KH 13

Chapter 13

Sohye stood still, looking around the house she had returned to after a long absence—over a month since she moved to the officetel, and a little over a week in the hospital. Junhyeok, present in this space where everything remained the same, felt awkward, like a misplaced element in a painting. This was where she had spent time alone without him, and after Hajun was born, it became the space she shared solely with her child. And now, Junhyeok had entered this space.

“This is our home.”

Junhyeok approached her side and took Sohye’s hand. Feeling his fingers fully interlaced with hers, she stiffened her hand and looked up at him. His sudden pretense of affection felt entirely unfamiliar.

Then, Junhyeok pulled the hand he was holding toward himself. With his other hand, he gently folded Sohye’s stiff fingers. Only then did their hands become perfectly interlocked.

“I know it must still be difficult for you. I understand. So please try to understand me a little too.”

She looked at him as if hearing a foreign word that needed translation.

“I’m exercising a lot of patience. Not just with holding hands, but with your… everything.”

His gaze landed on her lips. Instantly, her lips felt burning hot, and she pressed them together to hide it. Seeing this, he let out a soft chuckle and smiled.

“Ah, let’s be clear about one thing.”
“About what…”
“It will be very awkward, but let’s sleep in the same bed as before.”

She felt like she might hiccup. Just as she knew the truth, Junhyeok knew better than anyone what kind of couple they had been.

But sharing a bed? She was the one who had the accident, but did Junhyeok hit his head or something? She couldn’t grasp why he was acting this way.

No appropriate response came to mind.

“…I’d like to look around the house first.”

She slowly withdrew her hand from his and pointed toward the rooms.

“Of course.”

As she managed to pull her hand free, he grabbed it again abruptly. After kindly showing her the study and dressing room, Junhyeok grabbed the master bedroom doorknob and opened it. The moment she saw inside, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

The master bedroom was originally the bedroom Sohye used alone. But it had been completely transformed into a different bedroom. His belongings were placed so naturally, as if it had always been a shared space.

She couldn’t pretend to know the space had changed, so she pinned her hopes on the next room—the guest room Junhyeok used when he briefly visited Korea after their marriage.

Maybe that had become her room now.

This time, she opened the guest room door. But the bed that should have been there was nowhere to be seen.

“The bed…”

As she spoke slowly, Junhyeok’s gaze turned to her.

“…Is there only one bed in this spacious house?”

She wanted to ask where the original bed had gone, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Do we really need more?”
“Well, not exactly, but…”

She tried to swallow her sigh as calmly as possible and end the conversation, but she couldn’t completely erase her flustered expression.

“Then, let’s wash up. The bathroom is here.”

Junhyeok’s eccentric behavior didn’t end there. He personally led the dazed Sohye to the bathroom. But instead of leaving, he leaned his shoulder against the bathroom wall and stared down at her.

“Um, Mr. Junhyeok.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’m going to wash up.”
“And?”
“If you stand there like that…”
“But I need to watch.”

Was he going to say that after the lie about being close, they were also a couple who bathed together?

If Junhyeok said that, Sohye’s mind went blank, unsure how to refute it.

“I haven’t properly seen how your wounds have healed since the accident. So I need to check again.”

Instantly, the memory of him unbuttoning her hospital gown in the hospital room came to mind.

“It’s… similar to that time.”
“I need to see whether it’s similar or has worsened. Me.”

He pushed off from the wall and approached. His long legs closed the distance in strides, and the moment she was covered by his shadow, she held her breath.

“Will you undress yourself? Or shall I undress you?”

His question, spoken so close, seemed to halt all her thoughts. Whichever she chose, it meant being naked before him…

“If you don’t answer, I’ll do as I please. Is that alright?”

His lips curved upward as he tilted his head.

“I’ll… I’ll undress myself.”

If they were a close couple, it might be natural for him to be curious about his wife’s wounds. But…

Sohye tightly closed her eyes and pushed out a soft breath.

She took off her cardigan and reached back to lower the zipper of her dress. Honestly, she thought if she made that gesture, he would step back. With trembling arms, she slowly lowered the zipper.

But Junhyeok didn’t move an inch, simply watching.

The dress, now open at the back, hung precariously on her shoulders. Chilly air seeped through the opening. All she had to do was let the dress fall, but perhaps because of his unwavering gaze, her fingertips felt strangely numb.

“Let me take it from here.”

His touch slowly reached her shoulders. The dress flowed down, covering her feet as it fell. Cool air spread over her entire body. Standing before him in her underwear, her body shrank as if withering.

She straightened her continually hunching shoulders and closed her eyes. Soon, his hand touched her body. More precisely, his hand touched the healing wounds.

“Does it hurt?”
“N-no.”

With his fingertips, he slowly traced the wounds as if redrawing them. From the wounds he had visually checked last time, to the wounds below her collarbone, her side, and the wounds on her back.

Where his fingertips brushed past, a sticky sensation remained. Peeking through barely open eyes, she saw ointment on his hand.

“They say it needs to be applied thoroughly… You should apply this part yourself.”

He seemed to be referring to the wounds covered by her underwear.

“…Thank you.”

He placed the ointment container down and left the bathroom. Sohye looked once at the ointment container, then once at her reflection in the mirror.

“What is this? I have to reapply it after showering anyway.”

She grumbled softly. Just then, Junhyeok, who had left the bathroom, opened the door and stuck his head in.

“Thinking about it, you’ll need to reapply after showering. Come out after your shower. Without wearing anything.”

Instantly, Sohye’s cheeks flushed bright red.

“That way I can apply it thoroughly.”

After Junhyeok disappeared again, she hurriedly locked the bathroom door. After showering, worried he might insist on reapplying the ointment, she struggled to apply it herself even to hard-to-reach areas, then came out to the bedroom.

Fortunately, Junhyeok seemed to be showering too, as he was nowhere to be seen.

*Rrrr.*

Her phone rang right on cue. She checked the caller ID.

[CEO Mo]

“Yes, CEO-nim.”
-Our Sohye, did you get discharged alright?
“Of course.”
-I heard you went straight to Hagahaen. How’s the house? Think you can manage? Must feel like newlyweds.

While CEO Mo asked and answered her own questions, Sohye listened to the sounds coming from outside the bedroom.

“It’s awkward.”
-I bet. But what can you do? You’ll have to adapt.
“I have to. So what’s up?”
-I was wondering if we could schedule some things starting next week.

CEO Mo always scheduled things while considering Sohye’s opinions.

“Of course.”
-And your manager team, stylist—of course Youngseon will do it—and road manager, wouldn’t Sangcheol be comfortable?

They were the people she had worked with like family until her retirement.

“Yes. That sounds good.”

After ending the call with wishes for her rest, the bedroom door opened. Junhyeok entered the bedroom, his still-damp hair disheveled.

“Why?”

Then a question came abruptly.

“Wh-what do you mean?”
“I definitely told you earlier. To come out without wearing anything.”

He probably meant to apply the ointment, but for some reason, his words sounded suggestive.

“Ah… I applied it myself.”
“This won’t do. From now on, let’s shower together. That way I can apply it for you.”

His enigmatic eyes, faintly veiled by his still-wet hair, shone mysteriously.