An Unbearable Marriage (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
“…….”
He was a man who had never known hesitation since the moment they first met. His speech was short and decisive, brimming with confidence, and his every action was free of unnecessary flourishes.
Yet now, he quietly closed his mouth. His deeply contemplative expression felt strangely unfamiliar.
Could it be that her very notion of him caring about her had been a mere illusion? Da Jung’s previously calm eyes wavered quickly at this unfamiliar expression on Tae Sang’s face.
Quickly, she split her question in half.
“Do you… care, at least?”
“Yes. I do care.”
His reply was unexpectedly gentle.
“Why?”
“…….”
Silence followed again. He even furrowed his smooth forehead, as if the answer posed a genuine difficulty.
Since he didn’t seem to be dodging her question, waiting patiently was probably the right thing to do. Da Jung fixed her gaze on his deep-set eyes, waiting for him to continue.
For a fleeting moment, she felt like a dog owner waiting for their massive Doberman to obey the “sit” command.
Just as she silently scoffed inwardly, his deep voice filled her ears firmly.
“Instinct.”
“Instinct…?”
“Yes.”
“You mean caring about me is your instinct, Vice Chairman?”
He gave a barely perceptible nod, almost imperceptible.
“Why… do you think that way?”
“Because it feels natural.”
“…….”
His words, seeming to omit much, made Da Jung’s eyebrows lift slightly.
Perhaps the “natural” feeling he described stemmed from an urge to protect the relatively vulnerable, or from a sense of duty as a business leader. Still, as she settled on this most plausible explanation, his intense gaze unsettled her—could his sense of “naturalness” possibly stem from something more personal…?
The thought alone made her mouth unconsciously fall open, her eyes widening further—until he spoke again, his voice softer this time.
“It means I want to take responsibility for anything that happens because of me.”
“Oh….”
What a relief. Had his reply come just a moment later, she might have slipped into the “what if” swamp and blurted out a line worthy of a drama heroine.
Da Jung cleared her throat unnecessarily.
“You don’t need to think that way. The one who caused the trouble was that customer, and you only helped me.”
“Of course that’s true. However…”
Even though he murmured gently, his words carried undeniable weight. Unconsciously tensing, Da Jung leaned in to listen.
“But because of that help, things now seem even more difficult for you.”
“…….”
“Don’t you agree?”
“…Even so, I have no intention of burdening you.”
She spoke as gently as possible, yet firmly. At that, he locked eyes with her as if her eyes were his target.
For a brief instant, her breath caught.
“It’s fine with me.”
“Even if you say that…”
She couldn’t fathom how he maintained such calm, confident stubbornness. Her voice involuntarily revealed her discomfort—just as her phone buzzed insistently from inside her bag.
An unwelcome interruption. Da Jung hastily pulled out her phone, intending to switch it to silent—but froze upon seeing the screen.
“Go ahead and answer it.”
Having caught her hesitation, Tae Sang spoke lightly, then turned his gaze straight ahead. Da Jung glanced between him and the phone, then quickly decided.
“It’s an important call—I should take it. Excuse me just a moment.”
The caller was Jeong Hee, a friend who’d left the orphanage with her. Though she’d been busy with flights lately, Da Jung had still made time to contact her orphanage friends—and this call confirmed Jeong Hee had also heard the news.
Da Jung quickly connected the call.
“Hello?”
“Oh, Da Jung-ah. It’s me.”
Her voice was noticeably lower than usual, making it easy for Da Jung to anticipate how the conversation would end.
An awkward exchange beginning with “I’m sorry, but…” and ending with “Let’s meet another time.” She’d repeated this exact script many times before.
Sure enough, after brief pleasantries, Jeong Hee reluctantly got to the point.
“I’m sorry, but right now I’m not in a position to help anyone…”
“Mm… I see.”
“I couldn’t do much, but I did sign the petition. I’m sorry it’s all I could offer.”
“No, it helps—of course it does.”
Despite her bright tone, her gaze dropped helplessly to the floor. She hadn’t expected much, yet still, her energy seemed to drain away entirely.
“Let’s have a meal together later—I’ll bring Director Dad.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll call you again.”
Da Jung forced cheerfulness into her voice as she ended the call.
As the caller’s name vanished from the screen, only the blank standby display remained. Da Jung stared at it blankly for a while.
The brief silence was broken by Tae Sang’s quiet voice.
“Is something the matter?”
“Oh—no…”
Da Jung stammered, her pink lips moving faintly.
Tae Sang quietly focused on that soft movement.
He disliked how her mouth kept uttering only denials—and how everything slipping through her teeth sounded unpleasant—yet, for some reason, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from those pink lips.
He swallowed hard and forcibly turned his head aside.
“Is it because, if you told me it *was* something, you think I’d feel compelled to take care of that too—and so you say ‘no’?”
“Yes. Because I suspect you’d go even further than necessary.”
“You’ve read me correctly.”
“Then will you also call this instinct? An instinct you can’t help but act on—helping others?”
A faint nod. His head dipped slightly.
“Even without knowing what the issue is?”
“I don’t need to know.”
“…….”
Though absurd, it was exactly the kind of answer she’d expect from him—and undeniably tempting.
