The opportunity came while Jiho was pulled aside by Hojin and Yeok was occupied talking with Mina. Jitae approached Haein, who had been sitting on the sofa like a sack of grain left in the corner, wearing the mask of a friendly face.

The sofa cushion beside Haein sank. Their thighs nearly brushed, and Haein went rigid. A cologne entirely different from Jiho’s hit her sharply.

Jitae gave off an air so different from Jiho’s that without knowing they were brothers, it would be hard to find any resemblance. His features were far finer, and his height and build were on the small side for a man.

A world apart from Jiho, who stood well above average.

On top of that, unlike Jiho, who looked far younger than his age, Jitae looked exactly his years. He wasn’t heavy, but his face, now into its forties, was lined with fine wrinkles.

Haein was uneasy around all men, but she shrank especially in the presence of those significantly older than her. And the way Jitae’s gaze moved over her was familiar. She had seen it before, in other men.

Each time his eyes dropped to her chest and traced the outline there, goosebumps rose along her arms. Come to think of it, Jiho had been the only man she had ever met who held her eyes on first meeting instead of looking at her chest.

Her dark eyes reflexively searched for Jiho. The man who had left the drawing room with Hojin showed no sign of returning.

Yeok and Mina were seated nearby, so nothing could go too far, but simply being exposed to that l*st-laden gaze was enough to send cold sweat down her back. And this was Jiho’s own brother.

The leering look from someone who was now family also touched something deep and old in Haein. Her half-brother had begun looking at her that same way at some point.

In summer especially, when she couldn’t bundle herself up, his gaze would fasten openly to her bare arms and legs and chest. Because of that, Haein had worn long sleeves and long trousers even in the height of summer, with an oversized cardigan over everything.

“My hand is starting to feel embarrassed, you know.”

Jitae waved his outstretched hand in the air. Haein startled and took it with trembling fingers. The chill of his skin, so unlike Jiho’s, made her recoil inside.

She tried to pull her hand away quickly, but Jitae held on with a grip that was just short of painful before finally releasing her.

“From the first time I saw you, you caught my eye in a particular way. I suppose it was because we were going to be family. Do you remember? We were introduced at the SL Group founding anniversary party last year.”

Last year’s party left her with only a few memories. Following her father’s instructions, she attended in a dress that showed a subtle amount of her chest. Everyone she met had let their eyes drift there, drawn to the developed figure of a girl who hadn’t yet come of age.

At some point, Haein had begun to feel she might faint. She had stood like a doll and smiled brightly the way her father wanted, but she had nearly been sick more than once.

The fact that Jitae left no particular impression meant he had been one of the many faces that passed through that night. If she had met Jiho there, she would still remember it clearly now.

“……Yes. I remember.”

But Haein gave Jitae the answer he wanted rather than the truth. Telling him she didn’t remember risked upsetting him, and that would be trouble.

“Well, a face like mine isn’t easy to forget once you’ve seen it. I was actually more popular than Jiho when we were young, you know.”

Objectively speaking, Jitae’s face was quite handsome. His features were somewhat delicate, almost feminine, but the neat, fine arrangement of them was enough to earn people’s goodwill.

Even so, he was nowhere near Jiho’s level, no matter how one looked at it. Jiho had the face, but beyond that, the physique, and above all, a presence that simply overwhelmed people.

Jitae, by contrast, had an unsettling gaze and projected an air too weak for someone who ran a major company.

“My wife has been very curious about you. She always said it was lonely being the only daughter-in-law.”

The face of the woman she had been introduced to at the wedding surfaced in her mind. Far more striking than Jitae, the woman had worn her hair in a sharp bob and carried a charisma that rivaled Jiho’s.

“I’d like for us to be close going forward. Jiho’s personality is so prickly that the siblings have never really come together well. Now that you’ve joined the family, it would be nice if everyone got along. What do you think?”

“Ah, well……”

Haein hesitated and fumbled with her words. Jiho’s voice from the moment they had entered the house was still circling in her ears. He had told her there was no need to be nervous, no need to strain herself trying to make a good impression. It had stung, but she had no intention of acting against his wishes.

The most important person to Haein right now was not Jiho’s family. It was Jiho.

