Happy Holidays and a very happy New Year to everyone! Thank you for joining me on this journey this year. I can't wait to continue it with you next year.

Thank you so so so much to my amazing beta, Krysyuy. This story would not exist if it wasn't for them.

Hae Soo

"Why didn't you tell Chae Ryung or me that you needed clay?" Soo asked from her vanity. Setting her lipstick down, she frowned at her daughter through the mirror.

Mi shrugged her shoulders, her bottom lip jutting out. Beside Soo, Yoon sat on the floor, staring as her sister received a reprimanding. "Hwang Bo Mi, you need to tell me beforehand so we can get supplies. School projects don't happen overnight- at least, not until you're in middle school."

"Soo, don't be a bad influence on our child," Wook said as he did the ribbon on his shirt. He pulled at his hanbok to straighten it out and turned to face Mi as Soo side-eyed her husband through the mirror. "Procrastination is the bane of all students, Mi. You need to tell Mommy about these things beforehand- not the night before they're due. Mommy was a procrastinator and now she has to follow Daddy to a political function."

Soo rolled her eyes as she patted a liquid blush onto her cheeks. "I apologize if my being a supportive wife annoys you. You can go by yourself."

She almost flinched when Wook's hands met her shoulders, his cheek pressing close to hers. Soo stared at her husband through the mirror, feeling his smooth hands move to hold her arms. His blue hanbok brushed against her pink one, the sleeves of his coat crackling with static electricity.

"Don't be like that," Wook murmured into her ear. His lip caught on the earring that fell from her lobe and Soo tilted her head to pull her jewelry out of the way.

When her husband left her side, Soo felt her shoulders relax. She cleared her throat and glanced at Wook as he let Mi tie a jade bracelet to his wrist. "Daddy, I think you look like a prince," Mi said. She giggled when Wook patted her head.

"Thank you, Princess."

"Mommy looks better than you, though," their daughter said. Soo smiled at her baby before standing and adjusting her dress. The pink and white gown fell to the floor, allowing her to wear thermal leggings beneath her skirts. "She looks like a… a queen!"

"Queen T-rex!" Yoon shouted from the floor. Soo leaned down to pick her youngest up. She accepted the kiss Yoon pressed against her cheek, pinching her daughter's nose and bopping foreheads with her.

Soo laughed and rocked Yoon as Wook straightened his vest and reached for his jacket. "Thank you, dear," she said to Mi, "but you're still not off the hook. It's homework and bed for you tonight. You should be in dreamland by the time Mommy and Daddy come home."

Mi pouted, squirming where she sat. "But Mommy, it's the new year tonight!"

"No." Soo shook her head, setting Yoon onto the bed. The toddler immediately fell over and hugged one of the pillows, eyeing her sister. "Dinner, homework, and then straight to bed."

"Daddy-"

"Listen to your mother."

And that was the end of it. Soo knew that whenever she and Wook were out for the evening, Mi and Yoon were allowed to watch one movie before bed. However, due to a little fiasco in regards to adolescent procrastination, Soo was forced to take that movie away.

They exited the bedroom as a family. Soo held Yoon's hand as Wook carried their grumpy eldest. "Come on, Mi," he consoled her. "Don't feel so down. If you study hard, you could go to an even better college than I did!"

As Wook left with Mi, Soo felt Yoon squeeze her hand tighter. "Mommy's pretty," she beamed, revealing little teeth. Yoon stuck her tongue out and Soo copied her daughter before using her pinkie to poke the child's tongue.

"You'll catch flies," she teased as the girl recoiled and whined, swatting Soo's hand away.

"No I won't!" Yoon held onto Soo's skirt before letting go and running away as someone stepped into the hallway. Yoon collided head-on with Wang So's knees, laughing and hugging him.

Soo glanced up at her bodyguard as he patted Yoon's head. He looked to be in better condition and wore a small smile on his face.

"How are you feeling?" Soo asked. "So, if you're not completely-"

"I'm perfectly healed now," So replied, his grin widening. "Thank you for everything." Soo liked her bodyguard's smile. She remembered how terrified she had been, seeing him ghostly pale and feverishly stumbling toward the servants' lounge. He had been shivering, his hands white from clawing at his backpack.

She had acted on impulse, caring for the man she had cheated on her husband with. When she had held him in her arms as he cried, Soo had blinked back tears, trying to understand in any way how a parent could ever intentionally hurt their child. How many of the marks on his body were actually from his mother? A cigarette burn on a six-year-old's body? How could anyone even think of doing that?

