“I touched your nose, cheek, and lips, Mister Do Joon. So I thought you might want to do the same.”

“That’s right.”

“Do it in front of Lady Choi.”

Do Joon narrowed his eyes and looked at Tae Yeon as if asking what she meant.

“I mean exactly what I said. If we’re going to do it for show anyway, wouldn’t it be better to do it in front of Lady Choi?”

She couldn’t bring herself to reveal that she thought it would be better to be touched for show in front of Lady Choi rather than when they were alone.

Since no other affectionate acts came to mind, Do Joon accepted Tae Yeon’s suggestion.

Before pressing the door lock, Tae Yeon took a deep breath in and out, seemingly nervous.

“This is difficult.”

“Pretending a lie is always difficult.”

Do Joon’s dark eyes watched Tae Yeon intently.

While she was pulling off such difficult lies so effortlessly every day.

He wondered why she only pretended to be clumsy and incapable when she was with him.

That too made him curious.

“Shall we go in?”

Tae Yeon called out to Do Joon, who was lost in thought.

“Let’s.”

The sound of the door lock disengaging was heard, and the two stepped inside.

Lady Choi, who had finished preparing dinner in the kitchen, hurried to the entrance to greet them.

“You’re here? I’ve prepared grilled eel for dinner.”

“I’ll change clothes and come back out.”

Do Joon put his hand around Tae Yeon’s waist and headed towards the dressing room together. The distance between them, standing so close, was very narrow.

As the dressing room door clicked open, Tae Yeon immediately moved away from Do Joon’s side.

“Mister Do Joon, please change first and come out.”

Do Joon looked at Tae Yeon while loosening his tie.

“Aren’t you going to change?”

“After you’re done…”

“Surely you’re not saying you’re embarrassed, as a married couple?”

It was a clear provocation.

Before Tae Yeon could say anything, Do Joon quickly moved his hands to undo all the buttons of his dress shirt.

Faced with his well-defined upper body muscles, Tae Yeon quickly turned her body away. She spoke while trying to suppress her trembling voice.

“Mister Do Joon, even if we’re married, suddenly undressing like that without warning is a bit…”

Soon after, the sound of Do Joon’s shirt falling to the floor was heard. Tae Yeon tensed up even more, clasping her hands tightly together.

“Why are you avoiding it?”

Do Joon’s voice, now right behind her, poured down over Tae Yeon’s head.

Still facing away from Do Joon, Tae Yeon said,

“Because I’m embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed, you say. That’s an odd thing to hear from someone who’s been persistently coveting me yesterday and today.”

At those words, Tae Yeon bristled and whirled around. With her eyes wide open, she fixed her gaze on Do Joon’s face.

“Mister Do Joon, what you just said seems quite open to misinterpretation, don’t you think?”

Do Joon tilted his head slightly, waiting to hear what Tae Yeon was going to say.

“And ‘coveting’? It was just a small touch… that’s all.”

Tae Yeon laughed awkwardly as she trailed off. Her expression, which wavered when she was nervous, was cute.

‘Is this why I keep asking difficult questions?’

Having that thought, Do Joon cleared his throat. It was another unnecessary thought.

Do Joon took a step back, then pulled out a silk pajama from the drawer and put it on.

“Oh?”

Tae Yeon’s eyes widened noticeably when she noticed it.

“That pajama, it’s the same as mine?”

The silk pajama Do Joon was wearing was the same as Tae Yeon’s. Only the color was different.

“That’s right. I asked Lady Choi.”

“Ah…”

“I asked her to get the same pajama as yours.”

Coincidentally, they ended up with unintentional couple items due to having the same pajamas.

‘I guess I’ll have to buy new pajamas later.’

As if reading her thoughts, Do Joon delivered the final blow.

“I hope you won’t think about buying new pajamas.”

“…”

“If you do, I’ll have to ask Lady Choi again, and she’ll certainly find it strange.”

His words were all correct, so there was nothing to refute. By then, Do Joon had already changed completely into his pajamas.

Ending up wearing couple pajamas unexpectedly made Tae Yeon feel very strange. She looked at the dressing room door and said,

“Mister Do Joon, you can go out first.”

He wanted to say he would wait here and go out together with Tae Yeon, but she wasn’t the type to allow that easily.

“Alright. But I’ll wait for you outside.”

“Okay.”

As Do Joon left the dressing room, Tae Yeon closed her eyes tightly.

Since his return to Korea, her peaceful daily life had completely changed.

Both at work and at home.

At work, she had to try hard to hide, and at home, she had to strive to show something that wasn’t there.

Either way, both were acting out lies.

She belatedly remembered what Do Joon had said as they got out of the car.

“Pretending a lie is always difficult.”

“That’s true.”

Hurriedly changing into the same pajamas as Do Joon, Tae Yeon also left the dressing room.

[This is the timeline separator]

Do Joon and Tae Yeon sat facing each other over the dinner table prepared by Lady Choi.

As soon as Tae Yeon picked up her chopsticks, a well-grilled eel was placed on her plate.

“Eat a lot.”

“You too, Mister Do Joon.”

Conscious of Lady Choi, Tae Yeon also passed a large piece of grilled eel to him. Do Joon smiled slyly and joked,

“If I eat too much, you’ll be in trouble. Can you handle it?”

“Pardon?”

Understanding what Do Joon meant, Tae Yeon’s cheeks flushed bright red. In contrast, Do Joon seemed unbothered and continued eating leisurely.

After finishing the dinner where they acted out affection, the two sat in the living room after washing up.

