“What… what is all this?”

The six-person marble dining table was completely filled, without even room for a water glass.

Grilled abalone, samgyetang, golden pan-fried meat, and even gujeolpan.

It was a feast that I couldn’t prepare even if I worked for two days and nights.

It seemed he had asked So Gyeong’s wife to prepare nutritious food while I was asleep.

Grumble.

The hunger from not having proper meals while being sick rushed in like a tide.

Not knowing to be embarrassed, Kang Do Eum swallowed her dry saliva with a gulp.

“Eat first. We’ll talk after eating.”

As soon as Seo Ji Wan’s words fell, Do Eum, who had sat down, put a piece of pan-fried meat in her mouth.

A smile spread across the woman’s face, seemingly happy with the perfect temperature and the melting texture.

I had also admired So Gyeong’s wife’s skilled cooking several times.

“They say you need to eat well to get pregnant.”

Pfft!!

The lips that were chewing the meat neatly parted, and the hand holding the meat covered her open mouth.

“W-who? Me? No, us? We’re supposed to get pregnant?”

A jumble of words poured out in rapid succession.

“Do we, I mean, do I have to do that too? If it’s pregnancy… Wait a minute, let me go check the contract again…”

As Do Eum finally stood up abruptly,

“No.”

With just three letters, Ji Wan stopped Do Eum’s steps.

Calmly standing up and pouring a glass of water, Ji Wan placed it in front of Do Eum and wrinkled his nose.

Here we go again.

That face that looks like he’s dying to play around.

It was surprising how he had hidden it until now, as the man was constantly teasing her at every opportunity.

“I won’t ask you to go that far, so sit down and eat.”

Plop, as Do Eum sat back down, Ji Wan placed some well-cooked white chicken meat on her plate and continued speaking.

“Listen while you eat.”

Nod, nod.

The small head quickly bobbed in agreement again.

“I don’t intend to drag out this marriage for long.”

As his gaze met the attentive eyes with hands placed on her knees, Ji Wan gestured to the food on the plate.

He meant not to stop eating while listening, as he had said to eat while listening.

“…Ah, yes.”

Only after seeing her put the meat from the plate into her mouth and chew did Ji Wan continue.

“This marriage is just an excuse for me, and for you…”

Do Eum’s gaze wavered, seeming lost, as she further shredded the already finely torn meat.

“…it will be a waste of time.”

She remembered the words of Chairman Jang of Anseo-dong, who had said he had taken hold of his mother’s leash to plot Ji Wan’s marriage.

For the man, was this marriage to protect his mother?

Or was it to maintain his position in the Peninsula?

“Even with financial compensation, it’s certainly not an easy choice. I admit it was a mistake to demand that you unconditionally accept my requests.”

The face that had been looking at the plate the whole time lifted and their eyes met.

“Since we’re already married, even if we end it when it’s time to end, I’d like us to be as comfortable as possible with each other. I’ll redefine exactly what needs to be done for the other person. Besides the things I’ve asked of you, if you have anything you want to ask of me, go ahead.”

Do Eum’s eyes sparkled, just like when she had brightened at the question of where she wanted to go on their first date.

“From now on, if there’s anything you’d like me to keep, or if there’s something you really want to do…”

“Please let me set the table.”

With those sparkling eyes, all she had to say was about setting the table.

Haa.

A dejected laugh escaped through Ji Wan’s teeth as he had been seriously waiting for an answer.

He had forgotten for a moment that this was the woman who, on their first date, wanted to go to the supermarket, not even an amusement park, let alone a fancy bar with a nice night view.

“Is that all?”

“And please let me organize shoes and greet you when you come and go.”

“You’ve been doing that all along, even without being told.”

“I was being considerate.”

“It didn’t seem that way.”

“That’s… how I was being considerate.”

The man raised one hand and waved it in the air, then asked again.

“And what else?”

There were only crude demands, nothing to negotiate.

“Um… let’s go on dates sometimes. Watch movies, go to the supermarket.”

The man, who had been saying okay as if it was always bothersome, didn’t readily answer this time.

“Don’t misunderstand, it’s not because I really like you or love you or anything. You just said earlier that this marriage is an excuse for you and a waste of time for me. I want to try to utilize that wasted time.”

“Speak so I can understand.”

“Well, I’ve never dated before. I want to learn things like push and pull between the opposite sex, playing hard to get, you know, those kinds of things. Instead of just wasting this time, I want to make it as realistic as possible…”

“So you’re going to set me up as a substitute for a future lover and do a rehearsal?”

Among the countless women who had chased after him because they liked him, this was the first woman who said she would use him as someone else’s substitute, and to do it so blatantly at that. Ji Wan was dumbfounded by the woman’s brazen words.

“When this marriage ends and I’ve paid off all my debts, I’m going to try dating properly. Until now, I’ve been too busy earning money and studying for scholarships to have time for dating.”

The woman was honest as always.

Unnecessarily honest, even when there was no need to be.

“Fine, do that. But dates only once a month, no more.”

What dates, with someone who’s determined to use me.

“And also…”

As Do Eum was about to continue speaking as if she had been waiting, Ji Wan interrupted.

“Is there more besides this?”

At the question of whether there was more besides this, the woman’s nose bridge twitched sharply, unbecoming of a man.

Just as the man had been teasing her all along.

