Constrained to Start (8 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 5
That person who was on the radio just now?
The prosecutor Kang Ji Ho, who’s reportedly in charge of investigating Myeong Jin Group this time?
She didn’t even know what he looked like—she’d only heard his voice on the radio—and there could easily be someone else with the same name. Yet, for some reason, she felt certain it was him. Not that she could be completely sure, of course.
It was his piercing, razor-sharp gaze and the overwhelming sense that he could see right through her.
Was this how it felt to unexpectedly run into a celebrity somewhere totally unforeseen? To Ra Jin, the man standing behind her felt almost like a mirage.
‘It really seems like him… or is it not?’
The man, standing perfectly upright and meeting her eyes directly, didn’t ask why she was staring. He simply held his phone to his ear and returned her gaze in silence.
“Ra Jin!”
At the far end of the long corridor, a nurse pushing a medication cart waved enthusiastically.
In that instant, the tense eye contact between them snapped abruptly.
“No, it’s fine. Yes, really, I’m okay.”
The man continued his call, his deep-set eyes sweeping over Ra Jin’s face before he turned and walked toward the emergency exit first.
Confronting this mysterious man—
She wasn’t going to ask his name, nor give him her contact information. Yet, something strange stirred within Ra Jin from that fleeting exchange of glances in midair.
She suddenly chuckled softly—an absurd thought crossed her mind. This wasn’t some drama set; what was she even doing acting so strangely out of nowhere? She turned her head away, bidding farewell to the man’s retreating back.
“Doctor Kim.”
“The night caregiver’s already here.”
Exchanging warm greetings with her assigned nurse, Ra Jin quickened her pace.
Shhhk.
Through the narrow gap in the sliding door, a face utterly devoid of color came into view.
“Mom.”
“You’re here.”
Ra Jin held her mother Jin Ok’s hand, exchanging small talk with the caregiver. But her mother, her face drained of all vitality, immediately jerked her hand away as if utterly disinterested.
“Mom, it’s me—Ra Jin.”
“…….”
“What did you have for dinner today? Hm?”
Just as Ra Jin smoothed her mother’s tangled hair, a bony, twig-like hand sharply slapped her—“thwack!”
The blow was so forceful that Ra Jin’s pale wrist turned bright red. Though the stinging pain was clearly on her wrist, it felt as if a deep wound had been carved into her heart instead.
“Oh dear, why do you keep doing that to your precious daughter?”
“It’s okay, Madam.”
Ra Jin smiled, lowering her hand slowly.
The car accident that happened late at night, while returning from her stepfather’s hometown—
That had been the beginning of all their misfortune.
Her mother had taken the wheel in place of her stepfather, who’d had just one drink. The accident killed him on the spot; only her mother survived.
Was it guilt over her stepfather’s death? Or an escape from this cruel reality? After multiple brain surgeries, when her mother finally woke up, she’d become an entirely different person.
“I had a cosmetics photoshoot today—it was so exhausting. Want to see the pictures?”
“Park Gi Young, I can’t even stand the sight of you.”
“I do look a lot like Dad, but I’m still your daughter, Lee Jin Ok.”
No matter how many times her mother pushed her away or hurled cruel insults at her for resembling her father, Ra Jin had always remained the only family member left. Even though her relationship with her father had long since ended, she’d fulfilled her role as a daughter with overflowing devotion. Because she carried so many happy memories with her mother, she could endure even this unreasonable behavior.
“Our relationship ended long ago. Leave—right now—before Jung Kyu comes!”
“Stepfather…”
She couldn’t bring herself to say the words: Just forget him already.
She couldn’t bear to make her mother, who was lost somewhere in the past, cry. But her mother desperately called out her stepfather’s name, then burst into tears like a child. Every time this happened, Ra Jin clenched her lips tightly—because who really wanted to cry the most?
“You’re especially difficult tonight, and I’m already exhausted from work.”
“Mom, listen to me for a second.”
Ra Jin grabbed her mother’s hand again, trying to soothe her like a fussy child.
“Let go! I told you—I’m sick of you!”
Her mother, unable to control her impulses, suddenly shoved Ra Jin away.
