An Instinctive Proposal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
The next morning, Sun Ok clapped her hands in delight.
“Having you two sitting side by side like this feels just like old times!”
Gyu Bin had come early to Yeon Woo’s house.
Not long after waking up, a still-disheveled Yeon Woo pulled out a chair and sat beside him, prompting Sun Ok to beam with nostalgia.
“I also feel amazed eating here together with Yeon Woo again.”
“Right? We couldn’t see each other for so long, yet meeting again makes all those years feel meaningless. It’s as if we just saw each other yesterday.”
At that, Gyu Bin turned toward Yeon Woo with a smile. She drank some water to moisten her throat and looked back at him with a dry, unwashed face.
“What about Auntie?”
Sun Ok, who had been placing two bowls of soup in front of them, answered instead.
“She couldn’t come today. But she insisted we all eat together next time, so Yeon Woo, you come then too. You can come back down again, right?”
“Yeah. If it’s the weekend.”
“It’ll be on the weekend. Mom seems so happy seeing you two together. Eat up quickly.”
Though Sun Ok always lit up whenever Yeon Woo came down, reuniting with Gyu Bin—whom she’d cared for like a son—after ten years seemed to have doubled her joy.
The dining table, overflowing with food, looked ready to collapse under its own weight.
“I’ll dig in. This soup—this was always my favorite dish of Auntie’s.”
“You remember? That’s right. Gyu Bin always loved my beef soup. I made extra because I knew you’d eat a lot.”
Their conversation, rare after so long apart, sounded warm and affectionate. Yeon Woo silently lifted her spoon, scooped up some soup, and brought it to her mouth.
She suddenly thought of Tae Han—he also loved Sun Ok’s beef soup.
And realizing she was thinking about Tae Han even in this situation, she couldn’t help but laugh at herself—partly amused, partly embarrassed.
“But our Gyu Bin was handsome even as a kid, and now as an adult, he’s completely different!”
“Is that so?”
“You’ve grown so tall—it must be because both your parents are good-looking. You look just like a TV actor.”
Yeon Woo, chewing her food, shook her head. Gyu Bin covered his mouth and laughed.
“That’s too much praise. Yeon Woo looks utterly clueless.”
His eyes, crinkled from smiling, turned toward her.
And indeed, his face—bathed in sunlight—looked perfectly suited to it.
She remembered he’d always been good-looking and popular, and clearly, that hadn’t changed with age. In fact, just as Sun Ok had said, he now carried the deep, actor-like aura of a grown man.
“Yeon Woo’s always been picky with her eyes.”
“Yeon Woo’s gotten even prettier too.”
“Isn’t she? She’s my daughter, but even I think she’s really beautiful.”
Feeling awkward from this kind of conversation, Yeon Woo focused solely on eating.
The phone rang from Sun Ok’s room.
Leaving behind a quick “Keep eating,” Sun Ok left the dining table, and Gyu Bin casually spoke to Yeon Woo.
“Coming back to Korea really feels great.”
“I feel the same—I’m in Seoul, but whenever I come home occasionally, it feels incredibly nice.”
“It’s even better seeing you.”
Yeon Woo met Gyu Bin’s eyes, chopsticks still between her lips.
“I hesitated a lot before contacting you, but I should’ve done it sooner.”
At his faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips, Yeon Woo’s expression turned subtly conflicted—then she ended up laughing along with him.
“Yeah. You did the right thing.”
Though her feelings were strange, she told herself it was okay to say that, given they’d been close friends for so long.
Anyway, her morning sickness still showed no sign of starting.
In fact, despite the wide variety of food laid out before her, she felt she was eating even better than usual—certainly no sign of nausea yet.
“Oh my! President!”
Sun Ok’s voice, startled while on the phone, came from near the front door.
“How have you been?”
Why was Tae Han here…?
Yeon Woo, who’d rushed out mid-meal, couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
Tae Han stood calmly at the entrance, dressed head to toe in black, as impeccably neat as he always appeared at the office.
No—maybe “shameless” was a better word.
His expression, smile, and gestures looked completely natural—as if he’d just happened to drop by on a whim.
Only Gyu Bin seemed to notice Yeon Woo’s discomfort; she could feel his gaze shifting between Tae Han and herself.
That only made Yeon Woo feel even more flustered.
“I’m always well. May I come in, if it’s alright? You’re in the middle of breakfast, I see.”
“Mom.”
Yeon Woo stopped Sun Ok from inviting Tae Han inside.
“He probably came for work. Let me talk to him first. President, could you speak with me for a moment?”
She gently but firmly pushed Sun Ok and Gyu Bin back inside, then quickly shut the front door—with a loud clang—and stepped out.
“What brings you here?”
Yeon Woo turned sharply toward Tae Han, her gaze surprisingly firm.
“What am I supposed to do when you suddenly show up like this?”
Though her expression showed discomfort, Tae Han remained composed, arms crossed calmly.
“I called, but you didn’t answer.”
“What? When…?”
But Yeon Woo stopped herself immediately—she remembered she’d neglected her phone ever since arriving in Cheonan.
“I’m sorry. I completely forgot to charge it.”
But today was the weekend.
“I didn’t expect you’d contact me on a weekend.”
“Even on weekends, urgent matters can come up that need staff. Haven’t you experienced that before?”
She closed her mouth, unable to argue. She knew, in fact, that secretarial staff earned higher salary raises than other departments precisely for this reason.
Still, there’d been no scheduled business trip to Cheonan, so she never imagined he’d call—let alone visit her home.
Even if something urgent had come up, him showing up at her house without notice was utterly baffling.
“Let’s move somewhere else. There’s a café just up this alley.”
