Chapter 06
Eventually, the car came to a stop in an unexpectedly quiet place.
Once all the noise had been completely cut off, Seohah felt as though she had lost all sense of where she was.
Not being able to see was frightening in ways like this. In an unfamiliar place, she became completely lost.
“………………Where are we?”
Seohah felt a faint pang of regret. Had she been too careless simply because she was in such a hurry?
It was even more troubling because, even if Cha Miyeon knew what was happening now, there was no way she would become a shield for Seohah.
Her heart gradually began to whisper anxiously.
At least, until she heard Han Junhyuk’s next words.
“My house.”
”
“Ah, from now on, our house.”
Seohah parted her lips slightly, rendered speechless.
She had imagined that, at most, they were going somewhere for a casual date. Now she felt incredibly naive for having thought so.
Perhaps the experience that came with their age difference really couldn’t be underestimated.
Maybe she should even be grateful that it wasn’t a hotel.
If he had decided to accept her as his wife, then, for the sake of her pride, she supposed his house was preferable to a hotel.
‘Still, he could have given me some warning.’
Since she was the one who had proposed this to him first, she had no real grounds for complaint. Even so, she couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit resentful.
‘What underwear did I put on today?’
Seohah quickly shook her head.
All the underwear she owned was from the same brand, in the same color, and all of it was the basic type, so there was no point worrying about it.
In other words, it was so thoroughly plain that it was almost boring.
If he could still feel desire after looking at her like this, that alone would be quite an achievement.
“Come here. This way.”
Just as Junhyuk approached and brushed his fingertips against Seohah’s hand—
Seohah instinctively slapped his hand away.
The air around them seemed to stop in silence.
“What?”
Junhyuk’s single, displeased word struck Seohah squarely in the chest.
She was the one who had pulled away, yet a chill ran down her spine as though someone had poured cold water over her.
“Changed your mind already?”
“……No, it’s not that.”
“Then what is it? I don’t have a hobby of dragging people around against their will. So hurry up and tell me.”
Seohah hated herself for accidentally revealing her true feelings through her actions. Desperate to smooth things over, she began blurting out words.
Just as he had said, Han Junhyuk didn’t seem like a particularly patient man, which only made her more anxious.
“It’s because it’s my first time. That’s why……………….”
But, flustered, she made the unfortunate mistake of letting exactly what she had been thinking slip out.
Junhyuk replied in a tone of sheer disbelief.
“I gave you a pass because you’re young, but you’re starting to cross the line. You’re not the only one who’s doing this for the first time. It’s my first marriage, too, you know?”
“No, that’s not what I—”
“Why do you keep saying no? Is there anything you’re actually admitting to?”
At Junhyuk’s successive sharp remarks, Seohah tightly bit her plump lower lip. Then, in a voice so quiet it was barely audible, she murmured,
“I meant I’ve never slept with a man before. That’s what I meant by it being my first time.”
After Seohah’s explanation, even Junhyuk seemed dumbfounded, and silence lingered for a while.
After some time, he let out a deep sigh and asked,
“Why are you suddenly confessing your sexual experience to me?”
Unable to find the right words, Seohah hesitated, and a short groan escaped Junhyuk.
“Don’t tell me you thought I brought you here to sleep with you?”
Then……maybe not?
Seohah’s thoughts became hopelessly tangled, and she stood frozen in place without saying a word.
After a while, rustling sounds came from Junhyuk, breaking the quietness of the space.
“Listen, kid. Just so you know, people have preferences.”
Along with his displeased voice, Junhyuk’s jacket, heavily saturated with his scent, dropped over her shoulders.
“And someone like you is outside my type.”
He slipped Seohah’s arms into the oversized jacket and even went to the trouble of fastening every button for her.
She was relieved that it had all been a misunderstanding, but Junhyuk’s words somehow left her feeling strangely offended.
“What are you doing……?”
She was wearing a man’s suit jacket that was far too large for her. There was no doubt she looked ridiculous.
Unable to understand what he was thinking, a faint crease formed between her brows.
“Not that there’s anything worth seeing, but I have no intention of looking either. I’m telling you to cover yourself up properly.”
Only then did Seohah understand Junhyuk’s intention, and her face instantly flushed all the way to her earlobes.
“……I misunderstood. I’m sorry.”
“You’re still so damn polite even at a time like this. Makes me even more annoyed.”
His voice sounded as though he were grinding his teeth under his breath, and Seohah instinctively shrank her neck.
