“I was momentarily deceived by your innocent face, elder brother. It seems the rumor about you donating a multi-million won leopard coat at the charity bazaar hosted by the vice chairman is true.”

At the sharp tone filled with hostility, Green slowly turned around. Two somewhat familiar women were standing there.

‘Where have I seen them before?’

Carefully searching her memory, Green recalled meeting them at the gathering of K1 Construction executives’ wives that In Young had invited her to last year.

She also remembered that these two were the wives of Park Chan Wook’s nephew’s sons, or according to In Young’s explanation, Sun Woo’s sixth cousins.

Although distantly related, they were clearly part of the same family, yet the two women hadn’t even greeted Green first at the executives’ wives gathering.

While not knowing the exact details, they must have been aware that Green was not a welcome presence in her in-laws’ family.

‘With my father-in-law openly showing his disapproval, it would be hard not to know.’

That day, Green had ignored the two women just as they had ignored her.

But today, when Park Chan Wook showed favor to Green, the two immediately bared their claws.

Green had no intention of being pushed around. After all, Sun Woo had only asked her to be considerate of two people: his maternal grandfather Park Chan Wook and his mother Park In Young.

“Hello, you must be Mrs. Park Kyung Min, wife of the Housing Business Division Head, and Mrs. Park Soo Ho, wife of the Sales Division Head?”

The two women hesitated for a moment when Green accurately remembered their husbands’ names and positions.

“You’ve also come to celebrate Park Chan Wook’s birthday?”

“Yes.”

“It’s nice to see familiar faces. I heard it was a family-only gathering, so I was surprised to see more guests than expected. The two division heads must be highly trusted by the chairman to be invited to such an occasion.”

Momentarily stunned by Green’s words, the two women soon flushed red and burst out angrily.

“Listen here! My husband is also clearly part of the chairman’s family!”

“My goodness, you’re treating us like complete outsiders?”

As the two women grew agitated, Green widened her eyes in apparent shock.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. I heard our Sun Woo is an only child, and my mother-in-law is also an only daughter. I’ve never been introduced to any other family members, so I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

Considering they had never formally introduced themselves to Green either, it was awkward to get angry without reason.

If they were to ask why she hadn’t mentioned being relatives when they met before, it would reveal that they had deliberately excluded her.

Green asked with genuine curiosity:

“What exactly is your relationship to Chairman Park Chan Wook and the two division heads?”

“Chairman Park’s younger brother, Park Chan Young, is my husband’s grandfather.”

“Ah, so Park Kyung Min and Park Soo Ho are the sons of Chairman Park’s brother’s son, correct?”

Then Park Kyung Min’s wife replied arrogantly:

“We’re from the main family branch.”

“Oh, I see. So Park Kyung Min is the son of Chairman Park’s elder nephew, and Park Soo Ho is the son of the younger nephew.”

The more precisely Green pinpointed the relationship between Park Chan Wook and the two division heads, the strangely more distant it seemed to become.

She slowly counted on her fingers, calculating the degree of kinship.

“If they’re the sons of the chairman’s nephews, then our Sun Woo and the two division heads are sixth cousins. Had I known you were such close relatives, I would have been friendlier when we met last time.”

Green deliberately emphasized “sixth cousins,” clearly showing the distance between them and herself.

Sun Woo, Park Chan Wook’s maternal grandson, and Green, his grandson’s wife.

The two division heads, Sun Woo’s paternal cousins and the sons of Park Chan Wook’s brother’s sons, and their wives.

Though the three division heads might have similar positions in the company, it was undeniable that Green, as Sun Woo’s wife, held a more advantageous position at this family event.

If the two women had made a mistake, it was not knowing that while Green was a pacifist, she had a personality that returned what she received.

“Honey, what’s going on?”

Seeing his wife trembling with anger yet unable to properly respond to Green, Park Kyung Min stepped in.

Though ten years older than Sun Woo, he was always overshadowed by Sun Woo in terms of performance and Park Chan Wook’s trust, resulting in a twisted sense of inferiority.

“What? Did Sun Woo’s wife make some mistake towards you?”

He spoke as if Green had obviously done something wrong. Park Kyung Min’s wife, feeling emboldened, proudly reported the recent situation to her husband.

“She seems unfamiliar with our family dynamics, so my sister-in-law and I tried to give her some well-intentioned advice, but she just stared at us with wide eyes and talked back!”

“Is that so?”

“You know what she said? She basically asked why we were here if we weren’t family!”

Park Kyung Min’s eyes suddenly glinted dangerously. He turned to Park Soo Ho’s wife and asked:

“Is what my wife saying true, sister-in-law?”

“Yes? Yes, brother-in-law. She treated us like complete outsiders.”

Faced with this absurd false accusation, Green couldn’t remain silent. She turned to Park Kyung Min with a serious expression and refuted:

“I did make a mistake in not knowing that you and Park Soo Ho were Sun Woo’s sixth cousins. But I apologized immediately after learning the truth.”

Green’s heart was pounding, but she couldn’t back down here.

Park Kyung Min, who had been glaring at Green irritably, turned to his wife and spoke as if scolding her:

“How many times have I told you? Don’t get involved with people related to Jin Sun Woo.”

“Honey, I…”

“What kind of family is Jin Sun Woo’s? They’re politicians who beg for votes every election season to make a living. How many times have I told you that the Jin family, who grovel for votes like beggars, are fundamentally different from the Park family who are responsible for this country’s economy?”

