Thank you Krysyuy for beta-ing and helping me get out of writer's block~

Hwang Bo Wook

She was an enigma, his wife.

Wook watched her as they ate dinner, taking time to actually look at her as she helped Yoon and tried to coax some vegetables into the meat craving Mi. Soo had not taken off her work clothes, making her the most overdressed person at the table, but she seemed not to care. Her hair was still short- a style Wook cared little for but knew to be practical. Too many times, the long hair had gotten caught in one of Yoon's toys.

Wook found her boring, but he loved her all the same. After all, she had given birth to the lights of his life. The two girls that complained about the vegetables on their plates, and bit and kicked each other when the other breathed too loudly.

"Listen to your mother, Mi," Wook said, spooning soup into his mouth. His voice ended whatever argument had erupted between his wife and daughter. "You're not going to leave the table until all of the vegetables in your bowl are gone."

He looked up at his crestfallen daughter with a raised eyebrow as Soo sent him a smile. Wook looked away from his wife and continued to eat.

He knew that he had first fallen for her because of her beautiful eyes. As a younger man, he had first seen the daughter of Hae Ha Jin when she had walked through the law firm he worked at. Holding Baek Ah's arm, she had flounced into the building, laughing with her brother as he guided her to meet one of his friends. Her hair had been long and wavy, her amber eyes shining. Wook remembered her wearing a lavender dress and white high heels. Looking back, Wook realized he had not been the only man in the office who had become smitten with the pretty heiress and he had not been the only one to ask her out that day.

Wook remembered how he had stumbled through his request. Too shy to meet her eyes but wanting to seem masculine, he had given her a booklet of paintings and invited her to an art museum. He had fretted for days afterward, wondering if he had made a fool of himself; which was why it had come as a surprise when she had called a week later and accepted his proposal. Their first date, they had wandered around a museum, shyly holding each other's arm and then slowly progressing into dinner. It had rained that day, and Wook had given Soo his jacket to keep her warm. That had been the first of many many dates to come.

Then, only six months into their relationship, Soo had gotten pregnant.

They were married one month after they had told her parents.

Wook almost chuckled as he remembered how much his hands had shaken when he first met Soo's parents. Baek Ah had punched him in the face before Soo had shielded him, screaming at her brother that she would rather die than abort their baby. The only other option had been to marry, so Wook had agreed… and oh how well he had chosen.

Soo's parents had been pleased that he was a lawyer, but they had been blunt in their dislike that he was just a lawyer. So they had poured money into him and raised him to where he was now. Wook knew that his current political standing and net worth were all due to his in-laws and wife.

"You may be married to my Soo, but you have yet to deserve her, boy," Hae Ha Jin had declared. "Work hard to become a man worthy of Soo- I'll provide the means necessary. You're a small-time lawyer, but she's the heiress to the Hae Group. You would do well to work to reach a status worthy of her."

And he had.

Wook remembered how happy he had been to please, breaking his back beneath the long hours and endless array of people he had to work for and with. But he had been in love. Wook knew that in his early thirties, the happiest part of his day had been going home and seeing his new wife and daughter. He would play with Mi after a hard day and forget that he had worked at all. He would kiss Soo and make love to her after dinner and they would fall asleep together, content in their little sphere of adoration.

His mother had once told him that raising children would be the hardest part of his life, but Soo's parents had seen to provide whatever their daughter needed in order to work while also being a mother. Nannies, maids, secretaries, and the like were all offered and completely paid for by his in-laws. Chae Ryung, a newly graduated woman with a degree in political science, had been the first member of their household staff.

At first, Wook had adamantly refused to have a staff in the house. For the first five months of their marriage, Soo had cooked and cleaned on her own, handling her pregnancy along with her work. But his resolve had cracked after she had given birth to Mi, their first and most darling creation thus far. Postpartum depression had hit his wife and incapacitated her, leaving Wook to care for their newborn while also juggling work and a wife who had emotionally left her body.

So he had relented and agreed to a staff in order to ease the burden on his shoulders. Now, Wook hardly noticed them. They had faded into the background, becoming the cogs of the clock that kept the house in motion.

There had been a period between Mi and Yoon that Wook remembered in parts. It had torn him and Soo beyond repair and she had left him, taking Mi with her. During that time, he had fallen off of his own path, doing things he knew were… regretful.

For an entire month, she had lived with Baek Ah until her mother had sent her back to either make amends or get a divorce.

