The moment he heard she had finally gotten out of bed, Tae-yang ran out in the middle of his meeting. He rushed inside, kicking off his shoes in a hurry.

He stopped.

“Where is she?”

Not seeing her, he turned to ask Madam Hwang.

“She went into the bedroom.”

“Did she?”

“Yes. She was out on the terrace making a snowman, but… she walked back in with her shoulders all drooped.”

Did something happen?

Did she overexert herself while making the snowman?

Going outside when she was still so weak, he would have to tell her not to go out again until she fully recovered.

“And Hyesung?”

“He made the snowman to his heart’s content and then fell asleep, worn out.”

Tae-yang nodded and headed towards the master bedroom.

Her illness over the past ten days or so had completely drained him. Even when the drip helped, it only provided temporary relief, and watching her limp and exhausted form was unbearable.

He had stroked her sleeping cheek countless times, overwhelmed by a sense of crushing helplessness. She was so fragile that he wished he could be ill in her place.

Her face had become so pale that he repeatedly pressed his fingers under her nose to check she was still breathing.

He longed desperately for the moment when she would recover.

When he opened the door, she was sitting on the edge of the bed. Seeing that she was sitting up made the color return to his face.

“Eunha.”

She slowly lifted her head at the sound of her name. Her slender neck looked as though it could break at the slightest touch.

“…You’re home.”

How long had it been since he last spoke to her while she was sitting upright? Something thick and overwhelming rose from deep in his chest.

“…You cried?”

Up close, her face had more life than in the morning but her eyes were badly swollen.

“Did something happen?”

Tae-yang reached out and gently brushed the corner of her eye.

She flinched.

Worried that she might have a fever, he touched her forehead. Thankfully, it felt normal.

She parted her lips as if she wanted to say something. However, she kept her gaze lowered and he felt a tight pressure in his chest.

He wanted to grab her chin and make her look at him, but stopped himself. He didn’t want to hurt her. Not after all the cruel things he had said and done to her in the past.

While she had been bedridden, he had reflected a lot.

“That day… on Christmas, Hyesung made a wish.”

“Yeah.”

He remembered the way Hyesung had closed his eyes tightly before blowing out the candle at the family house.

But why bring that up now?

What kind of wish could make her look so sad?

Was it something she couldn’t grant?

“When I asked, he said he wants a sibling.”

Ah. That was it.

Tae-yang’s lips curved secretly where she couldn’t see. It was a wish he could grant as many times as the child wanted.

“He wants a sibling?”

“Yes.”

He sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her small shoulders. He wished she would lean on him, but she kept her back stiff and straight.

Lowering his hand, he slipped his arm around her waist. She flinched, but he only tightened his hold instead of letting go.

“Then why the sad face? It’s a wish we can grant.”

He whispered that they could grant Hyesung’s wish right away. Under normal circumstances, she would have blushed from ear to ear, but this time she merely bowed her head.

Tae-yang brushed the back of her neck with his fingers. She had always been slim, but she had lost even more weight since falling ill — he couldn’t bear it. He had to find a way to make her healthy again.

“He suddenly wants a sibling—so what? Did that make you feel bad? Why were you crying?”

He needed to know the reason. All his attention was fixed on her alone.

“Something got in my eye, so I rubbed it. That’s why it’s red.”

“…Really?”

He could tell she had cried…but since she gave another answer, he didn’t press her. He let it go.

“Get better soon. Then we can make Hyesung’s wish come true.”

For the first time since he entered the room, she lifted her head. Her eyes met his—clear, unwavering.

“Why?”

“…Once you have the baby, are you planning to divorce me?”

Tae-yang inhaled sharply.

Her expression hardened, and then she forced a faint smile.

“It was a joke.”

The second clause of their contract stated that he would grant her a divorce once she had had a child.

Tae-yang wanted to hit his past self for that.

What an idiot. Why would you put that in a contract?

But when she forced a smile and called it a joke, she looked painfully sad, and Tae-yang’s chest throbbed.

“That was… mm—”

He tried to say something — anything — but she suddenly pressed her lips to his.

