Seungwan woke up at 8 AM as usual while, Joohyun was still asleep next to him. 

After a refreshing shower, Seungwan towelled off his hair and began to get ready for work. He put on his dress shirt and began buttoning it up, then grabbed his tie. Joohyun stirred awake as Seungwan was getting ready for work. 

Joohyun woke up and approached him who was fixing his tie and she helped adjusted his tie, expertly tying into a perfect knot. Joohyun avoided his gaze and started thinking, "Come on, Joohyun. Ask him! This is for your own good." 

Joohyun mouth went numb when she was about to ask the question.

"Why?" Seungwan asked looking over at Joohyun.

"Err..if I speak.. can you not get angry?" Joohyun started the introduction.

Seungwan kept staring at her - attentively. "Please don't look at me like that. My stomach is cramping at your stare. If this continue, I might get a stomach ulcer." Joohyun begged in her heart.

"What's the matter? Tell me." Seungwan spoke up. Quite fierce.

"Is it okay.. if you do not get to work today?" Joohyun requested. Seungwan immediately looked at her - more serious than usual.

"Because there is no food supply in this house. I can't even make coffee for you," Joohyun answered while making eye contact with him.

Seungwan stayed silent while staring at her. 

"I promised to cook something delicious if you agree to take a day off today," Joohyun claimed as if she was making a vow.

"Ughh.. can you please show some response. He really is a workaholic. I just told him to take a day off. If I asked him to take days off to go on honeymoon, he would probably chop me off," Joohyun thought to herself.

"Mm... if you can't take a day off, I can just go to buy for groceries alone. It's just.. can you give me some money," Joohyun pretended to make a pity face.

Suddenly, Seungwan walked to a nightstand next to the bed. He reached his phone to call someone and Joohyun waited patiently.

"Chanyeol, I applied Earned Leave today. Tell Sehun to replace me in the meeting later," Seungwan said.

Joohyun couldn't help herself from smiling - Yess! He's on vacation today!

"I want Galbi jjim (braised short ribs) ," Seungwan said.

"Huh?" Joohyun was suprised.

"Oh my.. his request.. I never cook Galbi jjim before. Will he takes back his leave if I said I don't know how to cook it? Ah, now, everything is on fingertip. I will just ask Mr Naver later."

As Seungwan and Joohyun entered the store, and walked by the toy section - Joohyun suddenly spotted a giant squirrel plushing sitting on a shelf. The biggest, fluffiest squirrel plushie she had ever seen - sitting on a shelf, almost begging to be taken home.

But then Joohyun remembered her ex, Suho, whom she had asked for a fluffy plushie. "Aren't you a bit too old for stuffed animals? It's childish." Suho judgemental tone had made her felt embarrassed and silly for wanting the plush toy.

Part of Joohyun knew she was too old to be tempted by a stuffed animal. But there was something innocent and sweet about that squirrel, with it's big button eyes and bushy tail. Joohyun could imagine curling up with it on a couch, watching a drama and hugging it close. It would be the perfect companion for lazy days at home.

"Why?" Seungwan asked as he stood next to Joohyun. 

"Er..can I buy that cute squirrel plushie to put it at our house?" She asked wanted to see if Seungwan's reaction would be the same as Suho.

"You can't, we're here to buy groceries" Seungwan answered shortly.

"But, I use my own money. I won't use your money. Look at the price, it's cheap"

"Okay... but with one condition. That squirrel plushie must stay outside of our room during the night," Seungwan replied.

"Why?" Joohyun asked, curious if Seungwan was scared of stuffed animals.

"There is no space for it, the bed is fulled with our night activities," Seungwan replied. The person next to them grinned as she overheard their conversation - making Joohyun embarrassed.

Flustered, Joohyun quickly pushed their cart away. 

"Joohyun! You said you want it" Seungwan said loudly, as Joohyun pushed the cart farther not paying attention to him.

"Yaa.. you left your kid behind." Seungwan handed over the toy to her. 

Joohyun grinned, "Waa, it's huge. Unfortunately, you can't stay with me during the night. It's okay! I can hug you when he goes to work."

