“Moreover, the person involved, Kang Taeseo, has no intention of marrying her at all. What can we do?”
Yuri glared at the three friends with anger-filled eyes, but they were no longer looking at Yuri.
“Hey, it’s the world’s number one subscribed economic magazine. Now, even people on the opposite side of the earth know that Kang Taeseo is dating. Kang Taeseo will probably marry Jo Yuri with such a romantic confession.”
“Did you see that? Crazy, my woman. It’s romantic just because Kang Taeseo says such cheesy things. Ah, isn’t that to make the person watching feel excited?”
“But that’s probably true, right? Why, there was that girl who had a traffic accident and went to the U.S. for rehabilitation. She used to live in Jo Yuri’s house. Rumor has it that Kang Taeseo appeared at Kangsun Art Center’s charity bazaar with her at the end of last year.”
“Are you talking about Yun Jae-in?”
“Wow, that Korean dancer? Is it true that those pictures circulating on SNS, the woman dating Kang Taeseo, is Yun Jae-in?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I saw the pictures too, and honey was dripping from Kang Taeseo’s eyes as he looked at Yun Jae-in. She was beautiful before, but she’s even more beautiful now. Even though the photo is blurry, it was shining?”
The group surrounding the friend who held the magazine precious turned away from Yuri.
“Jo Yuri out.”
“Jo Yuri out.”
“Jo Yuri out.”
With a sense of shame from the words echoing in her ears, Yuri saw a table full of brightly colored delicate desserts in her eyes, lips tightly pressed in her embarrassment.
The tea that had cooled down, untouched during the conversation, and the food that had dried out on the surface. They looked pretty, but that was it. They seemed to resemble Yuri, useless and soon to be discarded.
In the luxurious hotel lounge, no one cared about her sitting in the best seat. Yuri felt like she had become invisible. The sadness she felt when she was kicked out of Taeseo’s family home overwhelmed her.
Tears that flowed down her cheeks, leaving a trail, fell onto Yuri’s hand. Although it wasn’t cold, what deeply engraved into Yuri’s trembling heart was the shabbiness that she should get used to now.
A while ago, Taeseo responded to an interview from the U.S. weekly magazine through Amber.
He had decided to reveal the business he had been preparing for a long time without anyone in his family, including his father or stepmother, knowing about it. It was for complete independence.
“Independence…”
Taeseo, who chuckled, buttoned his cufflinks while considering the appropriateness of the words I spat out. It was amusing to say independence when he had never belonged emotionally or economically to his father even once. It was ironic.
There were two things he wanted to convey through the interview.
First, he wanted to make it clear to his father, who mistakenly thought Taeseo coveted the kingdom he had built, that he had no intention of withering and dying in his shadow. Along with that, he wanted to widely publicize his relationship with Jaein to the world and let people know that she was his person. He wanted to convey his deep feelings to her.
Choosing Jaein to use the domestic media to try to trap him was also a choice made by Taeseo, who surely read his father’s moves.
However, even if he read the moves, Taeseo couldn’t prevent his father from announcing the marriage through Kangsun Group’s PR team and distributing official press releases, or the media from spreading the news.
Taeseo knew well that opposing someone like his father, who had much greater power and economic strength than him, was by no means an easy task.
Kang Shinjae was the head of the largest conglomerate in South Korea in terms of market capitalization, and Taeseo was just the head of Kangsun Construction, one of the subsidiary companies.
Moreover, Taeseo had not been living in Korea for long. In the domestic arena, he was utterly inadequate to withstand Kang Shinjae’s attacks alone. So, what Taeseo thought of was attracting foreign media.
Until he agreed to the interview, he did not know that the weekly magazine featuring his interview would be used to defend against his father’s attacks.
Although it was a few hours later than the marriage announcement, it was a coincidence that the publication date of the weekly magazine coincided with Kangsun Group’s marriage announcement date.
“Are you ready yet?”
“Yeah, Jaein, take your time.”
Taeseo, who turned around after checking the time, stopped in his tracks.
Between the wrapped towels, dripping wet hair was moist.
Freshly washed and coming out with a fair, bronzed face, fingers holding the bathrobe, two exposed legs and small feet beneath the bathrobe, and even the soft-looking toes, his gaze thoroughly scanned from top to bottom.
The red marks near the upper chest that peeked through the bathrobe were very satisfying. They were the marks left behind as he embraced her and rolled around just a little while ago.
“No.”
As he approached Jaein, trying to hold her waist and kiss her, he was taken aback. Jaein quickly stepped back, sternly extending her hand toward him.
“Do you know where we need to go right now? Absolutely not.”
“…”
“No. Don’t even dream. Release that gaze.”
As he perfectly dressed in the sleepy suit, his intentions to take it off right away were caught.
Taeseo sighed, smiling as if he understood. Thoughts of her being beautiful, thoughts of wanting to hold her. Even he thought it was a serious situation.
But now was the time to endure, and Taeseo knew that. Chairman Kang Shinjae was waiting for him and Jaein at the Yeonryudong main house.
Although he had long since abandoned me, he was still my father. He was always longing for affection and hoping to be seen by his father’s eyes.
But after the last meeting with Chairman Kang Shinjae, Taeseo had let go of the thread he had been holding on to so stubbornly.
It was because he realized that the thread he thought was connected to his father was actually connected to his own heart.
The more he cautiously pulled the thread because he wanted to get closer to his father, the more painful it became. So, he pulled the thread to the point of breaking. He tore his own heart.
So, today’s meeting would be special. It could be described as the climax of all climaxes. It would be the first meeting between a father and son who abandoned each other without regret.
Smiling bitterly, Taeseo extended his hand. Towards the irreplaceable, reliable ally that couldn’t be exchanged for anything in the world.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
