Thanks to turning on the warm water right away, the shower booth filled with steam.

In addition, Se Eun’s breath was also rising.

“You want me… to open the door?”

“Of course. How can I hand you the body wash with the door closed?”

So that’s what he meant.

Calming her startled heart, Se Eun tried to answer calmly.

“I’ll take it if you leave it in front of the door.”

“Is that any way for a married couple to act? Hand to hand. Isn’t that the basic duty of spouses?”

It was an absurd sophistry, but there was no use resisting once Ki Sun Woo took this stance.

“…Alright. I’ll open it.”

Carefully tapping about 1cm at a time, Se Eun began to open the door.

It was a speed that would make a turtle cry, but it was to prevent the door from suddenly flinging open.

Finally, when there was enough space for a wrist to pass through, Se Eun gently extended her hand.

“Here, my hand.”

“Here, my hand too.”

“…?”

Se Eun trembled at the sudden sensation on her palm.

Though unseen, the feeling was vivid enough to make her shudder.

Soft soap bubbles, and long fingers enveloped in those bubbles.

Soon those fingertips tickled the center of Se Eun’s palm as if poking it.

“…!”

Startled, Se Eun quickly closed her palm while trying to hold back her rising breath.

His fingers then folded together, intertwining between Se Eun’s fingers.

It was the limit.

Due to the slippery soap bubbles, an excessively sensual energy swirled around their interlocked fingers.

“W-What are you doing!”

“Bubble play.”

Though she exclaimed as if about to jump, a nonchalant reply came back.

Unlike his actions, it was an incredibly innocent voice that was almost ridiculous.

“I’m washing Cho Bbang with bubbles right now, and it’s really fun. So I specially prepared some bubbles in advance. Ah, don’t worry. This isn’t Cho Bbang’s soap, it’s human body wash.”

“…You should give me the real body wash, not bubbles.”

“Of course I was going to. Here you go.”

In an instant, the sensual feeling dominating Se Eun’s palm disappeared.

Then he firmly placed the body wash bottle in her hand.

“I’m not sure if you’ll like the scent. We moved rooms in a hurry yesterday, so I couldn’t bring yours.”

“…Anything is fine. Just close the door quickly.”

“Alright. Yeon Se Eun, you try bubble play while showering too.”

“Bubble play…”

“It’s unexpectedly fun, I’m telling you. Cho Bbang seems to like my touch too, he’s smiling brightly.”

If she played this dangerous game twice, she might be found collapsed in the shower booth.

In the opposite speed of when she slowly opened the door earlier, Se Eun hurriedly closed it.

She wished there was a key to lock it tightly.

Thump thump, her heart pounded fiercely.

Se Eun grasped her helplessly trembling hand with her other hand.

The bubbles Sun Woo left on her palm were popping and evaporating.

But the sensation he just left behind refused to evaporate at all.

‘Cho Bbang seems to like my touch too, he’s smiling brightly.’

Why? The words he casually uttered hit Se Eun’s heart.

Was it from surprise? No, that wasn’t it.

“…”

Se Eun stared blankly at her palm where the bubbles were half gone.

When Ki Sun Woo’s touch met this palm just now…

Whoosh, Se Eun turned the water stream even stronger.

So that the rising steam could hide her.

She couldn’t bear how her cheeks, hands, chest, her whole body seemed to be turning red.

Could it be that I like that man?

She was perplexed.

Perplexed by the unfamiliar emotion, Se Eun stayed in the shower booth for a long time even after Ki Sun Woo finished washing Cho Bbang and left.

The lingering scent of Ki Sun Woo’s body wash seemed to tell her the answer.

*

After his first bath, Cho Bbang was truly reborn as an adorable puppy.

His especially large and bright black eyes looked just like black jade.

Se Eun couldn’t take her eyes off Cho Bbang.

And Sun Woo couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Recalling what happened in the bathroom, a corner of his heart kept aching.

When she cautiously opened the shower door and extended her slender arm out.

His intention to simply hand over the body wash disappeared in an instant.

The billowing steam and her pale, slender arm awakened some deep instinct in him.

It was possessiveness.

The desire to have that woman. To want her.

On top of that, an intense longing to embrace her right away.

So he wanted to take just as much as was allowed before his eyes.

He wanted to possess that soft, small hand even for a moment.

When he tickled her palm with his bubble-filled touch, Se Eun must have made surprised rabbit eyes.

He felt like he would go crazy wanting to see that lovely expression directly.

But Sun Woo knew.

That this much was all that was allowed to him right now.

In fact, he didn’t even deserve to want more.

“Ki Sun Woo, Ki Sun Woo! Did you hear?”

“Huh? What?”