It was then that she realized how unflinchingly loyal he was. So had been beaten and abused, yet he had still gone to see his parents because it was the new year. Soo's heart had broken. She could never imagine only seeing her girls once a year… but she also knew she would never intentionally hurt her babies.

Soo had cried on her way to a pharmacy, remembering how he had held onto her wrist and begged her to stay. She had kissed his forehead and gently extricated herself from his grasp after he had fallen asleep.

Having seen him sleeping peacefully, Soo did not want to want to leave him in the opposite state, his face contorting in pain and his body shivering in the fetal position. Sitting in her car, she had held onto the wheel and tried to breathe, trying to fathom how someone could ever hurt a soul as beautiful as his.

"He's about a hundred eighty centimeters," she had told the pharmacist. "I think he threw up and has a cold. Well-built and exercises frequently. He's in his late thirties. Can you mix some multivitamins into his medication? I don't think he's getting enough."

She stepped forward and gazed at So's hanbok. He wore a white shirt beneath his purple vest. So carried a black and gold coat in one hand as well as a pair of gloves in the other. Soo hoped he would not be too cold. She did not want him to get sick again.

So smiled down at Yoon and made a face at her as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Happy New Year, Yoon." He grinned at her. "We all turn a year older tomorrow."

Soo frowned when So's vest opened, revealing the ribbon of his undershirt. She shook her head at the bow he had tied his hanbok in. "Your shirt is wrong."

Reaching forward, Soo opened So's vest and untied the knot beneath. His shirt parted to reveal black heat gear and Soo smiled, knowing he would not be cold. So did not move away from her and she glanced up at him, meeting his grin with her own. Taking the two silk ribbons, Soo looped one over her hand before pulling the other through and completing the single bow. She closed his vest around the new knot, buttoning it and hiding the tie. It was almost funny for her to think that they were like those ribbons- tied together but hidden from sight.

"There, now you're ready," she said, smoothing a hand over his chest.

They took one car to the event. Soo sat with Wook in the backseat, keeping as far away from him as possible. Still unable to erase those images of her husband holding a different woman, she gazed anywhere but towards him. She even occasionally glanced towards the driver's seat, knowing Wang So was driving.

They arrived at the temple and Soo braced herself for the cameras, trying to drown out the flashes and bright lights that illuminated the dead of night. Pulling her fur vest tighter around her body, she waited for Wook to come to her side of the car.

The door opened and Soo accepted her husband's hand, smiling at him. He beamed at her and Soo wondered why Wook's smile only looked beautiful in the flashing lights of HD lenses.

She imagined the money it would take to cover those photos. To pay off photographers and make sure companies did not feature her image. Wook would complain about wasting their joint account away and Soo would inevitably fight with him about wanting to retain anonymity.

But for the night, they were happy again, putting up a strong front against Wook's political opponents. He kissed her cheek and took his coat off for her when she shivered.

Hundreds of paper lanterns swung overhead, illuminating the darkest of nights with hues of red, pink, yellow, blue, green, and orange. Garlands hung around the temple and priests greeted guests with wide smiles. The cameras flashed and Wook leaned close to whisper something to her. "You know, Mi and Yoon would have loved to be here," he said.

Soo continued to smile, holding her husband's arm. "Yoon is too young to stay up this late and Mi is grounded."

Wook only sighed and continued to wave for the cameras.

They walked past the armada of photographers and Soo shook hands with the president and kissed his wife's cheek. My father's money got you elected, she thought idly, looking at the man that greeted her husband.

"Welcome, Wook, Soo," the president said warmly. He was an older man, but he seemed to have full confidence in Wook. "I do hope you'll enjoy yourselves… May you receive many blessings."

"May you receive many blessings as well," Soo said as she beamed along with him.

They walked away to greet other people and Soo wished she could just disappear. As a chaebol and as a businesswoman, she knew she was an outlier among the group of lawyers, politicians, and their spouses. These were not her people, and their eyes betrayed as much.

Hwang Bo Wook was the only man in the president's inner circle with an immediate connection to one of the country's major conglomerates. The youngest person to ever reach his level of power, he was either adored or despised. As his rich wife, Soo was just looked down on. She hated political functions.

"Hello, how are you? How are the children?"

"Oh, your hanbok is absolutely stunning! You must tell me your designer!"

"How are the children? Mi and Yoon, right? Oh, they must be so big now!"

"Tell me, tell me, are you and Wook going to have another baby soon? You're still young and I'm sure the publicity alone would win him another president!"

"Are the girls lonely without another sibling to play with?"

