A Forest flowing with Milk and Honey - Chapter 5.5

“Do you have something on your mind?” he asked, noticing her distracted look.

“What size ring do you wear?”

“Ring?”

“I want to get us couple rings. I thought it’d be a nice surprise, but I need to know your size first.”

Tao cleared his throat softly and took a gulp of his cold water.

“Today’s the eighth day,” Wulin said with a soft, hopeful smile, “How about we get couple rings to celebrate on the tenth?”

Her clear, innocent eyes belied the deeper meaning behind her words. They had shared intimacy, kissed, and touched. In her mind, that made their relationship official.

Tao looked at her, and despite having spent half the day together in bed, a familiar tightness built up in his chest. He opened his mouth slowly, choosing his words carefully.
“I’ve never really bought a ring before,” he admitted. “Let’s go pick one together.”

“Okay!” Wulin replied, a broad smile spreading across her face as she eagerly pulled out her phone to search for couple rings. A pair of shining rings filled the screen.

It was 5:46 a.m. after they had fallen asleep early in the evening. Wulin woke up and glanced around the dimly lit room.

The door to the living room was slightly ajar, allowing a bright light to filter in, contrasting with the darkness of the bedroom, which was shielded by blackout curtains. Wulin yawned as she walked toward the light.

From the living room, she could hear Tao’s steady, authoritative voice, tinged with a hint of impatience.

“How long has it been since we secured the tender? I’ve mentioned several times that Elparo needs to position itself as a top-tier, luxury brand. We’ve only got three hours until the morning article is released. Have you rechecked the IoT system issues?”

The rhythmic tapping of the keyboard and the clicking of the mouse echoed through the room, matching Tao’s focused intensity.

Wulin stood quietly by the door, careful not to interrupt, listening to the efficient pace of his work.

Tae-oh had quietly taken out his laptop at some point and was now on the phone with someone—likely an unfortunate employee receiving instructions from a superior since early dawn. His mouse clicked as he swiftly flipped through the PowerPoint slides, his eyes cold and focused. Not wanting to disturb him, Wulin gently closed the door.

The cool marble floor felt refreshing under her feet. Wulin grabbed some juice and coffee and stepped out onto the terrace overlooking the ocean. The sound of the waves and the wind felt like music. The sky and sea were bathed in pink as the sunrise began to unfold.

The sun peeked over the horizon where the sky met the water, casting a glowing path of sunlight over the waves and brightening the sky even further. The sea breeze swept Wulin’s hair back.
The flower-shaped birthmark on the nape of her neck shimmered in the soft dawn light.

“……”

Feeling slightly dizzy, Wulin found herself leaning forward. The sparkling water seemed to pull her in, as if beckoning her to dive into the cool ocean. It felt like it would be as comforting and blissful as returning to the safety of her mother’s womb. She wanted to feel the ocean more deeply.

Then, she thought she heard the sound of a child’s laughter in the distance.

“What are you doing? That’s dangerous.”

Without making a sound, Tae-oh approached and pulled Wulin back from the terrace railing where she had been leaning out.

Wulin, unaware of any danger, smiled softly and leaned into him.

“The ocean is so beautiful. The waves are calm—perfect for learning how to surf. Have you ever tried surfing?”

“For a bit when I was in the States.”

“You’re such a great swimmer, too. Next time, show me your ocean swimming skills.”

But today wasn’t the day for that. It was Monday, and Tae-oh had a busy schedule.

“Time to head back to Seoul?”

“Yeah, we should get going.”

Tae-oh pressed a soft kiss to the nape of Wulin’s neck, his voice warm and unhurried, though the thought of morning traffic on the commute made it clear they needed to leave soon.
“Let’s do our best on this Monday,” Wulin said, handing him the coffee she had prepared earlier and giving him a small, determined fist pump. Tae-oh smiled slightly as he sipped the now slightly cooled coffee.

Back at home, Wulin’s phone buzzed. It was a call from Choi Ju-hyeok, a classmate in the dance department at Korea University and the class president.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Wulin. How have you been? It’s been a while.”

Though they had worked on a group project together, Wulin and Ju-hyeok weren’t particularly close. After exchanging a few slightly awkward pleasantries, Ju-hyeok got to the point.

