A sudden blush rose to her face. His gaze, as if licking over every part of her skin, made her hands tremble.

Forcing herself to remain composed, she met his eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

On the fifth try, she finally managed to tie a proper knot.

“It’s done now. I’ll find some cufflinks to match this tie.”

Just as she turned to leave, he caught her wrist. At the same time, a firm hand wrapped around her waist.

“So this is what it feels like to have a wife… to want her to pick out my tie every morning.”

“I can do that for you anytime.”

“But we seem to have left something out – no morning kiss.”

Mmph- Before she could even answer, his lips were on hers.

His tongue slipped into her mouth, gently circling and brushing against hers in a slow, teasing rhythm. The sensation was deep and consuming.

As he carefully licked every corner, even sucking tenderly at the base of her tongue, her hands moved naturally to rest on his shoulders.

Thump, thump.

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst. The way it pulsed – strong and fast – seemed to say she was opening up to him and no one else.

It felt good.

The desire to share more of herself with him, to be closer, even surprised her.

Like clothes soaking in a gentle drizzle, she realized that her heart was slowly opening to him, bit by bit.

She could no longer lie to herself.

What she felt now wasn’t just a pleasant emotion – it was something softer, deeper.

Love had quietly begun to take root.

‘I told myself I’d never fall in love again…but here I am, falling for the same face all over again.

Still-still, it’s okay. I’m happy. Even though he’s not Junhwan, my heart is racing.’

RRRRRRR.

Just then Yuhyeon’s phone rings.

“Yuhyeon, your phone…”

The hand wrapped around her waist seemed to want a deeper kiss, but the ringing phone stopped everything.

Her lips parted with a soft smack, and he looked at her as if reluctant to let go.

Yuhyeon checked the caller ID and frowned.

“It’s me.”

He said into the phone and stepped out of the dressing room.

His voice from outside sounded slightly raised, more agitated than usual.

‘What’s going on?’

Soo-min looked at him worriedly.

When the call ended, Yuhyeon pressed his fingers to his temple.

“What is it?”

“It seems we have an unwelcome guest.”

“An unwelcome guest? Who…?”

Soo-min tilted her head in confusion. Yuhyeon walked over to the window with a firm step and looked out.

“Looks like he’s here now.”

Soo-min also went to the window and followed his gaze.

A guest had arrived early this morning. A man carrying a large suitcase came through the front gate and waved happily to the couple standing at the window.

“…Y-Young Master?!”

It was Ivan.

The couple hurried downstairs.

“Sergie! No, wait, I should call you Yuhyeon now.”

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Russia?”

“I came to Korea once and now I feel homesick, can you believe it? Even though Russia is my home.”

‘What a strange man,’ Soo-min thought.

Homesick? He doesn’t seem Korean at all…

“Come with me.”

Yuhyeon grabbed Ivan’s collar and quickly led him out of sight.

***

Yuhyeon stared at Ivan with a cold, emotionless look. Ivan looked at him cautiously, trying to read his mood.

“You should be in the middle of heir training – what are you doing in Korea? You have a lot to do in Russia, too.”

“It’s not like I’m actually doing the work. I just follow your orders and take care of things. Honestly, there’s not much for me to do.”

Ivan said with a relaxed grin.

“Are you sure it’s not just that you don’t want to work?”

“Have you noticed that? I really don’t think I’m cut out for work. My dream is to be on stage, rocking out on the drums.”

“Keep dreaming.”

“Come on, even you say that?”

“Keep drumming as a hobby. And follow the plan – finish your education. My contract with the chairman is for five years. I don’t want to extend it.”

Yuhyeon had signed a five-year contract with Vladimir. The only remaining task was to take over the training of Ivan’s heir. But now it looked like the plan might go off the rails.

Ivan wasn’t the type to obediently accept the position of successor – he never had been. Now things were about to get more complicated.

“Do you really think Father would let go of a capable adopted son like you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“See? I knew it. You’re so caught up in your dream marriage that you don’t even notice what’s going on.”