After all, this wasn’t just anyone—it was the heir to Hyeoseong, a corporation that dominated South Korea. If he chose to intervene, the orphanage issue would be resolved in an instant, with efforts to spare.
His offer was so sweet it felt intoxicating, tilting her resolve. Just then, as if reading her wavering heart, the car smoothly rounded a corner.
Golden streetlight rippled softly inside the cabin in time with the smooth motion. Da Jung watched the fading yellow glow pass over her before finally speaking.
“Thank you for the offer, but I can’t accept your help.”
“Why…?”
“Because if you encounter difficulties, I wouldn’t be able to help you in return.”
“I see.”
Though his tone suggested acceptance, his eyes conveyed something else entirely. Their piercing intensity seemed determined to force the offer of “help” into her hands by any means necessary.
Under that sharp gaze, her eyelids trembled involuntarily. Da Jung steadied her unsteady eyes and looked back at Tae Sang.
“S-Still… what I said earlier was sincere—about being grateful for your words.”
“Words are just words.”
“No—they’re not *just* words.”
“…….”
Tae Sang quietly studied her, as if asking what she meant.
“Well… lately, I’ve really been overwhelmed with work… and no one asked me first. Not even a hollow ‘How are things? Anything I can help with?’ would’ve been nice.”
The past few days had been filled only with “Don’t do it” and endless apologies—even hearing accusations like, “Why bother calling and making people uncomfortable?”
No one had asked if *she* was okay—but that was fine. She’d initiated this herself, and as long as the orphanage was safe, that was enough.
Yet one offhand remark from him had shaken her resolve.
She *wasn’t* okay. No—she couldn’t possibly be.
As that thin self-deception crumbled, the pain she’d suppressed quietly resurfaced. Bitterness seeped into her eyes as she struggled to smile—only for him to meet her gaze steadily.
“You must have been very tired.”
“…Yes.”
As if entranced, Da Jung nodded. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t slept more than four hours either yesterday or the day before.
“We still have a ways to go before arriving—why not rest your eyes?”
“But even so, that’d be a bit…”
“No one’s watching. I won’t look either.”
“…….”
As if to prove it, he turned his head toward the window the moment he finished speaking.
“Hmm…”
Her body felt heavy, as if sinking deep underwater. Her neck ached stiffly as she shifted her head—and she became aware of something firm supporting it.
‘What… is this?’
A hardness reminiscent of cold metal. Even in her drowsy state, she instantly knew it wasn’t a pillow.
Just as the oddity registered, her bodily sensations gradually returned.
Light filtering through her closed eyelids. Her swollen calves. Her feet tightly squeezed by her shoes.
She’d wished the bus would hurry, hoping to drift back to sleep—when a faint woody scent drifted to her nose. Light, dry, and somehow familiar.
Where had she smelled it before? Whose scent was it? Her hazy mind kept rummaging through half-formed memories—until, like a light suddenly switched on, clarity returned.
The airport, where she’d staggered out; the black sedan waiting for her; and inside it, Vice Chairman Cha Tae Sang, whom she’d met again.
The panoramic flashbacks ended with her stubbornly insisting, “I’m not even sleepy.”
‘I stayed wide awake just talking to you, Vice Chairman.’
‘If I sleep now, I won’t be able to wake up.’
Her forced lie had proven utterly meaningless—she’d completely passed out. Her temples throbbed faintly, confirming she’d slept with her head on his shoulder.
‘Ha.’
Just how exhausted must she have been to sleep soundly against something so hard and angular? Even as urgency pressed her to sit up quickly, a fleeting observation crossed her mind.
Cautiously, Da Jung slowly opened her eyes.
Everything remained exactly as it had been before she fell asleep.
The rear seat, quietly partitioned; the faint, steady flow of air-conditioning. The only change: the car had stopped moving.
If she suddenly lifted her head now, it’d seem odd.
Da Jung rolled her eyes once, then slowly tilted her head forward—planning to dip it once and rise naturally—when abruptly, a large hand appeared before her eyes.
‘…Huh!’
Startled, Da Jung gasped sharply and squeezed her eyes shut. Closing them wouldn’t change anything, yet for some reason, it felt like the only thing to do.
Darkness fell instantly—then warmth touched her forehead. Something long and firm—almost certainly his fingers—pressed gently against her skin.
He spread his palm wide over her forehead while simultaneously angling his shoulder downward. His movement was infinitely slow and careful.
Da Jung’s head settled comfortably between his shoulder and neck. His muscles were so taut she still felt a slight ache—but compared to his rock-hard collarbone, it was nothing.
‘If I stay like this…’
He stood a full head taller than her. Bent like a drawn bow as he was, his back must ache terribly—and his shoulder, which had supported her the entire time, must hurt even more.
Da Jung feigned waking with a soft “Hmm…” and shifted her head, slowly opening her eyes—only to find his wristwatch squarely in her line of sight.
“…?”
Her mind had cleared long ago, and her vision was perfectly sharp. Yet for some reason, the watch hands looked wrong. After staring fixedly at her own wrist, Da Jung suddenly jerked her head up like a spring released.
“Mom!”
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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