One humid afternoon, Kook’s control finally snapped. He’d just returned early from a tense board meeting, stepping into the cool, quiet foyer. From the adjoining sunroom came Tae’s unmistakable laugh – low, throaty, and teasing. He strode towards the sound.

She was perched on the edge of a chaise lounge, Ggukie asleep in a bassinet beside her. She was leaning forward, talking to the gardener again – the same one from before. Kook saw red. Her thinp white tank top was damp with sweat at the neckline, clinging transparently. Her shorts were impossibly short. The gardener looked utterly captivated, leaning in toward her.

Kook moved like lightning. "Get out," he snarled, his voice dangerously low, cracking like a whip. The gardener jumped, stammering apologies, and fled. Tae barely blinked. She picked up a magazine, flipping through it casually as if nothing had happened. The sheer insolence of her calmness detonated the last shred of his restraint.

In two strides, he was upon her. His hand shot out, grabbing her bare upper arm. His grip was iron-hard, bruising. He hauled her roughly to her feet, knocking the magazine to the floor. Her scent – floral, warm skin, baby powder – assaulted him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he growled, his face inches from hers, his breath hot and ragged. His eyes blazed with fury, searching hers for any flicker of reaction.

Tae didn't struggle. She tilted her head back, meeting his furious gaze squarely. A slow, deliberate smile curved her pink lips. She shrugged one bare shoulder indolently within his punishing grip. "My job," she replied, her voice utterly devoid of fear or concern, cool as ice. "Taking care of Ggukie. Why? Does it bother you?" Her gaze dropped pointedly, lingering on his clenched fist holding her arm, then flicked back up to his face, challenging, mocking. The fire in her own eyes was glacial.

Kook shook her slightly, rattling her teeth. "Don't play stupid! Flirting, dressing like that… parading yourself! In my house!" His voice rose, echoing off the marble.

Tae laughed, a sharp, brittle sound devoid of humor. "So?" she sneered, her voice dripping contempt. She leaned in closer, her lips almost brushing his ear. Her whisper was venomous silk. "You lost the right to tell me what to wear or who to talk to when you chose her. Remember?" She spat the words like poison.

Her eyes narrowed, gleaming with triumph. "Does it burn, Kook? Seeing me touch other men? Knowing they look? Knowing they want?" Her voice dropped lower, thick with taunting promise. "Do you lie awake at night wondering what else I do?"

Kook recoiled as if physically struck, his grip slackening slightly. A muscle jumped violently in his jaw. "You think this is a game?" he hissed, his voice trembling with barely leashed fury. "Using Ggukie? Using me? This… this cheap show?"

Tae ripped her arm free, stepping back. She smoothed her tank top with deliberate slowness, her eyes never leaving his. "Cheap?" Her laugh was harsh now. "You want ‘cheap’, Kook? Look at your wife. She traded your name for her daddy’s money. She traded your son for her Pilates classes." She gestured dismissively towards the sleeping baby.

Tae stepped forward again, invading his space. Her finger jabbed sharply into his chest. Her face was inches from his, flushed with fury, her eyes blazing. "*I* fought! I loved you!" Her voice cracked, raw with sudden, unexpected emotion that ripped through her icy facade.

Tears suddenly welled, spilling hot and fast down her cheeks, mingling with the defiance. "I loved you with nothing! And you threw me away! For what? For this?" She gestured wildly around the sterile opulence. "This cold tomb?" Her breath hitched. "So don't you dare talk to me about ‘cheap’!"

She spun away, trembling, wiping furiously at her tears with the back of her hand. The sudden vulnerability shocked him more than her anger had. Ggukie stirred in his bassinet, whimpering softly at the raised voices. Tae instantly turned towards the sound, her posture softening, her harsh mask slamming back into place as quickly as it had shattered. She walked towards the baby, her bare feet silent on the floor, leaving Kook standing frozen, hollowed out by her venomous truth.