The nursing home facilities were much better than the information Woojin had provided. It was almost like heaven for the elderly, including those with dementia and physical disabilities.

There were many programs for the elderly who were gradually losing their memories, from physical therapists and psychotherapy to recreation instructors. Thanks to this, Tae-eun was able to see her grandmother singing while clapping her hands in a wheelchair after such a long time.

Just being able to send her grandmother to such a place seemed like a dream come true for Tae-eun. It would have been impossible without Woojin.

“Thank you so much for today. You must have been busy.”

On the way back, after sending Manager Park first, she got into Woojin’s car and spoke indifferently. In fact, she was deeply moved, but this was the most she could express.

Having learned to suppress her emotions while growing up, it had now become a fearful habit, and her emotions did not fluctuate much in any situation. This aspect of her personality sometimes led to misunderstandings.

Her nature of internalizing everything and not expressing it made bad things seem as big as a mountain when they happened, but when expressing gratitude or being moved by someone, she couldn’t convey even one-tenth of her emotions.

It was the same at this very moment.

To Tae-eun, her grandmother meant more than she could imagine. So she was immensely grateful to Woojin for taking the time to come today despite his busy schedule, but all she could express was a single sentence spoken indifferently.

At times like this, she felt pathetic for not even being able to flatter herself.

But then Woojin, who was holding the steering wheel, showed a wry smile and blurted out.

“From now on, save your words of gratitude. If you keep thanking me for what should be natural, I’ll become spoiled.”

Yesterday, he praised her saying she was more than worthy, and today he says this treatment is natural.

It made her choke up a bit.

“And I’m sorry. Our grandmother called you a cattle thief.”

“No, it’s not like that. I was actually very happy.”

“Why?”

“She called me a cattle thief, but grandmother smiled at me. That’s why I was happy.”

“I’m glad you felt that way.”

“Honestly, I really love our grandmother, but she’s also the scariest person in the world to me. Tae-eun, you’ve never been slapped by grandmother, have you?”

“Slapped…?”

Oh my gosh. She couldn’t even imagine it. The strict and dignified Madam Jung slapping Woojin.

“Don’t underestimate our grandmother just because she’s small. Her grip strength is no joke. Someone like Min Tae-eun would die after getting hit once. I only survived because it’s me.”

Surprised by his words, Tae-eun blinked her big eyes. Just by looking at her, he could tell what she was imagining. Woojin quietly laughed, finding her flustered appearance cute.

“Don’t worry. Our grandmother would never slap Min Tae-eun. I think it was the first and last time she used violence on me.”

“…”

“That’s why I really liked your grandmother, Tae-eun. She was like a young girl, unlike our grandmother. I thought all other grandmothers were like ours. Your grandmother was a whole new world to me.”

Her heart overflowed with sweetness at Woojin’s words, calling her grandmother a young girl. She couldn’t express how grateful she was. Usually, a grandmother with dementia could be an object of disgust just by existing.

But fortunately, Woojin willingly accepted her grandmother.

“Thank you for saying that too.”

“Ah, you’re thanking me again. That’s why I can’t say what I want to say.”

Tae-eun raised her gaze to look at him holding the steering wheel. What on earth was he trying to say? But in this situation, she felt like she could listen to anything he had to say.

“Tell me. What is it?”

“This is something I’m really sorry about.”

“Then tell me. I’ll listen to anything as long as it’s not about calling off the wedding.”

It was said as a joke, but it must have sounded quite serious, because Woojin frowned and turned his head abruptly.

“Calling off the wedding? Let’s not say such things even as a joke. Not unless you want to see me get double-slapped by our grandmother.”

He furrowed his thick eyebrows as if the mere thought of it was terrible.

“It’s not that. It’s about our honeymoon.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s postpone it.”

What did he say again? Tae-eun nodded her head as if it wasn’t a big deal, but Woojin was more serious than she thought.

“I’ve gotten busier due to the factory relocation issue. I’ll try to make time for the wedding, but going on a honeymoon might be too much. Instead, once the factory relocation is resolved, let’s go wherever you want for a week.”

“Okay, sure. It’s not a difficult thing.”

“It’s not difficult, but it’s something to be sorry about. The honeymoon is important for women, you know.”

“That’s only for other women.”

Tae-eun blurted it out without much thought, but Woojin nodded his head as if he deeply agreed.

That’s right. This woman is Min Tae-eun.

The first woman who made him cautious about everything. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like she was outside the norm of what he considered women to be.

After all, she was a woman who bared her teeth at him from their first meeting and said she wouldn’t marry him, so she was definitely different from ordinary women.

“Oh, by the way. When did we say we were getting our wedding attire fitted?”

“Next Monday.”

“Got it. I’ll make sure to be on time.”

Like that, the two of them talked about the wedding all the way home. Since Woojin was so busy, they didn’t have much time to meet, so whenever they saw each other, there were endless things to discuss. They couldn’t even imagine going on a proper date. They had to fit all the schedules leading up to the wedding into their tight schedules.

Well, they weren’t a couple who started with excitement, fell in love, and then got married, so she expected this much. So Tae-eun wasn’t too disappointed. She took all the series of events very naturally, and she was just grateful for his consideration that was shown here and there in between.

