A Marriage So Lethal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
Se Ah glanced furtively at Kang Woo sitting across from her.
Even though it was August, the long-sleeved white shirt buttoned all the way up suited his image perfectly. The formal hairstyle that neatly revealed his straight forehead line was also impressive.
In her memory, the handsome man had matured even more with time. He now carried an unapproachable aura, enhanced by the dignity of a successful businessman.
She couldn’t tell if the food was going into her nose or her mouth. No, it was as if her sense of taste had vanished entirely.
“We should have a celebratory drink.”
Hyun Sook lifted the wine bottle and poured it into Se Ah’s glass. The red liquid shimmered beautifully in the crystal glass.
“Se Ah, congratulations on your graduation once again.”
“Thank you.”
Smiling kindly, Hyun Sook clinked glasses with Se Ah. She gave a small eye signal to Kang Woo, who was quietly holding his wine glass. He lightly touched Se Ah’s awkwardly raised glass, neither fully lifted nor set down.
“Congratulations.”
“…Thank you.”
Se Ah only wet her lips and put the glass down.
Hyun Sook’s phone on the table vibrated heavily. Frowning, Hyun Sook let out a sigh.
“Don’t answer it.”
Without even checking the caller, Kang Woo said coldly. Even without asking who it was, Se Ah could guess. Whenever she occasionally had meals with Hyun Sook, the phone was always placed on the table. She checked it several times in between.
“Sigh.”
Letting out a groan, Hyun Sook shook her head.
“Because Mother keeps answering like that, Father is getting worse and worse.”
“Oh, sure. The men of the Cha family are all so great.”
The phone kept ringing persistently. In the end, Hyun Sook stepped out to take the call.
As soon as it was just the two of them, Se Ah swallowed dryly. Every school year, there was something she heard about herself. That people couldn’t read her, that it was hard to get close to her.
Yet somehow, with him, it felt like her true feelings would be easily exposed. She was trying hard, but what could she do about the color rising naturally on her face?
“I have plans with a friend—did Mother cause unnecessary trouble?”
As she awkwardly poked at her food with her fork, he asked.
“No, it’s fine. On a day like today, most people spend it with family anyway.”
Worried she might look pitiful, she let her words trail off. Her lips felt dry, so she took another sip of wine.
“I saw your interview in last month’s economic magazine. They called you the top figure in the mobile gaming industry…”
“Ah.”
She had barely managed to shyly bring it up, but his reaction was plain. Embarrassed, she lowered her gaze and speared a piece of steak with her fork.
“I didn’t think you’d seen that.”
“I even bought the magazine.”
She swallowed the words that she automatically clicked on anything about CI Soft or him whenever it appeared on the platform.
“You—”
Just then, Hyun Sook returned while Kang Woo was speaking.
“Sorry.”
“I thought you’d gone home.”
At Kang Woo’s light reproach, Hyun Sook glared at him.
“I actually do have to go.”
Hyun Sook looked at Se Ah with an apologetic face.
“What should I do, Se Ah… We finally met after so long, and I couldn’t even talk properly.”
“It’s okay. Thank you so much for coming today.”
“The congressman has to go pay respects, and I need to accompany him.”
“Yes.”
Hyun Sook looked busy as she grabbed her thin summer jacket and handbag. Se Ah didn’t know much about their family affairs, but Hyun Sook was intimidated by her husband.
Well, even Se Ah herself felt especially tense in front of Nam Tae. Particularly after he became a congressman. Perhaps the only person who didn’t care about him was Kang Woo.
“Buy Se Ah whatever she wants to eat, and take her home too.”
“Yes.”
Once Hyun Sook had completely left, the tension doubled. It felt like sudden good fortune, leaving her unsure what was what. It was similar to the feeling of unexpectedly receiving a Christmas gift back in the orphanage days.
Se Ah swept her long hair behind her shoulder. She had no intention of trying to seduce him or anything like that. She just wanted to make this gift-like day meaningful—that was all.
Because she was nervous, she kept sipping her wine, and soon the glass was empty.
“You hold your liquor better than I expected. Are you secretly a heavy drinker?”
With slightly parted lips, Kang Woo smiled faintly and picked up the wine bottle. As he tilted it, Se Ah automatically held out her glass.
“What? No, I’m really bad with alcohol.”
“Just kidding.”
“Oh.”
