An Instinctive Proposal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 4
Tae Han’s gaze was stern, as if excuses wouldn’t be tolerated.
“So when I give you a chance, speak clearly.”
An oppressive stare bore down on her from straight ahead.
Yeon Woo’s dry Adam’s apple bobbed.
Why did he have to shake her heart again over something that should’ve just required his approval?
“I came here to hear the real reason.”
Yeon Woo had thought she’d firmly made up her mind.
Yet now, standing face-to-face with Tae Han as he asked for the “real reason,” her resolve splintered in two.
She still wanted to raise her child away from him.
But she couldn’t suppress the bitter, wounded resentment bubbling inside.
She wanted to demand why only she had to suffer like this—why only she, when Sung Min Hee was still walking arm-in-arm with him in and out of hotels.
Though furious, Yeon Woo struggled to keep hold of her rationality until the end.
“There are plenty of capable employees besides me. You’ll surely find an even better secretary this time.”
Tae Han sighed as if exhausted by Yeon Woo’s evasiveness, placing a hand on his neck and shaking his head.
“I’ll give you a generous handover period so it won’t inconvenience you. I’ve already informed the section chief as well. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Seo Yeon Woo.”
His voice dropped even lower, heavy with emotion.
“If I were willing to patch things up, do you think I’d be here in person? Why’s the usually sharp Seo Yeon Woo acting so frustratingly vague?”
The night air turned the tip of her nose red.
“Just be honest. You always give yourself away whenever you’re hiding something.”
Having finished speaking, Tae Han adjusted his stance as if ready to hear her answer.
Her heart wavered again.
Taking a deep breath, Yeon Woo lifted her eyes to look up at Tae Han standing firmly before her.
Anyone meeting Tae Han for the first time would be intimidated right away.
Nearly 190 cm tall, with an athlete-like, muscular build and an unrefined, piercing gaze.
New hires had more than once been crushed by his charisma, bursting into tears.
“What are you waiting for? I told you to speak.”
But Yeon Woo had never once been afraid of him.
From the start, he’d been someone she admired—and later, someone she came to like.
Even now, she wanted to hold onto the look in his eyes fixed on her—because this was the first time since that night he was looking directly into her eyes, not at documents or a monitor.
Yet she knew it would be dangerous to let her emotions take control again.
Yeon Woo steeled herself calmly. To protect her child, she had no choice but to be brave.
“I’m getting married.”
At that, Tae Han froze as if struck by lightning.
An icy silence passed between them.
A gust of wind swept through the space separating them.
Her confession seemed to hit him hard. Stiff as a statue, Tae Han glared at her as if trying to pierce straight through her.
Unable to bear his penetrating stare, Yeon Woo began to lower her head—when a rough, throat-scraping voice cut through the air.
“What the hell.”
Tae Han shook his head in disbelief, looking up at the sky, then let out a hollow laugh.
“Marriage?”
Unable to meet his eyes, Yeon Woo looked down.
“There’s never any middle ground with you, is there?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Marriage? So Assistant Secretary Seo had a boyfriend all this time? As far as I knew, you didn’t have any man in your life.”
He was right.
She hadn’t even had a father around, let alone a boyfriend.
Early in her career, she’d gone on a few blind dates, but over time she simply ran out of time—and, more importantly, had already given her heart entirely to him, so she’d lost all interest in dating.
“You can’t possibly know everything about me, sir.”
But Yeon Woo concealed her true feelings behind a faint, ambiguous smile.
Frowning, clearly dissatisfied with her answer, Tae Han pressed on.
“So where is this boyfriend of yours?”
“He lives in my hometown.”
“So you’re planning to move back to Cheonan, then?”
Instead of answering, Yeon Woo gave a small nod.
Tae Han stood motionless, both hands resting on his waist, as if struck by an even greater shock.
Unable to endure the lengthening silence, Yeon Woo glanced up at him.
Tae Han stood beneath a streetlamp. The falling golden light seemed like a spotlight just for him.
This was always the problem—even in a moment like this, he felt like a scene from a movie, and she kept helplessly fluttering inside despite herself.
“Are you joking?”
His reaction, when it finally came after a long pause, was predictably cold.
“In this day and age, who quits their job just because they’re getting married? Is your boyfriend some chaebol heir?”
“It’s because I have to move back to Cheonan myself.”
“Did your boyfriend ask you to?”
