Chapter 7.3

Carrying such a question and searching through his features for an answer would make time pass by.

[I’m saying you’re that handsome. Though you probably already know.]

“So, is my face your type?”

For a moment she pondered. She was one hundred percent certain that Choi Jin-wook himself was her type, but it was somewhat strange for the person in question to ask such a question.

[Yes. Very much so.]

“I didn’t know.”

This time she was even flustered. Just looking in the mirror every day, he couldn’t possibly not know his own handsomeness.

She could fully imagine how much attention and pursuit he must have received from women before marrying her.

[You didn’t know?]

“I didn’t know. If I had known my face was your type, I should have used it more.”

[What do you mean by use it?]

“Exactly what I said.”

With that, her husband lifted the corners of his mouth in a grin. His handsomeness multiplied several times, and at the sight that was even fatal, she had to bite her lower lip.

Even though her husband hadn’t properly utilized his face until now, she had loved him so much, but if he used that face too, she would have no way to handle it.

[That’s cheating. It’s too disadvantageous for me.]

“Then live your whole life looking at it from beside me.”

For a moment she almost nodded saying she wanted to do just that, but barely held onto her reason. If she got swept up in her husband’s pace like this, she felt she wouldn’t be able to ask anything.

When she first wrote and showed that she had questions, her husband crossed his arms saying to ask as much as she wanted.

The knit wrapped around his body was tight, making it not difficult to imagine the muscles beyond it. Her saliva gulped down.

[I have something to ask. Am I still not your type?]

At her question, her husband switched and crossed his legs differently. Then he rested his hand on his chin and looked straight at her. His sharp gaze as if he would see through her inner thoughts seemed exactly like someone who knew about her past actions.

“Yeah. You’re not.”

In contrast, the answer that came out was extremely short.

The one burning with anxiety was her. But asking for reasons seemed even more pathetic, so she put away the notepad.

“Listen to what people say until the end.”

Just as she was about to put her phone away on the nightstand, her husband grabbed her arm tightly.

“I didn’t want to admit that my type had changed.”

In an instant, her heart raced violently. Like a sprinter before a short-distance race trying to regulate breathing somehow to do their best even in a match that would be decided quickly.

“None other than my wife changed it. You changed me.”

In a flash, the match was decided. Not that either side won, but in a draw.

She didn’t know how to react, but the corners of her mouth twitched. She hadn’t known that her husband’s habit of speaking by pointing out only the essence without unnecessary flowery words could be this good.

If not for the gauze in her mouth, she almost would have screamed with joy. She brought her phone back and decided to continue the conversation.

[I’m curious about the reason you came home early today.]

“I wanted to.”

[Don’t say it so simply, please explain it more fully.]

Having said he changed Choi Jin-wook, there was nothing more she couldn’t ask. Earnestness settled in her gaze.

“Because I was anxious that you might not be home. Worried that you might have disappeared again.”

[Where would I go in this condition.]

“It sounds like you’re saying you’ll go out once you’re all better.”

[That’s something to discuss three weeks from now.]

“Don’t go. Go Ah-jin.”

Her husband still hadn’t let go of her arm. He seemed to be controlling his strength somewhat, but it was gradually getting tighter. She could feel the blood circulation being cut off, but she left it as it was.

Only after getting close enough for their noses to touch did her husband’s real face reveal itself. Eyes don’t lie. Especially for someone emotionless like her husband.

“Don’t go anywhere.”

His eyes with burst blood vessels and shadowed eye area looked tired. She could see traces of stubble that she had never seen before.

Even his cheeks that had become gaunt in just a few days. She confirmed even the small pimple next to his eyebrow and his lips that were slowly beginning to crack.

What would happen if she just said she would leave home from here.

She weighed the desire to see her husband’s broken appearance at least once against the desire to enjoy the current happiness.

She couldn’t deny that the latter was greater. The fact that her husband had changed because of her was unbearably thrilling.

It was fortunate that it wasn’t a major change but such detailed changes that only she could confirm at this distance, changes that no one else could notice. The thought of another woman seeing her husband in this state was absolutely something that couldn’t be allowed.

[I’ll discuss it three weeks from now. Don’t you have anything to say to me?]

“You want to hear me say I’ve gone mad? Fine. When I heard you’d left, I nearly lost it. Didn’t care about company revenue or anything. Me—Choi Jin-wook.”

