Seong Jun, who entered the elevator, let out a sigh. At first, he had decided to ignore his wife’s message, unsure of what she was thinking.

However, somehow her last words about waiting stuck in his mind, and he found himself sending a message saying he would arrive at 7 o’clock without even realizing it.

As a result, Seong Jun had to postpone an important appointment with a client scheduled for the evening to next week, and he was filled with self-loathing for his irrational decision as he adjusted his schedule to match the disrupted itinerary. His head throbbed.

‘What am I doing right now? At such an important time,’

Seong Jun, who got off the elevator, frowned for a moment in front of the front door.

He thought that if he saw his wife spouting nonsense again, like saying it was okay to meet other women or offering to write a contract, he might really get angry this time.

Just then, before Seong Jun could open the door, it swung open abruptly. And the face of the protagonist who had been filling his mind until just moments ago came into view.

“Seong Jun?”

Was she about to go out? Seo Yeon looked surprised when she discovered Seong Jun. But it was only for a moment. A smile quickly spread across her face.

“Welcome home.”

It was a smile as if she had seen the face of someone she had really been waiting for.

“You must have worked hard today too. Was there no traffic? You came earlier than I thought?”

“……”

It was the first time since their marriage that Seo Yeon had welcomed his return home. Seong Jun stared intently at Seo Yeon’s face, not even thinking to respond.

He didn’t think he was the type to feel lonely easily, but hearing his wife say he had worked hard made him feel strangely good.

Is it this pleasant to have your wife welcome you home?

‘Why isn’t he coming in and just staring like that?’

Seo Yeon began to feel increasingly burdened by Seong Jun’s gaze as he stood still at the front door, not making any move to come in, just staring intently at her. To be precise, it wasn’t so much burdensome as her heart started to flutter more as time passed.

Due to his large height and build, Seo Yeon often felt overwhelmed by her husband just from him looking down at her like this. He was someone who induced tension just by his very existence, both then and now.

Get a grip, please. He’s the man who cheated because he was so full of himself. Don’t waver again.

Seo Yeon muttered that to herself inwardly, trying to compose herself.

At least in this life, she didn’t want to harbor any futile emotions or expectations for him.

‘Just think about the child.’

Having organized her thoughts, Seo Yeon turned, indicating for him to come inside.

“You haven’t had dinner yet, right?”

At that, Seong Jun stopped observing Seo Yeon and moved his feet.

She was glad she had left the gathering early despite Hwa Young’s objections. She had been able to finish preparing dinner for Seong Jun as promised without delay.

The steak was cooked medium rare, just as her husband liked it, and she had pre-selected and set out wine that wasn’t too sweet, also to his taste.

Seong Jun looked around the living room and asked.

“I guess you told the housekeeper to leave early again?”

As if on cue, when Seong Jun inquired about the housekeeper, Seo Yeon felt somehow proud and didn’t miss the chance to boast.

“Yes. I told her to leave early today too. You saw the message earlier, right? That I would make dinner today. I prepared steak, your favorite, for dinner.”

She hoped he would appreciate the effort.

However, contrary to Seo Yeon’s expectations, as soon as she finished speaking, Seong Jun frowned as if displeased.

“Unnecessarily……”

“What?”

Seong Jun, who had been looking at Seo Yeon for a moment, moved his feet.

“Nothing.”

Nothing indeed. After showing such obvious displeasure, is that all you have to say? I went through the trouble of preparing dinner and waiting, what exactly are you dissatisfied with?

Indignant, while glaring at Seong Jun, Seo Yeon forced a smile and asked.

“If possible, I’d like it if we ate right now and you washed up later. What do you think? I feel like it might lose its taste if it gets cold.”

At that, Seong Jun moved towards the dining room.

Seated across from Seong Jun, Seo Yeon urged him to eat.

“You must be hungry? Please, eat.”

Then Seong Jun quietly began to cut his steak. As she had noticed before, her husband was a man with a very upright sitting posture.

It seemed the rumors about the Han Kyung family receiving special education from childhood, from how to speak to how to sit, were not just rumors but facts. His posture was literally perfect.

Perhaps because of that, even the sight of him cutting meat with his gaze lowered looked incredibly elegant.

Though she had just resolved not to waver before her husband moments ago, she found herself unconsciously focusing on his subtle actions again.

“How does it taste?”

Seo Yeon pushed aside her conflicting emotions and waited for Seong Jun’s answer with sparkling eyes.

“It just tastes like steak.”

“……!”

Seong Jun, who had carelessly answered truthfully, looked at Seo Yeon, realizing his mistake. She was glaring at him as if upset.