Since this was a detached house, reaching the front door required climbing five stairs.
Standing face to face with him on the narrow staircase felt incredibly awkward. She could even picture Sun Ok and Gyu Bin inside, pressing their ears against the door.
“Hurry up.”
She grabbed Tae Han’s arm without thinking and pulled him along.
“Is it okay to leave during your meal?”
If he was going to ask whether it was okay, he shouldn’t have come in the first place.
“I’m already done eating.”
Yeon Woo, still holding his arm, stepped down the stairs.
She quickly led Tae Han to the café, ordered a warm tea for herself and a coffee for him, and sat across from him.
Her heart fluttered unexpectedly at seeing his face so close again.
His reason for coming was obvious.
It wasn’t for official business—it was personal.
She took a deep breath and asked,
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“You’re asking me that?”
Tae Han crossed his arms, leaning back with an off-kilter posture.
“Seo Yeon Woo.”
Just hearing her name called made her flinch as if she’d done something wrong.
“My card?”
Surprised by the abrupt mention of the card, Yeon Woo quickly realized what he meant—
She remembered the black card he’d pressed into her hand last night.
“It’s at home. I’ll return it to you when I get back to work on Monday.”
“I gave it to you to use—why didn’t you?”
“The taxi fare was personal, so I couldn’t use a corporate card.”
“It’s not corporate. It’s my personal card.”
If that was the case, she certainly couldn’t use it—did he really not understand that?
Since receiving the card, Yeon Woo hadn’t even thought about taking it out.
A brief silence passed between them—then their drinks arrived.
A lemon tea was set before Yeon Woo; a warm Americano before Tae Han.
“Aren’t you having coffee?”
“They say drinking coffee right after a meal drains all your calcium.”
Tae Han gave a soft chuckle and lifted his coffee cup.
Yeon Woo stared blankly at her teacup, a slice of lemon floating inside. Five years ago, she never would’ve imagined sitting across from him, sharing tea like this.
Lost in these strange feelings, she didn’t notice new customers entering—until she heard them ordering food and snapped back to reality.
“Have you eaten? They serve brunch here too.”
“I didn’t come here to eat.”
His blunt reply made her fall silent.
She’d boldly asked him why he was acting this way—but the longer they sat together, the more her courage faded.
“President.”
Still, she couldn’t just let this pass. Gathering her last bit of courage, she met his gaze.
“Why did you come today?”
“I don’t know myself.”
His answer was so frustratingly vague.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“It’s not exactly close from Seoul to here.”
“I went to the sauna yesterday and dozed off because I was tired.”
The sauna he mentioned was part of a hotel he frequented—it even had private rooms with beds and robes, where Tae Han often rested.
“When I woke up, it was dawn. And I came because I thought of you.”
Hearing he’d come because he’d thought of her, Yeon Woo’s heart raced—though she knew it wasn’t the kind of thought she secretly hoped for.
As if sensing her inner turmoil, Tae Han rested his chin sideways on his hand and said,
“Don’t get the wrong idea, though. It’s not like that couple at the next table.”
At the neighboring table, the couple who’d just ordered their meal were holding hands and chatting.
“Your hands are so cold—come here. I’ll warm them up for you.”
“Aww, so warm.”
The tables were close enough that their conversation carried over clearly—a sugary, love-filled couple by anyone’s standard.
Though slightly annoyed that Tae Han felt the need to clarify their relationship wasn’t like that, Yeon Woo was also relieved he’d drawn a clear boundary, keeping things from going too far.
“Now that you’ve seen me, please tell me your real reason for coming.”
She steadied her heart.
She told herself not to waver like she did in Seoul and looked straight at him.
“Tell me why you decided to resign.”
“As I told you before—it’s because I’m getting married.”
“I know that’s a lie, so don’t bother using that excuse.”
“Why do you think it’s a lie?”
Yeon Woo wasn’t in a position to speak confidently.
If Tae Han happened to ask Sun Ok, the truth would come out instantly.
Still, if she didn’t say something now, she feared she’d get dragged back into his orbit—so she steeled her gaze.
“You like me.”
“…”
But Yeon Woo forgot how to breathe.
“You’re not the type to marry another guy while keeping the man you like on the side.”
His piercing insight into her feelings made her shoulders stiffen.
Tae Han, clearly unwilling to waste any more time, came straight to the point.
“I’ll raise your salary by fifty percent.”
“It’s not about the salary.”
“Then a hundred percent.”
Yeon Woo’s eyes widened—this was an unprecedented, outrageous offer.
For a split second, she imagined earning double her current salary. With that kind of income, raising her child alone would be far less of a struggle financially.
But she quickly clenched both fists under the table.
“Even if you do that… I’ll still resign.”
“What would it take for you not to quit?”
Trapped by Tae Han, who gave her no chance to escape, Yeon Woo felt breathless.
She couldn’t tell him the truth—that she was pregnant—and she couldn’t invent another excuse after he’d already seen through her first lie.
“Will you go out with me, at least?”
Then, an unbelievable offer reached her ears.
Startled, Yeon Woo lifted her head just as the couple at the next table received their food.
“Wow! That looks delicious!”
Their chatter briefly interrupted the conversation, giving Yeon Woo a moment to calm herself by lifting her teacup.
Still, her trembling hand gripping the handle betrayed her nerves—just as the couple lifted their tomato pasta high into the air.
The rich scent of tomato sauce drifted strongly toward their table.
And the moment Yeon Woo caught that smell—
“Ugh…!”
She immediately covered her mouth.
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.
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aah, serim really messed up.
claimed to know everything but in reality know nothing.
allergic reaction could be really dangerous.