An Instinctive Proposal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Sung Won pressed the brake and glanced quickly into the rearview mirror.
Tae Han, seated in the back, remained silent. He was naturally taciturn except when giving orders, but lately, the atmosphere around him felt strangely different.
He often sank deep into thought, then suddenly pushed forward with work like a booster rocket, as if trying to shake off those thoughts.
It had been six years since Sung Won officially started serving him.
Even for Sung Won—who had known Tae Han for a decade through their time together at the Tae Sung Group—this behavior was utterly unfamiliar.
“Jeju Island gets traffic jams these days too. When I was young, I couldn’t even imagine something like this.”
Still, Tae Han gave no response, confirming clearly that something serious must have happened.
Take today alone—normally, he disliked Seok Chan’s seat, but this was the first time he’d completely ignored the flurry of attention from tycoons and conglomerates.
He seemed fixated on a single thought—something so overwhelming that nothing else could possibly get done.
“President.”
Only after being addressed did Tae Han’s annoyed gaze briefly meet his before quickly turning away.
“Do you have something troubling you?”
At that, the arrogance in his eyes flickered with momentary disturbance.
“No.”
Though his reply was coldly dismissive, Sung Won didn’t believe him.
“With all due respect, it seems like you do.”
Tae Han offered no answer.
A long silence filled the car they occupied together.
Just as the light changed and Sung Won lifted his foot off the brake, a low voice quietly drifted from the back seat.
“Director Kim, did you marry your wife through dating?”
“Yes. Not just me—most people usually marry after dating.”
“I see.”
What a foolish question I just asked.
Hearing the muttered remark, Sung Won looked at Tae Han’s reflection in the mirror with a puzzled expression.
Could it be… that President Ki Tae Han himself had a woman-related problem?
“So you’ve dated before, then, Director Kim?”
Faced with Tae Han pressing further with such an obvious question, Sung Won suppressed his bewilderment and answered steadily.
“Yes. We dated for about three years before getting married, and our child is now two years old.”
“There’s a woman who says she likes me.”
Out of nowhere came this sudden love consultation.
Sung Won was startled again but carefully concealed it as he spoke.
“Yes. Given your exceptional talent and outstanding appearance, President, you naturally attract admiration from many women.”
“She suddenly says she’ll leave me.”
“What?”
Sung Won blinked in surprise, then gently turned the steering wheel at the intersection and asked,
“So… this woman confessed her feelings to you and now says she’s leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ask her why?”
“She said it’s because I lie.”
She’s leaving because he lies?
Though the explanation was far from clear, Sung Won’s mind churned—until he recalled his own past.
His own love life hadn’t always been smooth, after all.
They’d endured long-distance dating, clashing personalities, and even periods where both secretly pined for each other, facing all sorts of crises before finally marrying.
“I think I might understand her reasoning.”
For the first time, Tae Han’s previously indifferent eyes sparked with interest.
“Because her feelings aren’t reciprocated, so she’d rather leave—is that it?”
“What are you talking about? Why would it be like that?”
“Because it’s painful. Especially if she sees you often—it must feel like emotional torture, constantly hoping yet never receiving anything in return. You, President, have never experienced that kind of pain, so you wouldn’t understand.”
At this, Tae Han frowned slightly, lost in thought.
Watching his president like this, Sung Won narrowed his eyes.
Countless women surely liked Tae Han—even without counting, easily over a hundred—but for him to show concern over just one woman now was suspicious.
Could it be that Tae Han actually had feelings for her too?
“But who…?”
Instead of answering, Tae Han simply closed his eyes.
***
“President?”
Yeon Woo called out to him in surprise, almost whispering.
Meeting Tae Han here—unexpectedly and at the worst possible moment—made him seem unusually serious.
—The president?
At that moment, Sun Ok, still on the phone, heard Yeon Woo’s muttered words and asked,
—Are you with the president right now?
“Mom, I’ll call you back later.”
Yeon Woo quickly ended the call and turned to face him.
Though the night was too dark to see his face clearly, his aura felt heavy—perhaps something unpleasant had happened at Seok Chan’s place.
After a brief pause, Yeon Woo forced a casual smile.
“Are you already done with your schedule? I thought you’d be later.”
Yet, Tae Han offered no reply.
She wondered if he might have overheard her call. Not that it mattered much either way.
“How are you feeling?”
But instead of the sharp reprimand she half-expected from his stern presence, his calm voice simply asked after her well-being.
“Thanks to you.”
“I’m glad.”
Though he said he was glad, he still seemed lost in other thoughts.
Feeling strangely awkward, Yeon Woo shifted her eyes and asked,
“What about you, though? Did you come alone?”
Knowing Tae Han didn’t usually stroll along beaches alone—romance not really being his style—she asked, only to be met once again with an unexpected answer.
“Secretary Seo came with me. She wouldn’t let me go anywhere alone.”
“Oh…”
So he must have been there in the lobby when she came down.
The moment realization dawned on her, he stepped closer.
