As soon as Do Hyun set foot inside the entrance, Young Ran, who had been watching indifferently, jumped up in surprise.

Young Ran, still fuming with anger, poked the heaving Seung Hee and ran to Do Hyun.

“Do Hyun.”

Young Ran deliberately stood in front of the entrance, blocking Do Hyun’s view.

Meanwhile, Seung Hee threw the shoes she was holding into the box and plopped down on the sofa.

Joo, rubbing her stinging head, untied her fallen hair tie.

It wasn’t just the shock that prevented any tears from falling.

This was the second time she had been beaten.

Three months ago, when Joo had tailored a luxury jacket that Seung Hee didn’t like, she mercilessly struck her shoulder with a handbag.

“You said it would take you at least another hour. Why are you back so early?”

“Work finished early.”

“That’s good. Joo happens to be here too.”

“Joo is here?”

As Young Ran stepped aside, Joo could be seen standing in the middle of the living room.

Like her neatly arranged hair, Joo tucked away her dark expression and smiled.

“You’re here?”

The corners of her mouth, raised with difficulty, trembled slightly, but it wasn’t noticeable.

“Why are you here? You should go straight home after work.”

“I did some shopping with her. Today is the day I receive my allowance, you know.”

“Why did you call her when she’s busy working?”

Seung Hee, fiddling with her well-manicured nails, burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.

“Hah. Does she look like a kid to you? How many months has it been? 318 months?”

“Nam Seung Hee. No matter how close you’ve become with Joo, don’t cross the line with your jokes.”

Young Ran scolded Seung Hee harshly, even though she had remained still when Joo was hit with the shoes.

Seung Hee abruptly stopped laughing and let out a deep sigh.

“Our mother really cherishes her daughter-in-law, doesn’t she?”

As if following a script, they acted thoroughly in front of Do Hyun, so there was no way for him to know that Joo had been treated like a maid for a year.

Young Ran came to Joo’s side and kindly put her arm around her shoulder.

“Joo seemed very tired. I’ll talk to your father, so just take the food and go straight home.”

Young Ran called the housekeeper, who brought a prepared navy-blue bundle.

Young Ran took the bundle and handed it to Do Hyun, not Joo.

“Joo likes the soy sauce marinated crab I made. Go and enjoy it together.”

Joo didn’t like soy sauce marinated crab.

She only said that to put on an act of closeness in front of Do Hyun.

“…We’ll enjoy it.”

But Joo uttered the bitter words without being able to spit out a single truth.

As Joo was about to leave the house following Do Hyun, Seung Hee, who was sitting casually, picked up a brown shopping bag.

“Take this with you.”

Seung Hee approached and forcibly placed the shopping bag in Joo’s hand.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“You said this two-piece was pretty. After buying it, I thought it would suit you better than me.”

The smile on her face, drawing a large curve, was as if she had stamped out Park Young Ran.

Joo, who had been clenching her teeth tightly, slowly parted her lips.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll contact you again. Let’s go shopping together.”

Leaving behind the wickedly smiling Seung Hee, Joo left the house with Do Hyun.

Sitting in the passenger seat of Do Hyun’s sedan parked in front of the house, Joo looked at the shopping bag placed on her lap.

It felt as if the two-piece inside was a settlement from Seung Hee for harming her.

Even when she was hit with the handbag on the shoulder, Seung Hee had thrown her a pair of earrings as if doing her a favor.

Do Hyun, who had started the engine, turned his gaze to Joo, who was hugging the shopping bag.

“I’ll talk to my sister, so don’t go shopping to please her.”

Joo quickly shook her head, clutching the shopping bag.

“No. Please don’t do that.”

Do Hyun knew well that Joo was busy with work at the new resort in Yeosu.

He couldn’t understand why she spent time shopping with Seung Hee, barely showing her face at home while working overtime as often as eating meals.

“You didn’t go shopping because you had free time. You don’t have time for things like that.”

“This is also part of my job.”

At the word ‘job’, one of Do Hyun’s eyebrows curved.

“This is a job?”

“You remember that my senior asked me to fulfill the duties of a wife, right?”

He had never forgotten. That’s why he had been paying Joo 3 million won every month as promised.

However, shopping with Seung Hee was not included in the labor Do Hyun had in mind.

“I didn’t want you to mingle with my family at the expense of your own work.”

“Senior, please don’t make me a shameless person.”

Her voice rose in pitch. It was out of fear that she might lose the wife role she had barely obtained.

“I get 3 million won deposited into my account every month, and I live in a nice house, eating well. Can’t I even do this much? Anyone else would have eagerly done more, regardless of you or me.”

The Do Hyun that Joo knew was someone who clearly distinguished between good and evil.

If she told him that Seung Hee had just hit her, he would immediately go into that house and comfort her.

But the moment her role disappeared, he would end this marriage at the same time.

More important than her self-esteem and lost dignity, which hit rock bottom every time, was money and a place to stay.

“Are you saying you’re doing all this because you want to?”

“Yes. I want to work hard at playing the role of your wife. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to your brother or mother.”

Her goal was to quickly fulfill the two years, pay off the remaining debt, and find a house where she could live comfortably with her mother.

