Two days later in the afternoon, 우연 was lost in deep thought. She couldn’t figure out what the gift 차태경 mentioned could be.
As far as she knew, 차태경 was not one to make frivolous jokes.
A gift… a gift?
“Senior, your coffee.”
우식’s voice, interrupting her thoughts, startled her slightly, but she didn’t show it.
She knew his recent attempts to get closer, but she wished he wouldn’t.
“Just a moment.”
As she placed the coffee on the desk, she stopped 우식.
Taking out her wallet from her bag, she offered him a card. To his blinking eyes, 우연 threw a somewhat dry smile.
“I always get coffee from you.”
“So?”
“Go have a meal.”
“Am I eating alone?”
“Yes. I’m busy. You have many friends.”
Despite 우식’s widening nostrils, 우연 continued without hesitation.
“Aren’t you taking it?”
“……This is crazy.”
“What?”
“Is this how you usually accept someone’s feelings, Senior? What are you even doing?”
“What else? I’m drawing a line.”
우연 and 우식 were actually only a year apart in age. Due to military service, 우식 joined the news bureau three years after 우연.
Despite 우연 saying he could be more casual, 우식 had always treated her respectfully.
She used to buy him meals often in the beginning because he was so pleasantly diligent.
우연 stopped buying meals for 우식 when he caught the eye of other colleagues in a competitive relationship.
She didn’t want his earned morning news spot to be dishonored as merely a result of being close to 윤우연.
When was it?
She secretly overheard two seniors gossiping in the restroom.
‘That 진우식 guy, getting close with 윤우연, acts just like her. It’s so distasteful.’
우연 muttered to herself as she put the unaccepted card back in her wallet.
“Anchor 진우식.”
“What.”
“I can’t accept your feelings. So don’t even hope.”
She just hoped it was a bit of admiration. She didn’t want 우식 to experience the bitterness she felt when 강다희, someone she admired, disappointed her.
“Wow. Rejected even before confessing.”
“I won’t apologize.”
“Alright then.”
우식, seemingly quite angry, left 우연’s sight.
Refusing someone’s feelings had been a common occurrence for her.
Until middle school, she seemed just average, but in high school, 우연 grew tall abruptly.
Along with it, her chest developed, and her face matured faster than her peers.
Because of this, she received countless indirect confessions from boys daily.
Simply refusing them, she became the most detestable girl.
Dislike for 우연 grew, and rumors about her spread uncontrollably.
‘Hey, did you know? 윤우연’s dad is an alcoholic.’
‘Really? I heard her mom ran away, abandoning everything.’
‘What? I thought she was missing. Isn’t that so?’
‘No way. Her mom disappeared with 윤우연’s sister. Obviously, because even her own daughter, 윤우연, was terrible.’
All nonsense.
Looking back, most rumors were accurate. But young 우연 dismissed them as nonsense.
She didn’t want to be swayed by the worthless babble of soul-eating people.
Living without anyone to protect her, 우연 had to fend for herself.
Pushing away old memories, she refocused on the news articles when 국장 송 called from the second-floor director’s office.
“윤우연, come up.”
Two days later in the afternoon, 우연 ascended the stairs to the director’s office. There, she found 박 PD and 염 기자 already present.
“What’s going on?”
“We received a tip-off.”
염 기자 handed her a document which 우연 quickly scanned. It contained several photos showing 신남호, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and 강 전무 of Jung-eum Construction meeting secretly.
If these two had made contact after the incident, it meant they had something urgent to discuss.
It was a thrilling moment to witness the connections she had only heard about.
“Who sent this?”
우연’s question was met with a shake of 염’s head. Usually, such tip-offs are anonymous.
Though the source is often hinted at, this case was an exception.
“They just sent the photos.”
“Just the photos?”
“Yes. It’s probably someone from Jung-eum’s side. Who else would send such photos at this time if not someone with a grudge against Jung-eum Construction?”
“The pictures are too clear. It’s like they were prepared, knowing everything in advance.”
“Exactly.”
Of course, more evidence would be needed to bring this matter to light.
Luckily, now that the facts were confirmed, Director 송 would provide more support to 염, who could then intensify his investigation.
The four gathered in the director’s office discussed the future direction of reporting.
A message came in for 우연 towards the end of the meeting.
The sender was undoubtedly him. A chill ran from her toes.
Another message came from 태경 after he noticed she had read it.
[I’ll send a car to your apartment after the news.]Her heart thudded.
[Come see me.]After the news, 우연 returned to her apartment and boarded 한 실장’s car, as if it were prearranged.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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