“What should we do now that we just left like that?”

Tae Eun asked Woo Jin, looking embarrassed. She could still vividly recall the shocked expressions on the faces of his aunts as they stared at her in bewilderment.

“Would you rather eat in that kind of atmosphere then? You’d get indigestion.”

“Still… I feel like they already have the wrong idea about us.”

“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? Why, did something happen between us yesterday?”

“……”

“Nothing happened, right?”

Under his piercing gaze, Tae Eun’s face reddened as she recalled their kiss from last night. Just thinking about it made her whole body feel flushed with heat.

Woo Jin looked at her blushing face with enjoyment, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. He was having the same thoughts himself, after all.

“If nothing happened, then why is your face turning red?”

“That’s because…”

He chuckled and started walking. Following behind him, Tae Eun was starting to genuinely feel resentful towards him. Unlike her, whose face turned red just thinking about it, last night’s kiss seemed to mean absolutely nothing to him. Well, he was probably very experienced, given how skillful he was. And their kiss was likely just one among his many experiences.

“Don’t tell me your face turns red over something so trivial. We’re going to be doing far worse things than that in the future, you know.”

His blunt remark, meant to tease her, made Tae Eun realize how foolishly she had been acting. Right, in this day and age, what was the big deal about a kiss between a man and a woman that it made her blush this much? If she married him, they would be doing exactly what he said – far worse things.

“Let’s eat separately, just the two of us. I’m uncomfortable eating with my aunts too, so I haven’t had a meal with them in quite a while. So don’t worry too much about it.”

“……”

“And I’m really sorry about today. My aunts don’t usually come over here. But they just had to, today of all days…”

“It’s okay. It was bound to happen eventually anyway. Maybe not like this, but still. I actually feel much more at ease now that I’ve met them face to face.”

“You did well, staying composed better than I expected. It was amusing too.”

“Well, I couldn’t exactly burst into tears…”

She said it recalling how desperate she felt at the time, but Woo Jin found it hilarious for some reason and laughed. She resented this man who was so relaxed about everything compared to how tense she was. But then he suddenly stopped walking and looked down at her with a serious expression.

“You did great. It’s really impressive that you held out that well against my aunts. Thanks to you, I think you scored major points with Grandmother.”

“The Chairwoman? Really?”

“Didn’t you hear? She told us to get married. Even set a date for the formal meeting.”

“I heard her say it, but still, I thought maybe…”

“Do you think my grandmother is someone who says such things lightly? Her words are as good as permission. And once Grandmother gives her approval in our family, no one else can dare object to that decision.”

From Woo Jin’s words, Tae Eun could gauge how formidable a position Chairwoman Jung held at the estate. And she felt reassured knowing that she had scored points with such an authoritative figure like Chairwoman Jung.

“That’s a relief. I was really nervous.”

“Come on, let’s go eat breakfast.”

As he reached out his hand while saying that, she had no choice but to take it.

Placing her hand in his large extended one, Tae Eun tried her best not to be overly conscious of his presence. But the man who had pervaded her thoughts so deeply in such a short time commanded her full attention just by being next to her.

He was seeping into her.

* * *

As soon as they arrived at the annex, Tae Eun checked Ji Eun’s message and realized she had no time for breakfast. In the message, an upset Ji Eun threatened to report to the police by morning if she didn’t hear back from her.

It wasn’t that Ji Eun was worried and going to report her missing to the police. She was fuming that not only did some jerk slam drunk Ji Hoon to the ground and disappear, which was infuriating enough, but Tae Eun had the nerve to stay out all night without any contact.

Having experienced Ji Eun’s nasty behavior countless times, Tae Eun knew this was no empty threat.

“I think I need to go home. She says she’ll report to the police if I’m not back by morning.”

“Tsk, that’s ridiculous…”

Woo Jin trailed off in disbelief. Well, from a normal person’s perspective, it was an utterly incomprehensible situation. Whenever her family issues were laid bare like this, Tae Eun felt stripped naked before him.

“I’ll take you.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll take a taxi.”

“Not a chance. I won’t allow that.”

He grabbed the car keys and headed out. As soon as she got in the car, Tae Eun typed a message to Ji Eun that she was coming right away. She was about to hit send when a refreshing masculine scent wafted over, jolting her nerves.

“What are you…”

Startled, she stammered as his face drew so close their lips almost touched. Being this near him, memories of last night’s kiss naturally resurfaced, making her unconsciously clench her fists.

She wanted to stop thinking about it, but her brain refused to obey.

Her breath caught in her throat from the shock.

In that moment, he reached over and clicked her seat belt into place with a snap. Her tension dissipated into awkward embarrassment.

She heard him chuckle in amusement at her flustered state. Even if he wasn’t mocking her, she had no retort. She felt quite ridiculous herself for overreacting to his every move just because they kissed once.

They talked about this and that on the way to her house. Mostly about his aunts. He warned her that while his second and third aunts were simple-minded people who got riled up quickly but also forgot easily, his eldest aunt was a bit different.

