Chapter 4.5

As Housekeeper Woo had hinted, Kwon Jeong-hyeok hadn’t returned home last night.  

She could have fallen asleep alone in the wide, wide bed, but she didn’t sleep well. Even when she drifted off, she kept waking up intermittently.

The sound of a door opening woke her, but it was just the wind shaking the window. Footsteps startled her awake, but it turned out to be a trick of her ears.  

With a weary face, she went to Aritaum and ran into Hae-seong again.  

“Shouldn’t you be at school right now?”  

“I go to school in Germany. I got into trouble, so I’m currently grounded here in Korea. Oh, by the way, Tae Mari noona didn’t come home last night. She rarely stays out overnight…”  

Her heart sank at those words.  

‘Could they have spent the entire night together?’  

She couldn’t help but think that.  

“But Hae-seong, how do you even know whether Tae Mari came home last night or not?”  

“Well, actually, I like Mari noona. I’ve liked her since I was twelve. That’s why I wait for her every day. When she comes home from work. So I can see her, even if it’s just once more.”  

Hae-seong blushed as he spoke. His sparkling eyes seemed so sincere that she was momentarily at a loss for words.  

“…Isn’t there a 14-year age gap between you and Tae Mari?”  

“What does age matter?”  

Eun-sol shook her head in disbelief. The way people in this mansion loved was pathological in some way—whether it was Kwon Jeong-hyeok, Tae Mari, or Park Hae-seong.  

When she returned from Aritaum, Housekeeper Woo briefed her on the schedule.  

“In the afternoon, there’s a hospital visit scheduled.”  

Today was the day for her bi-daily wound disinfection and treatment.  

She stood quietly, waiting for Housekeeper Woo’s next words. However, there was no mention of Kwon Jeong-hyeok’s return in the report.  

She could have asked, but she didn’t want to.  

With a gloomy expression, Eun-sol entered her bedroom.  

* * *  

“The wound is healing very well. We’ll remove the stitches the day after tomorrow.”  

Her knee had been throbbing lately, but it seemed to be just her imagination.  

“Doctor, I feel a bit dizzy all of a sudden. Is there an empty room where I can rest for a while?”  

“Oh, of course. I’ll prescribe an IV that’s good for recovery from fatigue. Nurse Yu-rim, please guide her to an empty IV room.”  

“Yes, Doctor.”  

Nurse Yu-rim, whom she had become friendly with during her knee disinfection treatments, winked at her. Soon, under Nurse Yu-rim’s guidance, she secretly slipped out through the hospital’s back door.  

“Thank you, Nurse Yu-rim.”  

“It’s nothing. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with. Just don’t forget our promise to be friends.”  

“Of course. I really do need a friend. Oh, could you please tell my driver, who’s waiting in the lounge, that I’m getting an IV and it’ll take about two hours? I think he’d only believe it if you tell him personally.”  

It wasn’t a runaway. It was just a purposeful two-hour outing.  

“Alright, I’ll be back.”  

She headed to a mobile phone shop near the hospital. She wanted to activate a new phone. Sitting idly and waiting for Kwon Jeong-hyeok’s goodwill to run out didn’t appeal to her.  

Being isolated according to his intentions was even worse.  

‘Once I get a phone, I’ll save Hae-seong’s number. I’ll save Nurse Yu-rim’s number too, and I’ll follow Hye-mi’s SNS.’  

Eun-sol kept glancing out the shop window to make sure no one was following her as she hastily picked a suitable phone.  

“I’ll take this phone.”  

Her tone was overly serious for something as simple as activating a phone.  

It felt thrilling, but also a bit self-deprecating. What was the big deal about an adult activating a phone? Yet, here she was, struggling to accomplish something so trivial.  

On the flip side, it highlighted just how distorted her relationship with Kwon Jeong-hyeok had become.  

“Oh, Ma’am, I’m afraid there’s an issue with activating this phone.”  

“What? Why?”  

“This account was recently flagged and frozen. If you don’t have another account, it will be difficult to proceed with the activation.”  

The account she had painstakingly obtained through Hye-mi turned out to be frozen. It wasn’t a card issue—the account itself had been suspended, which was highly unusual.  

‘Is this Kwon Jeong-hyeok’s doing too?’  

