Affectionate Obsession - Chapter 9

It was five more days after that before they returned to their marital home from the villa in Gangwon Province.

Junhyeok faithfully kept his word that he wouldn’t let her take even a single step outside the bedroom.

Even when they ate meals, it happened far more often in bed.

He never took his eyes off her, not for a moment.

If anything seemed even slightly uncomfortable, he would move without being told.

Junhyeok and Yeonhee filled out the week as if it were natural for them to live like that.

Someone who didn’t know the inside story might call it excessive. But at least Yeonhee had no choice but to be that way.

Because Junhyeok tormented her day and night without rest, her legs had no strength at all.

The secret inner circumstances didn’t change even after returning to their marital home.

“I’ll be home around eight after I finish work.”

Yeonhee nodded, sprawled limply on the crisp white bedsheets.

If it weren’t for the blanket covering her body, she would have seen Junhyeok off to work completely naked.

“I’ve filled the refrigerator with your favorite foods, so rest a bit more and then eat something.”

Junhyeok, dressed neatly, sat by the bedside and tucked Yeonhee’s disheveled hair behind her ear.

Yeonhee gazed blankly at Junhyeok.

He was speaking calmly. Yet, deep within his eyes, a hint of anxiety he couldn’t hide was submerged.

“If you’re bored, you can pick out a book from the study, or watch a movie or drama. Or……”

“Junhyeok-ah.”

Yeonhee called out to Junhyeok in a muffled voice.

His pupils flickered slightly. As if he already guessed what she was about to say.

“I’ll be here until you get back. So, don’t worry and hurry to work.”

Yeonhee spoke in her usual voice. Only then did Junhyeok stand up with a slightly relieved expression.

Even as he merely left the bedroom, he kept looking back.

Each time, Yeonhee offered him a faint smile.

It was only after Junhyeok had completely left the room that she could finally exhale the sigh she had held in.

“Hoo.”

Yeonhee barely managed to sit up, her body heavy. Then, she picked up her cell phone, which she hadn’t properly checked in over a week.

[ Mom (2) ]

[ Caregiver Aunt (1) ]

The missed call list, written in red, caught her eye.

She knew Yeonjeong had called, but she hadn’t been able to answer because she was constantly with Junhyeok.

She couldn’t possibly let Yeonjeong hear Junhyeok’s voice, when Yeonjeong thought she was living a normal life working diligently.

Even if she managed to take a call away from Junhyeok, she wouldn’t feel at ease. That’s why she waited for Junhyeok to leave for work. She thought she could then talk to Yeonjeong comfortably.

Yeonhee quickly dialed Yeonjeong’s number. The call didn’t ring for long.

－Yes, Yeonhee.

As soon as Yeonjeong’s voice came through, Yeonhee furrowed her brow. Yeonjeong’s voice sounded somehow not like her usual self.

She was already uneasy about the missed call from the caregiver, and now this.

Yeonhee asked urgently.

“Mom, why does your voice sound like that? Are you not feeling well?”

She couldn’t feel at ease. It had been almost three weeks since she last had a proper conversation with Yeonjeong.

She had been confined to the suite at Sera’s request for half a month, and then confined to the villa bedroom for a week for their honeymoon, so it had actually been more than three weeks.

It was the first time in her life she hadn’t contacted Yeonjeong for so long.

Yeonjeong was like her only family, and Yeonhee was overcome with anxiety, fearing something might have happened to Yeonjeong, who was already wasting away day by day.

－No. Mom is fine. The chemotherapy is a bit tough, but I can still endure it.

“But why does your voice sound like that? Are you really okay?”

－Why wouldn’t it? You could have at least told me if you were changing rooms. Do you know how surprised I was? When you didn’t answer, I thought you were busy and didn’t contact you further, but what’s going on?

Yeonhee blinked, utterly unable to comprehend.

My room, changed?

“What are you talking about? My room changed?”

Yeonjeong sounded quite flustered at Yeonhee’s question and couldn’t answer readily.

The more she hesitated, the more Yeonhee felt an inexplicable anxiety creeping in.

Every possible thought raced through her mind.

Yeonjeong’s voice came just as Yeonhee, unable to bear the impatience, brought her fingertips to her lips.

－Well, you see……

Yeonjeong’s voice, sounding somehow uncomfortable, pierced her ears.

