TO 4

Chapter 4

A gentle spring breeze was blowing through the bedroom, which had once felt like a Siberian wasteland.

Wearing her pajamas, Seo-ah walked toward the bed. They were the same pajamas he had seen earlier that afternoon.

It was the same Seo-ah he had seen that afternoon, and this was the same bedroom where he had opened his eyes that morning.

Yet, something had changed.

Approaching the bed while exuding a floral scent—like a spring spirit driving away the winter chill—she was bathed in a soft, warm light.

Did the lighting change?

Taehyuk glanced at the floor lamp standing near the entrance of the bedroom. The light was exactly the same.

“Sit up for a second.”

“What is it? I was just about to fall asleep.”

Just as Taehyuk closed his eyes again, Seo-ah’s voice softly woke him.

“Will you hold me and wish me good night?”

“What?”

Without realizing it, Taehyuk propped himself halfway up. Only then did he notice Seo-ah’s clean, pale cheeks flushing red.

It wasn’t the lighting, nor was it him—it was Seo-ah who had changed.

For a fleeting second, Taehyuk felt as though she had traveled back through time to stand before him.

Just as she was when they first met.

The Seo-ah who used to call him ‘Senior’ while smiling shyly.

“You said you’d do whatever I wanted.”

Holding onto a forced smile, Seo-ah’s curved lips trembled faintly.

It seemed this situation wasn’t entirely comfortable for her, either.

She had tried to speak as nonchalantly as possible in a light tone, but her heart felt ready to burst out of her chest.

What if he refuses?

It wasn’t the refusal she feared—she was afraid of how her heart would feel afterward.

Seeing him hesitate… is he planning to reject me? Because Senior hates touching me…

Just as Seo-ah lost her confidence and her gaze dropped downward, Taehyuk let out a short breath and sat all the way up. Filled with expectation, her eyes followed his every move.

Taehyuk opened his arms mechanically. When Seo-ah hesitated, he shrugged his shoulders.

“You asked me to hold you.”

He didn’t refuse?

Now that his broad chest was open right before her, Seo-ah was the one hesitating. She was afraid his embrace would feel too warm—afraid she would want to stay wrapped in his arms forever.

As she lingered, Taehyuk reached out and pulled her by the waist into his arms. Her cheek pressed softly against his chest.

“Good night.”

Just as Taehyuk uttered the blunt phrase and tried to untangle his arms, Seo-ah hugged him back. Her small body sank perfectly into his chest, as if drawn into his embrace.

“Good night to you, too.”

Her shyly whispered voice trembled so poignantly that Taehyuk unconsciously started to pull her closer. But Seo-ah was faster. She quickly pulled away from his embrace.

Having held something only to feel the sudden emptiness, Taehyuk’s chest recalled the word ‘hollow’ for the very first time in his life.

Did she say three months?

Taehyuk weighed the duration of three months in his mind.

Was he supposed to play this childish house game every single day for three whole months?

Buying flowers, giving good-night hugs?

Yet, he had already made the promise. Letting out a low, dissatisfied grunt, Taehyuk lay back down. With his eyes closed, he listened to the quiet sound of Seo-ah’s footsteps crossing the bedroom.

Click. The sound of the light shutting off, the rustle of the blanket, and finally the sound of her body lying down beneath it—silence settled over the room.

Her body really is remarkably small and fragile, Taehyuk thought to himself.

For the next week, Seo-ah demanded the exact same things from Taehyuk:

Flowers on his way home from work. A good-night greeting and a hug.

“It’s not as if flowers and hugs are going to make you pregnant.”

Watching Seo-ah slip away from his arms once again after a crisp good-night greeting, Taehyuk spoke up.

“That’s true. But we still have plenty of time left. Besides, hugging feels like recharging my batteries—it’s nice.”

“Nice for you, maybe. Not for me. I’m a busy man.”

“How is someone who’s too busy to offer a single flower or a good-night hug ever going to make a baby?”

Seo-ah’s bold gaze pressed down on him.

“If you stop taking the pills, we could make one right this second,” Taehyuk growled back.

Seo-ah shook her head firmly and took a step back.

“Keep your promise. I have no intention of conceiving my child in such an inhumane, mechanical way.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to stamp out a precious new life like a cheap manufactured product.”

“Cheap?”

Taehyuk raised an eyebrow. Realizing she might be referring to him, he felt a sting of irritation.

