An Instinctive Proposal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 35
After work, Yeon Woo sat in front of Kyung Ho with a stiff expression.
Kyung Ho tried speaking to her, but she couldn’t focus on his words at all.
‘What on earth is he thinking?’
She never expected he’d say he’d wait in the exact same spot.
Behind Kyung Ho—in the diagonal seat directly opposite Yeon Woo—Tae Han was seated.
Leisurely sipping coffee and occasionally checking the time, he didn’t bat an eye despite Yeon Woo’s obvious discomfort and hints.
Recently, Yeon Woo had increasingly felt she didn’t understand Tae Han anymore.
Thinking back to the man he used to be, the current Tae Han seemed so different she could almost believe he was someone else entirely.
“Yeon Woo, are you okay?”
Just then, a palm waved back and forth in front of her eyes.
Only then did Yeon Woo snap out of her daze.
“Oh, sorry. What did you say? I guess I’m just tired today—my head keeps going blank.”
She gave an awkward smile as she sipped her lemon tea, now cooled to the perfect drinking temperature.
Kyung Ho set down his sandwich and asked worriedly,
“You really do look tired. Should I have suggested we meet tomorrow instead?”
“No, it’s fine. Anyway, what was that thing you wanted to tell me earlier?”
Yeon Woo forcibly redirected her attention away from Tae Han and focused on Kyung Ho.
“Oh, that.”
Kyung Ho scooped up a large dollop of whipped cream from his mocha with his straw, popped it into his mouth, and mumbled while chewing,
“You’re leaving the company soon, right?”
His tone was so casual it almost sounded like he’d asked whether she was heading home after work.
“Ah… Yeah. That’s how it turned out.”
Yet Yeon Woo didn’t look flustered and simply nodded.
She regretted hearing this from Kyung Ho instead of Ji Hyun—the person she’d wanted to tell first—but now there was no reason left to hide it.
“But how did you find out? I haven’t even told anyone in our office yet.”
“I thought everyone already knew?”
“Really?”
So that’s why she’d felt so many eyes on her today.
She’d dismissed it as just her imagination, but now realizing there was an actual reason made her feel oddly unsettled.
Why hadn’t anyone asked her directly about her resignation, even though they all knew?
What bothered her was that the glances she’d received didn’t feel particularly kind—hardly like they were meant out of consideration for her.
“I see…”
When Yeon Woo muttered under her breath with a slightly uncomfortable expression, Kyung Ho folded his used napkin in half and set it down before speaking.
“I’m disappointed. I never thought you’d be the first among our batch to resign.”
“…Yeah, me neither.”
Yeon Woo gave a bitter smile and lifted her teacup.
She realized it was truly time to start detaching emotionally from those who remained.
When they hear the news, the rest of our batch will definitely be disappointed too. I’ll bring it up in the group chat tomorrow.”
“Okay. Thanks for looking out for me.”
“Of course. We should also set a date for your farewell party soon.”
“Ah… sure.”
Hearing the word “farewell party” finally made her resignation feel real.
Though she dreaded large gatherings because of her morning sickness, Yeon Woo couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
She pretended to sip her lemon tea again and subtly glanced past Kyung Ho’s shoulder.
Tae Han was leaning his chin against his hand, watching the tablet propped upright in front of him.
He was probably working, but the unique sense of ease emanating from him made it feel as if the café had transformed into a resort.
Where does he get that kind of energy?
Even though they shared the same space, it felt as if she and he existed in entirely separate worlds.
“By the way, was the ‘strange rumor’ you mentioned earlier about my resignation?”
Suddenly, something occurred to her.
“Are you okay? I just heard a weird rumor.”
The words Kyung Ho had said earlier.
Since “weird rumors” were rarely good news, Yeon Woo wondered what kind of gossip might be circulating given her upcoming resignation.
Kyung Ho, who had just bitten into the remaining half of his sandwich, shook his head.
“Well… no. This might get a bit serious—do you mind if I tell you now?”
“Go ahead. That’s why we met, isn’t it?”
Especially if it concerned her—she needed to hear it, whatever it was.
Kyung Ho wiped between his fingers with a napkin, leaned back against his chair, and began,
“There’s a rumor going around that you’re resigning because you’re pregnant.”
Yeon Woo’s hand, fiddling with her teacup, froze abruptly.
Her heart sank like a stone.
Seeing Yeon Woo’s visibly trembling gaze, Kyung Ho swallowed the rest of his sandwich and spoke earnestly,
“That’s actually why I wanted to confirm it with you.”
“Who’s saying that?”
“Is it true?”
“Who on earth started that rumor…?”
She should have denied it immediately, but her mouth went dry and her hands shook.
Her eyes stung and reddened as if tears might spill over at any moment, yet she held them back with all her strength.
“Is it really true?”
Kyung Ho asked, disbelief plain on his face.
Only then did Yeon Woo feel as if she’d been struck from behind, jolting her fully awake.
Though disappointed that her colleagues were spreading such talk about her, she knew clearly that if she didn’t set the record straight now, Tae Han would inevitably suffer the consequences.
“No.”
Gripping her cold fingertips tightly, she answered firmly.
“I’m not pregnant.”
“Really?”
Yet Kyung Ho looked at her as if he couldn’t believe it—as if he were absolutely certain she was expecting.
“…Well, if you say you’re not, then I guess you’re not.”
“Yes. I’m absolutely not.”
“Alright. Why get so serious about it?”
Kyung Ho smiled in front of Yeon Woo, whose face had gone pale.
It felt strange how he seemed to suggest she was overreacting to something trivial.
“Why do you say it like that? Isn’t it stranger not to get serious in a situation like this?”
