Do Joon very skillfully wrapped the scarf around Tae Yeon’s neck in a beautiful shape.

“Mr. Do Joon, it seems you’ve often put scarves on someone?”

It was a question similar to the one Do Joon had asked. She was both excited and nervous about the answer that would come from his mouth.

“No.”

Do Joon spoke in a firm voice.

“Whether you believe it or not is up to you, Jin Tae Yeon, but this is my first time.”

“It doesn’t seem like it?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment that there’s nothing I can’t do.”

Do Joon smiling slyly and Tae Yeon smiling shyly in front of him.

To anyone watching, they were a newlywed couple overflowing with love.

Lady Choi silently watched from the side, wearing a mother’s smile.

[This is the timeline separator]

On the way to the company.

Tae Yeon sat in the passenger seat and habitually took out her hand cream, then paused.

In a way, this hand cream was the source of last night’s incident.

Ever since hearing that strange statement about how her sweet scent stimulated Do Joon.

An absurd curiosity had consumed Tae Yeon.

Just as Tae Yeon was about to secretly put the hand cream in her handbag without applying it.

Do Joon’s hand suddenly appeared in front of Tae Yeon’s face.

“…”

When Tae Yeon looked up at Do Joon, he waved his hand and said,

“I’d like you to squeeze some on my hand too.”

“This?”

“Yes. That hand cream. The scent is really nice.”

Could he possibly remember last night’s events?

When Tae Yeon remained still, Do Joon waved once more as if his arm was getting tired.

“Surely you’re not stingy about putting hand cream on me?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Right. He’s just asking for hand cream.

Thinking that, Tae Yeon squeezed a long line of hand cream onto Do Joon’s large hand.

The hand cream fell in a circular shape on the back of Do Joon’s large hand.

When Tae Yeon only squeezed out the cream without applying it, Do Joon remained still with his hand outstretched, just like last night.

“As you can see, I have to keep one hand firmly on the steering wheel. Since you’ve already squeezed it out, won’t you apply it for me?”

It wasn’t a difficult task at all. Nevertheless, the memory of last night kept coming to mind, making it hard to reach out her hand.

“Jin Tae Yeon?”

“Ah, yes. I’ll apply it for you.”

Tae Yeon tried to touch Do Joon’s hand as little as possible, using only two fingers to gently rub the back of his hand.

The slipperiness of the hand cream mixed oddly with the feeling of caressing Do Joon’s soft skin.

Do Joon glanced at Tae Yeon from the side with a faint smile.

As she had noticed last night, Do Joon’s hands were particularly large. Yet they weren’t rough, and his skin was fair.

“Mr. Do Joon, your hands are really big.”

“It’s not just my hands that are big.”

“Ah…”

Tae Yeon bit her lip and laughed awkwardly.

“There must be a lot you don’t know about me yet, Jin Tae Yeon. As you can see, I’m tall, have a big heart, and also…”

Tae Yeon interrupted Do Joon mid-sentence.

“The tie! Are you satisfied with the tie I put on for you?”

Do Joon suppressed a laugh that was trying to escape.

Did she even realize that overreacting like that only made him want to tease her more?

Tae Yeon’s flustered appearance, with her cheeks turning red, was very cute.

Meanwhile, Tae Yeon confirmed that the hand cream was widely spread on Do Joon’s hand and patted the back of his hand a couple of times as if to say it was done.

Tae Yeon asked,

“This hand cream, should I buy one for you if you need it?”

If she gave one to Do Joon, he wouldn’t be able to ask her to apply it anymore.

However, the answer that came back was very firm.

“No.”

“Didn’t you need it?”

“Very occasionally. I’ll borrow Jin Tae Yeon’s whenever I need it.”

Tae Yeon chewed on her lower lip.

She should get rid of the hand cream or something, really.

She was suddenly afraid that if she kept it, she would find excuses to fiddle with Do Joon’s hands every day because of it.

Do Joon, who had been looking straight ahead while driving, seemed to have finished figuring out what Tae Yeon was thinking.

“It seems you’re quite reluctant to apply it on me.”

“That’s not it.”

“Alright. Even between spouses, there should be clear give and take.”

Do Joon nodded towards the glove compartment.

“I’ll repay you for lending me hand cream today with that. Open it and see.”

When Tae Yeon reached out and opened the glove compartment, inside was the chocolate she had eaten in the emergency stairwell before. Along with an ice pack.

“Oh? This is the chocolate you gave me before, Mr. Do Joon.”

“That’s right. Chocolate and hand cream. How about we exchange them whenever we need them?”

She couldn’t flatly refuse after he went this far.

When Tae Yeon nodded, Do Joon smiled, pulling up the corners of his mouth as if satisfied with the deal.

It was a barter that made their relationship even closer.

“How is your father-in-law these days?”

Only when she heard Do Joon’s words did Tae Yeon think about President Jin.

