Kiss Me Like You’re Not Married.

After about another hour of the three sitting at the house, Seo-yeon kept calming Ha-eun down while Tae-hyun stayed quite, staring at them with a slight frown on his face.

Ha-eun had been texting Joon-won here and there, she finally convinced him to come back, he told her he'll pick her up from Tae-hyun house and she told them that, making Seo-yeon fix her hair for her gently while telling her everything will be okay.

Fifteen minutes later, Joon-Won arrived outside the house.

Tae-hyun opened the door to let him in, standing to the side as Joon stepped in, still in his office clothes, looking tired but collected. He didn't meet Tae's eyes for long. Just a glance. Something unspoken passed between them, the kind of look they'd grown fluent in.

Inside, Ha-eun stood from the couch, wiping under her eyes. Her gaze softened slightly at the sight of him. She wasn't fully forgiving, but she was willing to talk. And that, tonight, was enough.

Joon nodded once to Seo-yeon and Tae-hyun, then looked only at his wife. "Let's go home."

She stepped forward slowly, pausing in front of Tae.

"Thank you," she said, voice quiet but sincere.

Tae gave a small, subtle smile. "I just wanted to help you both calm down."

Ha-eun nodded. She glanced at Seo-yeon, and then briefly, at Tae-hyun again. Not cold. Not hostile. But something cautious lingered behind her lashes, like she wasn't quite sure what to think anymore.

As they left, Ha-eun gave one last look back at Tae-hyun, a look that didn't accuse, but didn't dismiss either. She wasn't sure where her instincts were pointing anymore. But she was listening to them.

The door shut.

Silence settled in the room again.

Seo-yeon leaned back into the couch slowly. "You didn't tell me."

Tae turned from the entryway, brows gently lifted. "Tell you what?"

"That you've been talking to him this much." Her eyes stayed on him. "Ha-eun said it like it was normal. Like she knew you two were in contact constantly."

Tae paused.

"I didn't think it was worth mentioning every call," he said calmly. "It started with one or two. Then he kept reaching out. I just… didn't stop it."

Seo's brow furrowed slightly. "So you didn't think I should know that my husband's been playing emotional support to a man having marriage issues?"

"Would it have changed anything if I did tell you?"

She opened her mouth, then hesitated.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe not. But hearing it from Ha-eun made me feel stupid."

Tae walked over and sat beside her, voice quiet. "I didn't hide it to keep secrets. I just didn't think it would matter. Not like this."

Seo turned her head toward him, expression sharper now. "How often are you two talking?"

Tae held her gaze without flinching. "Every few days. Sometimes late. When he's overwhelmed or when I… just need someone who gets it."

She didn't answer right away.

Then her voice came lower, almost like a test. "So you're saying you're just being a good friend to a married man who's been emotionally spiraling."

Tae's eyes flickered, but his tone stayed calm. Measured. "You've seen how much pressure he's under. I was just someone he could vent to."

Seo gave a half-laugh. "You? The guy who avoids deep convos like the plague suddenly becomes the emotional life raft for Joon-Won?"

He didn't argue that part.

"I don't change around everyone," he said quietly.

She went still for a second. Then..

"…That's exactly what I'm saying."

Tae blinked at her.

Seo shifted her weight to face him fully. "You haven't changed around me. You've been the same this whole time. Gentle. Calm. Funny, even when we argue. You're still you."

Her eyes narrowed just slightly. "But he's not the same around her. That's what scares her. She sees it. So she thinks it must be because of someone else."

Tae didn't speak. He just listened.

Seo added, "But if there was something going on between you two… shouldn't you have changed with me too?"

Tae's breath caught for a moment.

He gave a small, practiced smile. "I didn't have a reason to change with you."

That hung in the air.

Seo studied him. "So then she's wrong."

He nodded. "She's emotional. Anyone would be, if their partner started shutting down."

She leaned back slowly, crossing her arms. "You're good at this now."

Tae looked over at her, calm and still. "At what?"

She gave a dry laugh. "At making things sound simple. Clean. I just don't know if they really are."

