Chapter : 10

After returning from the hospital, Jaein entered the house after nervously punching in the door lock code.

Because Taeha had said he was going to move in, Jaein had deliberately stayed at Jiyoung’s hospital room throughout the weekend before coming back.

‘It’s a good thing I had the studio shoot over the weekend.’

Since the cameras were going to be installed today and filming would begin immediately afterward, she had managed to finish the preliminary interview over the weekend.

It had been a solo interview with Jaein.

Thanks to that, it had been nice not having to run into Taeha at the studio either.

‘Surely he won’t be here at this hour, right?’

Jaein had come up from the parking lot after seeing that it was already past nine in the morning.

‘There’s a good chance he isn’t here.’

Taeha was the type to stick rigidly to his scheduled working hours, so there was little chance he would still be home.

It had only been two days since he had confidently declared that they should live together in the same room.

Even thinking about it herself, it was ridiculous.

Jaein cautiously entered the house and felt relieved when she saw the empty living room.

She sat down on the sofa and fiddled with her phone.

A message from the director of the filming team came in.

Seo PD, we’ll be there soon.

After checking the message, Jaein stood up from the sofa and headed toward the bedroom.

When she entered the dressing room connected to the bedroom, she saw Taeha’s clothes neatly arranged.

Seeing his belongings gradually filling the space finally made it feel real.

Their married life was beginning again.

‘I should at least have some coffee.’

Just looking at his belongings made Jaein inexplicably unsettled. She was about to close the bedroom door when—

Ding-dong—

The doorbell rang.

‘Did the filming team already arrive?’

Jaein, who had been heading toward the kitchen, turned her gaze toward the clock.

It had only just reached ten in the morning.

She briefly wondered if something was strange, but when Jaein approached the wall-mounted intercom, her face immediately stiffened.

At the sight of the figure appearing beyond the screen, her index finger hesitated over the ‘Open Door’ button.

Then, this time, loud knocking came from the front door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The pounding was so violent that it sounded as if the door might break.

Jaein turned and headed toward the entrance.

“Seo Jaein! I know you’re in there!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“You know who I am! Just open—”

Before the woman could finish telling her to open the door, Jaein abruptly swung it open.

As the door flew open, Jaein’s eyes met those of the woman standing outside.

‘Woo Ara.’

She was Chairman Woo Byungho’s youngest daughter, whom he had had very late in life, well after turning eighty, and she was Taeha’s aunt.

“Why are you taking so long when you’re clearly inside?”

Ara glared at her with narrowed eyes and tried to enter without permission.

Worried that she might actually come inside, Jaein quickly closed the door and blocked her way.

“Why are you closing it? I’m going inside.”

She really hadn’t changed at all. She was still as self-centered as ever.

“What brings you here?”

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

“I’m expecting guests. If you have something to say, please say it here.”

“Here? My legs hurt! Can’t you see I’m wearing heels?”

Even though Ara shouted loudly, Jaein simply stood calmly in front of the entrance.

Seeing her composed attitude, Ara’s mouth fell open.

“Seo Jaein, are you sick or something?”

“No. I slept well and feel great.”

As Jaein said that, she glanced down at her wristwatch.

It was already approaching ten.

‘Hmm. At this rate, the filming team really will arrive.’

That would be a problem.

“Huh? I heard you said you weren’t getting divorced? I was going to arrange a blind date for my nephew because I thought you two were getting divorced!”

At the words ‘blind date,’ Jaein lifted her head.

Whether Ara was actually serious or not, she continued speaking with her arms crossed.

“But what’s this about doing a variety show? You’re really not getting divorced?”

Jaein was simply dumbfounded.

The teaser hadn’t even been released yet, so how on earth had she found out that Jaein was participating in a variety show?

And what kind of aunt came to visit her nephew’s wife and said, ‘I’m going to arrange a remarriage for him, so why aren’t you getting divorced?’

Even dramas would be criticized for having such an absurd, unbelievable plot.

But reality was always more outrageous.

Woo Ara was originally the kind of person who spoke without any filter.

‘No wonder Woo Ara is the outcast of the Daeha family.’

After losing his first wife, when Byungho’s chronic illness had become severe, he fell in love with Yoon, who had been caring for him as a caregiver.

Ara was born between him and Yoon Eunsook, who was in her twenties at the time.

Ara was only five years older than her nephew Taeha.

Since Yoon entered the family as a second wife after giving birth to Ara, she and Byungho had not even been able to have a proper wedding ceremony.

Naturally, Ara’s position within the family could never compare to Eunsook’s.

She was the family’s troublemaker, constantly bringing scandals as she drifted from one minor acting role to another.

Because Chairman Woo doted on his youngest daughter, calling her the precious youngest child he would never tire of looking at, Ara had grown up with such a selfish personality.

