Chapter 10
Jaekyung felt as though she might get indigestion from Yugam's sudden attacks.
There wasn't even time to lower her guard.
“Thanks for the meal... I'll go back to my room.”
“Go ahead.”
Jaekyung left the kitchen.
But before entering her room, she turned around.
Yugam was still sitting alone at the huge marble table.
Outside, he always looked tense and sharp.
Here, he seemed so calm that he almost looked like another person.
If only he would stop saying things about living together forever, maybe I could tolerate him.
Other than insisting they eat together at the table, he hadn't done anything particularly strange.
Jaekyung had been so tense that now she almost felt embarrassed about it.
Inside her room, she looked down at the tumbler in her hand.
She remembered Yugam giving it to her.
“If you go into your room because you're uncomfortable, you probably won't come back out. Take this and drink it.”
The soft scent of tea Yugam had prepared filled Jaekyung's room.
She had just taken a sip when...
Piano music began again.
The familiar song.
The same piece Piano Man used to play.
Jaekyung opened her bedroom door.
Did he turn on the stereo?
The sound came from a room beside the living room.
Drawn by the warm, wistful melody, Jaekyung stood outside the room and listened.
When the piano stopped, she turned to return to her room.
The door suddenly opened.
“Is spying on people your hobby?”
Jaekyung jumped.
“Ah! No. Of course not.”
Then she quickly explained,
“I've heard that song before.”
“Do you know how to play?”
“No. I've never played.”
“Come inside.”
“I'm fine. I'll just go back to my room...”
Yugam sat at the piano again.
His hands moved with the grace of a ballet dancer onstage.
His pale, long fingers looked as though they had been made for piano keys.
The soft, romantic melody didn't suit his cold expression at all.
Jaekyung remembered her first year of high school.
Back then, she had often wondered what she would say if she ever met the boy who played in the music room.
That chance never came.
Yugam's profile as he became absorbed in the music was undeniably impressive.
Before Jaekyung realized it, the piece ended.
“...Whenever I hear that song, I feel healed.”
“It is healing.”
Yugam looked at her.
“Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, third movement.”
His voice became quiet.
“It's my favorite piece.”
Then he gestured.
“Come here.”
Perhaps because of the familiar melody, Jaekyung lowered her guard and approached the grand piano.
Or perhaps it was simply because she had always been curious about learning.
“Sit.”
Drawn to the shining keys, Jaekyung sat down.
“Put your fingers on them.”
“I don't know how to play.”
After hesitating, Jaekyung lightly touched the black and white keys.
The smooth feeling beneath her fingertips was strangely enchanting.
“I'll teach you.”
Yugam placed his fingers over hers.
Then he began playing through her hands.
Jaekyung's breath caught.
It would be wonderful if beautiful sounds like this could someday come from my own hands.
“You can come into this room and practice whenever you want.”
Only then did Jaekyung suddenly come back to her senses.
She jumped out of the chair.
The memory of their overlapping hands became embarrassing a moment too late.
“G-Good night.”
She could feel his sharp gaze on her back.
Jaekyung hurried into her room.
I'm crazy.
She could still feel Yugam's cold hand covering the back of hers.
His breath had brushed the back of her neck.
Her heart felt ready to leap from her chest.
“I'll teach you.”
The piano had made her waver for a moment.
Even after lying down on the soft bed, she could still feel the smooth keys and Yugam's fingers wrapped around hers.
Her chest burned strangely.
The sorrowful melody lingered teasingly in her ears.
Even when she closed her eyes, sleep wouldn't come.
She spent another night tossing and turning.
“Secretary Seo. Come here.”
Jaekyung had finished preparing for work when Yugam called from his room.
“Yes?”
“Come in.”
She quietly opened the door.
Yugam was standing there without a shirt.
Jaekyung froze.
“You called me? What... do you need?”
His muscular body, clearly built through exercise, filled her vision.
She was embarrassed, but she refused to show it.
It was completely different from the body she remembered from the time they shared a bed years ago.
“Bring me a shirt from the dressing room.”
“That doesn't seem like secretary work.”
“It is.”
Yugam spoke without hesitation.
“You can check the contract later. Bring the shirt first. I'm running late.”
Jaekyung bit her lip and walked into the dressing room.
There were already clothes prepared there.
Why did he need her to do this at all?
“Starting tomorrow, do it yourself.”
“Starting tomorrow, this is still Secretary Seo's job.”
“You can dress yourself.”
Jaekyung frowned.
“I didn't know taking care of your clothes was part of secretary duties.”
Then she added firmly,
“Exposure and physical contact make me uncomfortable.”
Yugam looked at her.
“Oh.”
His tone was annoyingly calm.
“Is it because you've touched me before but never properly looked at me?”
Jaekyung's face heated.
“A husband being exposed this much in front of his wife is fine.”
He continued without shame.
“And this amount of contact between a secretary and her boss is fine too.”
His lips curved slightly.
“I'm not asking you to hug me.”
Jaekyung felt as though she was getting more and more trapped by his ridiculous logic.
“From tomorrow morning and evening, prepare my clothes.”
Yugam's tone was firm.
“If you don't like it, let's rewrite the contract.”
Does he have anything besides the contract to threaten me with?
Whatever small amount of goodwill Jaekyung had felt toward him last night disappeared.
She prepared Yugam's suit with a stiff expression.
Yugam, meanwhile, looked as though he might start whistling in front of the mirror.
It made Jaekyung feel as though she had somehow lost.
“The weather is clear and I'm in a good mood.”
Yugam adjusted his sleeves.
“Let's have coffee in the living room before work.”
“Drink alone.”
