Acts We Shouldn't Do (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
Jo Dae Hoon wouldn’t send his daughter off to just any family. He surely proposed a marriage alliance to a chaebol family known for its soaring influence.
That meant the man wasn’t ordinary himself. He was undoubtedly from a chaebol lineage even larger than Hyun Yang Construction.
Fiancés or spouses from chaebol families often entered into unions in name only—it was common. Couples frequently remained distant even just before marriage. Sometimes, driven solely by mutual interests, they ignored, belittled, or even fought each other.
But the atmosphere now felt entirely different. The man ignored Yuri. Yet Yuri held back her anger instead of lashing out.
Yuri, who always showed relentless strength toward those weaker than herself, kept her mouth tightly shut—meaning she had no choice but to yield to this man.
“That makes sense.”
“What does? What makes sense?”
Jae In laughed, watching Sang Hwa’s eyes widen with curiosity.
“Nothing. I was just mentally filming an entire drama episode in my head.”
“That drama’s a total makjang, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. A full-on, textbook makjang.”
From behind Sang Hwa, who was nodding in agreement, the man’s voice rang out again.
“If you’re not even planning to eat, standing right in the middle of the restaurant yelling creates a nuisance for everyone. You kept going on about manners—yet you’re the one who clearly lacks them. Haven’t you learned basic public decency?”
Jae In cautiously observed Yuri, who stood facing his direction.
Fortunately, Yuri seemed too preoccupied to notice him. She glared at the towering man whose sheer presence radiated overwhelming pressure even while seated, her fists clenched so tightly they trembled.
When he’d asked her to swallow her pride and sit down to eat with him and his executive director, the man had blatantly ordered food for only two people.
Yet leaving outright didn’t seem to sit right with her either. After all, walking out now would mean enduring the burning stares of everyone in the restaurant.
“Executive Director Jang, what are you waiting for? Let’s eat. Who was it again who kept pushing us to finish quickly and get back for work?”
The man urging his secretary was shamelessly brazen. Jae In briefly recalled the second- or third-generation chaebol heirs who’d once made advances toward her.
Among all the distasteful men who’d come on to her at charity galas or sponsorship events, none had been quite like this. And certainly none had addressed Jo Yuri—the sole daughter of Hyun Yang Construction—with such rigid coldness.
“…You’ll regret this.”
“Impossible. My motto has always been not to do anything I’d later regret. Anyway, I’ll take my leave. The food’s arrived.”
After glaring at the man for a long while, Yuri bit her lip and turned away. The moment she stepped out of the restaurant, the previously quiet dining area instantly erupted into hushed chatter as people leaned in, exchanging similar remarks in low voices.
“She’s pitiful.”
“Not pitiful at all.”
“They know each other, right?”
“Yeah, I know her. Know her way too well.”
“…You dislike her, don’t you?”
“Dislike her? That’s putting it mildly.”
Jae In chewed on her mackerel, staring at the man’s retreating back. Apparently, watching Jo Yuri get humiliated had revived her appetite. The savory, salted flesh crumbled pleasantly in her mouth, rich and devoid of any fishy aftertaste.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
“Right? That guy with the bouquet yesterday.”
“Seems right.”
“Why ‘seems right’? To me, it’s obvious. Looks like that aren’t common. I was already impressed seeing him at the hospital yesterday, and just now he looked even more handsome. Seriously, even his rude tone sounds charming once you see his face. Yesterday, he smiled so perfectly.”
Before leaving the restaurant, Jae In deliberately ate slowly—curious to learn who this man was, the one who’d inflicted such profound humiliation on Jo Yuri.
Searching his name, Kang Tae Seo, online revealed only that he belonged to the Kang Seon Group’s founding family. Oddly, not a single photo of him could be found.
Perhaps his claim about having a lot of work wasn’t a lie after all—he finished his meal swiftly. The moment he stood up with his secretary and turned around, Jae In’s eyes widened.
It was him. The man who’d mistakenly come to her hospital room yesterday and taken the bouquet left behind by Seok Dong—this man was Jo Yuri’s fiancé.
“You must’ve come to the wrong room.”
“I’m here to see my fiancée.”
“This is Room 507…”
“I see. Anyway, thank you for the flowers.”
Jae In recalled meeting the man at the hospital room door yesterday. He’d clearly stated he was visiting his fiancée. Did that mean Yuri had been in the same hospital?
Yet for someone who supposedly cared enough to visit his fiancée in the hospital, his attitude just now had been astonishingly cold.
Would it really be easy to approach a man this indifferent—even toward his own fiancée, with whom he undoubtedly shared complex vested interests?
“This is going to be tough.”
“Are you muttering to yourself again? Wait—did you just say it’d be hard for me to charm that guy?”
“Why, Seo Sang Hwa? Are you planning to charm him yourself?”
“No way. I don’t even look at trees I know I can’t climb.”
“You see him as an unclimbable tree?”
“Unless a rope drops from the sky, there’s absolutely no way up.”
Laughing, Jae In linked arms with Sang Hwa and melted into the bustling crowd. Gangnam’s streets, just days before Christmas, teemed with people. As she walked among them, Jae In began untangling the knots in her mind.
She needed to make contact first. And she already sensed that wouldn’t be easy.
This was a man who treated someone as beautiful and well-connected as Jo Yuri with such icy detachment.
He had the kind of wealth that could easily attract any number of top-tier celebrities if he so desired. There was no way someone like him—interested only in looks—would fall for her enough to call off the engagement so easily.
