The speedboat ride was quicker than riding the yacht. Wendy doesn't want to bother the yacht crew for now, as they've already been doing the most, so she decided to take the speedboat for their quick visit to the city. Surprisingly, her fiancée trusted her enough to ride it with her, but with a couple of conditions.

First, Joohyun needs to wear the life jacket to and fro. The lady chief said she doesn't want to be a cold corpse before their not-so-planned wedding tomorrow.

Second, they're not allowed to talk during the whole trip. Wendy believed that it was because she'd been teasing Joohyun non-stop with all that weird chanting the chief was doing earlier in the woods with her grandmother. Though the brunette finds Joohyun's condition absurd, Wendy happily obliges, as she really doesn't want to get distracted by Joohyun's ethereal beauty while operating the boat either. She took this as an opportunity to focus and clear her head for tomorrow's unplanned event. She noticed how Joohyun kept stealing glances the whole trip, and the chief's cheek would constantly blush for no apparent reason.

They arrived at the family's private parking lot by the port, and though Wendy doesn't want to ask for a driver to drive them around, she has no other choice because she doesn't have a license. The brunette always hates asking helpers to do the job for her when she can do the task on her own. It's the same reason why she lives and moves independently. Her parents wanted to hire a personal assistant specifically for her to tend to her needs, but Wendy refused. That's just too much. They also wanted to assign a couple of bodyguards whenever she went out, but Wendy declined the idea because, what is she? A little child? She can definitely take care of herself like a grown woman.

Most of the time, her family has a lot of money to spare, and they just spend it on ridiculous and stupid things.

"Give me the car key," Irene held out her hand. "I'll drive."

"What? No."

"What, your ex-flame can drive for you but your fiancée can't?"

What?

"What? It's not like that. I just don't want to bother you."

"Oh, please. Just give me the damn keys. I want to drive."

"Fine." The brunette gave up with a sigh. She gestured for the caretaker to give her a key, and the man handed her the one for a white Maserati Ghibli.

Wendy saw Joohyun's eyes widen in pure admiration at the beauty of the vehicle in front of her. "Wow. This is beautiful," the lady chief muttered as Wendy nodded in agreement. The car is indeed magnificent. But so do their other ones too.

"Do you want to take this? There is a Ferrari at the back, a Pagani, and a—"

"I feel like you're just showing off now."

"What? No. I just want you to choose the one that will make you comfortable."

"Is your family collecting expensive cars like they're toys?? What do you need all these cars for?"

"My father loves cars. Some of these are gifts."

"Will they give us a luxury car for our wedding too?"

"Since when did you decide to become a gold-digger?"

"Excuse me? You're marrying Irene Bae. Though my fortune would never compare to your family's wealth, I can feed myself and survive on my own without someone else's financial help. I am an independent and a successful woman."

Wendy couldn't agree more. What Joohyun said were all facts. "I know. I'm just kidding. You're THE Irene Bae, and I will strive to be as good as you. We won't be needing my family's old money. I will work hard for both of us and buy you a mansion and all the cars that you want in the future."

"You may not believe it, but... I just want it simple. I just want to retire in a cozy home in a rural village in Switzerland."

This put a smile on Wendy's face. Despite the lady chief's cold attitude, she knew that it's just a façade to hide Joohyun's true, simple self. All Joohyun wants is a simple and peaceful life, and the lady chief deserves to have it in the future.

"Arasso. We'll do that," the brunette couldn't help but smile lovingly as Joohyun flashed her own too.

And then the silence that came next, upon realizing what they had been doing and saying, put both of them in awkwardness.

Did they just lay out their plan for their future? Did they just indirectly say that they would grow old together?

No no no. We were just both messing with each other. Joohyun never really meant what she said. 

Wendy cleared to break the thin ice between them. "Uhm. Let's go?" she asked, hoping that Joohyun would drop the topic, and thankfully, the chief did. Joohyun nodded and opened the driver's seat without saying anything.

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The couple entered a mall owned by the Son family. Wendy led the way inside, all the while Joohyun's eyes roamed around the place. As they arrived at the gadget section, they were greeted by the salesman in a black suit.

"Hi. I'm here to pick up the phone I requested," Wendy said casually.

"I'll call the manager for you, Ms. Son. She has been expecting you."

"All right. We'll wait here."

Not long after, a lady in a navy blue business suit appeared and approached them. The lady bowed and greeted the couple in front of her. "Good morning, Ms. Son. It's a pleasure to see you visit our store."

"Oh, please. I told you to just call me Wendy, Miyeon-ah."

"And I told you I cannot do that. I need to respect the person who provided a roof over my head, fed my hungry stomach, and even gave me a job to sustain my family's daily needs. I wouldn't be here if not for you," the store manager said, smiling at the brunette.

