Secret Cohabitation Love (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
It was 9 p.m. when Tae Ha entered Itaewon-ro.
As he drove up a gentle hill lined with long, fortress-like walls, his phone rang.
The number on the screen belonged to the residential security agent he’d secretly assigned to tail Eun Seo. Fortunately, despite sticking close to her for over half a day, she hadn’t noticed his presence at all.
Of course. Her daily life was worlds away from surveillance, and his agent was the very best of the best.
“Report.”
– Ms. Song Eun Seo has just arrived in front of her house. She visited three law offices, then checked out two shared houses and seven goshiwons.
“Goshiwons?”
– I’ll give you a precise report once I see you in person.
“Alright. End tracking and head home. I’ll receive your full report tomorrow. Good work.”
Law offices.
Predictable moves. She must’ve been researching how to file an annulment suit and looking for ways to complete it smoothly without being labeled a scammer.
Yet the shared houses and goshiwons were unexpected—he’d assumed she’d at least look into officetels.
Did she really not have enough money for even a studio? What was she so short on?
The car was nearly at the top of the hill. The entrance to the parking lot lay just past the main gate, around a curve. But someone stood right in front of the gate.
An utterly out-of-place sight rarely seen near his house.
Hesitating by the intercom, raising and lowering her arm, unable to make up her mind. She even stood on tiptoes once and tilted her head this way and that in confusion.
As if that could possibly let her see over such a tall wall.
She couldn’t just walk in like the owner, yet calling herself a guest would make her seem more like an uninvited intruder.
And if someone actually asked who she was, she likely had no plausible excuse ready. Since most of the staff didn’t know of her existence yet, she couldn’t introduce herself as Song Eun Seo, nor could she admit to being a scammer.
He understood completely—more than enough.
“Pull over.”
Driver Kim wordlessly stopped the car.
“I’ll get out here. You can head home for the day.”
“Yes, President. Have a pleasant evening. I’ll see you again tomorrow morning.”
Tae Ha stepped out, holding four shopping bags.
Inside them were four pairs of boots ranging from size 225 to 240—the result of his final decision after realizing he didn’t know Eun Seo’s exact shoe size.
Drawn by the bright light spilling from behind, Eun Seo turned around, shielding her eyes with the back of her hand. Standing diagonally opposite her was a man of striking height.
His face was shadowed by backlighting, making it hard to discern, yet his presence alone made his identity unmistakable.
Broad, perfectly aligned shoulders; a balanced, poised posture so flawless he could easily model for a spine-specialty hospital’s X-ray brochure.
Above all, there was something about him that felt utterly untouchable.
“Press the bell. I’ll let the house know you’re here. Just don’t draw too much attention.”
“Are you only arriving now?”
“Yes. Work just ended. Go in.”
Tae Ha walked past Eun Seo and opened the gate.
Behind him, the gate closed with a soft click, followed by the sound of footsteps treading irregular stepping stones through the tranquil garden.
Thud… thud… The dragging, weary shuffle of a woman’s tired feet, each step heavy as if stuck to the ground.
How many hours had she walked already?
Tae Ha slowed his pace to let her catch up. When he glanced back, she gave him a look that clearly said, “Why are you staring?”
Making people uncomfortable.
He faced forward again and kept walking.
Guided by the subtle ground lights illuminating the dark garden, two shadows moved slowly toward the same destination, maintaining a steady distance between them.
Eun Seo had no time to admire the garden—she simply followed Tae Ha. Since she’d entered the house differently than yesterday, she had no choice but to trail behind him.
Her legs ached and felt leaden as she walked slowly, and he turned back again—this time with an impatient look that plainly said, “Hurry up already.”
She was exhausted to death.
Beyond a low doorframe, he opened the door to reveal a space entirely different from yesterday’s entrance hall. Though clearly the same building, if yesterday’s had been the back entrance, this was unmistakably the main one.
Calling it an entrance hall was generous—it was more like a spacious reception or waiting room.
Tae Ha removed his shoes, and Eun Seo followed suit. His eyes slowly drifted to her footwear.
Unlike this morning, the dirt speckles that had been scattered across her shoes were now cleaned away; though worn, they looked neat—she must have polished them before heading out.
Leisurely, Tae Ha knelt and flipped one of her boots over. The number faintly printed on the sole clearly read 225.
225. Were her feet really that small? Could she even walk properly on feet that tiny?
A quiet, amused chuckle escaped him. Of course she could—she’d just walked for hours, after all.
From the shopping bag containing the size 225 boots, Tae Ha pulled out a box.
It wasn’t quite a “gift”—too awkward to simply hand over, and the word “gift” itself felt overly grand for the gesture.
He took out a pair of black boots from the box and placed them neatly beside her worn shoes.
Eun Seo stared blankly at the scene as if witnessing some solemn ritual, utterly unable to guess his intention.
He’d turned her shoe over to check the sole, then pulled a brand-new pair from among several shopping bags and set them beside her old ones.
Those boots were far too small, too dainty for him to possibly wear himself.
Yet to suspect he’d bought them for her seemed utterly absurd, didn’t it?
Tae Ha straightened his knees and stood. He could feel Eun Seo’s peculiar gaze fixed on him.
“They’re for you, Ms. Song Eun Seo. It seems your luggage hasn’t fully arrived yet. You can’t keep wearing just those shoes.”
“For me?”
Even at a glance, they were clearly high-quality shoes. To Eun Seo, who habitually chose cheaper options, these boots looked completely unlike anything she owned.
Moreover, people who’d ever bought things for her could be counted on one hand.
So was he perhaps the tenth person to do so?