Yuhyeon’s eyes widened.

“The chairman has another plan in mind?”

“Well, who knows what that might be?”

He resisted the urge to wipe the smug grin from Ivan’s face.

“Tell me what you know. No – first I need to know whose side you’re on.”

“You saved my life, didn’t you? Of course I’m on your side. That’s why I came to Korea in the first place.”

“I thought so.”

It began to make sense why Ivan had come to Korea. He probably wanted to chase his dreams while staying out of Vladimir’s sight.

And in return, Ivan would help protect Yuhyeon from Vladimir’s watchful eyes.

Of course, Yuhyeon wasn’t sure how reliable Ivan would be in this intermediary role, but it couldn’t hurt to have him around.

If Vladimir tried to change the terms of their agreement, Yuhyeon had to be ready.

“Nice! That’s the Sergie I know. Let’s get along from now on.”

Yuhyeon gave him a cold look.

“Be careful what you say in front of Soo-min.”

“Relax. I’ll speak in Russian when it comes to important things, so don’t worry.”

It seemed that he would have to make an alliance with the guy – for now.

***

As the brothers talked, Soo-min paced around the living room.

‘What’s going on? Why did his younger brother suddenly come to Korea?’

Judging by the size of his suitcase, it didn’t look like he was just staying for a few days.

‘Don’t tell me… did he run away from home?’

Soon, the two men appeared.

Yuhyeon adjusted his tie.

“Ivan will stay with us for a while. He’s unpredictable, so we have to keep an eye on him.”

‘Ah… so he really did leave home.’

“I’m fine with that.”

“You don’t have to treat him like a brother-in-law. Korean and Russian cultures are different.

“Then I will treat him like a real younger brother. In that case, I think the master bedroom on the first floor would be best.

It was the largest room on the first floor.

“Are you sure I can use it?”

“Yes.”

“Sister-in-law! Nice~”

Ivan winked playfully. At twenty-four, younger than Eunhyuk, he felt even more like a child.

“He’s pretty talkative. It’ll probably get loud.”

“He’s cute though.”

Yuhyeon let out a small chuckle.

“It’s getting late. Let’s go to work.”

“Yeah, let’s.”

“Ivan! Get ready for work too.”

“Young master, are you going to the hotel too?”

“Yes. I’ve brought the work I did in Russia with me to Korea.”

He might seem immature, but he seemed to have a sense of responsibility.

The three of them went to work together that day.

The sound of fallen leaves crunching underfoot in the garden was unusually cheerful.

***

As soon as they arrived at the hotel, Soo-min received a call from Eunhyuk.

“We work at the same hotel, but it’s so hard to see you. I needed to talk to you about something important.”

“Why?”

“Starting next week, we won’t be taking reservations for the banquet hall for a few months.”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t your husband say anything?”

“No…”

“He told me he would tell you himself – but I guess he didn’t.”

Eunhyuk shook his head.

“What is it?”

“Take a look at this first. I worked all night to put this proposal together.”

Eunhyuk handed her a thick stack of documents. The proposal was for a hotel renovation and a new wedding hall business. Soo-min’s eyes widened in surprise.

“W-What is this? A wedding business… renovation?”

“With your husband’s support, we will completely renovate the 2nd to 5th floors and start a wedding business.”

“W-What? Are you serious?”

“I’m telling you, it’s true. You can’t believe it, can you? I feel the same way. Our hotel may have the name, but compared to others, we’re way behind. I used to feel embarrassed handing out business cards at meetings… Honestly, there were a lot of owners who looked down on us behind our backs.

But now we’ve got a real chance to build a reputation worthy of a five-star hotel. Construction hasn’t even started yet, but it already feels like we’re halfway there. It’s exciting.”

Eunhyuk’s face lit up, his bright smile full of excitement for the new venture.

“Ah…”

“I used to think that half of the rumors about your husband were exaggerated, but they weren’t. As soon as the news got out, he secured an investment of 50 billion won.”

“F-Fifty billion…”