“My son really is so reserved, isn’t he?”

I was travelling home in the same car as my mother. I shifted my gaze from outside the window to her. When I widened my eyes, unsure what she meant, she smiled gently at me.

“Did he really have to leave without eating breakfast? His mother-in-law had prepared such a feast for him. He may be my son, but he’s far too reserved.”

I knew why Mother was saying this. She was taking my side because she was worried that Taecho might have hurt my feelings by leaving for work without acknowledging the food she had worked so hard to prepare.

This had happened many times before, so I was deeply grateful for her constant consideration.

“My greatest concern is that Taecho will make you suffer. You have such a tender heart, Yeon-woo……”

“Mother, please don’t worry.”

I gave Mother a bright smile.

“He may be reserved, but he treats me well.”

It was a lie, of course, but I hoped Mother would believe it.

“And I’m not as delicate as you think.”

“Oh, dear. You’re far too kind for your own good.”

Mother clasped my hand tightly and gently patted the back of it.

“Shall we have lunch together? Let’s make Taehyun treat us.”

Ma Taehyun was Taecho’s younger brother and, therefore, my brother-in-law.

“I’d love to.”

“Let’s ask him to buy us something delicious. What should we have?”

I smiled brightly as Mother suggested choosing somewhere expensive. Taehyun had a wonderful personality. He was cheerful, optimistic, and utterly carefree, so I always enjoyed talking to him.

“Mother, Taehyun might be busy. Shouldn’t we call him first?”

“Oh, that’s true. But my younger son would probably cancel his plans just to buy us something delicious.”

“That’s true.”

Mother and I laughed together for quite some time.

“Oh, right. You haven’t forgotten about the party at our house next week, have you?”

“Of course not. I remember.”

It was something my father and father-in-law had arranged yesterday, just as dinner was coming to an end.

“I’m so excited. Your mother is always busy taking care of the old house, so I’ve hardly had any time to spend with her. We’re going to have plenty of fun next week.”

“I’m looking forward to it too.”

The traditional house, which was over two hundred years old, required attention several times a day. On top of that, her parents had wildflowers to tend to and guests to receive. Yeon-woo had repeatedly suggested hiring someone to help, but her parents had adamantly refused.

They kept putting it off, saying they would hire someone once they were older. They said they would wait until the end of the year. Yeon-woo was determined to make them hire someone, even if it meant losing her temper.

A short while later…

“Yeon-woo, please eat some more. Why have you lost so much weight?”

Yeon-woo was having lunch with Mother and Taehyun at a famous restaurant. Hearing the concern in his voice, she raised her head.

Taehyun, whose face closely resembled Mother’s, was grinning at her.

“Is my brother giving you a hard time?”

He was asking whether that was why she had lost weight.

“Of course not. He treats me well.”

Yeon-woo even waved her hands dismissively as she defended him.

“Mom, don’t you think my brother has been giving Yeon-woo a hard time?”

“Your brother is far too reserved.”

Mother gripped her fork and knife tightly, looking thoroughly aggrieved on Yeon-woo’s behalf.

“How can two brothers be so different? Yeon-woo, no matter how much I think about it, you should have married Taehyun instead.”

Taehyun’s personality was the complete opposite of his older brother’s. Not only did he have excellent manners, but he was also perceptive and witty.

“Mother…… that’s a little…… Taehyun is nowhere near my ideal type.”

Yeon-woo deliberately answered in a playful tone. Across from her, Taehyun immediately retorted,

“You’re not my type either, you know?”

“Do you really like Taecho that much?”

Unsure how to answer, Yeon-woo hesitated for a moment.

“……Huh? Isn’t that my brother?”

At the sound of Taehyun’s voice, Yeon-woo turned her head.

“…….”

Taecho was not alone. Standing beside him was a radiant, beautiful woman who stood out even from a distance. Yeon-woo’s gaze darkened.

Sensing the atmosphere growing heavy after the earlier cheerfulness, Yeon-woo forced a smile.

“He must be working.”

Her voice trembled slightly at the end, but not enough for anyone to notice.

“Should we go over and say hello……?”

“No, Mother. I don’t want to interrupt him while he’s working.”

She meant it. He was already busy enough with work.

Even though they had met by chance, Yeon-woo did not want to disturb him.

“Then I’ll go and say hello.”

Taehyun, however, seemed to think differently. Before anyone could stop him, he sprang to his feet and strode after Taecho.

