Chapter 8: I Wanted a Divorce

It wasn’t like he was blatantly messing with her—he always had some excuse.
So Haeyeong didn’t even have the energy to argue.

She briefly considered telling Grandpa, but it felt petty. Besides, she didn’t want to worry him.

It made her furious, sure, but from Taeseong’s perspective, it probably seemed like harmless antics.
The best option was to just ignore it.

What was the point of fighting someone acting like a bratty grade-schooler?

Reading the book she had diligently dried with a hairdryer the day before, Haeyeong muttered to herself:

“Okay, Haeyeong. Just breathe. A person who can smile when it’s hard is a first-class human being. Smile~.”

She gave a small smile and flipped the page.

After calming her nerves and reading for a while, she closed the book and leaned back on the sofa, eyes closed, letting herself sink into its luxurious cushions.

“Wow… This cushion’s amazing. Expensive stuff really is different.”

“Right? The good stuff is different.”

That voice—she shouldn’t be hearing it so close.
And the familiar scent of soap wafted in.

A cold shiver ran down her spine. She opened her eyes.

And there was Taeseong, looking down at her.

Shirtless. In his natural state.

“AAAHHH!”

She screamed, slapping both hands over her eyes.

“You crazy bastard! Why the hell are you walking around naked?!”

Taeseong replied casually:

“You said your goal was to maintain 1.5 vision until you’re thirty. Just helping you out a little.”

“What?!”

“With this perfect body, of course.”

She was so dumbfounded she could only gape.

“You’re not just delusional. You’re full-on insane!”

The embarrassment of seeing him naked was quickly replaced by sheer disbelief.

Her expression hardened. She stood up abruptly.

“Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“With me? What do you mean?”

“You give me a crappy umbrella, don’t turn the bathroom light on, and now you’re walking around naked just to freak me out?!”

She fired off accusations one by one.

Taeseong smirked and responded, one by one:

“The umbrella was an honest mistake. The bathroom light thing was a mix-up. And this…”

“This?”

She glared, daring him to say it was for her eyesight again.

Perhaps even he realized that excuse wouldn’t fly, because he offered a different one with a smirk.

“This is just who I am.”

“…What?”

Flustered, her words came out all jumbled. Taeseong looked amused.

“This is how I’ve always been, Haeyeong.”

“…”

“Just because you moved into my space doesn’t mean I’m going to be considerate.”

“Excuse me?!”

His smugness made her blood boil.

Satisfied with provoking her, he leaned down and whispered in her ear:

“If you’re that pissed off, just tell Grandpa.”

“…”

“Tell him you want a divorce.”

That devilish whisper made everything click for Haeyeong.

Taeseong, that bastard, wanted to blow his nose without lifting a finger.

He wanted her to do it for him.

Slamming her door behind her, Haeyeong flopped onto her bed and kicked her legs in the air.

“Freaking psycho!”

She imagined Taeseong’s face and aimed her kicks at him.

“Cowardly jerk!”

After a furious flurry of kicks and punches into the air, she collapsed onto the mattress, panting.

Time to regroup.

Neither of them wanted this marriage in the first place. But they’d both walked down the aisle anyway.

She did it to ease her grandmother’s mind. As for Taeseong… who knew?

One thing was clear: he couldn’t be the one to bring up divorce himself.
So he was pushing her to say it.

“Hey, you’re not planning to go through with this marriage, right? Cause if you raise a scene…”

“I am. Getting married.”

She could still see his face clearly when he said that before the wedding.

But now, here he was, pressuring her to call it quits.

Trying to achieve what he couldn’t do himself—through her.

“…Fine. Let’s play, then.”

She clenched her fist and muttered,

“Joo Taeseong. You picked the wrong person to mess with.”

The next morning, Haeyeong launched her counterattack.

Declaring a spicy war of revenge, she got up earlier than Jincheondaek and set the breakfast table herself.

Her cooking was top-notch—she’d practically raised her older brother.

