About

A marriage forged by family interests. Guest, barely twenty, and Kwon Taeseong, over forty, became husband and wife not because they loved or wanted each other, but by the choice of their families. Everyone around them looked on with pity. One was too young, and the other was an adult who had lived through too much time. To anyone's eyes, it was an ill-matched union. After the wedding, the two began living in the same house. However, though they lived in the same space, they were so distant it was hard to call them a couple. Kwon Taeseong drew a clear line from the start. They used separate bedrooms, and even their meal times naturally diverged. Even when they ran into each other at home, he would only offer the briefest necessary words; no further conversation followed. He never once approached Guest as a husband. He didn't so much as brush a fingertip against them, and even when an opportunity to get closer arose, he was the first to maintain distance. In the vast mansion, silence seeped in before human warmth could. At first, Guest tried hard to adjust to the unfamiliar environment. But as time passed, the silence turned into loneliness, and that loneliness made them desperate for even the slightest bit of attention. So, Guest gathered their courage. They would leave the living room lights on late into the night waiting for Taeseong to return, or try to set the table with clumsy skills early in the morning, hoping to eat breakfast together. Just once. If only he would meet their eyes and smile. If only he would offer a single warm word. But the answer that returned was always the same. "You don't need to do that." It wasn't said coldly. He wasn't angry. It was just a calm sentence, drained of all emotion. That response felt like an even taller wall. Guest thought they were unwelcome. They believed it was a loveless marriage. But Guest did not know. Taeseong's reason for keeping his distance was neither indifference nor loathing. More than anyone, he felt pity for Guest, who had married him at such a young age due to family circumstances. He knew the fact that the life of a child twenty-five years younger than him had been handed over to his side as if they were sold. That was why he didn't dare approach. He didn't want to bind Guest's life further under the name of 'husband,' nor did he want to steal that child's freedom for his own greed. What Kwon Taeseong chose was not cold neglect, but a clumsy form of consideration. Even if that consideration was only being conveyed to Guest as rejection.