Today was the day Tae Eun went to the hospital. On the first day, when he sent her to the hospital alone, he promised to go with her next time, but he couldn’t keep that promise. Unfortunately, at that time, an issue arose at the new factory under construction in Vietnam, and he had to attend an emergency meeting.

Of course, Tae Eun didn’t seem to mind much, but Woo Jin was worried that she was enduring all of this alone. So he called her as soon as the meeting ended.

[Hello?]

“Are you at the hospital?”

[Yes. I’m waiting. But why?]

“Do I need a reason to call? I just felt bad about sending you alone.”

[It’s just a simple checkup and getting some medicine, that’s all.]

“What are you going to do after you’re done at the hospital? Are you going straight home? Maybe do some shopping? That card you have… it has no limit.”

[Hehe. What’s this? Are you suddenly bragging about money in front of me? Isn’t that something you do to seduce women?]

Tae Eun’s low laughter flowed pleasantly into his ear. As always, that laugh sounded good to him, and Woo Jin felt his mind, which had been on edge while receiving reports until just a moment ago, becoming calm.

She really has a unique talent. How can she give such a blind sense of security to a person with just her voice?

“Don’t you know? I’m trying to seduce you right now.”

[No. Why are you still working on a fish you’ve already caught?]

“Even a caught fish needs attention. You have to keep showing it love.”

[But I don’t have time to shop today. I’m going to see grandmother.]

“Didn’t you visit her last Wednesday too?”

[I did… but lately I’ve been wanting to see her more often. So I’m going again.]

“Alright. Drive carefully.”

[Don’t worry. I have to hang up now. It’s my turn.]

“Okay.”

The call ended. But as always, conversations with Tae Eun left something lingering in him. It was the same this time too. Even though he had just talked to her and hung up, the lingering feeling in his chest kept evoking longing for her.

Even when looking at her, he wanted to see her again; even when touching her, he wanted to touch her again; and now, after all that, he even wanted to hear her voice again.

At this rate… could it be an illness?

Eventually, Woo Jin called for Secretary Park again.

“What’s my schedule for this afternoon?”

* * *

After leaving the hospital, Tae Eun stopped by the pharmacy to get her prescription medication and got into her car.

It had been three weeks since she started drug treatment for endometriosis, but she was told there was still no significant change. Her heart sank heavily. Even though she resolved not to give up hope each time, seeing herself waver at just a single word like this made her realize that Woo Jin’s concerns were not unfounded.

The doctor said it was fortunate that there was no pain. Tae Eun decided to take comfort in those words.

“Right. What’s wrong with not being in pain? And it’s only been three weeks, after all.”

To soothe her dampened spirits, she comforted herself like that as she started the car.

Woo Jin had told her to go shopping, but she was planning to visit her grandmother. Even though it hadn’t been long since she last saw her, lately her grandmother had been appearing in her dreams, calling for her.

In reality, even when face to face, her grandmother couldn’t recognize her, but in her dreams, how affectionately she called her “Tae Eun,” just like the grandmother of old.

Tae Eun thought it was her grandmother’s heart permeating into her. Unable to speak directly, she was visiting in dreams to convey her true feelings. So she couldn’t ignore her dreams.

“If grandmother is calling, of course I have to go.”

Eager to see her grandmother soon, she quickly grabbed the steering wheel. It would take about an hour to drive from her current location, but she couldn’t feel any fatigue.

She arrived at the nursing home like that. As she was parking and getting out of the car, she saw a familiar shadow moving busily. Tae Eun opened her already large eyes even wider and looked at that shadow.

“Secretary… Park?”

It was clearly Secretary Park, Woo Jin’s secretary. Startled by her call, Secretary Park, who was in the middle of unloading something from the car, flinched and looked up.

“Madam! You’re here now?”

“Ah, yes. But how did you…”

“Ah, the Executive Director said it had been quite a while since he visited grandmother.”

“But isn’t the company busy?”

“He postponed his afternoon schedule to next week and came. And on the way, he said he couldn’t come empty-handed, so he bought this and that…”

Seeing Secretary Park helping others unload goods from the delivery vehicle, it seemed that Woo Jin had once again spent money extravagantly enough to make one’s jaw drop.

“Go on in. The Executive Director has already gone to see grandmother.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

She greeted him and entered the nursing home building. The staff at the reception welcomed her with bright smiles.

“You’re here now. Please tell your husband we said thank you and that we’ll enjoy it.”

It seemed he had not only bought a lot of things needed for the hospital but also snacks for the staff. As she walked down the hospital corridor after greeting them, her nose kept tingling.

He had told her to go shopping, bragging about money, but he himself had squeezed his busy schedule to come here. The beauty of his heart made the end of her chest feel soft.

When she opened the sliding door, she could see at a glance Woo Jin filling the spacious hospital room with his pleasant aura. Unlike usual, he had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his snow-white shirt below his elbows, and was feeding grandmother a snack.

Every time he moved the spoon, his shirt stretched taut, making the chest muscles she knew well stand out even more. It seemed unfair that a man feeding an elderly person could look so sexy.

Grandmother recognized her first and gestured.

“Oh, you’re here? Come here.”

Tae Eun carefully entered and stood in front of the two. Woo Jin stopped spooning and looked up at her, saying one thing.

“Come to think of it, I realized it’s been a while since I visited grandmother too.”

And as soon as his words ended, grandmother linked arms with Woo Jin and opened her mouth.

