TO 14

Chapter 14

“I’m sorry.”

Seo-ah lowered her head deeply. Seunghi scanned her up and down before letting out a sharp click of her tongue.

“Your mother-in-law is here and you don’t even offer a cup of tea?”

“Ah, yes.”

Seo-ah quickly turned toward the kitchen. Behind her, Seunghi’s voice pierced the air like an icicle.

“Forget the tea. Go down to the parking garage and get the side dishes from Driver Kim.”

“The side dishes?”

“Yes! Because you made such a scene that day, I couldn’t even give Taehyuk the side dishes I made for him. How can you be so thoughtless? Running straight to Taehyuk to tattle on me like that? Did it bother you that much to see him spending time with his father at home for once? Ask anyone on the street—does it make any sense for a daughter-in-law to cause such a fuss just over doing a few dishes at her in-laws’ place?!”

“I’m sorry.”

Seo-ah bowed her head again. Seunghi glared at her, raising her voice even louder.

“Well, what are you waiting for?! Go get the side dishes already before they spoil!”

“Yes.”

Seo-ah rushed toward the front door. Hearing Seunghi’s raised voice, the housekeeper ran out from the kitchen.

“Ma’am, I’ll go get them.”

Seunghi narrowed her eyes at the housekeeper’s offer.

“No, you just bring me a cup of tea. Seo-ah, you go quickly and get those side dishes.”

“Yes.”

Seo-ah turned around immediately. The housekeeper looked at her with worried eyes. Seo-ah had been bedridden with body aches all weekend. Though she didn’t know the reason, the housekeeper knew Seo-ah was feeling unwell and couldn’t help but worry.

“It’s alright. I’ll go get them. Please take care of Mother’s tea.”

Seo-ah offered a faint smile to the housekeeper before turning back. Behind her, Seunghi’s harsh, blunt voice followed.

“Is there a single attractive thing about her?! Other women pop out babies so easily! How can she expect to get pregnant when she’s that frail?!”

Seo-ah bit her lip tightly and stepped out the front door. Seunghi’s words felt like poison rushing through her veins. Her head throbbed, and a stinging sensation pinched the bridge of her nose.

Don’t cry. Do not cry.

Clenching her teeth, Seo-ah walked down to the parking garage. Secretary Kim was waiting for her and handed over the bundle of side dishes with a deeply apologetic expression.

“I am so sorry, ma’am. I should have brought them up myself, but the Madam insisted…”

She didn’t even need to ask to know the truth. Seunghi had made Seo-ah do it on purpose. To Seunghi, Seo-ah held a position even lower than the household staff.

“No, it’s alright. I’ll carry them.”

“They are quite heavy, young ma’am. Please let me bring them up to the door for you.”

Secretary Kim tried his best to stop her, but Seo-ah shook her head. If Seunghi caught sight of him carrying them for her, there would be hell to pay.

“It really is fine.”

Secretary Kim looked down at Seo-ah’s fragile, impossibly thin wrists and reluctantly lowered his hands from the bundle with a pained look. Her arms and legs trembled under the heavy weight, but Seo-ah bit her lip and managed to carry everything inside.

“Put them in the fridge and make sure Taehyuk eats them.”

“Yes.”

Even while Seo-ah packed the side dishes into the refrigerator, Seunghi’s nagging was endless.

“Taehyuk’s face looked so haggard. Are you sure you’re feeding him properly?”

“I’ll pay more attention to it.”

Seo-ah bowed her head. Looking displeased with her response, Seunghi crossed her arms and glared at the dishwasher in the kitchen.

“Taehyuk sent a new dishwasher to our house.”

That gesture had clearly put Seunghi in an even worse mood, because the new dishwasher Taehyuk sent wasn’t a gift for her benefit.

“He claimed he thought our dishwasher was broken.”

Seo-ah remained silent. She knew that no matter what she said, Seunghi would find a way to twist her words.

“You really seem to have my son wrapped around your finger. Suddenly Taehyuk is bothering to care about a dishwasher for the house—a guy who wouldn’t care even if the whole house caught on fire.”

Seunghi’s eyes boiled with anger.

‘Please… be kind to her. I’m asking you.’

The plea Taehyuk had made to her only fueled her rage even more.

My son actually begged me to be kind to this pathetic girl? Ridiculous.

“Any news yet? Still nothing?”

“I’m sorry.”

The topic of having a baby was like a weapon Seunghi loved to pull out whenever she wanted to stomp Seo-ah into the ground. Seo-ah hung her head like a criminal.

“You’re not using birth control, are you?”

Seo-ah felt a sharp pang in her chest, but she shook her head.

“No.”

“Then… are you infertile or something?”

Seo-ah bit her lip hard.

Seunghi knew better than anyone that she wasn’t infertile.

Seo-ah swallowed the words that fought to escape her lips. The unspoken words turned into sharp shards of ice, slicing through her heart and leaving a cold ache in her lower abdomen.