“Please allow me to go out once a month.”

The man, who had no intention of giving anything, nodded with a disappointed face as if he had given everything, both what he had and didn’t have.

“I’d like to go out next week to see my friends who are returning from vacation.”

Having given even what wasn’t in the plan, there was nothing left to hold back, so Ji Wan nodded.

“If that’s all, now eat.”

Placing a well-prepared grilled abalone on Do Eum’s plate, which had already been cleaned, Ji Wan thought.

Is this really the right thing to do?

Had he dug his own grave by doing this for his own peace of mind?

His mouth tasted bitter for no reason.

*****

Throughout my illness, Ji Wan, for some reason, didn’t go to the company.

When asked why he wasn’t going, he simply said that’s what being a representative is like.

Is this the perk of such a position, he had said.

As Ji Wan left for work after two days, Do Eum followed him to the garden where Han Woo Seok greeted her in one step.

It was even before the black sedan had properly come to a stop.

“Madam, your face has become half its size.”

“No, I ate a lot and gained 3 kilos.”

Ji Wan, who had been pretending not to listen, passed by the two and dropped a comment.

“It looks like half a face because Manager Han’s eyes are only half open.”

“What?”

“Your eyes keep half-closing because you’re smiling so much. Stop smiling and open your eyes. Open them fully and look.”

Thud, he spat out and the back seat door of the sedan slammed shut.

“Did you two fight again?”

When Woo Seok asked with a face devoid of laughter,

“No.”

A clear answer came back.

As Woo Seok smiled along, disarmed by Do Eum’s smile, it was clear that his superior’s scolding was of no concern.

“When you smile, madam, someone brightens up. And when that someone brightens up, my world becomes bright.”

“What?”

As Do Eum tilted her head in confusion, Woo Seok got into the passenger seat.

“Well then, I’ll be going. Please go inside, madam.”

While scolding her to smile moderately, his superior’s mood seemed better than ever.

A man who wouldn’t even take a vacation when told to rest, rested for two whole days.

Two days of rest for someone as high up as a company representative, even reporting to his subordinates.

Ji Wan’s face looked happier seeing the woman who gained 3 kilos than the woman herself who said she gained 3 kilos.

But that was only for a moment.

Upon entering the office, faced with piles of documents, my superior inevitably revealed his true colors.

“Does the HR team leader have a lot of money? There’s no room for improvement even after I said I’d deduct pay for my time wasted on these terrible documents.”

“Who took the minutes for last week’s meeting? Don’t you know how to organize concisely?”

“Is the list of participants for the EPC (engineering procurement construction) practical training to be sent to the association not ready yet?”

Dozens of summoned executives came in and out.

By the time they fully realized how dreamlike those two days without the representative had been.

Team leader Yeon from the secretariat came in.

“It’s Anseo-dong. You’re to bring the madam and come this evening.”

At the mention of Anseo-dong, Woo Seok, who had been gathering documents on the left side of the desk, looked up.

As she was someone who didn’t give reasons when calling, it was one of the secretariat’s duties to analyze Madam Jang’s recent schedule and guess her intentions when a summons came.

“Last week, she visited President Seo at Taerim Village where he’s recovering, and the day before yesterday, she went to Choyeon Art Museum.”

Choyeon Art Museum.

It was the museum where his mother Eun Hee was.

At that name, Ji Wan’s face turned cold.

“Is it just the representative couple who are summoned?”

Woo Seok asked on behalf of the silent Ji Wan.

“No, Director Seo and his wife are also to attend.”

Woo Seok swallowed hard as if thinking that what was bound to happen had finally come.

While the wedding might have been overlooked due to many eyes watching, this was like putting an unsuspecting lamb into a lion’s den where they couldn’t wait to devour each other. He was worried about Do Eum.

He imagined the arrogant Ki Hyeok, who Chairman Jang favored as the eldest grandson, and Ji Wan, who would be even more sparing with his words.

It was overwhelming to think how the man who never yields could protect Do Eum, who would be shrinking in a space surrounded by enemies.

“Manager Han, call Hwa-an-dong. Tell them I’ll pick her up by 6.”

Whether the woman’s appearance would make it a 4 vs 1 fight or a 3 vs 2 for the man who had already struggled with a 3 vs 1.

Woo Seok bowed with a pale face and left the office.

*****

In a pale pink two-piece summer suit with her long hair tied up, the woman looked more vibrant than ever.

Whether it was with the intention of being eaten beautifully since she was going to be devoured anyway, as good-looking food tastes good too, the slight blush on her cheeks and the cute pearl earrings suited the small woman quite well.

“Manager Han. Did you tell her where we’re going?”

Whenever the car pulled up to the garden, it had become a habit for the man to look the woman up and down as she stood with her hands neatly folded, and ask this question first.

“Of course.”

And Woo Seok always answered that he had done so, as he should.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that the woman, who knew where they were going and what kind of place it was, was so excited and fidgety.

Ji Wan roughly rubbed his face.

“How can she be so cheerful every day? She really is an amazing person.”

Without a word, Ji Wan’s gaze turned to the window on the opposite side.

Having gauged his complex and profound intentions, Woo Seok got out of the car and escorted Do Eum.

The man, who didn’t say a single word even after seeing her, Do Eum just glanced at once, and the car ride to Anseo-dong was silent.