroke, like a pen nib carefully honed.

“Your hands are big too, which I like…”

If he grabbed hold, he could completely envelope Yaein’s hand. When she teased his fingers one by one, Taeheon relaxed, as if inviting her to play all she liked.

“And I can poke wherever you feel it most.”

“….”

“Praise my c*ck too.”

“…You can’t even wait a moment before going back to that kind of talk.”

“I think that part of me deserves compliments.”

“…I guess I can’t say it doesn’t.”

“It’s there to serve you, after all.”

His brazen comment, without a speck of shame, sounded sweet. Yaein figured she must also be in pretty deep now.

“It’s for me?”

“Mm-hm.”

“How about here?”

She slowly trailed her fingernail up his shirt, poking his chest. Taeheon nodded willingly.

“Then here?”

She touched his flat, compact abdomen, the faint lines of muscle around his ribs, and his naturally pronounced shoulders, as though just messing around. Soon, Taeheon’s jaw, then her fingertip reached his lips.

“Will you kiss only me for the rest of your life?”

It sounded like a haughty test, but Taeheon welcomed it.

“Until I die.”

Yaein rewarded him with a kiss, the kind only she was allowed to give. Their lips met repeatedly, as though stamping a seal over and over.

Their hands and feet intertwined like trees growing entangled. Taeheon lifted Yaein onto his thigh. 

They had more places touching than not. It was impossible to tell who was stealing whose warmth—both scents mingled.

She wished this moment could last forever. 

Of course, it couldn’t.

Just as bad times pass, so do good times. That realization felt a little bittersweet.

Still, she had hope they could keep making more of them. Maybe even better moments than this. 

As long as she could stay with him.

“What was it you wanted to say earlier?”

Yaein finally brought up the subject he’d put off. She’d felt a thorn of worry lodged in her mind, even while showering. Avoiding it wouldn’t make it go away.

“I have to go on a business trip to China. For a week.”

Like lyrics from a sad old pop song, her bad feeling was never wrong.

Now she understood why Taeheon had been so distracted, and why he hadn’t said so immediately.

“It’s not dangerous, is it?”

He’d often traveled overseas for work in the past. Sometimes he’d be gone over a month. 

Back then, she hadn’t been so uneasy about being apart from him, simply assuming he’d come home just fine.

“I’ll only be with staff I trust, so I’m sure everything will be okay. Probably.”

That word “probably” clung to her. Taeheon leaned back deeper into the sofa, watching Yaein’s face cloud with worry.

“So, there’s a chance it won’t be okay?”