Yuri blinked her half-closed eyes in a daze. It seemed she had been sleeping for three or four hours. The surroundings had already grown dark, and Jeho was nowhere to be seen. Only Hyunkyung was waiting for her in the living room.

“You’re finally awake. Are you okay?”

Yuri quietly nodded to Hyunkyung, who had a worried expression. Hyunkyung didn’t say anything about Yuri wearing Jeho’s shirt. Instead, she hurriedly opened the suitcase.

“You need to change your clothes first.”

Since it was luggage for the honeymoon, it was mostly beachwear. Yuri picked up a long-sleeved sweater and a flare skirt that came down to her knees, which she had packed just in case. After changing clothes and coming out, Hyunkyung, who was opening cabinets here and there, turned around.

“I’m going to have some tea, do you want some too? I’ll pass on coffee. I’ve already had four cups.”

Hyunkyung, who had finally found the cabinet with the teapot, was about to take out the tea and teapot while whistling when Yuri carefully spoke up.

“…I’m sorry, Hyunkyung, but this isn’t Jeho’s house. It’s a client’s house. Could you handle things gently?”

“Huh?”

For a moment, Hyunkyung’s expression changed subtly. But soon she smiled as if nothing was wrong and closed the cabinet door.

“Alright.”

She didn’t know why Jeho hadn’t told Yuri it was his house, but it wasn’t for Hyunkyung, a third party, to say this or that.

“Oh, right. Your phone.”

Hyunkyung quickly grabbed her bag and took out the phone to hand to Yuri. There were several missed calls from Mrs. An and Yuri. It seemed she should contact home.

[Yuri, are you okay?]

Mrs. An’s trembling voice flowed through the phone. In a case like today, she must have been quite surprised too. She could feel that it wasn’t an act this time.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

[Are you with Hyunkyung now?]

“Yes, mother. I’m with her now.”

When Hyunkyung spoke loudly as if to reassure her, Mrs. An’s trembling voice finally returned to normal.

[Good, that’s a relief. Stay with Hyunkyung for a while. Your father said to do so too.]

“Father did?”

[Yes, he said to tell you that when I got through to you. He said he’ll handle this matter at his level, so don’t worry.]

Yuri frowned at Representative Chae’s unexpected attitude, when she thought he would scold her for suddenly running out of the wedding hall.

“What do you mean he’ll handle it at his level?”

[Well, he just said to tell you this and you’d understand.]

“Where is father now?”

[He should be at the party office.]

Though Representative Chae was unlikely to answer her call, Yuri tried anyway out of hope. Surprisingly, he picked up after a few rings.

[Yes, it’s me.]

“Father, I just spoke with stepmother. What do you mean you’ll handle it at your level?”

There was a heavy silence for a moment. Until Representative Chae answered, Yuri bit her lip anxiously.

[It means exactly that.]

Finally, Representative Chae’s voice flowed through the phone.

[Manager Kwon said he’ll be back in about a week, so think carefully until then. Whether you’ll get married or cancel it altogether.]

Yuri could hardly believe the words coming from Representative Chae’s mouth. He was the type to only care about his own interests, even if it meant tarnishing his dead wife’s honor.

“Then what you said before…”

[A better card came in, enough that I don’t need to use that.]

“A better card?”

As increasingly incomprehensible words flowed out, Yuri’s hand holding the phone tightened.

[Someone who doesn’t want you to marry Manager Kwon sacrificed themselves to hand over that good card to me.]

“Who is it?”

[That’s for you to figure out yourself. I have to go into a meeting now, so let’s end this.]

After hanging up with Representative Chae, Yuri fell deep into thought.

Who could it be? Could it be Jeho? Or…

Yuri turned her head to Hyunkyung, who was blinking and looking at her.

“Hyunkyung? Did you perhaps investigate Minwoo to prevent me from marrying him?”

Suddenly Hyunkyung’s eyes grew as big as if they would pop out.

“Huh? How did you know I was digging up dirt on Minwoo?”

“Hyunkyung!”

Yuri hugged Hyunkyung tightly with a moved expression. Tears welled up at the deep friendship.

“Hyunkyung, thank you. And I love you. I really love you.”

“Hey? Why are you crying? Yeah. I love you too, madly.”

Hyunkyung, who was bewildered at first, soon hugged Yuri tightly with tears in her eyes. The two embraced each other and shed tears of emotion.

Clap, clap, clap―

Just then, the sound of someone clapping was heard from somewhere. Yuri and Hyunkyung turned their heads towards the sound. Jeho was leaning against the wall, watching the two of them.

“Well, I didn’t know.”

He said with a smile as beautiful as it was chilling.

“So that’s your taste, you two?”

[This is the timeline separator]

“Please pick up, please.”

As soon as he arrived in the Philippines, Minwoo called Yuri first. At Incheon Airport, he was in a hurry to board the plane and had no time to call.

“Damn, she’s really not answering.”

Though he called several times, Yuri never picked up. Manager Jin would have made up some excuse, so there shouldn’t be any big problem, but still feeling uneasy, he called Mrs. Na this time.

“Mom, how did the wedding go?”

[What do you mean how did it go? Everyone just went home thinking, oh well. Who would say anything when you postponed your own wedding and rushed off for the company?]

Mrs. Na, who hadn’t been keen on the marriage from the start, answered in an indifferent voice.

“Right. That’s how it should be.”

