“You’re trembling right now.”

Just as Jeho said, my whole body was shaking like an aspen tree. I gritted my teeth trying to stop the trembling, but it was useless. I don’t like Minwoo as a man. But we were about to get married. No matter how little emotion there was, I couldn’t be unaffected after seeing a photo of my fiancé embracing another woman.

Even if it was a strategic marriage, I believed he would at least maintain the minimum courtesy as a friend… Was that too much to expect?

Instead of pushing away Jeho’s arms that were holding her, Yuri closed her eyes weakly. She wanted to stay still for just a moment, as today had been an especially difficult day.

Fortunately, Jeho didn’t ask anything. He just gently stroked Yuri’s arms with his palms, as if soothing a child.

“The night breeze is cold. Let’s go inside.”

Jeho let go of Yuri and picked up the fallen phone from the ground, silently handing it over. The screen was off, but Yuri quickly put the phone in her jacket pocket, afraid she might see the photo again.

When they returned to the dining table, the half-eaten abalone porridge was still there. But having lost her appetite, she couldn’t swallow any food. As Yuri just stared at the food while holding a spoon, Jeho quietly got up and headed to the espresso machine.

“I’ll make you some coffee.”

Instead of asking for her opinion, Jeho silently brewed the coffee. A moment later, as he placed the steaming cup of coffee in front of Yuri, he asked:

“If I ask what happened, will you answer?”

…Well, what should I say? Should I tell him that I realized I’m a complete outsider in my family, and at the same time, the man I’m about to marry in a couple of days is embracing another woman right now?

How would he react? Would he say, out of courtesy, “I’m sorry to hear that”?

Yuri smiled bitterly as she cupped the coffee mug with both hands. The black liquid in the coffee cup swayed slowly, like her inner feelings.

“It’s nothing. I guess I’m just sensitive with the wedding coming up. I had a small argument with Minwoo over the phone.”

“…Sensitive, you say.”

Though he didn’t argue, Jeho muttered to himself with a face that showed he didn’t believe it. If he could, he wanted to hold up a mirror right in front of her face. Yuri had no idea how she looked sitting there right now. It was clear to see that she was barely holding on with a pale face, and yet she says it’s just because she’s sensitive…

Yuri was clearly crying earlier too. There was no way her excuse about tears welling up from the cold wind would be believable. Jeho stared at Yuri blankly while tapping his fingertips on the table. Just watching made him feel frustrated. But there was nothing he could do.

“Come to think of it, I forgot. I was supposed to answer yesterday… About designing the newlywed home.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Yuri nodded indifferently. Human hearts are truly fickle. Until just the other day, it was quite an urgent matter, but suddenly it became insignificant.

“Before that…”

Jeho postponed his answer and leaned his upper body towards Yuri. Her eyes that met his gaze trembled slightly, as if surprised.

“Let me ask one thing. Do you still find me uncomfortable?”

Uncomfortable?

Yuri stared into Jeho’s eyes without saying a word. Though it had only been two short days, she felt like the boundary between them had crumbled. If she had really been uncomfortable, she should have pushed him away when he hugged her from behind. But she didn’t. No, rather, she wanted to lean on him.

“…No.”

Yuri gently shook her head. She didn’t want to tell an obvious lie. Jeho’s lips curved up slightly, as if pleased with her answer.

“Then leave the newlywed home design to me. This isn’t an answer to yesterday’s question, but a request.”

The word ‘request’ moved her heart. Yuri slowly nodded, as if drawn by a magnet. It might be a ridiculous thought, but she felt that if he designed the house, she might feel a little protected. Like the only joy she could find in a bleak married life.

Having obtained Yuri’s consent, Jeho returned to his seat and scooped up some porridge with his spoon.

“I’ll eat a bit more. I need to take medicine.”

And he held out the spoon with porridge to Yuri. When Yuri looked at him quizzically, he gestured with his head towards the soy-braised side dish. Yuri couldn’t help but smile at his natural action. As she picked up some of the side dish with her chopsticks and offered it to him, he also smiled slightly.

“It tastes good eating together.”

The meaning of ‘together’ might not necessarily be because it was her, but for a moment her heart fluttered. Along with the gentle smile lingering on his lips. Yuri thought it was too delicate and beautiful a smile for a man who always had a cold expression.

Perhaps that’s why her heart ached for no reason. Because whoever would receive that smile while dining with him in the future would definitely not be her.

So foolishly…

Sigh.

Her heart felt bitter.

After Yuri left, Jeho sat on the living room sofa and reviewed the data Brandon had sent this morning. As he flipped through the tablet screen, his expression gradually hardened.

The situation was much more serious than he had anticipated. The relationship with the subcontracted construction company involved in the redevelopment demolition process was particularly bad. Moa Development Industry was outwardly a normal construction company, but in reality, it was no different from a violent organization based on private lending.

At some point, under the leadership of Manager Kwon Minwoo, they had entrusted money laundering to Moa Development Industry, and there were indications of some sort of deal to secure slush funds during the Arcadia Shopping Mall project. Recently, there were even some quite significant deals that even Director Kwon didn’t know about.

This bastard, just how far has he gone?

By the time all the reviews were finished, curses involuntarily spilled out. Jeho roughly ran his hand through his hair as he abruptly stood up from the sofa. He was angry at himself for thinking too lightly of the situation. If it was true that Kwon Minwoo was connected to his father’s traffic accident, he had overlooked the fact that he was a person capable of doing anything. Then…

Damn it!