“I’m calling because of the lockers in the department office. The location’s changed, and we need to empty everything out. Do you have anything in there you need to collect?”

Wulin thought for a moment, trying to remember what she had left in the locker.
She recalled leaving behind some books and workout clothes.

“Oh… I’ll stop by and pick my things up today.”
Getting out of bed, Wulin stretched.
She felt rested and refreshed, but realized she had been too lazy for too long.

Stretching had been part of her routine since childhood, so her body hadn’t stiffened up, but it had been ages since she had done any proper practice.

As soon as she stepped out the front door, a bodyguard followed.

“Where are you headed?”

“I’m going to school.”

Although no one stopped her from driving herself to school, the black foreign car from the security team trailed behind her.
When she arrived at the school parking lot, Wulin parked her car neatly and headed toward the department office.

“Don’t you know? That Baek Woorim girl, aside from her grandfather, has no other family. They’re all dead. There’s been a lot of talk about the succession plan not being set, and now there’s talk of some young executive becoming the next chairman,” one of them said.

“How do you know all that?” someone else asked.
“It’s the era of financial investments, you know,” the first person replied smugly.
“Or maybe you’re just really interested in Baek Woorim,” another joked.

“Yeah, fair point. It’s crazy to have a third-generation chaebol in our department,” someone added.
“Ugh, I’m so jealous… How rich do you think Baek Woorim is? I heard she was listed in the top stockholders as a minor even back in elementary school.”

“So what? Her life must be exhausting. Didn’t she take a leave from school because of stalkers and all that drama?”

“She’s got money; what does she have to be tired about? Even the professors cater to her. Honestly, it’s not like she’s super talented—it’s just her money and looks.”

This kind of gossip had become all too familiar to Woorim. She wasn’t surprised, nor did she think these same people hadn’t been friendly to her face.

But no matter how many times it happened, the disappointment and hurt still stung. It was something she never fully got used to.

Feeling a bitter taste rise in her throat, Woorim pushed the slightly ajar door fully open.
“Hey,” she greeted them, smiling as if nothing was wrong, pretending to be nonchalant and cool. When she was younger, she might have run away in tears, but now, she found that even more unpleasant.

Did they hear? Woorim wondered, seeing the guilty, wide-eyed stares from the people who had just been gossiping about her.

“Uh, hey… Woorim,” one of them stammered.
“Long time no see! How’ve you been?” another tried to sound casual, as if nothing had happened.

“Wow, look at how clear and glowing your skin is, Woorim. You look even prettier after the break!” someone chimed in, trying to steer the conversation.

As soon as one person broke the ice, everyone joined in, talking over each other as though they hadn’t just been gossiping about her behind her back. Woorim played along, acting as though she hadn’t heard any of it, and opened her locker to collect her things.

“By the way, Woorim, do you have a boyfriend?” one of them asked.

“Yeah, we saw your profile picture change!”

As Woorim finished gathering her things, her classmates excitedly showed her their phones, pointing to her profile picture update. It was a photo of Tae-oh taken in a sunflower field, and the background was decorated with hearts floating around.

The little hearts blinked adorably on the screen.
“Yeah, I have a boyfriend,” Woorim admitted, feeling a bit shy despite the situation.

That morning, Woorim had changed her profile picture, and Tae-oh had followed suit by changing his own to a photo of her.

He even added the same message, joining in on the cheesy display of affection. Tae-oh had always kept a basic profile picture, so Woorim was surprised—and a little flustered—that he’d participated. She couldn’t help but check his profile every now and then, her cheeks blushing each time.

“Woorim, your boyfriend is really good-looking. He’s super tall too, right? He looks like a model.”

“Why aren’t you on Instagram? You’d get a ton of followers in no time. There are plenty of chaebol influencers these days.”

“Yeah, I mean, if someone’s going to date Woorim, they’ve got to be at that level.”
“So, what does your boyfriend do?”
Woorim smiled to herself at the idea of Tae-oh being an Instagram model. It was amusing because if they actually met him, they probably wouldn’t think of him that way at all.

“He’s an executive,” she replied.

“He looks so young to be an executive already! Is it a startup or something?” one of them asked.
“It’s not a startup. Didn’t Yujin just say earlier? That young executive rumored to be the next chairman—that’s my boyfriend.”