“Then have a good night. I’ll call you.”

“Okay.”

This time too, Tae-eun went inside without even looking back.

Did they put honey in that hellish house? Why is she in such a hurry?

For a couple who hadn’t been dating for long and it felt a bit awkward to call them lovers, it was quite a dry farewell. No, now he even felt a bit upset.

“Anyway, she’s different. Way too different.”

As he shook his head and left the apartment complex, a notification alerted him of an incoming call. Seeing the name ‘Park Seo-woo’ on the screen, Woojin frowned again. It was the third call he received today.

He rejected the call, letting out a deep sigh, but the phone kept ringing repeatedly for a while.

He felt his heart, which had been heated up by Tae-eun, growing cold.

* * *

“No, you finally moved that old woman today? You’re not even listening to a word I say?”

As soon as she entered the house, Ji-eun’s nagging began. It was as if the weapon she could use to control Tae-eun as she pleased had been taken away.

“I told you! We’ll take care of that old woman!”

Ji-eun bluntly referred to grandmother as ‘that old woman’. It seemed like she couldn’t even call her grandmother properly anymore. But when it came to grandmother, Tae-eun had no intention of backing down now. She held out the nursing home pamphlet she was holding to Ji-eun and opened her mouth.

“The place where I sent grandmother is here. I want to make the best choice for grandmother. If there’s a better place than this where we can take care of her, I’ll gladly do so.”

Ji-eun snatched the pamphlet with fierce eyes and looked at it, her expression hardening. At a glance, it was clear that the cost was enormous because it was the best facility. No matter how wealthy Ji-eun’s family was, or no matter how much of a lawyer her father was, this level of expense was too much.

“Oh my, this is too much for our situation!”

“That’s why. But after seeing that place, nowhere else seems good enough.”

Ji-eun, who had nothing to say, fake coughed. It seemed like she was so frustrated that she was biting her lips.

Tae-eun looked at the squirming Ji-eun and hesitated. She wanted to ask Ji-eun about something she had been contemplating for a while after seeing grandmother today. It was something that required the consent of Min Kyung-hoon and Ji-eun, even if she could decide other things with Woojin’s help.

“There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“What? Discuss? What is it?”

Ji-eun asked, looking at her with a haughty face. It felt like she was rejected before even bringing up her concern.

Tae-eun hesitated. What she was about to say was an attempt with almost no possibility. But she was too desperate to just let it go without trying.

“I want to… have grandmother at the wedding.”

“Are you crazy?”

As expected, Ji-eun’s harsh words flew at her without a second of hesitation.

“No, do you want to bring shame to the family? All the prominent figures from political and financial circles will be there! And your father’s and our family’s acquaintances! How can you even think of bringing a demented old woman? And you, do you know that’s an insult to me?”

“But I really want to show grandmother my wedding.”

“That’s your problem! And what do you think a demented old woman will do at a wedding? Don’t say such nonsense! If you say something like that one more time, you’ll have to have your wedding without me and your dad. Got it?”

In the end, Ji-eun shouted venomously and went inside. She knew it wouldn’t work, and she was prepared for it, but the returned harsh words left a deeper wound than she had anticipated.

The face of grandmother, who couldn’t recognize her beloved granddaughter even when she was right in front of her, flashed before her eyes.

Even if she couldn’t recognize her, she wanted to show grandmother her wedding.

It felt like a lump was forming in her chest.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that moment, a woman pacing in the darkness with her cell phone finally threw the unanswered phone to one side of the sofa.

On the coffee table, a tablet was glowing in the darkness. And that tablet was filled with articles about Jang Won Group’s Seo Woo-jin’s marriage.

“Not answering? You’re not even taking my calls now?”

She had lost count of how many times she had called since yesterday. Of course, since Woojin was always busy, there was never a single time when he answered the phone on the first try. But even so, there had never been a time when he didn’t answer a single call despite making so many.

There was only one conclusion.

It was right to think that he was unilaterally avoiding her calls.

At this point, the woman’s well-groomed eyebrows rose sharply. She clutched the tablet and read through the article again. Then she went back and clicked on another article about Woojin’s marriage. But no matter where she looked, all that was said about the bride was that she was a ‘beautiful art major’.

There was no information about what she did or what family she was from. Even her photo was not published. The lucky goddess who had taken the position of the eldest granddaughter-in-law of Jang Won Group, the best company in Korea, was thoroughly veiled.

She realized that all of this was Seo Woo-jin’s plan.

Otherwise, the existence of a woman who could be the biggest news item could not have fallen into such a mystery.

She was anxious to the extreme, as she couldn’t even satisfy her curiosity by seeing the woman’s face.

“What, are you trying to protect her… Or are you ashamed to show her?”

The woman put more weight on the latter. If the woman was from a great family, the articles couldn’t have been this quiet. She must be a woman of no significance. Well, it was a rushed marriage to cover up a scandal, so what could she expect?

The woman decided to think that way. Because that was the only way she could breathe.

In the end, she muttered the words she couldn’t deliver directly while looking at Woojin’s photo on the tablet.

“Yes. Go ahead and get married. Whatever. What’s a mere marriage? But you should love me, oppa.”