A Twisted Relationship (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
The next day—
Da Hyun slept soundly through the night in bed for the first time in a while, without waking up early. When she opened her eyes, Min Hyuk was nowhere to be seen.
Because she’d fallen asleep before him the night before, she hadn’t seen him go to sleep.
As promised, Da Hyun had slept in the bedroom. Unlike the previous time—sleeping on the bare floor without even a blanket—her body didn’t feel stiff or sore at all.
Just then—
Brrr— Brrr—
Da Hyun picked up the phone resting on the shelf beside the bed.
“Huh?”
She wondered if she’d misread the caller ID. But no matter how many times she checked, the properly saved contact name clearly appeared—she wasn’t seeing things.
It was Chairman Kang—Chang Jung, Min Hyuk’s biological father and chairman of HG Group.
Relieved that she’d saved his number earlier—just in case—Da Hyun cleared her throat and answered the call.
“Yes, Father.”
***
Da Hyun received Chang Jung’s call early that morning. Chang Jung had contacted her—the daughter-in-law—instead of his son Min Hyuk.
Min Hyuk, who’d been in his study, didn’t hide his discomfort upon hearing the news and immediately tried to dissuade her from going to meet his father.
But Da Hyun began getting ready to leave as soon as she received Chang Jung’s call.
As a daughter-in-law, it wouldn’t have been right to refuse a summons from her father-in-law—
just as Min Hyuk hadn’t refused Su Cheol’s dinner invitation.
“Are you really going?”
“Yes, I have to. Father called for me.”
“Ugh, why did he call both of us on the exact same day, as if we’d made some prior arrangement?”
Min Hyuk roughly ran his fingers through his hair, clearly showing his displeasure.
“If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I’ll go see Father alone. Maybe there’s a reason he contacted me instead of you?”
“What special reason could there be? He’s probably just feeling lonely, stuck in the hospital room with poor health.”
“Then I’ll keep him company.”
“I’ll be the one keeping him company.”
Though grumbling, Min Hyuk didn’t stop her.
He respected her decision.
Just as Su Cheol and Da Hyun didn’t get along well, neither did Chang Jung and Min Hyuk—the fact that Chang Jung hadn’t called Min Hyuk directly made that obvious.
Min Hyuk started getting ready to leave as well. He didn’t want her meeting Chang Jung alone.
“I’ll go with you. I’ll get ready quickly.”
“Okay.”
Min Hyuk was slightly worried she might run into Si Hoon, but given the timing, it was highly unlikely.
So it should be fine.
It was pure possessiveness—after all, she knew Da Hyun had once had a blind date with Si Hoon.
Even though he knew Si Hoon and she had absolutely nothing to do with each other back then, he still hated the idea of them being linked in any way.
He didn’t want to disturb the peaceful happiness they currently shared—not even a little.
***
It was Chang Jung, not Si Hoon, sitting in the HG chairman’s office chair, skimming through documents.
“Chairman.”
Chang Jung looked up from flipping a page at the clear, bright voice.
He closed the documents and removed his glasses. Having read paperwork for the first time in a while, fatigue crept in—he lightly pressed his temples between his thumb and index finger, then rose from his chair.
With naturally silver-white hair and dressed comfortably, Chang Jung smiled warmly. If not for the chairman’s office, he’d have looked exactly like a kind, gentle grandfather.
Yet, true to someone who’d led a major corporation for decades, even while smiling, his sharp gaze seemed to pierce right through the person before him.
Da Hyun swallowed hard. Though Chang Jung smiled gently, she couldn’t tell if his smile was sincere or not. After all, he’d been utterly baffled when the woman he’d once set up on a blind date with Si Hoon became Min Hyuk’s wife two years later.
“So my new daughter has come? Please sit.”
“Hello, Chairman. Actually, Min Hyuk and I were planning to visit you soon to check on your health, so I’m sorry I didn’t contact you first—I should have reached out earlier myself.”
“No, no, it’s fine.”
Chang Jung smiled kindly at Da Hyun. As he sat down on the sofa, he cast a sidelong glance at Min Hyuk, who stood stiffly beside her like a bodyguard.
