Warning: Extremely long chapter

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The next morning, Su Jin woke up later than usual, lazily dragging herself out of bed before heading to the shower. After refreshing herself, she made her way downstairs directly to the kitchen, where she found two of the maids engaged in conversation.

“Good morning, imo. Hello, unnie,” they greeted her with bows, their faces lighting up at her presence.

“Welcome back, Madam. We are delighted to see you again,” one of them said.

“I've told you, you don't have to call me Madam. I am using 'unnie' and 'imo',” she reminded them, noticing their immediate silence at her request.

“We understand, Su Jin-si,” one of them replied hesitantly.

“Much better. I'm really hungry. Is breakfast ready?” Su Jin inquired.

“Yes, where would you like to have it?” the older maid asked

“In the living room, or just here at the kitchen counter,” Su Jin replied. The elderly lady nodded and turned to the other maid.

“Sora, could you check if the young master wants something? He had breakfast early,” she instructed. Sora nodded and left the kitchen. Su Jin was taken aback.

“Jaejoong is here?” she asked.

“Yes, he decided not to go to work today,” the maid replied.

“Is he feeling unwell?” Su Jin questioned.

“No, he asked us to inform him when you woke up,” the maid explained. A few minutes later, Jaejoong appeared beside her.

“Good morning,” he greeted her with a smile.

“Why didn’t you go to work?” she asked him.

“Well, since you just returned yesterday, I thought we should spend some time together. I took the day off,” Jaejoong explained.

“You should go to work,” Su Jin insisted.

“No, we're going out today,” Jaejoong declared.

“Where to, and why?” Su Jin inquired.

“I need to buy a few things,” Jaejoong replied confidently.

She looked at him considering whether to agree or not. But before she could respond, Jaejoong interjected, “After you finish your breakfast, go upstairs and change.” With that, he left the kitchen to prepare himself. Opting for an all-black ensemble, he selected a black leather jacket and a matching cap before heading to his car to wait for Su Jin. While waiting, he took the opportunity to text Lee Chang Wook, informing him of the need to talk when he dropped Su Jin off at her parents’ house.

Su Jin wore a simple denim outfit, and took her coat. She then joined Jaejoong in his car.

When Jaejoong parked his car in the shopping mall’s car parking. Su Jin turned to him and asked what he wanted to buy.

“Since you didn’t have the chance for proper winter shopping, I thought I'd accompany you.”

“I did some when I was away.”

“It’s okay, let’s just have a look around then.”

“Are you bribing me for what happened yesterday?”

“You can see it that way.” He smirked, taking her hand, and led her into the mall, greeted by numerous employees as it was a Kim Corporation branch mall. While walking, Su Jin's attention was captured by a pair of high heels. She stopped, and so did her husband.

“Let’s go in.” He laughed and followed her, teasing, “You said you didn’t need anything.”

In response, she made a funny face, revealing her playful side. She picked out a pair of heels and showed them to him.

“What do you think?”

“Beautiful, what about these?”

“I like them too.” She selected both pairs, and when she reached for her wallet, Jaejoong had already handed his credit card to the cashier.

“Why did you do this?” He looked at her with a questioning expression.

“I can pay for these.”

He leaned in, whispering in her ear, “I know you're an independent woman, but can’t I do this, as a husband?”

When they were walking, people recognized them and started to take pictures, and some even stopped them for a photo with Su Jin. After a few minutes, they resumed their shopping.

“I’m going to my parents’ later. Yours will be there too. Are you coming?”

“Yes, but I’ll only stay for half an hour.”

“Why?”

“Someone from high school opened a little restaurant and invited me to the opening.”

“You didn’t keep in touch with them, and a few months ago, I practically begged you to attend your first get-together with them. Now, you're invited to the opening of a restaurant? Weird.”

“I wasn’t going to go, but Yoochun said he might interpret it differently, thinking that since it’s just a small restaurant, I didn’t want to attend.”

“Yoochun is going?”

“Yes, Minju and Junsu too.”

