THICA 11

Chapter 11

Rather than welcoming her home, Do-gyeom seemed to have arrived quite some time ago. When Ye-seo stepped through the front door, he suddenly felt his heart grow calm.

In the silence of the unfamiliar house, he had spent a long time waiting for someone for the first time in ages. He was dressed in a calm gray knit sweater and lightweight cotton pants, giving him a much more relaxed appearance than before. The clothes followed his well-proportioned figure naturally, creating a soft and warm impression that was different from his usual urban sophistication.

His hair, which he would normally have styled neatly upward, was now hanging naturally. She had never imagined that someone she was accustomed to seeing with such a polished image could give off such a relaxed air. Ye-seo couldn’t look away and stared at Do-gyeom for a moment. Without realizing it, her gaze settled on his hair. It fell slightly over his forehead, without any sign that he had hurriedly brushed it back.

He was always neat and proper. But right now, he was different.

Ye-seo tried to look away, but her eyes fell on the hem of his clothes first.

‘Why do I keep noticing things like this…?’

“I’ll put my bags away and come back.”

Ye-seo spoke quietly and went into her room. When the door closed, Do-gyeom casually lowered his gaze to his fingertips.

As he waited for her to arrive at the house, he had spent quite some time thinking about what to say to her.

Do-gyeom turned the teacup on the table a couple of times. The tea had already gone cold, but his fingertips kept touching the cup.

“Was your luggage heavy? No, that sounds too ordinary.”

He muttered as if talking to himself, then looked into the air and pressed his lips together.

It was an unfamiliar feeling.

In her room, Ye-seo unpacked her briefcase with practiced hands, but her mind was complicated. After changing her clothes, she came back out with the site assessment report she had brought from the office held against her chest and headed toward the study. Suddenly feeling that he was watching her, she raised her head. Do-gyeom’s eyes were following her precisely.

“Do you still have work to do? If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll do so.”

Ye-seo blinked for a moment before smiling. She was grateful for his thoughtfulness.

“Let’s talk about it over dinner.”

The dining room was bathed in soft lighting, and a carefully prepared Korean meal had been laid out for dinner. Among the side dishes, Ye-seo spotted her favorite, jangjorim, soy-braised beef. However, the dish was just a little beyond the center of the table. She only glanced at it before reaching for another side dish.

“What are you thinking about?”

At Do-gyeom’s question, Ye-seo paused with her chopsticks. After thinking for a moment, she answered.

“I’m planning to open a gallery for the general public.”

“So you want to attract public interest.”

Ye-seo nodded and reached toward the jangjorim.

She was about to pick up her chopsticks when she looked at the dish again. It was definitely closer than it had been a moment ago.

Do-gyeom was holding his water glass without saying a word.

The spot where he had just moved his hand.

Ye-seo picked up her chopsticks again and smiled quietly. It was a kindness she could recognize without him saying anything. It was so warm that it felt unfamiliar. She didn’t express her gratitude in particular, but that small, quiet gesture gently seeped into her heart.

“I’m considering the location, and there are three candidates.”

Do-gyeom nodded and took a sip of water.

“Go ahead.”

“The first one, A, has a good view, but it’s in a remote area. Transportation is inconvenient, too.”

“Accessibility is important for both artists and visitors.”

Ye-seo moved on to the next candidate.

“B is in a quiet residential neighborhood, and there’s plenty of parking. But the building is old, and there are problems with moisture indoors.”

“With proper care, a space like that could actually develop its own atmosphere. However, maintenance would be essential.”

“The last one, C, has good facilities and plenty of parking, too. But there are a lot of elementary schools nearby, so the area gets a little crowded during school drop-off and pick-up times.”

Do-gyeom fell into thought for a moment.

“It could create a bright and lively image, but it might also interfere with visitors’ immersion in the exhibitions.”

After finishing their meal, the two headed to the study. Ye-seo handed Do-gyeom the site assessment report, and he quietly turned through the pages one by one.