"You talk too much. Come here," Wendy pulled Miyeon into a hug, which the latter gladly returned.

As they pulled apart, Miyeon's eyes caught the stare of a certain woman beside Wendy. "It's been a while since you've been home. I hope you're enjoying your vacation so far."

"Yes, we are. And oh, by the way, this is my fiancée, Irene Bae. Babe, this is my friend, Miyeon. She's the manager of the whole gadget section of this mall," Wendy introduced the two ladies and didn't miss the way Irene's lips curled up in a fake smile, with her hawk eyes never leaving Miyeon as if she's analyzing the girl.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Bae. I congratulate you on your wedding tomorrow."

"Thank you. Please join us in our celebration. You're invited for tomorrow's event," Irene said, and Wendy knew the lady chief was trying so hard not to be a .

What is her problem?

"Kamsahamnida. Ms. Son already told me about it. I wouldn't miss the opportunity to see Ms. Son's wedding with her beautiful fiancée."

"Oh. She already told you about it?" Irene asked, confusion evident on her face as she threw a questioning brow to Wendy.

Wendy knew she had to step in and just answer Joohyun's accusing glares later.

"Yes, I already invited her. I expect you tomorrow, Miyeon-ah. You can also bring your little brother with you," she said. "Now, is the phone ready?"

"Ah, yes," Miyeon gestured for her assistant to hand the box to Wendy. "Though it's brand new, I've had it checked by a technician, and he has found no issues with it. It's good and is ready to be used."

"Thank you, Miyeon-ah. We will head our way. There's a lot to do before tomorrow's big event."

Miyeon politely nodded and showed the couple the exit door.

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"Here. Everything's been restored. I already synced your cloud to this phone, and everything is exactly the same as your old one," Wendy said, handing the phone to the lady chief sitting in front of her.

She took a sip from her favorite grapefruit green tea lemonade at her favorite milk tea chain. It's not every day that she gets to enjoy drinking something like this, and she was just so happy to stop and sit down for a while because everything in her life is moving at a fast pace. "Anyways, fun fact about Son Seungwan. This is my favorite drink. You should take note."

"Yeah. Right." She heard Joohyun snicker after the latter had finished examining her new phone.

"What? Is there a problem?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Why do you keep on asking?"

"Because you're saying that you're fine, but your face says otherwise. You look like you wanted to punch me."

"Because I do," Joohyun huffed and crossed her arms.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just enjoy your drink. You should've invited your Miyeon-ah here as well."

Oh. So, this is what it's all about, huh?  

Wendy let out a hearty laugh, causing some heads to turn toward them.

"Are you insane? People are staring," her fiancée scolded.

"Let them stare. I have a stunning goddess with me. They're just jealous. So let them stare," Wendy confidently stated. It's the truth, and she's not even exaggerating. She needs to learn how to verbalize her compliments to Joohyun because even though Joohyun knows that her face card never declines, Wendy believes it's important to say it aloud. Keeping these thoughts to herself doesn't do Joohyun's beauty justice.

She's so breathtakingly beautiful, and just looking at her makes my head spin. It's insane.

"S-shut up," her words made Joohyun stutter. The lady's angry frown is still on, but the little blush creeping on her face made her look more adorable.

Oh my god. She's cute, and I want to pinch her cheeks.

Stop, Son Seungwan. Yes, you're a simp for Bae Joohyun, but don't make it so obvious.

Wendy cleared , making an attempt to clear her head.

"Are you jealous?" she asked. Though the thought of Joohyun being jealous is absurd because Wendy knows the lady doesn't have any feelings for her, the brunette secretary hopes that it's indeed jealousy as it would only mean that there is something in there. Even just for a little bit. If it's not, then what would be the other reason why Joohyun's mood turned sour the moment they met Miyeon?

"What?" her fiancée asked incredulously.

"Are you jealous of Miyeon?"

"What? No!"

"I think you are."

"I'm not. I'm just wondering when the invitations were sent because I haven't even seen it yet," Irene glared.

Oh? So, she's not jealous?

"It's not done yet. Sooyoungie's taking care of it. I was talking to Miyeon earlier on the phone before we went to the store, and that's when I invited her," Wendy explained. Jealousy or not, she needs to clarify the situation to her fiancée. She doesn't want to give Joohyun funny ideas. Wendy wants her to feel that she's fully committed to this fake marriage.

"Are you two close? You're addressing her casually. You even hugged her."

"She's a friend. We go way back."

And just when Wendy thought she had already reassured Joohyun that Miyeon was just a friend and nothing more, the lady chief's expression grew even more displeased.