“Okay.” She wondered why Minju was invited, not knowing their old friend. Distracted by this thought, she took her phone and sent a text to Minju, when Jaejoong received a phone call.

** I heard that you are invited to a restaurant tonight.**

** Yes, Yoochun’s ex-classmate invited us, and you? You weren’t invited?**

** No, even if I was, I had other plans, enjoy it.**

She felt a sense of relief that her husband hadn’t lied to her; she half-expected him to meet with the person who had been texting him the day before. When he finished his phone call, he joined her as she browsed through some lingerie. His discomfort was evident, with the eyes of customers and salespeople alike focused on him.

“I'll be done soon. If you're uncomfortable, you can wait outside,” she offered, noticing his unease.

“It’s okay, just for a couple of minutes… I'll check out the pajamas section,” he replied, rubbing the back of his head.

Wanting his opinion on her selections, Su Jin called Jaejoong over. “Which color do you think is best for these bras: blue, pink, or black?”

“Are you trying to embarrass me in front of all these people?” he teased, his discomfort evident.

“Come on, there’s a man over there helping his wife or girlfriend. Nothing to be shy about,” she retorted, grinning.

“It’s different when they’re in a real relationship. We’re just friends,” he remarked with a sigh.

“Whatever.”

“Blue and black,” she said, ignoring his protest.

“And those?” she asked, pointing to another set.

He didn’t answer, so Su Jun talked “Come on, you wanted to buy me swimsuit, they are exactly the same.”

He hesitated. “ and red.”

“Thank you, hubby,” she said, raising an eyebrow playfully.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Nothing.”

She turned to the salesperson to request that the items be packed. Despite her smile, her thoughts were troubled, these couple of days many thoughts were running through her head. She was starting to question the choices and compromises she has made. Marriage was probably not a good idea, she wasn’t ready to give up the life of a real wife with feelings involved, at first, she thought that living as friends under the same roof was doable, but she started to feel that their acting was coming to an end.

After they finished shopping, they enjoyed a late lunch before returning home to shower and change. Then, they headed to Su Jin’s parents’ house. Jaejoong opted for a white shirt and classic pants with a coat, while Su Jin chose a casual and cozy outfit, anticipating a relaxing time at home.

When they arrived at Mr. and Mrs. Lee’s house, Jaejoong's parents hadn’t arrived yet. This provided Su Jin with a precious opportunity to spend some quality time with her own parents. She had been missing them immensely, and amid the turmoil in her mind lately, she questioned if leaving her parents’ house had been the right decision.

Jaejoong wanted to give them some alone time, turned to Chang Wook. “Do you have a moment? I’d like to have a word with you.”

“Of course, garden or office?”

“The office is fine.” Jaejoong replied

They headed to Mr. Lee’s office and took a seat on the couch. “I was worried when you said you needed to talk in your text this morning. Is everything fine?” Chang Wook asked.

“To be honest… I don’t know. I don’t know how to put it into words,” Jaejoong admitted. To spare Chang Wook unnecessary worry, he opened his phone, navigated to the texts he received from Na Young, and handed it over for him to read. Chang Wook's anger flared, upset that his cousin was behaving inappropriately and harassing his friend.

“She is crazy. I’m really sorry, I’m so embarrassed,” Chang Wook expressed his frustration.

“Chang Wook, you're my friend, and I know you. I didn’t know how to handle it, that’s why I preferred talking to you. You know I hate it when someone contacts me on my business number, especially for something like this. It makes me uncomfortable, and it’s starting to create problems between your sister and me. I didn’t want to tell her that it’s her cousin to avoid escalating the issue,” Jaejoong explained.

Chang Wook sighed, acknowledging the complexity of the situation, and let his brother-in-law continue. “Can you take care of it?”

“Of course, Jae, I know what to do. Sorry, I’m really embarrassed.” Chang Wook replied, his anger evident.

Jaejoong smiled at him and patted his shoulder. “Thank you. I can always count on you.”

After spending a brief moment with his in-laws, Jaejoong excused himself to join his friends. As he stepped outside to get into his car, he encountered his parents who had just arrived to visit Su Jin.