Ra Jin staggered and crashed her thigh against the table’s edge. The throbbing pain blurred her vision—was it her leg or her heart that hurt?
“I don’t need anything. Just call Jung Kyu.”
Her mother was in pain—terribly so. Ra Jin repeated this like a mantra to steady her trembling heart.
Yet, even though she knew how much her mother suffered, in that moment she felt utterly lost, like an abandoned child.
This mother—who had once whispered “I love you” to her every single day—why was this empty shell of her so cruel now? Why had she let go of all her memories because of someone already gone, yet clung only to him? Ra Jin’s chest tightened painfully.
‘Yet she can’t even remember our real father, who actually passed away.’
Hot tears surged up in Ra Jin’s throat. Struggling to suppress her despair, she raised her pinky finger.
“I’ll call Jung Kyu right away and tell him to hurry here. Promise.”
“Liar! All you ever do is lie!”
In an instant, her mother’s expression twisted. She screamed wildly and began gasping for breath. Her lips quickly turned pale blue, and her limbs stiffened.
It was a seizure—a known side effect after her brain surgeries. Ra Jin immediately fumbled for her phone.
“Jung Kyu! Please come to the hospital—quickly!”
[This is the timeline separator]“Jin Ok, I told you I’ve been assigned overseas and can’t visit often.”
Her stepbrother, Oh Jong Hyuk, spoke casually in a familiar, slightly mocking tone. Ra Jin squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to face him.
Her mother’s seizure had triggered hyperventilation, and just when things turned truly dangerous, Oh Jong Hyuk had appeared.
“I’ll write to you often.”
Whether it was from the sedative injection or from seeing Oh Jong Hyuk—who looked so much like her stepfather—her mother had turned as docile as a lamb.
It was absurd: even her only child was utterly helpless against her mother’s fierce, twisted love. A hollow laugh escaped Ra Jin’s lips.
“I don’t want you to see my back. Time to sleep now, Jin Ok.”
Her mother smiled faintly and slowly closed her eyes. Oh Jong Hyuk gave her hand a light pat, then leaned toward Ra Jin and whispered,
“Come with me. We need to talk.”
The hospital’s outdoor garden—reserved for private and VIP rooms—
The spring night, after sunset, felt as cold and harsh as her mother’s refusal to offer warmth.
“You’ve got no shame at all. Do you even remember who caused Father’s death, yet you dare order me around?”
“It was an accident.”
“Father wanted to rest, but your mother insisted on driving—just to take you to your fancy academy.”
Oh Jong Hyuk’s eyes flashed defiantly, as if asking, ‘But isn’t it still just an accident?’
An accident born of chance—and responsibility.
If he insisted on blaming her, then yes, as he said, she was indeed an unforgivable sinner. Ra Jin lowered her head resignedly. This debt—no matter how much she repaid—never seemed to lessen. Would it ever truly end?
For a moment, Ra Jin’s heart ached heavily.
“Don’t bother with excuses. Just marry the Managing Director.”
“What does Kim Yu Jun have to do with marriage?”
“You! What even is Kim Yu Jun to you? He’s not your friend!”
Oh Jong Hyuk’s blind loyalty to Kim Yu Jun made Ra Jin’s shoulders tremble.
How could he be so subservient? Since her stepfather had practically served as Myeong Jin’s butler, perhaps Oh Jong Hyuk saw Kim Yu Jun as his young master.
“Sigh… Ra Jin.”
“…….”
“If I can forget my resentment toward you and your mother, I’ll make sure you become the lady of Myeong Jin Group.”
Oh Jong Hyuk tugged his tie loose and ground his teeth angrily.
“From planning to producing our dramas, the company can’t function without the Managing Director’s backing.”
“Just get to the point.”
“Don’t upset the person holding our purse strings. Honestly, you always do this, even though you know his personality.”
Ra Jin let out a bitter laugh toward Oh Jong Hyuk, who was wagging his finger at her as if she were hopeless. The truly hopeless one was him.
“Don’t tell me you’re acting like this just because you think I didn’t sleep with Kim Yu Jun?”
“You’re going to marry the Managing Director anyway—why test things like this?”
It felt as if someone had detonated a bomb inside Ra Jin’s heart, and everything collapsed inward.