On top of that, Haein was anxious about Jiho seeing this. Jitae, speaking in a friendly tone, kept nudging his knee against hers or planting his hand on the sofa, steadily closing the distance between them.

She shifted her weight back quietly each time, but Jitae moved with her every time, and the gap between them had ended up smaller than when he first sat down.

The gaze tangling with hers at close range was suffocating. The fact that Jitae’s eyes kept dropping openly to her chest while he waited for her answer was another part of what made it unbearable.

“Why would my wife want to be close with my brother?”

Just as the pressure made it hard to breathe, a low voice fell from above. Haein looked up in surprise to find Jiho with his brows drawn tightly together.

Jiho undid the buttons of the suit jacket he was wearing and draped it over Haein’s shoulders. It had fit Jiho perfectly, but on Haein it swallowed her upper body almost entirely, like a child wearing her father’s clothes.

Haein breathed in deeply at the familiar scent and pulled the front of the jacket closed. Simply being out of Jitae’s line of sight let her breathe again.

“Are you done talking with Father already?”

Jitae had been startled by Jiho’s sudden appearance before he had even managed to exchange numbers with Haein. The gaze fixed on him was cold to the point of feeling like hands around his throat, and his shoulders drew in.

“Haha, well then, I suppose I’ll go spend a little time alone with Father myself.”

Knowing well what happened when Jiho was in this state and you pushed him, Jitae read the room and chose to tuck his tail and retreat.

A cold stare followed at length after Jitae’s retreating back. Jiho clenched his fist and released it. Without the patience he had built up over the years, he would have put his fist in Jitae’s face. If Yeok and Hojin hadn’t been in the room, Jitae would have lost a molar.

“Let’s get up.”

He gestured for Haein to rise. She had been sitting with only her interlaced fingers fidgeting. Haein stood and moved to Jiho’s side. She felt as though she were being scolded for something she hadn’t done.

“Mother, we’ll be heading out now. I’ve said goodbye to Father.”

“Oh my, already? You’ve come all this way, stay a little longer.”

“I have an important meeting tomorrow morning. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be. If work is busy, you have to go. You take care too, dear.”

“Yes. Mother.”

Haein gave a respectful bow at Yeok’s farewell. Yeok was very nearly the only person in this household who had shown Haein any warmth. She felt genuinely grateful.

She also bowed politely to Mina, who was standing beside Yeok. Mina gave the barest nod in return.

“Young master, young mistress. Please get home safely. I’ve packed up a few dishes for you.”

“Thank you, Auntie. We’ll enjoy them.”

Malsuk was waiting for the two of them at the front entrance. She handed what she had been holding to Jiho. The food container, wrapped neatly in pale pink cloth, was quite heavy.

Haein said her goodbye to Malsuk as well and slipped her feet into the shoes the servant had already taken out of the shoe cabinet. Jiho draped Haein’s coat over his arm.

Her feet had swollen slightly in the time they had been inside, and the shoes pressed more snugly than when she had first put them on. She said nothing and stood waiting for Jiho to put on his own shoes.

Since he had given her his jacket, Jiho was down to his shirt. Haein moved to take the jacket off her shoulders, intending to return it and take her coat from him instead.

“Let’s just go. The car should be waiting right outside.”

But Jiho waved off her attempt and opened the door. The winter wind poured in through the opening.

Jiho stepped out first. He appeared calm at a glance, but Haein had caught the brief moment he had faltered.

Haein let out a quiet sigh and closed the door behind her, then moved to Jiho’s side. He was standing at the top of the steps, waiting for her.

“Take my arm. I don’t want you falling.”

The sight of Jiho extending his arm like a gentleman was striking. Except for how cold he looked without his jacket.

She didn’t have the courage to do what he had told her not to again, so instead of placing her hand on his arm, Haein wrapped both arms around it. So that as much of her warmth as possible would reach him.

“……Are you doing this on purpose?”

Jiho’s eyebrow ticked up as he found himself suddenly made very aware, through one arm, of exactly how full Haein’s chest was. She looked up at him with an expression of complete innocence, as though she had no idea what she was doing, and Jiho let out a long, slow breath to cool the heat rising in him.

In the back of his mind, he was already calculating how long it would take to get home.