“Team Leader Cha, if you’re not seeing anyone, how about considering my Hye Ju?”
Clink. Clink.
Jae In, who was drinking soda, choked on CEO Im’s bombshell statement.
“Assistant Seo, are you alright?”
With a surprised voice, Hye Ju asked.
“Uh-huh. I’m fine.”
“See, you startled Assistant Seo with your baseless comments!”
“Oh dear. Assistant Seo, I apologize for causing discomfort.”
“It’s alright.”
Clearing her throat, Jae In thought,
‘From the moment we sat down, CEO Im was scheming to have me seated beside him.’
It was clear that he had a hidden agenda to seat Do Hyuk and Hye Ju together.
In the meantime, CEO Im, after hurriedly downing two shots of soju, said with a hearty laugh,
“Hye Ju, dear, you never know until you try. Right, Team Leader Cha?”
“Grandfather!”
Hye Ju rolled her eyes at CEO Im and quickly apologized to Do Hyuk.
“Team Leader Cha, I’m sorry. My grandfather is quite set on marrying me off. Whenever he sees a potential suitor, he’s like this.”
“That’s understandable.”
Do Hyuk gave a gentle smile to the embarrassed Hye Ju.
Then, CEO Im said seriously,
“Her father is the second most influential figure in the fisheries cooperative. He’s in business with me, and since Hye Ju is his only child, he plans to hand everything down to his son-in-law.”
The background presented by CEO Im was enticing to any listener.
The catch was that the person in question was Cha Do Hyuk, the heir to DaeSan Group.
Do Hyuk simply smiled without any other reaction.
Pointing at Hye Ju, CEO Im continued,
“Not just because she’s my granddaughter, but she’s smart, kind-hearted, beautiful – she lacks nothing. Last year, she even placed second in the Goheung Citron Beauty Pageant. You won’t find a better match for a bride, even if you scour the entire country.”
“Ugh, why do you keep embarrassing me like this? Stop drinking! I’m so sorry, Team Leader Cha.”
Hye Ju’s face turned various shades of red.
Seeing her struggling with embarrassment, Do Hyuk said with a gentle smile,
“It’s alright. You haven’t said anything wrong.”
“Indeed, Team Leader Cha has a keen eye. Haha.”
CEO Im already seemed to consider Do Hyuk as a potential match for his granddaughter.
A gleam was evident in Hye Ju’s eyes as she looked at Do Hyuk.
Jae In, watching from the sidelines, was stunned by the situation.
‘Why give false hopes if you aren’t going to take responsibility?’
She began to worry that any misunderstandings could disrupt the upcoming new product project.
And,
She was intensely concerned if anything might happen between Do Hyuk and Hye Ju.
‘If I just let it go, the situation might get worse…….’
Overwhelmed, Jae In suddenly interjected.
“Oh, Team Leader! Didn’t you mention there was someone you were interested in? Someone who grows more attractive the more you see them……”
Both Hye Ju and CEO Im turned their gaze towards Do Hyuk.
Around this point, Jae In gave Do Hyuk a look, hinting it was time to clarify the situation.
Do Hyuk took a casual look at her, then sipped his soju.
Then with a bitter expression, he softly muttered,
“I had someone. But they just drank and ran away.”
Embarrassed.
Our team leader does hold onto things.
Trying to hide her embarrassment, Jae In drank her soda, but choked again.
Cough. Cough.
“I’m sorry. I need to use the restroom.”
She quickly rose and headed to the restroom.
Do Hyuk watched her with a deep, meaningful gaze.
Rrrrrrr. Rrrrrrr.
CEO Kim’s name appeared on Do Hyuk’s phone.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Do Hyuk took his phone and stepped outside the building.
‘I should’ve stayed quiet. I’ve made things worse.’
As Jae In was chastising herself in front of the mirror, Hye Ju entered the restroom.
“Assistant Seo, you seemed surprised earlier. I apologize.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“My grandfather might have drunk too much. He’s been saying nonsensical things. Please pretend you didn’t hear.”
“No, it’s alright. It’s lovely seeing how much he cherishes his granddaughter.”
This was Jae In’s sincere sentiment.
Except for her parents, the family treated adopted Jae In like an outsider.
Especially her grandmother, who openly differentiated her from other relatives, making Jae In sincerely envious of Hye Ju, who received much love from her grandfather.
Hye Ju began cautiously.
“Um… does Team Leader Cha really not have someone special?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s hard to believe someone as charming as him is single.”
If Mr. Cha Do Hyuk has an interest in a woman, she might be right in front of him.
Seeing Hye Ju, who hadn’t even considered that Do Hyuk might like her, Jae In felt subtly hurt.
“No, work is his lover.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
Hye Ju, blushing, looked radiant.
Jae In glanced at her own reflection.
Having rushed out due to oversleeping and not grooming properly, she looked especially wan today.
Feeling an unsettling emotion, Jae In said,
“Assistant Im, I’ll step outside for some fresh air.”
The harbor had since turned dark.
The briny scent of the sea and the chilly wind greeted Jae In.
Taking a deep breath, she felt as if a weight was lifted off her chest.
“Thank you for your assistance, CEO Kim.”
Suddenly, from a vacant lot next to the building, a familiar voice was heard.
In the deep darkness beneath the faint streetlight, Do Hyuk was on a call.
“I’ll come up to meet you. Goodbye for now.”
After hanging up, Do Hyuk and Jae In’s eyes met.
Unable to pretend she hadn’t seen him, Jae In hesitantly approached.
“Are you speaking with CEO Kim?”
“Yes.”
“Team Leader, aren’t you busy? Of all times, there was a breakdown in the production line, causing a delay.”
“It’s okay. This is also important to me.”
A silence followed Do Hyuk’s soft voice.
In the darkness, amid the awkwardness, Jae In found herself getting irritated as she looked at Do Hyuk, recalling CEO Im’s words trying to pair him with Hye Ju.
“You must be pleased.”
“With what?”
“It seems CEO Im is quite fond of you and has set his sights on you for his granddaughter. And it appears Assistant Im has taken a liking to you as well……”
“It’s not like that.”
“Are you purposely playing ignorant? If that’s the case, why did you give false hopes instead of being direct?”
Do Hyuk raised an eyebrow and said,
“So, should I have taken offense when an elder, almost grandfatherly figure, said something half in jest?”
Having been raised with strict etiquette towards elders, Do Hyuk was always respectful.
“Still, you shouldn’t leave things ambiguous. Don’t tell me you’re also drawn to her?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Assistant Im is a good match as CEO Im said. She’s pretty and…”
Interrupting, Do Hyuk looked at Jae In and asked,
“Seo Jae In, by any chance… are you jealous right now?”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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