When Seo-ah didn’t answer right away, Seunghi’s brows furrowed.

“Are you… seriously still holding on to what happened back then?”

Seo-ah didn’t answer this time either. Seunghi’s expression twisted even further.

“How audacious! The nerve of you…! What, should we sit down and weigh who was right and wrong right now? When I’ve been holding my tongue out of consideration for you…!”

“N-No, it’s not like that…”

“Honestly! Where on earth did Taehyuk find a girl like you?!”

Seunghi clicked her tongue in disgust and stood up.

“If he was going to dump a girl like Go-eun, he should have at least brought home someone on her level.”

Being compared to Taehyuk’s ex-fiancée, Go-eun, was something Seo-ah had heard so often since her marriage that it felt carved into her skin.

The name Go-eun pierced Seo-ah’s heart like a dagger. She clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned pale. But Seunghi had already turned her back.

“I’m leaving. Don’t say anything useless to Taehyuk. Don’t go driving a wedge between a mother and her son. And stop giving a busy man extra things to worry about.”

Seunghi’s harsh parting words were all too familiar. That was how Seunghi always silenced her—as if Seo-ah were the sole root of every single conflict.

Seo-ah bit down hard on her lip until the metallic taste of blood spread across her tongue.

“You’re home.”

Stepping into the entryway, Taehyuk stared intently at Seo-ah. Her pale face looked completely drained.

“Are you still feeling unwell?”

At his words, a faint flush bloomed across Seo-ah’s bloodless cheeks.

“A-Ah, no. I’m fine.”

Despite her words, Seo-ah was still suffering from intense muscle soreness. It felt as though she had completed an agonizing workout; her hips and inner thighs were sore, and a dull lower back pain lingered. But what embarrassed her even more was the tingling sensation in her chest that throbbed whenever her clothes lightly brushed against her skin. It wasn’t just the physical feeling itself—it was how that sensation dragged back the memory of the intense gaze Taehyuk had fixed on her that night.

“If you’re sore, get more rest. You don’t need to come out to greet me.”

Taehyuk spoke coldly and headed up to the second floor.

Seo-ah watched him leave, resting a hand against her forehead.

He was back to being the old Taehyuk. Jang Taehyuk, the distant stranger who kept a comfortable, icy distance.

Seo-ah moved her feet, trying her best to ignore the traces he had carved into her body. Just as the sensations he left behind felt like pain, he was nothing more than a source of pain to her.

It was right around the time Seo-ah was setting the dinner table. Having finished his shower, Taehyuk came down to the kitchen.

“Where is the housekeeper?”

Taehyuk asked, seeing Seo-ah setting the table herself. Despite his distant demeanor, he had rushed home earlier than usual, during hours when the housekeeper should have still been around.

“I sent her home early today. She said she had a family memorial service to attend.”

Seo-ah replied calmly, transferring the side dish bowls from the tray to the dining table. Taehyuk raised an eyebrow when he noticed twice as many side dishes as usual.

“This is too much.”

“Your mother dropped by. She said you looked a bit haggard and told me to make sure you ate well…”

Taehyuk stared at Seo-ah.

“Eat with me.”

“I’ve already eaten. Please go ahead.”

Seo-ah turned around. Taehyuk stared at her back. It felt so unfamiliar. Just a few days ago, they had sat across from each other at this very table, sharing a glass of wine. Looking at the cold Seo-ah standing before him now, that moment felt almost unimaginable.

Everything had returned to its original place. Taehyuk was forced to face the reality that hit him like a bucket of ice water over his head.

“I’ll… go upstairs first and get ready.”

At her words, Taehyuk’s brows knit together. Seeing his sharp, questioning reaction, Seo-ah flushed red.

“Doing it twice is better than once. Since it’s my ovulation period…”

She was talking about getting pregnant. Taehyuk’s expression turned bitterly cold.

“You look like you can barely even stand straight. Given your body’s condition right now.”

At his harsh words, Seo-ah bit her lip.

“I’m fine.”

As Seo-ah turned to leave, Taehyuk spoke coldly.

“Stop it. Not with that half-dead face.”

“If you don’t like looking at my face, I’ll turn off the lights.”

At Seo-ah’s response, Taehyuk pushed his chair back and stood up. The harsh screech of the chair legs scraped against the floor.

He walked straight over to Seo-ah and grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Are you treating me like a breeding stallion now?”

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You were the one who said it didn’t matter as long as we both got what we wanted…”

In that instant, Taehyuk yanked her body around. Seo-ah’s knees gave out, causing her to double over forward. As she barely managed to support herself by grabbing the edge of the dining table, Taehyuk’s dark, ominous voice sounded from behind her.

“Fine. I’ll give you exactly what you want, then.”

Taehyuk’s rough hands yanked up her skirt.