To do that, she had to live as Do Hyun’s wife by his side.

She couldn’t let her will be broken by the hurled abuse.

“I understand. If you say you’ll work that hard, I won’t stop you.”

“Thank you.”

Do Hyun, who had pulled down the seat belt and fastened the clip, said,

“But if it becomes too much for you to handle, tell me. Anytime.”

“Okay.”

As Joo nodded her head, Do Hyun stepped on the pedal.

The car, which had been parked in front of the residential area for a long time, rolled its wheels and pulled out onto the main road.

Perhaps because she had spent the whole day trailing behind Seung Hee in a state of tension, Joo felt as if her whole body had been beaten.

Joo, resting comfortably in the passenger seat, looked out at the night view flowing past the window.

What was so splendid and beautiful about it?

It was the exact opposite of Joo’s day, which had been like darkness.

Instead of the passing lights, Joo gazed at Do Hyun’s face reflected in the window.

Still, with Do Hyun by her side, her restless insides seemed to settle calmly.

When Do Hyun appeared at the moment she was being beaten, she felt both happy and sorrowful.

She wanted to be comforted by Do Hyun, even though she didn’t have the courage to express her grievances.

Even though such comfort couldn’t become the money she needed.

“Take a nap. I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”

“No. I’m not sleepy.”

After crossing the bridge over the Han River, it was a 30-minute drive to reach home.

But perhaps because the tension had dissipated, the approaching drowsiness kept pressing down on her eyelids.

Joo’s head bobbed like a chicken, embarrassed by her claim of not being sleepy.

‘No. Sleeping next to the person driving is not polite.’

She tried to wake herself up, talking about manners, but it was insufficient.

Her head leaning against the seat fell towards the window.

Do Hyun, who had been looking straight ahead, glanced at Joo, who had dozed off.

“You said you weren’t sleepy.”

Do Hyun, who had been smiling slightly, loosened his foot on the pedal and turned the steering wheel.

The car, having crossed the long bridge, entered the beginning of a road that had to be taken out of the way, not heading straight home.

The cars following behind swiftly passed by, but he paid no attention and further reduced the speed.

On the shoulder of the four-lane road where cars rarely passed, Do Hyun’s car stopped.

If possible, he wanted to take her home and put her to bed, but seeing her sleeping soundly, he thought about leaving her like this for a while.

Do Hyun unfastened the seat belt that crossed Joo’s chest.

As he reclined the passenger seat halfway back, Joo’s head that had been facing the window turned towards Do Hyun.

Do Hyun took off the black jacket he was wearing and covered Joo’s body with it.

The low hum of the running engine was layered with Joo’s even breathing.

Was she getting proper sleep, was she eating properly? Even though they lived together, he couldn’t ask.

Seeing her tired-looking face and arms that were thinner than before, it seemed she wasn’t doing either properly.

Do Hyun raised his hand and brought it to Joo’s dry eyes.

His thumb brushed past Joo’s eyelashes.

“Why are you living so desperately, struggling so hard?”

Without even time to look around.

Without even time to breathe and live.

Without even time to take care of yourself.

I’m worried that you’ll collapse from exhaustion.

The back of his hand, which had been caressing Joo’s cheek, was soon withdrawn.

It was pitiful and heart-wrenching. Miserable and touching.

He wanted to help Shin Joo, who was living with her ankle tied for years because of that measly money.

But he knew that even that would be a burden to Joo.

Watching over her was the best he could do, so he had no choice but to at least do that.

Do Hyun, who had been looking at Joo all along, got out of the driver’s seat.

As the door closed, Joo’s eyelids, which he thought were asleep, lifted.

Do Hyun, unaware that Joo had woken up, was sitting on the hood of the car.

You won’t know, senior.

“If I don’t live like this, desperately struggling, I feel like I’ll quickly sink in the water.”

So please be careful not to even brush against me.

If you touch me for no reason, I’ll want to hold on tight and never let go.

Joo tightly grasped the jacket she had been covered with.

Her heart ached.

The warmth of another person’s body heat. She only realized today how warm it was.

***

[On Monday, there’s a meeting scheduled with Sunshine Resort at 2 o’clock.]

The voice of Team Leader Choi coming through the phone merely flowed past his ears.

Seo Jin Won was looking down at the white box with a dumbfounded expression.

Instead of the brown shoes he had bought, there were beige women’s shoes.

“Ah… At that time.”

He immediately realized that the shoes had been swapped when he bumped into a woman at the department store.

He didn’t know that the woman would be carrying a shopping bag from the same store.

If he had known, he would have checked much earlier to prevent the unfortunate exchange of items.

Seo Jin Won, in a predicament, scratched his cheek with his index finger and leaned back on the sofa.

“I’ll also attend the Monday meeting.”

[You’ll be attending in person, CEO? I understand.]

After ending the call with Team Leader Choi, Seo Jin Won took out the shoes from the white box.

The image of the woman he had collided with, not knowing what to do and breaking into a cold sweat, vividly came to mind.

“Nowadays, Cinderella swaps shoes, huh?”

Is this fate?

Looks like I have another reason to see her again.