And Seong Jun checked the shower head again to see if it was working properly, without any explanation for his statement, as if he had said something completely obvious.

After confirming that the water pressure had fully returned to normal, he hung the shower head back in place and said,

“Let me know if it stops working again.”

Seo Yeon nodded at his calm voice.

“O-Okay, I will.”

And Seo Yeon raised her head again and spoke in a barely audible voice.

“Thank you, honey.”

Deep dimples appeared on her cheeks. Seeing this, Seong Jun somehow found it hard to leave.

Barely managing to turn his reluctant feet, Seong Jun returned to his room and first took off his wet clothes.

As he walked to the dressing room to choose clothes to change into, he frowned, recalling the situation in the bathroom earlier. His dark eyes were filled with desire.

Those white hands that fumbled here and there, seemingly unaware of what he was thinking.

She had quite the talent for driving people crazy.

He had used all his strength to grab her hands and lower them, unable to let the innocent lamb see his lecherous thoughts.

However, when he saw her white face beaming with pure joy at his words that the clothes suited her, he almost leaned down and kissed her right then and there.

Fortunately, this time he had time to prepare, so he was able to resist the impulse to act as impulsively as last time.

The problem was that this innocent lamb was his wife.

Seong Jun recalled Seo Yeon’s expression from earlier.

Although she would avoid his gaze or turn her head as if flustered when he stared intently at her, she no longer seemed afraid or uncomfortable with him like before.

For the past 3 years, he hadn’t thought that his wife could change.

His wife had always been uncomfortable with him and always intimidated. Seeing those expressions made him feel like he was torturing her by approaching her.

Thinking that if everyone was uncomfortable, at least one person should be comfortable, he didn’t approach her.

He thought that if he kept his distance, she would at least be able to live comfortably at home. But if there was a possibility for the situation to change, there was no need to keep his distance as before.

*

Meanwhile, Seo Yeon, who had gone to bed earlier than usual, was also having trouble falling asleep.

When she closed her eyes to sleep, her husband’s indifferent face saying she looked pretty in anything kept appearing, causing her eyes to fly open reflexively. At the same time, her hands gripping the blanket tightened.

‘And here he was teasing me about looking like a frog before!’

In fact, being complimented as pretty wasn’t a new situation for Seo Yeon.

It was an expression that had followed her like an epithet since she was young, and especially when meeting men, it was a greeting she often heard. However, it was also something she had never heard from her husband in her previous life.

So Seo Yeon thought she might be hearing things.

However, unlike other men who would praise her appearance with all sorts of flowery words in an excited face and voice, Seong Jun maintained an indifferent attitude as if he was just stating a fact.

It was a clean attitude, as if there was no need to emphasize something that was just stating facts.

The strange thing was that those words she had heard countless times sounded special the moment they came from Seong Jun’s mouth.

Special.

The moment she acknowledged this feeling, Seo Yeon tossed and turned once more in bed.

And Seo Yeon bit her lip as if wronged, shaking her flushed face. She wanted to sleep without thinking about anything, but as time passed, her mind only became clearer. Seo Yeon muttered as if wronged.

“What’s going on all of a sudden… Why did he say that there… I can’t sleep. Sigh.”

The reason her mind was so complicated and her heart so troubled was because this was something she had never experienced before. It had to be. Seo Yeon muttered to herself with her eyes tightly shut.

*

Beep beep beep―

At 7 AM, Seo Yeon’s eyes flew open at the sound of the alarm ringing through the cozy bedroom. As she quickly slipped out from under the sheets and checked the time, Seo Yeon’s large eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck.

‘No way, did I sleep until 7? I’m crazy!’

Seong Jun woke up at 5 AM. There were no exceptions, even on days off. So Seo Yeon also greeted the early morning following Seong Jun.

At the very least, she didn’t want to miss seeing her husband off. She was flustered because she had never overslept until now. Surely tossing and turning last night must have affected her.

She hurriedly changed clothes and came out to the living room, but her husband was nowhere to be seen.

“Did he already leave for work?”

As she was looking around to see if her husband might be somewhere in the living room, there was a clattering sound from the direction of the dining room. Seo Yeon turned her head towards the sound.

“Madam?”