Even the slightest movement caused Han Junhyuk’s scent to rise from the jacket wrapped around her, making her movements stiff and awkward.
“If you want to leave, go back now.”
Thinking that she absolutely couldn’t make the same mistake twice, Seohah firmly shook her head and quickly held out her hand.
But unlike before, Junhyuk didn’t take it first.
Just as anxiety began slowly rising from beneath her solar plexus, his familiar indifferent voice came down from above.
“If you want to hold it, you grab it yourself.”
As though telling Seohah where he was, the back of Junhyuk’s hand brushed against her fingertips.
Afraid she might miss it, Seohah quickly grabbed his hand. Even so, her small hand could barely hold two of Junhyuk’s fingers.
“Why are you so small?”
“……It’s not that I’m small. You’re—no, Han Junhyuk, you’re just too big.”
She immediately corrected her slip of the tongue, but Seohah reflexively raised her other hand to cover her forehead.
This time, however, it wasn’t her forehead.
Junhyuk firmly pinched the rounded tip of Seohah’s nose before letting go and scolding her.
“You’re young, but you’ve got quite an attitude. Calling me ‘Han’ Junhyuk is just as cheeky.”
It wasn’t as though she could call him Uncle. He would hate that even more.
Seohah decided that, instead, she should simply avoid giving herself opportunities to call him at all and quietly followed behind him.
The tip of her nose tingled.
Perhaps because she had been diligently washing her eyes to avoid her adoptive mother for the past few days, she could distinguish silhouettes fairly well in brightly lit places.
Her vision was still blurry, but even in an unfamiliar space, she was no longer so helpless that she would bump into things or trip like a fool.
Seohah sat down on the soft sofa Junhyuk guided her toward and looked around once.
It was an incredibly bright space, filled with so much light that it seemed impossible for any darkness inside her to surface.
At that moment, a shadow fell over her eyes.
For a moment, she wondered if a cloud had passed in front of the sun, but she soon realized it was because Junhyuk had stepped directly in front of her.
“Drink.”
Seohah easily located the cup in his hand and reached out, only to stop herself.
He seemed like a man who noticed things rather quickly, so she thought it would be better to be careful.
When she hesitated, Junhyuk placed the cup directly into Seohah’s hand.
“What is it?”
“Milk.”
This man really did seem to think of her as a child.
It was only a ten-year age difference, after all.
But this wasn’t the time to complain, so Seohah took a sip of the milk.
“The milk is sweet.”
“It’s lactose-free. You don’t like it?”
“No, it’s just unexpected. You seem like the type who would only drink espresso with a ton of extra shots.”
“I told you. I hate things that taste bad, and I hate bitter things even more.”
Han Junhyuk, who had lactose intolerance yet went out of his way to drink lactose-free milk, was an unexpected piece of information for her.
“But didn’t you say you have a dog? It’s so quiet here.”
The footsteps she could hear were clearly Dodam’s.
It seemed strange that there was no other sound despite a stranger having entered the house, so Seohah asked,
“He’s at the company. He doesn’t like being alone, so I only bring him home when it’s time to sleep.”
At that moment, the space beside Seohah on the sofa sank.
She was about to take another sip of milk when she stopped.
She could feel Han Junhyuk sitting so close beside her that his breath nearly touched her face.
Her breathing stopped on its own.
“With this many things you’re curious about, why are you thinking about dying?”
“You’ve got so much attachment to life, so why exactly do you want to die?”
There was no way Seohah could honestly tell him the answer.
Seohah repeated the words silently to herself.
‘Because there are people who won’t let me go unless I die and disappear from this world. Because this is the only way I can erase Yoon Seohah and start a completely new life.’
When she continued to remain silent, Junhyuk’s questions continued.
“If this marriage goes through, what do you get out of it?”
She had said he was curious about her, but Han Junhyuk was no less relentless.
“Think about it. Whatever our parents or I stand to gain is one thing. What exactly makes you want this marriage so badly that you’re willing to die for it?”
Judging by his reaction, it seemed impossible to evade the question like this.
Seohah quietly exhaled the breath she had been holding and slowly answered.
It wasn’t a lie.
“Complete freedom.”
“You………………. People tell you you’re crazy a lot, don’t they?”
Frowning at Junhyuk’s words, Seohah turned toward where he was sitting.
He was leaning one arm against the sofa, staring at her.
Seohah found herself wishing she could see the expression Han Junhyuk was making, but she forcibly turned her gaze away.
Still, he was surprisingly perceptive when it came to people.
Considering he had already noticed that Yoon Seohah was a complete lunatic.