As soon as Junhyeok entered his executive office, he summoned Secretary Kim.

A moment later, Secretary Kim approached Junhyeok, holding a document envelope, and bowed.

“Did you have a good honeymoon?”

Though his tone was stiff, Secretary Kim’s concern was evident in his words.

Junhyeok nodded.

He knew Secretary Kim worried about him and cared for him a lot, but this level of expression was the best Junhyeok could manage towards anyone other than Yeonhee.

“What about the instructions I gave you a week ago?”

Instead of awkward pleasantries, Junhyeok steered the conversation towards work in a business-like tone.

“Yes. As you instructed, the room has been moved to the VIP ward, and arrangements have been made so that treatment can be received without issues regarding hospital fees.”

Junhyeok nodded his head.

For ten years, he had employed various methods to find Yeonhee, but he only began to obtain information about her six months ago.

‘You have been living in Gangwon Province. You were working as an employee at the children’s clothing store at the MK Mall branch, and it seems you were living with someone you consider your mother. However, it appears that person is quite ill, as she visits the hospital once a week.’

That was the first news of Yeonhee he received through Secretary Kim. Junhyeok still couldn’t forget how he felt that day.

For years after Yeonhee disappeared, he searched for her whereabouts like a madman. Then, for the next few years, he immersed himself in work to solidify his position at HN Group.

That didn’t mean he neglected his search for Yeonhee. Even his dedication to work was for the purpose of finding her.

After years of searching solely for Shin Yeonhee with no success, he realized the obstruction came from his own family.

From then on, Junhyeok entrusted everything related to Yeonhee to Secretary Kim, and he focused solely on satisfying his father.

He had to.

He had to show that he was an asset to HN Group, that he had completely escaped Shin Yeonhee’s shadow.

The only way to make his father complacent was through relentless work; that was the only method.

Junhyeok worked day and night. He took on any project Chairman Jeong expected.

Even when he collapsed from overwork, he didn’t rest, receiving IV drips.

That was how he spent a total of seven years.

The effect was significant.

What hadn’t been achieved in nine years and six months was resolved in just six months.

In those six months, he gained a great deal of information about Yeonhee.

‘You were abandoned in front of an orphanage shortly after birth and have lived there ever since. The person you consider your mother is the director of that orphanage. Recently, it seems the hospital where you accompany your mother recommended transferring her to a university hospital in Seoul for treatment. Seeing as you’ve subtly mentioned thoughts of quitting your job, it appears you are even considering relocating to Seoul.’

This was the report on Yeonhee’s recent situation from four months ago.

Around that time, Junhyeok was urgently filling in as CEO after the previous executive director of HN Department Store stepped down due to embezzlement.

It was an opportunity sent from heaven.

Since Yeonhee had experience in large shopping malls, if he could just pull some strings, she could be brought to his department store.

The momentum built over seven years paid off at the right time.

Bringing Yeonhee to work as a brand employee in the luxury goods section of HN Department Store was a swift process.

Although HN Department Store boasted the largest floor area among department stores in Seoul, Junhyeok’s heart pounded just at the thought of being in the same building as Yeonhee.

There were countless times he wanted to rush to Yeonhee. Each time, he gritted his teeth and held back.

He couldn’t suddenly appear before Yeonhee.

Although he didn’t know the exact details, Junhyeok was almost certain that the reason Yeonhee suddenly left ten years ago was due to his family’s actions.

Appearing abruptly before such a Yeonhee would only give her another chance to run away.

It was around a month after Yeonhee moved to Seoul that he met Sera.

The meeting with Sera was arranged for a political marriage.

He had absolutely no intention of marrying anyone other than Yeonhee, yet he attended the meeting solely because he still had to be cautious about falling out of Chairman Jeong’s favor. That was the only reason.

However, from the moment Junhyeok first saw Sera, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

‘You’re as stunningly handsome as they say?’

Sera’s words, which followed the formal greeting, were utterly rude.

Normally, he would have used that as an excuse to leave.

The excuse that the other party lacked manners was more than sufficient reason to end the meeting.

But Junhyeok couldn’t move an inch.

It felt like he was dreaming.

Otherwise, the woman sitting before him couldn’t possibly have the exact same face as Shin Yeonhee.

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