Come to think of it, Woo Jin seemed right, recalling Young Ja’s expressionless face as she looked at her. Unlike Young Hee and Young Sook who easily grew excited and showed their feelings, Young Ja never revealed her thoughts at all. She was by no means an easy person.

After a long conversation, they arrived at her house.

“Thank you.”

“Shall I go in with you?”

“No, it’s alright.”

“Call me if anything happens.”

“……”

“Call even if nothing happens.”

“……”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Tae Eun nodded and got out of the car. Then with a slight bow, she entered the apartment building. Woo Jin watched her with a steady gaze.

Her back looked so precarious as she walked into the gates of hell. And he felt disgusted once again by his own powerlessness, knowing it was hell but having no choice but to send her in.

But it wasn’t time to make a move yet. Min Tae Eun still belonged to that household, and he knew better than anyone that blood ties thicker than water couldn’t be severed just because he wanted to cut them off.

And so, Woo Jin remained unmoving in the car long after Tae Eun went inside. He might have stayed even longer if the phone hadn’t rung.

“Hello.”

It was Chairwoman Jung.

Woo Jin lightly started the engine.

* * *

As soon as she entered the house, a cushion from the sofa came flying and struck Tae Eun’s body. Even if it was a soft, impact-less cushion, it still hurt. Because as always, Ji Eun’s venomous words that followed were worse than any physical blow.

“Are you out of your mind? Now you’re staying out all night without a word? Where did you pick up that kind of vulgar audacity!”

“Exactly, Mom! How embarrassing. Spending the night with a lowlife like that!”

Although clearly hungover from drinking all night, Ji Hoon eagerly egged Ji Eun on by her side. Judging by Kyung Hoon’s absence since morning, he must have gone golfing again because it was the weekend. With Kyung Hoon gone, Ji Eun’s true colors would be even more vicious.

Tae Eun braced herself, all too familiar with this situation. Then she raised her calm, dark eyes to look at Ji Hoon.

His face was swollen, but fortunately, he seemed to have sobered up.

“What are you looking at! You ran off with that bastard yesterday after he pummeled me to the ground! Who the hell is that jerk anyway?”

If he knew the man’s identity, Ji Hoon would probably want to bite his own tongue off right then and there.

“I already told Dad everything! I’m going to sue that bastard. He hit me and now my whole body hurts!”

Putting on a show of being in pain, Ji Eun glared venomously at Tae Eun while patting Ji Hoon’s back.

“Are you in your right mind? Going out all night with some thug when you’re practically engaged to Woo Jin? Are you rebelling? Huh?”

“No, I’m not rebelling.”

“If you’re not rebelling, then what is this? Oh ho, so this is how you’ve always been. No wonder – even as a child, you were always so sneakily wicked, just like your mother.”

At the mention of her innocent mother, she clenched her fists. She could endure any humiliation directed at herself, but she absolutely could not stand her late mother being denigrated like this.

Whenever her poor deceased mother was brought up, it felt like her heart was set ablaze. That heart burned to ashes would then crumble into a heap of black cinders.

“Ugh, how irritating. I’ve raised a little monster. A monster!”

“It was Seo Woo Jin.”

“What did you say?”

“Yesterday, the person Ji Hoon met… it was Seo Woo Jin.”

“What… how…”

A shocked Ji Eun looked at Ji Hoon as if asking how this happened. An even more dumbfounded Ji Hoon frowned, unable to laugh or cry.

“That can’t… be. No, Mom! Min Tae Eun is lying! That wench is lying! There’s no way it could have been Seo Woo Jin. No way!”

“I’m sorry, but it was Seo Woo Jin. And it’s also true that you made a fool of yourself in front of him.”

At her calm voice stating the facts, Ji Hoon’s face turned ashen.

“Impossible…”

“Ji Hoon, what is going on? You said it was some thug. That the thug beat you badly and kicked you!”

“He didn’t kick him. Seo Woo Jin was restraining Ji Hoon, but he was thrashing around so much that when Seo Woo Jin let go, Ji Hoon just fell to the ground from the momentum of his own drunkenness.”

To be exact, Woo Jin had indeed slammed him to the ground, but she saw no need to reveal the truth as it was when Ji Hoon had no memory of it.

As expected, Ji Hoon couldn’t properly recall last night’s events. But Ji Eun still took his side, eyeing Tae Eun with lingering suspicion.

“Does that make any sense? Why would Seo Woo Jin do that to our Ji Hoon? And if it was Seo Woo Jin, shouldn’t he be nicer to Ji Hoon? Ji Hoon will be his brother-in-law once you get married, you know?”

“Th-that’s right! And what did I even do wrong?”

Emboldened by Ji Eun’s defense, Ji Hoon raised his head and demanded harshly. Tae Eun returned the question with a cool gaze.

“You really don’t remember?”

“Re…remember what?”

“How you sexually harassed me, enunciating my name.”

In that instant, Ji Eun and Ji Hoon’s faces, flushed with anger, turned pale white then blue.