[Still, your company should secure first place in sales.]

She could more than imagine how much of a fatal blow last year’s second place sales announcement had dealt to her husband’s pride.

“Whatever. Dropping to fifth before hitting first again would make for better drama, don’t you think?”

To say it would be okay even to be last place!

Really, Choi Jin-wook, this man was definitely not in his right mind. At words she couldn’t believe even hearing directly, she was dazed.

[Are you really my husband, Choi Jin-wook?]

“If you had someone else in mind to remarry, tell me now. I’ll drag him here and beat him half to death.”

[You really seem crazy.]

“You just realized? I’m crazy. Ever since I married you, Go Ah-jin. So if you have at least some conscience, returns aren’t allowed. Only after-service is available.”

He was definitely crazy. Both her husband who was saying such things, and herself who was dying of happiness hearing those words.

Once the floodgates opened, there were no obstacles in their conversation from then on.

Their conversation continued until dawn when her phone battery died.

[Why did you have s*x with me but not kiss me?]

“Because it’s sweet. I was afraid if I did it often, I’d end up biting and tearing your lips off entirely.”

[My goodness. You’re saying it was for safety reasons?]

“So who told you to be delicious from head to toe?”

[I really had no idea it was such a simple reason.]

“Want me to show you what simple means?”

[No! I’m holding gauze in my mouth!]

“How long does that last?”

[Since blood keeps coming out, I’ll keep it in until it stops. And they said not to do strenuous exercise for a while. Just so you know.]

“Ah. Abstain from s*x too.”

[Yes. That’s what I mean. It’s not what I said but what the doctor said, so please follow it.]

“Why now of all times. Can’t even kiss either.”

[It’s not like I wanted to have this done. Please understand.]

“Don’t get sick anymore.”

[I don’t get sick because I want to either.]

“I can’t stand seeing you in pain.”

[You watched just fine during s*x.]

“You know that pain is only momentary.”

[I know you’re a beast.]

“Telling me to endure with you like this is driving me crazy.”

[Take this opportunity to try enduring.]

“I should have called it more than 3 weeks, I made a mistake.”

Jin-wook continued with a regretful expression.

“You said to make you feel loved. Explain a bit.”

[What I mean is, I don’t want love just in words. I want us to really care for each other. I like s*x too, but I want it to be more intentional—set days, maybe. And I want us to talk more. Especially in the mornings. I want to spend that time with you, even just a little.]

“So basically, you don’t want me to go to work.”

[It was always my dream, you know? For a married couple to share mornings together. My father used to come home late and leave before dawn. Mom’s breakfasts were always cold, and I’d have to eat them before school. This is the first time I’m telling you this—but those breakfasts were terrible.]

“Alright. I’ll do as you say. What else?”

[Please ask me on dates often. It’s only meaningful if you want to do it.]

“Right. I’ll make an effort.”

Jin-wook nodded slightly.

“By the way, I noticed you’ve got me saved in your phone as ‘Mr. Choi Jin-wook.’”

[I saved it like that to remove the affection. It used to just say ‘Husband.’]

“I don’t know what the difference is.”

[Then what do you have me saved as?]

“Ah-jin.”

[I don’t know what the difference is.]

“I removed the surname. It’s the first time I’ve saved just a woman’s name.”

[Really?]

“Yeah. So change it.”

[I can’t right now. I have a lot to talk about with you but there’s not much battery left.]

“Do it when you wake up in the morning.”

[Alright.]

A while later, she fell asleep first.

“…Ah-jin. Ah-jin, are you sleeping?”

“……”

“Sleep well.”

After a while, she had fallen completely asleep. Jin-wook set aside her phone, which had shut off on its own. At last, there were only the two of them left on the bed.

Choi Jin-wook pulled Ah-jin into his arms. When he inhaled deeply, the scent he had missed came rushing in.

It was Ah-jin’s body scent. Since it was her unique fragrance, it had to be several times more special than any existing perfume.

Choi Jin-wook knew well that when they made love, when heat rose and sweat formed, this scent became several times stronger. He had only thought it was bitter, but now he realized he was wrong.

Smelling it for a long time, it was sweet. It was a scent that suited Ah-jin perfectly. Having inhaled deeply, he buried his face in her chest and closed his eyes.

Only now did he feel that he was truly home.

With Go Ah-jin’s presence, Choi Jin-wook’s sanctuary was finally complete.