Eun Seo stared mutely at her old shoes sitting in the entrance hall. In her mind’s eye, she could instantly picture how she appeared through his eyes.
“I made a mess of your entrance.”
Her expression was tangled with both apology and embarrassment. And that look scratched deeply—painfully—at something buried far beneath Tae Ha’s composure.
Her face revealed shame, yet she couldn’t bear to hide it—and then she actually voiced it aloud? What a strange woman.
“Why do you keep treating wrong answers as if they’re correct? Is that some kind of defense mechanism?”
“If it’s not that… then why? …Do you pity me?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if you feel sorry for me.”
Her tone wasn’t accusatory—just genuinely curious.
“Pity? I don’t have any of that. ‘Pity’ isn’t exactly a virtue for someone in business.”
Tae Ha replied with a distinctly professional expression.
“Then why are you doing this?”
“So you’ll have proper shoes if you decide to run away. Even if I catch you later, I’d feel better knowing you didn’t have to crawl while I got to run. That wouldn’t be fair.”
“That’s pity.”
He apparently didn’t realize that was just another way of expressing “pity.”
“I don’t get upset about pity. I’m quite used to that kind of look. In fact, I respect that emotion—it’s saved me more than once.”
“I just said it’s not pity. Why do you insist on judging someone else’s feelings however you please?”
“I hardly ever receive gifts, so I don’t know how to refuse them properly. I’d like to decline, but my situation doesn’t allow it. This might be shameless of me, but… thank you.”
If he showed this much consideration toward someone he firmly believed was a scammer, he was either an angel who’d had his wings torn off—or just incredibly naive.
Eun Seo put on the boots as a gesture of gratitude for his kindness. She knew he’d feel most satisfied if she tried them on right in front of him and showed genuine delight.
Unlike Cinderella’s slipper, they didn’t slide on dramatically—but they fit perfectly.
He must have eyes blessed by the gods. She could already feel the cozy warmth of the soft fur lining hugging her ankles.
“I like them. They’re beautiful.”
Eun Seo smiled broadly, lifting the corners of her mouth.
Actually, it seemed to happen on its own. As she did, two distinct dimples appeared at the ends of her smile, as if poked by a sharp needle.
“You have dimples.”
At his low voice brushing her forehead, Eun Seo blinked, eyes rounding in surprise.
“You didn’t know?”
“We’ve only known each other for four days.”
“Oh, right. That’s true.”
Eun Seo gave a flustered smile, tinged with a blush.
He hadn’t even been looking at her with particular interest—how could the dimples of a woman he’d only met four days ago possibly catch his eye?
“It’s the first time I’ve seen you smile.”
Eun Seo watched, slightly dazed, as his solid back disappeared effortlessly before her.
For some reason, it almost seemed as if he had wings.
* * *
A high-rise apartment on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York.
Jung Woo closed his laptop, picked up a can of beer, and gazed down at the dazzling, seemingly eternal street below.
At times like this, he always felt like a successful entrepreneur—yet precisely because reality contradicted that feeling, his ambition burned even fiercer.
He glanced at the watch on his wrist and called Chairman Kwon, who had likely just finished his round of golf.
“Uncle, it’s Jung Woo. How was your game today?”
– It’s not much fun anymore. Just… ordinary.
“Why’s that?”
– It feels like everyone’s letting me win. Winning constantly gets boring too. You only try your best and feel competitive when there’s real tension.
“That sounds like a high-class problem.”
– You rascal.
“Shall I give you my report?”
– I didn’t call to receive a report today, but you’ve probably been losing sleep waiting for me, so go ahead and tell me.
“Yes. There’s not much new since my last email. This Yoo Ha Eun person hasn’t shown any outstanding performance at work, but she’s not lacking either. Oh, and I saw her at a party recently—several men were pursuing her.”
– And?
“She danced with them, but went home alone. It wasn’t feasible for me to follow her, so I’m just sharing what I observed.”
Jung Woo had quit his mother’s stagnant company and, on Chairman Kwon’s orders, moved to GK Hotel’s U.S. branch a few months ago to keep an eye on Ha Eun. He reported her activities once a month.
Chairman Kwon gave these instructions directly to Jung Woo precisely because the matter was personal and highly confidential.
Jung Woo deeply respected Chairman Kwon and often imagined what it would be like if he were his father.
As a child, not knowing any better, he’d grown up thinking he was on equal footing with Tae Ha, who was his age. But as he matured, he came to realize just how different they truly were.
The way people treated them:
If Tae Ha was the crown prince, Jung Woo was a fallen noble.
Tae Ha’s father was the chairman commanding the entire group; Jung Woo’s father had long been expelled from the company for embezzling funds and dragging it into crisis.
Someone unrelated to GK bloodline was simply discarded—end of story. And his own mother, though of GK descent, had never shown notable aptitude for business or earned anyone’s trust.
On the contrary, she’d married against the late chairman’s wishes, and her husband had ruined a subsidiary—so she’d completely withdrawn from GK’s management, liquidated her shares, and started a new business. Even divorce hadn’t fully lifted the late chairman’s anger.
Only after the late chairman’s death did Chairman Kwon’s generosity grant her a valuable piece of real estate as a gift, securing her a comfortable life.
Thus, Jung Woo followed Chairman Kwon faithfully—and Tae Ha remained both an object of admiration and envy.
“But why did you ask me to keep watch over Yoo Ha Eun?”
– Hmm.
Chairman Kwon exhaled deeply.
“If you were just considering her for the cultural foundation, I doubt you’d have me investigate this thoroughly. You did promise to tell me the reason when I ended this assignment.”
– I’m thinking she might be a good match for Tae Ha.
“What?!”
Jung Woo nearly spilled his beer.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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