If not for the warmth in their joined hands, their gazes were pointed in such different directions that they could hardly have been called companions at all.

They had shared a deep kiss in this very car before, but Haein felt more stirred now than she had then. It felt like she was on a date with Jiho, and her fingertips kept threatening to tremble, so she pressed down gently on the inside of her lip.

While she worked to calm her racing heart, the car turned into a quiet neighborhood with few people about. Along both sides of the road the car traveled, long stretches of walls taller than a person continued without break.

It was a neighborhood that felt both unfamiliar and familiar to Haein. Her family home was somewhere in this area too, so clusters of private residences were nothing new, but Jiho’s family home was situated much deeper inside than hers.

The occasional cars that passed were all foreign makes or the most expensive of the domestic brands. The car Haein rode in blended into the tranquil neighborhood without any sense of incongruity.

“We’ve arrived.”

The driver’s words came as the car glided to a smooth stop. In front of a wall draped with ivy, a black sedan was already parked. A man standing in front of it holding a shopping bag spotted the car and approached the rear door.

Knock knock. A neat, crisp knock rang through the interior. Jiho pressed a button with his fingertip and the window slid smoothly down.

“Director, here are the shoes you requested. I took the liberty of preparing three different styles, just in case.”

“Good work.”

Jiho took the shopping bag from the secretary and set it on the seat between them. The secretary gave a respectful bow toward Jiho and headed back to the parked car.

Jiho closed the window and began taking the boxes out of the shopping bag one by one.

“Look through them and put on whichever you like. Take those off right now.”

One box went onto Haein’s thigh and the other two onto the seat. Jiho gathered the shopping bags and set them on the floor, then opened one of the boxes without hesitation.

A pair of flat shoes in a soft apricot tone appeared, just as he had asked. A bow-shaped accent at the toe gave them a charming look.

“These seem nice too.”

Jiho held the shoes up against her dress to compare the colors and gave a satisfied nod. Perhaps because the shades were close, they went together well.

“These suit you too.”

The other two boxes held shoes that were similar but each slightly different. The one thing they all had in common was that every pair had a low heel.

Haein undid the strap buckle that had been cinching her ankle. She set the heels aside neatly and chose the design Jiho seemed to like best.

The shoes fit perfectly. Switching from heels to flats, her feet felt noticeably more comfortable.

“Let’s go.”

Once she seemed ready, Jiho opened the car door. Haein tidied up the scattered boxes and followed him out.

A cool breeze swept across her cheeks. Going from the warmth of the car to the outside air flushed her cheeks. Jiho’s gaze traveled over them, soft as peaches.

The driver stepped out as well and opened the trunk, which had been sitting half-open. Inside sat a flower basket of fresh blooms, still dotted with moisture. Jiho took the basket from the driver.

The basket was large enough that it would have hidden Haein’s upper body entirely if she had carried it. Inside, roses in every color put on a dazzling display that was almost overwhelming to look at. The overall red palette was his mother’s preference.

“We’ll say Ms. Lee Haein brought this. You never know what you’ll hear if you show up empty-handed.”

“I should have thought ahead and prepared something myself……”

The deep, rich scent of fresh flowers washed over her, and Haein blinked in flustered surprise. She had been so focused on bringing down the swelling around her eyes that she had forgotten arriving empty-handed would be impolite.

What would have happened if Jiho hadn’t prepared a gift separately? This marriage was already one she felt self-conscious about, and just as he said, she had nearly invited a scolding.

“Ms. Lee Haein doesn’t need to concern herself with my family. We’ve lived as strangers our whole lives, and we can go on doing so.”

Watching Haein shrink as though she had done something wrong, Jiho’s expression hardened. He had married Haein, but he thought of her family as strangers. By that same logic, his family was a stranger to Haein too, and that was as it should be.

Every one of them wore a face that didn’t match what was underneath. Haein, with her trusting nature, could have her soul wrung dry if she fell into the wrong hands.

Imagining Haein being worn down by his family when he wasn’t there made his brow furrow, like he had bitten into something bitter.

