Chapter 9. Attachment Doll
The moment she stepped in, she was met with a wall covered in photos.
It seemed photography was a hobby—half were scenic shots, the other half portraits.
Most of the portraits were with school friends, his grandfather, and Jincheon-daek.
There weren’t many photos of Taeseong himself. The few that did include him were always with the same woman.
A woman who was striking and polished at a glance.
So beautiful that even a woman would admire her—Haeyeong’s gaze was fixed on her in every photo.
After a long moment staring at the woman, Haeyeong’s eyes shifted to the image of Taeseong in the photo.
He was smiling brightly.
Like a completely different person from the one she knew.
Haeyeong murmured, almost in wonder.
“Wow… so he does know how to smile.”
Her eyes moved to another photo.
Judging by the background and the bouquet in the woman’s hand, it looked like a high school graduation ceremony.
“His cousin, maybe?”
She muttered and turned to the next photo.
This time, a younger middle school-aged Taeseong was holding a bouquet. It looked like the woman had come to congratulate him.
Another photo seemed to be taken on a trip—they sat close together, making peace signs.
From just a few photos, it was clear their relationship went back years.
Just as she finished scanning most of the pictures of Taeseong, the photo of them making peace signs fluttered to the floor.
“Ah—!”
Startled, Haeyeong crouched down, even though she hadn’t touched anything.
Then she noticed something written on the back of the photo, which had landed face-down. Her eyes immediately narrowed.
She picked it up and read aloud:
“With my first love, Minju-noona.”
‘With my first love, Minju-noona.’
“First love…?”
She repeated the phrase once more, quietly.
Haeyeong flipped the photo back over and stared again at Taeseong’s face.
“No wonder…”
A voice filled with realization slipped out.
That radiant, unfamiliar yet oddly fitting smile—so it was because he was next to his first love.
The naturally crinkled eyes, the slightly wrinkled bridge of his nose from smiling, and the evenly lifted corners of his lips—so different from his usual bitter smirk.
Looking closer, it was an expression full of affection.
Nodding to herself, Haeyeong reattached the photo to the wall and muttered:
“He has someone he likes, yet they told him to marry someone else… No wonder he hates it.”
Aside from finding Taeseong annoying, she now understood why he’d thrown such a fit over this marriage.
She herself had married to reassure her grandmother, yet she couldn’t help longing for college dating, blind dates, and mixers she never got to experience.
Even she, who dreamed of romance with someone she hadn’t even met yet, felt cheated. It made sense that Ju Taeseong—who had a long-standing first love—would feel even more wronged.
This absurd marriage, after all.
Somehow, her desire to prank him with that cockroach toy completely vanished, and she quietly exited the room.
* * *
A few days later.
Contrary to her expectations that there’d be more retaliation after the chili powder incident, Haeyeong had been quiet.
In fact, she was strangely invisible—eerily silent.
Taeseong had prepared himself for a new level of revenge and was left feeling deflated.
He needed her to keep bothering him so he could escalate it into a reason for divorce, but now that Cha Haeyeong had suddenly stopped, it was awkward to keep pestering her.
“What do I do now…”
Feeling stuck, Taeseong sat on the second-floor living room couch and turned on his laptop to come up with a new way to get divorced.
He figured maybe an internet search would offer a brilliant idea.
Just then, Jincheon-daek came upstairs and called out to him.
“Young Master!”
“Huh?”
Startled, Taeseong quickly backspaced the word “divorce” from the search bar.
Seeing the panic in his face, Jincheon-daek squinted suspiciously.
“Why are you so jumpy? Were you looking at something weird?”
“N-no, nothing. Did you need something?”
Taeseong nervously closed the laptop and forced a smile.
Jincheon-daek, remembering her original reason for coming, spoke up.
“Oh, right. Young Master, pack your things.”
“What?”
Did they find out I was trying to get divorced? Did Grandpa find out? Is he kicking me out?
