THICA 9

Chapter 9

When they arrived at the pier, a light selection of wine and snacks had already been prepared on the yacht. As soon as they set sail, something appeared in the sea.

“There’s something over there.”

Ye-seo pointed toward it, her voice brighter than usual.

“We’re lucky. Some dolphins have come close to us.”

The captain explained it to her.

“Dolphins?”

Ye-seo, who had been nervous ever since boarding the yacht, smiled like a little child as she reached toward the dolphins. One of them approached her hand, allowing her to stroke it.

“This is my first time seeing dolphins this close.”

Do-gyeom thought this was the brightest expression he had ever seen on Ye-seo’s face. He had been impressed by the way she focused when directing business matters, but he felt that he would also find it hard to forget how relaxed she looked now.

Just then, Ye-seo approached him.

“Come closer, too, Mr. Do-gyeom. They say it’s rare for this to happen.”

She took Do-gyeom’s hand and led him toward the dolphins.

She’s drawing my attention more than the dolphins are.

Rather than looking at the dolphins, Do-gyeom found himself looking more at Ye-seo’s bright smile. It was a side of her he had never seen before, since he had only viewed her as a business partner.

For Do-gyeom, who always lived according to plan, this unexpected moment came as a refreshing shock.

As he watched Ye-seo play with the dolphins, sunset approached.

“It feels like it’s been a long time since I last watched the sunset.”

“I suppose so.”

“We’re both usually in the office at that time.”

They had both been busy with their own lives, each focused on their respective responsibilities. The sunset had been nothing more than a sign that time was passing, and neither of them had ever paid much attention to it.

Now that they were watching it together, a feeling they couldn’t quite put into words washed over them.

After the sun set and darkness began to fall, the yacht started returning to shore.

A staff member informed them that a special dinner and wine were ready.

“Do you enjoy drinking?”

“I only drink when I have business engagements with clients. What about you, Ms. Ye-seo?”

“I don’t enjoy it either. I only drink when necessary.”

Neither of them showed much interest in the wine that had been prepared.

“What time do you go to bed? I usually go to bed at ten and wake up at six.”

“I go to bed at twelve and wake up at six.”

“Our wake-up times are similar.”

Ye-seo continued the conversation as she ate the dishes prepared for dinner.

“I usually skip breakfast. Do you eat it?”

“I tend to skip breakfast, too.”

They had another thing in common: neither of them usually ate breakfast.

“Then let’s have dinner together at least once a day.”

Ye-seo was startled by the words that had suddenly come out of her mouth, but she tried not to make it sound like an extension of their business arrangement.

She had simply wanted to share a meal with the person who lived in the same house as her.

It wasn’t such a burdensome thing to say… Did I go too far for no reason?

“We can let each other know in advance before our schedules end.”

Do-gyeom’s response was less resistant than she had expected, which came as a relief.

She had really wanted to share a different kind of time with him, unlike the meals she had with her family.

After dinner, they moved to their shared bedroom. The room had been decorated to create a newlywed atmosphere.

Seeing it made Ye-seo realize that she was truly married.

Do-gyeom climbed onto the bed, lay down with his arms spread out, and looked at Ye-seo.

“Come up.”

Although Do-gyeom was the only one on the spacious bed, it somehow seemed full.

When Ye-seo sat on the edge of the bed, Do-gyeom sat up and wrapped an arm around her waist.

It felt as though the scent of sandalwood was filling the air.

“Let’s get used to physical contact for the time being.”

Do-gyeom lowered his head and whispered into her ear. Goosebumps rose along Ye-seo’s ear, and it turned red. Do-gyeom watched her reaction before guiding her onto the bed.

He then let her rest her head on his arm.

At that moment, Ye-seo felt as though she were trapped in his embrace. His arms were more than enough to wrap around her completely. The sandalwood scent from earlier seemed to grow even stronger.

The sandalwood scent began to mix with the black tea and bergamot fragrance that lingered on Ye-seo. They remained close to each other.

I feel like he can hear my heartbeat.

Ye-seo tried to hide her embarrassment, but she couldn’t conceal her trembling heartbeat.

And whenever she tried to calm herself down, Do-gyeom’s quiet breathing brushed past her, mingling with the scent of sandalwood.