“That’s right. It would be one thing if I were alone, but Yeon-woo is here too. He shouldn’t just walk past us.”

Yeon-woo felt extremely uncomfortable. In fact, she was so uncomfortable that she thought she might go mad. She wished they would just pretend they hadn’t seen him. Sometimes, being too close as a family could cause problems.

The corners of Yeon-woo’s mouth trembled.

Before long, Taehyun returned with Taecho in tow. He looked unmistakably displeased.

Not knowing what expression to wear, Yeon-woo lowered her eyes.

“She’s a business associate.”

Before taking his seat, Taehyun leaned toward Yeon-woo and whispered into her ear, making her shoulders flinch.

As if she had asked. She had not even been curious.

“Son, were you working?”

“Yes.”

After giving a curt reply, Taecho let out a quiet sigh.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“We will. I’m going to continue my date with my daughter-in-law before heading home.”

Mother gripped Yeon-woo’s shoulder and spoke as though proudly showing her off to him.

“Go ahead.”

Their eyes met briefly before he turned away. Yeon-woo watched him walk away quickly. The woman appeared again, seemingly having been waiting for him.

Yeon-woo’s shoulders slumped. He seemed colder than usual somehow.

He had always been cold, but this time, merely meeting his gaze was enough to make her knees tremble.

He must have noticed her burrowing into his arms.

“My brother and Yeon-woo must be destined for each other. Just look at how you keep running into one another.”

Taehyun was trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, so Yeon-woo could not continue looking dejected.

“It must be because this restaurant is so popular. The food is delicious.”

Truth be told, Yeon-woo could not bring herself to eat a single bite. However, not wanting to cause them any concern, she forced herself to chew and swallow repeatedly.

After lunch, she went shopping with her mother. By the time she got home, evening had set in.

It took her quite some time to organize all the gifts her mother had bought her.

After marrying Taecho, Yeon-woo had originally planned to live with his family. However, wanting to give the newlyweds their privacy, her parents had prepared a separate home for them near the family residence. Although it was not far away, Yeon-woo still felt unbearably lonely there.

She hated the suffocating silence of the house, occupied only by her and her perpetually busy husband. There were no birds chirping outside and no flowers to brighten the rooms. She could not even smell the familiar scents of trees and wind.

Yeon-woo had dreamed of having many children.

She had longed to build a warm and happy family of her own.

She had never imagined that her marriage would turn out this way.

With a forlorn smile, she entered the bathroom and stood beneath the cold shower for a long time.

The woman who had stood beside Taecho continued to haunt her thoughts. Yeon-woo knew they had only met over work, yet her heart sank every time she remembered seeing them together.

Yeon-woo had never imagined that her marriage would turn out this way.

With a forlorn smile, she stepped into the shower and stood under the cold water for a long time.

The woman who had stood beside Taecho continued to haunt her thoughts. Although she knew they had only met for work, the memory of them together still made her heart sink.

When she emerged from the bathroom, silence greeted her once more.

She couldn’t even summon the energy to dry her hair properly, so she just rubbed it with a towel.

Taecho would probably return around dawn again tonight. He was always busy, leaving Yeon-woo to spend most of her time alone. Then again, even when he came home early, they stayed in separate rooms.

Either way, she was always alone.

Yeon-woo left her room, carrying an armful of embroidery supplies.

Nothing helped pass the time quite like embroidery.

When she first started, she struggled to coordinate the colors and would often prick her fingertips with the needle. Completing even a single piece used to take her more than a month. Now, however, she could easily finish a handkerchief in a week.

She had put her embroidered handkerchiefs in his pocket several times, but whenever she checked at night, they had disappeared without a trace.

She had no idea where he was keeping them. Knowing he would never answer her, even if she asked, Yeon-woo simply continued to quietly and determinedly embroider pristine white handkerchiefs.

Today, she decided to embroider flowers. After seeing the wildflowers blooming freely at her parents’ home yesterday, she thought they would make a beautiful design. She knew she wouldn’t be able to capture every detail in her embroidery, but she carefully sketched the pattern as precisely as possible.

‘The repeated passage beginning with “……She had never imagined it would turn out like this” was retained because it appears twice in the Korean text.’

One of the most important aspects of embroidery was color coordination, so selecting and combining each shade took a considerable amount of time.

This was why a whole day would pass quickly whenever she was embroidering.

