🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 13
‘An employee….’
To Yeonseo’s ears, it sounded more like, “Just some servant.”
From Geum Seon-ae’s perspective, Yeonseo’s grandmother was nothing more than a mere worker, someone unworthy of her attention.
Doheon gave a bitter smile and added an explanation.
“She would think so. Until last year, she was working here as a gardener. She passed away in an accident…”
“Oh, really? I vaguely recall someone like that. Well then, that’s unfortunate.”
Seon-ae brushed down her skirt as she stood.
“I’ll be heading upstairs. I had a half-body bath prepared, so enjoy your time.”
Once Seon-ae disappeared from sight, Yeonseo stared blankly at the spot where she had been. Her unfocused gaze lingered as her thoughts churned.
‘Her reaction was strange… too strange for someone who supposedly didn’t even know Grandma.’
“Hm.”
A soft chuckle slipped from Doheon’s lips.
Yeonseo blinked at him, confused, unable to figure out what he was thinking.
‘What does this man really think about Grandma? Why bring her up all of a sudden? I can’t grasp his intentions at all.’
When he spoke about Grandma, it seemed like he regarded her as just another servant. Yet, when he mentioned her to Seon-ae, his expression and body language hinted at something more.
‘Am I imagining it? …It must be just my imagination.’
Yeonseo recalled the first time they met.
“I only came here because of my grandmother. She’s the one who cared for this garden.”
“Ah. The gardener.”
Back then, he had certainly treated Grandma as if she were of no consequence. No different from any other chaebol heir.
She could endure someone like Geum Seon-ae looking down on her grandmother, dismissing her as nothing but a disposable tool.
But if he—Doheon—thought of Grandma in the same way, it would be unbearably miserable. With just one word from him, both Grandma and she herself would be reduced to nothing more than objects.
That was the one thing she desperately hoped he wouldn’t do.
Returning to his usual composed expression, Doheon rose from his seat.
“Let’s head to the room. There are things I need to do with you, Miss Woo Yeonseo.”
Yeonseo, who had been tangled in chaotic thoughts, froze at his words.
“Th-things to do?”
He didn’t answer, merely walking toward the bedroom. Reluctantly, Yeonseo trailed behind.
Before she realized it, the door opened, revealing a room with white sheets awaiting them.
“You wash up first. I’ll go after you.”
His tone was closer to a command.
The atmosphere inside the room shifted. The moment she became conscious that she was alone with him, her heartbeat quickened.
‘After I wash… then what?’
The two weeks she had spent at Myeongseonjae without him had been tense enough. Being in this house, even breathing, had never been comfortable.
But nothing felt as dangerously overwhelming as the thought of pressing skin to skin with him.
Back at the hotel, even when she had been utterly exhausted, the lingering heat in her body from his touch had kept her from sleeping properly.
While he was away, at least she hadn’t needed to endure that. That much had been a relief.
As her thoughts circled, he sat casually in the armchair, legs crossed, giving a small tilt of his chin toward the bathroom.
The cramped space made him seem even larger. It felt as if the entire room was him, and she was simply living inside it.
Her relationship with him had always been daunting. But facing him again after two weeks, he felt even more so.
Still, Yeonseo pushed down the emotions that tried to rise.
Being in his arms was simply part of their contract. Personal feelings would only get in the way of their already fragile marriage arrangement.
“…I’ll go wash then.”
Gathering clothes, Yeonseo stepped into the bathroom. She even locked the door, just in case.
When the hot water poured down her skin, the day’s fatigue washed away with it.
For a fleeting moment, she thought: What if I just stayed in here, and never came out? A cowardly, escapist thought.
She shook her head quickly.
‘Still, he just got back home after so long. He must be exhausted… If I keep him waiting too long, he won’t be able to rest.’
Besides, she had gained something from this contract marriage. She had cleared Yeonjae’s burdensome debts, and she was promised money she would never have seen in her lifetime.
She couldn’t say he had been entirely bad to her.
Finishing her shower, Yeonseo carefully opened the door.
“I’m done. You can go in now.”
But the room was utterly quiet. Not a sound of breathing.
‘Did he fall asleep?’
She glanced toward the armchair where he had been—but he was gone.
‘Did he leave?’
Tilting her head in confusion, she began drying her hair.
By the time her hair was nearly dry, the door clicked open. She turned to see him carrying a paper bag.
“You went out?”
“Yeah.”
He sat in a chair by the nightstand and pulled out a round plastic container from the bag.
“I remembered you liked the food here last time.”
When he opened it, steamy ox-bone soup—seolleongtang—appeared, white broth sending up mouthwatering steam.
It was the only food she had eaten well from what he had bought before, and he had remembered.
“Eat comfortably.”
For a moment, Yeonseo felt her tension dissolve.
‘All I’ve been thinking about is how to avoid him…’
Seo Doheon was the only person who actually cared if she ate.
“…Thank you.”
For a moment, she thought maybe he did have a warmer side after all.
After unpacking the food, he went into the bathroom.
Yeonseo sat down and scooped up some of the broth.
It was piping hot, as if freshly boiled. She could tell he had rushed to bring it.
‘It’s delicious.’
Warmth spread through her stomach.
Grandma used to make seolleongtang often when she was alive.
She would boil a whole pot of bone broth and add meat—Yeonseo never envied any other dish when Grandma cooked it. Sometimes she ate it for days on end.
Finishing the soup, Yeonseo lay down on the bed, waiting for him to come out.
She wanted to thank him once more, sincerely this time.
‘When did I even fall asleep?’
Woken by the alarm on her phone, Yeonseo opened her eyes and checked beside her. He wasn’t there.
‘Did I pull the blanket over myself?’
Puzzled, she touched the neatly spread blanket covering her, then pressed a hand to the spot beside her.
‘Did he… actually sleep here?’
The sheets were smooth, as though no one had lain there.
She remembered finishing the soup, lying down, and then… sleep overtook her. The satisfying warmth of a proper meal must have lulled her to rest.
But it was strange. The man who had seemed so ready to assert dominance after her shower hadn’t touched her at all, letting her sleep in peace.
Her heart thudded harder just from thinking about his intentions. She pressed her palm against her chest as if to calm it.
“I wanted to thank him, but…”
Eventually, as she headed toward the kitchen, she saw him sitting at the dining table. Even at 4:40 a.m., he looked impeccably composed.
“Daughter-in-law, come sit. Your first meal with Doheon since the wedding, eh?”
Chairman Seo’s booming voice rang out. He seemed pleased to finally share a meal with Doheon again.
At the table were Chairman Seo, Doheon, and Geum Seon-ae. Oddly, Doheon’s father was absent today.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
Yeonseo bowed politely and greeted them softly before taking a seat across from Doheon.
His gaze briefly brushed hers, then slipped away.
Next to him, Seon-ae sat with the look of someone chewing paper. She poked at her rice without once glancing at Yeonseo.
“Seon-ae, is the food really that bad?”
At Chairman Seo’s sharp remark, Seon-ae sighed quietly, then rose from the table.
“…I’m not digesting well. I’ll excuse myself.”
Watching her drift away toward her room, Chairman Seo clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Yeonseo sat frozen, unable to lift her spoon. Seon-ae, who always maintained a smiling mask in front of the family, showing open displeasure was unsettling.
At that moment, Doheon set a plate of short ribs in front of Yeonseo’s bowl. When she looked up at him in surprise, her wide eyes met his indifferent gaze.
“Eat.”
His tone was dry, devoid of emotion.
“…Yes.”
And suddenly, his words from the garden yesterday echoed in her mind.
“I’m not into women who are too thin.”
His voice reverberated in her head like an echo.