They continued to stuff up the trolley with food stocks. After they bought tons of the dry foods - worth a year of stocks, they started choosing meats. Stubborn, Seungwan still bought them in bulks despite Joohyun disapproval as meats would easily lost their freshness. 

"Look at all these fresh meats, we have to get some of everything," Seungwan said.

"but it will go bad before we can eat it all" Joohyun protested.

"We'll find a way.... but are you sure you know how to cook?"

Joohyun shook her head yes, "I can look up the recipe on internet."

"Hmm," Seungwan replied as he took out his phone.

"Then..can I invite some of my friends since we're buying a lot of stuffs?" Seungwan asked to Joohyun.

"Well, sure I don't mind," Joohyun replied. "This is the time I can get to know him more from his friends," Joohyun mumbled.

"Sehun, are you free around dinner?" Seungwan asked over the phone.

"Sehun. He keeps mentioning that name since earlier. If not Sehun, it's Chanyeol. If it's not both of them, then it's Eunbi." Joohyun thought to herself.

"If you're free, come to my house. My wife wants to cook Galbi jjim. Bring Eunbi with you." Seungwan said before ending the conversation.

"Huh? Eunbi....too?" Joohyun suprised

__________

They continue shopping, filling up their cart with groceries. When they reached the checkout, Joohyun placed the plushie on the conveyer belt along with food items.

As the cashier scanned and bagged their items, Joohyun began digging for her wallet. Seungwan stopped her.

"Joohyun, you don't have to pay for that squirrel. Let me get it for you."

Joohyun shook her head. "No no, it's okay. I said I would buy it!"

"It's no big deal. Your interests and hobby..I want to contribute for it..."

Seungwan took out his wallet and handed his credit card to the cashier. As  they packed the groceries into bags, Joohyun hugged the squirrel plushie to her chest.

"Thank you, Seungwan. I'll make sure this one stays neatly." Joohyun told him

Seungwan opened the front door and greeted his friends. "Sehun, Eunbi! Glad you could make it. Come on in."

Sehun and Eunbi walked into the house. "Thanks for having us over," Sehun said, Eunbi nodded.

As they walked into the dining room, Joohyun came out of the kitchen carrying a large pot of braised short ribs. "Hello everyone! I hope you're hungry." She began ladling the braised into bowls along with various side dishes of banchan.

Joohyun smiled. "I hope it tastes as good as it looks. I tried new recipe this time."

Eunbi took a bite of the braised and rice that Joohyun cooked. It tasted delicious - the flavours were balanced and the broth was rich. But a twinge of envy surfaced within her.

Eunbi made a face and said, "Mmm...It tastes fine.. I think." Joohyun felt Eunbi was not satisfied with the dish.

"You might have a taste bud problem Eunbi. It tastes amazing," Sehun added.

"Thank you Sehun-ssi. Even though my cooking is not comparable to Gordon Ramsay's, at least this is my first attempt on Galbi jjim," Joohyun said making Sehun smiled.

"Uhmm.. It's a bit... oily don't you think?" Eunbi said, while looking at Seungwan and Sehun.

Joohyun looked back at her cooking, "Huh? Oily? Did I put too much oil? I don't think I put too much oil.." 

"I'm sorry if you don't like it. I  can add some more gochujang to balance the oiliness." Joohyun replied.

"Maybe a little. It's just I don't really eat oily food.. it's yucky..and you know, I've eaten Galbi jjim before with Seungwan, I think the previously was more tastier and less oily.." Eunbi continued.

"There's a layer of oil on top of the it. There's just too much fat." Deep down, Eunbi knew the food was delicious and well-made.

Sehun shot Eunbi a look, "Eunbi, you should appreciate the effort Joohyun put into making this meal for us. A little oil never hurt anyone."

Joohyun nodded. "Well..I guess she wanna said that my cooking is not good. But whatever, If I'm good at cooking, I would've open my own restaurant a long time ago."

"The braised tastes good. You don't need to change anything." Seungwan said, and gave Eunbi a warning glaze.