“Your intention to resign—is it serious?”
Yeon Woo frowned and asked in return,
“Did you think I was joking?”
“I thought you’d be persuaded.”
“…”
“Because you like me.”
Yeon Woo nearly placed a hand over her heart without realizing it.
It felt like being blindsided by a powerful punch.
“President, you’re just…”
“But now I get it—why you absolutely must resign.”
As he spoke, he stepped even closer, the dim streetlight casting faint shadows across his face.
“Seo Yeon Woo.”
His dark eyes, fixed intently on her, gleamed strangely even in the darkness.
Yeon Woo tensed further, unable to guess what words would come next from his lips.
Even if he’d overheard her call, she hadn’t told Sun Ok about the pregnancy yet—so it couldn’t be something too serious.
“Is it painful being around me?”
“What?”
Yet something completely unexpected slipped from his lips.
“Because you like me, but standing beside someone unattainable feels like emotional torture, doesn’t it?”
Hearing Tae Han’s speculative assault, Yeon Woo’s head spun dizzily.
“Day after day must be exhausting. I never noticed Secretary Seo’s position clearly enough.”
“Presi—”
“Does it still hurt now? Just seeing me?”
Yeon Woo stared at him in stunned silence as he delivered this devastating provocation so casually.
Her mind went blank—she didn’t know what to say. Because she couldn’t flatly deny it, either.
And despite how absurd this situation was, the fact that her heart raced made her realize just how deeply she’d fallen for him.
“President, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
Yeon Woo spoke as if a rabbit caught in a tiger’s den.
If she didn’t focus right now, she feared she’d be swept away by him.
“Misunderstanding?”
Tae Han tilted his head slightly, as if it were impossible, and raised one eyebrow skeptically.
“No need to pretend otherwise.”
“It really is a misunderstanding. Although… I admit there’s also something I can’t deny.”
At her admission, his eyebrow finally relaxed back into place.
“But I’m not suffering so badly I’d cut off my livelihood. I’m pretty good at self-awareness—I’m not enduring emotional torture like you think.”
“Really?”
This time, the corner of his lips tilted up faintly.
“Well, that does sound like the Seo Yeon Woo I know.”
“In any case, it’s definitely not for the reason you’re thinking…”
“But if you can’t have me, you’d rather just leave—isn’t that right?”
Tae Han cut her off.
His words blurred the thin thread of reason she’d been clinging to.
“Since you can’t have me, you’d rather not see me at all.”
Yeon Woo was speechless. What on earth had happened at Seok Chan’s seat to make him charge at her like this?
She wanted to deny it, but it felt as though an invisible hand was clamping her mouth shut.
After her long silence, Tae Han gave a short laugh and ran a hand through his hair.
“I’ll meet you halfway.”
As if offering a kindness.
“I’ll agree to date you.”
At his magnanimous tone, Yeon Woo’s expression gradually cooled.
But Tae Han, failing to notice her growing pallor, spoke again—now with even more generosity in his voice.
“So please don’t resign. I need Secretary Seo. There are few employees I can trust with work as comfortably as I do you.”
Having finished speaking, Tae Han breathed out deeply, feeling relieved.
He never imagined he’d ever enter a man-and-woman relationship with her—but if this was the only way to keep her, he didn’t mind.
Besides, it wasn’t even unpleasant.
Truthfully, it was good. The memory of the night they’d spent together remained so vivid within him that it still surfaced from time to time.
From their very first meeting, Seo Yeon Woo had caught his attention—and naturally, he’d begun noticing her more.
When he realized she often stole glances at him—and later confirmed it—he’d felt something subtle yet potent.
A feeling deeper and more dangerous than simple joy or delight.
He’d called what happened between them an accident, but not once had Tae Han regretted that night with her.
“You’re my first, Secretary Seo.”
A woman who lingered in his thoughts.
Once she came to mind, she refused to leave, troubling him endlessly.
Until now, work had always mattered more than women to Tae Han.
Profit always came before love.
But the person who had slowly changed Ki Tae Han was none other than Seo Yeon Woo standing before him—so he had no intention of letting her go.
“You won’t resign, right?”
“…”
“Then shall we start today?”
Yeon Woo remained frozen like a doll.
Tae Han assumed her dazed expression meant she was simply overwhelmed with joy.
“Come on.”
Though he wasn’t entirely comfortable himself, he mustered the courage to reach out his hand first.
“You can hold it if you want to.”
At that, a subtle shift began in Yeon Woo’s pale, stiff expression.
And just as Tae Han closed the final distance to take her hand himself, Yeon Woo abruptly stepped backward.
“No.”
“What?”
“And I won’t be dating you, President.”
As his eyes widened in shock, Yeon Woo dashed away like the wind.
Tae Han stood frozen, unable even to lower his outstretched hand, staring as Yeon Woo vanished into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
aah, serim really messed up.
claimed to know everything but in reality know nothing.
allergic reaction could be really dangerous.