“I never threw that dress away. I kept it in my old dressing room to take out when the season came. How could it have been thrown away?”

“Oh my, is that so?”

Seeing Seo Ha’s unsettling expression, Ok Soon fidgeted and needlessly dusted off the hem of the dress.

“I thought you were throwing it out because it was so worn. Our Seo Ha is a princess who only wears luxury brands. I didn’t know better. I’m sorry, dear.”

Even if it only cost a few dozen euros, it was a dress full of memories from her first world trip. That dress, which made Seo Ha happy every time she wore it, had gone to someone she didn’t know and returned soaked in fabric softener. In a greasy, stained chicken paper bag.

“Even if you thought that, you should have asked me. It’s not like I left it lying around anywhere. It was my dress in my dressing room.”

“That’s enough, sit down. Mom already said she made a mistake.”

Seung Oh stepped in with a slightly hardened face to settle the situation. Seo Ha resented her husband for not taking her side when he knew full well what that dress meant.

We’re going to fight when we get home.

Seo Ha vowed as she closed her mouth and was about to sit down.

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

Suddenly, Lee Ji Soo stood up and knelt in front of Seo Ha’s feet.

“I, I didn’t know it was the young lady’s dress when I wore it. The design was like that, and I heard you were married… It’s my fault, so don’t be angry with Aunt Soon. If, if I hadn’t gotten the clothes wet, nothing would have happened. I’m really sorry, I made a mistake, young lady.”

For Seo Ha, it was an incredibly awkward situation. If we were to assign blame, it was Ok Soon’s fault for giving away the clothes without permission, but what more could she say to Lee Ji Soo, who wore them without knowing anything?

“Why are you apologizing, Lee Ji Soo? Get up quickly.”

“It, it, it’s because of me that Aunt Soon took out the clothes and made you angry. So, so I’ll apologize. I, I’m really sorry.”

Now she was placing both hands on the floor and bowing her head repeatedly. She was stuttering even more than when she first greeted them.

“Stop it already! And why am I your ‘young lady’?”

Apology or not, Seo Ha’s voice rose as she just wanted to escape this situation quickly.

“Seo Ha.”

Seung Oh stood up and gently grasped Seo Ha’s wrist.

“She said she’s sorry. Don’t scold her when she’s even kneeling and apologizing. Just accept it.”

“When did I tell her to kneel?”

“Looking at your expression, even I would be scared and kneel first. It’s not Ji Soo’s fault, and in my opinion, you’ve been rude enough over one dress. My mom is no longer your housekeeper, she’s your mother-in-law now. Right?”

Suddenly, stress-induced migraine hit her. It was a headache that felt like something blunt was stirring from around her eyes. Seo Ha shook off Seung Oh’s hand and leaned on the chair’s backrest.

“Oh my, Seo Ha!”

Ok Soon rushed over to support Seo Ha.

“It’s your migraine again, isn’t it? Go up to your room and lie down. I’ll bring you medicine, take it and rest a bit, then go when Lady Sa arrives.”

“No, I think it’s better if I just go home and sleep.”

“You want to do that? Then wait just a moment. I’ll pack some pancake batter for you, fry it in a pan with plenty of oil when you get home.”

The sentiment was appreciated, but it wasn’t the situation to be worried about batter. As Seo Ha was about to shake her head, Seung Oh lightly touched her to stop her and answered instead.

“How can a princess fry pancakes? It’s fine.”

Seung Oh often called Seo Ha a princess. That word, which always made her feel good, strangely irritated her today.

“Let’s go for now. Honey, help me up.”

It was always Seung Oh’s job to take care of the sensitive and frail Seo Ha. Today too, Seo Ha believed without a doubt that she could return home holding Seung Oh’s large hand and relying on his strong arm.

But that belief was shattered by a single scream.

“Eeek!”

Lee Ji Soo lost her balance as she hurriedly stood up and fell over like the Little Mermaid.

“Ow ow ow…”

“Are you okay?”

The hand that always supported Seo Ha reached out to the fallen Lee Ji Soo. Lee Ji Soo hesitated for a moment, then took that hand to stand up and rushed over to Seo Ha.

“Young lady, please take the pancakes. You probably didn’t finish dinner. I feel bad for making you uncomfortable because of me…”

“It’s fine. I don’t like pancakes anyway.”

“Oh, I see… I’m sorry, young lady.”

Lee Ji Soo’s face turned as red as a radish. Seung Oh, who had been quietly watching, grabbed the entire unopened plastic bag.

“We’ll enjoy it, Ji Soo. It smells good.”

After helping Lee Ji Soo up and taking care of the pancakes, it was Seo Ha’s turn. Seo Ha sharply brushed off Seung Oh’s outstretched hand again and crossed the living room on her own.

It had been so enjoyable and exciting when they arrived. But now it felt like the bag of pancakes and the dress reeking of fabric softener had chewed up that happiness bit by bit.

No one spoke on the way home.

As soon as they returned, Seo Ha washed up briefly and lay down in bed. Seung Oh would probably come in soon. With herbal tea good for headaches in hand.

As Seo Ha expected, quiet footsteps approached and stopped beside the bed shortly after.