Surprisingly, since Do Joon’s warning, President Jin hadn’t contacted her even once.

Had there ever been a time when someone who used to send messages every hour was this quiet?

It seemed President Jin was holding back in order to receive investment from KK Group.

Tae Yeon looked at Do Joon with her eyes gently creased in gratitude.

“Come to think of it, he hasn’t been contacting me lately.”

“As it should be. To get what he wants.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you very grateful?”

“Yes.”

If it weren’t for Do Joon, she would have been sighing heavily with stress every day.

With President Jin’s obsession lessened, she could relax comfortably even after work these days. She could focus entirely on her own life.

That’s why she even engaged in ridiculous skinship with Do Joon last night.

Right on cue, Do Joon’s car arrived at the intersection where he always dropped Tae Yeon off.

As he slowed down the car, Do Joon said,

“If you’re that grateful, can you do me one favor while walking to the company after getting off?”

“Yes. What is it?”

The car came to a stop and Tae Yeon unbuckled her seatbelt with a click.

Do Joon’s low voice was heard.

“Since you’re walking anyway, walk while thinking about me a little.”

[This is the timeline separator]

At that time. Tae Yeon’s family home.

After hearing that they should leave Tae Yeon alone, President Jin and Chun Hye didn’t make any phone calls or send any messages to her.

“How long do we have to wait?”

They still hadn’t received any answer from Do Joon about whether he would invest or not.

President Jin, who was about to leave for work, called Hye Sook and raised his voice from the morning.

“Hasn’t there been any contact from Tae Yeon?”

“No.”

“You should at least ask Tae Yeon secretly. How Mr. Cha has been doing lately.”

“No, you said absolutely not to touch Tae Yeon.”

“Ha. Have I ever seen such a frustrating woman.”

President Jin lowered his voice and pressed Hye Sook.

“It’s not like Tae Yeon is stuck to Mr. Cha all day. Couldn’t you take advantage of that gap and make a phone call once?”

“Still…”

“I think Mr. Cha would go berserk if I pestered Tae Yeon.”

“You said he told me not to contact her either.”

President Jin clicked his tongue.

“A mother who visits her newlywed daughter’s home because she misses her. How much more motherly love could there be?”

President Jin laughed, seeming to find his own idea praiseworthy.

“It would be too strange if I went, so you go directly.”

President Jin threatened to go find out something from Tae Yeon and left the house.

Hye Sook was about to go crazy. How could he tell her not to call Tae Yeon directly and then demand she go get information?

As Hye Sook was letting out an empty sigh, feeling absurd, Tae Jin approached and sat down next to her.

Linking arms with Hye Sook, Tae Jin nestled into her embrace.

“Our mother, why is your expression so bad again today?”

“Sigh.”

“Why. What happened? Tell me.”

“They need to receive investment from KK Group, but it seems Mr. Cha hasn’t said anything yet.”

“What did Tae Yeon say?”

“Apparently Mr. Cha firmly told your father not to contact Tae Yeon.”

“What? It’s not like they’re separated, what kind of husband forbids contacting his beloved daughter?”

It was a fact known to all in the Jin family that Hye Sook’s attitude towards Tae Yeon was not love. However, they arbitrarily packaged it as love in their own way.

Tae Jin pouted her lips and took Hye Sook’s side.

“Our mother must have been very upset. But isn’t Tae Yeon too much? Can’t she make one phone call first herself?”

“They say raising children is all for nothing. Sigh.”

“Mom, then how about this?”

Tae Jin leaned close to Hye Sook’s ear and whispered something.

“Do we have to go that far?”

“It’s not like you’re making it yourself anyway, Mom.”

There was no other good idea that came to mind besides what Tae Jin had suggested.

Hye Sook reluctantly got up from her seat.

[This is the timeline separator]

Near the end of the workday, in front of KK Food’s building.

Hye Sook was lingering in front with something in her hand.

At that moment. A loud bang was heard from the smoking area located in the corner.

Hye Sook startled for a moment, then moved her steps towards the corner, curious about the sound.

“So who told you to covet a woman who’s taken? This guy’s completely lost his mind, hasn’t he?”

A group of rough-looking men were shouting at a skinny man they had cornered against the wall.

“If I see you near my wife again, there won’t be any mercy next time. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand. I won’t go near her ever again.”

The group that had been yelling at the man kneeling submissively and pleading went on their way, looking at him like he was vermin.

Hye Sook, who had been peeking as if enjoying an interesting spectacle, tilted her head after confirming the face of the man who had been kneeling and getting hit.

It was someone she had seen before.

Where had she seen him?

Hye Sook checked the employee ID hanging around the man’s neck.

KK Food New Business Team, Manager Chae Si Rak.

A familiar name.

Hye Sook, who had been trying to recall, let out a short scream.

“Oh?”

She remembered.

It was a man who shouldn’t be here.