Wook knew Yoon had been another accident. After Soo had returned home, they had made amends and decided to take their relationship slowly, building trust before anything else. Soo had slept in one of the guest rooms, moving her residence out of their bedroom and taking the one beside her office.

Their sexual relationship had progressed better than their actual romance, but there had always been protection and he had never released inside her after their split… until he had.

After a night of drinking with his coworkers, Wook had knelt in front of Soo and begged for her to forgive him. They had made love in the master bedroom- not fucked, but actually made love- for the first time since Soo had left and the product of their copulation had been Yoon.

Soo had moved back into their bedroom after finding out about her pregnancy and their relationship had mended. They loved each other again.

Of course, that had not stopped Wook from doing things he should not have done, but their marriage was stronger than ever. Of that he was sure. He loved his Soo and she loved him.

Wook looked at his wife with a blank expression and then turned to his toddler as she babbled about dogs. Yoon used her hands to eat the food before her, making a mess down the front of her clothes. Mi grudgingly shoved a piece of eggplant into her mouth, chewing as if the vegetable would poison her. Wook knew he loved his girls. No matter how messy or grumbly they were, they were his beautiful family. His perfect life. He loved the three people in front of him.

After dinner, he gave Yoon a bath, washing soup and rice out of her hair as Soo helped Mi with her homework downstairs. Sitting on the fuzzy toilet cover in Yoon's bathroom, Wook smiled down at his daughter and watched as she splashed around, playing with the toys in the water. Yoon reenacted scenes from princess movies with her plastic dinosaurs and mimicked noises with her mouth, toothily smiling at Wook when she inevitably drowned Princess Ankylosaurus. He smiled back and leaned down to retrieve the dead dinosaur from the bubbly water.

When bath time was over, Wook passed Yoon off to her mother and went to tuck Mi into bed. He complimented her new pajamas: a blue and white set that featured the image of some princess from some movie. "Uncle Baek Ah gave them to me," Mi said as Wook laid atop her bed, taking the spot beside her. She curled up beside him. "Daddy?"

"Hm?" Wook looked up at the pink canopy that hung over Mi's bed. Her mattress was harder than his and Soo's, but her blankets were softer. Wook had to admit that he was blinded by adoration for his daughters. He spoiled them because they were his little princesses, and the frivolous bed was an exhibit of his weakness to Mi.

"I want a baby brother," Mi said, holding his hand. Wook blinked at turned to look at his daughter as she yawned. "I want a baby brother and I want him to be littler than Yoon. Kim Ah Rong got two same-looking baby brothers a week after her birthday, but I only want one."

Nodding slowly, Wook smiled and chuckled, pulling the blankets higher over Mi's shoulders. His daughter was still at the age where siblings were like toys. He wished she would stay his little princess forever. "Daddy will talk to Mommy about it," he said with a smile and a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, princess."

"Night night."

Once his daughter was asleep, Wook stepped out of her bedroom and frowned, looking around the quiet hallway. He walked toward Yoon's room to check on his other daughter but paused when he heard singing.

Standing by the doorway, he watched as Soo laid beside Yoon on her bed, patting the toddler's chest and singing softly. "Butterfly, butterfly, come fly to me."

Wook remained by the door and watched his wife as she put their daughter to sleep. Soo sang and stroked Yoon's chest, gently lulling the hyper child into dreamland. He remembered when she had done the same for Mi.

When Soo stepped out of the bedroom, Wook put an arm around his wife and nudged his forehead against hers, inhaling slowly. Her perfume was too… sweet. "She asleep?"

"Mhmm." Soo smiled, placing her hand to his chest. "I'm going to wash up," she said, kissing his cheek. Wook accepted the gesture and released his wife, taking steps toward his office. He could hear the faint swish of her pants as she walked away.

Wook sat behind the large mahogany desk in his office and booted his computer up, all while looking at a framed picture of Mi holding a newborn Yoon. Scarcely older than Yoon was right now, Mi held her little sister and stared at the camera with wide eyes, unsure of what she was doing or what Yoon even was. Wook touched the picture and smiled before returning to his screen.

He sorted through legal documents and proceedings. There was legislation to edit, bills to read, and demands from constituents to look over. Wook glanced at the mound of overtime he had intentionally saddled himself with and sighed, putting his glasses on.