“Drink this.”

The scent of the herbal tea she often drank when her head hurt wafted around the bed.

“… Later.”

“It’s at just the right temperature now. Drink it and lie back down.”

Seung Oh gently lifted Seo Ha’s neck to help her sit up. He was the same as always – not very talkative and blunt, but always taking care of her meticulously. Seo Ha pretended to give in and took the warm teacup, taking a couple of sips.

“How do you feel?”

“Better than before.”

“Finish this. I’ll take you to the bathroom.”

While the teacup was being emptied, Seung Oh silently stayed by her side. It was the stable silence that Seo Ha loved.

“… Why did you do that earlier?”

Seo Ha asked quietly after finishing the herbal tea.

“You know I cherish that dress. It was obvious I’d be upset, but you didn’t take my side. I was hurt when you helped Lee Ji Soo up first even though I said my head hurt. And what hurt the most was that you don’t smile much when you’re with me, but you laughed so loudly when Lee Ji Soo spoke.”

Seung Oh took the empty teacup and set it aside. His touch on Seo Ha’s slightly thin shoulders was seemingly indifferent yet warm.

“I’m sorry.”

“Is that all?”

“If I had taken your side there, I was worried Mom would feel hurt and not like you anymore. I helped Lee Ji Soo up first because I was startled when someone fell in front of me and reacted instinctively. I’m sorry for laughing too. I just laughed because the word was funny. That’s all.”

The hand that had been touching her shoulder slowly wrapped around Seo Ha and pulled her close. Seo Ha took a deep breath, trying to shake off the hurt and discomfort from earlier as she nestled into Seung Oh’s broad, warm embrace.

“Be careful from now on.”

“Of course I’ll be careful. My beloved princess.”

“There you go with ‘princess’ again.”

“What’s wrong with that? I plan to serve Yoon Seo Ha as my princess for life.”

The word ‘princess’ became pleasant again. Seo Ha hugged Seung Oh’s waist as if sulking and buried her face deeper.

“I love you. Really, so much.”

“I love you too.”

There was no way to know the expression on Seung Oh’s face as he gently stroked her hair and replied.

Seo Ha was in a very good mood. She had woken up for no reason in the early dawn, and suddenly an amazing design popped into her head. She couldn’t sleep since then as she was busy visualizing and sketching the design in her mind, but excitement outweighed fatigue.

“Get some sleep on the way to work. You said you woke up at 3 AM yesterday.”

Seung Oh said as he started the car.

“I’m too excited to sleep. This is a completely new design. It’ll become the signature of my brand.”

“Hmm.”

That was the extent of his reaction. Disappointingly.

“Aren’t you going to congratulate me? You know I’ve been depressed lately because I couldn’t come up with designs.”

“It’s not like it’s anything new. You’re always good at everything, so if I were to congratulate you on each thing, there’d be no end to it.”

“This time it wouldn’t be too much even if you congratulated me a hundred times. It’s not like I come up with designs that I like this much very often.”

“Alright, alright. Congratulations. Princess.”

Seung Oh reached out a hand and patted Seo Ha’s head. It didn’t feel particularly great to receive such a perfunctory response.

Their commute was always similar.

Unless something came up, they took the same car to ‘Kang Yoon Company’. Seo Ha, the designer, got off on the 3rd floor where Design Team 1 was located, while Seung Oh, the management director, got off on the 5th floor where the management support department was. Everyone knew that someday this couple, who had built up their skills and experience, would inherit this company.

“Are you going up to the CEO’s office?”

Seung Oh asked, seeing Seo Ha press the top floor button instead of the usual 3rd floor.

“Yeah. I want to show him right away.”

Seo Ha said proudly, clutching the design book she had filled last night. It was a treasure-like design that she had created after overcoming a slump that lasted several months.

“Should I go with you? I’m curious too.”

“You know that’s absolutely not allowed, right?”

Business is business, and love is love. How could she reveal the signature of a new brand launching under designer Yoon Seo Ha’s name and career before sample production?

Seo Ha went up to the CEO’s office alone, hugging the design book tightly. Just as she was about to raise one hand to knock lightly, suddenly the door swung open from the inside.

“Ah!”

Startled, Seo Ha stepped back abruptly. Her hand, which almost hit the doorknob, loosened its grip and the design book fell open with a thud.

“Oh. My.”

The person who came out from inside picked up the fallen design book and dusted it off with not particularly sincere hand movements.

It was a tall man with broad shoulders, dressed in a suit. His slim build and slightly slanted eyes without double eyelids, combined with his fair skin, gave a cold and prickly impression. If it was an employee who might come out of the CEO’s office, Seo Ha should know him, but no matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t remember who this man was.

“Is this your possession?”

The man asked, as if throwing the words. Seo Ha didn’t want to answer that vaguely rude question, so she just held out her hand. Apart from rudeness, it was now time for him to apologize and return the design book he had picked up to Seo Ha, if he was a human with normal thinking.

“…”

He stood still, looking at Seo Ha with what seemed like an observing gaze. It was behavior somewhat far from the ‘normal person’ Seo Ha had in mind.