“Hm, you’ve come along too, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I couldn’t possibly let her come alone, Chairman. Besides, I’m not sure why you’d summon your daughter-in-law to the office of all places.”
Min Hyuk immediately vented his pent-up frustration the moment he saw Chang Jung, prompting Da Hyun to turn her head away.
She hadn’t expected their relationship to be good, but she hadn’t realized Min Hyuk’s hostility toward his father ran this deep.
Chang Jung, accustomed to Min Hyuk’s attitude, simply brushed him off lightly.
“Ha ha, thank you for accepting an old man’s request.”
“No, Chairman.”
“Why call me ‘Chairman’? Just call me ‘Father’—more comfortably.”
“…Yes, Father.”
Da Hyun smiled awkwardly and sat down on the small sofa beside Chang Jung’s single-seater.
“So, are you enjoying married life? Haven’t been fighting, I hope?”
“Yes, we’re getting along very comfortably.”
“Considering it wasn’t a love marriage, there must be quite a few awkward moments, I imagine.”
“Not at all. Min Hyuk treats me well, so I don’t feel uncomfortable.”
“Really?”
Chang Jung completely ignored Min Hyuk, focusing all his attention solely on Da Hyun.
“Are you really saying that fellow treats you well? Truly? How exactly?”
He tilted his head, clearly finding it hard to believe.
Da Hyun hesitated—should she mention how Min Hyuk had treated her when they were alone?
She could easily dodge the question, but even that might irritate Chang Jung.
Noticing her discomfort, Min Hyuk quickly changed the subject.
“Chairman, why are you at the office instead of resting in your hospital room? Si Hoon should be handling company matters just fine on his own. Wouldn’t it be more convenient for him—and the executives—if you stayed at the mansion?”
“Even so, I still need to trust them. That boy Si Hoon is too soft-hearted. I came to check in—worried he might get scolded by the executives.”
During this talk about the company, Chang Jung—who hadn’t even glanced Min Hyuk’s way—slightly turned his head.
“Si Hoon would surely manage things perfectly well on his own.”
“He’d better. He has to. Otherwise, you’ll just take his position away from him, won’t you?”
Chang Jung chuckled casually but was clearly probing Min Hyuk’s true intentions.
“If he can’t handle it, he’ll have to hand it over—what else can we do? Even if you, Chairman, stay healthy for a long time, there’s a limit. The position should pass to your child.”
Min Hyuk didn’t fall for Chang Jung’s ploy.
“You brat—why don’t you just hold a ritual praying for your old man to die early?”
Da Hyun felt awkward, caught uncomfortably between the two.
Before their argument escalated further, she quickly intervened again.
“Father, next time, please call me somewhere more comfortable for you instead of the office. Honestly, the office feels a bit awkward for me—I’m an outsider, after all, so I feel self-conscious. I probably wouldn’t have even been able to come here if not for Min Hyuk.”
“Ha ha, it seems you two are getting along better than I expected. I thought you might still be distant, so I only reached out to my new daughter.”
Chang Jung nodded contentedly and leaned back comfortably—but Min Hyuk clearly wasn’t pleased.
“Chairman, that’s even more absurd.”
“Tsk tsk, that boy’s got a sharp mind—shame about everything else. You must be working hard, my dear.”
Especially since you caught that boy’s eye.
Without hesitation, Chang Jung openly criticized Min Hyuk right in front of him, clicking his tongue disapprovingly.
Da Hyun now roughly understood why he’d called her.
Although he’d contacted her, he’d probably wanted to speak to Min Hyuk all along. But after so many years apart, things had grown too awkward—he couldn’t bring himself to call Min Hyuk directly, so he’d ended up calling her instead.
Was he lonely? Somehow, Da Hyun felt she understood Chang Jung’s feelings.
Now she realized Chang Jung didn’t look at Min Hyuk with disgust or disdain.
His gaze was completely different from how Su Cheol looked at her.
It seemed Chang Jung truly wanted to reconcile with Min Hyuk and rebuild a warm father-son relationship.
