An Instinctive Proposal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
The day of departure for Jeju.
Before heading to the airport, Yeon Woo stopped by the hospital first. It was only possible because her flight wasn’t until the afternoon.
And shortly afterward, she held a pharmacy bag in her hand.
‘Good. With this, there won’t be any major issues.’
Knowing even a short trip could bring hardship, she’d gotten anti-nausea medication prescribed.
After checking the time, Yeon Woo stepped out onto the main road to catch the limousine bus to the airport.
Though the bus stop wasn’t close, it seemed she’d just make it if she hurried.
As Yeon Woo briskly walked along, pulling her travel bag behind her, she soon halted at the sound of her ringing phone.
Taking her phone from her pocket, she saw Tae Han’s name—whom she’d agreed to meet at the airport—on the screen.
Still carrying memories from Cheonan, Yeon Woo steeled herself before answering.
“Hello?”
If you’re ready, come downstairs.
“Huh? What do you mean…? Are you by any chance already outside my place?”
Yeah.
For a moment, Yeon Woo felt completely speechless.
“I’m already outside.”
There was silence on the other end of the line—apparently, he hadn’t expected her to leave home this early.
You’ve already left?
His response came a beat late.
“I haven’t actually departed yet, but I had some errands, so I left early. I’m on my way to catch the limousine bus now.”
Which stop?
His voice sounded unusually serious.
When Yeon Woo absentmindedly told him her location, Tae Han simply replied it’d take less than five minutes and hung up.
Staring blankly at her phone still pressed to her ear, Yeon Woo blinked in surprise.
She’d only needed that much time to reach the stop anyway, so continuing as planned made sense—but she couldn’t understand why he’d suddenly come.
‘Honestly, he’s so self-willed.’
He’d called out of the blue, acting as if it were perfectly natural to ask her to come down, even though they hadn’t explicitly agreed to meet first. The sheer nerve of it left her exasperated—but only belatedly.
Yet, despite her thoughts, she knew all too well how meticulously he operated within plans, and couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter.
But it wasn’t just excitement she felt.
“What can I possibly do? All I can do is struggle like this.”
Having heard those words not long ago, she found herself laughing bitterly at how pitiful she was—still wanting to mistake his kindness for genuine affection.
By the time she reached the bus stop, Yeon Woo spotted a familiar sedan. Seeing her, the car pulled over to the roadside.
She hurried toward it quickly so as not to obstruct traffic.
“Are you emigrating or something?”
Tae Han, stepping out from the driver’s seat, scoffed as he saw her suitcase reaching up to her thighs.
“I only have this one travel bag. And it’s not even that big.”
“Give it here.”
Tae Han reached out and lifted her suitcase effortlessly.
“Sure looks like emigration to me.”
Grumbling once more, he loaded it into the trunk. It had become somewhat heavy from packing various items.
Feeling embarrassed, Yeon Woo stayed quiet and followed him into the passenger seat.
Once she’d fastened her seatbelt, the car started moving.
It felt awkward. Come to think of it, this was the first time she’d ever ridden in a car he was driving. They’d shared the backseat of a company vehicle before, but only out of necessity.
Sitting still, her thoughts began swirling again. And when her mind grew chaotic, her chest grew restless too.
“Did you come to pick me up today?”
She asked, sounding suspicious, but Tae Han, eyes fixed ahead, gave a simple reply.
“Yes.”
Her heart sank once more.
But having sorted out her feelings through the night, Yeon Woo decided to say what she’d resolved to after taking a deep breath.
“This won’t work.”
“We’ll see if it works or not.”
How could he sound so confident when she—the one who’d declared her intention to resign—said it was pointless?
Yet even as she thought that, she found she couldn’t argue against his words.
What was she still hoping for?
“I’ll contact HR after I return from the symposium.”
She said this to steady her wavering self.
But Tae Han remained silent. He quietly turned the steering wheel and, after stopping briefly at a red light, pulled something out from below.
“Don’t drain your energy before breakfast. Just eat.”
He dropped a small paper bag onto her lap.
“What’s this?”
“Just some light snacks. I heard this is how people eat breakfast these days.”
Opening the bag, she found silken tofu, yogurt, and fruit inside.
All foods easy on the stomach. Had he noticed she’d been feeling unwell?
“Why, did you already eat breakfast?”
Noticing she just stared at the bag without moving, he turned to look at her, puzzled.
“No, I haven’t eaten yet…”
Yeon Woo hesitated—unsure whether she should accept it or politely decline.
She didn’t want to readily accept his kindness.
Rrrr.
At that moment, a ringtone filled the car—it was Tae Han’s phone.
“Ki Tae Han speaking.”
Tae Han-ah.
At the voice coming through the speaker, Yeon Woo flinched, still fiddling with the bag.
She recognized Min Hee just from her voice.