Soo smiled and chatted with the women around her, trying to bite back scathing remarks. Forget being a college-educated businesswoman and chief officer of a conglomerate; when she was with Wook she was his pretty wife- the pretty mother of his pretty babies.

She remembered her manners and answered each question with grace, folding her hands against her skirt. She knew So was behind her. He had her back if any of these women decided to pounce and tear her throat out.

Holding Wook's arm, Soo bowed to the priests at the temple. They greeted her with returned bows and Soo genuinely smiled at the religious men and women that maintained residence there. They seemed to be the only people who did not look at her as if she was a rotting carcass. "Happy New Year," she said to a monk. "Please receive many blessings."

"And you, child. The new year brings us all closer. The sun has set and when it rises, we shall all hope to be a year wiser."

Soo followed her husband as he greeted people, rubbed elbows, and laughed at inside political jokes that she never understood. She laughed when he laughed, frowned when he frowned, and answered any questions regarding the children because of course it was her duty to do so.

"Hwang Bo Wook! As I live and breathe!"

Soo turned in the direction of a barely masked sneer. Her eyes widened when a man with the exact same gaze as So approached, his smirk eerily similar to the bodyguard behind her.

Wang Yo.

The gears in her mind turned and Soo exhaled as she stared at the face of her husband's greatest annoyance and bodyguard's older brother.

He was taller than So and more lanky. Though they had the same cold eyes, Soo knew So could smile. As for his brother… she was unsure if he could make a face other than a sneer. He wore a gold and black hanbok while his wife wore purple and blue.

Soo watched Wook shake his counterpart's hand and Soo leaned forward to kiss Wang Yo's wife on the cheek. "Oh, my goodness," she remarked at the pregnant woman's stomach. "How many months are you along? You look so beautiful!"

"Six months." Yo's wife smiled sweetly, her expression softer than her husband's leer. "It's so nice to meet you."

"Hwang Bo Wook, you look better outside of Parliament." Yo said with a smirk. "Too bad that tax didn't pass, hm?"

Soo could feel Wook's arm flexing beneath her hand. This man is So's older brother? she thought. "Only because of your meddling, Wang Yo. Congratulations on your baby," he said cordially.

They watched Yo kiss his wife's forehead. "Thank you. Our son is so excited to have a sibling. You have two, don't you?"

"Two daughters," Soo said, forcing herself to smile at the viper before her.

"Ah." Yo only tilted his head. "No sons? Who will your father's company fall to after your brother, Mrs. Hae?"

How can two brothers be so different? So is such a kind person but his brother… he's vile.

"I'm sure that's not any of your business," she said to So's brother. "Will you be going back to your hometown for the holidays?" She had no idea what Yo's relationship with his parents was like, but she could not help taking a stab at the politician. "I know Wook and I will be visiting both our families left and right."

An extra layer of venom coated Yo's smile and Soo knew her words had stuck. "It was nice seeing you, Wook," the older man remarked with a nod. "My wife and I should go to the temple now. We'll pray you win in the next election. Wouldn't want Seoul's political scene to become less… diverse." Soo met eyes with Yo as he put an arm around his wife. "Your wife should be a politician. She has a knack for it. Less than what I can say for you."

"I'll see you at the president's cabinet meeting," Wook ground out, his smile gone.

Soo watched Wang Yo walk off. Wook scoffed in the man's wake but said nothing. Instead, he rubbed his eyes and sighed. "That man…"

Later, when Soo stepped out of the ladies' room, she paused when she saw her bodyguard standing with Wang Yo. The two were a meter apart and almost indistinguishable in the dark. Soo could only discern their blank expressions and the red flicker of the cigarettes they smoked. She remembered So telling her that it had been twenty years since he had spoken to his brother.

She watched as they conversed, their quiet voices masked by the sound of the head priest praying for a happy year. So stepped on his cigarette and looked away from his brother. The two seemed not to be close, and Soo felt her teeth sink into her bottom lip when Yo also extinguished his smoke. "Fuck, just do what I did," snapped the older man, his voice rising. "Did it really take twenty years for you to realize what I did as a teenager? Cut ties with Mother and Father and you won't suffer anymore. It's that fucking simple. You're as loyal as a dog but nowhere near as smart."

Soo scoffed at the man's hateful words. She glared at So's brother with all her might, watching as he moved to walk away. Before she could storm up to confront Wang Yo, Soo stopped in her tracks as So looked at his brother.

"Yo," he called. He chucked his carton of cigarettes at the older man and Soo smirked when the box bounced off of Yo's head with deadly precision. "I voted for you, you lousy fuck. The least you could have done was pass a tax on imports and promote our country's businesses… not line your own goddamn pocket."

