“Am I that unattractive? I tried my best since it’s grandfather’s birthday…”

“I didn’t mean unattractive, you’re beautiful, really beautiful!”

Seeing Green quickly become dejected at his words, Sun Woo hastily replied. The idea of Green being unattractive was ridiculous.

The moment he entered the yard, Sun Woo’s eyes were immediately drawn to Green.

Wearing a coral mini dress that showed off her stunning legs to the point he wanted to cover her with his jacket, she stood there charming everyone with her lovely smile and witty conversation, overwhelming the other daughters-in-law.

If it weren’t for Park Kyung Min’s vulgar actions, Sun Woo might have spent even longer staring at Green in a daze.

“What do you mean, beautiful?”

Unaware of Sun Woo’s thoughts, Green pouted her small plump lips and asked discontentedly.

Sun Woo almost found his gaze locked on those lips, but he quickly changed the subject.

“The CEO is waiting. Let’s go quickly.”

Green finally nodded and grabbed onto Sun Woo’s arm. It was an unconscious action, likely from her tension easing.

Sun Woo naturally offered his arm and escorted her towards where Park Chan Wook and In Young were.

Watching intently as the two approached arm-in-arm, Park Chan Wook greeted Sun Woo with a broad smile.

“Sun Woo, you rascal, aren’t you supposed to be in Marseille? What’s going on?”

“Happy birthday, sir. May you have a long and healthy life.”

“Well, you should have at least called before coming.”

“I wanted to deliver some good news in person as a birthday gift.”

“Good news?”

“It looks like we can move up the Marseille resort opening by about three months.”

“What? Is that true?”

Park Chan Wook, who had not stood up once the entire time, suddenly jumped to his feet, overjoyed at Sun Woo’s news.

“Yes. We’re in the final stages. We plan to start shooting the promotional video next month.”

“What will you do if you finish the work there early? Will you stay there until next year as planned?”

Until meeting Sun Woo today, Park Chan Wook had thought he would stay in France until his divorce was finalized.

Even if it was a bit inconvenient, he could still manage the development business division’s work from France.

But unexpected words flowed from Sun Woo’s mouth.

“No, I’ll return immediately and proceed with the Vietnam and Saudi Arabia projects.”

“Is that so? As expected, Director Jin Sun Woo, you’re the best.”

Park Chan Wook, who had been listening intently with narrowed eyes, praised him with great satisfaction. His voice was so loud it echoed throughout the garden.

He thought that perhaps, as In Young had said, the marriage to Green might not be entirely meaningless to Sun Woo.

He looked at Green and Sun Woo with a much friendlier gaze.

“Just earlier, my granddaughter-in-law Green gave me a very pleasing birthday gift. And now you’ve brought an amazing gift. Family really is the best after all!”

While Green smiled happily at Park Chan Wook’s praise, Sun Woo couldn’t hide his discomfort at seeing him treat Green so familiarly.

In Young helped Park Chan Wook sit back down, then slowly rubbed his shoulder with her palm.

“No matter what, in the end, family is all we can truly rely on.”

“You’re right, In Young. Now that Sun Woo is here too, let’s have a meal with the five of us, including Congressman Jin. Set a date.”

“I will, Father.”

In Young smiled at Park Chan Wook, then turned to look at Sun Woo and Green.

“Sun Woo, Green seems a bit startled. You must be tired too, why don’t you head home and rest?”

“No, I’m fine, Mother.”

Green hurriedly waved her hands, but it was too late. Park Chan Wook’s eyes had narrowed.

“Why is Green startled? Did something happen?”

“Nothing major, just Park Kyung Min got very drunk and tried to get physical with Green.”

“What? Is he crazy? I’ve never seen a decent man who lays hands on women.”

“That’s exactly right.”

“My child, Green! Are you really alright? Weren’t you very scared?”

Green was quite flustered to suddenly become Park Chan Wook’s ‘child’, but she still nodded bravely.

“Yes, Grandfather. Sun Woo came at the critical moment and saved me. I’m fine now.”

“I’m so glad. That Park Kyung Min, he was rotten from childhood and hasn’t changed a bit as an adult. Tsk.”

Now even though Green said she was fine, Park Chan Wook was not. He wore a terrible expression as he thought of Park Kyung Min.

“Sun Woo, the child must have been frightened, so take her home quickly. Report about the Marseille resort through In Young.”

“I will. Happy birthday again, sir.”

Green also bowed to Park Chan Wook.

“Happy birthday, Grandfather.”

“Yes, yes. Go home and rest now.”

When Green turned her gaze to In Young, she was wearing a very satisfied smile.

Green had clearly seen how her mother-in-law punished Park Kyung Min for insulting her husband Jin Young Cheol. She thought anew that her mother-in-law was truly a formidable person.

As they left the noisy Pyeongchang-dong mansion, Sun Woo’s waiting driver opened the back door. Green said awkwardly,

“Sun Woo, I brought my car too. I’ll see you at home then.”

Sun Woo frowned briefly, displeased with Green’s words.

“Green, please give your car keys to Driver Kim.”

“What? Why?”

“Driver Kim will bring your car to the house. You’ll come with me in my car.”

“Who will drive your car then?”

“Do I look like someone who can’t drive?”

At Sun Woo’s playful question, Green realized she had asked a silly question and blushed.

