CHAPTER 1: Wedding Anniversary Gifts (Part 11)

When she returned home, Moon-kyeong went straight to the bathroom and soaked in the tub, eager to shake her mind out of turmoil.

She dipped her face into the foamy water, reaching down to the bottom before surfacing again.

It’s not that she doesn’t want to get married, but she doesn’t want to do it this way. She simply wanted to meet a man she liked, fall in love, and get married like everyone else.

She wanted to meet someone who made her heart skip a beat and her cheeks flush every time they met, someone she was reluctant to part with.

She wanted to meet someone like that. She dreamed of a life where she would have a beautiful child, be happy even in the tranquility of a cup of coffee, and receive her husband’s love every night.

She had thought about wanting to run away, just like the old days. She wanted to escape far from Hye-ran’s grasp. But Moon-lyeong knew. Bound by her words that she must repay the favor, she could never leave her.

The thought of having to pay the price for the favor she received haunted her for a lifetime. 

Inside the house, she always had to walk on tiptoes, be cautious with her words, and couldn’t live a life that deviated even a bit from the set schedule. She resented herself for being too tamed by Hye-ran. It was frightening to break free from that shell.

Knowing well the meaning of losing a family, Moon-kyeong had confined herself for far too long.

“Sigh.”

If she holds Kim Seojun’s hand, she can at least quit ballet. But… everyone will find out.

“I can’t live like that.”

She didn’t want to be involved with Seojun again in any way. Everything with him had to end with the memories of Russia.

After a long shower, she tied a bow on her robe and stepped out, dialing Seo-wook’s phone. She wanted a definite answer.

Not about Kim Seo-jun, but about whether she can marry him.

After a long ring, he answered on the other end.

• …

“Mr. Kim Seo-wook?”

• What is it?

His voice was chilly. Moon-kyeong pushed aside the towel she was drying her hair with.

“I was wondering if you forgot about our appointment today.”

• Did you, by any chance…

“Yes?”

• Did you sleep with Kim Seojun?

“What?”

• Unless you slept with him, why would that jerk suddenly rush like this? What could he possibly be so good at to act like that? Does he think all congressmen are the same? Your father isn’t even worth a dish in our house. Just because of mixed heritage and something my mother pushed for, he now acts arrogantly. That stone-like guy who doesn’t even care about women seems to get all fired up just hearing your name.

Moon-kyeong gritted her teeth. A belated regret for making the call surged like a tidal wave.

“You’re rude. I’ll just end it….”

• That look, I know it. It’s something that can only come from a man who’s tasted you. Confidence, if you say. Hah. Whether you two already slept together or not, don’t show up in front of me from now on. I’ll kill both of you.

In the end, it was Kim Seo-wook who hung up the phone first, not Moon-kyeong.

She chewed her lips deeply out of habit. She felt dumbfounded about what she had just heard.

What the hell is this crazy bastard saying?

She couldn’t figure out how the situation was unfolding. She picked up the towel she had left on one side.

As she annoyingly combed through her dripping hair, the doorbell rang.

Moon-kyeong had no friends except Bora. She maintains only business relationships with the people Hye-ran has artificially created for her, so there’s no way she’d have anyone left to come to her house this late at night.

She glanced at the intercom screen and was shocked beyond words. There, in front of the entrance, was Seojun. When she didn’t respond, he rang the bell again.

With a low sigh, Moon-kyeong reluctantly stood in front of her entrance door. After chewing her lips a few times, she finally opened the door, and he entered.

As if he were someone very familiar with the place, he naturally sat on her living room sofa. 

She turned to look at him.

“How did you find this place?”

“Your mother.”

It sounded like Hye-ran had given him all the information.

After finishing his sentence, his gaze traveled up Moon-kyeong’s smooth legs and stopped around her collarbone.

Her delicate and slender neck appeared tense, as if someone caught nervous. The scent of her body mixed with her long, damp hair and shampoo aroused Seojun.

When her name came out of Seo-wook’s mouth after dinner, he almost lost control and could have killed someone.

Seojun warned Seo-wook, stating that she was not a woman someone like him could touch. 

Moon-kyeong’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. Because she felt his persistent gaze following her, her face warmed up. She thought it was inappropriate to welcome an uninvited guest late at night in her current attire.

“I’ll change my clothes and be right back.”

Seo-jun raised his hand.

“Don’t bother. I’ll leave soon.”

He took the ring case from his suit pocket and placed it on the table for her to open.

Moon-kyeong chuckled meaninglessly, knowing the meaning without having to ask

Is this an attempt to make things seem appropriate? You’ve unnecessarily paid attention to every detail.

With an ungrateful gaze, she opened the case to reveal a diamond-encrusted ring.

Moon-kyeong bit the inside of her mouth.

“Are you trying to propose?”

“I have to make it look real.”

He stood up from the sofa and took out the ring from the case in her hands.

Perhaps due to the noticeable difference in their sizes when facing each other, the atmosphere felt as if Seojun could swallow her at any moment.

“How is it? Seeing me again, doesn’t it feel nostalgic?”

“…”

“You still make that expression, pretending you don’t like it while actually liking it.”

“Look at this.”

“Is it the opposite? Do you dislike it?”

When he calmly slid the ring onto Moon-kyeong’s hand, her gaze was almost close to disdain.