However, Seo-ah didn’t stop there.

“You said it yourself—you want my genetics. Then wouldn’t it be better to create a child when I’m in top condition? After the baby is born… I know you’ll raise it with the best education and love, but…”

Her face clouded over slightly, as if she were already saying goodbye to the baby.

To wear an expression like that just thinking about parting from a child that doesn’t even exist yet… does she really want a divorce that badly? Because I’m that… cheap?

Taehyuk wiped his hand down his face as if brushing away his displeasure.

“So? How long do I have to keep offering you flowers and treating you like a child before your condition reaches its peak?”

“At least until I start wanting to accept you as a man.”

It was nothing short of a second shock for Taehyuk. Now he wasn’t even considered a man to her.

“Then what was I to you until now? A woman?”

“At the very least, you weren’t a man I wanted to have a child with.”

Seo-ah’s bold retort continued without missing a beat.

“Ha.”

Taehyuk let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Lee Seo-ah, don’t get confused. I’m not going to play your puppet forever just for the sake of your freedom.”

His words were ice-cold, as if scooped right from the depths of winter.

“I know,” Seo-ah replied quietly.

For a brief second, her bold and lively expression faded, replaced once again by her usual emotionless face.

Taehyuk knitted his brows.

He hadn’t seen that face for a mere week, yet seeing it again felt completely alien.

“Still… you can do this much for me. It’s not that hard.”

Seo-ah spoke with deliberate weight behind every single word.

“To someone who has spent her life holding onto nothing more than your empty shell, you can at least do this much at the very end, can’t you?”

Seo-ah let out a faintly bitter smile.

“Snap out of your delusion.”

Speaking coldly, Taehyuk stepped closer to her. Looking up at him, Seo-ah’s chin raised instinctively.

“The only way you’re getting a divorce from me is by having a child. I have no intention of playing house like this. If you want to beg me right now to pretend none of this happened, I’ll take it into consideration and let it slide.”

His downcast gaze was filled with arrogance.

“Never! That will never happen. I am definitely getting a divorce.”

Sparks flew from Seo-ah’s eyes as her earlier fragility vanished.

“Is that so?”

Taehyuk’s eyebrow arched casually.

“Then keep trying your best.”

Faced with his composed demeanor, Seo-ah bit her lip. This was Jang Taehyuk she was dealing with. Buying a woman flowers or giving her sweet hugs were things simply not coded into his DNA.

Nor did they share a rich history filled with deep martial affection or tender moments.

Strangers.

To Seo-ah, Taehyuk was still a cold stranger.

Once again, Taehyuk threw a fastball straight at the center of her heart before casually turning away—looking as confident as a pitcher certain that the rookie batter could never hit his pitch.

Seo-ah grabbed the hem of Taehyuk’s pajama top as he turned. Taehyuk glanced back over his shoulder.

“Kiss me.”

His razor-sharp profile froze instantly.

It was a home run.

Taehyuk turned slowly back toward her.

“What?”

“You said you wanted to have a baby.”

Taehyuk’s gaze remained glued to Seo-ah’s smooth lips.

“Even elementary schoolers know you don’t get pregnant just by kissing.”

“I know. But it’s a start.”

There was a subtle shade of meaning behind her choice of the word ‘start’—a clear jab at how their nights together always began and ended strictly with the main event.

Taehyuk narrowed his eyes. The sharp glint between his tightened eyelids was like a wild predator waiting for an opening.

“Can’t do it? Well, you never gave me a proper kiss throughout our entire marriage anyway. Just be honest right now. You don’t know how to kiss—”

Without the slightest surge of emotion, Taehyuk captured her lips in his.

Seo-ah’s eyes went wide at the hot touch clinging to her lips. Taehyuk’s face was angled right in front of hers. The curve of his closed eyelids showed clearly that his gaze was cast downward, his long eyelashes tickling her skin.

While Seo-ah stood paralyzed in shock, Taehyuk’s long fingers wrapped around her jawline. His large hand cupped her chin, then slid gently down toward the nape of her neck.

“…Ah…”

Caught off guard, Seo-ah pressed her hands against his chest. In that moment of panic, as her lips parted slightly, Taehyuk slipped his upper lip inside and sucked gently on her bottom lip.

It felt like being pulled into a thick, inescapable marsh. Before she knew it, the hands she had used to push him away were clutching tightly onto his shirt.