Secret Cohabitation Love - Chapter 17

Her heaving chest swelled greatly. Each time it did, the man’s gaze looking at her shook fiercely.

His words were heavy. His body pressing down on her was heavy.

Above all, his gaze was heavy.

Eun Seo looks at the smoldering eyes that seem about to devour her, breathing heavily. Even if she wanted to avoid it, she couldn’t move, bound by his gaze.

The sound of breath filling her chest tightly was rough. The strong grip of the man’s hand on her wrist and the pressure of his rock-like weight pressing down on her lower waist.

There was no escape route that allowed her to move her body.

Neither wrist nor waist, not even a single eyelash had a way to escape this swamp.

“When I warn you, listen.”

His voice is as calm as the eye of a typhoon, but a storm rages in his eyes.

“Get up.”

Tae Ha reached out a hand to help Eun Seo up. Eun Seo, who had barely managed to sit up with her hands on the floor, felt her leg strength completely drained and couldn’t even attempt to stand.

“Forget the coffee.”

* * *

Tae Ha closed the door and walked towards the bathroom, pulling off his knit shirt. His firm abs were already flushed with arousal.

But that wasn’t the problem. The more fundamental issue was lower down.

Born as a man, he felt his existence most strongly today. An unfamiliar sensation he had never experienced in his life.

Am I going crazy?

Ha.

Tae Ha entered the bathroom and lifted the shower lever. He needed cold water to cool his angry muscles that had swollen on their own. A stream of water to cool this heat as quickly as possible.

But because of that face that came to mind whenever it started to subside, because of those lips he wanted to devour whole.

Completely insane.

The twitching muscle simply would not fall asleep.

* * *

Two, exactly two again.

Tae Ha was already seated in the dining room, neatly dressed in a shirt and pants. The dining room, still without Jung Woo or Woo Young, belonged to Tae Ha and Eun Seo.

If I had known it would be like this, I should have slept in.

As soon as she set foot in the dining room, Eun Seo was seized by the urge to slink backwards.

Even after a day had passed, both wrists that had been grabbed by him still felt hot.

Tae Ha watches her turtle-like movements with languid eyes.

How many minutes will it take her to sit down? Will she make it before lunch?

Eun Seo’s bowing figure didn’t look particularly graceful.

Unlike himself, that woman was too clearheaded.

“Sit down.”

“Did you sleep well?”

Did I sleep well… Do I look like I slept well to you?

“As you can see.”

Though Tae Ha’s eyes and mouth give different answers, Eun Seo took his words at face value.

“That’s good. I was worried you might have gotten burned.”

If you were that worried, shouldn’t you have knocked at least once?

“Thank you for worrying.”

“Did the nurse treat you?”

I did it myself. By myself.

“Let’s just eat.”

In front of the two seated opposite each other, small cute pots and several side dishes were placed.

Pretty colored dishes, clean wooden table with individual meal settings.

Eun Seo, still not used to it, first scans with her eyes to take it in.

How long will she be able to enjoy such luxury?

Catching Eun Seo’s bewildered expression and clasped hands, Tae Ha opened the lid of his pot. Then he scooped some rice into another bowl and added a spoonful of soy sauce.

Watching his actions intently, Eun Seo followed suit and opened the lid. On top of the white rice with oil glistening, there were pieces of abalone and two slices of white fish.

“It’s sea bream and abalone rice.”

Seeing Eun Seo with her eyes fixed inside the pot without picking up her spoon even after opening the lid, Tae Ha asked further.

“Why are you just sitting there?”

“It’s my first time, with sea bream. I’ve never seen it before.”

Should I take her to an aquarium?

Tae Ha stared blankly at her face full of wonder as he poured hot water into the pot.

Eun Seo gently flaked the sea bream meat as he had done. Then she added seasoning sauce and lightly mixed the rice. And again following his actions, she poured hot water into the pot with only the scorched rice remaining.

Somehow each of Tae Ha’s actions seemed calm and slow, as if conscious of her.

“I’m on vacation for a while. So until Song Eun Seo starts working, buy any necessary items.”

“Yes.”

“You’ll need books too. And cosmetics if you’re going to work.”

Eun Seo touched her cheek at the mention of cosmetics. Come to think of it, she didn’t have even one lotion left.

“As for the card.”

Tae Ha put down his spoon and placed a prepared card on the table, then slid it towards Eun Seo with his index finger.

“It’s an employee card. Don’t feel burdened, it’s not just for you. Go shopping with the nurse or Chae Won.”

“Chae Won?”

“She’s Woo Young’s sister. You won’t be bored since you’re about the same age.”

Eun Seo nodded slowly and tasted the white sea bream meat first. The mild flesh melted in her mouth.

For the first time since coming to this house, the food went down well.

“It’s delicious.”

* * *

After finishing a few days of business travel, Woo Young’s car entered the parking lot of Dong Taek.

Thanks to regular exercise, he was able to endure roaming all over the countryside of Gangwon-do. And above all, he had important information to give to Tae Ha.

The first thing he discovered as soon as he entered the living room was unexpectedly Eun Seo.

Woo Young was quite surprised to see Eun Seo, whom he thought had left, still at home and even in very comfortable track suit attire.

“You’re back?”

Her face was also brighter, unlike before.

“Yes. Did Eun Seo have a good time too?”

Woo Young asked kindly as he changed into slippers.

“I was fine. Kwon Tae Ha, no, the CEO…”

“The CEO?”

“Yes. He told me to work under the CEO.”

“Tae Ha did?”

“He said Chief Choi has too much work, so I need to help Chief Choi.”

“Well, that’s fine with me. Between company work and personal matters, I was running out of time. We’ll divide up the tasks later then.”