She worked hard to finish the piece and give it to him as soon as possible. Hopefully, he wouldn’t leave it somewhere again.

Yeon-woo began embroidering the white handkerchief with great care.

***

At last, after a week of work, the embroidery was complete. Yeon-woo approached Taecho as he was preparing to leave for work.

Even though he knew she had come closer, he showed no reaction.

“Mr. Taecho.”

She lightly grasped his sleeve and tugged gently at it while he was putting on his coat, but he didn’t respond. Finally, he turned towards her. Their gazes met in the air. That alone was enough to make Yeon-woo’s ears burn.

When his unhurried gaze settled on her flushed ears, goosebumps rose on her arms.

“What?”

Annoyance was evident on his face. Yeon-woo deliberately stood her ground.

“This is for you. Please take it.”

When she held out the handkerchief, his eyebrow twitched.

“I don’t need it.”

“But…… I worked very hard on it.”

“I said I don’t want it.”

When Yeon-woo refused to take back her hand, Taecho’s voice turned cold. His rejection made her feel as though he had pushed her away, leaving her with a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Please take it. A handkerchief is always useful.”

Refusing to back down, she tucked the handkerchief into his pocket herself. Taecho might have found her persistence tiresome, but Yeon-woo was determined to devote herself wholeheartedly to the rest of their marriage.

Over the past year, he had treated her as though she were invisible, yet she had continued to try in her own way.

“Have a good day.”

She smiled as brightly as she could. Taecho looked ready to pull the handkerchief from his pocket and throw it aside, but his expression suddenly twisted. Without another word, he abruptly turned away.

“Have a good day!”

Even though she knew he wouldn’t respond, Yeon-woo called out to Taecho cheerfully anyway. It was only after he had disappeared from view that she felt embarrassed, and she could feel the heat rushing into her face. Pressing both palms firmly against her burning cheeks, she turned away too.

She then took great care in preparing to go out.

Yeon-woo had recently reconnected with a former classmate from university. They had been quite close at university, so hearing from her again filled Yeon-woo with genuine delight.

Her friend said that she had missed Yeon-woo, too, and they arranged to meet that day. Several of their other former classmates were going to join them, too.

Standing before the full-length mirror, Yeon-woo examined herself carefully from head to toe.

She forced the corners of her lips up as high as they would go.

What would she say if her former classmates asked her why she had given up the gayageum?

“…….”

As she always did, Yeon-woo avoided answering the question and picked up her bag to leave the house. Although she had a chauffeur, she chose to take a taxi that day.

She knew her former classmates had talked about her behind her back before. The same thing had happened throughout middle and high school.

No one ever recognized how hard she worked.

Instead, absurd rumors followed her everywhere. People claimed that her teachers favored her because her family was wealthy, or that she had bought her awards. Yeon-woo knew these rumors were born of jealousy, so she never paid them much attention.

She could simply have chosen not to engage with them. However, she wanted to take a step forward.

Three years had already passed.

It was time for her to move on.

Instead of calling a taxi directly to her house, she decided to walk to the main road. Perhaps she had neglected exercise lately, because even this short distance left her breathless. It seemed Mother had been right — she truly needed to start training.

As she walked, she noticed a charming cluster of wildflowers growing by the side of the road.

Delighted by their beauty, she raised her phone and took several pictures.

Click, click.

Even the camera shutter sounded cheerful.

After hailing a taxi, Yeon-woo opened the window slightly. She fiddled with her phone for a moment before turning on the screen.

Then she began composing a message to Taecho.

〈Have a good day. Aren’t the flowers beautiful? I really love flowers too. My friend once told me that I resemble a freesia. What do you think, Mr. Taecho?〉

Yeon-woo attached the photograph of the wildflowers and sent the message.

During the final year of their marriage, she did not want to make only a halfhearted effort. She wanted to give it everything she had. Perhaps then, when their relationship finally ended, she would be left with fewer regrets.

After all, no one knew what the future might bring.

Perhaps Taecho’s feelings could change……

But the truth was, Yeon-woo already knew that would never happen.

Taecho had married and lived with a woman he did not love, all for the sake of protecting the woman he truly cherished. There was no possibility that his heart would ever change.

Suddenly, Yeon-woo found herself wondering about her.

What kind of woman was she?

What could she possibly be like to have melted the heart of the cold and merciless Ma Taecho?

‘You—the woman he loves…… Are you happy?’