‘Because they forgive her no matter what she does.’

For some reason, Ara disliked Jaein.

Whenever their eyes met, Ara would usually find some way to torment her.

Normally, she wouldn’t even exchange a single word with her sister-in-law Junhee, but when it came to Jaein, the two would suddenly become close as if they were on the same side.

As unpleasant memories resurfaced, shadows fell across Jaein’s face.

‘I need to hurry.’

She had gone to all the trouble of agreeing to appear on 깨알 부부. She couldn’t exactly announce that she was getting divorced in front of all her coworkers.

“When did I ever say I wasn’t getting divorced? Aunt, I want to get divorced.”

“W-what?”

Ara asked back with a bewildered expression.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Jaein looked straight at the doubtful Ara as she answered.

Ara blinked repeatedly at her unwavering gaze. Her face was filled with obvious confusion.

“But Taeha says he doesn’t want to. As you know, Aunt, compared to the Daeha family, I’m completely inadequate. If you’re arranging a remarriage partner for Taeha, she must be a truly perfect daughter-in-law candidate.”

“Th-that’s right, isn’t it? Unlike you, her family is quite respectable.”

“Wow, Mother will be so happy!”

“……”

“But what can I do? Taeha says that no matter what, he absolutely cannot divorce me.”

As Jaein continued with a gentle smile, a strange emotion appeared on Ara’s face.

She seemed confused because this was the first time she had seen Jaein like this.

“So could you try to persuade Taeha for me, Aunt?”

If only that could really make them get divorced, how wonderful would that be?

‘But the Sunbae I know would never listen to Aunt.’

“Me? You really want to get divorced, right? You’re not lying?”

“Would I lie to you, Aunt? Now, please go back. I’m expecting a guest soon.”

“Really? Okay. Yes, I should.”

When Jaein gently pushed her back, Ara turned around almost as if she were being swept along.

Then, as though she had been possessed by something, she pressed the button for the elevator.

“What the heck? Since when did she become so good at talking?”

She had always been completely mute around them.

Muttering to herself, Ara soon raised her phone to her ear as if she were about to call someone.

“Sister-in-law, did you know? I just heard something incredibly interesting!”

As she disappeared into the elevator, her voice gradually faded away.

Once Ara had completely disappeared from sight, Jaein turned around and entered the door-lock password.

It wasn’t as if the family had only been behaving like this for a day or two.

She had endured their harassment for five years—enough to be thoroughly sick of it.

Still, perhaps because she had decided that she would no longer worry about what her in-laws thought of her, she felt strangely at ease.

Besides, she had already declared to Taeha that she would deal with his family however she wanted from now on.

‘I won’t put up with it anymore.’

No matter how inadequate they thought she was as a daughter-in-law, how could people who hadn’t even come to her father’s funeral be considered family?

At first, merely thinking of her in-laws made her heart pound and her mind go blank.

But perhaps because she had finally steeled herself, she was no longer afraid of them for some reason.

No.

She felt relieved.

For the first time since marrying Sunbae.

“Oh my. Maybe it’s because the house is so nice? Even the foyer is amazing, right?”

“When I first came in, I thought it was a hotel. Hahaha.”

The filming crew chatted casually as they glanced toward Taeha.

Taeha was standing alone in front of the elevator.

Even with his back turned, he could feel their gazes on him, and he swallowed the amused chuckle that naturally rose to his lips.

Calling it a foyer was a bit much. It was simply an entrance connected to the underground parking lot.

Soon, the sound announcing the elevator’s arrival rang out.

“Please, get in.”

“Oh my, Vice Chairman, you’re actually pressing the elevator button for us. We could have done it ourselves.”

Taeha pressed the up button and turned toward the filming crew.

That was when—

“Oh, it’s my nephew!”

At the shrill voice ringing in his ears, Taeha’s brow furrowed slightly.

Click, click, click.

The sharp sound of high heels echoed as someone approached.

“What brings you home at this hour?”

Even without turning around, Taeha could picture the face all too clearly.

His lips flattened.

‘Woo Ara.’

The woman who was technically his youngest aunt.

Even though there was only a five-year age difference between them.

Taeha briefly made eye contact with the people who had entered the elevator.

The filming director, audio director, PD, and assistant director.

He couldn’t make a scene in front of his wife’s coworkers.

Just as he passed Ara and stepped into the elevator—

“Wow, he’s ignoring me again.”

Ara’s irritated voice rang out.

She frowned deeply and brought the phone she was holding to her ear.

Her face was filled with displeasure as she stared straight at Taeha.

“Sister-in-law. So, right now, your son is doing a married-couple variety show—”

Before she could finish her sentence—

Taeha released the hand that had been holding the elevator door and stepped back out.