"Just how many exes have you invited to our wedding? I know for sure that Seulgi will be there. And now you've invited this Miyeon. Who else? Should we just create a group chat with all of your past relationships and invite them all to our wedding?"

Oh my goodness. 

She just wanted to kiss away all of Joohyun's annoyance to quell the chief's cute little tantrums, but she couldn't do that right now because the lady might just slap the hell out of her.

"Miyeon is not my ex-girlfriend. She's just a friend. We have a history, but it was never in a romantic way," she gently stared into Joohyun's eyes. "It happened during my college days. A pickpocket stole my wallet. The person was caught, and we ended up facing each other in a police station. That person was Miyeon. I learned that she did it because her family was starving. Her sick mother died that day. Her little brother had not eaten anything for two days. Her alcoholic father abandoned them. She was helpless and had nowhere to go."

Joohyun was listening, so Wendy continued.

"I asked my parents to give her a job at the mall. Even a staff position would be fine, just so she could earn something for a living. She was hired, and then she worked her way up the ladder. She was promoted to manager because of her hard work."

Joohyun was silent, but it seemed like she understood because she nodded, and her gaze softened, which was a good sign.

"I'm sorry," the lady chief muttered. "I just... I just want this marriage to be successful. I don't want anyone ruining everything we've planned. We've already come this far. It would be such a waste of our time and effort if, in the end, someone would just show up and stop the wedding all because they still can't get over you."

Wendy chuckled. "You don't have to worry. Our plan will be successful. I'll see to it that you get to marry me," she said, flashing a playful wink.

"You're making it sound like I am dying to marry you!"

"Because you are."

"It's only because of the Green card!"

"Exactly. That's what I meant. It's not like you're dying to marry me because you actually want to become my wife for real, right?"

"..."

Of course, Wendy was just messing around. She's well aware that, for Joohyun, all of this was just part of the act. Yes, the cold woman has finally opened herself up a bit to her but it doesn't mean it would come to a point that Joohyun would actually reciprocate the same attraction that she feels towards the lady chief. 

But Irene's silence is giving Wendy false hopes.

Could it mean that Joohyun is already feeling something for her too? Should she try harder, show Joohyun that she's capable of developing feelings for someone and win the lady chief's heart? Or should she just take this silence as a warning? That nothing good would come out of these silly fluttering feelings she has for this woman?

The silence is suffocating the brunette. It's so much better when Irene would throw some snarky remarks rather than being so quiet like this. Wendy is eager to know what is going on inside that beautiful brain of hers.

Thankfully, as if the universe heard her pleas to rescue her from this awkward situation, her phone started ringing.

Looking at the screen, it says it's her mom. She excused herself to answer the phone call, but the brunette stayed in her seat because she didn't want to leave the table and leave Irene alone.

"Mom. Yes, she's with me. At a café. No, a different café. Oh. Arasso. We'll come over. Yah, bye. Love you too," Wendy ended the call and flashed an apologetic smile at her fiancée. "That was Mom. She wants us to come over to the restaurant. She said there is something important that we need to do for tomorrow's big day."

"Alright."

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"Finally! You're here!" Wendy's mother stood up from her seat as soon as the couple entered the VIP room of the family's restaurant. Seung-ah approached Irene and pulled the lady into a hug as if she had missed her so much and hadn't seen Irene for a long time.

Mom, I'm your biological daughter. I'm the one you gave birth to. Not Irene.

But Wendy couldn't deny the fact that she was happy because her family liked her soon-to-be wife. It made her heart swell with joy whenever she saw them interact.

It would have been perfect if everything was actually real.

"What do you need us for? We were taking advantage of our free time to go out as an engaged couple for the last time," Wendy cheekily said to her mom.

"You need to try on dresses for your wedding. Everything needs to get done today. But we can still spare some time if you really want to take Irene out for a date. Just don't take too long so we can get your measurements done," Seung-ah said, then she turned to her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. "Mianhae, Irene. There's a lot to do before your big day," she said with an apologetic gaze.

Wendy looked at Joohyun, and the lady chief nodded in understanding, but a hint of worry was also visible in the lady chief's eyes. The brunette gently took Joohyun's hand and intertwined it with hers. She noticed the lady chief tensed at the action, but all Wendy wanted was to ease the tension and all the overwhelming feelings that the lady might be experiencing right now.

"Baby, what do you want?" she asked softly.

"Huh?" Joohyun asked back in confusion.

"Do you want to try on the dresses now, or do you want to go out and take a breather for a moment? I know this is all overwhelming and everything is just so unexpected. So, don't worry too much, and let's just do what you want," she said, gently rubbing Joohyun's hand with her thumb.

"I-I'm...