[A.N.: Some introductions and pieces of information for later. Yay
Despite that, I hope this chapter can still be enjoyed.]

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    “Some very important clients will be attending the party tonight. As always, just stick to your role of the beautiful supportive wife and try to avoid saying anything that will reflect badly upon me.” 

    With a light hum and a subtle nod of your head you continued styling your hair into loose curls. It was always this way when he had clients over: He’d have you attached to his arm wordlessly with a fake smile on your lips as you bowed to his guests and exchanged quick pleasantries before he parted from you to converse privately with whatever guests he deemed an asset to his business. The role of the beautiful supportive wife was something you’d witnessed your own mom playing throughout your childhood, so you were very familiar with what it called for. A smile here, a compliment every now and then, and a few words of praise towards your husband, so long as you followed through with each of these you could do no wrong. 

    Being the only child of a successful business mogul and his wife, and given that you were a female, your parents never saw it as a priority to have you learn the ways of the business world. That didn’t mean you didn’t do some studying on business practices during your own time. The way you saw it, it didn’t hurt to know what went on within the company since it was somewhat yours too. 

    Your father always said the world of business was not meant for women, which is why he strongly pushed the importance of a trophy wife who knew her place and kept to it. This was another driving factor behind you getting married at age twenty one to a man you knew close to nothing about even to this current date. 

    You always figured you’d have no choice over who you married to. After all, your mom had no say in who she ended up marrying either. The few glimpses you’d had of ordinary couples --whether it was on television or when you went out-- had left you puzzled. They seemed to have permanent smiles and looks of utter contentment as they roamed the town with their significant other. Such emotions were something you felt none of when it came to your three (going on four) year marriage with your husband, Jang Yeonwoo. Your marriage with him was built upon the future plans your father had for his company. Asides from the obligation to follow through on your wedding vows, you held no other significant feelings for Yeonwoo. 

    A brief glance was cast Yeonwoo’s way as stood off to the side fixing his tie. While he was attractive, you couldn’t say that you were attracted to him in the slightest. Sharing a bed with him since becoming married, while uncomfortable at first, was now something you were used to. But to say that something ignited within your body at such closeness was a lie. The only times affection was shared between you and Yeonwoo was to keep up appearances when in front of guests. To this day, you had not completely given yourself over to him. While he didn’t seem to care or want to have you in such way, leave it to your mom to keep pestering you about grandchildren. 

    This was your life, dull, pathetic, and filled with the same routine that would get you nowhere in the end. How you longed to be free, to have the opportunity to spread your wings and fully experience all that life held. The beautiful castle that young girls and women longed to have wasn’t all it appeared to be. Your castle was suffocating and you hated it.  

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_

“Of course this piece wouldn’t fit. This part belongs to a Camaro....” Yongguk remarked sliding out from under the sports car he was working on. 

“Okay....?” Daehyun hummed nonchalantly from where he was eating. 

“Yah! This is a Corvette! I clearly told you that before I sent you out to get the part!” 

“Did it again, huh?” Himchan sniggered upon entering the warehouse to see Yongguk glaring with annoyance at Daehyun. 

“It was an honest mistake.” 

“How do you mistake a Camaro distributor for a Corvette’s?”

“Hyung, you didn’t notice the difference until you tried placing the part in the car.” Daehyun commented with a small grin. 

Himchan watched on with amusement as Yongguk seemed to be fighting against his growing annoyance with the younger male who remain unfazed. 

“Aish, Jung Daehyun, you seriously- aishhh.” Yongguk tossed aside the grime-covered towel he’d used to wipe his hands off before grabbing his water bottle. 

Himchan bit back his grin as he saw the youngest male (currently present) eating with no other care. As usual. 

“The other kids haven’t come back yet?” Himchan casually asked.

Daehyun shrugged. “Don’t think so. I know Youngjae was collecting information about some newer car models. I have no idea what Jongup and Zelo were going to do.” 

Himchan gave a mild nod before he turned his attention back over to Yongguk who was now heading his way. 

“Were you able to work out something for the GT?” Yongguk asked wiping some sweat away from his neck before taking another drink of his water. 

“Hmm, well, I was able to get the car, yes.” Himchan responded with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. 

Yongguk rose a single brow at his best friend. “Don’t tell me... you-”

A shameless grin surfaced on Himchan’s lips as he boasted, “Free of charge. You’re welcome. ” 

“These thrill-seeking tendencies of yours are really going to land us in hot water one day, Chan. Did you at least make sure you left them something in return?” 

“As always. I left them a better car in exchange for the GT, so they won't mind one bit.” Himchan answered smoothly whilst straightening his jacket, “Let’s just leave it at that. No more questions you won’t like the answers to.” 

