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"Maybe later," Jongin says, eyes still glued to the laptop's screen. There is a report he must finish for tomorrow's board meeting that he hasn't been able to finish earlier. Every day, new work keeps piling up, some more urgent, so he has been working overtime a lot for the past weeks, if not months. Those hours are not even paid in wage, but he will be rewarded with chairman Oh's satisfaction and approval instead, both being what he has been constantly working for ever since he knew he wanted to be with Seyoung, chairman Oh’s daughter, forever, until death parts them.

"Later then," Seyoung whispers, and it's not the first time that Jongin feels grateful for having Seyoung by his side. She hasn't complained even once, although he has been neglecting his wife in favor of work. She is understanding, even if she's unhappy seeing him work this much, and she doesn't put pressure on him. On the contrary - she helps lessening the burden by perfectly managing their household, always making sure that their apartment is tidy and feels like home, the fridge always filled, meals and drinks always prepared. At times, she even offers to help with paperwork, although accounting is not her forte. Writing is, so Jongin usually lets her check all his reports and papers for grammar and spelling mistakes. She helps a lot with writing his speeches and presentations, too.

Jongin hums softly and doesn't notice his wife leaving the room, too focused on his work, but about an hour or two later, there are knocks on the door.

"Come in," Jongin says, a bit absentminded, and startles, when someone touches his shoulders. He relaxes once he hears Seyoung's sweet voice.

"Are you still not finished?" She asks, fingers rubbing slowly over his shoulders and nape, pressing, massaging. Jongin closes his eyes for a second, relaxing to the touch. The tension seeps out of his body.

"Not yet," he mumbles. "I'm almost done though."

"The project is ending soon, too, right?" Seyoung inquires, and Jongin hums as reply, a soft smile on his face. He enjoys their short sweet moments together.

"Do you think dad would let me borrow you for a week?" She asks, though they both know the answer. If president Oh's only daughter asks for a thing, her father would always give it to her no matter what. She's an only child, and a kind-hearted and filial one on top of that, so her father is only doting on her more and more.

"He definitely would," Jongin chuckles. "There's nothing president Oh would deny his little princess."

"What about the prince? Is he going to spoil the princess as well?" Seyoung asks. Despite the playful tone, Jongin tenses up. He would love to pamper Seyoung and drown her in his affections, but work - work is so important to him. He doesn't want anyone to think that he's gotten to his position by marrying into the chairman's family. His pride doesn't allow him to slack off and give people room to badmouth him, or worst of all, doubt his genuine feelings for Seyoung which in return might make Seyoung doubt him, too.

"This project is so important, Seyoung," Jongin says quietly. He doesn't dare looking up at Seyoung's face. Her pulling away is indication enough that she is unhappy - because of him. “And there are many more projects waiting to be worked on after that.”

"I know," she responds calmly, but breathily. She must be trying to keep her composure in front of him. She must be suppressing tears. Jongin is stunned for a second, but before he can find the right words to say, his wife speaks up first.

"I'll go to bed now," she murmurs. This time, Jongin is fully aware of Seyoung leaving the room, and all of a sudden, it feels stifling. He is not in the mood to work anymore, all energy drained off him, but he is almost done with this report, so he forces himself to stay up for another hour to complete the document and edit it, not daring to ask Seyoung for help this time.





Seyoung is quiet the next morning. She makes him breakfast, as usual, but there’s no smile on her face, and when he leans closer to kiss her goodbye, she turns her head so he misses and his lips brush against her cheek instead. Seyoung is upset, and as much as Jongin wants to stay at home and talk it out with her, he can’t. He needs to go to work and present his final report. Jongin is sure that Seyoung understands.

“See you later in the evening, love,” Jongin says and is met with silence. He leaves the apartment, feeling sad and upset, too. It’s the first time that Seyoung is showing him the cold shoulder and he thinks it’s not fair. He hasn’t done anything wrong. He is just being a responsible employee and doing his best to prove that his position in the company is justified. Every man who was in his position would do the same thing, right?





It’s almost midnight when Jongin returns home that day. After the presentation of the final report, his team has insisted on going out for a drink. Jongin tried to contact Seyoung, asking her to join, but she declined, telling in a short text message that she was tired. Jongin didn’t stay too long then. When his colleagues went for another round at a different bar, Jongin went straight home, worried about his spouse.

Their apartment is dark. Usually, Seyoung would stay up to wait for him, but she must have slipped into bed for long. Jongin tiptoes around the rooms, not wanting to wake his beautiful wife. He takes a shower and gets dressed for bed, a smile on his face when he thinks about that time Seyoung insisted on buying couple pajamas. They have several pairs of those, but Jongin doesn’t mind. He would do anything to bring a smile to her lips. Today, too, Seyoung has laid out his pajamas for him, probably matching the one she is wearing.

“My lovely Seyoung,” he mumbles when he’s finally in bed and right next to her. Slowly, he inches closer and wraps his arms around her from behind, carefully spooning her. She doesn’t stir, although she’s a light sleeper, and her breathing is off, too. Jongin knows that she must have been awake for some time now. But if Seyoung doesn’t want to talk, he won’t force her either. He just pulls her snug against his body, cuddling with her as usual.

“My lovely, lovely Seyoung,” he murmurs. “I love you so much.”

Jongin pretends he doesn’t hear her quiet sniffling and proceeds to hug her tighter. It’s his quiet apology for making her sad. He hopes that she understands without further explanation.





When Jongin wakes up the next morning, Seyoung is not by his side. It’s not unusual since she always makes sure to get up a bit earlier than he does to have enough time to prepare breakfast. There are no sounds coming from the kitchen though, so he quickly gets up to look for his wife.

She’s not in the living-room, nor is she in the kitchen. The bathroom is unlocked and empty as well. He makes his way over to his home office, and there she is, sitting by his desk and browsing through a book. If she has noticed him entering, she doesn’t show it, her hands still turning the pages quietly.

“Seyoung,” Jongin whispers, his voice coming out more hoarse and scratchy than intended. “What are you doing here?”

Seyoung hastily closes whatever she has been looking at and turns around, the back of her left hand rubbi