Side Story Chapter 2

The fact that he recognized her right away suggested he might’ve seen her at a gathering before. 

Yaein was generally good with faces, which made it odd that his was completely unfamiliar.

“No, we haven’t met. But I’ve heard a lot about you,” the man said.

“About me?” she asked.

“Well… maybe not a lot, if I’m being precise. Still, I’ve imagined you for a long time.”

It was the kind of statement that could easily be misinterpreted, yet there was no trace of desire or ulterior motive in his voice. 

There was an oddly fresh sincerity to it that left Yaein momentarily thrown off. The man seemed genuinely delighted to see her.

While she stood uncertainly in the face of such unexpected warmth from a stranger, a sharp voice cut through the moment.

“Yeobo.”

The brief, curt word snapped the strange tension like a thread. 

From inside the office, Taeheon strode out toward them. Yaein instinctively flinched.

That was unmistakably an angry expression.

It wasn’t drastically different from his usual blank face, but Yaein could tell. 

Her husband’s nerves were fraying to the very ends.

With Taeheon’s arrival, the atmosphere shifted. 

Though he was the same man who melted in front of their newborn, Kwon Taeheon still had a dangerously commanding presence.

He stepped in front of Yaein protectively, as if shielding her. Most people would’ve been wary in this situation, but the guest kept his relaxed expression as he addressed Taeheon with a casual air.

“She really is beautiful—enough to make someone want to keep her hidden away.”

“Is it part of your manners to comment on someone’s wife right in front of them?” Taeheon’s tone was sharp enough to cut glass.

Startled by his intensity, Yaein glanced at her husband. 

But the man on the receiving end of the jab merely chuckled, seemingly unfazed—if anything, he looked amused.

“Is he a friend of yours?” Yaein asked quietly from behind.

“A client,” Taeheon answered shortly.

Yaein still didn’t fully grasp the dynamic between them, but she leaned forward politely, intending to introduce herself.

“Hello, I’m—”

“There’s no need for introductions. He’ll be leaving soon,” Taeheon cut in, his tone cool.

Another faint laugh escaped the tall guest. 

Still smiling, he offered Yaein a polite nod over Taeheon’s shoulder.

“As Director Kwon said, I was just on my way out.” 

Just before stepping out through the glass doors, the guest gave Yaein a polite bow. 

“It was an honor to meet you.”

The overly formal, old-fashioned phrasing somehow suited him. Yaein bowed her head in return. 

Even after the guest left, Taeheon’s expression remained sour. 

He went back into the office and busied himself at his desk, but the tight furrow between his brows didn’t disappear.

“Why are you so upset?” 

Yaein walked up behind him and gently wrapped her arms around his waist. She could feel the tension in his body loosen slowly in her embrace.

“I’m not upset,” he said after a pause, his voice softened. 

“I’m just… jealous.”

Yaein blinked, repeating the word in her head with a puzzled frown.

“Was there really anything to be jealous about just now?” 

Sure, the man had opened the door for her and paid her a compliment, but there hadn’t been any hint of flirting. 

Taeheon must’ve sensed that, too—he wasn’t someone who misread people’s intentions.

“I get jealous just from people looking at you.”

His tone was so matter-of-fact that it took a moment for the meaning to sink in. 

Yaein flushed and tucked her face against his shirt to hide her cheeks.

“So why did you want to come by the office today?” Taeheon asked. 

They hadn’t had a chance to talk much during their lunch phone call—he’d been busy.

“Because the sitter left early today, and Mother said she’d watch Saejun. I thought I’d surprise you and come walk home with you.”

Still hugging him from behind, Yaein explained her reason.

“Was I a bother?”

She felt a little bashful after saying it, even though she already knew how he’d answer.

“How could I ever think of you as a bother?”

True to form, Taeheon turned to her with a gentle look and pulled her fully into his arms. 

They fit together so naturally now. It was like two puzzle pieces clicking into place.

Getting used to being loved—really loved—was unexpectedly joyful. It had been hard at first, but once it started, it became the easiest thing in the world. Like slowly melting a piece of candy on your tongue.

“You looked like you didn’t like me showing up earlier,” she teased, even though he’d already admitted to being jealous.

“He’s been pestering me for ages to show you to him. I just didn’t expect you two to meet today, of all days.”

“Why was he so curious about me?”

Yaein asked, still puzzled. Taeheon sighed and seemed to choose his words carefully.

“He wanted to know what kind of woman could make someone like me lose his mind.”

Yaein smiled at that.

“Fair enough. I’d be curious, too.”

“He’s an annoying bastard,” Taeheon muttered.

Taeheon clicked his tongue. It wasn’t often that someone provoked such an obvious mix of fondness and annoyance in him.

“That guy’s not scared of you, is that why he acts like that?” 

Yaein was genuinely curious. They seemed to know each other fairly well, and for a moment, she wondered if he might be one of Taeheon’s friends—someone she had never been introduced to. 

But Taeheon crushed that hope immediately.

“I told you. It’s jealousy.”

