Han took his wife to another hotel room.
Cha-yeon:
"How do you explain a baby that doesn't exist?"
Temu:
"We say nothing. Just look them in the eyes and keep walking."
Cha-yeon (bitter laugh):
"You think I can walk with all these aunts staring at my stomach like I'm a walking cradle?"
Temu:
"You're not alone in this."
She glances at him.
After a long pause, he mutters:
Cha-yeon:
"Yeah. You're the silent, well-dressed co-parent of my imaginary child."
Icy:
"And don't forget about unsolicited advice."
Temu:
"…I'll call the PR team. You call your mother"
Four years later.
The sun is shining and Cha-yeon didn't get enough sleep.
Han Temu was not in the room again.
Icy:
"Apparently he's gone back to work"
Cha-yeon:
"Maybe"
She orders breakfast in the room and watches TV.
...
The TV in the hotel room was still on — a bright, buzzing voice filled the space, echoing over the silence.
Cha-yeon had barely paid attention. She was drying her hair, half-lost in thought, until she heard it:
"And now, for today's hottest celebrity news — is Lim Cha-yeon, the newlywed wife of chaebol heir Han Temu… already three months pregnant?!"
Her hand froze.
Her face appeared on the TV.
A still image — grainy, zoomed-in, and utterly humiliating. She was stepping out of a black car, holding her stomach. Just slightly.
But the show had other ideas.
"Sources say Miss Lim recently visited a private OB-GYN clinic in Gangnam. Take a closer look at this footage — notice how she repeatedly touches her lower abdomen."
There was a big red circle drawn around her hand. Another clip followed — from an event where she had nearly stumbled, and Temu had instinctively caught her.
"Some say she looked pale, even dizzy — common signs of early pregnancy!"
On the bottom of the screen, bold yellow letters flashed:
SECRET BABY?
Rushed Wedding Now Makes Sense?
Cha-yeon's chest tightened. She reached for the remote, but her fingers trembled. The TV kept going.
"While the Han family has declined to comment, fans are speculating: was this marriage a cover-up?"
Now came the worst part — scrolling social media comments.
"So that's why he married her so fast."
"She really knew how to trap him."
"Classic gold digger move."
She finally turned the TV off.
The silence returned, sharp and heavy.
Cha-yeon sat on the edge of the bed, her hands still shaking. Her name, her face — everything had been twisted into a tabloid joke.
She felt sick.
It wasn't just a lie. It was a weapon.
And now the entire country believed it.
The TV was off, but the headlines still echoed in Cha-yeon's mind like a taunt she couldn't silence.
Her phone buzzed violently on the nightstand.
엄마 (Mom).
Of course.
She swallowed hard and picked up.
"Where are you?"
Her mother's voice came through, tight and sharp. Not angry. Concerned. But intense.
Cha-yeon:
"At the hotel"
Mom:
"Why are your private matters with your husband public entertainment now?"
Her mother didn't yell — she never did — but the weight of her disapproval was heavier than shouting.
Icy:
"Mom, it's not—"
Mom:
"Is it true? Are you pregnant? Did something happen and you didn't tell us?"
Cha-yeon:
"No, I'm not pregnant. That's just something the media made up—"
"Ya." That one word silenced her.
Mom:
"Do you think they print things like that without reason? You're his wife now. There's no such thing as coincidence when you marry into that kind of family."
Cha-yeon:
"I swear, I haven't even been to a doctor—"
Mom:
"Then why do they have photos of you holding your stomach?"
Her mother's voice was getting faster, breath shorter. "Why is the whole country talking about it before I even heard it from you?"
Cha-yeon pressed her lips together. Her mother was worried — not because she believed the rumors, but because she believed the world would believe them. And once they did, truth stopped mattering.
"I'm on your side, always,"
her mom finally said.
"But this isn't something you can ignore. Even if it's a lie, you need to do something. Before they decide who you are for you."
Silence again.
"I'm not angry," her mother added, softer now.
"Just… don't let this ruin you."
The call ended before Cha-yeon could say thank you