But the relief was only momentary, as Mrs. Na dropped a bombshell along with her complaints.

[That Yuri, she’s really no good. When they said you weren’t coming, she just walked out of the venue in her wedding dress, saying she was upset. Who does she think she is to throw a fit and run out? Let’s just call off this marriage while we’re at it.]

“Mom, are you crazy?”

Minwoo shouted with a pale face. There’s a limit to ruining a done deal! But Mrs. Na wasn’t one to back down easily either. A shout as loud as Minwoo’s came back.

[Shut up! Do you know how awful it was today? Anyway, I’m going to meet Representative Chae and give him a piece of my mind. How on earth did he raise his daughter?]

With Mrs. Na’s temperament, she was sure to go see Representative Chae. Minwoo had no choice but to plead desperately.

“Please don’t do that! If you do, I won’t be able to handle things properly here, and there might be an accident.”

[Are you threatening your own mother now?]

“It’s not a threat, it’s the truth. Things are different here than in Korea.”

Only then did Mrs. Na subdue her temper and said they’d talk again when he returned before hanging up. Having put out the urgent fire, Minwoo ground his teeth, swallowing his anger.

“Just wait, I’ll show that bastard Park what’s what.”

To cause trouble on the day he was marrying Yuri of all days! He could never forgive this. Minwoo angrily called Manager Jin. But the person who usually picked up on the first ring didn’t answer for some reason.

“Damn it.”

Minwoo was about to leave a message full of curses but took a moment to calm down and suppress his excitement. He might be too busy handling work to answer the phone.

Thinking he’d call again when he got to the hotel, Minwoo quickly left the airport.

[This is the timeline separator]

“No, it’s not like that!”

Yuri and Hyunkyung exclaimed in surprise, letting go of each other’s arms.

“We do love each other, but not in that way.”

The same words spilled from both women’s mouths without a single syllable different. Jeho frowned as if even that displeased him. As he pushed off the wall and started walking closer, Yuri blushed and quickly hid behind Hyunkyung.

She hadn’t realized when alone with Hyunkyung, but the moment she saw him, she remembered what had happened a few hours ago when they kissed deeply. Showing him her slip-clad figure and all, she felt embarrassed belatedly and couldn’t bear to look at his face.

Hyunkyung tried to turn her head as if to ask what was wrong, but Yuri used both hands to turn Hyunkyung’s face back to the front. Jeho, who had already approached, looked at the two with indifferent eyes.

“Lovers should stay together. Are you going to Hyunkyung’s house now?”

Jeho seemed to have misunderstood something. Though she was embarrassed, it wasn’t that she wanted to avoid him.

“Where would we go!”

Hyunkyung, sensing the atmosphere flowing in a strange direction, raised her voice.

“I have my own private life too. My lover comes over at night and all. Oh, of course, it’s a man. Right, Yuri?”

“Yes, that’s right. Hyunkyung’s lover is a man.”

Yuri, who had emerged from behind Hyunkyung, agreed vehemently. Only then did Jeho smile gently and walk past the two into the kitchen. Seeing the tea and teapot on the island countertop, he turned his head back.

“Were you going to have tea?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t drink this. It’s too bitter. I’ll brew some coffee for you instead.”

“Yes, coffee sounds good.”

Hyunkyung, who had said she wouldn’t drink coffee just moments ago, agreed loudly. Then she elbowed Yuri in the side as if telling her to go to the kitchen quickly. But when Yuri didn’t budge, she grabbed both her arms and practically dragged her to the kitchen.

“I have a very important phone call, just a moment.”

Hyunkyung, who had forcibly pushed Yuri into the kitchen, pretended to make a call and quickly disappeared into the garden. Fortunately, Jeho had his back turned to her as he was getting the coffee beans. Yet all her senses were drawn to him like iron to a magnet.

Just then, ding, a text notification sounded from Jeho’s phone. After checking the message, Jeho chuckled and put down his phone before operating the espresso machine.

Yuri, leaning against the island countertop, lowered her head as she felt her face flushing again. Her body was burning up, and her mind was a mess.

Lost in thought, she didn’t realize Jeho had approached. The moment citrus scent wafted to her nose, large hands grabbed her waist and lifted her onto the island countertop.

After setting Yuri down, he slowly started washing his hands at the nearby sink. Even while meticulously washing his soap-covered hands down to under his nails, he never took his eyes off her for a moment.

This is crazy. How can even hand washing look so cool?

After finishing washing his hands, he positioned himself between Yuri’s legs. Naturally, her legs wrapped around his waist.

“What did you do while I was gone?”

He whispered lowly, bringing his lips to Yuri’s ear. As his warm breath tickled her ear, Yuri unconsciously buried her face in Jeho’s shoulder. At the same time, his lips touched her neck.

“Don’t do this. Hyunkyung will be back soon.”

When a startled Yuri tried to pull back, strong hands firmly encircled her slender waist.

“No, Hyunkyung won’t be coming back.”

Jeho gently kissed her as he lifted Yuri’s chin with his other hand and said,

“The text earlier was from Hyunkyung. She said she had an urgent matter and left.”

The cold air settled on her exposed legs, her skirt having ridden up at some point.

“Now then.”

Lightly biting Yuri’s lips, he asked in a whisper.

“What shall I do for you?”

The moment those magical words flowed out, Yuri could no longer breathe.

“You have to tell me. Exactly what you want.”

Jeho, who murmured gently, slid his hand to an even bolder place.