Seo Woo, who was calmly applying lipstick, turned towards her. Then she smiled and spoke again.

“Back then, I had to go find you myself to see you, but now this coincidence. Life… is so ironic, isn’t it?”

Her flesh trembled. Seo Woo’s face, with her sunglasses removed, was dazzlingly radiant. There was no trace of aversion towards her.

It’s so hard for me to face you.

…How can you be so nonchalant?

That calmness was a wound to Min Tae Eun. So she unconsciously took a step back from Seo Woo and spoke calmly with a tight voice.

“I don’t think we’re on terms to exchange such greetings.”

Fortunately, her voice was steadier than she expected. Though her heart was raging like a sailboat in a storm, her voice remained calm. That was a comfort. At least she could hide her shaken emotions from Park Seo Woo, and for some reason… it was truly comforting.

“Ah, that’s right. We… aren’t on those terms. But we’re not enemies who need to fight either, are we? After all, we’re just two people who love the same man.”

Min Tae Eun startled at Seo Woo’s unfiltered words and looked around. She worried someone might have heard. But fortunately, they were alone in the bathroom, and the door to the outside was firmly closed.

But why did she feel so anxious, as if she had committed a crime? If this relationship was exposed, Seo Woo would also suffer considerable damage.

“I’d appreciate if you didn’t say such things carelessly. If someone hears, it won’t be good for you either, Seo Woo.”

At her clear voice, Seo Woo’s large eyes finally wavered.

But Min Tae Eun couldn’t read what Seo Woo was thinking. As a top actress recognized for her acting skills, she was adept at hiding her emotions.

“Does that mean we can’t even greet each other as acquaintances?”

It’s not that we can’t, but that I don’t want to, would be more accurate. Unlike Seo Woo, she wasn’t a born actress and couldn’t remain calm facing her husband’s lover.

“Yes. I’ll say it again, we’re not on those terms. So next time, even if we happen to meet in the same place, I’d appreciate if you just passed by.”

Every word was a struggle to utter. Yet Seo Woo didn’t avert her gaze even once.

She was curious. What made Park Seo Woo so confident?

Although it was said to be a loveless marriage, only she was officially registered and could stand by Woo Jin’s side publicly. No matter what, Park Seo Woo would always be just a mistress.

However, she was the one feeling small. She didn’t know why. Or perhaps it was because she was just a wife in name only.

“Alright. If that’s what you want.”

Every time Seo Woo spoke, her lips, the same color as Min Tae Eun’s, oddly irritated her. Min Tae Eun brushed past Seo Woo and left the bathroom. She walked quickly back to the table where Hye Jin was, but she could no longer eat. Just being in the same space as Park Seo Woo made it hard for her to breathe.

“Hye Jin, I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling well. I think I need to leave early.”

“Oh my! Are you okay? What should we do?”

“I’ll pay the bill before I go, so you and Dong Woo finish your meal. I’m really sorry.”

“No, what are you sorry for? You’re not feeling well. You don’t look good either. Go home quickly. Don’t worry about me.”

Min Tae Eun hurriedly gathered her handbag and left. As she exited the restaurant, she passed by Seo Woo’s table where she was calmly eating. Seo Woo’s lips still shone with the same color lipstick as hers.

It felt like falling from a skyscraper without wings.

His words flashed through her mind.

– I… chose the color I wanted to eat.

Why did she think this lipstick was just for her?

It was a moment when she felt truly pathetic and foolish.

* * *

Left alone in the bathroom, Seo Woo gripped the sink, pressing down on her heart that was pounding as if it would burst through her ribs.

She had deliberately entered when she saw Min Tae Eun heading to the bathroom. She just wanted to see up close once again how Min Tae Eun was different from her. What was so different that made that color suit her so well when it didn’t suit Seo Woo?

She followed her in, but the moment she saw Min Tae Eun, she was seized by a strange jealousy. She felt once again that unless she died and was reborn, she could never be like Min Tae Eun.

Was that why?

Without realizing it, she took out the lipstick from her handbag and applied it. It was an intentional act to provoke Min Tae Eun. And indeed, the provocation worked perfectly. Seo Woo could clearly see the color drain from Min Tae Eun’s face.

Having achieved her small goal, Seo Woo took a deep breath to calm her fluttering heart, then left the bathroom and returned to her table, maintaining her poker face.

An actor is truly an actor.

But she couldn’t eat again. Her stomach started to churn. Just then, seeing Min Tae Eun leaving the restaurant, Seo Woo put down the fork she was holding.

“Elder brother, I’m sorry but let’s go home. My stomach feels queasy.”

Startled by her words, Jung Keun, who had been burying his nose in his plate, lifted his head.

“Huh? Suddenly? Oh no, that’s not good! Where does it hurt? How? Is it because of the food?”

“It’s not that the food was bad. I think I ate too quickly earlier because I was hungry.”

“Oh! I see, I see! Then let’s buy some digestive medicine on the way home.”

As she gathered her handbag to leave, Jung Keun followed.

On the way home, she swallowed a digestive pill that Jung Keun had bought for her in the car. But it had no effect on her churning stomach. Eventually, at home, she ended up hugging the toilet and throwing up everything she had eaten.

“What’s going on? You were fine just a moment ago, why are you suddenly like this?”

Jung Keun was flustered, not knowing why Seo Woo was suddenly like this, but in fact, she knew all too well.