Usually, the housekeeper who helped with household chores didn’t arrive until after 9 AM. Even though she knew this for certain, Seo Yeon couldn’t help but call out like that.

Especially at this morning hour, there was no reason for her husband to be in the kitchen.

With a doubtful face, Seo Yeon walked towards the dining room, and her eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected scene unfolding before her.

“Seong Jun?”

Her husband, already dressed neatly in a suit as if ready to leave for work, was preparing breakfast alone. Seong Jun’s gaze shifted to Seo Yeon.

“You’re up? Come sit down.”

As Seo Yeon sat down in the chair Seong Jun indicated with a dazed expression, a moment later, a golden-brown French toast was placed on the plate in front of her.

Next to the white plate, a simple salad and milk were neatly arranged. Seong Jun, who had even set out a knife and fork tidily, sat down across from her.

“Don’t tell me, did you make this, Seong Jun?”

No way. That’s what was written on Seo Yeon’s face as she looked at Seong Jun. In response to Seo Yeon’s reaction of utter disbelief, Seong Jun replied.

“There was an aunt who practically raised me until I entered school, and she was a very interesting person.”

What’s this story all of a sudden? Although Seo Yeon couldn’t quite grasp why Seong Jun was suddenly bringing this up, she played along and asked.

“How was she interesting?”

“She was an employee who didn’t care about the employer’s mood.”

Seo Yeon’s eyes widened in wonder.

“She must have been a very special person.”

“That’s right. There was something that aunt always insisted on. Even if I was born into a good family and grew up in an environment where I didn’t need to cook with my own hands, she said that as a man, I should know at least one dish I could confidently make.”

Seo Yeon became more and more engrossed in Seong Jun’s story. It was fascinating in itself to hear about her husband’s childhood that she hadn’t known about in the past.

“And then? What happened?”

As if to satisfy Seo Yeon’s curiosity, Seong Jun continued.

“She insisted that I must learn at least one dish. I felt like she would keep bothering me if I didn’t agree, so I asked her to teach me the simplest dish.”

Her eyes rounded.

“And this is the result?”

Seo Yeon asked in disbelief. Seong Jun nodded.

“This is the first time I’ve actually made it since learning back then, so I can’t guarantee the taste.”

“…”

Even after hearing Seong Jun’s answer, Seo Yeon couldn’t easily eat the toast. She tried not to show it for fear of being rude to Seong Jun, but she was in a state of utter shock.

It would be more realistic to dream of pigs flying than this current situation. Seo Yeon muttered in her heart.

In the past, she would often skip breakfast and have lunch, or eat a simple salad alone. Having breakfast with her husband was something she had never experienced before, in both the past and present.

It was already awkward enough to have a meal together, let alone breakfast prepared by her husband himself.

Of course, it was a situation she had never even imagined, not even in her dreams.

What on earth was happening to her these past couple of days? Could the man in front of her not be her husband but a ghost? Maybe he’s a ghost who’s come to take me to the afterlife.

As Seo Yeon hesitated for a long time, just staring, Seong Jun started eating first. Watching him, Seo Yeon slowly picked up her fork and knife.

Carefully moving the knife to cut the toast into bite-sized pieces, Seo Yeon brought a piece of the cut toast to her mouth with an expression that couldn’t hide her anticipation.

“…!”

Seo Yeon’s expression became subtle. The French toast made by her husband wasn’t particularly special in taste. It was the familiar taste of French toast she knew well – moist and sweet.

Clearly, the taste wasn’t special, but her emotions and feelings were. Seo Yeon chewed while secretly glancing at her husband’s face.

‘So this is what it feels like to have a meal with my husband.’

Just eating together made her feel warm and fulfilled in a corner of her heart. Had all normal couples been enjoying such pleasant mornings like this?

‘…I’m envious.’

At the same time, she felt a little wronged.

Unlike herself who had always had lonely and solitary mealtimes, they must have had such enjoyable times like this every day.

But she thought it didn’t matter about anything else, since thanks to her husband, she was able to experience emotions she had never felt before, even if belatedly. Whatever happened in the past, she was happy now, and that was enough.

Having thus dispelled her momentary gloom, Seo Yeon moved her fork again. And every time Seo Yeon moved her fork, Seong Jun took notice of her.