“Yes, tell me. Am I the Chairman’s son-in-law?”
She had to endure his mocking smile. For over 20 years, her daughter had been known as the future daughter-in-law of Kang Sun Group. It was a fact known to everyone in the circle.
Few knew about the past. To prevent any seeds of doubt, Seung Hee herself had to be upright and confident. No matter how great Kang Tae Seo was, he was still just a young man barely over thirty.
“Not a son-in-law yet. But it’s true that the grandfathers made a promise, so I suppose I could be called a prospective son-in-law. Director Lim called our Yu Ri the prospective daughter-in-law first, how could I deny it? I have to go along with it.”
“Oh, so?”
“It wasn’t easy for me to go around calling someone I’ve never met my prospective son-in-law. But what can I do? It’s an engagement agreed upon between families 30 years ago.”
Seung Hee did not like the look in Tae Seo’s eyes as he looked down at her with an unfathomable smile. Truthfully, she wanted a son-in-law she could easily control.
But the man her daughter wanted was Kang Tae Seo. And she too coveted the position of being related to Kang Sun Group. So, she had no choice but to tolerate the young man’s somewhat brash and unbridled behavior.
But Yoon Jae In. She had no intention of tolerating that girl. That had to be made clear. She had to cut it off before any unfounded rumors started.
Hearing that Yoon Jae In had only recently arrived in Korea suggested that the relationship wasn’t that deep yet. Even if it wounded her pride, she had to intervene and strictly control the situation.
“But what are you doing here? How can you neglect our Yu Ri, with whom you have a family-arranged engagement, and be here from the morning, you…”
“Chairman.”
How dare he cut off an elder’s speech? Seung Hee frowned at Tae Seo. But Tae Seo only offered her a polite smile in return.
Just as Seung Hee was about to say something more, Tae Seo raised his long arm and closed the slightly open door. As if to say, you are not welcome to enter.
The moment Seung Hee’s gaze returned to the presumptuous young man after the door closed, she inadvertently drew a deep breath. Tae Seo, who had wiped the painted smile off his face, now looked down at her with a grim expression.
“Do I look amusing to you?”
“…What?”
Seung Hee’s eyes fluttered in confusion. Tae Seo leaned in closer, whispering clearly enough for Seung Hee to hear.
“It seems you think of me as a fool who doesn’t even know who his real fiancée is.”
Seung Hee did not notice her fingers, adorned with a large pearl ring, turn white from gripping her fist so tightly, nor did she realize her clenched hand was shaking. She stared down the suddenly distant hallway, struggling to steady her breath.
“You seem to be under some misapprehension.”
Creaking her stiff neck to meet Tae Seo’s cool gaze, Seung Hee had no intention of backing down. She had to protect her family’s connection with Kang Sun Group at all costs.
For her daughter, for her husband, and for herself.
“Do you think it’s appropriate to be so rude to your future mother-in-law, based on some groundless rumors?”
Seung Hee glared at him, but Tae Seo continued to smile benignly at her. Despite the seemingly tender gaze, his low voice was icy cold.
“Groundless rumors, you say…”
Tae Seo’s gaze leisurely shifted to Secretary Choi, who was restlessly standing by Seung Hee’s side. Feeling uneasy, Seung Hee glanced at Secretary Choi while gritting her teeth.
“I do enjoy a bit of gossip.”
“…”
“I’ve also heard that the Chairman has a boyfriend ten years her junior.”
“…”
“That they’ve been together for over 20 years.”
“What on earth are you saying!”
Seung Hee shouted with a flushed face, her breathing shaky. Secretary Choi standing behind her turned pale as well.
Tae Seo’s head tilted slightly. The smirk curling on Tae Seo’s lips felt menacing to Seung Hee.
“Oh. Not a boyfriend, but just someone you share a bed with.”
“You!”
“That’s funny, though. Just sharing a bed, as if they didn’t do more than that. Right? Korean is such an interesting language.”
Unable to respond, Seung Hee trembled as Tae Seo leaned in slightly towards her.
“Exactly.”
“…”
“You should have lived straight.”
“…”
“Who are you to call others dirty? How dare you.”
As if confirming Seung Hee’s ragged breathing, Tae Seo whispered close by and then straightened up again. Seung Hee’s eyes fluttered beneath her trembling eyelids.
“I had no plans of meeting Chairman Jo anytime soon.”
Tae Seo smiled gently at Seung Hee, who was creaking with tension.
“If you wish, I can make time even tomorrow. I think we’ll have quite an interesting conversation.”
“No, I…”
“Do you have more to do here?”
With her lips pressed tightly shut, Seung Hee turned abruptly. Tae Seo’s voice followed her as her emotions surged uncontrollably.
“I’ll send a gift to your place soon. You’ll like it.”
Seung Hee didn’t want anything from Tae Seo. But she understood the implicit threat in his words. It was as good as telling her to stay away from this area, to watch her mouth, to not touch Yoon Jae In.
Without looking back, Seung Hee led Secretary Choi down the hallway. As they headed towards the elevator, the stares of those peeking out from behind their doors seemed utterly petty to her.
“What should we do?”
“Find out Yoon Jae In’s contact information.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Before boarding the elevator with Secretary Choi, Seung Hee turned her head to take in Kang Tae Seo, who was still standing in front of Yoon Jae In’s house, staring back at her. Her eyes were twisted with anger, flushed red with fury.
That exceedingly well-off man had to be Ji Seung Hee’s son-in-law, not someone like the deceased Yoon Se Na.
“I’m sorry. Um, what happened was, huff…!”
Having had some altercation with Ji Seung Hee outside, Tae Seo, who had just entered the house after a while, was about to explain to Jae In but couldn’t finish.
As soon as he stepped into the foyer, Tae Seo enveloped her in his arms, enclosing her in his embrace.
Tae Seo pulled Jae In close, bending down to bury his nose in the nape of her neck. He inhaled deeply as if savoring her scent, causing Jae In’s face to turn instantly red.
“Um, Tae Seo…”
Confused, Jae In stood stiff as she felt Tae Seo exhaling deeply against the soft skin of her neck.
Her eyes widened as she realized he was cradling the back of her head with one hand, while gently patting her back and shoulders with the other.
Pat. Pat. Pat.
“You’ve grown up well, Yoon Jae In.”
“…”
“Even beside such a person. So upright and beautiful.”
“…”
“Your mother must have raised you well.”
The tender whisper made her vision sway. The ceiling light in the foyer seemed to expand and then blur.
“Huh…”
Unable to stop them, tears flowed, dampening Tae Seo’s broad chest.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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