The intensity that had been in his eyes when he glared at the man earlier returned as he spoke.

“Word’s already out that you’re stunning, and he keeps saying he wants to see you again. It’s annoying.”

“Stunning…?” 

Yaein trailed off, embarrassed.

“It’s true. You’re a beauty worth hiding.” 

Taeheon reached out to stroke her cheek. His thumb moved slowly along her jawline, so languidly that it almost felt sticky—too intimate, too heated. 

Yaein bit her lip.

This was what it meant to feel desire just by being near someone—a thick, slow-burning affection that clung like honey.

“I want to keep you hidden away so no one else sees you. But the more I try; the more people get curious. It’s exhausting.”

Of course, as his wife, it made sense that people around him would know who she was—but still, the attention was a little overwhelming.

She thought of the man outside the building who had nearly panicked when he realized who she was. So that’s why he recognized me. Until now, Yaein hadn’t considered that Taeheon’s employees—ones she hadn’t even met—might already know her face. Apparently, she was more of a topic of interest among Taeheon’s acquaintances than she realized.

She lapsed into thought for a moment.

“You know, you used to smoke when we were newlyweds, right?”

“Where’d that come from all of a sudden?”

“I just remembered.”

She couldn’t exactly explain that she’d run into a staff member earlier who had begged her not to tell Taeheon he’d been smoking, so she dodged the full truth.

“You said you used to smoke a lot back then. Why’d you quit all of a sudden?”

Taeheon paused, then finally answered.

“You said you didn’t like it.”

Did I? She didn’t even remember. She dug through her memories, and then it hit her.

Ah, right. One night when he came to bed smelling like smoke, she had coughed a little. Taeheon had asked if it was because of the cigarettes, and she’d said yes.

“…Wait. You quit because of that?”

“You were coughing too. You’ve got weak lungs.”

“Well, that’s true, but… did you really quit because of me?”

It’s not like she’d made a big fuss about it. From what Yaein remembered, she’d only said a few things.

“I start coughing when I smell it, so I don’t like the scent of cigarettes.”

Taeheon didn’t seem to react much at the time. But thinking back, she hadn’t smelled cigarette smoke on him ever since.

Yaein’s father was always smoking. He didn’t care if Yaein coughed while emptying the ashtray. He even scolded her to be quiet when she made a fuss. Her stepmother had nagged him into trying to quit a few times, but he always ended up opening a new pack soon after.

Even then, her father would snap, “Do you know how hard it is to quit smoking?” acting like the victim.

Yaein looked at Taeheon’s calm profile. A man with a sharply defined jawline and beautifully shaped lips. He used to smoke, didn’t he? That’s right. Imagining a thin cigarette resting between those lips made her chest flutter strangely.

At some point, without her even knowing, Taeheon had quit smoking—for her.

Why had he done that?

The question sent gentle ripples through her.

In the past, she might have kept such a thought to herself and quietly cherished it. But now, Yaein had grown bolder.

“Did you maybe fall for me from the beginning?”

She threw the question playfully, but Taeheon responded seriously. With a deeply thoughtful expression, he paused for a moment and then nodded.

“I think I did.”

The sunlight pouring in through the window tinted Taeheon in gold.

Yaein was often struck by how beautiful the man she had was.

The swaying glow of the setting sun rippled through the office. A simple everyday scene revealed a staggering kind of beauty.

“I think I fell in love with you at first sight.”

It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but still, her stomach fluttered, and her knees instinctively pressed together. Yaein’s lips quivered.

“…How can you say something like that so casually?”

“Does it sound casual to you?”

Taeheon pressed Yaein down onto the leather sofa. The black leather gleamed with a heavy sheen. 

His palm, sliding naturally up and down her back, carried its familiar heat. Their lips met again, a sticky kiss. 

His tongue slipped between her lips, licking her inner mouth and promising pleasure. The kiss wasn’t even that long, yet a strand of saliva stretched between their parted lips.

“This is your office,” Yaein whispered, voice small.

“It’s fine. No one’s coming,” Taeheon said shamelessly—just as he always did when trying to persuade her that they could have s*x anywhere.

“But this is where you work.”

“Are you worried I won’t be able to focus because I’ll be thinking dirty thoughts?”

Whatever she said, Taeheon would twist it into something erotic once he was turned on.

“Right now, I’m already in trouble because I can’t stop thinking about you, so you don’t need to worry.”

How was she supposed to ignore that?

“You’re just saying that to make me feel good, aren’t you?”

“Does hearing it make you feel good?”

Seizing the chance to tease her, Yaein gently pushed at his chest.

“Still, we can’t do it here.”

“I get even more turned on when you act so prim.”

Yet Taeheon showed no sign of backing off. His well‑trained chest pressed against the soft swell of her br*asts.

Feeling as though she’d been driven into a trap, Yaein swallowed hard. Resisting a husband who’d made up his mind to seduce her was impossible.

Whether it was his s*xual allure or the endless affection that made her want to do anything for him—she couldn’t tell.

She was helplessly intoxicated by the fact that this man desired her.