Side Story Chapter 4

Taeheon’s comment was a bit of an exaggeration. There had been a faint scent of smoke, but not enough to warrant a scolding. The employee had probably tried various ways to mask it.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again,” 

the employee said, standing stiffly with his hands behind his back—he could’ve passed for a soldier on base.

“Darling,” 

Yaein called Taeheon again, tugging at his sleeve and gesturing to the now-closed elevator doors.

“He said he’s sorry. Can’t you let it go this time? We should get going, too.”

Taeheon stayed quiet, then finally spoke.

“Go.” 

Just that one word had the employee scurrying away as if he’d been freed from a leash. Even then, he bowed excessively before disappearing through the emergency stairs.

After the man was gone, Taeheon pressed the elevator button again and stepped inside.

“Why’d you take his side?” 

His tone, as he pressed the button for the lobby floor, held a subtle note of sulkiness. Maybe she was biased, but Yaein found it cute and quickly explained.

“Well… I ran into him on the way up here.”

Taeheon frowned, and before the poor employee, likely still huffing up the emergency stairs, could catch more heat, Yaein quickly added her explanation.

“I ran into him downstairs while he was smoking. He asked me not to tell you… but when you scolded him like that, it felt like I tattled.”

In truth, even if the employee hadn’t begged her not to say anything, Yaein wouldn’t have told Taeheon. She hadn’t known he was this strict about smoking at work until today.

“Were you upset because I told you what to do in front of your employee?”

Yaein glanced up at him cautiously as they headed to the parking lot.

“No. Jealous.”

Again? Yaein’s eyes widened.

“Jealous? Over what now? Because I told you not to scold him?”

“Yeah.”

The reply came so easily it was almost ridiculous.

His face might’ve looked as impassive as ever, but Yaein could tell—Taeheon was thoroughly relaxed around her.

Affection, sulking, childish playfulness. He only ever showed those sides to her.

As they approached the car, Taeheon moved first, opening the passenger-side door and waiting for Yaein to sit.

“With a husband this handsome and thoughtful, you think I’d even glance at anyone else?”

As Taeheon got into the driver’s seat, Yaein turned toward him completely, facing him squarely.

Kwon Taeheon was undeniably handsome.

She mulled over a simple, undeniable truth: Taeheon was perfect.

By now, even going over his handsome features one by one felt tedious. Recently, he had developed a different kind of composure, a sense of stability that gave him a unique presence—perhaps what some would call the charm of a married man.

There were plenty of women who gushed about how desirable he was as a husband, especially in front of Yaein. Some even seemed to stir up anxiety on purpose.

And yet, Yaein could still feel at ease leaving a man like him out in the world for one reason.

“Besides, you only care about me.”

Taeheon curled the corners of his mouth upward. Whenever Yaein teased him with bold statements—saying things like “You’re hopelessly in love with me,” or “You only care about your wife”—he never got annoyed. In fact, he always looked proud.

“There’s nothing you could say to me that would bother me. If you told me to let it slide, I wouldn’t just overlook smoking—I’d overlook embezzlement too.”

Sometimes he even took it a step further like this.

That didn’t sound like something he should be overlooking… but he was so serious that Yaein found herself oddly convinced.

“So, if you do everything I say, then I’m the one really running the company, huh?”

Taeheon nodded without a hint of a smile, then reached over to fasten the passenger seatbelt. He quickly moved to straighten out Yaein’s outfit, adjusting the creases where the belt had bunched up her blouse.

“If you say take it off, I take it off. If you say do it, I do it.”

His hand, pretending to tidy her clothes, hovered suggestively around her chest. When he brushed her n*pple—already sensitive from being sucked on earlier in the office—it sent a sharp jolt through her body.

Heat immediately rose deep in her belly. Her hips and thighs throbbed with a faint ache. As the slick feeling between her legs grew harder to ignore, Yaein reached out to grab Taeheon’s wrist.

“You still do the things I tell you not to.”

“You could tell I wanted to do it just now?” 

“What are you talking about? You touched me.” 

“I did?” 

“You’re still doing it…”

His fingers, still shamelessly pressing against her n*pple, didn’t waver. Despite the blatant teasing, Taeheon’s expression remained perfectly composed.

Realizing he was doing it on purpose, Yaein let out a warm sigh. Honestly, she knew all too well how easily Taeheon could sway her, yet she still let her guard down from time to time.

He’d promise like a gentle lamb to do anything she wanted, only to climb on top of her the next moment, baring his fangs. Kwon Taeheon was a predator by nature.

“I really like your br*asts, you know. They’re just the right size for me.” 

“…” 

“Perfect to hold in my hands.” 

“No.”

Yaein crossed her arms lightly over her chest. Her cute resistance only seemed to ignite Taeheon more as he leaned in closer.

“I’m not falling for it this time.”

“You never know if I’ll give in or not unless we take it all the way.” 

“Kwon Taeheon, you’re really not listening, are you?” 

“Where else are you gonna find a husband who listens as well as I do?”

Even as he said that, his hand made no move to leave her chest. It slid down her slender waist, settling on her thigh, fingers softly stroking the inner flesh.

