Tae Jin stared at Do Joon and Tae Yeon alternately with her mouth wide open. Her face clearly showed envy.

Only then did Do Joon look at Tae Jin. Not with the gentle gaze he had for Tae Yeon, but with a cold glare as if he would strangle her.

“You seem to have forgotten that I’m an impatient person.”

Both Tae Jin and Tae Yeon looked surprised.

Do Joon sat down in the empty seat next to Tae Yeon and placed the bouquet in her arms.

“I was going to surprise you on the way home, but I couldn’t wait.”

Then he raised his wrist to check the time.

“It’s been exactly 13 minutes and 30 seconds since I parted from Jin Tae Yeon.”

Tae Jin’s mouth was still wide open.

“That time felt like 13 hours to me.”

Do Joon raised his head and shifted his gaze to the object Tae Yeon was holding.

It was clearly the watch that had been on her delicate wrist until they parted. It was odd that she had suddenly taken it off and was holding it.

“Is the watch I bought you uncomfortable? We can go buy a different one right now if so.”

“No, that’s not why I took it off. I just washed my hands…”

“Give it here.”

Do Joon sent a gentle look as he put the watch back on Tae Yeon’s slender wrist.

“Indeed, Jin Tae Yeon is the only one who can perfectly pull off this watch.”

Do Joon was treating Tae Jin as if she didn’t exist. All he had done to her since entering the room was give her a cold glare.

Irritation slowly built up in Tae Jin’s heart as she watched the couple’s affectionate display.

Do Joon slowly turned his head at the piercing gaze directed at him.

“Ah, who is this?”

Tae Yeon belatedly introduced Tae Jin.

“This is my elder sister.”

“I see. I was curious since I didn’t see her at the family dinner in place of the wedding.”

At his words about being curious about her, Tae Jin’s expression quickly softened and she smiled brightly.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jin Tae Jin.”

“Yes. I’m Cha Do Joon, Tae Yeon’s husband.”

Do Joon seemed to have no intention of leaving as he pressed the bell to call a server.

After ordering the same menu as what had already been ordered from the employee who came in, he looked at Tae Jin.

“If it’s alright, may I treat you to dinner today?”

“Pardon?”

“I was curious.”

“About me?”

“Yes. About you.”

Tae Jin slowly opened her lips.

“Why…”

“Naturally because you’re my wife’s family.”

Tae Jin smiled awkwardly and clenched her teeth. She felt as if a bitter taste of blood was spreading in her mouth.

Though Do Joon had no such intention, she felt as if she was being toyed with alone.

After the ordered steak arrived, Do Joon took Tae Yeon’s plate.

He then cut a portion into bite-sized pieces and picked up a small piece with a fork.

Without a word, he brought the steak to Tae Yeon’s mouth, gesturing for her to eat.

“I can eat it myself.”

When Tae Yeon tried to take the fork, Do Joon shook his head vigorously.

“Open your mouth.”

“…”

“Quickly.”

Tae Yeon bit her lip with an embarrassed look, then opened her mouth slightly and ate the steak Do Joon gave her like a baby bird.

Tae Jin had long since become invisible in this space.

Watching Tae Yeon chew and swallow carefully, Do Joon picked up another piece and offered it to her.

Seeing Tae Yeon eat the steak he gave well, Do Joon smiled with satisfaction.

Then he turned to Tae Jin sitting across and asked for her agreement.

“Isn’t she pretty?”

“What?”

“My wife, I mean. Especially this expression she makes when eating something delicious, I find it so cute.”

Tae Jin frowned as if dumbfounded. Her expression seemed to ask if that was even a question.

Do Joon continued speaking, undeterred.

“I was just curious if she only looks this way to me.”

Feeling like she had to give some answer, Tae Jin nodded half-heartedly with a sour face.

“She does eat in an endearing way, Tae Yeon does.”

Then, as if inwardly hurt by praising Tae Yeon, she added one more thing.

“But she’s rather picky. There’s a lot she won’t eat.”

It was an unnecessary comment. Tae Yeon stared at Tae Jin, but Tae Jin ignored her gaze and continued speaking.

“And she has somewhat of an old lady’s palate.”

“What does that mean?”

“She likes sweet things and won’t even touch anything bitter or sour.”

“Elder sister.”

“What? Your husband should know too. Your eating habits.”

Tae Jin shrugged her shoulders with a face that said ‘Is this a problem?’

Do Joon mulled over the eating habits Tae Jin had revealed about Tae Yeon with interest.

“So you like sweet things, Jin Tae Yeon.”

“Don’t mind what my elder sister said. I eat other foods well without being picky.”

“There’s a dessert place Secretary Choi recommended. I should go there with Jin Tae Yeon next time.”

Why did the conversation flow that way? Tae Yeon looked at Do Joon with wide eyes.

Do Joon simply scooped up another bite-sized piece of steak to feed Tae Yeon, without giving any further details about what he had just said.

‘Ah, he’s probably just saying that because my elder sister is here.’

