EPILOGUE Part  3

He carefully picked up the envelope. Written in round, playful handwriting on the ribbon was “Please open.” Following the instruction, he untied the ribbon and opened the envelope. 

Inside, he found a sheet of paper, but instead of words, there was a rather complex cryptogram drawn on it. Taejun chuckled at the cryptogram that seemed to be drawn by hand. His lips formed a charming curve, and his dimples deepened. He gazed at the paper for a moment.

“Find the colors in order…”

“Silver: Work”

“Red: Sleep”

“White: Eat”

It seemed Minhee had sworn Luca to secrecy to prepare such a cute event. Despite trying not to smile, his lips kept parting, so he bit his lower lip. 

Deciphering the code was easy, but he was puzzled about what the words next to the colors meant. 

‘Location information, perhaps.’

Taejun entered the living room, holding the letter in his hand. A vase filled with lush summer hydrangeas was placed on the coffee table and console. Breathing in the faint floral scent wafting through the living room, Taejun felt his whole body melt with pl*asure.

“I’m home.”

Until now, Taejun’s penthouse had been just a place to stay. But Minhee’s presence had given him a place to return to—a home, a focal point. 

A warmth like gravity that pulled him in.

His heart ached with the desire to see Minhee quickly.

* * *

The first clue was “Silver” and “Work.” Without hesitation, he headed to his study. As expected, there was a box placed on the large desk. 

The box was heavier than he expected. Carefully opening the lid, a silver-glossed wristwatch dial met his gaze in the center of the box. 

Taejun was utterly flustered. It was clear that Minhee had prepared this gift for him. 

It had been so long since he had received a gift from someone that he didn’t know how to react. Despite the cool indoor temperature, he felt his body heat rise to the point where his ears burned. 

Rubbing the back of his neck, Taejun stared into the box for a long time before removing his wristwatch. 

He slowly took the watch wrapped around a small cushion and put it on his wrist, fastening the buckle with a click. The heavy, cold metal adhered coolly to his warm skin. 

Hastily leaving the study, Taejun headed to his bedroom to find the second clue, “Red” and “Sleep.” 

Minhee now lived in Taejun’s, or rather, their bedroom. The room was filled with pretty little things like picture frames. There were more of her clothes in the dressing room, and more of her body products in the bathroom. 

He flung the door open and looked around for something red. 

A while ago, Minhee had changed Taejun’s bed sheets to thin, light summer sheets. The reason was that Taejun would wrap her in his arms and legs even while sleeping, making it hot despite the air conditioning. On those thin, white sheets lay a piece of red cloth as red as blood. 

‘What on earth is this…?’

Taejun picked up the feather-light piece of cloth. Lace and thin strings were entangled so intricately that it was unclear where it began and ended, or even what it could cover. But its purpose was explicit enough that words weren’t necessary. 

‘Is she planning to wear this?’

Taejun let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

His heartbeat skyrocketed, and a heat like a mirage emanated from his body. 

With a rough gesture, he opened his suit jacket and let it fall to the floor. His pants were already uncomfortably tight around his thighs. 

‘Ha, damn…’

Taejun swallowed a curse between his teeth as he hooked his fingers into the lingerie. He placed his hands on his hips and took a moment to steady his breathing, then let out a light chuckle and shook his head. 

‘Am I really getting this excited over seeing some s*xy underwear like a teenager?’

But it wasn’t surprising. The “abnormal reaction” that had started the day he met Minhee had only gotten worse lately. 

Even when he thought it was just a passing physical reaction, it had been hard to control. Now that he was living with the woman who was both his first and last love, he felt like a rutting beast with a species-preservation instinct switch turned on 24/7. 

Clinging to the last thread of reason being devoured by instincts dyed red, Taejun headed to the dining room to find the third clue, “White.” 

The hallway he had walked through thousands of times felt endlessly long. 

His mind was tangled in the red lace underwear. The image of Minhee lying on the bed, seductively enticing him in that outfit, filled his mind. The flow of consciousness brought back memories of the night before his business trip. 

It was the first time they had s*x since the accident. Taejun, with his reason evaporated, pushed Minhee like a madman. It was the result of a long, arduous two-month abstinence. 

Minhee had suffered a minor fracture in her rib after being kicked in the side by the kidnapper during the attempted kidnapping incident. 

