After the night when the soft snow had fallen, the relationship between the two subtly changed.

To be exact, a slight change occurred in their lifestyle patterns.

First, Chae Ha’s offwork time changed.

While he still got off work late, he started coming home an hour early, then two hours early the next day. His return time gradually quickened.

Instead of heading into the study, Chae Ha chose to sleep in his bed, which was heavily lined with blankets.

The reason was that it was warm here, and he was sensitive to the cold.

In the three years she had been with him, Seol Won hadn’t known about his sensitivity to cold. But she couldn’t tell him to leave since he was, after all, the owner of the room.

Nevertheless, because of this, a subtle tension arose in Seol Won.

There were no occasions like the drunken night where Chae Ha desired her.

It was expected. That time, he had merely lost his senses and made a mistake just once.

But occasionally, if his hand so much as touched hers while turning in his sleep, Seol Won had to calm her startled heart.

Whenever they accidentally locked eyes without sleep, strangely, her heart would palpitate.

The intensity in Chae Ha’s eyes, as he looked at her, was so strong that she could be mistaken into thinking their relationship was real and not contractual.

Perhaps that’s why. Seol Won found herself longing for the unfamiliar emotion of affection from him.

But it should have stayed as a mere transaction.

From the beginning, Kwon Chae Ha was not the type to show such affection to others.

After she had come to love him, Seol Won finally understood the meaning of loneliness.

“Mom! Mommy~ wake up quickly.”
“Uhm……”
With her arm being vigorously shaken, Seol Won struggled to open her heavy eyelids.

Soon, large, bright eyes filled her vision.

“Woo Joo……? When did you wake up?”
“Woo Joo woke up a while ago! Mommy told me that good children should wake up early.”
“That’s right……. Our Woo Joo is very good.”
With a faint smile, Seol Won looked at the child.

“Woo Joo, was it uncomfortable sleeping?”
“Not uncomfortable at all. I love the bunk bed! It feels like I’m floating in the sky.”
Her cheeks flushed a rosy color, indicating she had indeed slept well.

Seol Won slowly sat up from her drowsy state.

She didn’t know when she had fallen asleep, lost in her old memories, but she seemed to be in good condition.

Of course, it still felt odd to be living under the same roof as Chae Ha, but she needed to adapt quickly.

After all, they had promised to live here for three months.

“Mom. Woo Joo wants to call dad Jae Yoon!”
“Jae Yoon…… Dad?”
“Yes! Please call him. The one where we can see his face.”
Looking at Woo Joo’s innocent request, Seol Won couldn’t refuse.

When they moved from the island to here, Jae Yoon was strongly opposed.

From his perspective, it was understandable that he wouldn’t feel comfortable with the existence of Kwon Chae Ha.

“Quick~ hurry up. Dad Jae Yoon said he’s going on a boat with grandma and grandpa. If they go far into the sea, we can’t call him because my voice won’t reach that far!”
“……Uh, okay. Mom will call him quickly.”
“Wow! I’m so excited!”

Having found Jaeyun’s name on her phone, Seolwon pressed it firmly and handed it over to Uju.

Soon, Jaeyun’s face and voice brimmed with immense joy flowed from the screen.

[Wow~ Who is this! Isn’t this our Prince Uju?] “Daddy Jaeyun!”
[Did Uju arrive in Seoul okay?] “Yes! Everything here is so, so big! The roads are big, the houses are big, everything is big.”
[Uju seems to be enjoying himself. Don’t you miss this uncle?] “I miss you!”
[How much?] “Very, very much!”
Seolwon, standing behind, chuckled at the ongoing ‘very, very’ spectacle.

Then Uju quickly turned the camera to include her as well.

“Mom! Mom, say hello too.”
“Alright. Got it.”
The video call lasted for nearly five minutes.

However, the two were unaware that the laughter was spreading outside in that short span.

Thanks to that, Seolwon noticed the enormous pressure coming from the door only after the call had ended.

“…Kwon Chaeha.”
“If you’re awake, could you at least pretend to know?”
“Huh? Hello. Uncle!”
“I’m sorry. My son said he would call. To… his father.”
The word that slipped out of Seolwon’s mouth unconsciously made the knuckles of Chaeha’s hand, which was propping up the door above his head, turn pale.

Before she could even flinch, Chaeha lowered his arm smoothly and crossed his arms.

“Who said he’s a father?”
“……”
Chaeha, who had been staring hard at the speechless Seolwon, turned his gaze to Uju.

As if to make him answer instead.

Eventually, Uju, who caught onto his mood, gave a big smile and met his expectations.

“It’s Daddy Jaeyun!”
“Hmm. So, that guy, he’s your dad, kiddo?”
“Yes! I have so, so many daddies! Daddy Jaeyun is Uju Daddy number one.”
“……”
“……”
A stifling silence descended amongst the three.