“Mr. Ki Sun Woo. Thank you for… that mood light yesterday.”

“Ah, that.”

In the passenger seat, Se Eun fidgeted with her hands as she shyly spoke up.

It was strange.

For as long as she could remember, she had never been able to sleep comfortably at night.

When she was young, she could only fall asleep with the lights on brightly, and over time, she barely managed to sleep with the curtains open.

Whenever she was alone in a room with pitch darkness settling in, she always felt like she was back at the scene of that night’s accident.

In that darkness where nothing could be seen, only coldness seeped into her small body instead of signs of life on that day.

But today, when she woke up after sleeping soundly, she found the curtains tightly closed.

Instead, a cute rabbit pounding rice in a mortar was softly illuminating her bedside.

“But… why a rabbit?”

“Huh?”

“You keep saying rabbit, rabbit to me. You called it a rabbit fur coat, the mood light is rabbit-shaped, and… also…”

“What? Go on, keep talking.”

A playful smile briefly floated across Sun Woo’s profile.

As if he knew what Se Eun was going to ask.

Seeing that expression, it seemed she should give up asking nonchalantly after all.

Why he called her “my rabbit” – that was actually what she was most curious about.

Even though she pressed her lips tightly shut, Sun Woo seemed to have guessed Se Eun’s true thoughts.

“If you’re curious, Miss Yeon Se Eun, just look in the mirror.”

“The mirror?”

Tilting her head, Se Eun quietly gazed at the mirror at eye level.

But she couldn’t understand what on earth Sun Woo was talking about.

He didn’t seem inclined to explain properly and soon changed the subject.

“I’m curious about something too – when did you start going to the hospital?”

“Huh? The hospital…”

It was strange indeed.

Until just recently, if such a question came up, the words “don’t worry about it” would automatically pop out of her mouth.

Now she didn’t feel that way at all.

It was because she realized how hurtful it was to the listener when Sun Woo told her not to worry about him a few days ago.

“I’ve been going since the accident happened. The attending physician is an old friend of my mother’s.”

“You’ve been going for 20 years already? Was the leg injury severe? For having had rehabilitation treatment for so long, you still seem uncomfortable. Were there no other pains?”

Se Eun felt bewildered by the sudden barrage of questions.

Ki Sun Woo was boldly crossing the slightly crumbled line, rushing headlong into her territory.

As she was contemplating how to explain, they had already arrived at the hospital entrance.

Fortunately. It was too complicated a story to unravel right away.

“Ah, we’re here.”

“Perfect timing.”

As expected, Sun Woo followed her into the examination room.

Since she had anticipated it anyway, Se Eun didn’t try to stop him.

Instead, she had arranged things in advance with the attending physician.

To not reveal that she was receiving head treatment, she asked to just have regular physical therapy for her leg today.

After briefly exchanging greetings with Sun Woo as well, the attending physician inquired about Se Eun’s condition.

It was routine, but today the content was a bit different.

“My ankle feels a bit lighter. It’s like… it’s a bit more comfortable when I walk…”

“That’s good news. How about the pain?”

“Come to think of it, the frequency of pain has decreased too.”

“Then let’s just do some simple physical therapy today.”

“Okay.”

Se Eun followed the nurse into the physical therapy room.

But Sun Woo didn’t get up from his seat.

The attending physician looked at him questioningly before speaking.

“Did you have something else to say?”

“Dr. Kang Hoon Seok. Can my wife’s leg be cured?”

“…”

The blunt question left Dr. Kang at a loss for words.

It was clearly different from the usual “can they get better” tone of a patient’s family member, almost as if he was testing him.

“I heard she’s been receiving treatment for 20 years. It seems there’s too little improvement for such a long period – what’s the problem? I’d like to know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Mr. Ki Sun Woo… hasn’t Se Eun told you anything separately?”

“Told me anything separately?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Thinking he nearly misspoke, Dr. Kang casually flipped through the chart.

Recently, every time Se Eun came to the hospital, he had been carefully observing her mentions of her sudden husband.

At first she couldn’t hide her anxiety, but at some point her eyes started to sparkle whenever she brought up the name “Ki Sun Woo”.

He sensed a positive change, and indeed her leg condition was improving as well.

However, he felt it was still too early to fully trust this man before him.

After Chairman Ko San forcibly married off Se Eun, he looked into it himself out of concern.

The descriptors that followed the name Ki Sun Woo were quite colorful.

Trash, debauchee, abandoned prince…

But facing him like this, there was one thing he could be certain of.

Whether this man was a good person or a bad person, his concern for Se Eun was genuine.

This expression of being so upset by his opinion could not possibly be an act.