“Of the locations you mentioned, B seems to have the most potential. The repair costs will add up, but it has promise as a gallery.”

Ye-seo smiled faintly at his words. He had chosen the same place she had been drawn to. She felt as though they were on the same wavelength.

At that moment, Ye-seo realized something.

‘Other than Seo-yeon, this is the first time.’

Until now, she had never discussed work in depth with anyone. She had made every decision alone and considered that normal. Perhaps it was the isolation that came with being the head of a company. Seo-yeon had been the only person who could naturally enter Ye-seo’s private world.

But now, sharing her opinions with Do-gyeom like this felt unfamiliar yet comfortable.

‘I thought this marriage would only look perfect to other people…’

Ye-seo quietly reflected on herself.

“Just handle that yourself.”

Lee-min had treated married life like a business project.

In her previous marriage, everything had been calculated, and emotions had always come second. She had tried hard to maintain that relationship, but in the end, she had grown exhausted.

Do-gyeom, however, was different. He had also entered this arranged marriage, but he treated Ye-seo as a person in her own right. Working together, thinking things through together, and approaching her without being asked—all of it was unfamiliar, yet tender.

After finishing their work, the two sat facing each other in the living room for tea. In the quiet space, filled with the subtle fragrance of herbal tea, Ye-seo spoke softly.

“I didn’t expect you to help me so seriously.”

Do-gyeom set down his teacup and smiled. Then he spoke quietly.

“A husband can support his wife’s career, too.”

Ye-seo’s fingers tightened slightly around her teacup. Do-gyeom’s words were quiet, but they sent a small ripple through her heart, as if something had lightly touched the surface of a glass.

With that gentle echo still lingering inside her, she lowered her eyes.

It was something she had never heard in her previous life. Words that meant someone was there to stand by her side. Ye-seo lifted her teacup and took a sip. As the warmth spread through her mouth, it felt as though some of her wariness toward Do-gyeom melted away.

During the years when his mother was ill, the house had always been quiet. Only her hospital room was lit, and the family’s attention was always focused there. Do-gyeom remained outside that circle of light.

People took care of him, but their methods were different. The caregivers and staff managed Do-gyeom as if it were simply part of their assigned duties.

Every year, on the same day, the same gift arrived in his room, wrapped in the same way.

A blue ribbon. A gray box. A familiar luxury brand.

“Happy birthday, young master.”

The employee’s voice was polite, but their eyes were already on their watch. Do-gyeom put the box in a drawer without even opening it.

That was what celebrations had always been like. Gradually, Do-gyeom came to believe that this was all a relationship could offer.

So he never asked questions. He never expected anything, either. He stayed quietly by himself and grew up in silence.

Little by little, he became indifferent to other people and careless about relationships.

Then he met Ye-seo at a party, and she came as a refreshing shock. She was someone who had noticed the pain he had hidden. She had shown him kindness without even knowing that he was Do-gyeom of the Jeongseong Group.

It was the first time anyone had done that. Perhaps that was why he had looked into Ye-seo’s background, even though she hadn’t told him her name.

Ye-seo. The person whose name he learned only later. After that day, Do-gyeom often found himself thinking of her. Sometimes he would absentmindedly type her name into an internet search bar, only to delete it again. On some days, he would stop himself because his feelings seemed too personal. Yet, strangely, whenever news about her appeared, he found himself paying attention.

Meanwhile, his mother’s health improved, and a stepmother and half-sister entered Ye-seo’s household. As she welcomed her new family, Ye-seo quietly took responsibility for cleaning up the mess they left behind. Gradually, she grew darker.

He suddenly remembered Ye-seo’s face as a child, when she used to smile brightly. Recently, he had heard that she had changed a great deal. Her expressions had become dull, and she no longer opened her heart easily to anyone outside of work.

For some reason, Do-gyeom felt disappointed when he heard that. The thought that her brightness had disappeared saddened him.

That warm gaze from the day he first met her still lingered in a corner of his heart.