So he could joke… She hadn’t known because he never said anything frivolous. It felt like they had gotten a little closer.
This was the longest they had ever spent together. He mostly just listened, so she, who was relatively talkative, had to do most of the talking.
Perhaps because of the alcohol, Kang Woo rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. Thick blue veins stood out prominently over his sturdy bone structure. A 24-year-old woman’s heart pounded just from seeing his exposed wrists.
Kang Woo lifted his wrist to check the time. Now she really had to let him go.
“You’re busy—I kept you too long, didn’t I?”
“It’s fine. I’ll take you home.”
Picking up his jacket, Kang Woo stood first.
“Um.”
Where did the courage come from? She grabbed him.
“What were you going to say earlier?”
“What?”
As if he didn’t remember, one of Kang Woo’s eyebrows slowly rose.
“When Madam came back from the call, the thing you were about to say to me but couldn’t.”
“Ah.”
Kang Woo sat back down. His large hand reached for the wine glass. He finished the remaining sip in one gulp.
“Are you feeling better now? You took a leave of absence last year.”
Her heart started racing. Even if it was just casual concern from him, she was overjoyed that he remembered.
Afraid her flushed face would be noticed, Se Ah also drained the rest of her wine. So he would think it was just the alcohol making her cheeks red.
From the moment she entered Kang Woo’s car, her vision gradually blurred.
Kang Woo brought the staggering Se Ah to a hotel and laid her on the bed. He didn’t know where she lived, and he couldn’t understand the address she was mumbling.
It seemed she really almost never drank, just as she had said. He couldn’t tell how much she could handle or that the effects were hitting her late.
As he turned to leave, warm fingers touched his hand. Looking down, Se Ah was shyly holding his fingertips. Thinking it was just the alcohol, he tried to pull away, but then Se Ah murmured.
He watched closely, wondering if she needed help. Maybe water, or she felt sick.
Se Ah lifted her eyelids and looked at him. Her mysterious light-brown eyes blinked slowly.
“Do you need anything?”
“…I like… you.”
“What?”
He couldn’t tell what she was saying. He couldn’t read her lips. With no choice, Kang Woo sat back on the edge of the bed.
“If you need anything, tell me. I’ll do it and then go.”
As Kang Woo leaned forward slightly, Se Ah half-raised herself.
Pale, almost white skin, transparent brown eyes. A face like a wax doll flickered right in front of him. This was the first time he had seen her face this close.
Suddenly, Se Ah wrapped her slender arms around his thick neck. She met his frozen black pupils directly.
“I like you. So much.”
Se Ah gently brushed his cheek once. As if touching something precious she shouldn’t even dare to handle carelessly.
“Tonight… stay with me.”
At her next words, the tingling at the pit of his stomach subsided. Thinking she was testing him, Kang Woo’s eyes turned cold.
“Do you even know what you’re saying?”
“I’m 24 years old. Of course I know.”
“It’s better not to say things you’ll regret tomorrow.”
Kang Woo removed her hand from his wrist and picked up the jacket he had taken off.
“Once you’re sober, I’ll take you home. Pack your things and come out.”
As he turned his back, Se Ah hugged his waist. She grabbed his stopped hand and turned him around.
“Don’t go.”
“…….”
“I won’t regret it. I don’t want anything else from you, Kang Woo. Just…”
Her earnest eyes finally broke down Kang Woo’s defenses.
He pressed his lips against hers as if crushing her.
As her slender fingers unbuttoned his shirt, the white fabric hung precariously over his broad shoulders. Kang Woo pulled her pale, delicate neck closer and overlapped their firm bodies.
When his large hand gently caressed her, her soft body let out shy moans and slowly heated up.
Se Ah burrowed into Kang Woo’s arms, clinging desperately as if today were the last. Drawn by her unusually affectionate eyes, Kang Woo’s heart rose and fell. All through the night, burning passion surged.
The next day, Se Ah hurriedly left the hotel while Kang Woo was still asleep.
For days afterward, he called several times, but she didn’t answer.
She never dreamed of using that one night as leverage against him. No matter how little she had, she still had that much pride. It was simply the closure of a long unrequited love, like graduating from university.
On her way home after job hunting at the library. She stopped lightly at the mart before climbing the long hill.
When she reached her studio apartment building, a luxury sedan that didn’t belong in the neighborhood was parked there.
The moment she saw the familiar license plate, her heart nearly dropped.