Yeon Woo fell silent for a moment, unsure how to answer—but Tae Han didn’t wait for her.
“Let me tell you this as a man—any guy who’s only thinking about himself is a hundred percent hopeless trash. He’s the kind of guy who can’t even respect his wife’s position.”
“It’s not like that. I just want to live in Cheonan.”
“Then transfer to the Cheonan branch. I’ll issue the reassignment myself.”
Yeon Woo’s words caught in her throat once again, and she fell silent.
She hadn’t anticipated Tae Han would oppose her resignation so strongly.
“The company isn’t important to me. Honestly, I don’t understand why you’re going this far, sir.”
This time, Tae Han didn’t reply.
Instead, his expression turned perplexing.
Like a genius encountering an unsolvable problem for the first time, he simply stared at her with disbelief.
“Not important?”
After a brief pause, his voice came calm and measured, as if seeking confirmation.
“Yes. It’s not important. So please approve my resignation.”
Yeon Woo spoke with deliberate firmness.
Another wave of chilly silence followed.
Swallowing hard under the weight of the prolonged quiet, Yeon Woo found it strange to see Ki Tae Han—usually like a sudden storm—lost in thought.
But she figured things would finally go her way now.
After all, a company couldn’t legally prevent an employee from resigning.
Yet shortly after, a slight shift appeared on Tae Han’s face as he continued to glare at her intensely.
Yeon Woo flinched, her shoulders twitching.
She recognized that look and atmosphere all too well.
Having stood by Tae Han’s side for five years, she knew his subtle habits.
Sharp by nature, he was quick to catch on—and whenever he sensed something…
‘Surely not…’
He offered that twisted smile again.
Her heart pounded with unease for a moment—then his voice reached her, oddly relieved.
“I have one question.”
Yeon Woo lifted her head.
“How long have you and your boyfriend been together?”
Out of nowhere, he asked about the length of her relationship.
Since this was the first time he’d ever asked such a personal question, Yeon Woo sensed the advantage had shifted back to him.
“Why do you need to know that?”
“Don’t I have the right to ask? Look at everything I’ve done for you.”
She couldn’t deny it—it was undeniable.
She still didn’t understand why he cared about her love life, but she couldn’t avoid answering either.
In the end, Yeon Woo chose a safe reply.
“About a year.”
“A year.”
At that, Tae Han’s eyes lit up clearly, as if he’d found the answer he was looking for—like he’d just caught her red-handed.
“So Assistant Secretary Seo slept with me while you already had a boyfriend?”
“Oh…” A soft gasp slipped from Yeon Woo’s lips.
Only now did she realize the flaw in her answer—but correcting it would only make her seem more suspicious, so she stayed silent.
Tae Han, who’d been staring at her relentlessly, lifted one corner of his mouth in a sardonic smirk.
“I know Seo Yeon Woo isn’t the kind of woman who’d do something like that.”
“Thinking you know someone well is arrogance, sir.”
Though her chest tightened painfully, Yeon Woo kept her composure as she spoke.
“For me, that night was just an accident.”
“An accident?”
“Yes. An accident.”
At that, Tae Han’s eyebrows arched sharply, giving him a defiant look.
Silence fell again.
She couldn’t read his thoughts as he fixed her with a gaze so sharp it felt like it would strip away her skin and expose everything beneath.
He’d been the one to call it an accident first.
Refusing to be swayed by him, Yeon Woo clenched her fists.
“Assistant Secretary Seo, you’ve really grown up.”
After a moment, unable to bear his blatant stare any longer, Yeon Woo turned her eyes away—and a dry chuckle escaped him.
“Even daring to treat me like a fool.”
His lowered eyes glinted coldly.
“Is this really the face of a woman about to get married?”
Only then did Yeon Woo bite her lip, finally steadying her wavering gaze.
“If you’re going to lie, at least attend an acting class first.”
“Please stop. However you feel about this, it’s none of my concern. I don’t want to discuss this matter any further.”
“How is it not my concern? You slept with me—three times. No, four, if you count the morning after?”
“Sir!”
Yeon Woo cried out sharply, her face burning hot.
In contrast, Tae Han grew even more composed, slowly straightening his back and lifting his chin.
“Planning to sleep with me and run? What ambitious dreams you have.”
“You’re being excessive. What exactly are you trying to say…”
“It won’t happen that way.”
Flames seemed to burn blackly in Tae Han’s eyes.
