Chapter 7.1 – Confinement

The silence he offered was equally oppressive.

“…….”  

“…….”  

The earlier situation had been uncomfortable enough, but the real difficulty was now.  

A silence as overwhelming as a tidal wave.  

She would have preferred if he had demanded why she had come or at least said something—anything.  

However, he only loosened the sparkling ceremonial tie around his neck and remained silent, deeply shrouded in darkness.  

When they arrived in front of the mansion, he personally opened the car’s back door.  

“Get out.”  

He extended his hand. At first glance, it seemed like a gentlemanly escort, but his expression was cold and unyielding.  

After a moment of hesitation, she took his hand. She didn’t particularly want to, not in this mood or situation, but there wasn’t much of a choice.  

A chill flowed from his large palm.  

The inside of the mansion was dim. Only the necessary lights were on, and it was completely empty.  

Even if the other staff had gone home for the day, Housekeeper Woo was supposed to reside here.  

“…Housekeeper Woo…?! Mong-mong?!”  

She called out to them, as if seeking salvation.  

“I sent Housekeeper Woo away. Mong-mong will stay with her for the time being. All the staff of this mansion are on a two-week vacation.”  

His deep voice resonated.  

What he was essentially saying was that, for the next two weeks, this massive mansion would be empty except for her. Or possibly, just the two of them.  

‘When did this happen…?!’  

There was no way the lady of the house wouldn’t know if the staff were going on a two-week vacation. It was clearly a sudden order he had given.  

But when he had given the order wasn’t the issue.  

‘Why?!’  

Her startled steps faltered in the middle of the living room.  

Meanwhile, he strode over to the living room cabinet, pulled out a bottle of vodka, and poured himself a glass.  

He filled one glass and slowly let the liquid flow into his mouth. His slow, deliberate movements seemed calm and unshaken.  

If not for the faint sound of the glass cracking in his hand amidst the silence enveloping the mansion, she might have believed he was completely composed.  

“How long are you planning to stand there?”  

Startled by his voice, her shoulders flinched. Eun-sol tightly gripped her clutch bag before slowly stepping further into the living room.  

Her stiff lips didn’t move easily, but she decided to try initiating a conversation.  

Blindly being wary or suspicious was tiresome now. She was tired of the silence too.  

She cautiously sat down on the sofa.  

“…Who exactly is he? That attorney, Chu Seo-jin…?”

Hye-mi’s words and the photo shown by Chu Seo-jin gave her an idea of who he was, but she couldn’t help but ask.  

However, once the question left her lips, she realized how absurd it was.  

If a husband saw a photo of his wife being affectionate with another man, shouldn’t he be the one demanding answers about who the man was?  

“Your ex-boyfriend.”  

Even though she had guessed that Chu Seo-jin was her ex-boyfriend, hearing him say it himself left her flustered. His straightforward and simple response felt strangely cold.  

“Really?”  

Eun-sol rolled the name, Chu Seo-jin, over in her mind.  

Even though she had lost her memory, when she saw Jeong-hyeok, she had felt something powerful. It wasn’t a positive feeling—it was more of a wariness—but it had been intense nonetheless.  

However, she felt nothing about Chu Seo-jin. Even after confirming that he was her ex-boyfriend, nothing changed.  

To her, Chu Seo-jin was still just the man who had suddenly appeared and shoved a photo in her face, creating the awkward situation she now found herself in.  

The only other emotion she felt toward him was concern and regret over his injured hand.  

But what she truly wanted to know was this:  

“…What happened? Didn’t I have a love marriage with you, Jeong-hyeok?”  

It wasn’t about what had happened between her and Chu Seo-jin, but rather what had happened between her and Kwon Jeong-hyeok.  

Thinking about the sadness in Chu Seo-jin’s eyes made her feel apologetic, but she couldn’t help it.  

“That’s right, it was a love marriage.”  

That was the answer she had wanted to hear. Feeling relieved, her voice quickened slightly.  

“But the photo with Chu Seo-jin was taken only five months ago…!”  

“I took you from him.”  

His voice was indifferent as he abruptly interrupted her, swirling his glass of alcohol. His sharp gaze, however, was anything but calm.  

“You didn’t date Chu Seo-jin for long. That guy may have had a crush on you for over a year, but the two of you were only actually together for a little over a month.”  

Eun-sol’s lips moved soundlessly. It wasn’t easy to adjust to a situation where her husband seemed to know more about her past relationships than she did.  