“We’re meeting after a year. Don’t you think we’ll have a lot to talk about on the way?”

“I suppose so.”

As Green nodded, Sun Woo opened the passenger door for her. After Green sat down, Sun Woo took off his suit jacket and draped it over her knees.

“Thank you.”

Green, who had been secretly embarrassed about her exposed legs in front of Sun Woo, could finally relax.

Despite saying they would have a lot to talk about, Sun Woo didn’t say a word until they were almost home.

The atmosphere in the car was so awkward that Green just fiddled with her seatbelt.

“Are you close with CEO Park Chan Wook?”

Sun Woo finally spoke after the car entered the apartment parking lot.

“Grandfather? No, to use an analogy, today is our first day.”

“Pardon?”

“I gave Grandfather a photo as a gift today, and he seemed to really like it. So he decided to call me his granddaughter-in-law from today. Before that, he called me ‘Sun Woo’s wife’.”

“…Is that so?”

“Honestly, I was really surprised when he called me ‘child’. Goodness, being called that at this age. Ugh!”

Green rubbed her arms as if she had goosebumps, then suddenly met Sun Woo’s eyes. They both burst out laughing at the same time.

Just as the atmosphere seemed to soften for a moment, Sun Woo’s expression hardened again.

“Why have you lost so much weight?”

Just when the awkwardness had started to dissipate, Sun Woo brought up the weight issue again, making Green a little upset.

It was weight she had worked hard to lose, and while others were amazed at how pretty she had become, saying diet was the best plastic surgery, Sun Woo kept harping on about her weight.

She thought maybe he preferred slightly plump women.

But the words that came out of Sun Woo’s mouth were different from Green’s expectations.

“How much emotional distress did you go through? Was it because of my father after all?”

“What? No, it’s not exactly because of that. Although Congressman Jin Young Cheol is rather excessive…”

“No need to try to say nice things. I know my father well.”

Before Green could explain further, Sun Woo got out of the car and opened the passenger door for her. Then he strode ahead towards the elevator as if angry.

Even in the elevator, Green kept glancing at Sun Woo. She didn’t know where to begin clearing up his misunderstanding.

-Ding.

Sun Woo, who got out of the elevator first, entered the passcode to open the front door with familiarity, when unexpectedly, Mrs. Ahn greeted him excitedly.

“Oh my, who is this? Isn’t it Director Jin? When did you return?”

“This afternoon. You weren’t here when I came home earlier, how are you here at this hour?”

“I made dinner side dishes and went home, but I came back because I left my phone. I thought I was getting old and should just die, but goodness! Thanks to that I got to see you, Director Jin. Are you back for good now?”

“No, I have to go out again in a month and a half. But the business trip is almost wrapped up.”

At Sun Woo’s words, Mrs. Ahn’s expression suddenly turned mischievous. She nodded, looking back and forth between Sun Woo and Green as if she understood everything.

“You came because you missed your wife and couldn’t wait any longer, right? Well, you endured for a long time, leaving such a good wife behind!”

At Mrs. Ahn’s definitive statement, Sun Woo became flustered, which was rare for him.

On the other hand, Green was calm, thinking it was an unrealistic comment. She just looked curiously at Sun Woo, who was so flustered he couldn’t even respond properly.

“Oh my, I’ve been chattering on without reading the room. I found my phone, so I’ll be going now. You two must have a lot of catching up to do after so long! I’ll come back in three days.”

“Thank you for your hard work, ma’am.”

Green smiled as she saw Mrs. Ahn off. Sun Woo was a bit displeased with her composed attitude even in the face of Mrs. Ahn’s mischievous joke. It felt unfair that he was the only one flustered.

“Green, you seem to have become quite bold in the past year?”

“Me?”

“Seeing how you didn’t even blink at such an embarrassing joke.”

“Come on, it’s silly for me to be flustered when there’s no way you would do that.”

“What do you mean?”

“As if you would come just because of me? There’s grandfather’s birthday, and you had to report on the Marseille project, so you came for multiple reasons, right?”

“…”

“I know the inside story, so there’s no reason for me to be flustered by Mrs. Ahn’s words.”

Sun Woo didn’t smile at Green’s words accompanied by laughter.

The smile gradually faded from Green’s face as well as she saw Sun Woo’s serious expression. She felt like she might have said something wrong, though she wasn’t sure what.

Sun Woo spoke in a low voice.

“It’s true that I came for the CEO’s birthday, and it’s true that I came to report on the Marseille project. But the biggest reason is that I came because I was worried about you.”

“No, why would you worry about me?”

“I heard that after losing the general election, my father was tormenting you even more?”

Green was shocked by Sun Woo’s unexpected words. She hadn’t thought he would actually be worried about her.

“A year ago, I really liked the plan of deceiving Han Moon Taek and boarding the plane to France.”

“I liked that too.”

“But seeing how thin you’ve become, I regret it. I shouldn’t have left you alone then.”

“Sun Woo, it’s not like that!”

Seeing Sun Woo blaming himself, Green couldn’t just listen anymore.

“It’s true that your father hates me, and it’s true that I was stressed by your mother calling me to meetings every month, but the reason I lost weight…”

“…”

“It’s because I dieted intensely.”

Sun Woo’s eyes widened for a moment. Green’s cheeks gradually turned red with embarrassment.