SIDE STORY 3

[In such cases, you should seduce him.]  

Miho nodded with a smug expression, arms crossed.  

[No, no, the best strategy in a relationship is to make him jealous!]  

Luca interjected, shaking his head.  

[Ha…]  

Minhee sighed heavily, resting her chin on her hand. The three of them were catching up over coffee after a long time.  

Minhee looked at the two of them alternately.  

Is this something that requires such extreme measures?  

Minhee recalled Taejun’s reaction after seeing a man approach her at a café recently. That night in bed, Taejun had been much more persistent than usual.  

But it wasn’t something she could deliberately create, nor was she sure if Taejun’s persistence was due to jealousy.  

Lost in thought with a blank expression, Minhee blinked and slightly raised the corners of her lips towards the two people sitting across from her.  

[Thanks for the advice. I’ll try my best.]  

At that, Miho snapped her fingers lightly right in front of Minhee’s nose.  

[Minmin! Since Rose and Leo are all grown up, leave them with the nanny and rent a hotel room for the night. Wear some sexy lingerie, you know what I mean? Don’t give him a moment to think! Push forward without mercy!]  

Luca clicked his tongue and shook his head.  

[No, no, no! You can’t move the boss with such outdated ideas. I know our boss well. So listen to me. Go with the jealousy strategy. Stir up his possessiveness! A man’s genes are coded to feel the urge to reproduce as a solution to the threat of losing his mate. Use that!]  

Miho tilted her head slyly and grinned.  

[I bet a thousand dollars Minmin will be pregnant by the end of the year. Luca, what about you?]  

Luca narrowed his eyes, looked Minhee up and down, and declared to Miho.  

[I’ll take that bet, fifteen hundred dollars says we’ll hear news by September!]  

It was a June afternoon, just past the threshold of summer.  

***  

Late at night, after Rose and Leo had gone to bed.  

Having missed her workout due to meeting friends, Minhee headed to the gym in short shorts and a sports bra.  

Taejun had a closing dinner tonight, so he said he’d be home late.  

Lying on a yoga mat with music playing, she slowly stretched her body, taking in the reflection of her surroundings in the wall mirror.  

The gym in the penthouse looked completely different from when Minhee first saw it.  

What was once a cold, sterile space like an operating room now seemed like a surreal object where different dimensions merged.  

Taejun’s multi-gym equipment, treadmill, and punching bag were pushed to one corner. In front of the mirror wall was Minhee’s pink yoga mat, and on the opposite side were a jungle gym with swings and a small trampoline.  

Not only the appearance but even the sounds had changed. The speakers that used to play only economic news now emitted soft music.  

The same was true for other spaces in the penthouse.  

In Taejun’s study, a small table and chair where Leo read books and played chess occupied one corner. And a round wooden stool where Rose sat to get help with her math homework from Taejun was permanently placed next to his large desk.  

Every corner of the penthouse bore traces of her and the children. But there was still an empty room left in the penthouse, which had become a bona fide ‘home’ for the four of them.  

‘I think that room would be perfect for a second child’s room…’  

But getting her husband to change his mind once he decided on something was never easy.  

As Minhee lazily went through her familiar yoga routine, she recalled the conversation with her friends over dinner that afternoon.  

Jealousy, seduction.  

They sounded easy, but she felt at a loss about where to start.  

She knew that Taejun grew anxious when they were apart for long periods. He tried to hide his anxiety by keeping a blank expression and lowering his eyes in front of her, but it was obvious.  

She didn’t want to make him more anxious under the pretext of stirring jealousy in a man who frequently had nightmares about losing her or something happening to her.  

‘There isn’t even anyone to make him jealous of.’  

Of course, Taejun had recently witnessed a man approaching her by chance, but that was an extremely rare occurrence.  

‘Noah Brown would be perfect for a jealousy strategy.’  

At one time, Taejun would scowl fiercely just at the mention of Noah’s name. But over time, Noah became a close friend of hers, and Taejun seemed to reluctantly accept that fact.  

‘Then maybe I should seduce him to the point he can’t think straight…?’  

On second thought, it didn’t seem that difficult. Her husband was quick to change his gaze and reach out to her with just a subtle glance or a light touch.  

At that moment, her phone, placed at the edge of the mat, rang loudly.  

In a cobra pose, lying on her stomach with her arms propped up and her back arched, Minhee glanced at the phone and chuckled.  

‘He can’t stay away either.’  

Seeing Noah’s name on the phone, she switched the call to speakerphone and greeted him warmly.  

[Hi, Noah!]  

She got into a downward dog position, hands and feet on the floor, raising her hips high.  

— Min, how have you been? What are you doing? Is it okay to talk now?  

The slow Southern accent mixed with his warm voice reminded her of the summer sun shining down on the lake.  

Noah, who spoke with a perfect, clear, news-caster-like pronunciation while working as a lawyer, used this tone only with close friends.  

[Yeah, it’s fine. I’m doing yoga right now. How have you been?]  

Due to her head being down in the pose, her voice came out slightly nasal.  

— I haven’t been well because I miss you. Didn’t you miss me?  

Noah opened with his usual playful flirting. But both of them knew there wasn’t any real meaning behind it.  

[Sure, sure. I missed you too.]  

She replied nonchalantly, extending one leg straight into the air from the downward dog position. Her breathing became a bit labored.  

Recently, she had received an invitation to a charity party hosted by the New York alumni association of Rosewood High School.  

Having experienced a surge in attendance rates when Noah reached out, the New York alumni association had given him various roles. It was obvious he was calling to ask her to attend the alumni charity party happening in a month.  

Minhee no longer found alumni gatherings fun.  

Especially because Trey Davis, who never missed an event in New York, made her uncomfortable by flattering her ever since he met Taejun at a homecoming party on Hilton Head Island a few years ago.  

Sure enough, Noah broached the topic.  

— Min, I hope you’ll be at the New York alumni fundraising party next month.

Minhee exhaled deeply, lowering her leg. Then she vigorously extended the other leg.  

[Whew… I’m not sure. Maybe next time—]  

As Minhee hesitated and expressed her reluctance, Noah interrupted her.  

— Unfortunately, this will be the last New York event I attend. So let’s meet up for a farewell.  

[Really? Why?]  

Surprised by Noah’s answer, Minhee froze with her leg extended in the air.  

— I have to return to Hilton Head Island. My father is retiring.  

His voice was calm. She could almost see him shrugging nonchalantly.  

Everyone who knew Noah had expected this.  

His family owned the largest resort and country club on Hilton Head Island. While he was building a career as a lawyer in New York, everyone knew he would eventually return to manage the resort.  

But she hadn’t expected it to happen so soon, and she felt a bit sad. Noah was one of the few hometown friends she had in New York.  

With one leg raised, she lifted the opposite arm off the floor. It was a pose that required high-level balance.  

[I’m really going to miss you, Noah. When are you—Ah!]

Known for her poor sense of balance, Minhee lost focus while talking to Noah, causing the balance she had been maintaining to break, and she tilted to the opposite side of her raised leg.  

Just as she closed her eyes, bracing for a fall onto her backside, something solid supported her waist.  

Minhee’s eyes snapped open. In the mirror, she saw a pair of long legs.  

Her large gray eyes rolled up along the legs. After looking up for a while, her head tilted back, and she finally saw the face of the man looking down at her.

— Min, are you okay? What happened!  

Noah’s voice echoed through the gym from the phone’s speaker.  

Taejun was slightly disheveled, his jacket casually draped over his arm and his shirt sleeves rolled up above his forearms.  

‘When did he get here?’