TUW | CHAPTER 07

Chapter 07

“Rebellion”

Of all the places… why the stomach?!

And not just any stomach that had been filled to bursting with food just moments ago.

Even before her thirties, Lee-Yeon had diligently taken care of herself.

Going to the gym in full makeup was a hassle, sweat trapped under her wig made her feel sticky and restless, so she kept to a steady routine of home workouts, quietly maintaining her health.

Sure, putting on a little extra weight might have been more effective at masking her appearance than trying to dress bulkier, but she refused to let old scars ruin her body.

Still, no matter how much she stayed in shape, there was one moment when all her defences fell right after a meal.

And now… Do-Hyun’s hand was resting on that very defenceless stomach.

The worry about her belly being caught was fleeting.

In its place came the slow, creeping awareness of heat the warmth of his palm seeping into her skin, tightening every nerve.

The place he touched began to burn, the heat curling inward and spreading through her like ripples in water, until it reached her face and painted her cheeks in a soft flush.

Even if it was just her stomach… this was the first time a man’s touch had ever been so direct, so unguarded.

“Sorry,” he murmured, his voice low.

“I was only trying to avoid… somewhere else.”

His hand left her, a faint ghost of warmth lingering in its absence.

Somewhere else…?

Her eyes flicked upward, and then oh.

Her breasts.

Rising and falling beneath the fabric.

A startled gasp escaped before she could stop it.

She crossed her arms in a sharp X, hugging herself tight, and levelled him with her fiercest glare.

How dare he?

But the fire in her eyes wavered.

He hadn’t meant anything by it.

He’d only been keeping her from getting hurt.

There had been no hidden intent… just instinct.

And sudden as it had been, his touch… hadn’t been unwelcome.

Do-hyun wasn’t the kind of man who touched a woman without reason.

“Young folks, I’m so sorry.

A cat jumped right out in front of the car scared me half to death.

Really, I’m sorry.”

The substitute driver apologised again and again, but Lee Yeon shook her head with a small smile.

There was no way to predict something like that how could it be his fault?

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Do-Huyun’s voice came soft but steady, close enough that she felt it more than heard it.

Was it just the nearness?

Or the faint haze of alcohol still warm in her blood?

Her chest, so still until now, gave a subtle, betraying tremor.

His words carried no flourish, no dramatics, but the quiet care threaded through them caught her off guard, slipping past her defences before she could push it away.

And that voice… it was warm, deep dangerously easy to sink into.

A single question, so simple, sounded like something far more intimate.

Had she ever been on the receiving end of such pure, unguarded concern from a man before?

“No, I’m fine.

Really.”

“The husband’s so sweet,” the driver chuckled, oblivious.

“Blocking his wife with his own hand so she wouldn’t get hurt.

You’re lucky, miss having such a handsome, thoughtful husband.”

Do-hyun let out a low, amused laugh.

“…Ha”

“Sir, that’s not it.”

Lee Yeon gave an awkward smile at the driver’s comment, which was only half right.

Do-hyun glanced at her, then, casually, almost indifferent, shifted his body back and turned his head away.

What was going through this man’s mind?

Do-hyun was someone who valued his personal space.

He didn’t just dislike brushing against people he disliked having anyone come too close, period.

Lee Yeon, who worked closely with him, knew that better than anyone.

Usually, even the slightest approach made those thick eyebrows twitch in warning.

So why did it feel like he was… lenient with her?

Last time too… when I nearly fell at the front door, he caught me.

Come to think of it, he had done so without hesitation.

He’d let go quickly, yes but still.

Had he simply grown that comfortable around her?

Or… was Do-hyun actually a kind person at heart?

No, that couldn’t be it… could it?

Almost without thinking, Lee Yeon touched the spot where he had caught her earlier.

And there it was again the echo of his voice lingering in her ears, asking if she was hurt.

The words had left her feeling strangely unsettled, like the calm surface of her thoughts had been rippled by something warm.

His tone… his manner… There was something subtly different about them tonight.

“We’ve arrived.”

The driver’s announcement snapped her from her wandering thoughts.

Step by step, they made their way toward the house.

The night air was thick and heavy, the kind of muggy warmth that brought sweat to the skin after only a short walk.

In summer, it wasn’t the heat itself that bothered her most it was the sweat that came with it.

Sweat that might blur the freckles and beauty marks she had so carefully painted onto her face.

Sweat that would collect beneath her heavy wig.

Too many little things to worry about.

She rummaged through her bag until she found her compact mirror and checked her reflection.

Aside from the peach-pink flush on her cheeks, thanks to the wine, her makeup was still holding up well.

Whew.

“Mirror princess, huh?”

The voice came from beside her.

Do-hyun had been watching.

“…What?”

“You seem to look in the mirror a lot.”

“I have to check,” she said matter-of-factly.

“To see if there’s dust on my face, or if anything’s changed.”

She had to make sure her beauty marks and freckles were still intact.

“Anything actually change?”

“A little.

Tiny things.”

He gave her a faint, teasing smile.

“And here I thought you were just admiring your own reflection.”

“My face isn’t exactly the kind people fall for.”

“People are naturally drawn to things that aren’t ordinary.

Ordinary is dull.

Predictable.

Boring.”

…What was that supposed to mean?

He hadn’t said it outright, but it was clear he was implying her face wasn’t ordinary.

And… well, he wasn’t wrong, so she couldn’t exactly argue.

“So, in other words, you’re telling me I’m charming?

I’ll take that as a compliment thank you.”

No one could spit at a smiling face.

Lee Yeon replied with a bright, guileless smile one she had never shown him before.

They kept up their light, meaningless banter, and before long, they’d arrived home.