She couldn’t take her eyes off his.

Then she heard another heartbeat, slower than her own.

As she listened to it, her heartbeat gradually settled down as well. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she soon fell asleep.

“Was she that busy today? I can’t believe she fell asleep like this.”

Do-gyeom gazed at Ye-seo sleeping in his arms and fell into thought.

When she took charge of business, she was sharp and decisive. When something made her happy, she became remarkably innocent and carefree. And when she slept like this, she was as peaceful as a pattern painted on a piece of porcelain.

Every time he saw another side of her, he grew more curious about the person named Ye-seo.

And he had plenty of time to get to know her.

“I look forward to what’s ahead.”

\* \* \*

The next morning, sunlight began streaming into the bedroom. Ye-seo was asleep in Do-gyeom’s arms.

“She looks just like she did when she was little.”

The day he had first met Ye-seo came to Do-gyeom’s mind. She didn’t seem to remember it, though.

Back then, Do-gyeom had been eight years old when he first met Ye-seo at a party.

At the time, his mother had been ill, so his family’s attention had been focused on her. Do-gyeom was in a period of his life when he was becoming accustomed to being cared for by the staff and taking care of his own responsibilities by himself.

That day, he had a fever and a headache, but it was an important party he had to attend, so he went without showing how he felt.

That was where he first met Ye-seo.

“Are you sick? You look like you have a fever. When that happens, you should tell an adult that you’re sick.”

After saying that, Ye-seo took Do-gyeom by the hand and asked a staff member to take him to the infirmary.

His temperature was 38.0 degrees Celsius. The doctor asked how he had managed to endure it for so long and gave him fever-reducing medicine.

Strangely enough, Ye-seo had been the first person to show kindness to him simply as himself, rather than as Ryu Do-gyeom of Jeongseong Group.

“Then get better soon, okay, big brother?”

After saying goodbye, Ye-seo took a staff member’s hand and returned to the party first.

When Do-gyeom returned to the party after resting for a while, his parents asked him what had happened. He simply told them that he had had a fever and taken some medicine.

His parents said he could leave early if he wanted, but he told them he wanted to stay because he was curious about Ye-seo.

Back then, Ye-seo had been brighter and more energetic than she was now. She had looked much like she did when she first saw the dolphins.

Later, his mother’s health recovered, and his family’s attention returned to him. But by then, Do-gyeom had already become fiercely determined to handle his own responsibilities without relying on anyone else.

After that, he had grown suspicious of other people’s kindness. However, his encounter with Ye-seo had taught him to accept the kindness others showed him at face value.

He had originally intended to refuse the arranged marriage, but he had agreed to postpone his decision as a way of repaying the kindness she had shown him as a child.

Some parts of her are still the same as they were when she was little.

When the sunlight reached Ye-seo’s eyes, she furrowed her brows and opened them.

Do-gyeom briefly shielded her eyes with his hand.

“Are you awake?”

“W-Who are you?”

Ye-seo seemed startled by Do-gyeom’s presence and moved away from him. He watched her reaction.

Then he decided to leave the past buried.

“You must have been tired yesterday.”

“I guess I was.”

Having finally recognized him, Ye-seo met Do-gyeom’s eyes without being able to free herself from his embrace.

After hesitating for a moment, she glanced at him as if gauging his reaction, then slipped out of his arms and got out of bed.

It felt strangely unfamiliar when the warmth of his embrace began to fade.

The rest of their honeymoon was filled with activities designed for relaxation.

\* \* \*

After their honeymoon ended, Do-gyeom and Ye-seo moved into their newlywed home.

Once they had unpacked their belongings, they met in the kitchen to establish some rules for living together.

“What should we do about our bedtime?”

“If we’re going to sleep in the same bed, I think it would be better to have the same bedtime.”

“Then how about we adjust our schedules by about an hour each and go to bed at eleven?”

“Agreed. We’ll also need to make time for public appearances.”

They had said they wanted to appear to be the perfect couple in public. So showing others that they had a good married life would probably be an important part of that as well.

She had been aware that he was thinking about this, but…

“Would once a month be enough?”

“That would be the minimum frequency, but I’d appreciate your cooperation whenever necessary.”