Unlike Yeon Woo, who was visibly unsettled, Tae Han calmly turned the wheel and spoke.
“What’s up?”
Yeon Woo wasn’t sure if it was okay to hear their conversation—but she didn’t realize she was already straining to listen toward the speaker.
I was just wondering if you’d received an invitation to the consortium event too. My secretary suddenly handed me something odd.
Min Hee spoke in a soft, gentle tone—completely different from her tone during their recent conversation with Yeon Woo.
With such a pretty face and a voice like that, was there any man who wouldn’t be drawn to her? Yeon Woo glanced sideways at Tae Han as the thought crossed her mind.
But she couldn’t read his expression—he kept his eyes straight ahead.
“Aren’t consortium invitations something we get every year anyway?”
His voice sounded detached.
Still, this is my first time with the consortium—it’s like an international organization, right? You didn’t get an invite?
Yeon Woo wondered if a consortium invitation really warranted a phone call for consultation.
As Tae Han said, invitations poured in by the dozens daily—Min Hee’s was just one among many.
“I don’t understand why you’re calling over something like this.”
Tae Han muttered irritably.
Huh? What did you say?
“If you’re only calling to ask about attending, discuss it with your secretary. I’m on my way to a business trip—if that’s all, I’m hanging up.”
He ended the call before Min Hee could add another word.
Yeon Woo stared at him, stunned.
He’d always been cold-blooded—without mercy or sentiment.
He acted only for profit, and even his relationships were built on calculated logic.
Though she admired him, she’d often wished he’d change that particular trait.
Even if he’d recently been acting kind toward her, she knew his core hadn’t changed—so she should’ve felt disappointed by the way he’d just ended the call…
“I’ll eat it properly.”
Caught off guard by her sudden remark, Tae Han briefly glanced at her.
“Breakfast.”
Holding up the bag slightly, Yeon Woo took out the silken tofu first.
His cold demeanor should’ve annoyed her, yet she couldn’t understand why her heart felt so at ease.
⭐⭐⭐
They arrived at the airport.
After greeting Sung Won, who’d arrived earlier, Yeon Woo boarded the plane with them.
She’d naturally assumed she’d be seated separately from Tae Han in economy class—but she was assigned the same section.
Although Sung Won sat beside him.
“It’s just a symposium, so don’t be nervous. Keep the mindset of a student attending class.”
“Yes, I’ll learn well and come back.”
After answering, Yeon Woo subtly turned to glance at Tae Han.
Seated alone, he was focused on his tablet. He wasn’t striking any particular pose, yet an air of calm confidence radiated from him.
What was he thinking about?
Suddenly, she realized she knew nothing about Tae Han.
“Director, what kind of person is President Ki, really?”
Coworkers were always quick to praise Tae Han, but she was curious about Sung Won’s perspective—his closest aide.
If he treated Min Hee that way, how must he treat his own secretary?
“Out of nowhere? Well, he’s someone worth respecting.”
The expected reply came first.
“But surprisingly, he’s also quite human. I’d say he has a quietly warm heart.”
“President Ki?”
When Yeon Woo looked at him incredulously, Sung Won grinned mischievously.
“No one believes me when I say this, but I know that side of him.”
Instead of replying, Yeon Woo simply turned her head.
She recalled how he’d been kind to her lately—likely because he feared she’d quit.
She’d assumed his coming to pick her up today was part of some calculated plan, but maybe that warmth was genuinely part of who he was.
‘No, no.’
She quickly shook off the thought.
If she kept thinking like this, there’d be no end to it. To truly detach herself from Tae Han, she couldn’t even consider his humanity.
As she tried to settle her tangled emotions, the plane began its ascent.
Watching Seoul’s landscape grow smaller below, Yeon Woo unconsciously placed a hand on her stomach.
Please hold up well, even for this short flight. Even with the doctor’s reassurance, she still couldn’t relax completely.
Shortly after, the seatbelt sign turned off, and flight attendants began preparing drinks.
Yeon Woo took out her tablet to review symposium materials during the flight.
“Yeon Woo, the President is calling for you.”
Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder.
Turning, she saw Tae Han watching her from across the aisle.
Their eyes met—and though her heart fluttered again, she showed no sign of it as she walked over.
“I heard you called for me.”
At that, his dark eyes—previously half-hidden beneath his lashes—lifted fully to meet hers.
“Here’s the Jeju itinerary. Familiarize yourself with it.”
He handed her the tablet he’d been viewing.
She didn’t understand why he’d deliver the schedule himself instead of having Sung Won do it—but she accepted it without protest.
The screen displayed a rough schedule organized by time. As Sung Won had said, the main event was the symposium, and nothing else seemed particularly noteworthy.
“But this…”
However, her brow furrowed the moment she saw the final item on the schedule.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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aah, serim really messed up.
claimed to know everything but in reality know nothing.
allergic reaction could be really dangerous.