Her classmates’ faces turned stiff as they realized Woorim had overheard their earlier conversation.

“Well, I should get going now,” Woorim said softly, smiling as she left the room. She felt oddly refreshed.

Once in her car, she turned off the notifications from the class group chat, which was now filled with messages apologizing for the gossip. None of the apologies felt sincere.

Her phone vibrated again, this time displaying the caller ID: “Tae-oh Oppa♡.”

You went to school?

“Are you getting reports on everything I do now?” Woorim teased.

That’s my job.

“And why is that your job, exactly?”

Woorim chuckled softly. She understood Tae-oh’s way of speaking. He wasn’t asking out of obligation—he genuinely cared, though he had his own way of showing it. She knew he was just worried and checking in on her.

If you have any complaints, let me know.

His voice sounded a bit gruff, as if pretending he wouldn’t listen even if she had a complaint. Woorim lowered her voice and whispered into the phone.

“I miss you.”
…
She heard him take a deep breath over the phone. He was always so calm and collected, yet when it came to moments like these, his sudden silence made him adorably flustered. Woorim smiled, imagining what his expression might look like at that moment. She wanted to see him.

“I miss you, Tae-oh…” she repeated softly.
It was lunch time. No matter how busy he was, Tae-oh still needed to eat, right? Surely they could meet, even for a short time.

“When are you having lunch? Can I join you?”
Woorim.

“Yes?”
Drive safely on your way here.
The way he whispered those words so gently sent a thrill through her. Woorim leaned back in the driver’s seat, smiling to herself as she responded quietly.
“I’ll be there soon, Tae-oh.”

It wasn’t that Woorim disliked how Tae-oh always checked on her, asking if everything was okay, if anything unusual had happened. His concern warmed her heart.

“If you have any complaints, just tell me.”

His tone was blunt, as if suggesting he wouldn’t accommodate any complaints even if she had them. But Woorim knew better. She pressed her lips to the phone and whispered softly, “I miss you.”
There was a pause, the sound of his breath just barely audible through the receiver. His hesitation was so endearing—confident and controlled in most things, but adorably flustered in moments like this. Woorim could imagine the look on his face right now and found herself smiling. She wanted to see him even more.
“I miss you, Tae-oh…” she repeated, almost teasingly.

It was lunch time, after all. No matter how busy he was, surely he had to eat, right? Maybe they could sneak in some time together, even if just for a short while.

“When are you having lunch? Want to have it with me?”

“Woorim.”

“Yes?”

“Drive safely on your way here.”

The low whisper of his voice sent a thrilling tingle through her, and Woorim melted a little at the sound. She snuggled into the driver’s seat, her voice quiet but full of excitement.
“I’ll be there soon, Tae-oh.”

Woorim’s bodyguards followed her at a distance, but they didn’t accompany her into the elevator. The VIP elevator ascended smoothly without any interruptions.

“Why am I so nervous?” she muttered to herself. It wasn’t her first time visiting the company, but it was her first time coming as his girlfriend, and that was a completely different feeling. She glanced at her reflection, applying a bit of lipstick as her cheeks flushed.
Ding!

As the elevator doors began to open, she walked towards them only to be startled by a large figure waiting on the other side.

“Ahh!” she gasped.

“What are you so jumpy for?” Tae-oh asked, calm as ever. He stepped into the elevator with her, pressing the button for the lower floor. The numbers began to descend.

“Uh, where are we going?”

“To get lunch. And we should hurry if we want to pick out rings too.”

Ah, the rings! How could she forget?

“I’ve got a design in mind. Want to see? If we choose now, it won’t take long to get them made.”

“You’re thinking about a pre-made design?” he asked.

“Are you suggesting we get custom-made ones?”
“Whatever you want.”

A unique, one-of-a-kind ring would be nice, but for their first couple item, a ready-made one would do just fine. The fact that they could get it quickly was a big advantage. Woorim was eager to slip the ring onto Tae-oh’s finger as soon as possible.

“We’ll save the custom rings for when we get married,” she said with a smile.
Ding!

The elevator doors opened on the third basement level.

Woorim stepped out quickly, and Tae-oh, still a bit lost in thought, hurried to catch up with her.