Seo Woo was originally not a harsh person. So she couldn’t be fine after doing such a mean thing. The actions she had taken to hurt Min Tae Eun had also lodged themselves in her own heart.

It wasn’t her body that was upset. It was her conscience, her heart that was upset. So even if she swallowed not one, but ten digestive pills, how could she be okay?

It felt like punishment. Eventually, at nine o’clock at night, her body started to develop a fever. Feeling her consciousness becoming hazy, Seo Woo picked up her phone. Even in this moment, the only one she could think of was Woo Jin.

– Elder brother, I’m sick.

But no answer came.

* * *

“Madam, where is my wife?”

As soon as he came home, Woo Jin asked Madam Hong about Min Tae Eun’s whereabouts first. This was because he usually saw her even before taking off his shoes when entering the house, but today she was nowhere to be seen.

“She doesn’t seem to be feeling well. She’s been in her room since coming home after her lunch appointment.”

Just as Madam Hong finished speaking in a whisper, Min Tae Eun appeared.

“I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep.”

For someone who had just woken up from an accidental nap, she looked too put-together, but Woo Jin refrained from mentioning it.

“Have you had dinner?”

“No. Have you?”

“I told you I’d have dinner at a sudden meeting, remember? You should have eaten without waiting.”

“Actually, I think I ate too much at lunch, so I didn’t feel like eating. It’s fine if you’ve eaten.”

As they headed towards the bedroom, Madam Hong bowed behind them.

“Sir, Madam. Then I’ll be heading home now.”

“Yes, Madam Hong. Thank you for your hard work today.”

Once in the room, their private conversation began.

“Did you get a call from my elder aunt by any chance?”

“Your aunt? No calls came, why?”

That’s a relief. It seems Young Ja didn’t rush to Min Tae Eun right away after all.

“No, it’s fine if she didn’t call. If my aunt happens to talk to you about the child issue, tell her that I don’t want to have children. Say it’s something we agreed on before our marriage.”

“Your aunt said something?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

He shook his head at Min Tae Eun’s question. He didn’t want to burden her unnecessarily. The heavy heart due to Young Ja was his alone to bear.

“It’s nothing. You know how my elder aunt always makes people tense. And she’s quite perceptive too.”

“We can’t lie forever, you know.”

“It’s not a lie. The fact that I don’t want to have children is true. And it’s also true that we agreed on this before marriage. We’re just keeping silent about another truth, so strictly speaking, we’re not lying. Focus on that.”

For a moment, Min Tae Eun thought about telling him about going to the obstetrician with Young Ja, but decided against it. She didn’t want to create unnecessary conflict between them.

“I’ll go wash up.”

“Okay.”

Woo Jin headed to the dressing room to change clothes. As he took off his jacket and loosened his tie, a message notification sounded on his phone.

– Elder brother, I’m sick.

It was Seo Woo. But he ignored the message. If she was well enough to send a message herself, then she wasn’t sick enough to die. So he didn’t think he needed to react to every message.

He came out after showering. After drying his hair and entering the bedroom, he quietly approached the bed where Min Tae Eun was lying. But strangely, today Min Tae Eun was lying with her back to him.

“Tae Eun… Min Tae Eun…”

But he wouldn’t allow her to turn away from him, calling her name and pulling her towards him. As if to negate her attempt to stay as far from him as possible, precariously perched on the edge of the bed, he enveloped her in his arms with a single motion.

Yet strangely, she didn’t dislike Woo Jin’s gesture. No, she actually liked it. She loved that he tirelessly sought her body every night. And now he called her “Tae Eun” instead of “Ms. Min Tae Eun”, so affectionately.

Her body quickly heated up at his touch, his lips.

As heat pooled in her lower abdomen, Min Tae Eun now clung to Woo Jin, arms around his neck. She was finally truly enjoying their nights together, which at first had only been embarrassing and awkward.

There was a time when she had misunderstood these gestures of Woo Jin.

But now she knows.

– I’m not proposing to make love with Ms. Min Tae Eun. I’m proposing marriage.

That all the emotions of this moment were not love, but merely a man’s instinct.

Nevertheless, she loved this moment so much that she couldn’t refuse him.

A relationship where emotions don’t flow, but bodies intertwine.

That’s exactly the kind of relationship they had.

* * *

Dawn.

His phone, charging on the small table beside the bed, vibrates. It was a vibration that could easily have been missed, but Woo Jin, being a light sleeper, ended up opening his eyes.

Fortunately, Min Tae Eun was asleep. After confirming her sleeping form, he reached out to check his phone. The name ‘Jung Keun’ was flashing on the screen.

It was a call that made him frown instinctively, but he couldn’t not answer either. Seo Woo’s message saying she was sick before he went to sleep came to mind.

Could it be, was she really sick?

Woo Jin put on a robe and went to the living room.

“Yes, this is Seo Woo Jin.”

As soon as he answered the phone, Jung Keun’s urgent voice shook his still half-asleep soul.

[This is Park Jung Keun, Mr. Seo! I’m sorry! For calling at such a late hour… But I really had no choice. Seo Woo is very sick. This is not a lie, it’s true! But she’s refusing to go to the hospital.]

“…”

[I’m sorry to say this, but could you perhaps come and persuade our Seo Woo? At this rate, I’m really afraid… the child might die.]