Please be my wife for just one year.

EP.10

Since that day when it rained.

A very small change appeared between Sung-ho and Yeo-ju.

Before, they had only exchanged the necessary words even at mealtimes, but now they naturally traded a brief greeting or two.


---

7 a.m.

Dining table.

Sung-ho was reading the newspaper, and Yeo-ju took a bite of toast.

Yeo-ju "...President."

Sung-ho "Yes."

Yeo-ju "Are you running late today?"

Sung-ho "The meeting will probably run a little long."

Yeo-ju "...Then what about dinner?"

Sung-ho took his eyes off the newspaper and replied.

Sung-ho "I'll take care of it outside."

Yeo-ju "Then I won't wait for you either."

Sung-ho "...Have you been waiting until now?"

Yeo-ju froze.

Yeo-ju "Ah... no."

"..."

"It's just that it's tastier if we eat together."

For a moment, Sung-ho's hand stopped very briefly.

But with an expression as if nothing was wrong, he turned the page again.

Sung-ho "...I see."


---

Afternoon.

Yeo-ju visited a company to sign a contract for a new design project.

Just because she was married didn't mean she planned to keep relying on Sung-ho.

She wanted to work and earn money with her own strength.

Conference room.

Han Dong-min, the person in charge of the project, smiled brightly and held out his hand.

Dong-min "You're Kim Yeo-ju, right?"

Yeo-ju "Yes, that's right."

Dong-min "I looked over your portfolio. It's great."

Yeo-ju "Thank you."

Dong-min was around Yeo-ju's age, and he spoke casually.

The meeting went better than expected.

Dong-min "I think it'll be fun working together."

Yeo-ju smiled too.

Yeo-ju "I look forward to working with you."

Then it happened.

Beyond the conference room glass, a familiar face passed by.

Park Sung-ho.

He had come to the same building for a business meeting with the SH Group.

As Sung-ho walked along, he happened to look into the conference room.

Yeo-ju, smiling brightly.

And a man speaking warmly to her from across the table.

The two were even shaking hands.

"..."

Sung-ho's steps stopped.

Strangely, he couldn't look away.

Kim Manager "President?"

Sung-ho "..."

Kim Manager "The meeting starts in 5 minutes."

Sung-ho didn't answer.

Inside the conference room, Dong-min said something, and Yeo-ju smiled and nodded.

The moment he saw that.

One side of his chest felt strangely tight.

'...Why.'

'It's bothering me.'


---

After the meeting ended.

In front of the elevator.

While waiting for the elevator, Yeo-ju spotted Sung-ho.

Yeo-ju "...President?"

Sung-ho's face was just as usual.

Sung-ho "Have you finished?"

Yeo-ju "Yes. You said you'd be late, but you seem to have finished around the same time as me."

Sung-ho "...Let's go together."

The two got on the same elevator.

A narrow space.

But the atmosphere was oddly quiet.

Yeo-ju spoke first.

Yeo-ju "Did you come here for work too, President?"

Sung-ho "Yes."

"..."

"That person you were with earlier."

Yeo-ju answered with a smile.

"Ah, he's the person in charge of the project."

Sung-ho "..."

"He seemed like a really good person, more than I expected."

A good person.

At those short words, Sung-ho's gaze wavered just slightly.

He didn't say another word until the elevator doors opened.


---

Evening after returning home.

As usual, they sat across from each other at the dining table.

But today, the conversation oddly came to a halt.

Only the sound of chopsticks could be heard.

In the end, Yeo-ju smiled first and said,

Yeo-ju "...Why are you so quiet today?"

Sung-ho took a sip of water.

Sung-ho "...I'm always quiet."

Yeo-ju "No, you're not."

"..."

"You're even quieter today."

A moment of silence.

Then Sung-ho asked, pretending not to care.

Sung-ho "...The project person."

Yeo-ju "Pardon?"

Sung-ho "Do you have to meet often?"

Yeo-ju nodded.

Yeo-ju "Until the project is over."

Sung-ho "..."

Yeo-ju "Why?"

Sung-ho answered with a perfectly calm expression.

"Nothing."

But that night.

Sung-ho, who went into his room, loosened his tie and stood before the mirror.

The reflection in the mirror felt unfamiliar.

'Why.'

'That man is the one bothering me.'

Who Yeo-ju met was her freedom.

From the start, it was a contract marriage.

He had no right to interfere.

And yet.

He kept thinking of her smiling face in the conference room, and the sight of the man smiling beside her.

He sat on the bed and let out a quiet sigh.

"...This is."

It was the first time.

That feeling that someone might be stolen away by someone else.

And he still didn't know.

That the name of that feeling was jealousy.