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Chapter 18
On the way back home.
The city still couldn’t fall asleep.
Even at this late hour, the lights in the buildings showed no sign of turning off, and the taillights of cars running along the road stretched endlessly, flowing like a red river.
The view outside the window hadn’t changed. It had been the same for years.
And Choi Juyoung, who was staring out that window, was just as exhausted as always.
Except—something had changed today. The car she was riding in, and the person driving it.
Juyoung turned her head.
There was Bae Sunghoon, focusing straight ahead on driving. She told him she was fine, yet he insisted on taking her home.
Something about manners, or whatever.
“Why.”
Sunghoon spoke first.
“Do you have something you want to say to me?”
He was still looking only ahead. But even so, he noticed that Juyoung was staring at him.
“I’m just wondering what the meaning of today’s date is, since we didn’t even get photographed.”
“Even without photos, word will reach my parents. That’s enough.”
Well, true. The whole point of getting photographed on a date was to make sure word reached their parents.
“Since your uncle saw us leaving the hotel together, that should boost the credibility even more.”
Juyoung deliberately mentioned Bae Seokjae, Sunghoon’s “uncle.” The man had looked like he’d spotted something suspicious between them.
“……Well. Probably.”
More negative than positive.
His voice sounded like he was answering her only because he had no choice, and Juyoung’s eyes narrowed.
“You really can’t hide your expression whenever your uncle is mentioned. As expected—”
“That’s enough.”
Before Juyoung could finish, Sunghoon cut her off.
At that moment, the traffic light turned red. He slowed down, then stepped on the brake until the car stopped completely.
“I know what you’re imagining, but that’s enough.”
He turned his gaze toward her. The city lights reflected in his dark eyes.
But his eyes didn’t shine. They swallowed the colorful lights, growing even darker, like ink.
“You’re the one who said we should take what we need and protect what we must, right?”
“…….”
“So let’s cut the unnecessary curiosity. We’re just business partners.”
A quick glance.
Sunghoon lowered his eyes briefly as if checking something, then raised them again.
The signal turned green. He pressed the accelerator.
The conversation ended there.
Before long, they approached her apartment.
* * *
“Wait here for a second.”
Sunghoon suddenly stopped the car at the curb and got out before she could even ask why. The driver’s door closed.
Juyoung watched his back as he walked into a late-night pharmacy.
A few minutes passed.
He returned with a translucent plastic bag in hand. Without a word, he placed it into her hand.
“What is this? If it’s something useless like cabbage juice again—”
She peeked into the bag and stopped speaking.
Bruise cream?
She looked up, confused, and Sunghoon sighed.
“I know you’re slow when it comes to your own body.”
He jerked his chin toward her hand.
Only then did Juyoung realize it—her hand was red and bruised from shaking hands with Bae Seokjae.
“If you plan on staying that oblivious, tell me in advance.”
Muttering indifferently, Sunghoon stepped on the accelerator.
“So I can practice playing the role of a husband who loses his beloved wife to an early death.”
Juyoung couldn’t say anything.
* * *
She stepped inside her home.
The sensor light turned on, and the box of cabbage juice sat at the side of the entryway—now practically a permanent resident.
Sighing, she swept her hair back.
“So annoying, seriously.”
If something bothers her, she should just get rid of it.
Out of sight, out of mind.
She knew this logically, and yet—she still hadn’t thrown away that cabbage juice.
Every time she left or returned home, it irritated her.
How strange.
“……Like I don’t already have enough to worry about.”
In the end, Juyoung decided to shift her thoughts.
There were things more important than cabbage juice.
It wasn’t strange to handle the things lower on the priority list later.
“I can throw it out after I finish all the urgent matters.”
And the most urgent matter now—was Bae Seokjae.
More precisely, the relationship between Bae Seokjae and Bae Sunghoon.
“There’s a limit to what you overlook just because someone’s ‘family.’”
She remembered Seokjae’s words.
If he truly considered them family, why pick a fight with a nephew’s girlfriend upon first meeting her?
Seeing it in person, she was now certain.
There was something between Sunghoon and Seokjae.
“I look forward to meeting you again, President Choi Juyoung.”
She looked down at the left hand that had shaken his. The red mark had faded but still remained.
“‘Overlooking because we’re family,’ huh…”
He had put strong emphasis on the word family.
Was it a warning from an uncle to a nephew—don’t aim higher than your place?
Or something even deeper?
“Considering how sensitively Sunghoon reacted… there must be a shady story behind it.”
A particularly shady one.
“I need to find out.”
Switching into indoor slippers, Juyoung made up her mind.
If she understood the relationship between Sunghoon and Seokjae, she might also learn why Sunghoon agreed to this marriage.
And maybe—she could get her hands on his weakness.
* * *
After showering, before her hair even dried, she went to the kitchen and turned on the electric kettle.
She thought of taking a sleeping pill, but then remembered the nagging she heard repeatedly at the clinic a few days ago.
Professor Jin, who’d looked after her health since childhood, and Secretary Shin as well.
“Medicine is made to be taken, so why does everyone tell me to cut back.”
For various reasons, tonight she decided to rely on tea instead. The chamomile tea Professor Jin recommended.
She scooped a handful of chamomile petals into a mug and slowly poured hot water.
Yellow petals unfolded, and the rising steam carried a gentle floral scent.
She lifted the mug.
And a sharp tingle ran across the back of her hand.
“Ugh.”
Her face twisted. The hand she shook with Seokjae was the problem.
Ha……
“Such a troublesome body.”
She knew her skin was sensitive, but getting a bruise from a single strong handshake?
She set the mug down.
Then she noticed the plastic bag she had tossed onto the floor—half-hiding behind the kitchen island.
The very thing she now needed.
“……Fine. It’s not the cream’s fault.”
She picked up the bag and took out the bruise cream.
She squeezed out the white ointment and carefully applied it.
It grew translucent as it absorbed, warmth slowly rising under her skin.
She gazed at her hand. Naturally, the person who bought it for her came to mind.
Bae Sunghoon.
A man whose actions she couldn’t tell were kind or cold.
Thoughtful or indifferent.
A man who was nothing more than a business partner. Close yet distant at the same time.
Such a man—
Was he an enemy, or an ally?
She couldn’t figure him out, but one thing was clear:
“He’s seriously annoying.”
Why she kept thinking about him.
Why he kept making her think about him.
“……So irritating.”
All these situations, impossible to neatly define—were irritating.