“I have a meeting. Su Jin is still inside,” he informed them before hopping into his car and driving off to the new restaurant.

Su Jin was asking her brother about his sudden mood change, but he promised Jaejoong not to tell her anything, and blamed it on their new joint venture with her in laws. While they were talking, Mrs and Mr Kim entered, and greeted them. They talked, and tried to catch all the time Su Jin wasn’t with them.

As Su Jin rose to plug her phone into the charger, Mrs. Kim made a remark, “So you came empty-handed this time as well?” Her husband nudged her discreetly.

Su Jin, thinking Mrs. Kim was teasing her, chuckled, “I never come without presents. Wait, I’ll bring them,” and hurried to her room with a smile, hoping they would appreciate her gifts. When she returned, she overheard Jaejoong’s mother telling them about her friend’s daughter who gave birth and how sweet was the sight of her holding the baby.

“Abonim, I hope you will like it, it’s just a small gift.” It was a fancy tie clip and cufflinks, since he was fond of collecting them. e expressed his appreciation with gratitude.

However, when she offered her gifts to her mother-in-law, she didn’t bother to open them and remarked, “I wasn’t talking about gifts, sweetheart.”

Confused, Su Jin sat beside her brother, smiling at Mrs. Kim. “I don’t understand, Omonim.”

“I’m talking about a baby, ultrasound, well, some pregnancy news,” Mrs. Kim clarified.

“Oh, we will, when the right time comes,” Su Jin responded casually.

“The right time? And when will it be your right time?” Mrs. Kim pressed.

Chang Wook, struggling to maintain his composure, interjected, “I think it’s something that should be discussed between Jae and Jin. We all want to see their kids, but we won’t pressure them, just like their marriage.” The other elders nodded in agreement, but Mrs. Kim remained unconvinced.

“How come my friend gets to be a grandmother and I’m not?! And what was the point of this marriage to begin with? Having grandchildren as soon as possible.”

“Omonim, don’t worry, we will have kids when we are both ready.” Su Jin assured her, masking her annoyance, though her brother could sense her underlying agitation.

“Ready? Ha… I feel like you are both hiding something,” Mrs. Kim remarked, leaving Su Jin taken aback by her words.

“L-like what?” Su Jin stammered.

“Like having some psychological block that is preventing you from getting pregnant,”

Su Jin laughed. “There is nothing psychological about it. It’s just that we are busy with our respective work.”

“That’s not what I meant. You need a physician. I am sure you can’t conceive. The doctor is the one who can judge, but I can tell that you are infertile,” Mrs. Kim persisted, pushing Su Jin's patience to its limit.

“And why don’t you suggest that Jaejoong is the infertile one?” Su Jin retorted, her irritation mounting.

“He isn’t. I know what I am saying. So, think about seeing a doctor soon to see if it’s curable. If not, that means we made the wrong choice with our son’s bride,” Mrs. Kim concluded, her words serving as the final straw. Mr. Kim intervened, asking his wife to stop and offering apologies.

“It’s okay Abonim. Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.” Su Jin excused herself, went to her room, where she could cry in private. Her mother and brother wanted to comfort her but didn’t want to draw attention, so Chang Wook subtly signaled to their mother to go and console her.

“Don’t mind what she said. It shouldn’t affect you. Cry it out, darling. Tell me everything,” her mother urged gently.

“What should I tell you? Should I tell you that Jaejoong and I are barely friends? That he never touched me? That I won’t have children because I’m still a ? That everything was just for show?” Su Jin poured out her frustrations, shocking her mother, who had believed the couple had fallen in love after their arranged marriage. She hugged her daughter, feeling the weight of the family’s expectations pressing down on her.

“I am really thinking about a divorce, I can’t take it anymore.”

“Maybe we made a big mistake. If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you. But let’s talk about it when they leave, okay?” her mother suggested, planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead before leading her to the bathroom to freshen up. “Dinner will be served soon. Don’t be late,” she reminded gently.