The mart bag slipped from her hand. She just watched as a couple of apples rolled down the hill.
Perhaps noticing her in the rearview mirror, the man who had gotten out of the front opened the back door.
As expected, it was Kang Woo’s father, Nam Tae.
With a stern face, he looked expressionlessly at the dazed Se Ah.
This was the first time seeing him since the pre-election interview. So the reason for his sudden visit was obvious. The timing was too perfect to think otherwise.
Se Ah controlled her expression and walked over.
“Hello, Congressman.”
She bowed politely, and Nam Tae curled his lips briefly. It was the smile she had often seen in the media.
“Miss Ji Se Ah. Have you been well?”
“Yes.”
“It’s awkward to enter a place where a young woman lives alone—would you mind talking in the car for a moment?”
“Yes.”
Nam Tae took the main seat first, and Se Ah sat beside him.
For quite a while, he said nothing. Only the congressman badge on his chest glinted.
“A few days ago, you were with our Kang Woo, I heard.”
She instinctively knew denying it would be useless. Kang Woo wouldn’t have said anything, but somehow he knew. Se Ah hesitated, lips trembling.
“It doesn’t seem you two were dating.”
“No. We weren’t.”
“If any bad rumors get involved, it won’t be good for a political career.”
“You won’t have to worry about that.”
Even so, Nam Tae’s expression didn’t soften.
“Fame can be tiring. If people found out that Kang Woo, the son of a politician and a successful businessman—”
“…….”
“—had that kind of relationship with my ward, Miss Se Ah. Or if rumors swelled that my son had done something terrible to you unilaterally, it would put me in a difficult position.”
“There will be no cause for concern.”
Nam Tae’s gaze fixed on Se Ah. Sharply, as if piercing through a person.
“Do you like Kang Woo?”
Se Ah hesitated to answer. He wouldn’t believe a denial anyway.
“It’s fine, speak comfortably.”
“I liked him.”
“It sounds like the past tense.”
“I’ve put it behind me now.”
“That won’t do.”
At his subtle words, Se Ah cautiously met Nam Tae’s eyes.
“Since things turned out this way, the two of you should get married.”
“What do you mean…?”
As if he wouldn’t repeat himself, Nam Tae’s lips hardened coldly and cruelly.
“Marry Kang Woo and live together for just one year. Enjoy a nice house and nice things.”
For the first time, Nam Tae showed an expression she had never seen. A clear, mocking smile. In an instant, the hairs on her body stood on end.
“A politician who dares to take a ward who is no match for his son as a daughter-in-law. That’s the image the common people want. Treating them as equals.”
Nam Tae fixed a fierce gaze on Se Ah, whose face had gone white.
“Just live quietly like a dead mouse for one year, then later say you divorced because of personality differences. But Kang Woo must not know the truth.”
“Congressman!”
“If you’re going to be my daughter-in-law, you’ll have to change your fashion sense first.”
There was no inflection in his voice, which made it even more chilling. He seemed like someone incapable of basic human emotion.
Terrified, Se Ah reached for the door handle, but click—the lock engaged instantly.
The morning alarm rang in the couple’s bedroom. At the persistent sound, Se Ah barely opened her eyes.
Even though she hadn’t locked the bedroom door, there was no sign Kang Woo had entered the room.
She threw a cardigan over her thin slip and came out to the living room. After just a few steps, Se Ah froze solid.
Kang Woo, dressed in a suit, sat on the sofa like a statue. Not a single hair out of place, his white shirt and trousers perfectly crisp.
“I was wondering when you’d come out.”
“Why haven’t you left for work yet?”
He always left exactly at six—this was the first time since their marriage. Though puzzled inside, Se Ah asked indifferently.
“It’s eight. You must have slept well.”
Noticing her glance at the wall clock, he told her the time instead. Kang Woo rested his interlaced hands on his knee and leaned forward.
Even though she stood far away, the slightly upturned corners of his eyes came closer. Looking at the dazed Se Ah, the line of Kang Woo’s lips curved faintly.
“After keeping me from getting any more sleep.”
“Go to work already. You’ll be late.”
Se Ah hurried toward the bathroom. After the rustling sound on the sofa, heavy footsteps approached and stopped right by her ears.
Soon, a firm hand spun Se Ah around by the shoulder. His jawline tilted closer as he looked into her trembling light-brown eyes.
“Ji Se Ah.”
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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