In the end, her secret outing concluded without even activating a phone.  

In the past, she might have been relieved just to avoid being caught by him, but not anymore.  

She could no longer bear this controlled life.  

As soon as she stepped into the mansion, she asked Housekeeper Woo directly.  

“When exactly is he coming home? No, please tell him he must come home today. I have something to say to him.”  

Her defiant tone startled Housekeeper Woo. However, perhaps her message was effective, as a reply came 30 minutes later stating that Kwon Jeong-hyeok would be returning after work.  

The mansion bustled with activity. Preparations for Kwon Jeong-hyeok’s dinner began. He was apparently so busy that he planned to eat quickly and leave again.  

Eun-sol sat silently on the sofa in the bedroom.  

She was flipping through the pages of a book, but she couldn’t tell if the words were entering her eyes or her ears.

‘Let him come. I’ve been waiting for this.’ 

Though she had been preparing herself, the thought of his arrival made her shoulders involuntarily tense.

Soon, the heavy sound of footsteps approached the bedroom door. It was undoubtedly Kwon Jeong-hyeok.

The door opened. At the same time, the air seemed to freeze in place.

She had never greeted him warmly before, but at least in the past, she would reluctantly acknowledge his presence. She had been as fearful of him as she was suspicious, and she avoided provoking him unnecessarily to prevent any trouble.

Eun-sol buried her face deeper into the book.

‘Does he know that I went out to buy a phone at the hospital today?’

According to Nurse Yu-rim, the driver appeared to have no idea. But considering how frighteningly well-informed he always was, she couldn’t let her guard down.

‘No, what does it matter if he knows?’

As he entered the bedroom, he took off his suit jacket and casually draped it over the sofa.

She had demanded that he come home because she had something to say, but now she acted as though an invisible man had entered the room. He might have been annoyed by her indifference, but his movements as he placed the suit down were devoid of emotion.

“Why does your face look like that? I heard from Housekeeper Woo that you’ve been eating well. And you must have been sleeping better without me around.”

Instead, he pointed out her pale complexion. She had been hiding her face behind the book, yet somehow, he had noticed anyway.

“I’ve been sleeping fine. Honestly, you look more tired than I do.”

‘Because you were probably busy all night, working overtime—or having an affair—with Tae Mari.’

Of course, she didn’t dare say that last part out loud.

“If you’ve been eating and sleeping well, why did you need an IV at the hospital?”

It seemed he truly didn’t know she had gone to buy a phone.

Although she hadn’t succeeded in activating the phone, she felt a small sense of satisfaction. For the first time, she had completely deceived him.

At the same time, there was a tinge of regret.

If he had found out and gotten angry, she wouldn’t have stayed silent.

She could have confronted him, asking if he was the one who froze her account.

“You said you had something to say?”

Eun-sol hesitated slightly. It wasn’t until he stood in front of the mirror, loosening his tie, that she finally spoke. The distance between them was neither too close nor too far—just right for a conversation.

Above all, it felt a little easier to look at Kwon Jeong-hyeok through the mirror rather than facing him directly.

“I need a phone.”

It wasn’t just about getting a phone. From now on, she decided to clearly state what she wanted.

As soon as Eun-sol spoke, she nervously fiddled with the corner of her book, curious about how Kwon Jeong-hyeok would react.

“…A phone?”

He met her gaze through the mirror and asked.

“Yes, a phone.”

Eun-sol returned his gaze in the mirror, her voice firmer than before.

“You don’t even have anyone to call. Why bother?”

“There are plenty of people I need to contact.”

“Who, exactly?”

“Do I have to report every single one to you?”

“Yes.”

His response, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, was accompanied by an arrogant and infuriating gesture of running his hand through his hair while loosening his tie.

“It’s my personal life. I don’t see why I have to report everything to you, even if we are married.”

Her heart raced as soon as the words left her mouth. It was that thrilling yet terrifying sensation, like riding a Viking ship at an amusement park.

“So, you’ve finally come to terms with the fact that we’re married.”

By then, he had finished loosening his tie and moved his hand to the first button of his dress shirt.

“That’s commendable, but let’s not forget—you’re the one who threw away your phone. Wasn’t it because you didn’t need it?”

“That was…!”

While a phone wasn’t absolutely necessary, it symbolized something much more.