Hyun silently followed the expressionless Yura. He wanted to ask if she really had to bow so politely to Oh Se Jin, but knowing he had gone too far, he remained silent.

It was an insignificant topic, but his reason had unconsciously crossed the line. He had only intended to take Yura with him, but being alone with her in one space was extremely unpleasant no matter how he thought about it.

As they descended to the cramped parking lot, Oh Se Jin’s secretary awkwardly bowed his head. Yura just nodded slightly and scanned the surroundings. She was looking for the vehicle she had arrived in. She asked first in a disgruntled voice.

“Where’s my car?”

“I told Secretary Ahn to bring it.”

Yura clicked her tongue softly as if resigned, then nodded towards Hyun.

“Then drive.”

“Jin Yura.”

Watching her back as she headed for the passenger seat, Hyun uttered in a low voice. Yura closed her eyes for a moment as if suppressing her emotions, then opened them and answered calmly without even looking at him.

“Not here.”

How long had they been driving? The traffic gradually increased until the car finally came to a stop on a completely blocked road. Hyun called out to her in a calm voice as she sat with her mouth tightly shut.

“Jin Yura.”

“You weren’t wrong, elder brother. But such criticism was rude.”

“Rude…”

Hyun mulled over Yura’s last words. It wasn’t wrong, but hearing it made his throat sting as if he had drunk strong liquor. It wasn’t that he had done well, but a rebuke from Yura of all people was as bitter as eating bitter herbs.

No matter how she thought about it, Yura couldn’t understand Hyun’s reaction. They were only a married couple on the surface, but anyone listening would have thought he truly cherished his wife.

Moreover, Se Jin had every right to be displeased with the situation.

Setting aside her own grievances, how could anyone be happy when Yura’s acquaintance – her husband, no less – barged into Se Jin’s private practice room without warning?

No matter how rudely Oh Se Jin behaved, Yura was not in a position to act the same way towards him.

“To fall for such provocation, it wasn’t like you at all.”

It was the first time she had seen the usually rational and cool-headed Baek Hyun display such raw, unfiltered emotions.

As the blocked road cleared, silence fell in the car again. In the heavy silence, Yura carefully mulled over the situation from earlier.

Hyun’s agitated emotional state made Yura’s head spin. Questions of why and how filled her mind, stirring it up.

Hyun just needed someone to act as a shield.

Additionally, someone who wouldn’t waste time or need unnecessary emotional games. That’s why he had proposed a contract marriage to her, his old friend’s sister with whom he had a certain level of friendship.

Moreover, he wasn’t unaware of Oh Se Jin’s existence, but this sharp, on-edge response kept confusing Yura.

Perhaps, even if it wasn’t love, he had developed feelings beyond mere liking, something more intense.

The passionate physical interactions where she felt perfect fulfillment also contributed to this misconception. The seemingly affectionate touches and burning passion seemed to represent his emotions.

Lost in these questions, Yura frowned as the car suddenly came to a stop. Thinking there might have been an accident, she looked around with wide eyes, but they had just made an abrupt stop on the shoulder of a busy urban road.

As Yura looked at Hyun questioningly, he narrowed his brows intensely and asked accusingly while staring straight ahead.

“Doesn’t it bother you when that bastard acts so sleazy?”

Yura carefully recalled the nonsense Se Jin had spewed earlier. The forceful demands of an unwanted partner, the insistence on divorce… None of the words Se Jin had uttered were harmless. Yet, she felt miserable about her situation where she had to endure and be patient.

She couldn’t overturn the situation when even the CEO wasn’t intervening.

Moreover, with Argon lurking around looking for even the slightest opening, she had to endure even more. Not wanting to reveal her pathetic self, Yura spoke in as calm a voice as possible.

“He’s just a nuisance like any other.”

“What if it spreads to the media? How will you deal with the aftermath?”

Yura was momentarily at a loss for words. It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered that aspect.

She was just taken aback by the fact that his anger had missed her expectations. Her face flushed at the realization that her hope for a change in his feelings towards her was not just ridiculous but an utterly groundless delusion.

But soon, as she realized the reason for Hyun’s anger, an indescribable emotion welled up involuntarily.

“So that’s why you’re so angry?”

Hyun frowned at her irritated, resentful, and even sorrowful voice.

“What are you trying to say?”

Yura rubbed her temples with both hands as an instant headache spread, making her head ring, and avoided Hyun’s gaze. She felt that if she met his eyes, he would see right through her troubled and complex inner thoughts.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Yura slowly calmed her breathing and added, still avoiding Hyun’s gaze.

“It’s good to appear as an affectionate couple publicly, but I’ll pass on that kind of boundary invasion.”

“How is this a boundary invasion?”

Hyun had always been the type to pick at Yura’s words. But today, perhaps because his emotions were heightened, his way of speaking upset Yura.

“Would it be okay if I criticized your business partners?”

“It would be fine.”

“Elder brother!”

Yura’s voice rose at his unwavering and blunt one-word answer. With no change in his expression, Hyun spoke firmly.

“I don’t mind. No matter what deal your criticism ruins.”

For Hyun, he would simply not do business with the party Yura criticized.