It seemed Yaein wasn’t the only one who had missed their alone time. Taeheon, who always looked so composed, must have been holding back too. He was burning with no end in sight.

Yaein hesitated inside. It’s not like she didn’t want to say yes.

But if they did it once more in the car, Yaein wasn’t sure her stamina would hold out. And besides, they had promised to pick up Saejun — they were already at risk of running late.

More than anything, wasn’t today meant for something else?

If she let herself get swept up in Taeheon again and ended up exhausted, the opportunity for a proper conversation would slip away once more.

Even as she weighed her thoughts, Taeheon continued advancing toward his goal. Her skirt had ridden up dangerously close to the line of her underwear.

Deciding it was time for her secret weapon, Yaein gently wrapped her hand around the back of his. 

“Let’s go pick up Saejun from your mother’s place now.”

The moment their son’s name left her lips, the dangerous glint in Taeheon’s eyes softened and blinked away.

The predatory energy that looked like it might pounce at any moment quickly faded.

“I’m getting rejected in Saejun’s name right now?”

“Because we really do need to go pick him up.”

“Yes, ma’am. At your service, my queen.”

Taeheon started the car. The sky gradually turned a deep violet, accentuating the city’s nightscape. Yaein looked out the window. The lingering warmth on her skin, Taeheon’s scent that lingered in the car — everything made for a pleasant evening.

“Mother even canceled an appointment today just to play with Saejun.”

Though Gyeongju adored Saejun dearly, finding the time to look after a child wasn’t easy. Everything else she did for Saejun was the same.

“And President Park…?”

Taeheon didn’t finish his sentence and quietly closed his mouth. Though their interactions had become more frequent, he still didn’t talk about Gyeongju easily.

“Why? What about my mom?”

“She just seemed really close with you and Saejun.”

“Are you jealous of that too?”

It was meant as a joke to lighten the mood. Taeheon’s lips curved into a soft smile.

“I think it’s a relief.”

There was so much affection in those words that Yaein’s chest tightened.

Maybe love is wanting someone to have everything you never did.

“Do you want to go for a little drive before we head over?”

Once the car merged fully onto the road, Yaein suggested it.

“Didn’t you say we should hurry?”

“Let’s stop by the riverside for a bit. It’s been a while since it’s just the two of us.”

“What if I say I want to do it outdoors this time?”

“You don’t do it where other people can see you, Taeheon.”

“Isn’t the office and the parking garage a place people can see?”

His privately-owned office, the heavily tinted car, and the lot with no one else parked nearby — clearly not what most would call a public space.

Yaein only smiled, knowing Taeheon was feigning ignorance on purpose.

“I can’t stand the idea of someone else seeing you like that.”

His deep, rich voice stirred something low in her belly, making her feel almost seasick with tension.

The car stopped at a red light.

“I wouldn’t want anyone else to see me either. But for you…”

While watching the still-red traffic light, Yaein reached out and gently touched Taeheon.

As he turned to her, she lifted the hem of her skirt. Faint pink marks lingered on her thigh where his fingers had played earlier, and her matching lace underwear peeked out above them.

“But you already saw this earlier, didn’t you?”

It was even the very same underwear Taeheon had taken off her himself. 

Maybe this was a bit too much. Just as Yaein began to feel the flush of embarrassment after initiating it herself, Taeheon — as always — gave her a reaction that far surpassed her expectations.

Like now, staring intently beneath her skirt without even the slightest movement.

“……”

While Taeheon remained silent, frozen, the traffic light turned green. But even then, he didn’t take his eyes off her. 

The car behind them honked impatiently. Muttering a quiet curse under his breath, Taeheon finally pressed the accelerator.

“How about a date at a riverside hotel?”

“Babe. What about your mother?”

“For a wholesome riverside date, that little test you just gave me was way too provocative.”

Speaking with a seriousness that almost sounded comical, Taeheon changed their route.

Though he grumbled, he still carefully picked a spot where they could see the river flowing directly in front of them, and parked. 

Outside, Yaein stood beside Taeheon, gazing at the shimmering lights reflected on the black current.

She remembered a time when they had come here during the day, holding their child in their arms. 

Warm sunlight had spilled down, people walked by, and a kid running past had stirred the air with the scent of his cotton candy.

It was a completely different scene from now, yet the feeling was the same.

The night breeze gently swept through her hair. Yaein leaned into Taeheon.

“There’s something I wanted to talk about with you, just the two of us.”

“As I said before—if it’s not that you want a divorce, I’ll listen to anything.”

With a shared inside joke, Taeheon pulled Yaein into his arms. 

Being pressed together as if they were one body felt incredibly comfortable — so much so that the contrast when he was with their child seemed even starker. 

Because she knew what Taeheon was like when he was relaxed and unguarded.

“Are you… maybe uncomfortable being with Saejun?” 

Yaein asked as she looked up at him.

“…It’s not that I’m uncomfortable.” 

A faint crease formed between Taeheon’s brows. 

He struggled to find the right words, and for a moment, couldn’t continue.

“Are you scared?” 

Yaein gently filled in the words for him.