“But they’re still your family……”

Jiho had said it thinking of Haein, but to her it felt like he was drawing a line between them. Did he think she wasn’t fit to mix with his family?

When she thought about it, she hadn’t even finished university yet, and there was nothing she could point to as an accomplishment. Even her family background was incomparably lesser next to Jiho’s.

As a child she had thought her father was the most powerful man in the world, but as she grew older, Haein had been struck by how many people her father had to bow and scrape before.

At the formal meeting of their families before the wedding, her father had treated Jiho’s parents with the reverence one might show a king.

There was no single word for how she had felt at that moment. When a flicker of pity for her father crossed her mind, she had to breathe quietly to herself so no one would notice what she was thinking.

Jiho’s mother had been warmer toward Haein than she had expected. The memory of Yeok saying she hoped they would grow close surfaced, and Haein tightened her grip on their joined hands.

Her warmth and affection, so much greater than her stepmother’s, had made Haein think that meeting a mother-in-law like this was the fortune of a lifetime. But precisely because of that, she was all the more afraid of disappointing her.

She felt small before she had even met Jiho’s family. She tried to shake off the gloom that had settled over her expression, but it wasn’t easy.

“Let’s finish this conversation later.”

Jiho checked his wristwatch and cut Haein off. Unless they were going to skip it entirely, arriving late to a gathering arranged specifically to see the two of them would only hand his siblings ammunition to use against them.

He told the driver to wait nearby, then took the flower basket in one hand and wrapped his other hand around Haein’s wrist, and walked toward the front gate, which stood nearly two meters tall.

The gate, imposingly grand as always, was more than enough to crush the spirit of anyone faint of heart. He pressed the bell, and the small black camera mounted in the corner swiveled smoothly to take in the visitors’ faces.

[Young master, welcome.]

A warm voice came from above a moment later, and the heavy iron gate swung open with a clang. No sooner had Jiho stepped through than the sound of barking closed in fast.

“Eek.”

Haein, who had been staring at the ground, cried out in surprise. Two black dogs had come right up to her and were pressing their noses against her feet, sniffing her with quick, curious breaths.

“Mishu, Riv. Sit.”

“Woof!”

“Woof!”

At the low voice, the shepherd and the Doberman barked in unison and dropped into a sit. Their mouths hung open in wide, curling grins.

Their tails spun like propellers at their hindquarters, welcoming Jiho the way they would after a long absence. Dry blades of grass caught by the wagging tails flew up into the air.

With the drool and the restless shifting of their haunches, they looked ready to spring up and charge again at any moment.

Haein had never been this close to dogs this large before, and she stepped back with a start. Jiho released her wrist and tucked her behind his back.

“Did that frighten you?”

“I, I’m fine.”

Her voice trailed off at the end. Annoyed that they had startled Haein, Jiho gave the dogs a stern look, but the two pairs of bright, eager eyes, so at odds with their imposing appearance, soon curved his lips into a small arc.

Jiho bent down and ruffled both dogs roughly around the neck. The vigorous handling seemed to delight them even more, and their two differently shaped tails moved in perfect mirror image.

“You two. Remember her scent well. From now on, no more charging at her like this.”

“Whine, whine……”

“Woof woof!”

He scolded them in a firm voice that didn’t match his smiling face. The shepherd let out a pitiful sound and pressed close with a show of affection, while the Doberman tilted its head, then barked with a cheerful, oblivious expression.

“Haha. Riv, you never change. Still won’t listen.”

Haein peeked her head forward at the sound of Jiho’s laugh, which she had never heard before. The brightness of his smile swept away his usual cool air in an instant.

The image of a mischievous boy made Haein feel she had caught a glimpse of who Jiho had been long ago.

“Mishu! Riv!”

A servant who had only just noticed the dogs were gone came running with a startled look.

“Oh my, young master. I’m so sorry. They must have bolted out while I stepped away to take out the rubbish.”

“It’s fine. Mishu looks a little thinner than last time. Please make sure she gets some nourishing food.”