“It won’t go your way.”
“Sir…”
“Think it over tonight.”
Tae Han tapped his temple lightly with his index finger.
“Rationally.”
Leaving those words for Yeon Woo, who couldn’t utter a single rebuttal, he turned and walked away, saying he’d see her at the office tomorrow.
She didn’t even have a chance to grab him—but before she could, Tae Han had already gotten into his car and disappeared down the alley.
Staring blankly at the fading red taillights, Yeon Woo’s lips trembled.
“Ha…”
The cold air reddened the tip of her nose again. Her head and heart were in such turmoil she couldn’t collect herself.
***
She’d first met Tae Han five years ago.
Yeon Woo, then in her final year of university, was preparing for an important interview.
‘Please let me pass.’
Having grown up in a single-parent household, Yeon Woo’s dream was to let Sun Ok—who’d worked her whole life in restaurants—finally rest.
To do that, she needed to start earning money as soon as possible and work wherever paid even a little more.
In that sense, Tae Sung BioLogics was the most ideal company for her among all the firms she’d considered.
After passing every stage through diligent preparation, only the final interview remained. Standing before the mirror in her interview outfit, Yeon Woo took a deep breath.
‘I can do this.’
There was another reason she felt so nervous.
The biotech firm, spun off from the globally renowned Tae Sung Group, had become a major topic of discussion after the chairman’s second grandson took over as president.
“They say he used to be a gangster.”
Unlike the eldest grandson, Ki Tae Wook, who’d followed the elite executive path, little was known about the second grandson.
He was so shrouded in mystery—rumored to have been deliberately hidden by the family—that gossip about him was a staple topic in job-seeking study groups.
“They say he’s reckless, a tyrant—and has no respect for women.”
“Isn’t it true he has a scar running across his face? That’s why he avoids public appearances for image control.”
“Yeon Woo, are you really okay working as secretary for someone like that? What’ll you do if you get hired?”
Though everyone worried about her, Yeon Woo didn’t actually believe the rumors.
How could the grandson of a global powerhouse conglomerate possibly be a gangster and a tyrant? It was absurd.
“Hoo…”
Yet perhaps deep down, she was still anxious.
Sitting in the waiting room, nerves tingling to her fingertips, she waited for her turn for the secretary position under the infamous second grandson—infamous for being a gangster with endless scandals.
After what felt like ages of steady breathing, her name was finally called.
“Ms. Seo Yeon Woo. Please come in.”
As she stepped through the door held open by a staff member, sunlight pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind the desk dazzled her eyes.
A man sat with his back to the window, facing her.
He had shoulders as broad as the Pacific, a thick neck, and intense, piercing eyes that seemed to bore through her to the floor.
She’d attended several interviews before, but never had an interviewer left such a powerful impression.
“Please have a seat.”
Only then did she notice two other interviewers seated beside the man, their voices unfamiliar to her.
Standard questions and answers followed. The atmosphere seemed fine, yet she couldn’t fully relax.
And just as she was about to offer her final greeting before leaving the interview room—
“Ms. Seo Yeon Woo.”
A deep voice rang out.
She didn’t need to look up to guess who’d spoken. Swallowing hard without realizing it, Yeon Woo met the man’s gaze.
He sat slightly slouched, one hand propped under his chin, flipping through her résumé with apparent nonchalance.
Even that posture felt like a scene straight out of a movie.
When the male lead is punished by carrying the female lead’s child and having periods like a woman
“I’ve given birth to two children for you, yet you still think about him.
Was I nothing but his substitute to you from beginning to end?”
Synopsis:
Meng Huan, a scumbag who has dated countless girlfriends, transmigrates to a female-dominated country.
Day 1: Whether it’s female dominance or not doesn’t matter. The beauties here are passionate and amorous. Isn’t it easier to date them than in modern times?
Day 2: After a night, Meng Huan discovers the differences in the female-dominated world. Men here actually have chastity locks and menstrual cycles. This hinders his ability to perform, damn it!
Day 3: What’s wrong with sleeping around? I don’t want you to marry me. I’m meant to be a playboy. I don’t care about male virtues… What? You want to drown me in a pig cage? Marry, I’ll marry!
Day N: Meng Huan inexplicably vomits and receives the shocking news of his life… He’s pregnant.
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aah, serim really messed up.
claimed to know everything but in reality know nothing.
allergic reaction could be really dangerous.