Paranoia flooded him and Taeseong stuttered.
“Wh-why?”
“The Chairman wants everyone to go to Gapyeong. In an hour.”
“Oh, Gapyeong!”
Realizing he had completely misread the situation, Taeseong sighed in relief and sounded genuinely happy.
“Sheesh. He normally hates going there.”
“Goodness, not today. I’ll go pack now.”
Though Taeseong usually despised going to the country villa built to his grandfather’s taste, he was now just glad it wasn’t being thrown out.
Better that than being kicked out, after all.
He dashed to his room while Jincheon-daek muttered, “What a strange day,” and headed downstairs.
* * *
One hour later.
The whole family gathered in the living room with their bags.
This overnight trip to Gapyeong had actually been Jincheon-daek’s idea.
She had suggested a quick getaway would help the couple grow closer.
Once the plan was made, Chairman Ju had contacted Butler Kim to prepare the villa accordingly, since his grandson and granddaughter-in-law would be joining.
Both Chairman Ju and Jincheon-daek hoped the trip would bring Taeseong and Haeyeong just a little closer.
* * *
After about an hour’s drive, they arrived at the villa in Gapyeong.
“Th-this is the villa?”
Haeyeong had unconsciously imagined something grand, so the sight of an ordinary countryside house caught her off guard. She turned to the Chairman.
Chairman Ju approached her with his hands behind his back and explained:
“I had this villa built on purpose a long time ago, Haeyeong.”
“On purpose?”
The fact that such a plain country house was custom-built only made her more confused.
Chairman Ju chuckled and continued.
“It’s modeled after the house I lived in with your grandfather when we were young.”
“Really?”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Back when we worked in the mines, we were so broke we had to rent a place together. After work, our joy was eating peanuts and drinking soju. Haha!”
He nodded as he reminisced.
“Sometimes I come here to relive those memories. With your grandfather.”
In his nostalgic voice, full of tough yet sweet memories, Taeseong suddenly chimed in.
“Then why didn’t you come alone? Why drag us along?”
The sentimental moment was shattered like a rock through glass by his bratty comment.
A deep wrinkle formed on the Chairman’s forehead.
“Tch, listen to how you talk.”
Clicking his tongue, the Chairman ignored him and turned to Haeyeong.
“Haeyeong, from now on, think of this old man as your real grandfather. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“Thank you, Grandpa.”
Haeyeong smiled warmly and bowed.
Taeseong, watching from behind, scowled and shook his head.
He should treat his real grandson that well…
Just then, something approached without him realizing—too focused on the two.
The villa’s Jindo dog had its round eyes locked on Taeseong’s bag.
More precisely, on a stuffed animal leg sticking out.
“Y-young Master!”
Jincheon-daek spotted it first and gasped.
“Th-the bag! The doll!”
As if her shout triggered it, the Jindo dog bit the stuffed leg and yanked it out—then bolted into the yard.
“Oh no! That’s Young Master’s attachment doll! He can’t sleep without it!”
As she shouted in panic, Haeyeong dropped her own bag and took off after the dog.
Taeseong, the Chairman, and Jincheon-daek stood frozen, unable to stop her in time.
Time passed.
With Butler Kim having gone after her, the three of them sat on a bench in the yard, waiting anxiously in the cold.
Finally, Haeyeong returned, triumphant, holding the tattered bunny doll by its ears.
All three shot to their feet.
But it was Taeseong who reached her first.
She handed the doll to him.
“Here. Your doll.”
Smudged with soot but smiling brightly.
Taeseong glanced once at the doll in her hand—then his eyes fell to her knee.
Blood had seeped faintly through her jeans.
His gaze slowly rose back to her face.
Despite the injury, she was still smiling radiantly.
As he took that image in again, a strange nausea churned inside him, like being on a boat hit by a massive wave.
He gathered his emotions and spoke.
“Your leg…”
Before he could finish, he slipped an arm around her thighs and waist—
And lifted her up.