She should’ve severed ties with Oh Jong Hyuk—someone who’d been practically a stranger—right after her stepfather died. But with her mother hovering between life and death, she hadn’t had the presence of mind to do it.
She’d already done everything she could—what more did they want? First controlling her career, now forcing marriage? She wanted to scream: “Is my life really worth nothing?”
But guilt over her stepfather’s death silently choked her. Her mother’s only effective “medicine” was Oh Jong Hyuk. And tangled amid all this were the company’s messy affairs. No matter how dirty or cowardly it felt, she simply couldn’t cut this horrific relationship loose. How foolish she truly was.
“Myeong Jin will soon face a prosecutorial investigation.”
“So?”
“You’ve reached this position solely through the Managing Director’s kindness. Instead of supporting him, you just stand there—heartless and indifferent.”
His “kindness”? Was he really out of his mind? Ra Jin exhaled sharply, utterly exasperated.
“Whether Kim Yu Jun gets investigated or thrown in jail—what does it have to do with me?”
Leaning crookedly against the railing, Oh Jong Hyuk shook his head.
“All I’m saying is this: if the Managing Director gets investigated, we’re in trouble too. Remember that.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t need to know the details.”
She’d vaguely suspected that large sums of money flowed between Kim Yu Jun and her company under the guise of drama production and investment. But if a prosecutorial probe would cause them serious trouble, it meant they were in it together. Just what kind of scheme were these two running?
The mere thought gave Ra Jin a pounding headache.
“Director Jin Jae Yi of Haesung Group said she’ll be stepping down soon. So focus entirely on the Managing Director.”
“If I do exactly what Kim Yu Jun wants, will he finally show some interest in me—like with a fish already caught?”
The moment she added, “Think about it—from one man to another,” Oh Jong Hyuk’s chattering mouth snapped shut.
“It’s not too late even if the two of you call off the engagement and become serious afterward.”
“…….”
“Unless… you have a reason to rush?”
She’d slipped a sliver of unease into Oh Jong Hyuk’s quick-thinking mind.
What if she threatened to find another chaebol heir instead of Kim Yu Jun? Desperate to buy time, she was ready to say anything.
While Ra Jin weighed her options, Oh Jong Hyuk gripped his forehead and muttered a short curse.
“Damn it. At least wait until the investigation ends.”
“Until what?”
“Once the Managing Director resolves his messy affairs and officially calls off the engagement, you’d better actively commit to marriage.”
She wanted to punch Oh Jong Hyuk for coaching her on such shameless tactics. Even as a stepbrother, was this really acceptable? But the best response to nonsense was silence.
“If you just change your mind, everything becomes easy.”
“…….”
“Just know that marrying into Myeong Jin is your way of apologizing to me.”
Instead of answering, Ra Jin chose silence.
Satisfied with her obedient demeanor, Oh Jong Hyuk turned and walked away calmly after delivering his piece—adding a parting reminder not to bother him with such trivial matters again.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Ra Jin exhaled a hot, heavy breath toward the black sky.
All this time, she’d let Oh Jong Hyuk lead her around just to keep her mother alive. She’d jumped into this trap willingly, knowing full well it was one—but now her breath came in gasps, and she wasn’t sure she could endure any longer.
No matter how hard she tried not to weaken, it felt as if a huge hole had opened in her chest, letting cold wind rush through. Tears fell before she even realized it.
“Huh….”
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed firmly through the garden.
She was certain no one else was there—yet with tears welling in her eyes, Ra Jin quickly looked around for the unknown presence.
“!”
It was the man from the elevator—the same expressionless man now caught in her sight. Of all times and in this state, she had to run into him again.
Just as she hurried to slip away, he reached out a large hand.
Something square and soft pressed into her palm.
“If you need help, contact me.”
He dropped that single line, turned away without waiting for a reply—just like earlier by the elevator. As the door thudded shut behind him, Ra Jin’s gaze fell downward.
A gray handkerchief—and inside it, something unfamiliar.
Slowly, Ra Jin unfolded the handkerchief, still damp with her tears.
Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho.
Tucked neatly inside was his clean, white business card.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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