Seunghyun’s POV

When I woke up early in the morning, Yoona was still sleeping soundly. I would say that it was a typical morning, but it truly was far from it. When I woke up, Yoona was in my arms, and I was holding onto her firmly. My face was buried into the crook of her neck, and I was awakened by her sweet smell of vanilla and jasmine—her usual scent. I was pleasantly surprised that she had not pulled away from me. When I was sick, I had a habit of becoming clingy. Jiyong and I shared a bedroom as children, and he made sure to sleep in the living room whenever I was sick because I would try to hug him. When I had a fever the first time I got married to Yoona, I slept in the guest bedroom because I wanted to avoid that from happening.

Honestly, I didn’t even remember asking Yoona to stay. I knew she would have slept in the other room, and I realized that she would only sleep beside me if I asked her to. I unwrapped my body from hers gently with carefulness not to wake her up. I felt a lot better than I did earlier.

I glanced over at the clock that was mounted on the wall and saw it was nearly 6 am. I had to go to work right away. I still had to work on the proposal for Mr. Jung, who was a potential investor I wanted to impress. I got up from bed and quickly went to the closet to change my clothes.

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Yoona’s POV

When I woke up, Seunghyun had already gone to work, which didn’t surprise me. A fever wouldn’t stop that man from working, but I did hope that his fever went away or lessened before the morning. I woke up later than I usually did because Seunghyun kept me up all night fidgeting and in bed. I wasn’t entirely comfortable being that close to him all night because we never did things like that—cuddling and no . I mean…it was nice, but it was just so foreign. He never hugged me or slept so close to me. We had a huge bed, and I was sure that he wanted it that big so that he could have his own space.

I was having brunch with the ladies because I woke up so late. Seohyun picked us up in her Range Rover, and we decided to have a meal at a French café that specialized in brunch. We were seated at an outdoor table, which gave us a beautiful view of a manmade lake. I sipped on my black tea while we waited for our orders to arrive.

Sooyoung grinned, “You guys have to go to fashion week with me. The one in Paris is absolutely breathtaking.”
I never went to events like that. Sooyoung always went because she was the most fashionable one from all of us, but I wasn’t really into that. Seunghyun hired a stylist for me, and I basically wore whatever was in my closet. It was almost as if Seunghyun was more interested in what I wore than I was.

“I only went to the one in New York,” Yuri added, “We should go—the five of us.”

That was when the four women’s heads turned to me. I always declined their invitations to go on overseas trips. They went to Hawaii last year, but I didn’t go because Seunghyun was at home. The year before that, they took a trip to Italy, but my family convinced me to stay because maybe Seunghyun might need me. Three years ago, the girls went to the Bahamas, but I didn’t go because that was when Seunghyun was heading home from New York, and in my father’s eyes, I was a bad wife if he returned home and I was gone.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, “Seunghyun is home right now. Maybe if he was away…”

“Oh, please!” Taeyeon groaned, “He’s always leaving, and you never have time to enjoy to yourself. I’m surprised you haven’t gone crazy being locked up in that mansion all day. Your marriage with him reminds me of Beauty and the Beast.”

“What?” I narrowed my eyes.

Seohyun grinned, “A possessive but phlegmatic beast locks away a beautiful young woman in his tower because of his own selfish desires.”

They began to laugh as I crossed my arms against my chest.

“It’s not even like that!” I interjected, “It’s just that I don’t know when he’s going to leave again. My father said that I had to be there for him no matter what. That is what marriage is all about.”

Sooyoung said, “You know he’s not going to say no. If you’re afraid that he’d reject the idea of you going to Paris with us, he won’t do it. He knows what you risked when you agreed to marry him. Sure, he’ll be caught off guard, but he knows he can’t stop you from going if you really wanted to.”

“Fine, I’ll bring it up at dinner tonight,” I gave in.

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Seunghyun’s POV

I tried my best to make it home for dinner, and I was about 10 minutes late. I was surprised to see that Yoona had started to eat without me, but who could blame her? I never told her if I was running late, and she had spent the last few years eating her meals alone. She looked perplexed that I had actually showed up. I sat beside her and began to eat my food in silence.

