I chose a small, dimly lit jazz bar on the outskirts of the city—a place Jin-woo wouldn't be caught dead in. The air smelled of expensive bourbon and old cigarettes. I pulled my coat tighter around me, keeping my head down until I spotted Lee Joon-ho sitting in a corner booth.
"You came," he said, his voice dropping an octave as I slid into the seat opposite him. He looked even better in the amber light, his glasses reflecting the glow of the candles.
"I shouldn't have," I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs. "My father was at the house today. He's... he's suspicious, Joon-ho. Or Jin-woo is. I can't tell."
Joon-ho reached across the table, his fingers grazing my hand. "Let them be suspicious. You're here now. That's all that matters."
"It's not that simple," I said, but I didn't pull my hand away. The warmth of his touch was the only thing that made me feel alive in a world of cold marble and business deals. "If they find out about the hotel... about us..."
"Then you'll be free," Joon-ho countered, his eyes intense. "Free from that loveless house. Free from being a 'deal' for your father."
I looked into his eyes, wanting to believe him. For a moment, the music in the bar drowned out the guilt.
[Switch POV: Outside the Bar]
Across the street, a black sedan sat idling in the shadows. Inside, a man in a nondescript gray hoodie lowered his camera. He tapped his phone screen, opening an encrypted chat.
To: Mr. Jin-woo
Message: Subject is at 'The Velvet Note' with Lee Joon-ho. Physical contact confirmed. Waiting for further instructions.
The man clicked a photo of their joined hands through the window and hit 'Send.'
[Back to Soo-jin]
A sudden chill ran down my spine. I glanced toward the window, but all I saw was the reflection of the bar and my own pale face.
"What is it?" Joon-ho asked, sensing my shift.
"I... I feel like someone is watching me," I murmured, pulling my hand back and fumbling with my purse.
Joon-ho laughed softly, a comforting sound. "It's just the nerves, Soo-jin. You've spent too long being a 'perfect wife.' You're just not used to being yourself."
I nodded, trying to breathe, but the feeling wouldn't go away.
I looked toward the window again, my eyes searching the darkness of the street. "I'm serious, Joon-ho. I feel like... like I'm being watched."
Joon-ho didn't look away. Instead, he leaned further across the table, his hand sliding from my fingers to my wrist, his thumb tracing the pulse point where my heart was racing. "Soo-jin, look at me."
I met his gaze.
"This place belongs to a friend of mine," he said, his voice a low, soothing silk. "No one from your circles comes here. No reporters, no business associates, and definitely not Jin-woo. You're safe here. For the first time in months, you don't have to be Mrs. Han. You can just be Soo-jin."
He stood up and moved to my side of the booth, sliding in close until our shoulders touched. The scent of his woodsy cologne clouded my judgment. "Let it go," he whispered near my ear. "Just for tonight."
The weight I'd been carrying since the wedding felt like it was finally slipping. I closed my eyes, letting out a shaky breath. "I've missed this," I admitted, my voice barely audible. "I've missed feeling... something."
"Then feel this," he murmured.
He placed a hand on my cheek, his skin warm against my cold face, and tilted my head up. When he kissed me, it wasn't like the polite, dry kisses Jin-woo gave me on the forehead before work. This was desperate and hungry. It tasted like years of suppressed longing and the whiskey on his breath.
I didn't pull away. Instead, I leaned into him, my fingers tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck—the same hair I'd admired in the taxi. I felt his other hand slide down to my waist, pulling me flush against him, claiming space in a way that made me forget I belonged to anyone else.
In the dim light of the booth, surrounded by the low hum of jazz, I felt invincible. He kissed the corner of my mouth, then my jaw, whispering my name like a prayer. "I'm never letting you go back to that life," he promised against my skin. "We'll find a way."
For a moment, I believed him. I let myself melt into his touch, my eyes fluttering shut as I gave myself over to the fire he started in me.
[Outside the Bar]
The spy adjusted the long-range lens, capturing the exact moment Soo-jin's head tilted back, exposing her neck to Joon-ho's lips. The flash didn't go off, but the high-definition sensor caught everything: the passion, the betrayal, and the wedding ring on Soo-jin's finger as it rested on Joon-ho's shoulder.
The man in the sedan scrolled through the gallery of photos. Each one was a nail in the coffin of Soo-jin's marriage.
He hit 'Send All.'
The "Delivered" checkmark appeared instantly.