Tae-yang grabbed her arms and pulled his face away.

“You’re hurting, and you’re still trying to do this?”

This time, she reached for his belt buckle.

His eyebrow lifted sharply.

Despite being out of bed, she had been lying there for ten days.

He caught her wrist and her eyes brimmed with displeasure.

“We couldn’t do anything all this time.”

So now she wanted to do it.

Her breath grew heavier.

“Do you not want me?”

“As if that’s possible.”

He was struggling not to give in, fighting against the urge to strip her n*ked and make love to her again and again. And she was asking if he didn’t want her?

“Did you go to another woman then?”

If he didn’t want her, he must have slept with someone else — that was her logic.

He wondered what on earth was going on in her head. He felt an urge to crack it open just to check.

“Stop it. You know that suspicion is absurd, don’t you?’

Where on earth would she find a cleaner man than him?

He even felt a little wronged.

“Come here.”

At this point, he couldn’t think of any way to stop her.

After all, he was a crude man, and his mind was full of indecent thoughts.

She kept provoking them.

Fine.

If she wanted him this badly, he might as well match her pace.

The thought alone sent shivers down his spine.

“Hurry up! Please? Let go.”

Her playful plea as she asked him to release her wrist etched itself into his mind.

Tae-yang finally let go.

She immediately reached for him.

“Why?”

Her face looked as though she might cry as she asked him why he was stopping her. But even if she asked for a reason, he wasn’t going to tell her.

Tae-yang captured her lips. In fact, he tried to consume them entirely. But she turned her head away, evading him.

She had teased him first, but now she was backing off, leaving Tae-yang feeling desperate.

When he gently sank his teeth into her pale neck, she let out a soft cry. He gently pushed her shoulder and laid her down on the bed.

Her pulse quickened, matching the pounding in his own chest.

Her soft, smooth skin clung to his palms.

His hands drifted lower towards her most intimate parts.

A little later…

Tae-yang pressed a kiss to her forehead as she sniffled, tears clinging to her lashes.

He felt guilty; she still wasn’t fully recovered, and he had pushed her too hard. But if he didn’t, she would only provoke him again.

She clung to him as if trying to forget something. He had given her the chaos she wanted, but seeing her cry made him regret not holding back.

However, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything with her in moderation. He didn’t have that kind of restraint. If she hadn’t provoked him in the first place… He blamed her entirely.

He leaned down to kiss her again, but she turned away once more.

“I’m tired. I want to sleep.”

Was she avoiding his kisses on purpose?

He tilted his head, unsure, but decided he must be mistaken.

He lay down beside her, slid an arm under her neck, and pulled her into his embrace.

Her small hand pushed at his chest.

So it wasn’t a misunderstanding?

Something felt subtly different.

“Tae-yang, can’t you sleep alone now?”

Tae-yang blinked slowly.

“I’m uncomfortable when someone’s next to me. I can’t sleep well.”

She waited for his answer, her expression utterly cold.

“I can’t sleep without you.”

Her blank face cracked instantly. Her eyes widened.

“How can you tell me to sleep alone? You’re the one who made me like this.”

“When did I ever—”

“Do you want to watch me collapse from insomnia? Do you want to see me in agony because I haven’t slept for days?”

Just a few months ago, he was hospitalized after becoming unable to sleep.

She pressed her lips firmly together, unable to argue.

He patted her back gently.

Her long, full lashes slowly sank.

Her body wasn’t in great shape; she hadn’t been out for a long time, and on top of that, he had exhausted her.

It was no wonder she had fallen asleep so quickly.

Tae-yang gently brushed his fingers over her face as she slept.

None of it mattered anymore.

Whether Hyesung was his son or someone else’s.

Who she had met or what had happened.

Ultimately, he was just…

Like a star orbiting the vast universe, helplessly drawn towards the black hole at its center, he was destined to circle the core of Eunha’s being forever.

He was destined to revolve around her heart forever.

Even knowing that time might someday swallow him whole…

‘I can’t escape you.’

‘I’ll never escape you.’

Tae-yang didn’t need proof.

He could feel it in every part of himself.