Chapter : 11

“Please go upstairs first. It seems like a guest has come to see you.”

“Ah, yes, yes! Take your time and have a comfortable conversation!”

“Since you said Madam is here, we’ll get everything set up and wait.”

The elevator doors closed.

“Uncle, can you hear me now?”

Tap!

Taeh approached, closing the distance between them, and snatched the cellphone from Ara’s hand.

The whole thing happened so quickly that Ara could only blink her eyes in bewilderment.

When Taeh lowered his gaze, he saw the saved name displayed on the screen.

‘Sister-in-law.’

As expected, it was his mother.

Before Ara had a chance to do anything, Taeh pressed the end-call button.

He was displeased.

Woo Ara was someone Taeh found uncomfortable and unpleasant simply by her very existence.

“Who was it that tormented Jae-in like that?”

“Who? Hmm, it’s hard to point out just one person.”

“You could say it was everyone, right? If we’re talking about who was especially bad, I’d say Mother and Aunt.”

“Aunt?”

“You know. The youngest aunt.”

He had known for a long time that Junhee disliked Jae-in.

After all, there had always been someone else his mother wanted to pair with her.

So it wasn’t surprising that Junhee had been the instigator of the bullying, but Ara was unexpected.

Woo Ara was the kind of woman who seemed to live entirely on instinct. If there was something she wanted to do, she did it, and if there was something she wanted to have, she had to buy it before she could feel satisfied.

Naturally, she had no filter when she spoke, either.

“Why? I’m just being honest. I lived in America for a long time, you know?”

People who say they’re being honest don’t realize it.

What they’re doing isn’t being honest. It’s being rude.

Taeh had disliked Woo Ara since childhood because she lived however she pleased, unlike him.

As the youngest, she had monopolized Chairman Woo Byung-ho’s affection.

And now they were planning to give a position in the company to that troublesome former supporting actress simply because she shared their bloodline.

There was nothing more unfair than that.

Learning that such a woman he already disliked so much had been tormenting Seo Jae-in only made him hate her more.

“Why are you here?”

“Ah! Why did you hang up? I was talking to your mother.”

Ara checked the phone he had returned and immediately frowned.

Seeing that, the corners of Taeh’s mouth twisted involuntarily.

‘Since when were you two so close that you had to keep in contact with Mother?’

He looked down at her with his arms crossed. Ara tossed the phone into her handbag and raised her head.

“Is this whole thing about you two getting divorced just an act?”

At the unpleasant words spat out by this unpleasant woman, Taeh’s brow furrowed helplessly.

Was he going to get divorced?

Absolutely not.

It wasn’t even a question worth answering.

“I asked why you came here.”

“Ah! I found a match for you, but since you’re saying you’re not getting divorced, I came to find out what’s going on. That family would be thrilled if you got divorced!”

“Have you lost your mind, Aunt?”

“W-What?”

Ara was about to snap back at him, but she flinched at Taeh’s fierce gaze instead.

“You, you…! How can you say something like that to me?”

She seemed completely flustered by this side of her nephew that she had never seen before.

Well.

It was understandable that she would be shocked when a nephew who had barely spoken to her all this time suddenly acted this way.

“Hey, I’m your aunt!”

“Then if you’re not in your right mind, at least stop forgetting to take your medication.”

Taeh took one step toward her, and Ara took two steps back.

“Don’t mess with our Jae-in. If you keep this up, I’ll send Aunt back to America.”

“Who do you think you are to send me to America?!”

“You think I can’t do it? I’m Woo Taeh.”

By then, the wall had blocked her path.

Taeh stopped walking and lowered his head, looking directly into Ara’s eyes as he spoke.

“We’re not getting divorced. So stop coming here, stop bothering my wife, and stay out of our business.”

“……”

“If you don’t, I’ll tell the Chairman about what you’ve been hiding at the residence.”

“You, you!”

With those words, Taeh turned around.

He pressed the button, and the elevator doors, which had just arrived, opened wide.

“Then take care on your way home.”

He gave her a perfunctory bow of his head. Ara bit down on her lower lip repeatedly.

As the elevator doors closed, Ara’s figure gradually disappeared from view.

Even at the very last moment, she looked completely flustered, like a puppy that needed to relieve itself but didn’t know what to do.

Jae-in was watching the chaotic scene of the cameras being installed.

Barely had Ara left when the doorbell rang.

When Jae-in went outside, she found a familiar-looking filming crew waiting.