After quickly checking the calendar numbers, Jeho cursed again while rubbing his face with his palms as if washing it. His brows furrowed involuntarily out of anxiety.

Should I change the plan?

There was just over a month left until Yuri and Minwoo’s wedding.

The initial reason he approached Yuri was to shake Minwoo. But he didn’t expect her to break off the marriage with Minwoo even if she fell for his seduction. Rather, it was more advantageous for him if they went through with the marriage. After all, it would be more effective to shake emotions after marriage than before. Chae Yuri could become Kwon Minwoo’s Achilles’ heel, or even a Trojan horse.

But…

“Hah.”

Jeho sighed deeply as he pressed his hand to his forehead. Somehow, every time he dealt with Yuri, he was deviating a little from his original purpose. He had other things to do… This wasn’t the time to be idly sympathizing…

Yet he couldn’t focus on his goal because Yuri’s face, trying to hide her tears, kept lingering before his eyes. Her delicate body trembling, her eyes that had lost their light and were staring into space…

Jeho sat back down on the sofa and picked up the tablet. He reviewed the data over and over again, but each time he reached the same conclusion. He couldn’t let her walk into the wedding hall like this.

“…Sigh.”

Finally, he called Brandon.

“Brandon? Hey, it’s me. Could you do me a favor?”

As soon as the call connected, Jeho quickly began to state his business.

The next afternoon, Minwoo barged into Yuri’s house without notice. In one hand he held a large bouquet of flowers, in the other a fruit basket, smiling brightly. Lady An welcomed her future son-in-law with a pleased face as always.

“Welcome, Manager Kwon.”

“Hello, Mother. I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t been able to visit. I’m sorry.”

Even before talks of marriage, when they were just friends, Minwoo used to visit Yuri’s house often. Of course, it was with Hyunkyung.

“What are you saying, Manager Kwon, I know you’re busy.”

“Thank you for understanding. Has my sister-in-law gotten even prettier since I last saw her?”

Minwoo offered a compliment-like joke to Yuri standing next to Lady An. But Yuri silently received the bouquet and fruit basket with an expressionless face. Minwoo took care of Yuri, calling her his future sister-in-law, but Yuri’s response was consistently blunt.

“What brings you here so suddenly without contacting us?”

Yuri, who was coming down from the second floor, stopped halfway down the stairs when she spotted Minwoo standing at the entrance. Instead of answering the question, Minwoo grinned and turned his head towards Lady An.

“Mother, is it alright if I take Yuri out on a date today?”

“Of course. Why are you asking me that?”

“Yeah, why are you asking Mom?”

Yuri glanced at Minwoo with a sulky look and quickly disappeared into the kitchen carrying the bouquet and fruit basket.

“Let’s go out, Yuri. I’ll buy you something delicious.”

Yuri was so dumbfounded by Minwoo’s brazenness that she felt like laughing. But she soon changed her mind. He probably didn’t know yet what hidden photo of his lover had been sent to Yuri. It seemed she should settle things with Minwoo today without further delay.

“Alright. Wait just 10 minutes.”

Yuri quickly finished preparing to go out and followed Minwoo.

“How can you just barge in without any notice!”

As soon as they got in the car, Yuri’s expression turned cold. But Minwoo just grinned as if it didn’t matter and started the car.

“It’s a surprise, I can’t give notice for that.”

“A surprise?”

Yuri, who had already received a surprising photo yesterday, let out a scoff. Minwoo misunderstood that Yuri was still angry about him raising his voice yesterday.

“I’m sorry, Yuri. I won’t, I won’t raise my voice again.”

“How much did you drink yesterday? Are you sober enough to drive now?”

“It’s been over 10 hours since I drank… Don’t worry.”

Yuri turned her gaze to the window, brushing back her fallen hair as if frustrated.

The restaurant Minwoo chose for their date was a French restaurant at the foot of Namsan. It was rumored to only accept reservations and be fully booked for at least three months in advance. Yet somehow he had secured a spot, and the manager personally greeted the two and guided them to a window seat with a clear view of the city landscape.

Throughout the meal, Minwoo kept trying to make conversation, but nothing was getting through. The steak that went into her mouth tasted like chewing paper.

Is it because she was dining with a different person? Even yesterday when she had no appetite, the abalone porridge that filled her mouth was only savory…

“I got a call from Jeho hyung this morning.”

Yuri put down the knife she was using to cut the steak and looked up at Minwoo. Seeing her finally turn her gaze to him, Minwoo shrugged and continued speaking.

“So I apologized for getting too excited yesterday.”

“Good for you.”

“Hyung said if he has time today, he wants to meet briefly. He said he’ll show what style he’s thinking of building. There’s a house he designed near here, apparently. What do you think? Want to go see it?”

“No, rather than that…”

I should bring this up now before it’s too late. Yuri cut off Minwoo’s words and held out her phone.

“I’d like you to see this first.”

“Huh? What is it?”

Minwoo looked down at the photo without much thought. But when he saw the photo on the screen, his mouth fell open in surprise. His eyes widened as if they might pop out at any moment.

“This… this… why.”

Perhaps too shocked to speak properly, Minwoo stumbled over his words several times. In the photo, he was naked, embracing a woman in sexy lingerie. It was a photo that left no room for excuses, but he couldn’t just stay silent.

“Yuri, what kind of photo is this?”

“I wonder?”

Staring intently at Minwoo, Yuri continued in a cold voice.

“Why are you asking me? I should be the one asking you.”