Kang Woo got into his car.
At 4 PM, picking up Se Ah to go to the restaurant seemed just right for dinner time.
After starting the car and holding the steering wheel, he muttered to himself about feeling overwhelmed. He loosened his tie knot and lightly pressed below his sternum, feeling a slight pain.
His mind was occupied with business and Se Ah, and he was inherently sensitive. Both his parents were sharp, so it was no surprise he inherited those traits.
Despite being numb to emotions, his senses – sight, hearing, smell – were exceptionally keen. This innate sensitivity had helped him quickly grow his business, but it also brought severe fatigue. Thus, he deliberately maintained a stoic and cold demeanor.
He thought to himself, “If I were endlessly soft like Se Ah, I wouldn’t have survived long.”
Suddenly, Se Ah’s face flashed in his mind, along with the memory of a recent rejection. He realized that a polite refusal could sometimes hurt more than harsh words.
He had bravely said he would take all the punishment at once, and now it seemed to be a hefty price.
Although Se Ah hadn’t fully opened her heart to him, he knew he had to keep pushing forward.
He remembered Se Ah intently looking at her birthday on the calendar that morning. He decided to make that day D-day, the day she would become his wife in every official sense.
“If Se Ah gets pregnant, that day might come sooner,” he thought, feeling his body react to the sudden thought.
Se Ah received a call from Kang Woo, saying he was on his way.
He had also messaged her earlier about his whereabouts.
She thought he was indifferent, but he turned out to have a sensitive side, especially regarding Min Young.
Opening her wardrobe, she rummaged through her coats to choose what to wear. Although she wasn’t particularly interested in clothes, she briefly felt she had nothing suitable to wear.
“I want to look pretty for him,” she thought and finally selected a light grey fur coat, tying the brown belt at the waist.
Looking in the mirror, she noticed her lipstick had faded. She reapplied her pinkish-red lipstick carefully and then went to the living room.
She sat on the sofa waiting for Kang Woo and picked up a calendar. She had discreetly marked her expected menstrual cycle dates.
Ironically, even during their cold war, she had continued using contraception, knowing how powerless she was against him.
At one point, she had considered defying Nam Tae and keeping a child. She thought she would need it to survive after leaving him.
It was a desperate dream for her – to have Kang Woo’s child, her only family.
But she easily gave up the idea, unsure how to explain it to her child later.
During her lonely life, she often felt deep emptiness and pain. She couldn’t bear the thought of her child experiencing similar agony.
Once, while playing with children at the orphanage, Kang Woo casually mentioned, “I think I could be a decent dad, don’t you think?”
Though it might have been a passing remark, he looked intently at her lips, as if expecting an answer.
Back then, she had brushed it off, but now, being intimate with him again, she couldn’t escape the thought of pregnancy.
Secrets she couldn’t tell Kang Woo began to pile up. She felt like she was walking on shaky happiness.
“Enough for today,” she thought, not wanting to appear troubled in front of him. Just then, the door unlocked, and Kang Woo appeared.
Dressed head-to-toe in black, he radiated an exceptional aura despite the potentially ominous vibe.
“I chose the wrong outfit for him,” she thought regretfully.
At that moment, Kang Woo approached and was about to pull Se Ah into a hug, but he stopped.
Seeing this, Se Ah looked up at him.
“The makeup is too perfect,” he said.
“How did you know women don’t like that… Where do you get your dating tips from?” she asked, chuckling.
“Tomorrow, I can do even better. How about that?” Kang Woo suggested, lightening the mood.
“…How did you know women hate that… Where do you get your relationship advice from, anyway?”
Forgetting her earlier serious thoughts, Se Ah laughed lightly.
“I can do even better than this tomorrow. What do you think?”
“…What about? You suddenly…”
“I was wondering if you got interested. About registering our marriage.”
“That’s like what I said yesterday.”
Feeling awkward to repeat the same words, Se Ah closed her lips. Kang Woo turned his chin, offering his left cheek.
“What is it?”
“Give me a kiss. A consolation for the rejection.”
“Lipstick will stain your cheek.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…Ah, just… later.”
Straightening up, Kang Woo played with the ends of Se Ah’s long hair. His eyes and lips didn’t waver, but his deep pupils persistently followed Se Ah’s eyes.
“When later?”
“When we get home. Ah, I don’t know…”
Se Ah’s ears turned red because of Kang Woo’s teasing. Pretending to be serious and drawing her attention, Kang Woo ended up laughing.
“Make sure to keep that promise.”
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.”
