At that moment, Jae-sung, the director and Seol-hee’s uncle, entered the dinner gathering. He was a bit late due to other matters.
“Ah, everyone’s been waiting. How long has it been since our last dinner together? Three months?”
Suddenly, Seol-hee let out the breath she had been holding.
Saved.
Her uncle’s arrival rescued her from the intense stares of Teacher Ok and Teacher Choi, who seemed amused by Seol-hee’s situation. Unaware of her plight, Jae-sung began to speak.
“Today’s dinner has a special announcement. Ahem.”
What could it be? It was the first time she heard about an announcement today.
“Our vice-director, Teacher Choi, who has been with us for a long time, will be leaving the hospital next month unexpectedly.”
Everyone was shocked at the director’s words.
Why so suddenly?
Teacher Choi had been a veteran veterinarian at Dolmare Animal Hospital for almost 10 years.
Teacher Choi awkwardly raised her glass. Unlike others, her glass was filled with cider, not beer.
Could it be? She had only been married for a year.
Seol-hee also looked at Teacher Choi sitting next to her. Teacher Choi smiled back at her.
“Actually, I’m five months pregnant.”
“Oh my, congratulations, Teacher Choi!”
Teacher Choi continued with a gentle smile.
“I could have told you earlier, but considering my age… I wanted to wait until things were stable. I had to inform the director earlier, as he needed to find a replacement.”
“That’s great news, congratulations.”
“It’s sad that you won’t be here, but it’s really good news.”
The room filled with congratulations, and her uncle, looking pleased, spoke again.
“So, before Teacher Choi leaves next month, we will have a new veterinarian joining us. Please welcome them warmly.”
“Who’s joining us?”
At the manager’s question, Teacher Choi smiled and looked at Eun-woo.
“I heard Teacher Ok knows them. Choi I-hyun, right? They were in the same lab as Teacher Ok. A junior by a year.”
Teacher Ok frowned at the mention of Choi I-hyun.
“Choi I-hyun?”
“Yeah, don’t you remember? A junior to you.”
Eun-woo lifted his beer glass and took a sip, his expression slightly unsettled. He wiped the foam on his lips and replied curtly.
“I know them.”
“Not on good terms?”
“What’s there to be bad about? Just a junior.”
Despite saying so, Eun-woo’s expression seemed subtly distorted, indicating a somewhat awkward relationship. Seol-hee sighed at the sight of Teacher Ok.
The peace at Dolmare Animal Hospital was largely due to Teacher Choi.
Her calm and gentle nature often soothed Teacher Ok, who could be a bit sharp. Now with a veterinarian coming who didn’t get along with Teacher Ok, Seol-hee felt a headache coming on.
What will happen now?
As they talked, her uncle, who was chatting at a distance, walked towards Seol-hee.
“Seol-hee, you’re doing well, right?”
“Huh?”
Though her uncle rarely appeared at the hospital, he was still the director.
“I’m doing well,” Seol-hee wanted to say, but couldn’t with Teacher Ok, who had seen her cause trouble every day, glaring sharply right beside her.
“I… I’m trying to do well.”
Seol-hee’s words made her uncle laugh heartily.
What’s so funny?
“Seol-hee, you need to work hard. Don’t just focus on dating all the time. That’s not why you joined the animal hospital.”
Surprised by her uncle’s unexpected remark, Seol-hee looked at him with wide eyes.
“Dating?”
She whispered, clenching her teeth, worried others might hear.
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
“Ah, what misunderstanding. Everyone knows. I know everything.”
Everyone in the room held their breath and looked at Seol-hee.
I want to die. Already many had suspected something between Eun-woo and Seol-hee, and today the atmosphere felt strangely charged.
Unaware or ignoring Seol-hee’s horrified state, her uncle continued.
“It’s good, though. Teacher Ok can take over the hospital’s responsibilities. It’s about time for me to retire and hand it over to my future son-in-law.”
The word ‘son-in-law’ made Seol-hee feel like she was suffocating.
It was like a bombshell. Seol-hee grabbed her uncle’s sleeve with her hand.
Please stop… Uncle… I’m dying of embarrassment.
But she was too shocked to speak.
Always cheerful and positive, Seol-hee wondered if her loud and famous mother really was siblings with her uncle, and at an unexpected place, she found a resemblance between them.
“Uh…”
A bizarre sound came from Seol-hee’s mouth, and others chuckled, finding the situation with Seol-hee and Teacher Ok amusing, but he shook his head.
“I refuse.”
His refusal was so firm that it froze the atmosphere.
The director’s joke had lightened the mood, but Teacher Ok’s serious statement made the room go silent. Everyone, even those drinking at the far end, turned to look. Eun-woo, however, stood his ground, speaking calmly.
“I don’t want that.”
Don’t want what? Why not? What don’t you want?
The ambiguity of ‘that’ sobered Seol-hee up, even though she hadn’t drunk much.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