Ten minutes became thirty, and that bled into forty. As he worked, Wook made notes on the legal pad by his hand, making sure no edits were left out and writing his own opinions against the text.

As he shot down a second bill, Wook heard a soft knock on the door and looked up to see it opening.

Soo stepped into his office and Wook leaned back in his chair, watching as his wife closed the door behind her. "Hello," he said. She wore a silk robe that shimmered down to her knees and no slippers. Soo padded towards him with a smile.

"Are you working?" Her voice was soft and melodic.

Nodding, Wook put his reading on pause and watched as his wife approached, her hands against his shoulders. Soo leaned back and slowly undid the tie of her robe, letting the cream colored silk slip down her skin and revealing blue lingerie. A lacy bra clung to her rosy breasts and a matching pair of panties hugged her hips.

Soo pressed her knee to his chair and Wook wrapped an arm around her waist as she sat on his lap, straddling him.

She smelled nice without her perfume. Wook tilted his chin up to look at Soo as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "How about you take a break, then?" she asked, gently swaying her hips against his pants. He leaned his head to the side and felt his lips meet Soo's. He kissed his wife and watched as she pulled away and batted her eyelashes at him. Wook noticed up close that her lashes were long.

They kissed and Wook felt Soo moving his shirt up, her hand slowly working its way up his abdomen and chest. The white t-shirt was pulled over his head and Wook sat still as Soo's hands roamed his torso. They continued to kiss and she continued to sway her hips, but he felt no reaction stirring.

"I heard Mi saying she wanted a baby brother," Soo cooed against his lips. Wook opened his eyes and looked into hers, touching her breasts and trying to stimulate some form of reaction from himself. "Do you want to make another baby? Because I do."

His hands grasped her round breasts, her supple bottom, her small hips, and her soft thighs, pulling her closer until their stomachs met and Soo was directly over his still un-erect groin. Wook sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. "I can't get it up," he muttered. No matter how much he touched her or she touched him, there was no denying that Wook was as close to being aroused as he was to becoming one of Yoon's plastic dinosaurs.

Soo paused and Wook felt her sit back against his thighs, her hands retreating from his chest. There was no friction between them, no electricity. Wook looked at his wife as she gave him a peculiar expression- was she bewildered? Did she think there was something wrong with him? No, Wook knew nothing was wrong with him erection-wise.

He met the large wide eyes he had once fallen in love with and sighed. "I'm not going to have sex with you," he stated, too tired to mask his bluntness. "I don't feel aroused and I don't want to deal with this right now."

Soo looked hurt, but Wook could not care less. He loved her- he did not live to satisfy her. "If you don't want another baby, then just say so," she snapped. "I'm still on birth control and we can use a condom if you want."

Wook shook his head and averted his eyes from his wife's semi-naked body. "I just don't want to have sex and I don't want another baby," he muttered, rubbing a hand beneath his glasses. "Why are you so obsessed with having another one? We have two. We're done!" Wook pressed his fingers to his eyes as he felt Soo step off of his lap. Her weight lifted from his thighs and her feet thumped against the floor as she walked away. "Go to bed, Soo. I'll join you later."

He heard the office door open, then slam shut.

When Wook opened his eyes, he saw a silk robe in a puddle on the floor.

Wang So

She was an enigma, Hae Soo.

What mysteries surrounded her? What had occurred between herself and her husband? Why was she so lonely within a marriage that looked so perfect?

So let his thoughts wander as he walked back from the security building. It had become common for him to pick up where Wook's bodyguard slacked, making sure the security team was constantly working, grilling them to maintain order, and making sure the family was always safe.

He walked through the sparsely housed neighborhood, passing by massive villas and estates. Some houses had lights on. Others were asleep.

It was with a sense of bitterness that So realized that he had gotten used to the view of these seven- eight- even ten bedroom houses. Having only lived in one-bedroom flats his entire life, he suddenly found himself working and living inside a large house with people who served a family that- perhaps- ruled the country. It depended on exactly how much power and influence Wook had over the President.

So pulled his coat tighter around his shoulders and exhaled a white fog into the dark night. He could not wait to get back and go to bed. After a day of running between house and security building, he felt that a hot shower and a good night's sleep were well deserved.

Punching the code into the gate, So opened the smaller entrance to the house and entered its grounds, walking over green grass that crunched beneath his feet. He noticed frost forming on the edges of the front lawn and decided that it would snow soon.