“Fine, fine. I’ll make sure the rumor gets corrected properly, so calm down.”
It wasn’t merely about being angry—but he dismissed her valid concern as simple anger, and she was disappointed in him for believing and relaying such baseless gossip. Still, she stayed silent.
She no longer felt capable of opening her heart to anyone.
To steady herself, she lifted her teacup again.
She’d made it absolutely clear—surely the rumor wouldn’t spread further. She dreaded Tae Han facing awkwardness even more than any trouble it might cause her.
“But who exactly told you that rumor?”
“Hey, how can I possibly name names? The person who told me probably heard it from someone else anyway.”
Who exactly was supposed to be showing consideration here?
Yeon Woo frowned.
“I only brought it up because I was worried. I also wondered if you even knew about the rumor.”
“No matter where that false rumor originated, I’m not pregnant.”
“Alright.”
Kyung Ho let out a quiet scoff, then quickly smoothed his expression and began again.
“But you know…”
Just as Yeon Woo was trying hard to suppress her emotions for Tteun Tteun’s sake, Kyung Ho continued.
“If it’s truly false, the rumor will fade—but if it’s the opposite, you might face serious backlash, right?”
“What?”
At the obvious insinuation, Yeon Woo’s face flushed red—
“Twenty-one minutes, sixteen seconds.”
Suddenly, someone plopped down heavily beside Kyung Ho.
Yeon Woo’s eyes widened in shock as she recognized who it was.
It was Tae Han.
He raised his wrist to check the time, then looked directly at her.
“Unfortunately, that’s the limit of how long I can wait.”
“P-President?”
Kyung Ho, too, only just noticed his presence and his eyes flew open.
“Again? Deputy Lee Kyung Ho?”
Tae Han gave Yeon Woo a brief glance, then turned to face Kyung Ho.
“What exactly does Deputy Lee Kyung Ho from the Management Support Team keep wanting with my secretary?”
“Ah—I, we’re batchmates! We just met briefly to chat…”
“For batchmates, Secretary Seo’s expression didn’t look good at all. Were you threatening her or something?”
“Threaten? Haha—surely you’re joking too much…”
“I’m the kind of person who won’t feel at ease unless I protect my own staff.”
Under the overwhelming aura Tae Han projected, Kyung Ho flinched and fell silent.
“It won’t just slide past me.”
His low voice carried a chilling edge.
Even Kyung Ho, who was normally bold and shameless in front of anyone, couldn’t muster any defiance in front of Tae Han.
Tae Han then turned to Yeon Woo.
“Did something happen?”
“Nothing at all.”
As if he’d expected her answer, Tae Han didn’t press further, simply stood up from his seat.
“Then let’s go—movie time.”
Kyung Ho’s eyes bulged, and Yeon Woo was utterly flustered.
“What? Didn’t you come here already knowing you and Secretary Seo are in a dating relationship?”
“President…!”
Yeon Woo tried to stop him, but Tae Han stared Kyung Ho down with lowered eyes.
“You didn’t hear that part? Then go spread the word—tell everyone exactly what you saw here.”
After uttering those cryptic words, Tae Han left the spot, taking Yeon Woo’s hand with him and leaving Kyung Ho, whose lower eyelids trembled uncontrollably.
“How can you say things like that!”
Already in the middle of denying her pregnancy, Yeon Woo was thrown into utter confusion.
“Deputy Lee Kyung Ho has wide connections—the rumor will spread like wildfire!”
“That’s exactly why I said it.”
“…What did you say?”
“And you—don’t contact Deputy Lee Kyung Ho anymore. Cut off all ties with him starting today.”
Yeon Woo was speechless.
“Is that really the issue right now? After you said that, how am I supposed to endure the next two months? Maybe I shouldn’t even go back to the office!”
“Why wouldn’t you go to the office?”
“You have your own private office, so of course it doesn’t bother you! It’s different for me!”
Yeon Woo was overwhelmed—not just surprised or flustered, but thoroughly bewildered.
She was scared her words might somehow cause trouble for Tae Han.
Tae Han stared at Yeon Woo’s flushed, agitated face, then spoke in a calm, lowered voice.
“Calm down. You’ll get sick again.”
Only then did Yeon Woo sharply inhale.
“The rumor won’t spread. Today’s incident is already under control—no gossip will get out.”
From start to finish, Yeon Woo couldn’t understand a word he said.
“This is so confusing.”
“Then I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I really don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“Just stop contacting Deputy Lee Kyung Ho.”
“We weren’t even in contact to begin with. I only ran into him by chance earlier—he said he had something to tell me, so we met.”
“You really think that was just coincidence?”
Yeon Woo furrowed her brows, utterly perplexed.
Tae Han let out a sigh as if frustrated, then looked at her with noticeably calmer eyes.
“I barely managed to squeeze out some time. I don’t intend to waste it arguing with you—let’s just go eat first. The movie starts in an hour.”
Yeon Woo bit her lip.
Tae Han gave a small, questioning tilt of his chin—as if to ask if she wasn’t coming.
After a brief pause, Yeon Woo swallowed a sigh. She, too, had no desire to spend their time together in a pointless argument.
“What are we watching?”
“Dunno. Director Kim booked the current number-one movie for us.”
Having finished speaking, Tae Han checked his watch and turned to walk ahead.
“We’re eating meat, right?”
Yeon Woo couldn’t take her eyes off his broad back as he strode away swiftly—
Every passerby turned to admire him, and even the dazzling city lights seemed dimmed in his presence.
He was a man who seemingly had everything—a perfect man—but he still hadn’t realized that on dates, he needed to match his pace to hers.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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aah, serim really messed up.
claimed to know everything but in reality know nothing.
allergic reaction could be really dangerous.