Green felt dizzy for a moment at Park Kyung Min’s outrageous words. It was enough to understand how he usually thought of Sun Woo.

Green couldn’t have good feelings towards Jin Young Cheol who disliked her either. But Park Kyung Min’s words, spoken to insult Sun Woo, were unforgivable.

“To treat a member of the National Assembly, a representative of the people, as a beggar, and to compare elections, the flower of democracy, to charity – with such impoverished philosophy, Park Kyung Min, you’d better avoid media interviews. For the sake of K1 Construction’s public image.”

Park Kyung Min, who was about to turn away, flushed bright red at Green’s unexpected strong punch.

“How dare you be so insolent!”

As Park Kyung Min raised his arm as if to strike Green, his wife grabbed his arm tightly.

“Honey, please. There are too many eyes watching.”

Despite his wife’s restraint, Park Kyung Min still glared with bulging eyes, unable to suppress his anger. Green was scared but stood her ground without flinching.

At that moment, a strong and firm arm pulled Green’s shoulder into its embrace.

“Put that arm down!”

Green turned around in surprise, and amazingly, her husband Sun Woo was holding her in his arms like a mother bird, perfectly protecting her from Park Kyung Min’s threat.

“Sun Woo?”

Surprised, Green looked up at the suddenly appeared Sun Woo with her mouth half open.

Her husband, whom she hadn’t seen in a year, looked a bit thinner and tanner, but was still handsome, incredibly reassuring, and unnecessarily sexy.

With such a person stepping up to protect her, Green felt fearless now.

‘Was a husband’s existence always this reliable? I thought husbands were usually on the other side.’

She could somewhat understand the feelings of Park Kyung Min’s wife who had been triumphant at her husband’s appearance earlier.

Lost in her own thoughts, Green snapped back to attention at Sun Woo’s voice, colder than Siberian frost.

“If you intend to keep threatening my wife, I might have to make sure you can’t use that precious arm of yours for a while.”

“Jin Sun Woo, you bastard! Honey, let go, I said let go!”

As Park Kyung Min, whose pride was hurt by Sun Woo’s strong warning, started to thrash about wildly, his wife desperately clung to her husband’s arm.

There was no contest between Park Kyung Min, with his typical middle-aged man’s physique and protruding belly, and Sun Woo, with his nearly 190cm height and body toned by exercise.

Moreover, wasn’t this Park Chan Wook’s birthday celebration!

Well aware of this fact, Park Kyung Min, despite his loud protests, ultimately didn’t shake off his wife’s restraint.

Click, click.

Just then, the sound of calm footsteps approached, cutting through the crowd.

Green, still bewildered in Sun Woo’s arms, peeked towards the sound.

It was her mother-in-law, Park In Young.

“That’s enough.”

“Vi-Vice Chairman.”

Upon seeing In Young, Park Kyung Min and his wife straightened up and adjusted their clothes. Park Soo Ho’s wife quietly slipped away.

“This gathering was arranged to celebrate my father’s birthday, but aren’t the guests being too rowdy?”

“Well, you see…”

“I thought I heard Park Kyung Min say something about my husband earlier, but I couldn’t quite hear from afar. What was that about the Jin family and the Park family?”

Under In Young’s cold gaze, the color drained from Park Kyung Min and his wife’s faces.

Unlike the stupidly standing Park Kyung Min, his wife immediately knelt down.

“We’re so sorry, Vice Chairman. This one seems to have had a bit too much to drink today. It won’t happen again.”

She kept bowing her head to In Young while tugging on her stupefied husband’s arm. Park Kyung Min ended up kneeling beside his wife.

In Young frowned and said:

“Excessive drinking is not good. You’d better head home now.”

“Ah, yes. We’ll do that. Vice Chairman.”

Park Kyung Min’s wife helped her husband up and pulled him away from the scene.

Only then did In Young turn to Sun Woo, who was still protectively holding Green.

“What happened? When did you get back to Korea?”

“I arrived this afternoon.”

“You didn’t mention that when we talked earlier.”

“I wanted to surprise you, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

As Sun Woo smiled bitterly, In Young, who had been quietly observing him and Green, chuckled.

“Well, I was certainly surprised.”

Perhaps due to In Young’s gaze, Green suddenly became intensely aware of Sun Woo’s arm around her shoulder.

She gently pulled Sun Woo’s hand off her shoulder. Fortunately, his hand came down easily.

“Sun Woo, shouldn’t you greet the Chairman first?”

“Yes.”

As In Young returned to Park Chan Wook, Green leaned in close to Sun Woo and whispered:

“What’s going on? You should have called to let me know you were coming!”

Even as she scolded Sun Woo for not notifying her in advance, Green’s voice was filled with undisguised joy.

Having always endured all the stares as an outsider at family gatherings, Green was experiencing for the first time how solid and powerful the shield of a husband could be.

“…I’m sorry I’m late.”

“No, I’m just so happy you came, Sun Woo.”

Seeing Green’s bright smile, Sun Woo’s expression softened for a moment before furrowing his brow again.

“Why have you lost so much weight?”

Though he didn’t intend to scold her, his words came out gruffly due to his concern.

Green’s spirits quickly deflated at his angry-seeming gaze and tone.

Hannah had clearly said she looked pretty, and even said she was the most beautiful today!

But now the one person she most wanted to impress, Sun Woo, seemed displeased. Her heart, which had been soaring at his arrival, felt like it had burst.