When Sun Woo returned after washing up in the bathroom next to the bedroom, a bedding set was neatly laid out on the floor.

It seemed Green had given up the bed to Sun Woo and prepared to sleep on the floor herself.

Despite Green’s consideration, Sun Woo didn’t like the bedding laid out on the floor. He folded the bedding in half with his foot and pushed it to the corner.

“Did you do that, Sun Woo?”

Green, who had just finished washing up in the living room bathroom, asked curiously upon seeing the folded bedding pushed to the corner.

Sun Woo sat comfortably against the headboard of the bed.

“We’re not going to sleep right away, are we? I have a lot to hear from you, Green.”

“Aren’t you tired, Sun Woo?”

“I am tired, but I can’t sleep, maybe because of jet lag.”

He pulled back the covers and patted the space next to him.

“Come sit here too, Green. And tell me everything. About your diet and how your father made things difficult for you.”

Though he knew it was late, he wanted to listen to Green’s story now.

Saying he was too busy with work in Marseille for the past year to pay attention to her was just an excuse.

He was concerned about Green getting thinner, but he was too preoccupied to address it.

He could have predicted how maliciously Young Cheol Jin would harass Green after losing the election, but he forcibly suppressed his worries, thinking nothing would happen.

Looking back, he had to admit he had been too insensitive.

Determined to focus on her words now, Sun Woo spoke in the kindest tone he could manage. But Green’s eyes were full of wariness as she looked at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’d like to respect your preferences if possible, but, um, could you please put on some pajamas?”

At Green’s words, Sun Woo finally became aware of his state. After showering, he had only put on a bathrobe as usual.

Green was desperately trying not to let her gaze wander to the tanned chest muscles visible through the open robe. She was certain he wasn’t wearing anything underneath either!

“I put this on because you’re here…”

Green was startled by Sun Woo’s rather brazen response.

“Then, what do you wear when you’re alone?”

“…Do you really want to know?”

“No, never mind!”

Green blurted out as Sun Woo’s eyes took on a mischievous glint. She imagined him completely naked for a moment, though she hoped he didn’t actually sleep that way.

Compared to a year ago, Sun Woo also seemed to have lost some weight, but his body looked even more toned and attractive.

She was curious if the parts hidden by the bathrobe were the same appealing bronze color as his exposed chest muscles.

‘Gah, what am I thinking!’

Shaking her head vigorously as if to chase away impure thoughts, Green sat down on the bedding Sun Woo had pushed to the corner.

“I’ll sit here and talk.”

Sun Woo, amused by Green’s flustered reaction, had felt uncharacteristically playful. Judging that she was keeping her distance due to his attire, he reluctantly got up.

“I’ll go change.”

A moment later, Sun Woo returned to the bedroom neatly dressed in pajamas.

When he patted the spot next to him again, Green could no longer refuse.

Carefully moving to sit beside him against the headboard, Green pondered where to begin her story.

“To help you understand, I should start with the story of my friends Jenny and Hannah.”

Green began talking about Jenny and Hannah, whom she met at age 20, and how right after the wedding, her mother-in-law In Young gave her 8 million won monthly for maintaining her image.

She told him about asking Hannah, a stylist, for help to meet In Young’s expectations, and how Jenny, an actress, deliberately played the role of a chaebol daughter-in-law to easily get sponsorships.

“What amazing friends. You seem to be a very lucky person, Green.”

“After I lost weight like Hannah suggested, I was able to attend all the events Mother called me to in perfect attire. I’m sure you would have thought I looked pretty too, right?”

Green winked playfully with a mischievous smile. Then she lifted her chin haughtily.

“I’ve seen it before.”

“You have? How?”

The proudly lifted chin quickly lowered in modesty, and her eyes wavered anxiously.

“Secretary Na Mi Ran sent me photos of you attending K1 Construction-related gatherings. About three times?”

“…How did I look?”

“It felt unfamiliar. I wondered if it was really the woman I married. But upon closer look, it was indeed you.”

“Oh, come on!”

Green unconsciously smacked Sun Woo’s arm. His expression, which had been smiling even after being hit, turned slightly gloomy.

“When I first received the photos, I was relieved that you seemed to be adapting well. But with the second and third photos, I grew worried as you kept losing more weight.”

Realizing that Sun Woo had been feeling guilty all along, Green suddenly wanted to comfort him.

Though there were many difficult times because of Young Cheol Jin, it was all worth enduring because she could put her mother in a VIP hospital room thanks to marrying Sun Woo.

“I was doing much better than you were worried about.”

“Is that so?”

Hearing the doubt in Sun Woo’s tone, Green hastily added:

“It’s true. Every time I saw the hospital bills and living expenses you sent each month, I thought I should do my absolute best in return.”

Seeing Sun Woo still wearing a bitter smile, Green wanted to make him laugh again.

