She said, raising the corner of her mouth with a sly expression.
“Now, will you stand on my side?”
“…”
“Ah… still not ready? Well then, I guess I’ll have to upload this to the internet right now.”
She took out her phone from her bag as if threatening. It felt like a kind of intimidation, but Da Jeong couldn’t just stay quiet. In one step, she rushed over and grabbed Myeong Ok’s hand.
“W-Wait! Just a moment…”
“As expected, it won’t work, right?”
Myeong Ok smiled gracefully and took her phone back from Da Jeong’s hand.
“Give me some time to think. R-Right now, I don’t know what’s what.”
“…Alright. I’ll wait. But remember this one thing. If Tae Sang ends up on my side, Han Da Jeong, your life will be thoroughly ruined. I have a personality where I have to repay double what I receive.”
Da Jeong couldn’t offer any response, and Myeong Ok took out a cardholder from her bag.
“I’ll be waiting for your call.”
A sparkling business card emerged on the table. She passed by Da Jeong, who was still silent, and left.
As she walked past Da Jeong, she suddenly remembered something and spoke.
“Oh, and…”
“…?”
“You drank the tea quite well.”
Myeong Ok glanced at the untouched tea on the table. Her lips, tinged with a crimson hue, resembled a predator that had just completed a hunt.
She exuded a strong scent of perfume as she passed by Da Jeong.
The echoing sound of high heels gradually faded away, and soon, with a solid thud, the door closed.
Alone, Da Jeong collapsed onto the sofa.
The plane that had entered the runway slowly rolled its wheels and moved forward.
Tae Sang, who had been looking out the window, narrowed his forehead.
She must be waiting.
Although it wasn’t a particularly long flight, his patience had long since worn thin. He checked his watch again, and with a low humming sound, the plane’s engines shut off.
Tae Sang unknowingly tensed his thigh muscles, causing them to tighten and making his suit feel constrictive.
He got up from his seat as if in a hurry as soon as the plane door opened.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Yes? Oh, yes. Thank you…”
The flustered flight attendant couldn’t even finish her greeting before Tae Sang quickly disembarked.
He immediately checked his phone. His steps, which had been moving briskly, came to a sudden halt.
Dazed, Tae Sang slowly brushed his eyelashes. His face was full of regret, and he seemed like a frozen statue.
“…”
However, after a moment, a small crack appeared in his composed expression.
Something had come up. It wasn’t a phrase typically used to describe a favorable situation.
Tae Sang slowly exhaled and concentrated on Da Jeong’s next words. His anxious heart slowly swelled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Yes? Oh, no, it’s not like that, it’s just…”
“…”
“It’s just that I’m a bit busy with the orphanage work. I stopped by the Hope Center before heading to the airport. But when I got there, there was so much to do, and there was only one teacher…”
“Da Jeong.”
“Yes?”
“What’s wrong?”
The certainty in his voice was not a question but a statement.
He took a slow breath and waited for Da Jeong’s next words. His chest, filled with anxious anticipation, slowly expanded.
“Tae Sang.”
“I’m listening.”
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
Her voice was soft, as if it would crumble if he squeezed it in his hand.
He squeezed the phone tightly in his hand. His patience had already turned to ash a long time ago.
“Go ahead and tell me. I’ll come as quickly as possible, so just wait a bit.”
“No, please don’t come! It’s hard for me to say when I see your face… Just listen to me over the phone.”
“What happened?”
“…Earlier, your mother came to see me, and then she left… She asked me all sorts of questions about our relationship… It seemed like she knew everything about us. I’m sorry. It’s all because of me. I said something I shouldn’t have…”
“…”
“Mr. Tae Sang asked various questions about our relationship… It seemed like he knew everything about us. I’m sorry. It’s all because of me. I said something I shouldn’t have…”
Da Jeong’s voice, as if wounded, made it feel like his heart was crumbling. Tae Sang silently groaned inwardly, experiencing unfamiliar emotions for the first time in his life.
“…You didn’t hear hurtful words, did you?”
“What?”
“Harsh words, bad ones… Did you hear them?”
Perhaps he had clenched his jaw too tightly, as his voice didn’t come out smoothly. Tae Sang reluctantly loosened his clenched teeth before continuing.
“No, there wasn’t… anything like that.”
“I won’t believe it until I see it.”
He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt as he spoke.
“Go there right now.”
“You don’t have to come. I’m fine.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
Even without traffic, it would take at least two hours. It wasn’t a situation where he could say “soon,” but Tae Sang’s face remained serious.
He abruptly hung up the phone and dashed forward.
His hasty strides pounded the smooth airport floor harshly. Every time his dignified suit rustled, his dignity fell to the ground.
As soon as Tae Sang left the immigration area, he scanned the welcoming crowd with a stern gaze. He quickly spotted Secretary Kim and increased his pace once again.
“Assistant Manager…”
“Give me the car keys.”
“What?”
“I don’t have time. Quickly.”
“Oh, yes.”
Tae Sang took the keys from the flustered Secretary Kim as if snatching them away.
Throughout his hurried run, there was only one thing that dominated his mind: Da Jeong’s voice.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…Your mother came to see me earlier and then left… She asked me all sorts of questions about our relationship… It seemed like she knew everything about us. I’m sorry. It’s all because of me. I said something I shouldn’t have…”
He was trembling with anxiety, looking confused as if he didn’t know what to do.
Tae Sang ran like a man whose reason had been paralyzed. It hurt as if his lungs were being torn apart, but he couldn’t stop.
“Haah, haah…”
The pain gradually spread throughout his body, but his mind was strangely clear.
Was it thanks to her?
A voice deep within him that had been kept hidden resonated clearly in his ears.
“It’s scary. I want to go too.”
“No, you can’t. It’s dangerous. You stay here.”
“But…”
“Just stay here…!”
When he pushed away Da Jeong’s hand, Tae Sang didn’t realize it.
He didn’t realize that one of Da Jeong’s feet was partially on the stairs, that even a slight force could easily disrupt her balance.
The image of Da Jeong hitting her head on the corner of a seat remained as vivid as yesterday.
As the events of that time came to mind, his strength drained from his body. Tae Sang ran a hand through his hair roughly and put his foot down again.
He had to go to Da Jeong. He didn’t know what he could do once he got there, but he knew he had to go. He had to be by her side to make sure her wounded heart didn’t hurt even more.
Da Jeong had been hurt enough with that one incident.
He couldn’t hurt Da Jeong again.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