Tae didn't answer. He just hummed.

He didn't deny it either.

Seo exhaled deeply. "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just telling you… if you ever feel like something is changing, I'd rather hear it from you than from someone else."

He looked at her for a long moment.

Then nodded. "That's fair."

She leaned her head back, exhausted, eyes on the ceiling. "God. Marriage is such a long game, huh?"

Tae gave a quiet smile. "The longest."

They sat in silence after that.

But Tae's mind was elsewhere. Already back with the man who had texted 'i need you.'

Already thinking of ways to make space again, to see him again, to answer all the parts of Joon-Won no one else was allowed to.

Joon-Won's Apartment – Late that same night.

Ha-eun barely said a word the entire drive home. She sat stiff in the passenger seat, arms crossed, face turned toward the window even when her reflection blurred in the glass.

Joon unlocked the front door and stepped inside first, unbuttoning his cuffs out of habit. Ha-eun followed a few steps behind and dropped her purse a little harder than necessary on the entryway bench.

He didn't comment.

"I don't want to sleep angry," she said finally, voice tight as she kicked off her shoes.

"Neither do I," he muttered, walking toward the kitchen.

She followed.

"I just don't get it," she said. "How come when I talk to you, it's like pulling teeth, but when it's Tae-hyun—"

He stopped at the fridge, leaned against the counter, and exhaled slowly.

"Because Tae doesn't yell," he said flatly.

She flinched. "I wouldn't have to yell if you answered me like a human being."

"I did answer," he said. "You just don't like what you heard."

Silence ballooned between them… bitter, hot, and too familiar.

"I'm tired, Joon," she said. "Of feeling like you're not with me, even when you're in the same room. You used to fight for me. You used to talk to me."

"And now I'm just a wall, right?" he replied, voice low.

Her voice cracked. "Now you're a ghost. You come and go. And I never know when you're actually here."

He ran a hand through his hair and turned to face her fully. "Then why did you want me to come home?"

"Because I still love you," she snapped. "Even when you hurt me."

His eyes flickered. "And I'm trying, Ha-eun. Even when I don't know how."

He crossed the room slowly, not rushed, but certain. She didn't step back when he reached her.

"I don't know how to make you feel safe with me again," he said, voice quieter now, "but I'm still yours."

"You don't act like it."

He leaned in, eyes locked on hers. "Then remind me how."

Her lips trembled. Her eyes filled. But when he kissed her, she let him.

It wasn't soft. It wasn't sweet. It was controlled, slow but loaded, his hands gripping her waist, her nails pressing into his shirt, every movement practiced like muscle memory.

This wasn't forgiveness. This was habit.

They ended up tangled in the sheets like they always did after a fight.. her breathy, vulnerable beneath him, and him calm, commanding, and nearly silent. She clung harder each time he moved with purpose, and he kissed her like it was the only way he knew how to apologize.

After, her hand rested over his chest while his arm lay heavy around her waist.

"We'll work on it," she whispered into his skin.

He didn't answer.

But he held her tighter.

⸻

While at Tae-hyun's Apartment – Same Night

The silence between Tae and Seo-yeon wasn't heavy. Just quiet. Familiar. She curled beside him on the couch with her legs tucked under a blanket, her head resting on his shoulder as the TV played something neither of them were really watching.

"I was thinking," she said softly.

He brushed his fingers against her arm. "About?"

"Having another baby."

He stiffened almost imperceptibly but not enough for her to notice.

"Really?" he asked, keeping his voice neutral.

She nodded. "I know we said we'd wait. But I don't know… I've just been thinking about it more lately. Especially watching our son grow up so fast. And maybe things would feel fuller again."

"Fuller?" he repeated.

She looked up at him. "Not like we're empty. Just… like something's missing."

He smiled faintly, then kissed her forehead. "Let's talk about it seriously soon, yeah? When we both have the energy to do it right."

She nodded, satisfied for now.

But he didn't sleep easily that night.

He didn't know how he'd say that to Joon, he himself wasn't sure how to feel about another baby.. especially now when he had a full on affair with another man. A married man.

⸻