Joohyun smiled upon hearing Seungwan's comment. She noticed Eunbi was still with her ego - taking a few small bites. While Seungwan and Sehun had cleaned all of the foods. Joohyun wasn't sure if her cooking was really good - or both of them were starving. 

Joohyun  excused herself from the table as she was too lazy to listen to Eunbi. "Please finish eating, I'll just start washing the dishes." She headed to the kitchen. Eunbi shrugged and continued eating, oblivious.   

"Ahh..finally it's quiet. I don't understand how Seungwan can stand being friend with Eunbi. Seriously, I feel like I want to stuff all these plates into ." Joohyun thought to herself as she deliberately washed the dishes slowly. 

Seungwan looked concerned. "Eunbi, you were harsh on Joohyun. You should apologize properly." 

Eunbi waved her hand dismissively. "I was just being honest." 

Seungwan frowned. "Apparently, there are more tactful ways to give criticism."

After finishing the food, Seungwan then entered the kitchen and seized the plate from Joohyun's softly. "Are you alright?"

Joohyun nodded. "I'm fine." 

Seungwan looked at her. "The Galbi jjim is perfect. Plus, I didn't feed you, the braised right. Since it's my habit to stuff on other's mouth when I don't like certain food." Joohyun smiled. 

Back in the dining room, Sehun continued talking to Eunbi. "You should go help Joohyun with the dishes."

Eunbi scoffed. "She's a housewife, cleaning is what she does."

Sehun frowned. "That's a very old fashioned view. The least you can do is help."     

Eunbi crossed her arms. "I don't see why I have to do more chores just because I spoke the truth."

Sehun glared at Eunbi. "You were overly critical and rude. Helping with the cleanup is the polite thing to do."

Suddenly, Eunbi saw from the dining room, Seungwan was helping Joohyun with the dishes and felt a pang of jealousy seeing their intimacy. 

She stood up abruptly. "Whatever. I'm leaving." She grabbed her purse and walked out.   

Sehun sighed then went to check on Joohyun. He found Seungwan comforting her in the kitchen.   

Sehun said, "Joohyun, I'm so sorry about Eunbi. She was out of line ." 

Joohyun smiled. "It's okay, Sehun-ssi. Thank you." Sehun then excused himself and followed after Eunbi.

"I guess I have to be more patient everytime I meet Eunbi after this,' Joohyun thought to herself.

After Seungwan and Joohyun had done with the cleaning, Joohyun had relaxed on the living room and Seungwan joined her.

"Joohyun, can we talk?"

"Actually... there's something I need to tell you about Eunbi...our family -" Seungwan words were cut off as his phone rang.

Joohyun looked over his phone and saw Chanyeol was calling.

Acknowledge her husband's workaholic personality, Joohyun signaled Seungwan to take the call.

"But, what did he wanted to tell me about Eunbi and his family..?" Joohyun thought.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Mr Seungwan, but there's an urgent call regarding our accounts.." Chanyeol said over the phone as Seungwan leaved to take the call.

______________

Seungwan went into his home office and booted up his laptop.

Once Seungwan got into work, he became distant and focused. Joohyun continued straightening up the house, cleaning the bathroom and doing laundry.

Joohyun grew lonely in the big house. She sat on the couch playing with her new squirrel plushie. 

"Hello little squirrel. Aren't you just the cutest!" she said as she hugged it close.

"You seem so friendly. I think I'll name you Manen." The squirrel plushie silently stared back at Joohyun.

"Manen. Since your price was ₩ 10,000 (Man Won). It fits you perfectly!" Joohyun giggled.

"You know, Seungwan loves working. I wish he would take a break some time. But I don't want to distract him from working."

Joohyun sighed and Manen's fur, "It's silly, talking to a toy squirrel!" She laughed. "I'm glad you're good listener, Manen."

Joohyun tickled Manen's stomach, "Thank you for listening to me, little Manen. I feel better now."

Seungwan was woking in the room when he heard Joohyun's sweet voice from the living room.