He had encountered many such faces while meeting countless patients here.

It was exactly the face of someone who wished they could be sick instead.

Suddenly, he became curious what kind of face this man would make if he knew Se Eun’s leg issue was due to psychological factors.

“Is there anything that can be done at home? Since she’s receiving physical therapy, like massage or…”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“…Pardon?”

“Just, please make Se Eun feel comfortable. That’s enough.”

“Comfortable?”

“Yes. That’s what Se Eun needs most, and what’s most important.”

Though puzzling, it made some sense, so Sun Woo nodded.

For any patient, he knew better than anyone the importance of the role of family members providing care.

If his father had fulfilled his role, his mother would not have met such a lonely and tragic death.

So Sun Woo answered in a resolute voice.

“I’ll do that. Please continue to take good care of my wife.”

*

“Wow…. I had no idea there was such a pretty place near the hospital!”

“There are many cafes like this everywhere, not just near the hospital.”

Even though it was just an ordinary small cafe, not a famous place at all, Se Eun was busy looking around with wide eyes.

An ordinary woman in her 20s would have come to places like this to chat with friends, or go on dates and such as part of daily life.

Moreover, Yeon Se Eun was the granddaughter of Ko San, Korea’s top company.

Thinking that she had not been able to enjoy any of the things she rightfully should have, instead living locked away, anger welled up anew in Sun Woo’s chest.

At the same time, along with the desire to lavish her with everything endlessly.

And that feeling was fully revealed in the number of desserts heaped before Se Eun.

“Isn’t this too much, Mr. Ki Sun Woo? There are just two of us, but… ten desserts?”

“We can take the leftovers home. You kept eyeing them longingly just now.”

“Wh-when did I? I just thought they looked pretty…”

“If it looks pretty to you, buy it all. There’s no need to worry about small things like this. Not anymore.”

Se Eun gazed at Sun Woo steadily.

Since leaving the hospital earlier, some deep emotion had been dwelling in his eyes.

A gaze that was difficult to read easily, yet somehow made her want to lean on him.

“Okay. But I’ll only have one drink.”

“Alright. Shall we sit and have it before we go? The sunlight is nice for once.”

“Sounds good. Oh? That spot! It’s so pretty.”

Se Eun pointed to an empty seat in the innermost part of the cafe.

It was a floor seating area with a small wooden table.

“Perfect timing. There’s something I wanted to do for you while sitting.”

“Huh? Uh…”

Sun Woo quickly took her hand and led her to that spot.

A moment later, Se Eun was sipping freshly made grapefruit juice in the sunlight.

That’s when it happened.

A strange sensation was felt under her skirt covering her ankle.

Startled, she looked down to find Sun Woo placing his hand on her ankle as if he had been waiting for this.

“Wh-what are you doing, Mr. Ki Sun Woo?”

“I heard from the doctor earlier that it’s good to touch it like this often.”

“Touch…”

Unable to finish her sentence, Se Eun’s cheeks flushed bright red.

Even if there weren’t many customers, it was still outside, and it was too intimate a comment.

“Hmm. Seeing your cheeks turn red, it seems Miss Yeon Se Eun is having strange thoughts again on her own.”

“N-no, I’m not!”

Chuckling lightly, Sun Woo gently stroked between Se Eun’s ankle and calf.

It seemed he was trying to give her a massage.

“Physical therapy is done by machines, but it’ll be even better if your husband touches you directly like this.”

“…You don’t have to.”

“Yeon Se Eun. If by any chance…”

“Yes?”

For a moment, it seemed a deep concern flashed across Sun Woo’s light eyes.

Eventually, he deliberately pushed away that concern and continued speaking nonchalantly.

However, in his fingertips stroking her ankle, deep emotion still lingered.

“Even if your leg continues to be uncomfortable, don’t worry too much. I’ll become your legs from now on. There won’t be anything you can’t do because of your leg, whether it’s going somewhere you want to go or doing something you want to do.”

“Mr. Ki Sun Woo…”

“I promise. I mean it.”

Crunch, the cookie she had put in her mouth crumbled.

Caught off guard by the unexpected promise, Se Eun couldn’t find words to respond.

This uncomfortable leg had been her long-standing defense mechanism.

She had firmly believed that if she couldn’t atone for her parents’ deaths, she should at least bear this pain.

She had strongly felt that it was the price for surviving alone.

But he was making such a heartfelt vow without knowing the secret of her leg, and she felt grateful yet sorry.

At the same time, for the first time, the urge to honestly confess welled up.

That in fact, the pain in this ankle was like an illusion, that there were no aftereffects.

This secret that she could never tell anyone for her entire life.