After he left, she hadn’t cooked much, but the skills were still there.

By the time the soybean paste soup was nearly done, Jincheondaek came into the kitchen.

“Young madam! Wh-what are you doing?!”

“Oh, Ms. Jincheondaek!”

Haeyeong greeted her cheerfully.

“I may be young, but I’m married now. I wanted to treat Grandpa to breakfast. I hope it’s okay I used the ingredients from the fridge?”

Hands neatly folded, she looked sincere and polite. Jincheondaek didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Still, I should be making breakfast… If Chairman Joo finds out, it’ll be trouble.”

“Just for today! You should take it easy this morning. I really can cook!”

Haeyeong gently ushered her back to her room.

This mission had to be stealthy.

Not long after, the table was set—not as elaborate as Jincheondaek’s, but impressive nonetheless.

Chairman Joo was shocked when he learned it was all Haeyeong’s doing.

“W-what?! You made all this yourself?”

“Yes, Grandpa. I used to cook for Grandma all the time.”

One hand modestly over her chest, she beamed.

Chairman Joo looked deeply moved.

“What a devoted granddaughter-in-law!”

He turned to Taeseong and barked,

“Unlike this ungrateful brat here.”

“What did I even do?”

“Quiet! You only open your mouth to eat!”

Chairman Joo snapped.

Taeseong sent a questioning look at Haeyeong.

‘What are you scheming?’

‘None of your business.’

She smiled sweetly.

“I hope it tastes okay. Please, try some!”

Chairman Joo and Jincheondaek both took a spoonful of soup and beamed.

“Oh my! It’s delicious! Is it the clams?”

“So refreshing! Haha!”

Then it was Taeseong’s turn. He scowled but took a spoonful—

And immediately sprayed it out.

“Pfft—!”

Soup misted across the table. Chairman Joo roared:

“What the hell, you filthy brat?!”

Red-faced, Taeseong gasped:

“Sp-spicy…! Haah!”

“It’s not spicy to me.”

Jincheondaek looked puzzled and took another spoonful.

Haeyeong jumped in smoothly.

“Taeseong’s a senior this year. He’s been stressed, so I added a little extra chili to his bowl. Spicy food relieves stress!”

She turned to Chairman Joo, poised and innocent.

“Now that we’re officially married, I should take care of him, right?”

“Really?”

“He doesn’t seem to like me much yet, so I’m trying my best.”

Like a tragic heroine, she fluttered her lashes. Chairman Joo was livid.

“Haeyeong, if that punk gives you trouble, you tell me!”

“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly…”

“I’ll throw him out in his underwear! No mercy!”

Taeseong couldn’t bring himself to admit she’d rigged his soup.

If he did, his own misdeeds would come to light—and he’d be the one in trouble.

Instead, he gulped down water in silence, face burning with humiliation.

After breakfast, Haeyeong stepped out for a bit.

When she came back and climbed to the second floor:

“Ahh, that was so satisfying.”

It felt like she’d taken the best digestive medicine on the market.

Just thinking about Taeseong’s red face made her grin.

She pulled out a small toy she’d bought at a neighborhood stationery store.

“We’re not done yet, Joo Taeseong.”

She recalled her earlier conversation with Jincheondaek:

“I want to know what Taeseong likes and dislikes. So we can bond better, you know?”

The real reason, of course, was to torment him more effectively.

With the subtlety of a thousand-year-old fox, she’d extracted a list of Taeseong’s secrets.

And learned he was terrified of bugs.

Perfect.

Sure, it was childish. But so was he.

“Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth.”

Gripping the fake cockroach carefully, Haeyeong made her way to his room.

He had told her never to enter. But she didn’t care.

He’d crossed the line first—why should she play nice?

Without hesitation, she pushed open the door.

“Huh…?”

But instead of launching her prank, she froze.

Something inside had caught her eye.

And her expression shifted from mischievous to stunned.