22.2 

Chaeyoon gently stroked her fingers behind Seonho’s ear. Red rubellite glittered in his earlobe.  The originally sexy red gem seemed even more provocative on Seonho.

“Planning to go to work with a piercing?”

After embracing Chaeyoon intensely to his satisfaction, the first thing Seonho did was get his ear pierced.

“So, what about it?”

“Still, a boss with piercings? SC Group is conservative. People might lose respect.”

“There was no respect to begin with. Employees call me a ‘lunatic who does whatever he wants.’ They’ll probably think I’m up to another crazy act.”

“Not a sloth?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know, always lounging around. Isn’t that how you are at the company? Ah, I get it. You don’t really work, just lounge around, hence the reputation of doing whatever you want.”

“Are you sweet-talking me while criticizing me?”

Chaeyoon chuckled at Seonhos’s words.

“Not now.”

“So, you used to do that.”

“Yeah. I didn’t really like it before.”

“Why?”

“Because you got everything too easily.”

“‘Before,’ so you don’t mind it now?”

Seonho grinned.

“Yeah. Why?”

With that, she lightly kissed his lips.

“Maybe because I’ve become yours?”

Seonho pulled Chaeyoon around the waist and pressed their foreheads together.

The hasty decision to get a piercing in front of Chaeyoon was a symbolic gesture of becoming her slave. And it was an excellent choice.

After getting the piercing, Chaeyoon became even sweeter to him. Her gaze dripped with affection, her tone more tender.

There was more physical contact, holding hands, hugging, and frequent kisses on the cheek or lips.

“Maybe. I don’t easily get attached, but once something becomes mine, I treasure it a lot, whether it’s a person or an object.”

However, her affectionate behavior toward him didn’t give him the satisfaction he expected.

Oddly, his heart melted even more. He became more anxious that the way she looked, sounded, and acted now would disappear like an illusion.

“I’m at the top of that list, right? Even above Joo-eun? A lover ranks higher than a friend, right?”

“You sometimes bring up Joo-eun out of nowhere.”

Chaeyoon tilted her head curiously.

“I’ve always found her annoying. Now that I think about it, it was probably because she was always stuck by your side. When Joo-eun said she was dating, I felt inexplicably happy, maybe because it meant you’d be away from her?”

Seonho said as if he had solved an unsolved riddle.

Maybe that’s why he helped Joo-eun get married even if he didn’t have to, and took care to make sure it didn’t fall apart.

“Now that she’s married, she would put her husband first before you.”

Seonho spoke persuasively.

“That’s how it should be, given she’s married.”

“So now I’m your first priority, right?”

Seonho asked, beaming with glee that he was getting the answer he wanted.

“Not yet.”

However, Chaeyoon’s response shattered his expectations.

“Why? Is Joo-eun still the first?”

Seonho asked in disbelief.

“No way, my parents are the first.”

“Hmph. How can your parents be the first?”

For Seonho, with his concept of family, such a thing was absolutely impossible.

“We’re just lovers now, not yet spouses.”

“So, I become the first when I’m your husband?”

This too was hard for Seonho to understand with his concept of family, as neither his own parents nor his brother and sister-in-law ever put their spouses first.

“Yes. When you become my husband, I’ll put you first. Even before my parents.”

Chaeyoon spoke as if it were obvious.

For a moment, Seonho realized that he and Chaeyoon had different concepts of family. He had assumed that Joo-eun was naturally the first for Chaeyoon and that Joo-eun was his only competitor.

But it didn’t matter. If that’s how Chaeyoon’s world worked, he’d change his world accordingly.

“Yes. I’ll definitely become your husband.”

Seonho’s eyes flashed with excessive intensity. A strong determination was stirring within him.

“For that to happen, we’ll have to get married, right?”

“Of course.”

“You know it’s not going to be an easy war.”

War. Chaeyoon’s metaphor was apt.

“I know, but don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything.”

“You’ll take care of everything?”

“I’ll try not to drag you into this war as much as possible. I’ll protect you.”

Seonho understood why Chaeyoon didn’t want to get involved with him, the child of a chaebol family, so protecting her was his foremost principle.

“I appreciate the thought, but it will be tough.”

“It’s true that it’s too much for me alone. But if I can get my mother on my side, it’s not impossible.”

“How will you do that? Do you have a plan?”

Seonho shared about the current standoff between his father trying to officially recognize an illegitimate child and his mother.

“Having the Vice Chairwoman’s side might be too weak.”

“Right. But it can buy us a few months. In that time, I’ll try to win my grandfather’s approval and push my brother out of the way to become the heir apparent. By then, I should be able to marry whoever I want, right?”

“Good plan. I’ll support you. Fight this war well to become my first priority. And definitely win.”

Chaeyoon playfully tapped Seonho’s b*ttocks twice.

“You’re not telling me not to come if I can’t win the war, are you?”

“Of course not. If you’re exhausted, come back to regroup. Winning a war involves striking at the right time and knowing when to retreat. So don’t be too hasty. You must never respond emotionally. Be cool-headed, assess the situation logically, and act dispassionately. Got it?”

“As my master commands.”

Seonho grinned and tapped the piercing on his ear twice.

Chaeyoon, having made up her mind, stood up and walked to the desk.

“When you become my husband…”

Chaeyoon opened a drawer and took out a small box. When he opened the lid, there was a piercing containing a green vidylite.

“I’ll wear this piercing too.”

“The other half of my piercing? They were a pair?”

“Yeah.”

“Does that mean you become my slave too?”

“We become each other’s masters.”

“That’s an attractive offer.”

“I thought you’d like it. So, make sure you win.”

Chaeyoon had done enough to avoid becoming the daughter-in-law of a wealthy family, yet in the end, she was captured by Seonho. Seonho’s desire outweighed her will.

Holding his hand, Chaeyoon completely changed her course.