Something about her was changing. She was slowly…growing. I couldn’t put my finger as to how she was growing, but I just saw it with my own eyes. She was speaking more, and she was finally walking with her head up high. Whatever was happening to her was great. I really liked it.

“Oppa,” she finally called out.

I looked at her. She was wearing a dark blue dress, and her hair was braided back into an elegant bun. I was sure that she hung out with the girls earlier. She had gotten a lot closer to my brother and cousins’ wives, and I was glad that they got along well. I was afraid that she’d have trouble adjusting to my pace in life, but they helped her just fine.

“Yes?” I raised a brow.

She swallowed, “Are you going to go on an overseas trip soon?”

I was baffled that she actually asked me that. I never told her when I was leaving because I never knew how long I was going to be gone for. Luckily for me, she had not nagged at me once for going away for long periods of time. I was just curious as to why she was asking about my trip now.

“As far as I know, I am not,” I replied shortly, “Why?”

She bit her lip, “Well…you see…Sooyoung invited me to go with her and the others to Paris for fashion week and…”

She looked so nervous, and I had to admit that I cracked a smile because of her behavior. She was squirming, and I could see in her eyes that she was afraid. She was worried that I was going to be just like her father. I knew of her life before she got married to me. She was hardly allowed to go out. Her father made her a prisoner. The first time she left the country was when we went on our honeymoon. I was going to admit that it wasn’t really like a honeymoon for her. I spent most of the time working, and even when I thought she’d become angry, she remained understanding and agreed to let me work on our honeymoon. We were in St. Bart’s, and she had to go to the beach alone because I wanted to meet with an associate.

“You know what?” she sighed, “Never mind. I shouldn’t go.”

“And why shouldn’t you go?” I questioned.

She was stunned by my reaction. I could tell because she was staring at me with widened eyes.

She stuttered, “W-Well, I thought you’d want me to stay here in Seoul while you’re here.”

“Yoona, you are my wife—not my slave,” I pointed out, “You can go out with them to Paris for fashion week. Why did you think I would reject you? Did you think that I was going to miss you?”

I saw a look of defeat appear on her face. Was I really that insensitive? Did I just imply that I wouldn’t miss her? I cleared my throat and took a long sip of my red wine on the table. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

“I’ll call Sooyoung after dinner and tell her that I’ll be able to make it,” Yoona confirmed, “I think it’ll be really fun.”

I added, “But if you’re going to go, you have to bring at least four guards with you. You additionally have to call me to check in from time to time. Also, your location—along with your guards’ locations—will be always visible to me, so you must have your phone on you at all times.”

Her jaw dropped when I added my exceptions. I was fine with her enjoying herself in Paris with Sooyoung, Seohyun, Taeyeon, and Yuri, but I didn’t trust many people. She was a rich and beautiful woman, and there was a chance she might get robbed or kidnapped. I was not willing to take any risks. Yoona’s glare darkened at the fact that I had added so many anomalies to her trip to Paris. I bet she was second guessing if it was truly worth going now.

“Let’s just hope that it is you who will not miss me too much while I’m gone,” she said daringly before she proceeded to eat her meal.

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Yoona’s POV

Days passed, and before I knew it, it was time to leave for my trip to Paris. It was only for a weekend, but I was very excited for my little adventure. I had already packed my bags, but it seemed like it wasn’t needed. When designers found out that I was going to attend, they began to fight over whose dress I would wear on certain days. I didn’t want to think too much of it, so Sooyoung and Yuri decided what I was going to wear and had them send the outfits and shoes to my hotel room in Paris.

To my complete surprise, Seunghyun stuck around at home. He usually left the house no later than 7 am, and it was already 8. He was taking his time eating his breakfast at home, and in the back of my mind, I thought that maybe…just maybe…he was wanted to see me before I left. We were supposed to meet at the airport by 9 am, and the guards had already prepared the car. A maid already put my luggage in the car, and I was ready to go.

Was I supposed to say goodbye to Seunghyun or was I supposed to just go without a single word like he normally did to me? I sighed in defeat and made a choice. I’ll just leave. He never says goodbye to me when he leaves. I was about to follow the guards out until I heard his voice.

“I need to speak to my wife alone,” his voice startled me.

The guards and maids quickly scattered giving us the privacy he wanted. Seunghyun walked up to me with his hands on his pockets as I nervously swallo