Concluding that, Tae Yeon unconsciously chewed the steak that had suddenly entered her mouth.

Do Joon gazed steadily at Tae Yeon as she munched on the steak, unknowingly breaking into a smile.

After feeding Tae Yeon steak a few more times that way, Do Joon put down the knife and fork.

“I’ll eat now.”

Thinking Do Joon was going to stop cutting for her, Tae Yeon reached out her hand, but what touched her hand was not the cold knife, but the warmth of Do Joon.

Tae Yeon’s eyes widened. Startled by the sudden contact, Tae Yeon tried to pull her hand away, but couldn’t because Do Joon held it firmly.

Eventually, Tae Yeon held her breath as Do Joon suddenly brought his face close.

What was he trying to do now? Tae Yeon’s eyes trembled.

“Why… are you doing this?”

Do Joon pointed at Tae Yeon’s face with his finger.

“There.”

“What?”

“Something’s on your face.”

“Ah…”

Tae Yeon picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth.

“Hmm. It’s still there.”

“I’ll go look in the mirror.”

Tae Yeon was about to get up to go check her face in the bathroom, but Do Joon was quicker.

Do Joon took Tae Yeon’s hand and sat her back down. Then he lazily curled up the corners of his mouth and tilted his head slightly.

He looked at the spot where the sauce was supposed to be for a moment, then reached out his long finger. Do Joon’s finger touched Tae Yeon’s soft cheek and then pulled away.

Though it was just for an instant, she felt as if his warmth still lingered on her mouth.

“Here, wipe it…”

Grateful that he had wiped the sauce off her face himself, Tae Yeon held out a napkin. She intended to at least clean his hand that had gotten dirty, but he did something unexpected.

Instead of wiping his hand on the napkin, Do Joon put the finger he had removed from Tae Yeon’s face directly into his mouth.

“Delicious.”

“Why did you…”

“I was curious what it tasted like since you were eating it so well. So this is the flavor.”

It felt strange. It was just wiping off some sauce, and yet.

The spot where Do Joon’s hand had touched still felt like it was burning.

When Do Joon started to cut the steak again, Tae Yeon grabbed his forearm.

He was a man who would do what he set out to do. Even if she tried to stop him now, he would probably cut up all the steak.

She had to make him uncomfortable in another way to get him to stop.

“I’ll… cut yours for you too.”

Busy feeding Tae Yeon, Do Joon hadn’t tasted a single bite of his steak as it was getting cold.

Do Joon raised one eyebrow, then readily handed his steak plate to Tae Yeon.

“If that’s what Jin Tae Yeon wants, by all means.”

‘This isn’t what I had in mind.’

The bewilderment that flashed across Tae Yeon’s face was brief.

Realizing Tae Jin was watching, she quickly moved her hands.

A couple feeding each other food.

She wasn’t sure if real couples actually behaved this way, but they had to act like a perfect couple with a great relationship.

Like Do Joon had done, Tae Yeon cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and picked up a piece with her fork.

Then, conscious of Tae Jin, she held the fork out in front of Do Joon’s mouth.

“Here…”

Do Joon smiled and opened his mouth to eat the steak Tae Yeon offered.

After savoring the taste, he spoke in a warm voice, conscious of Tae Jin.

“It tastes a bit different today.”

“You don’t like it?”

“No. I meant it’s much more delicious than usual because Jin Tae Yeon is feeding me.”

Do Joon’s dazzling gaze fixed on Tae Yeon’s face. Though it wasn’t anything special, for some reason her face suddenly flushed hot.

The meal ended with them feeding each other like that, completely excluding Tae Jin.

Do Joon spoke in a gentle voice to Tae Jin, who was showing clear signs of displeasure.

“Shall we get up now that we’ve finished eating?”

“Yes.”

As Tae Yeon was about to leave the room, Tae Jin called out to her. She linked arms with Tae Yeon and smiled at Do Joon.

“We haven’t seen each other in a while. We couldn’t talk much because Do Joon suddenly joined in. We’ll have coffee together before leaving.”

No sooner had those words ended than Do Joon scanned Tae Yeon’s face. For a brief moment, an uncomfortable expression flashed across Tae Yeon’s face.

Do Joon intertwined his fingers with Tae Yeon’s and pulled her forcefully towards him.

The arm that had been held by Tae Jin slipped free, and Tae Yeon ended up nestled in Do Joon’s arms.

“That won’t do. I want to be with Jin Tae Yeon too.”

“What?”

“I hope you can understand. As you know, we’re newlyweds.”

Tae Jin’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

Regardless, Do Joon held Tae Yeon’s hand and calmly left the room.

After the door closed with a thud, Tae Jin kicked the chair hard. A stinging pain shot through her foot, but that wasn’t important.

Deep in her heart, she was filled with irritation.

Not just at Jin Tae Yeon, but also at Cha Do Joon standing beside her.

“Did they think I invited them to dinner today just to watch that kind of affectionate display?”

Even fuming didn’t relieve her anger. Tae Jin quickly pulled out her phone and dialed a number.