Park Sunghoon

The scent of expensive cologne and cold ambition lingered in every corner of the Park estate. Your marriage to Park Sunghoon had never been a fairytale romance. It was a carefully calculated business arrangement orchestrated by your parents, designed to unite two powerful business empires.

To Sunghoon, marriage was nothing more than another responsibility to manage. He was a man of few words, colder than winter itself, and far too consumed by his work to concern himself with anything beyond his business empire. He rarely spoke to unless necessary, and the two of you slept in separate bedrooms, living beneath the same roof like strangers bound by a contract.

Yet, despite his indifference, a small part of still held onto the foolish hope that someday, she might find a way into his heart. She tried to be a good wife, patiently waiting for the man who barely acknowledged her existence.

But Sunghoon remained distant, leaving alone in the enormous mansion, surrounded by expensive furniture, suffocating silence, and a husband who never seemed to notice her loneliness.

Eventually, grew tired of waiting.

That evening, knowing Sunghoon wouldn't return until midnight as usual, accepted her friends' invitation to attend a birthday celebration. For once, she decided to forget about her duties as a wife and enjoy herself.

She abandoned her usual conservative attire in favor of a breathtaking black dress adorned with delicate lace, its daring thigh-high slit accentuating the elegance of her silhouette. Paired with black heels, smoky eye makeup, and bold red lipstick, she looked nothing like the quiet, dutiful wife Sunghoon had grown accustomed to seeing.

For the first time in a long while, went out without waiting for her husband.

The club was alive with flashing neon lights, deafening music, and the laughter of people determined to enjoy the night. Surrounded by her friends, gradually forgot the emptiness waiting for her at home. One drink became three, and before long, the alcohol had clouded her judgment completely.

She laughed freely, danced without restraint, and enjoyed herself without realizing just how much she had drunk.

Meanwhile, at the mansion, the clock struck 3:00 AM when Sunghoon finally returned.

Dressed in his perfectly tailored black suit, with his tie loosened and exhaustion etched across his otherwise immaculate features, he stepped inside. Another long night of meetings had kept him away, and, as usual, he hadn't bothered to inform his wife of his whereabouts.

Yet tonight, something unusual compelled him to check on .

Perhaps it was guilt. Perhaps it was nothing more than a passing curiosity about the woman he had neglected for months.

He walked toward her bedroom and quietly pushed open the door, expecting to find her asleep.

Instead, he was greeted by an untouched bed and an empty room.

Sunghoon's expression darkened.

He checked the bathroom, the sitting room, and eventually the other rooms in the mansion. With every empty space, his irritation grew. He wasn't accustomed to things being out of place, especially not in his own home.

Finally, he stopped one of the bodyguards stationed near the entrance.

His sharp gaze settled on the man, silently demanding an explanation.

When the bodyguard revealed that Madam had left hours ago to attend a birthday celebration at a club with her friends, something shifted in Sunghoon's expression.

His wife was at a club.

At three in the morning.

And he hadn't known a single thing about it.

A muscle tightened in his jaw. His fingers curled around his car keys as an unfamiliar, unpleasant feeling settled in his chest. He had spent months treating as though her presence meant nothing to him, yet the thought of her out somewhere without his knowledge ignited a fury he couldn't quite explain.

Was it anger? Possessiveness? Or the sudden realization that his wife had a life beyond the four walls he'd left her trapped within?

Sunghoon refused to examine the question.

Instead, he grabbed his coat and headed straight for the garage.

Within minutes, his black luxury car was speeding through the city streets, his expression growing colder with every passing second. He instructed his driver to hurry, his patience wearing dangerously thin.

By the time they reached the club, Sunghoon's irritation had transformed into something far more intense.

He stepped out of the car, adjusted his cuffs, and strode toward the entrance with the commanding presence of a man accustomed to having the entire world obey him. The security guards recognized him immediately and stepped aside without question.

The moment he entered, the pounding music and flashing lights assaulted his senses.

Sunghoon paid none of it any attention.

His sharp eyes swept across the crowded dance floor, examining unfamiliar faces until they finally landed on the one person he had come looking for.

.

She was dancing with her friends, her cheeks flushed, her movements unsteady, and a carefree smile spread across her face. She appeared completely oblivious to how much she had drunk, laughing at something her friends did while swaying to the music.

Her black dress caught the shifting lights as she danced, her red lipstick still vivid against her flushed face.

And she looked utterly unconcerned about the husband waiting for her at home.

Sunghoon went completely still.

For a moment, he simply watched her, his dark eyes fixed on the woman he had barely spared a glance for during their marriage. Something about seeing her like this—so carefree, so distant from the quiet wife he knew—stirred a strange mixture of irritation and something dangerously close to jealousy.

He didn't like it.

He didn't like the way strangers occupied the same space as her, the way she laughed without a care in the world, or the fact that she seemed perfectly capable of enjoying herself without him.

The irony was almost laughable.

He had given her every reason to stop waiting for him, yet now he stood there, furious that she had finally done so.

Sunghoon slipped one hand into his pocket, his jaw clenched as he began making his way through the crowd.

People instinctively moved aside as he passed, sensing the cold, intimidating aura surrounding him.

remained unaware of his arrival, still dancing with her friends, too intoxicated to notice the tall man approaching her.

Sunghoon stopped just a few steps behind her.

His gaze traveled over her unsteady figure before settling on her face, his expression unreadable except for the unmistakable tension in his jaw.

He had come to bring his wife home.

And judging by the look in his eyes, the Park mansion was about to become a very different place tonight.