“I’m not even sure if it should count as dating, but either way, I did take you from him.”  

His answer was so clean-cut that there was nothing more to ask.  

“That’s why we rushed the wedding a bit.”

It occurred to him that the reason he hadn’t taken her to the party might have been because of Chu Seo-jin. After all, no one would want their wife to attend an event where she might run into her ex-boyfriend.  

Eun-sol let out a long breath. If she had known that was the reason, she would have stayed put. Sneaking into the party had been a pointless act.  

“…Still, you didn’t have to go that far with Mr. Chu Seo-jin….”  

“What, his hand?”  

He asked indifferently, then casually swirled his glass again. The ice inside spun and clinked softly against the glass.  

“…I do feel sorry about that.”  

It was clearly a lie. He didn’t look sorry at all.  

If anything, his dark pupils seemed to faintly glimmer with the memory of the moment he had stomped on Chu Seo-jin’s hand.  

“I’m reflecting on it.”  

Seeing Eun-sol’s skeptical expression, he added.  

But there wasn’t much sincerity in his words. It was obvious he was just saying something to brush her off, like tossing candy to a whining child.  

* * *

The 20th-anniversary party for Taepyeong Group’s founding was something he had only intended to stop by briefly. He despised crowded, pretentious parties.  

However, for a businessman, such parties were part of work. More importantly, this was a critical time, with an upcoming merger and acquisition on the horizon. Key political and business figures related to the deal were expected to attend, and the event was an opportunity to showcase the strong alliance with Taepyeong Group.  

He couldn’t afford to miss it, especially since the eldest son of Wooil Construction, their competitor in the merger, was also expected to attend.  

Sure enough, the eldest son of Wooil Construction arrived with his fiancée on his arm. The fiancée was the daughter of a three-term congressman and had an extensive network of connections.  

The eldest son wore a broad smile, as if his fiancée were some sort of secret weapon, proudly basking in her social prowess.  

He didn’t care. The sight of a man parading his woman in front of a room full of black-suited men, forcing her to put on a fake smile, was laughable.  

He decided to be generous and let it slide.  

‘How pitiful.’  

A pathetic man like that could never understand the heart of someone who cherished his wife so much that he kept her safely at home, away from prying eyes.  

But then, out of nowhere, he saw Eun-sol in the banquet hall.  

Like a fool, his first thought wasn’t, ‘Why is she here?’  

Instead, heat surged to the top of his head. The sight of Kim Eun-sol, suddenly filling his vision, was overwhelmingly stunning.  

His throat burned, parched from the sudden warmth.  

Kim Eun-sol, who always managed to irritate him with how unbearably beautiful she looked no matter what she wore, was once again testing his patience….

‘Was it always like this…?’

The spark that ignited his dazed sigh came after seeing Chu Seo-jin appear in front of her.  

While Eun-sol’s presence was unexpected, Chu Seo-jin’s appearance was even more surprising.  

He wasn’t the type to enjoy parties like this in the first place, and above all, it was unclear when he had managed to slip out of China.  

In any case, his presence here seemed to indicate that Chu Seo-jin hadn’t given up his lingering feelings for Eun-sol. On top of that, he had the audacity to flaunt old photos.  

Regardless, crushing the back of Chu Seo-jin’s hand earlier today had been a mistake.  

“I regret it. I really do.”  

I should have dealt with both hands, not just one.  

“I’ll compensate however he wants. If he files charges, I’ll handle it appropriately. So it’s nothing for you to worry about.”  

“That’s not what I’m saying…!”  

Eun-sol couldn’t finish her sentence.  

Crunch—  

The sound of glass cracking in his hand interrupted her. This time, the sound was a little louder than before.  

He must have heard it too, but he simply tilted the glass, pouring the remaining liquor into his mouth with an expressionless face.  

Eun-sol decided to hold back any further comments about Chu Seo-jin. She knew when to take a step back. Living with a man like this naturally taught her the right moments to retreat.  

“Why… did you give the staff a two-week vacation?”  

Even as she changed the subject, she couldn’t take her eyes off the glass in his hand. She was on edge, unsure when it might shatter completely.  

“Finally, you’re asking the right question.”  

He casually placed the refilled glass back on the table with a soft thud. The glass couldn’t withstand even that small impact and cracked with a sharp sound.  

Through the fractured glass, the liquor began to seep out in small streams.  

He stared at the broken glass indifferently and replied,  

“To lock you up.”  

Crash— The glass finally shattered completely, and the liquor spilled out in torrents.