Aware of Lady Choi brewing warm tea in the kitchen, Do Joon whispered in Tae Yeon’s ear,

“I’ll do it when she brings out the tea and leaves.”

“Okay.”

Tae Yeon also had a solemn look on her face.

Would anyone really believe they were an affectionate couple living like this?

Soon after, Lady Choi placed warm chamomile tea in front of the two.

“This tea helps with good sleep.”

“Thank you, Lady Choi.”

After taking a sip of the chamomile tea, Do Joon put down his cup.

Then he stretched out his arm to wrap around Tae Yeon’s waist, pulling her closer to himself.

In an instant, the distance between them narrowed.

Do Joon cupped Tae Yeon’s cheek with his large hand, his pitch-black eyes focused on her.

“Today when we met on the company rooftop.”

“…”

“It was hard to resist wanting to hold you like this.”

Anyone who heard would misunderstand that they had a secret date on the rooftop.

Tae Yeon, now seemingly used to it, smiled brightly and matched Do Joon’s acting skills.

“I thought I was the only one…”

Do Joon moved his hand to Tae Yeon’s soft lips. As if trying to do exactly what Tae Yeon had done at the restaurant after drinking wine.

Lady Choi watched the couple gazing at each other affectionately, a faint smile on her face. She quickly left to avoid disturbing their time together.

Even after Lady Choi disappeared, Do Joon didn’t stop what he was doing.

When his touch reached her lips, it felt completely different from when he touched her cheek.

It was an unfamiliar feeling she had never experienced before.

While caressing Tae Yeon’s soft lips, Do Joon said,

“I’ll need to make the blinds in the director’s office even thicker.”

“Surely… you don’t mean…?”

“It’s probably exactly what you’re imagining.”

Do Joon glanced at Lady Choi cleaning up in the kitchen, then moved away from Tae Yeon.

Secretly exhaling a shallow breath, Tae Yeon took a sip of the chamomile tea in front of her.

Drinking the warm tea seemed to calm her down a bit.

“Lady Choi.”

“Yes, Director.”

“You can go home now. It’s late again today.”

“Is there anything else you need me to do?”

“No. Thank you for your hard work.”

As soon as Lady Choi closed the door and left, Tae Yeon and Do Joon moved far apart again. They sat at opposite ends of the sofa, sipping their now almost cold chamomile tea.

“You seem less tense now, Jin Tae Yeon.”

“I guess lies get easier with practice too.”

Do Joon put down his empty cup with a thud and said,

“Chairman Cha wants to have dinner together on Saturday.”

“Okay.”

“If you think it would be uncomfortable, I can go alone.”

As much as she wanted that, she couldn’t let Do Joon go alone.

It was the first family dinner since Do Joon’s return to Korea, and if Tae Yeon didn’t attend, there would surely be talk.

“No, I’ll go with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s something I have to do, isn’t it?”

Do Joon crossed his long legs and leaned back deeply into the sofa.

“I’m thinking of going shopping for your gift after the meal.”

“You really don’t need to get me anything. I’m grateful for your thoughtfulness alone.”

At those words, Do Joon smiled slightly.

“Let’s also stop by to get new rings made.”

Tae Yeon nodded in response.

[This is the timeline separator]

To have Saturday lunch with Chairman Cha, Do Joon and Tae Yeon headed to Baeksangjae.

Passing through the high gate and entering, they were greeted by a well-maintained garden.

It was Chairman Cha’s residence, which Tae Yeon was visiting for the first time since getting married. Do Joon, who had been dispatched to the U.S. branch, had made arrangements in advance so that Tae Yeon wouldn’t have to attend family events while he was away from Korea.

On the surface, it seemed like he was being considerate of Tae Yeon, but in reality, it wasn’t.

It was a kind of line indicating that although she was his wife, she hadn’t become fully Do Joon’s person to the extent of attending family events.

But Tae Yeon was fine with it. She was going to divorce anyway, so she had been afraid of getting close to the family elders.

Hearing that Do Joon and Tae Yeon had arrived, Chairman Cha, who had been in the study, appeared.

“You’re here.”

Entering the kitchen, they saw a table set with all kinds of delicious food prepared for Do Joon and Tae Yeon’s arrival.

Chairman Cha sat at the head of the table, with Do Joon and Tae Yeon sitting side by side. There was also an empty seat across from them. Do Joon asked,

“Is someone else coming?”

“I told your elder brother Hae Joon to come too.”

At those words, Do Joon’s brow furrowed deeply.

Seeing his expression become even stiffer than usual, Tae Yeon felt puzzled.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen Mister Do Joon’s elder brother at family dinners before the wedding.’

A moment later, Do Joon’s elder brother, Hae Joon, appeared.

“Everyone’s already here.”

Hae Joon headed towards the empty seat. He greeted Do Joon and Tae Yeon as if he was glad to see them.

“Do Joon, it’s been a while. And this must be my sister-in-law, nice to meet you.”

Hae Joon gave Do Joon a friendly smile, but there was no response from Do Joon.

The atmosphere quickly became awkward, but it was Hae Joon who lightened it again.

“Sister-in-law, I didn’t properly congratulate you on your marriage. It’s almost been two years.”

Hae Joon looked at Tae Yeon, grinning from ear to ear for some reason.

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t attend the family dinner. I had an urgent business trip then. That’s probably why this kid is sulking like that. Hahaha. I would have liked to attend if you had held a wedding ceremony.”

“Ah, we skipped it because Mister Do Joon had to leave urgently for the U.S. branch.”

Do Joon was still staring at Hae Joon with a stony face. The subtle atmosphere was palpable.