“Yes, have you eaten yet?”

Eun Seo asked since it was too late for breakfast but too early for lunch.

“I ate at a rest stop. Thanks for asking.”

“Come up if you’re back.”

It was Tae Ha’s voice. Sometime when he had gone up to the second floor, he was leaning casually on the balcony railing looking down.

“I’ll go. The boss is calling. We’re in the same boat from today.”

Woo Young lightly clenched his fist and said “Fighting” softly before taking his suitcase to the elevator.

* * *

Woo Young took out several paper bundles and memos from his bag and placed them on the table.

“I met all the witnesses listed on the marriage registration. They’re all residents of where Song Eun Seo used to live.”

All the witnesses were real people.

“They weren’t close with Song Bok Soon or had any interaction, but one day she suddenly came and asked them to be witnesses for her granddaughter’s marriage. At first they thought it was strange and didn’t want to help, but when she pleaded that she doesn’t get along with the people in her current village and as you know has no relatives, they had no choice but to help.”

If she had looked for witnesses from somewhere other than Sol Nae Village, it was possible she had done it without Song Eun Seo knowing. If rumors had spread in the village, Song Eun Seo might have found out.

Tae Ha lends weight to that possibility.

“Anyway, I heard something this time that the grandmother’s condition wasn’t that bad. Sometimes she was even quite lucid. And around the time she died, she showed symptoms of Lewy body dementia.”

“Lewy body? What’s that?”

“Hallucinations, visual hallucinations, auditory hallucinations. Of course, people with Alzheimer’s can have them too. Should I look into it more?”

Tae Ha rubbed his brow slowly, lost in thought.

“Let’s leave it at that for now. You must be tired, go rest.”

Tae Ha left Woo Young and walked towards the door. Then he turned back.

“Oh, Song Eun Seo, I hired her. I’m planning to keep her as a temporary employee for now. The problem is if Father finds out about the marriage, Song Eun Seo is dead.”

Understanding the implied meaning of ‘dead’, Woo Young nodded firmly.

“Even if not right now, he’ll try to find out about Eun Seo someday. So…”

“Yes?”

“Let’s make Song Eun Seo’s address your house.”

Although Woo Young currently lived with Tae Ha, he had a separate house in Seoul where his sister was currently living.

In other words, he was saying to move her residence and prepare the documents perfectly. If the address was in one place, Chairman Kwon would eventually see the word ‘spouse’ clearly.

“Alright. That much is no problem.”

As Woo Young nodded, his phone rang. It was his father, Mr. Choi.

* * *

On the rocky coast of Geoje, three fishermen are in the midst of winter rock fishing.

Despite the bright weather, Mr. Choi’s expression was particularly gloomy. He was so preoccupied that he couldn’t even properly watch his fishing rod getting bites.

After fiddling with his phone several times, he finally called his son.

“Woo Young?”

− Yes, Father, are you enjoying your trip?

“Of course, I’m enjoying it. I’m calling while fishing right now.”

− Did you catch anything?

“Rockfish, what else. About 30 centimeters I’d say.”

− Oh, you caught a big one. But why the unexpected call?

“Just wondering if everyone is doing well.”

− The house is the same as always.

“You’re not sick anywhere?”

− No. How about you, Father?

“I’m fine too. By any chance… is Tae Ha alright?”

− Tae Ha? Alright?

“I mean, is he okay since getting hurt skiing?”

− Oh, that. The injury has all healed. Though he collapsed recently, whether from stress or not, he got up right after getting an IV.

“Oh dear. Does the Chairman know?”

− He does.

“He must have been very worried.”

− Of course. The Chairman is particularly sensitive about Tae Ha’s health.

“That’s right, but there’s nothing else besides that, right?”

− It sounds like you’re hoping for something else.

“What kind of talk is that.”

− I’m joking, joking. When will you be back?

“Well, it looks like it’ll take longer. There are so many places in our country I haven’t been to yet.”

Gardener Choi worked as Hong Ji Soo’s driver even before Tae Ha was born, and after learning gardening skills, he stayed at Seo Taek working as a gardener.

And currently, Mr. Choi was traveling around the country, saying he had worked for 35 years without rest. The vacation had started after Tae Ha got hurt.

“Choi! You’ve got a bite!”

At the urgent call of someone cooking ramen nearby, Mr. Choi hung up the phone.

“Let’s end the call. I have to catch fish.”

However, his expression after hanging up was still not bright.

‘Should I not have agreed to that old woman’s request? This is what I get for no reason. Can’t even go home.’

A few months ago, Song Bok Soon had come looking for Mr. Choi. To be precise, she hadn’t come looking for him. They had just happened to run into each other, the old woman wasn’t exactly looking for Mr. Choi specifically.

Over 20 years had passed, and though wrinkles had increased on their faces, they recognized each other immediately.

Even if it was just one day, just a few hours, that spring 23 years ago, that day was a powerful memory that defied the passage of time.

Song Bok Soon said she had paced in front of Chairman Kwon’s house several times. And that day, she had run into him as he was going from Seo Taek to tend to Dong Taek’s garden.

‘I should not have run into that old woman that day.’

Why She Is Still Unmoved (Female-dominant)

One-line summary: He uses various methods to seek her affection, but she remains unmoved.

Synopsis:

Si Qingyu is a doctor who has saved countless lives and enjoys tranquility.

Luo Shaoxuan is ruthless, deeply scheming, and the top young master in the capital. He admires Si Qingyu.

Luo Shaoxuan: I want to be the only one in your eyes and heart.

Features a cold and calm female lead vs A noble and scheming male lead.

There will be both sweetness and torture towards the male after their marriage.