“Ah, Maknae… No, Jae-in.”

Minseop, who had been checking the audio equipment they had spent quite some time setting up, approached Jae-in.

He had habitually called her Maknae before correcting himself.

It seemed he had become the field producer for Jae-in’s newlywed-home shoot.

“We’re only setting things up today. When filming starts, we’ll put a lavalier mic on you. The cameras won’t be rolling either, so you can relax. You know all the details, right?”

“Yes, yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

“What hard work?”

He smiled with a relieved expression.

Not only had Maknae stepped in to prevent the shoot from falling through, but she had also brought along a husband who was bound to become an issue.

The broadcasting station would have welcomed this with open arms.

“But Jae-in, why is the newlywed house so bare? Are you going for that minimalist thing that’s popular these days?”

The filming director, who had approached them at some point, looked around and asked Jae-in.

‘Because we were about to get divorced.’

Although she had hurriedly filled the house with Taeh’s belongings yesterday, there were still plenty of empty spaces for it to be considered a home where a married couple lived together.

It had been Jae-in’s home when she lived alone, after all, so she had kept her belongings to a minimum.

“Yes. I heard this kind of thing is trendy these days.”

“Hmm, that’s true. But it’s still a little too lacking in any signs of life. It feels like a hotel!”

“Hahaha, isn’t that because she’s from a wealthy family?”

Jae-in awkwardly laughed along as the directors laughed.

“Oh, but why hasn’t the Vice Chairman arrived yet?”

“Exactly. Maybe his conversation with the guest is taking longer than expected.”

Jae-in’s ears perked up at the filming crew’s conversation.

The title they were mentioning felt completely out of place here.

There was no way the president of the broadcasting station would have come all the way here.

“The Vice Chairman?”

At Jae-in’s question, the people who had been talking turned around.

The filming director and audio director looked at each other and blinked.

“Huh? I mean your husband. He came with us. You didn’t know?”

Jae-in’s eyes widened.

Today wasn’t even the weekend. It was Monday.

At this hour, Taeh should have been in his office, buried in work.

‘There’s no way.’

He was the kind of man who went to work even when his fever was nearly 40 degrees Celsius.

She could still vividly remember Taeh returning home early in the morning after finishing his IV drip, only to immediately leave for work.

“Director, did my husband really come?”

That was when Jae-in asked again, looking as though she couldn’t believe it.

The heavy sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway.

The directors facing her shifted their gazes behind her.

“Vice Chairman! It looks like Madam didn’t know you were coming with us.”

“Ah, ah. Surprised?”

At the filming director’s hearty laugh, Jae-in’s eyes met Taeh’s.

“You didn’t know I was coming?”

With a warm hand wrapping around her shoulder, Jae-in was pulled toward him.

She lifted her head at the familiar scent, and her eyes met Taeh’s.

He was smiling beautifully, his eyes curving gently.

“Honey.”

‘Honey?’

Jae-in froze at the embarrassingly affectionate form of address that settled into her ears.

‘He really came.’

While she blinked in surprise, Taeh lifted his head and faced the filming crew.

“By the way, my belongings haven’t arrived yet because I only recently returned due to my assignment in America.”

“Ah, right. You said you’d been there for quite a while.”

“With a house this big, it must take quite a while to fill it up!”

While Taeh and the filming crew chatted about this and that, Jae-in went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of cold water.

As she gulped it down, Taeh approached her.

“Your youngest aunt came by.”

“I ran into her downstairs.”

‘So the guest the director mentioned really was Aunt.’

“Aunt already knew we were going on a variety show.”

Jae-in continued as she placed the empty glass back on the water purifier.

“I think we should tell Mother now.”

Although there was a high chance his mother had already heard about it.

Just as she reached for the freshly filled glass of water, Taeh’s hand reached it first.

He picked up the glass.

Gulp, gulp.

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

After emptying the glass in one go, he turned toward Jae-in and spoke.

“I was planning to go there on Saturday anyway, so I was going to tell her then.”

‘Saturday?’

One forgotten event flashed through Jae-in’s mind.

If it was Saturday, then it was definitely Junhee’s birthday.

“You stay home and rest. I’ll go alone.”

“No. I’m going too.”

At Jae-in’s words, Taeh’s eyes widened.

“You’re going there?”

Jae-in smiled sweetly at him in response.

A good idea had just occurred to her.

“Senior, I think it’ll be good if I show you what being a real nuisance that day looks like.”