The older man stormed off without another word to his brother and Soo watched Wang So turn to face her. Smiling, she tilted her head for him to follow.

They returned to the celebration and Soo approached her husband as he laughed with two other members of the president's council. Wook excused himself when she approached.

Soo frowned when he took her wrist and pulled her into an isolated area, away from the party. They stood beneath two ginko trees, their hanboks making them look like a scene from a drama. For the first time in a while, Soo thought Wook's smile seemed genuine, his white teeth gleaming in the light of the hundreds of colorful paper lamps that hung around them. He looked so handsome that she almost imagined he would kiss her and wish her a happy new year.

Wook kissed her knuckles. "Soo, how do you feel about going home a bit early?"

Frowning, she stared at her husband's gentle expression and kind eyes. "What?"

"Don't take this wrongly, but I feel like the other politicians don't…" Wook tilted his head from side to side, his expression still kind and loving. "I don't think they enjoy having a member of a chaebol family here… especially when your father was a staunch supporter of the tax."

Soo stared at her husband. She glanced towards the party where the other attendees seemed to stare at her with the same genuine smile her husband gifted her then. Was she so despicable that even her husband wanted her gone? "Wook, are you… ashamed to have me here?" she asked, unwilling to believe it unless he confirmed her words. "We're married. I…" She shook her head and averted her eyes in embarrassment. "I'm your wife."

Wook's hands grasped her shoulders and Soo bit into her lipstick. "Of course I'm not embarrassed, Hae Soo." Sweet words coated in poison floated past her ears and Soo winced. "It's just… well, I don't want my colleagues to be uncomfortable. Being with you could lead to assumptions being made. Bribery charges are no way to begin the new year."

Unable to react, Soo only pulled away from her husband. "I'm sure the girls will love having you home early. The children need their mother, don't they?" Wook asked. Soo stared at him and closed her eyes when he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Happy New Year, my love. May this one be filled with blessings and love. Thank you for all you've done as my wife and as Mi and Yoon's mother."

Soo sat beside the driver's seat, watching So drive away from the temple. She stared at the pink, blue, green, and yellow lanterns that swung in the sky. There were no stars in Seoul. The disgusting smog that coated the district matched with the glaring lights of the city had all but blotted out the universe.

The clock on the dash ticked to twelve fifty-eight and Soo sighed, her heart aching from her husband's words. Betrayal was one word that flitted across her mind, embarrassment was another.

"Stop the car," she whispered.

So parked on the side of the road, beside a snowy field of dry fruit trees. Soo did not wait for him to open her door. Instead, she left the vehicle on her own, making for her bodyguard and immediately wrapping her arms around his waist. His hanbok crinkled beneath her embrace and he stopped in his tracks, surprised.

He hugged her back.

They stood there, alone in their own universe. Away from the deceit and hatred, Soo took comfort in So's strong arms and pressed her head to his shoulder. "He should never have said that," So muttered.

"He's not wrong."

"You're…" Soo looked up as So paused. White steam curled from his dark lips, rising to greet the clouds above. "You're his wife. He should never be embarrassed to be with you."

A warm feeling spread around her chest as she hugged her bodyguard. The man sworn to protect her. He was beautiful in the moonlight, his face illuminated by a pale radiance. He gazed down at her with hard but sincere eyes.

So's watch beeped and Soo glanced down to see a twelve and two zeroes on the battered, black metal that wrapped around his wrist.

"Happy New Year, Wang So," she whispered.

"Happy New Year, Hae Soo."

Standing on the tips of her red slippers, Soo leaned close to the man that held her. She watched his eyes shut and Soo copied him, allowing her sight to darken. If she closed her eyes hard enough, she could imagine that for a moment, she was unattached- a single mother sharing a kiss with the man she loved to be with.

She wondered if there was a better way to herald the new year than to spend it with someone she completely trusted.

Their lips met, warm against the cold wind. Their hands held each other, and Soo smiled, speaking as she layered kisses onto his lovely mouth. "May you... receive many... blessings," she whispered to him.

So kissed her again and Soo pressed her hands to the sides of his face. He tilted his forehead against hers and Soo felt So's lips move. "May you receive many blessings," he repeated softly. His voice was a melody, his words a poem. Even though she had heard the same sentiment a million times, a happy tingle coursed throughout her body when So said it to her.

And the new year was heralded, not by the harsh ring of the temple bell, but with a gentle kiss and two hopeful wishes beside an orchard.

❤Happy New Year❤