When he reached the front door, So used his numb fingertips to tap in the new seven-pin code that would unlock it.

Exiting the frigid air, So rubbed his icy hands together as he took his shoes off and set them inside one of the stalls that lined the wall. He stepped into the house and quietly padded forward, ready to go to sleep.

His feet made soft thumps against the wood floors and before So could take three strides he heard a door slam shut. He stopped in his tracks, ready to run toward the children's bedrooms should an internal threat occur.

So listened for any sign of altercation or an imbalance in the serenity of the evening. When he heard footsteps, he scanned his general area for anything that might pose a threat or act as a weapon.

So looked up as the rushed footsteps grew louder, pounding down the stairs… and then they stopped. He met eyes with a semi-naked Hae Soo.

Whatever surprise So felt was masked by a rush of realization that hit him.

She was beautiful.

In only a lacy blue bra and panties, Soo stood by the staircase like a goddess from above. Her skin was pale, her legs slim, and her body almost bare. She stared at him with those wide eyes and So felt his mouth open and his body flush with heat.

Neither of them looked away and So had the feeling that neither of them wanted to. He froze in his place and blinked only when he could feel his body react to the vision before him. It almost looked as if Hae Soo herself was also blushing but from the dimness of the hallway, So could not tell.

He swallowed, hearing a dry click in the back of his throat. He asked no questions and sought no answers. In that moment, they were the only ones in that vast house.

Hae Soo averted her gaze after an entire minute and So watched as her hair fluttered as she walked away. She did not move to cover herself, but almost ran for the master bedroom.

As she left, So realized that he had been standing in the foyer for too long. His legs unfroze and his body felt like a molten mess.

Rushing for the servants' quarters, So held a hand over his mouth to contain his raging blush. He slammed into his bedroom and shut the door before leaning against it and trying to think about anything other than how utterly stunning Hae Soo was.

He closed his eyes and he saw her. The lacy panties that held onto her skin, the bra that was just two triangles tied with ribbon. She had looked so enticing, so gut-wrenchingly beautiful.

So opened his eyes and pulled at his pants, trying to ease the strain of his slacks against his erection. Panting, he groaned when his hand swiped his length through his clothing, sending a jolt of electricity throughout his body.

Standing up, So went about his nightly actions with his teeth gritted. His groin ached and his thoughts continuously travelled toward Hae Soo no matter how much he tried not to.

I wonder how soft her skin is, he thought. So removed his clothes and neatly hung them inside his closet. He looked down at his erection, biting the inside of his cheek. "I'm not jacking off to my employer," he muttered. The words sounded hollow and meaningless.

Forgoing underwear, So pulled a pair of sweatpants on and tossed himself onto his bed, feeling the mattress bounce at the impact. So exhaled at the image of Hae Soo by the staircase. Her hair gently curling toward her milky throat… her manicured nails… So imagined her nails raking down his back- something that did nothing to help his erection subside.

Falling to his need, So gave in with a groan. His hand reached down toward the bulge in his pants, lowering the waistband of his sweats until his erection was freed from beneath its trappings. He took his length in hand and ran his fingers down it, hissing at the contact.

Up and down. He stroked himself as images of Hae Soo pervaded his mind. Groaning, So felt precum leaking from the head of his member and wetting his fingertips. His hand was no replacement for an actual woman but he continued, exhaling as his eyelids fluttered.

He imagined her hands on him, running down his chest and carding through his hair. She kissed him, her plump lips meeting his, her wide eyes smiling. Sighing, So found what little pleasure he could, moaning as he thought of tearing those skimpy pieces of crochet off of Hae Soo.

When he came, So's head tilted back and his body grew tense as he released onto his hand and stomach. Breathing deeply, he slowed his hand, stroking himself until he was spent.

Leaning back against his pillows, So opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. A niggling sense of unfulfillment gnawed at him as he felt his semen drip from his hand and onto his body.

"Fuck," he muttered.

So reached for the tissues he kept beside the bed and cleaned himself off before closing his eyes again and wondering how one woman in lingerie had managed to bring such a reaction from him- he who had once spent an entire month in the basement of a brothel, waiting to catch a single man. During that time, So had seen more than he had ever wanted to see and yet, he had never felt as flushed or breathless as he did when he saw Hae Soo in something with more coverage than what the callgirls wore.

After all, she was Hae Soo. She was completely different from any woman he had ever met.