TWENTY FOUR

Yujin twirled her body in front of the mirror while looking at herself who looked elegant in a black dress. A few meters behind her, Jinwoo was busy tidying up his appearance and putting on the black tie with silver stripes that Yujin had chosen for him.

"Let me put it in."

Yujin took over Jinwoo's tie and began to tie it neatly around Jinwoo's neck.

"Put on your coat, it's very cold outside."

Jinwoo glanced at Yujin's open dress and told Yujin to put on his coat. The woman immediately patted her forehead while grinning a little at Jinwoo.

"I forgot to bring my black coat."

Suddenly Jinwoo slung his black coat over Yujin's shoulders and walked out of the room.

Yujin who saw Jinwoo's sweet behavior immediately smiled happily while kissing Jinwoo's coat which gave off a distinctive masculine scent. She really had to record this moment in her brain because Jinwoo's sweet-looking attitude tonight would be the most beautiful memory of her life.

Yujin stepped carefully into the car with the help of one of Jinwoo's men. He swiftly held the car door for Yujin and closed the car door after Yujin was really sitting comfortably in the car. Yujin then lowered the windshield slightly and thanked the young soldiers.

"They turned out to be very nice and friendly." Yujin commented when their car had driven away from the spacious Jinwoo residence.

Jinwoo who heard the comment just kept his lips tightly shut without the slightest intention of replying to Yujin's comment. But this time it seemed that Yujin really wanted to talk to him, so the woman kept talking about various things that made him couldn't help but open his lips to just obey Yujin's wishes.

"Aren't you tired of talking like that?"

"Huh? No, I'm not tired at all. This is fun. Come on General Lee, aren't you tired of being cold like that? Sometimes be warmer and kinder to other people."

"I can not." Jinwoo answered quickly. Yujin sighed softly next to him and again invited Jinwoo to speak.

"How about Sojung? Is she ok?"

She wanted to ask Jinwoo about Kim Nara, but would start through Sojung.

"Good."

"Is it true? Do you often contact her?"

"Not. But she seems fine because she doesn't contact me if she has a problem."

"Oh.." Yujin mumbled a little. Her brain tried to string the next words to break the silence between them.

"Then what about Kim Nara? Sojung told me that she has a friend who has been away from the orphanage for a long time. Do you also see her often, general?"

"Not. We never met." Jinwoo replied coldly.

Yujin looked disappointed and also hurt by Jinwoo's answer. Obviously the man saved Nara's photo on his cell phone and put it in a special folder. After all, the date in the photo can't be deceiving if Jinwoo had recently met Nara or maybe the man asked a spy to keep an eye on the woman named Kim Nara.

"What did Sojung tell you?"

Yujin turned her head to the left, trying to hide the disappointment in her heart by looking at her husband with a cheerful face.

"Not much. Just your past and the tragedy of Cho Jeno's passing. Sojung told me that she was very sorry for causing Cho Jeno harm and death."

"It was purely an accident. Nara should think maturely and not solely blame Sojung." Jinwoo explained.

Don't know what Jinwoo meant by explaining this to Yujin, who clearly had nothing to do with the incident. But suddenly the man wanted to explain it to Yujin.

"Are you sure you never met Kim Nara? Maybe you want to try to make the relationship between Nara and Sojung improve."

"Not. Why should I care about them and why do you seem to force me to meet Nara? What exactly are you hiding from me?" Jinwoo asked probingly.

Instantly Yujin became panicked and nervous. She did not expect that Jinwoo would immediately release her emotions after she urged her with questions about Kim Nara. The man should not know if she had been presumptuous of flipping through his cell phone to get information about Nara.

"I'm not hiding anything. It's all because I feel sorry for Sojung. She looks very sorry for her behavior in the past and is eager to improve her relationship with Kim Nara. And I think you can help Sojung since you're the only one they're related to." Yujin said breathlessly.

She really had to think hard to make up all the answers to make them sound reasonable in Jinwoo's ears.

"Their business is none of my business. I have my own business which is far more important than taking care of their silly bickering." Jinwoo replied coldly.

Yujin finally chose to remain silent and did not continue her efforts to extract information about Nara. Seeing Jinwoo who looked emotional like that scared her. She must be able to reduce every quarrel that almost occurred between them because she was determined to survive with her marriage.

-00-

Yujin walked gracefully with Jinwoo into minister Hong's residence. The red carpet that stretched along the entrance to the middle of the hall became a special path for Yujin and also Jinwoo who was currently the center of attention. Since they got married, they haven't been seen attending any events together. So their arrival tonight is the moment Korean officials have been waiting for, who are quite surprised by their proud general's wedding.

"Good night." greeted Yujin kindly to Mrs. Hong, the owner of the event. Yujin let go of her hand on Jinwoo's arm and hugged Mrs. Hong warmly. The middle-aged woman smiled gently at Yujin and thanked Yujin for being willing to attend the dinner held by the Hong family.

"Sorry Mrs. Hong, we'll excuse ourselves for a moment to greet the other guests."

"Oh, of course. Hope you like our dish."

Yujin nodded her head slowly and immediately left with Jinwoo. The two of them then separated because Yujin wanted to meet her father. Meanwhile, Jinwoo reasoned that he wanted to greet the senior generals who happened to also be present at the dinner, when in fact he was avoiding his father-in-law because their conversation that night still left annoyance in Jinwoo's heart.

"Father.."

Yujin hugs Mr. Im tightly while looking at her father's face intently to make sure her father is okay. Since she married she has not seen her father again because they are both busy. Mr. Im who has to finish his work and Yujin who must always be ready to serve Jinwoo at home. So far, they only occasionally talk on the phone to treat each other's longing. However, so far they have only lived alone without any other family, so that the bond between them is stronger.

"How are you kid? Are you happy?" asked Mr. Im warmly. Yujin nodded her head lightly with a happy smile plastered on her face.

"I'm so happy father. You look thinner, aren't you eating well?"

She looked at his father's face with a sad feeling because she could no longer pay attention to her father like she used to. All her time is now only to serve Lee Jinwoo because she wants to change Jinwoo's previously gloomy life to be more colorful. And to make it happen she had to work harder at the beginning of her domestic life. At least she wanted Jinwoo to know that her love for the man was real and not just a mere word of mouth.

"I just been a little busy lately. Where is Jinwoo, I didn't see him with you?"

"Ah, general Lee is greeting the senior generals. I'll look for him father." Yujin said feeling bad.

Jinwoo should have greeted his father-in-law first before deciding to greet the senior generals. Yujin immediately went to look for Jinwoo. She circled the hall, occasionally greeting familiar guests.

"Where are you General Lee?" Yujin muttered angrily. She had circled the hall here and there, but she couldn't find Jinwoo anywhere at all. Tired, she finally decided to sit in one of the empty chairs while staring blankly at the invited guests who looked so happy.

Suddenly the corner of her eye saw a familiar woman. Yujin's eyes continued to follow where the woman was going until her eyes stopped at the interaction between the woman and a man she knew very well. Lee Jinwoo. The two of them then walked out of the hall with gestures that were suspicious enough for Yujin to make her decide to follow them.

You lied general! You lie!