The doctor had infuriated Taejun by saying that there was nothing to do but take painkillers whenever it hurt until the crack in her rib healed on its own. Knowing that the doctor was right made him even angrier. 

‘I should have killed that bastard back then.’

Murderous thoughts frequently surged within him. 

The decision to redirect the screwdriver aimed at the heart to the shoulder was made in an instant. He had worried that Minhee and Rose would be frightened if someone died before their eyes. 

But Taejun regretted that decision every time Minhee furrowed her brow in pain and bit her lips with a pale face. 

After being hospitalized for two days to check for the possibility of sepsis from his gunshot wound, Taejun was discharged on the third day, recovering faster than Minhee. 

The bullet from the crude pistol used by the kidnapper was the cheapest, thinnest .22 caliber, resulting in minimal damage. The shoulder wound, which was more of a graze, healed almost scar-free within two weeks. The arm wound, a clean through-and-through that didn’t hit bone or nerves, healed without infection thanks to Anton’s excellent first aid. After a month, only a bullet scar remained on his arm, and he returned to his daily routine perfectly fine. 

In contrast, Minhee had to endure pain every time she moved her upper body for a while. 

For six weeks, she slept quietly in his arms every night. It was a cruel and sweet torture, like being slowly steeped in hot sugar syrup. 

Then, after six weeks, she was overjoyed to no longer feel pain. Every night, she squirmed in Taejun’s arms, tempting him. It was the beginning of a true torture. 

Every night, after she fell asleep, Taejun would sneak into the bathroom to relieve his urges, repeating this almost daily. He was already on edge. He feared that losing control and touching her might cause her bones to fracture again. 

He had no intention of touching Minhee until the doctor took another X-ray and declared her fully healed. Well, the thought of touching her tempted him every minute, but he had to endure it with superhuman patience. 

But Taejun was no superhuman; he was just an ordinary male. 

‘I’m really fine! It’s uncomfortable being poked all night by something hard. I’d rather sleep separately if this continues—’

The moment Minhee grabbed his p*nis and threatened him with a pouty look, Taejun admitted defeat and surrendered to her. 

That night, Taejun and Minhee experienced various types of obsc*ne and thrilling pl*asures they could create with each other’s hands and mouths. 

And three days ago, the doctor finally declared her bones fully healed. 

That night, Taejun, like a beast unleashed, pushed Minhee until she cried from exhaustion and fell asleep as if fainting. 

During the three days of his business trip, Taejun felt guilty for losing control and making her cry. He never imagined that she would provoke him like this as soon as he got home. 

His grip on the red lingerie tightened. 

Lost in thought, Taejun stepped into the dark dining room, and suddenly, two shots rang out from a silenced gun. 

The smell of gunpowder was thick. A shadow clinging to the wall reached out. Instinctively, Taejun launched himself at the shadow like a tackle. 

“Kyaa!”

“Huh…!”

In that moment, he realized the shadow was Minhee, but he couldn’t stop the momentum with weight and acceleration behind it. 

In a split second decision, Taejun lifted her up and twisted his waist using his core muscles. 

Barely managing to flip their positions, Taejun absorbed the impact as they crashed onto the marble floor. His spine tingled painfully up to the back of his head, and he squeezed his eyes shut. 

As the initial shock subsided, Minhee lifted her head from his chest, feeling his shoulders and torso. 

“T-Taejun! Are you okay?”

Taejun squinted one eye open. 

Though it was dark and hard to see, Minhee looked slightly different, peering down at him with a pale, worried expression. 

“I’m fine. Are you?”

He lifted a hand to caress her face and glanced down at the source of the gunpowder smell. Two firecrackers dangled from a string wrapped around Minhee’s fingers. 

“I, I’m not, but what is this, why on earth…?”

Minhee’s voice trembled thinly, unable to form coherent sentences. 

“Well… the firecracker sounds similar to gunshots… Sorry.”

She dropped the firecrackers onto the floor with an exasperated expression. 

“I wanted to surprise you, but I’m upset.”

She buried her face in Taejun’s chest. Her breath tickled his chest. 

He called her gently. 

“Minhee?”

“…”

When she glanced up at Taejun, his lips curled into a mischievous smile. 

“If surprising me was your goal, you succeeded. Really. It’s hard to imagine being more surprised than this