Da Hyun wanted to help create an opportunity for them to talk privately—something she, not Min Hyuk, could facilitate.
She remembered Min Hyuk once saying he wanted to crush Si Hoon and rise to the chairman’s seat.
Just as Min Hyuk supported her, she now wanted to do something for him in return.
She glanced back and forth between the two bickering men. If their relationship improved—if Chang Jung fully opened his heart and accepted Min Hyuk—perhaps Min Hyuk would finally get his chance.
She sincerely hoped Min Hyuk would earn the chairman’s seat through merit, not through cowardly tactics—rising honorably with everyone’s respect.
Without even realizing it, she had begun truly wanting Min Hyuk to achieve what he desired.
***
Da Hyun stepped out after asking Min Hyuk to stay behind briefly and keep Chang Jung company.
He’d insisted on coming with her, but she wanted to give them time alone together—so she left by herself, walking down the hallway and stepping into the elevator.
The view from the chairman’s office was breathtakingly beautiful, but somehow, it felt suffocating—too overwhelming to stay long.
Da Hyun needed to recharge her energy—she still had to meet Su Cheol later that evening.
She quickly checked the descending floor numbers. Fortunately, it was the executive-only elevator, so no one else would be getting on midway.
But then—
Ding—
The elevator, which had seemed it wouldn’t stop, suddenly halted on the 16th floor.
The moment Da Hyun saw who stepped in, her pupils shook.
Si Hoon, still smiling happily from a phone call with his wife, entered the elevator.
A long sigh escaped Da Hyun’s lips.
“Oh….”
She didn’t remember him, but the man she’d once gone on a blind date with was now her brother-in-law—awkwardness was unavoidable.
Moreover, Si Hoon likely had no idea she’d lost her memory. Da Hyun anxiously worried he might bring up their past meeting.
Yet, stepping out the moment he entered would be too obvious—and draw unwanted attention.
“Huh?”
Having finished his call, Si Hoon couldn’t hide his surprise at spotting an unexpected person inside the elevator. He initially gave Da Hyun a warm, friendly look—then quickly cleared his throat, realizing his mistake.
“Ahem… Hello?”
“Hello… Brother-in-law.”
Da Hyun finally managed to part her stiff lips. She politely bowed slightly, as etiquette demanded.
Cruelly, the elevator doors closed, and the car quickly descended again.
She hadn’t expected to end up alone with Si Hoon in the elevator—after all, she’d only just left the chairman’s office.
Unlike her, however, Si Hoon remained perfectly calm.
“What brings you to the office?”
He seemed genuinely curious—but was clearly holding back.
“Oh—you came to see Father, right?”
“…Yes.”
“And Min Hyuk too? Where’s Min Hyuk?”
“He’s still in the chairman’s office with Father. I just stepped out for a bit—I was feeling a little stifled.”
“I see. Well, it does feel stuffy being with Father—after all, he is our father-in-law. Even my wife still feels uncomfortable around him.”
Si Hoon cheerfully mentioned his wife, clearly enjoying himself.
Da Hyun couldn’t understand his attitude. According to Su Cheol, her relationship with Si Hoon had ended badly two years ago.
Now they were merely sister- and brother-in-law—but back then, they’d been blind-date partners. How could he so calmly talk to her about his wife?
Ding—
The elevator reached the first floor and the doors opened.
“Sister-in-law, see you next time.”
Si Hoon treated her as if she were a complete stranger.
Da Hyun lowered her head and took a step to leave—then paused.
“Um… Brother-in-law.”
She’d been standing ahead of him, about to exit—but now turned back toward him.
Si Hoon looked briefly taken aback, then quickly smiled and replied.
“Yes, Sister-in-law?”
“Could we talk for a moment?”
Da Hyun, who’d been about to step out, changed her mind and stayed inside until the doors closed again.
Si Hoon watched her, eyes wide in surprise, as she remained in the elevator.
“Of course. Father’s here today, so I was planning to leave early anyway. I’ve got time.”
Si Hoon assured her it was fine—then closed his eyes tightly for a moment, as if hearing Min Hyuk hurling unspeakable insults at him, before opening them again.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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