Whether it was a construction project worth tens of billions or one exceeding hundreds of billions, it wouldn’t be a problem. If there was a loss, he would just make it up. It would just take a little more time and be a bit troublesome, but it wasn’t difficult.

Business always has losses as well as gains, that’s why gains occur. So, you give up one thing and gain two. Hyun had that ability, and it wasn’t particularly difficult for him.

What was difficult for Hyun was Yura’s inscrutable inner thoughts.

His unwavering firmness stirred Yura’s emotions. The feelings mixed with irritation and contempt finally burst out uncontrollably.

“Right, you’re not someone who would crumble over something like that. But I’m not. This is a position I’ve barely built. I’m in a position that could falter at a single word from an artist! I don’t want to waste this opportunity carelessly.”

It was a desire that had become even more desperate after getting married and facing her father again. She wanted to seize the opportunity somehow and rise up.

She wanted to rise higher than her current position and escape this damn fence. She didn’t want anyone to arbitrarily control her life.

Even if it looked like simple avoidance to others, for Yura it was the last method born out of desperation.

“An opportunity to surpass Argon?”

Yura didn’t deny Hyun’s question that had grasped the core of her outpouring words.

“Yes.”

“Does it have to be Oh Se Jin? If it’s an opportunity anyone can give, I’ll give it to you.”

Yura met Hyun’s confident gaze without avoiding it.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want the opportunity gained through Hyun’s help. When she initially decided to get married, she had calculated that he would become a strong backing, making her position even more solid.

However, not like this. She wanted to use his connections and power to meet more skilled and prestigious artists and make performances successful.

If she used his power and authority to oust Se Jin, she would be free from the noise polluting her ears right away, but it would leave a small blemish on her perfect career so far. That could shake the stepping stone that could allow her to fly far.

The safest and most perfect method was to use Hyun’s power to successfully complete the performance with minimal noise and then partner with a more competent artist than Oh Se Jin. So now was not the time to receive Hyun’s help.

“Sigh, it’s not bad to receive your help either. But I want to do well in the job I’ve taken on now. Just like before, dealing with any nuisance as if it’s nothing.”

Hyun said nothing, leaning back in the car seat and slowly closing his eyes as if thinking about something. He withdrew his hand that had been tapping the steering wheel a few times, folded his arms across his chest, and silence fell again.

Yura thought it was his way of tolerating her seemingly forced stubbornness.

From the beginning, Hyun and herself were individuals with completely different capabilities. For someone like him who could accomplish anything without hesitation, it might be difficult to understand such a choice. So he was probably just tolerating it in his own way.

After a while, an unexpected logic flowed from his tightly closed lips.

“If it’s not your fault, there shouldn’t be any problem, right?”

It wasn’t particularly wrong, but it was a statement that left something unsettling.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but she thought it wasn’t bad to end this situation even like this. Despite finding Hyun’s words somewhat cryptic, Yura eventually nodded in agreement.

“That’s… right. If it’s not my fault, there shouldn’t be any problem with my career.”

“Alright. If that’s your wish.”

Hyun didn’t mention that issue anymore and started driving again.

Knock knock. Yura, who had been sitting absent-mindedly, came to her senses at the sound of knocking.

“Yes.”

The person who poked their head in at the calm response was Manager Jung. She bowed her head and then carefully observed Yura’s expression.

“Team leader, is something wrong?”

When Yura blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand what she meant, Manager Jung’s face showed concern.

“You look gloomy.”

It was embarrassing to think that her complex feelings were so clearly visible on her face. She tried her best not to bring personal issues to work, but matters related to Baek Hyun rarely went as planned.

“Ah, I’m sorry. What’s the matter?”

“It’s lunchtime.”

“Oh, right. Let’s go.”

Lost in thought about her awkward relationship with Hyun for the past few days and things left unsaid, she hadn’t realized how much time had passed.

Thinking that her team members must have been watching her mood made her feel sorry. So she was about to take out her wallet from her bag to buy them lunch when Manager Jung hesitated and spoke.

“Um, he’s here.”

“Who?”

At the mention of someone arriving, Yura momentarily thought of Oh Se Jin. She wondered if he had come to vent his anger after parting ways like that the other day, but an unexpected name came out of Manager Jung’s mouth.

“Your husband. Vice President Baek Hyun.”

Yura was in a difficult position. She desperately wanted to ignore it and go with her team members, but that would be like publicly displaying a marital dispute, so she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Yura put on the most natural smile she could manage.

“You go ahead and eat first.”

“Alright, then.”

Soon after Manager Jung bowed her head and left, Hyun entered. For several days, Yura had been leaving for work at dawn and trying to sleep from early evening to avoid Hyun. It was because she didn’t want to see that calm face that made their heated argument seem meaningless.

Unlike that day’s confrontation, Hyun looked at peace, and Yura was troubled in various ways.

She envied his unwavering mental strength, and she envied his magnanimity in coming to find her first like this. Feeling something like the composure she lacked, her response came out somewhat irritably.

“Did you come to confront me?”

“About what?”

“We’ve been cold to each other. Continuously.”

“Why would I confront you about that?”

Hyun spoke as if he had placed the reason for that argument elsewhere. It sounded like he was suggesting that she should also improve her mood.

Hyun shrugged with a faint smile as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“I came to look good.”