Stepping inside, Lee Yeon crossed the living room, heading for the stairs to the second floor.

She wanted nothing more than to wash the day and her tangled thoughts away under a stream of warm water.

“Thank you for the meal.

I’ll… let you rest now, Vice President.”

“Next time…”

The words stopped her mid-step.

His calm, steady gaze held her in place, as if it were enough to keep her feet from moving.

“Today was a mistake.

Next time, I’ll make the reservation.

And if, out of habit, I tell you to do it again, then…”

So that’s what was bothering him.

No wonder he’d run his hand through his hair so roughly when they were booking the restaurant, looking vaguely displeased.

He must have been annoyed she’d been the one to handle it.

She waited quietly for him to finish.

Yes, and if you tell me again, then…?

“Rebel.”

“…What?”

Rebel?

The word slipped from his lips so unexpectedly that Lee Yeon burst out laughing.

Why did “Rebel against me” sound so unfitting coming from him?

No, who on earth could rebel against Do-hyun?

“You mean… I’m allowed to rebel against you?”

“Why wouldn’t you be?”

Why wouldn’t I?

Look at those eyes.

That sharp, cutting stare could make anyone think twice.

“You’ll only know if you try.

Ordering a woman to make the reservation first… honestly, it made me look a bit of an idiot.”

Did he just… call himself an idiot?

Clumsy though it was, this was his way of apologising.

“Vice President, you seem a little different tonight.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know… softer, maybe.

If you’ll excuse the example, you’re usually like a hedgehog with all its spines out.

But tonight… It’s like the soft belly of the hedgehog is showing instead.”

Not that it was a bad thing.

Actually… it was nice.

But she couldn’t very well say outright that she’d enjoyed dinner because he hadn’t been his usual hard, guarded self.

At her words, Do-hyun laughed out loud.

His eyes curved with the motion, and the sound of it was warm, genuine, and filled the living room.

It sounded real.

Unforced.

And that alone was enough to send a flush creeping over Lee Yeon’s face.

So he could laugh out loud like that.

After years of working for him, Lee Yeon realised that the man in front of her tonight felt… far removed from the Do-hyun she thought she knew.

“What kind of cute way of putting things is that?

You’re basically saying, ‘Usually you’re a lunatic, but tonight you seem normal,’ right?”

Don’t close the distance like that again!

“N-no!

That’s not what I meant!

A lunatic?

How could I ever think something so disrespectful about my boss?”

She shook her head so hard she was afraid the carefully drawn freckles on her face might go flying.

They said strong denial was just another form of affirmation.

“Even if you think I’m different tonight, there’s no special reason for it.

Sometimes I’ve got to live like a normal person, that’s all.

Go on, head up and rest.”

With that, Do-hyun ended the conversation and retreated quickly to his own room.

The moment she stepped into hers, Lee Yeon let herself drop onto the corner of the bed.

“Ugh… drained.”

The wine had long since left her system.

“So why… why be kind for no reason?”

A single offhanded comment from him was enough to set off a storm of thoughts in her head.

“This is why people need to watch what they say and do.”

She flopped onto the bed completely, lying flat and staring blankly up at the ceiling.

Still…

It had been fun.

He’d even shown a little consideration for her, in his own way.

The way he’d admitted he was sorry about the reservation, and told her to ‘rebel’ if he tried to make her do it again.

Budae-jjigae.

A quiet snort escaped her.

Maybe it was a dangerous thought, but that answer of his had been just the tiniest bit cute.

Then, unbidden, Deok-ho’s words came back to her.

“It’s a family matter, but we’ve all been hurt in some way.

And when you live with wounds like that, it’s hard not to become prickly.”

He’d gone so far as to pull her into the study to tell her that.

If he thought it was worth mentioning in private, then it must have been a wound of some significance…

What had happened to him?

Do-hyunn, who always seemed so cold, so composed, as if a needle couldn’t draw a drop of blood from him, hadn’t been born that way.

Something had happened.

Something that had sharpened him, hardened him, made him the way he was.

And Deok-ho had asked her to understand him for it.

The thought lingered.

Lee Yeon found herself wondering what kind of wound had haunted him all this time.

The next day.

Lee Yeon rested her chin in one hand, slouched over her desk.

“I’m dead tired.”

She’d tried to sleep last night, lying in the dark with her eyes closed… but her mind had kept drifting back to the same place.

Her dark circles felt like they’d sunk halfway down her cheeks.

No real reason for it.

Or maybe there was.

It had been ages since she’d sat across from a man over dinner…

The low timbre of his voice, the faint scent of cologne when he’d leaned just a little closer than necessary those things had a way of lingering, whether she wanted them to or not.

Through the transparent glass partition, Do-hyun sat in his usual perfect posture.

Impeccable, composed like nothing from last night had touched him at all.

Her gaze slipped over him for a fraction longer than it should have before she forced herself back to her screen.

The company messenger blinked, breaking the thread of thought.

Today’s menu: stir-fried pork, bean sprout soup, rolled omelette…

It was a message from Su-jin, detailing the cafeteria offerings like it was breaking news.

Sounds like someone’s starving.

My stomach’s practically stuck to my back.

Alright.

The cafeteria is today.

Good.

Perfect.

I’ve got a massive piece of gossip for you

What now?

Sujin’s lively, unfiltered personality meant she was on good terms with practically everyone in the office. People even called her the “Wueong Card newswire.”

She was always the first to know anything involving money, how big the bonuses would be, what the union had negotiated, and so on.

Which meant… if anything had happened in the

Wuseong family, Sujin would almost certainly have the details.

Lee Yeon decided she’d casually slip the question into their lunch conversation.

Ask her if she’d heard about that incident in the Wuseong household.