“Darling, I told you, didn’t I? That there’s a pretty young lady who comes to visit me. This young lady is that young lady.”

Today, grandmother was mistaking Woo Jin for her late grandfather. It seemed grandmother’s memory was getting worse lately, making her heart ache.

“You don’t know how pretty she is. If only our Tae Eun would grow up to be just like her, I would have no other wishes…”

As Tae Eun sat down, Woo Jin stood up, saying he would bring water for grandmother to drink. Watching his back as he opened the refrigerator door, grandmother whispered.

“Young lady, I told you, didn’t I? That our old man is quite the looker.”

Although grandmother couldn’t properly recognize either her or Woo Jin,

“How wonderful it would be if our Tae Eun could meet a husband just like him…”

Her heart for her remained constant.

Tears that had been held back leaked at that heart. Tae Eun held grandmother’s hand, which was still unable to take her eyes off Woo Jin’s back, and whispered softly.

“Grandmother, that man is… Tae Eun’s husband.”

Thinking that someday, grandmother would recognize them.

* * *

At that time, Seo Woo had just finished filming her scene and returned to her car. As soon as she got in, Jung Keun handed her a bottle of water and checked her condition.

“Aren’t you hungry? You haven’t eaten a single meal since morning because you had an exposure scene today.”

“I’m a little hungry.”

“Then I’ll go buy something to eat. Now that filming is over, you can eat some light food, right?”

“Yes. Then I’ll have a salad.”

“Okay!”

As he got out of the car, Seo Woo, left alone, quickly checked her phone. There was one missed call. It was a call from the man she had been waiting for. After making sure no one was around the car, Seo Woo pressed the call button on her phone. After the dial tone dropped, the man’s voice was heard a moment later.

[Yes.]

“You called earlier?”

[Yes. I wanted to let you know about what you inquired about last time.]

“Really? But why did it take so long to get just one piece of information? I said money wasn’t an issue.”

[It’s not about the money, but after a doctor who sold patient information recently became a big issue, everyone’s been careful, making it difficult to get information. Please understand.]

“Alright. Anyway, tell me the result. Why did that woman go to that hospital? Is she pregnant?”

Please, let it not be.

Seo Woo prayed and prayed. And finally, the man’s answer came.

[It’s not that. There’s an infertility clinic there. She went there. It seems she’s planning to undergo in vitro fertilization after drug treatment.]

In that moment, Seo Woo felt her tense shoulder muscles relax and her pounding heart calm down.

“Is that really true?”

[Yes. They say she’s infertile.]

“I see. Thank you.”

The call ended, but her chest was swelling. It seems the heavens haven’t abandoned her yet. To think that Min Tae Eun is infertile. Seo Woo couldn’t stop the laughter escaping through her red lips.

At that moment, Jung Keun got into the car and handed her the salad, but the hunger she felt just a moment ago had completely disappeared. Now she understood what it meant to feel full without eating.

It had been well over six months since Woo Jin and Tae Eun got married. She thought there was no news of a child yet because Woo Jin disliked children. But in fact, it wasn’t that, there was a problem with Min Tae Eun.

The image of Tae Eun she had accidentally met at the hotel before flashed through her mind. Her face, lovingly holding a child, had more than just affection in it. How could she make such a tender expression while looking at a pretty child? The expression of Tae Eun that she couldn’t understand then now deeply resonated with her. It was exactly the longing and desperation for something that couldn’t be had.

Such Min Tae Eun had finally chosen the last resort to have a child. Of course, Woo Jin would have actively cooperated with this. However, what if Min Tae Eun still fails to get pregnant despite all this?

“…Would the Jang Won Group really stay still?”

As the stern face of Chairman Jung flashed through her mind, Seo Woo unconsciously muttered those words to herself.

Hearing this, Jung Keun, who was driving, looked at her face through the rearview mirror and asked.

“What, what did you say? Seo Woo? Did I hear wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about the script to myself.”

“Ah…”

Fortunately, Jung Keun didn’t hear her muttering properly, so she could easily let it pass.

As Seo Woo turned her gaze to the darkened window outside, her face was clearly reflected in the transparent glass. Only then did she realize she was smiling at the face reflected like that.

Why? Because she thought she might be able to easily remove Tae Eun from Woo Jin without having to do anything herself.

Indeed, could that family, where a son’s seed is so precious, accept Tae Eun who cannot bear children? Seo Woo’s thought was absolutely ‘NO’. She could bet her life on it not being the case.

She was the greatest victim who had personally experienced that the Jang Won family would stop at nothing to protect their bloodline. Thanks to that, she lost Seo Jin, her only blood relation in the world. So Min Tae Eun would absolutely not be able to escape such family selfishness. She would probably be driven out in tatters, though she didn’t know for sure.

If that happens, no matter how much Woo Jin loves Min Tae Eun, he won’t be able to protect her if she can’t have children. Seo Woo believed this fact without a doubt.

Things are flowing in a very interesting way.

Thinking that, Seo Woo sent a message to Woo Jin for the first time in a long while. It was a message she hadn’t sent for a while, afraid of the reply that wouldn’t come. But from this moment on, it seemed she could send it lightly even if it was a one-sided message that wouldn’t get a reply.

−Oppa, are you doing well? I miss you.

Unable to stop smiling, there was only one thought in her head.

Maybe, just maybe… Woo Jin might have no choice but to return to her arms without her having to do anything.

If that happens, she wanted to see it.

That woman, the woman who once had everything instead of her, what kind of expression would she make?

She was so curious she couldn’t stand it.