Curiosity got the better of him and he quietly crept to the door to peek outside- Jooyun was hugging and talking to it animatedly. Seungwan thought she looked incredibly sweet, making up an imaginary friend in the squirrel.

Reluctant to interrupt Joohyun's playtime and not wanting to spoil her fun, Seungwan quietly returned to his office and continued working.

An hour passed, while hugging Manen, Joohyun took a peeked inside of his office.

Seungwan was busy doing work, until he noticed Joohyun's presence at the door. He raised his head. 

Seungwan didn't ask anything, instead he just looked at Joohyun. 

"Can I come in?" Joohyun asked.

Seungwan didn't answer as he continued doing his work. 

"People said keeping quiet means giving permission," Joohyun said while walking in.

She closed the door of his office room slowly, afraid she might get chased away.

Joohyun looked around his office that was scattered with papers. She once offered to tidy up his office, but Seungwan reluctantanted as she might thrown away any important document

Quietly, she approached him from behind. She peered over his shoulder at the screen. All she saw were columns of numbers and graphs with coloured lines zigzagging across them. 

"I think he works as an accountant.." Joohyun mumbled to herself as she never ask what Seungwan did for living.

The rows of figures meant nothing to her but evidently held significance for Seungwan, capturing his full attention. "What do the numbers mean?" Joohyun questioned.

Seungwan shrugged, "Sales figures, projections, costs, that kind of stuff."

Joohyun leaned even closer, interested in deciphering what mysteries lay within the graphs and charts, at the same time his faint scene of cologne and soap filled her nostrils.

"But what do they tell you?" she asked, curious to understand what captivated Seungwan's focused.

Seungwan turned to look at her, his face only inches from hers. Joohyun held his gaze, noticing the subtle shadows his lashes cast on his cheeks and the curved of his lips so close to hers. Her eyes flitted down to his throat as he swallowed.

"Wow, I just noticed, he has a y lips. I bet it tastes sweet, isn't it?"

Realizing how close they are, Seungwan breathing deepened as he watched Joohyun watching him, her eyes travelled over his face and throat.

Suddenly, Seungwan flicked her forehead softly. Joohyun immediately woke up from her daydream, "Haish...If he hadn't flicked me earlier, his lips would have become mine."

"Go to bed," Seungwan instructed.

"I'm not sleepy," Joohyun shook her head.

"If that's the case, go sit at the sofa. Don't disturb me," Seungwan said as he pointed at the sofa in the room.

Joohyun nodded and sat on the sofa. "Ahh..it's boring..It reminded me at that time where I met him in the cafe before. He did his work and I was reading the novel...Eh, I can read a novel here," Joohyun went out of the room and quickly brought the novel she wanted to read and walked back into Seungwan's home office. 

Joohyun grinned when Seungwan looked at her with a serious face. Unbothered, Joohyun walked over to the small sofa infront of him and laid down on it, propping her legs up on the armrest. She opened her book and began to read.

Seungwan felt contented at the sight of his wife making herself comfortable. He soon returned to work on his laptop.

Hours passed, Seungwan noticed Joohyun's eyelids began to droop. Her brows unfurrowed as the pages remained unturned.

"Joohyun...you should sleep in the bed if you're tired," Joohyun heard Seungwan spoke in her drowsiness. Joohyun pretended not to hear him as she felt very sleepy.

"Joohyun.." he called again. Joohyun ignored him. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a chair being pushed.

"That must be him standing up. Pretend to sleep Bae Joohyun!" Joohyun told herself.

"Joohyun," Seungwan called her again, trying to wake her up. But, Joohyun still pretended.

"Will he picks me up? Or will he just let me sleep here? Mmm...if he lets me sleep here, it means he doesn't really care about me. But if he carries me to bed, that means he loves me," Joohyun continued to run her mind.

"Gosh..this woman," Joohyun heard him complained. Not long after, Joohyun felt her body being lifted by his arms. 

"Yess! He loves me," Joohyun screamed in her heart.

It's a short one, hence I posted with chapter 7 :))