Jae In knew she was pretty—of course she did. One look in the mirror was enough, not to mention a lifetime of being told so.
But more often than not, her beauty brought her trouble rather than blessings. Though it was a gift from her beloved mother, sometimes she loathed it fiercely. She’d never once thought to benefit from her looks in life.
And yet, for the first time, she found herself considering using her appearance—for the purpose of seducing her half-sister’s fiancé. Jae In hid her bitter smile deep within her scarf.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
“You said the Managing Director urgently needed me? I’m sorry—I stepped away briefly to take a personal call.”
Executive Director Jang, who’d been on the phone with her mother at the nursing home, rushed into Tae Seo’s office upon hearing a secretary say the Managing Director was looking for her urgently.
What could it be?
He’d once remained utterly relaxed even on the day he’d been summoned belatedly to the main house by the chairman’s harsh order—stopping by a department store on the way just to pick out a coat to replace the one stained by bird droppings.
Nervous, Jang clasped her hands together and listened to the sound of running water coming from the back of the office. He must have left the sink running.
“Oh, you’re here. I tried following some online instructions in a hurry.”
“Instructions for what…? Ah, give it here.”
Jang reached out as Tae Seo appeared from behind the partition, holding a vase filled with a large bouquet.
Ever since his appointment as Managing Director, Tae Seo had shown zero interest in the potted plants he’d received—so much so that he’d once told a secretary to stop watering them because they were irrelevant.
Not long ago, all the withered plants had finally been thrown out. Since then, a few paintings had replaced them, making the office feel starkly empty.
Yet this bouquet was clearly different. Only today did Jang realize Tae Seo had been changing the water in the vase every day.
The fading bouquet had been the one Tae Seo brought back a few days ago when he’d returned to the office after visiting his fiancée, surprising Jang who’d been working late.
“Do you happen to have a vase? Something big enough for this bouquet.”
“I’ll look for one.”
“If there isn’t, bring any container that can hold these flowers. The petals seem a bit damaged—probably from the cold weather.”
“Yes.”
“They have to survive.”
Tae Seo’s expression was as solemn as a surgeon about to perform a critical operation in a medical drama. Jang immediately informed him that her mother had run a flower shop for years and that she herself had helped out for quite some time—so he could leave it to her.
It had been a long time since Jang last showcased her floral skills. She carefully unwrapped the overly ornate bouquet, trimmed the leaves, cut the stems, and arranged the flowers neatly into a large vase kept in the secretary’s office.
Now Tae Seo stood holding that same vase—but the flowers, unlike Jang’s tidy arrangement, were haphazardly jammed in at odd angles.
“Bring them back to life.”
“…Excuse me?”
So taken aback, Jang’s voice cracked as she repeated the question.
“It’s only been three days since I received them, yet they’re already wilting. I looked it up—apparently, you shouldn’t use tap water directly; you need to let it sit for a day first. But on day one, didn’t you just pour in fresh tap water? Is that really okay?”
How was she supposed to handle this fussiness? The same man who’d once dismissed plants as irrelevant was now dead serious, making a fuss over wilting flowers.
While Jang stood dumbfounded, Tae Seo’s anxious monologue continued.
“They’ll all wilt at this rate. Online advice says adding bleach or a few ten-won coins helps them last longer—but I obviously don’t have either. I asked a secretary, and they didn’t have any either. I even checked the restroom, but no bleach there either.”
“So…”
“So I put in a few ice cubes. I read that ice helps too. Can you save them? Executive Director Jang, answer me.”
Why was he personally changing the water and fretting so desperately over wilting flowers? Without time to ponder, Jang rolled up her sleeves.
“I’ll try.”
“They must survive. Even if we lose a few stems, I’d like most of them to remain.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
Carrying the vase, Jang headed straight for the pantry sink. A secretary, sensing something unusual, quickly followed behind.
“Right after the Managing Director came back from the meeting, he suddenly bolted out holding a vase…”
“Bring me scissors—the sharpest ones you have.”
“A-ah, yes!”
Pushing aside the flood of questions, Jang thoroughly cleaned the vase.
“Sprite.”
“Yes?”
“Sprite… Ah, never mind. Then bring three bottles of cold sparkling water.”
The secretary hurriedly grabbed the sparkling water Tae Seo liked from the fridge and rushed back.
Jang poured the sparkling water into the spotless vase, dissolved in some sugar cubes, and began cutting the flower stems at an angle beside the anxious secretary.
“Director Jang, will this really bring the flowers back?”
“We’ll do everything we can.”
A short while later, Jang—having poured her heart into reviving the bouquet—entered the Managing Director’s office holding the now shorter arrangement.
“Is there hope?”
“I can’t be certain. The flowers were already chilled through. But… out of personal curiosity, have you always liked flowers?”
“Not sure.”
Watching Tae Seo lost in thought, Jang shrugged and held out the bouquet.
“Among the potted plants you told me to clear out last time, there were flowering ones too. Should I bring some back in?”
“Why?”
“You seem to like flowers.”
“No need. Who’s going to take care of all those plants? This single bouquet is enough.”
At his curt refusal, Jang nodded. Tae Seo took the bouquet from her and placed the vase on one side of his desk—right where he’d see it whenever he looked up from his work.
“And I don’t like the flowers.”
“Then…”
“I like the person who gave them to me.”
“Oh…”
Jang let out an involuntary sigh, feeling utterly disoriented.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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