“Oh, is that so? Of course. It’s steak, so naturally it would taste like steak. I asked a silly question.”

At first, he had looked at her intending to correct his careless response and apologize.

But once he set his eyes on his wife, he found he couldn’t look away from her afterwards.

Her plump lips, pouting as if sulking, looked unbearably cute.

Until just a few days ago, it had always been difficult to even see an expression on his wife’s face, and he had always been curious about her thoughts.

Now, he could read his wife’s thoughts without having to think too deeply.

If only she would show her emotions like this normally.

Just as Seong Jun was thinking that while keeping his gaze fixed on Seo Yeon,

Seo Yeon, who had been tilting her head as if finding it strange that Seong Jun was staring at her silently, suddenly began to fill her glass in front of her with wine.

“You can’t drink alcohol.”

Seong Jun tried to stop Seo Yeon’s actions.

“No.”

Seo Yeon pulled her hand away from Seong Jun’s and replied in a calm voice.

“You just don’t know, Seong Jun. I’m actually much better at drinking than you think.”

“Really? Why didn’t I know that?”

“Maybe because we never had the chance to drink together, Seong Jun?”

“We didn’t have the chance, did we.”

Seo Yeon nodded and agreed.

“That’s right.”

But Seong Jun narrowed his eyes as if still not quite believing it.

“Can you really drink well?”

“I’m telling you it’s true. Maybe I can even drink better than you, Seong Jun. No. I do drink better. Want to bet?”

In her previous life, when Seo Yeon was wandering lost after losing her child, there was a time when she relied on alcohol to forget her pain.

At first, she just needed a way to escape from negative emotions, even if only for a very brief moment. But as time passed, Seo Yeon became more and more dependent on alcohol, and whenever Seong Jun discovered her like that, he would fly into a rage.

It was the most difficult and longest period of wandering in Seo Yeon’s life.

Suddenly recalling the depressing memory, Seo Yeon wore a gloomy expression for a moment before shaking her head.

And once again, she steeled her resolve.

Back then, every moment was painful thinking there was no way to turn back time no matter what she did, but now it was different.

Now she could change the future depending on her own efforts.

Just as Seo Yeon emptied her wine glass in an instant and picked up the wine bottle to pour another glass,

“What should we bet on?”

Seong Jun said as he snatched the wine bottle from her hand and poured it into Seo Yeon’s glass himself.

“How about the loser grants one wish for the winner?”

Seo Yeon suggested brightly.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

Seong Jun accepted her proposal smoothly as he poured wine into his own glass.

Seo Yeon smiled triumphantly.

Unlike her, her husband was not particularly fond of alcohol.

Whenever he drank, regardless of the occasion, it was always with the caveat that it was absolutely necessary for business.

If it wasn’t necessary for business, he was a husband who normally wouldn’t touch a drop of alcohol.

The one time he got drunk in front of her, he was so intoxicated that he spent the night with a wife he didn’t even like, so this was obviously going to be her victory.

When she brought up writing a contract, he had worn a frightening expression saying he wouldn’t let it slide if she said such a thing one more time.

Acting as if marriage and love were separate, he had lived freely keeping a mistress throughout their married life…

Yet when she came out saying she would acknowledge their relationship if he had someone he loved, he flew into a rage, and Seo Yeon couldn’t even begin to guess her husband’s true feelings…

Whatever his true feelings might be, having this opportunity to drink with her husband now was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for her.

Seo Yeon planned to discuss the issue of joining their rooms again if she won the bet.

“Have another glass.”

That’s how it was supposed to be.

But the moment she drank exactly five glasses of wine, she suddenly became intoxicated.

In fact, she had started feeling dizzy from the third glass. But thinking it wasn’t true, that it must be her imagination, she stubbornly drank two more glasses, and now she was in a state where it was difficult to even open her eyes.

Maybe it’s because I’m sitting down that I feel dizzy. Would the dizziness subside a bit if I stood up? Seo Yeon, who had been contemplating this, stood up from her seat.

It was an action meant to prove she was fine, but when her eyes met Seong Jun’s, who had been watching intently with his arms crossed as if to see how far she would go, she immediately blurted out nonsense.

“Seong… Jun? Why are there two of you?”

With those words, Seo Yeon’s legs gave out and she lost her balance, stumbling.

At the same time, Seong Jun rose from his seat and caught Seo Yeon just in time as she was about to fall.

“You wanted to make a bet, you drunkard.”

And pulling Seo Yeon tightly into his arms, he whispered in her ear.

“You lost.”