Se Eun suddenly turned her head towards Sun Woo, who had been lost in useless thoughts.

She had been crouched down, admiringly observing Cho Bbang on the cushion.

With a big smile, she pointed at Cho Bbang.

“Cho Bbang just barked woof woof!”

“Dogs normally bark woof woof.”

“But he hadn’t barked even once until now. He only whimpered, but he barked for the first time. I should write it down.”

“Write it down?”

“Umm… on hanji paper?”

Laughter suddenly burst out. It was such a Yeon Se Eun-like idea.

She doesn’t even know how to smile at him, but she’s endlessly smiling at the baby Shih Tzu who entered this house later than him.

Suddenly feeling disgruntled, Sun Woo wanted to tease her.

“You must be happy, Yeon Se Eun. You just have to watch the show and eat the rice cake.”

“…Pardon?”

Se Eun’s lips moved awkwardly at the sudden remark.

She was in a state where she couldn’t quite retract her smile, nor continue it.

Seeing that, he felt the urge to do something for her.

“I’m the one feeding Cho Bbang milk, washing him, putting him to sleep, doing everything. Meanwhile, you’re just watching and grinning.”

“G-Grinning? I wasn’t grinning!”

“If not grinning, then how were you smiling?”

“Um… Like this…?”

Her clear cheeks dimpled and a bright dimpled smile was fired.

It was a fatally charming smile to be just for explanation.

“See? Not grinning… right?”

“Hmm. I suppose so.”

“Huh? But why am I smiling?”

Bewildered, Se Eun seemed to finally realize she’d been tricked and rubbed her cheeks.

“I’m joking. Seeing you, it seems like we’re raising Cho Bbang well.”

“Really… we are?”

“Yes. You’ve been so devoted to writing on hanji paper, wanting to raise him. It’s about time your wish came true.”

At the word ‘devoted’, Se Eun seemed to pout slightly.

But soon, at Cho Bbang’s bark from behind, dimples appeared on her face again.

How did he end up caring for Se Eun and now even a puppy?

It seemed to be getting farther and farther from the husband act he initially declared.

Doing housework every day, cooking, and now even cleaning up Cho Bbang’s poop.

A completely different world from complicated things like revenge or jealousy.

That was exactly this place, the house where he lived with Yeon Se Eun.

‘…It’s not bad.’

The fact that such a thought suddenly occurred to him felt a bit unfamiliar and strange to Sun Woo.

Yeon Se Eun. Her presence was clearly changing him.

*

The next day, Se Eun went to work as usual.

Since she now commuted in her own car, Sun Woo decided to stop by the department store on his way back after dropping her off.

Though uninterested in the family business, he had heard news of a pop-up store selling special limited edition desserts recently opening at Juha Department Store.

It was something Se Eun, who was lately obsessed with chocolate and bread, would really like.

“Let’s see. Strawberry chocolate, mint chocolate, green tea chocolate… Why are there so many types?”

“If it’s for a woman, wouldn’t strawberry be safe?”

“…!”

At the voice that suddenly intervened, Sun Woo slowly raised his body that had been bent towards the display case.

As expected, the protagonist of that unpleasant interference was Im Ryu Ryeong.

“Haa… What is it? Are you monitoring the department store CCTV? I’m suspicious you might be dispatching specially whenever Ki Sun Woo comes.”

“Regrettably, I don’t desire to meet you that desperately.”

“Then don’t act like you know me and just mind your own business. Neither of us wants to meet anyway.”

At Sun Woo’s sharp tone, Im Ryu Ryeong smiled faintly.

Then she elegantly instructed the sales clerk.

“Please wrap up one special large bestseller set here. This customer will take it.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Oh my, didn’t you come to buy?”

“I’ll buy with my own money, so please mind your own business and leave.”

“Why? You shopped happily with my card last time, but you don’t want to for this small change?”

Ha, a sigh escaped Sun Woo’s lips.

“That damn small, change. How much could it be. I’ll pay back everything. That clothes money.”

“How could you? It’s a gift for my daughter-in-law. I’m just saying this is also a small gift for my daughter-in-law, so accept it obediently.”

Sun Woo glared at this haughty new mother-in-law before him.

It had already been 8 years since she took the position of mistress of Juha.

She had not given up on ‘acting’ a good mother-son relationship with the second son who wasn’t even born from her womb.

“Ki Sun Woo. As I’ve said many times, I’m only trying to be a good mother to you.”

“You just want to be perfect. You don’t want to create any more flaws in your life plan. Unfortunately, I’m not fooled by such acting.”

Snickering, Im Ryu Ryeong looked at him with an inscrutable expression.

At last, she touched on a part that shouldn’t be touched.

“Do you still resent me over what happened to your mother?”