Episode 18
It was then.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Saehyun turned her head. Suwon Taek was standing stiffly at the entrance.
“Oh… CEO!”
Both of them looked visibly flustered. Suwon Taek quickly lowered his head and said,
“I’m sorry. I forgot my wallet and came back to get it. I was just about to leave…”
At the sound of their voices, Sion, who had been resting in Jaehyun’s arms, let out a soft moan and squirmed. Jaehyun’s face instantly tensed again, the relaxed expression from just a moment ago disappearing.
“It’s fine.”
“I truly apologize…”
Suwon Taek hurriedly stepped into the shadows and approached them.
“I’ll carry Madam,” he said.
Jaehyun’s grip tightened, but then slowly loosened. He knew he had to let go, but part of him didn’t want to release the warmth she had left behind.
“CEO?”
But soon, Saehyun quietly handed Sion over to Suwon Taek. Seeing Sion’s damp eyes gazing at him with a gentle look, he suddenly felt like he had done something wrong. Jaehyun deliberately turned his gaze away.
“Geez, why are you so breathless? Madam, please come to your senses.”
Suwon Taek supported Sion as they climbed the stairs.
As the two disappeared, Jaehyun let out a long sigh, almost as if it meant nothing.
Hoo…
He could still feel her warmth in his arms.
Staring into the air, Saehyun exhaled deeply again.
—
Late Night
Pale moonlight seeped into Jaehyun’s bedroom. His brows furrowed slightly in discomfort.
From between his lips, her name escaped in a whisper.
“An Seon…”
Her image flickered through the fog in his mind. She wore a white dress, her figure slowly moving away. He wanted to reach out to her, but for some reason, his body wouldn’t move.
She spoke, with sadness in her eyes.
“Jaehyun…”
But he couldn’t understand what she was saying. Her voice was drowned out by the wind.
“Even just once, let me be your wife…”
The words came in broken, faint fragments.
At that moment, Jaehyun gasped loudly and opened his eyes.
“Haa…”
His shirt clung uncomfortably to his sweat-drenched body.
Reality slowly returned, but the dream still lingered vividly in his mind.
Was it just a dream?
It felt far too real to be dismissed as just a dream—especially the image of her crying face. It was as if it had truly happened.
“Maybe it really did happen…”
When he first learned he had lost three years of memory and somehow gained a wife, he was bewildered. But he thought as long as they didn’t bother each other and stayed in their respective roles, that would be enough. It didn’t matter who she was, as long as she fulfilled the role of a wife.
But at some point, her presence began to affect him.
Her smile, her sad eyes, the way she sometimes looked at him with warmth—all of it began to puzzle him.
What had happened in those three lost years? Why had she cried so sorrowfully in his dream? It was too vivid to dismiss.
According to Jang Taesu, their relationship had been cold and distant, but no other unusual issues were reported. Still, could there have been something more hidden beneath the surface?
“What exactly were we to each other…?”
Jaehyun pressed his palm to his forehead and looked out the window.
The pale dawn sky hung dimly outside, the moon leaving only a blurry trail.
The passionate moments they had shared, her tearful eyes in the dream, and every expression she had shown him—they all shook him to his core.
Logically, he didn’t want to think any further. But the questions about her continued to grow without him even realizing it.
Jaehyun sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.
It felt like these sleepless nights would continue until he recovered his memory.
—
Outside the Study
Sion stood in front of the study, unable to bring herself to knock.
Memories of the previous night, when she had clung to him while drunk, came rushing back. After that, Suwon Taek had helped her to her room.
“I must have been crazy… why did I drink so much?”
Would it have been better if he had forgotten it all? But she remembered everything—how she undid her buttons from the heat, how she clung to him and acted clingy.
“What if he suddenly pulls away from me after this?”
The Jaehyun she knew was a man of clear principles. He prioritized logic over emotion, reason over instinct. He wasn’t someone who would take kindly to a drunk, troublesome wife.
Sigh…
She had already failed to leave a good impression. And yet, she had shown him that side of herself.
She wanted to turn away and flee, but she couldn’t. For Jaewoo’s sake—she had to clear things up with Jaehyun.
Finally, she cautiously raised her hand and knocked.
Knock knock—
“Come in.”
At his cold voice, Sion’s heart dropped. But it was too late to back out now. She slowly opened the door.
Jaehyun didn’t lift his gaze from the papers on his desk.
“It’s already late. Are you still working?”
The clock on his desk was nearing eleven.
“It’s no big deal,” he replied curtly.
But unlike his tone, his hand tightened around his pen. He, too, was replaying that night in his mind—what might have happened if Suwon Taek hadn’t shown up.
Unaware of this, Sion thought he was simply angry. Biting her lip, she carefully approached. Her soft scent gently brushed past his nose, making his Adam’s apple twitch.
“I brought you some light tea and snacks.”
There was no reply.
Feeling defeated, Sion walked slowly to the desk, trying to set down the tray.
Then it happened.
Perhaps from nerves, the tray tilted, and the tea spilled.
Startled, she instinctively reached out.
“What are you doing?!”
Jaehyun jumped up and grabbed her wrist.
“You were going to catch that boiling tea with your bare hands?!”
“Ah… I didn’t mean to, it just happened…”
Seeing her flustered, Jaehyun sighed in frustration.
Then Sion noticed the tea had spilled on his clothes.
“Are you okay?”
“This is nothing.”
“Still…”
She took a step closer, trying to wipe his clothes. Jaehyun suddenly grabbed her wrist.
That’s when she realized—they were too close. His hot breath brushed her cheek. Her heart raced as memories flashed before her eyes.
Coming to her senses first, Sion quickly said,
“Y-you should get changed. Hurry.”
She added awkwardly, brushing against his back.
“There’s a first-aid kit in my room. Just in case, let’s go there.”
Her worried gaze made Jaehyun follow her without thinking. Though he was about to say she was overreacting, he held back.
She opened the door to her room. Light pink curtains hung over a large window—just her style.
Neatly arranged books sat on the desk, reflecting her organized nature.
Unlike his own minimal and cold space, her room had a warm, restrained coziness.
A soft scent lingered in the air—a sweet fragrance that suited her.
“You can change in the bathroom.”
Jaehyun nodded and stepped inside.
The moment the door closed, her scent engulfed him. She must’ve just showered—her warmth still lingered in the air.
The man reflected in the mirror felt unfamiliar. His eyes were clouded with desire.
“I’ll leave clean clothes outside.”
Her voice outside the door made his body burn hotter.
Memories of holding her came flooding back—the softness of her skin, her sweet scent, and most of all, those glistening eyes looking up at him.
Her lingering scent and the steamy air blurred his reason.
Jaehyun turned on the cold water, but it didn’t help. In fact, the heat only worsened.
He cursed under his breath.
That small presence of hers now stirred a reaction in his body first.
“…Saehyun?”
Her worried voice reached him again. But even that voice now felt like temptation.
Jaehyun bit his lip.
He had become a beast driven only by the desire to hold and touch her.
If this continued, he felt he might cross a line.
“…Damn it.”
His voice finally came out—hoarse and torn apart by longing.