“You’ve only seen three photos of my transformation? Should I show you the rest?”

“Can I see them?”

“Of course. I took selfies of everything.”

Green brought over the tablet PC she had placed next to the vanity. Sun Woo sat with his head close to Green’s, looking at the photos one by one.

The three photos Sun Woo had already seen were included, but there were many more images of Green he hadn’t seen before. He examined the photos with great interest.

“The photo from the first gathering still resembles the Green I remember most.”

Their heads drew closer together over the tablet. Suddenly, Green realized she could feel his breath on her neck.

Startled, she turned her head to find his handsome face right next to hers. Fortunately, his gaze was fixed on the photos, so he didn’t notice Green’s flustered state.

Green quickly straightened up to create some distance between them.

“That was when I had just started personal training, not even two months in.”

Green smiled awkwardly and furrowed her brow, recalling the pressure of the first gathering.

“The first gathering was actually a charity bazaar hosted by Mother, and she told me to donate any of my personal items, but how could I have anything suitable to donate there?”

“So what did you do?”

“At first, I thought about buying a luxury bag from a secondhand market to donate, but Jenny donated her unused fur coat. But you know what the real jackpot was?”

“What was it?”

“The fur was actually tiger! Not just tiger print, but real tiger fur!”

“That must be very expensive.”

“Of course! It’s worth over 50 million won, and only 4 of them were imported to Korea.”

Hearing the price of the fur, Sun Woo let out a short whistle of admiration.

“To give that up for you, Jenny must be a very generous person.”

“She inherited several buildings in Gangnam from her father, so acting is just a hobby for her. Anyway, I became a total star at the bazaar after donating that tiger fur coat.”

Sun Woo laughed silently as he listened with interest to her detailed story. Green’s heart raced with satisfaction at seeing the smile she had wanted to elicit.

“I felt like I passed the first test well then. At first, Mother called me about once every two months, but the frequency of gatherings gradually increased until I was attending up to three times a month.”

Though she frowned as if it was troublesome, Green couldn’t hide her pride at being acknowledged by In Young, just as she had boldly promised Sun Woo when they made their contract.

Sun Woo smiled, amused by Green’s reaction. It was the first time since he was 9 that he had laughed so openly, though he himself didn’t realize it.

Excited by his smiling face, Green wanted to make him laugh more.

“Sun Woo, I also have photos of Jenny wearing the exact same outfits as me. Want to see?”

“Sure.”

Green showed him the photos of Jenny saved on the tablet.

Jenny wore the same clothes, shoes, accessories, and bags as Green had worn, taking photos and posting them on social media each time.

Since Green used her professional skills to take paparazzi-style shots, the sponsoring companies were thrilled.

Though the clothes, shoes, and bags were identical, the atmosphere of Green and Jenny was completely different.

At first, Green eagerly showed Sun Woo Jenny’s photos, but gradually her pace of flipping through them slowed.

‘…I shouldn’t have shown these.’

She felt foolish for making Sun Woo compare herself, an ordinary person, to Jenny, a top actress, with her own hands.

“Jenny is tall, so the clothes naturally look better on her.”

Green closed the tablet screen, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“That’s true.”

When Sun Woo agreed with Green’s words, she suddenly felt annoyed at him. There was such a thing as a white lie, after all.

“But didn’t you say Hannah styled these for you? That’s why you look perfect in every photo, while there are some awkward parts in Jenny’s photos.”

“Really?”

“Jenny’s photos look decent because you, a professional, took them for her. If Jenny had taken selfies too, the awkwardness would have been more noticeable.”

Seeing Sun Woo nod seriously without a hint of falsehood, Green couldn’t help but break into a wide smile.

Suddenly, his inability to tell white lies became quite endearing.

“Thank you for that subjective and biased review.”

“Oh my, I am a very objective and fair person.”

“Sure, sure.”

As Green responded playfully, Sun Woo smiled and took her tablet. He opened the photo folder and started looking through the pictures one by one from the beginning.

“It’s quite fascinating.”

“What is?”

“The formal wear gives an intellectual impression, the hanbok look is very graceful, and the party dresses are subtly sexy…”

“R-really?”

“The coral mini dress you wore today was really cute. It’s amazing how different a person can look depending on their clothes.”

Sun Woo’s voice gradually slowed and deepened. As if fondly recalling Green’s appearance from yesterday.

Green’s heart fluttered so much that she couldn’t bring herself to look at his face. She idly traced the bed with her finger, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“What’s your preference, Sun Woo? Graceful Green? Sexy Green? Cute Green?”

“…”

When there was no answer from Sun Woo, Green glanced at him. Incredibly, he had fallen asleep, his head nodding.

Green chuckled wryly, wondering how she could manage to lay this big man down on the bed properly.

At that moment, Sun Woo’s head dropped onto Green’s shoulder.