The kitchen lay silent as Shin Hye and Na-yun stood side by side preparing a light vegetable soup and dinner for a group of twelve. A few of Yong Hwa cousins and uncles had stopped by to see what had been the cause of his absence in the field that day. Their suspicions lay true once they had arrived to find that he had plunged all the way down from the grand stair case and was momentarily paralyzed. Odd enough his family indeed did see Shin Hye with kindness and great respect. For their great appreciation, she had decided to feed all twelve men a nice home cooked meal.

“How is he doing? Asked Na-yun.

“Better, but his mouth is still a foul thing”, Shin Hye replied chuckling lightly.

“I see that a few of his family members have come by, news does spread quickly”, she said.

“I suppose”, she muttered, placing aside a batch of freshly cut potatoes.

Yong Hwa had made it clear that it would be the last time she ever acted in such an exaggerating manner. To make this worse he did nothing to cooperate and aid her. However, Shin Hye would make sure to help him off that bed within the week and manage to gain her freedom finally. The thought of it still pained Shin Hye, but what good was it for her to reside any longer when she was clearly not wanted?

When dinner was ready, So-ri, Min-sook, Na-yun, and Ji-min went about waiting the table for the men to sit. They made sure to put out brandy and wine for them to drink and once the men entered they attended them and exited towards the kitchen as snippily as they had come. Shin Hye timidly smiled as she excused herself into the kitchen simply chattering away with the maids until they finished.

Soon, one by one they began to rise from their chairs and acquit themselves until only a cousin of Yong Hwa remained sitting at the dinner table smoking a cigar.

Shin Hye pushed past the door to find Jong Hyun linger still, his posture a bit slant as he let out a waft. The dining room filled with the thick smoke the brown cigar in his hands caused. She held her breath as she and the other maids went about picking up the silverware and fine china off the table.

“It was nice of you to have the maids prepare a fine dinner for us all”, Jong Hyun said suddenly.

“The pleasure is all mine you work hard you deserve a good meal.” she replied. He smiled broadly and then rose from his chair putting out his cigar and placing it on the inside of his coat pocket.

“Yong Hwa is lucky to have such a wife as you, I do hope he is taking good care of you”, he said.

He paused for a moment at the door and then turned to give her a sympathetic smile as if he knew what was occurring in her marriage. He walked out the door and Shin Hye simply stood there staring at it shut on its own. A blush consumed her and she felt a bit uncomfortable by his words. Yong Hwa did not give a damn about her one bit, was it that noticeable that he did not?

She hushed her thoughts and concentrated then on picking up the dishes and helping the girls to wash and rinse them, finally placing each one in its proper cupboard. She patted her soaked hands on a smock and finally removed it and hung it on a hook near by the door. She bid every one of them good night with a light kiss on the cheek and went out of the kitchen to her chambers.

Yong Hwa had given her a long and hard day sending her to do useless chores for no apparent reason. After having eaten, he had her tidy up his room, which was a pigsty of a room. He was going to try to make this a living hell for her she was certain of that. Nonetheless she was not going to let Yong Hwa boss her around, she had, had enough of that for a year. If she was going to help him get back on his feet he was going to have to cooperate with her and have some patience.

She fiddled with her diamond wedding ring. There was no need for her to carry it any longer and so standing she walked towards her dresser and took one last look at it before placing the shiny diamond ring inside her silver heart shaped jewelry box. The only memory she would carry would be a tan line around her wedding finger, indicating that she had once been a neglected wife. She snuggled under the covers and tried to rest her body for the battle that was to come against her kryptonite.

The next morning Shin Hye thought she might spew from sprinting up and down the steps, her head spun and her tights ached from the journey of traveling up and down the large grand staircase. Yong Hwa asked for too many things and it was starting to aggravate her how he did this on purpose. Once she arrived with whatever it was that he asked for, he would think of something else to send her out the room, down the stairs, and back up again.

“Are you going to continue this charade all day?” she asked, as she folded his laundry.

A small nerve inside of her began to detonate as she went about folding the white cotton shirts.

“What are you talking about?” he replied.

He smirked as he sat comfortable in his bed watching her fold a mountain of clothes.

“This ordering about, bring me this and bring me that, it’s absurd.” she argued.

“Imagine if you were to have been really my wife, I can see that you wouldn’t have been able to handle it. Just be thankful that you did not have to serve any of my needs”, he said, looking away before she noticed his eyes lingered too long.

“I guess I should thank Seo Hyun for taking that job off my hands.” she replied lifting her lips into a sly smile.

Yong Hwa glared at her remark and scrunched his nose even more in an angered manner.

“Your pretty little smart mouth is not going to help you get on my good side.” He retorted.

“Pretty?” thought Shin Hye.

“I never had any intention in getting on your good side”, she then replied.

Finally his clothes had been folded and neatly stacked ready to be placed back into his drawers. Upon opening one of them Shin Hye nearly fell backwards to see the condition the drawer was in. Her hands fisted and she gave a small stomp as she went about opening the rest only to find plenty of unfolded clothes in each and every single one of them.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to be neat with your things?” she asked, letting out a heavy sigh.

“It falls upon the woman in this house to care for that”, he replied crossing his arms.

“Well if Seo Hyun was indeed a woman she would have had this place spotless.” She hissed.

“Seo Hyun is not the woman of this house yet. And what on earth are you doing? Leave it like it was.” He protested.

“I will not have you live like a glutton while I am to watch over you.” Shin Hye replied as she went about pulling out all the unfolded clothes.

“It will all be in vain seeing that they will be like they were before the week is out.” He muttered, hiding a smile.

Yong Hwa sat there watching the way she threw a fit as she finished tossing everything unto the bed.

“Not if you are careful and make sure to keep your things neat.” She retorted.

He sat there unable to hide the small smile playing on his lips as Shin Hye mumbled to herself. He was not certain if it was the mere pleasure of seeing her angry because he had made her so, or the fact that she cared about the way he lived behind closed doors. His eyes trailed her features, noticing the small dimples that formed on each side of her lips as she went about muttering to herself.

“Beautiful features”, he thought as he scanned the rest of her.

His attention then was captured by small trickles of dried paint over her hands. He lifted is gaze and captured her lips with his fathom dark eyes suddenly wetting his at the thought of them. Furrowing his brow he looked away and shifted a little entwining his fingers on his lap.

What was he doing?

He disliked this woman, she had spoiled his chance to marry Seo Hyun, and here he was looking at her suddenly with different eyes. Yong Hwa pulled his eyebrows together and looked away, she was sure that she was starting to get on his last nerve, and silenced herself. Instead she finished folding the rest of his clothes in utter silence. She placed everything ever so neatly and then shut the drawers and excused herself without another word.

“I feel like I’m throttling in here, isn’t it about time I walk a little.” he said.

She halted in her step and turned to look at him, it had been only two days since the incident, and he had not gotten out of bed. In all honesty, he should have been moving about since day one but she had postponed the very idea because of the fact that his contact made her feel on edge. Pushing her thoughts aside, she walked up to him and watched as he pulled the covers to one side and let his legs dangle down.

“I strongly suggest that you wiggle your toes, try to stretch your legs out before you actually put any weight on them.’ She then said.

“I know what I’m doing, help me rise.” He muttered,