Yongguk grumbled lightly before releasing a sigh. There was a subtle twitch of his lips as he spoke his next words, “Alright then, let’s see the beauty, shall we?” 

Himchan pushed himself off the small couch and reached into his jacket. With a cheshire-like grin he held the key out towards Yongguk. “She runs pretty good. Might need some work though, but I’ll let you be the judge of that since you’re the expert.” 

Yongguk snatched the key out of his friend’s hand with a grin before hurrying out of the warehouse to admire their new car. 

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_

Absolutely boring. 

It took a lot of effort to stifle down the urge to yawn as you tired to hold a conversation with some of the clients’ wives. Most of them had no idea what was going on in their husband’s business, all they knew was that business wasn’t doing bad, and from that they then assume that it was all good.  'How stupid, they really are mere trophy wives.'  

You took a sip of your wine as two of the wives you’d been chatting with started talking about their children. Based on their appearance, you’d say they were possibly in their early thirties. From their conversation you gathered that one of the wives had two kids, a seven year old girl and a three year old boy; While the second had a five year old boy. The very mention of children made you slightly nauseous. You blamed that on the pressure from your mom to start your family with Yeonwoo already. She would always say, “Your biological clock is ticking, honey,” in hopes of convincing you. It never worked though.

Sure, you wanted children, but you'd always heard people on television refer to children as gifts born out of love. You could understand the meaning behind it, but you couldn't personally relate. The thought of having a children with your husband, a man who might as well be a stranger, you didn't like it. Secondly, no feelings of affection existed in your marriage, didn't children require affection and warmth in their household to grow up well? When you thought of that unease entered your form, would you be able to provide that genuine care when you'd been brought up in a household that didn't believe in love or other such forms similar to it? 

“-so adorable! Our Junki likes watching his English cartoons a lot too. He’s picking up the language quickly. ”

No longer finding the conversation of the women interesting, you made to get another drink to hopefully help you make it through the rest of the party. 

“Ah, ______-ssi. When are you and Yeonwoo-ssi having children of your own? I’m sure you two want to share both your genes, right?  A mini Yeonwoo or a mini you, which one do you both want first?” 

You barely managed to hold back the urge to wince at the unpleasant sensation that filled your stomach at such words. A smile graced your lips as you glanced briefly at the woman who’d introduced herself earlier as Oh Sohyun. 

“We haven’t really given much thought to that. Yeonwoo’s plenty busy with company related matters, so waiting until everything’s settled is our top priority for now.” You hoped your next words seemed genuine as you willed yourself to maintain your smile, “Besides, we’re still very much enjoying our marriage before getting our family started.” 

The latter statement brought a collective chime of laughter from the women. Taking advantage of their renewed interest in the conversation about their children, you quickly excused yourself from the group. 

You glanced around the room in search of Yeonwoo after acquiring a new glass of wine. While the party still seemed to be in full motion, exhaustion was slowly settling in your bones. Such events always drained you after a certain period of time. Most individuals who were in high social standing were social butterflies, but you never really considered such a description as fitting when it came to yourself. Interacting with so many different people within a certain span of time left you feeling low on energy most of the time. Of course, you could never let that show and always ended up pushing aside your exhaustion in favor of a false smile. That didn’t seem possible at the moment.

Some moments after, you finally spotted Yeonwoo conversing with three very well-dressed men. Heaving a sigh, you made your way through the throng of people to approach him. His companions acknowledged your presence before Yeonwoo with brief smiles and slight curiosity. Yeonwoo’s gaze while inquiring, held some irritation at being disrupted while he was talking with potential clients. He quickly replaced that irritation --before his guests caught sight of it-- with a pleased smile at your sudden appearance. 

“Gentlemen, I present to you the very woman to whom I owe my success to, my beautiful wife, Jang _______.” He boasted momentarily stepping away from them to place his arm around your waist. 

You accepted the mens’ introductions and briefly gave your own politely before meeting Yeonwoo’s eyes. “Oppa, I’m not feeling very well so I’m going to be retiring for the day early.” With a light bow towards his companions you commented, “My apologies. Please enjoy the rest of your evening.” 

Not missing the way subtle way Yeonwoo’s jaw tightened as you removed his arm from your waist, you knew you would be hearing from him later that evening, but at the moment you couldn’t find it in you to care. Right now, you wanted out from the role you’d been given, even if it was very brief.

 A walk outside sounded very appealing, and it would help in clearing your head of the pessimism that seemed to have made its home there. But first, a change of clothes was due, couldn’t exactly go walking around dressed in formal wear that would make you stick out, that was the last thing you wanted right now.