Couldn't Help But Love You - Chapter 2
What should I say first when we meet?
Hello?
Or long time no see?
No. It’s not even a pleasant meeting, so why greet…
It was the moment when Winter realized she was worrying about unnecessary things.
“Team Leader Han, which side is this photo from?”
Director Seok’s questioning voice pierced through Winter’s thoughts.
Her mind snapped to attention.
‘Are you out of your mind? You know how important this contract is!’
The survival of ‘The Space’ depended on this contract.
I need to focus.
Winter forcibly tore her gaze away from Tae Wook.
“If you look at the floor plan, this is the right side from the lobby entrance, and this is the left.”
Winter found the photos Director Seok was showing in the floor plan and pointed them out.
While explaining to the best of her ability, she anxiously wondered if Tae Wook was approaching, if he would speak to her.
It was strange.
Even as time passed, she couldn’t hear the sound of approaching footsteps or sense any presence.
Director Seok’s attention returned to the 3D cut photos.
Only then did Winter move her gaze to search for Tae Wook.
He was sitting at a table by the window.
With the woman she had been eyeing.
Winter’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Don’t tell me he came all the way to Jeju for a blind date?
−Marriage? Why would I do something I hate more than death?
Tae Wook’s cold, cynical voice echoed in her ears.
And yet…
Winter shook her head faintly from side to side.
What does it matter if Tae Wook goes on a blind date or remarries?
It’s been 3 years since the divorce.
But contrary to her thoughts, Winter was bothered by Tae Wook seemingly going on a blind date.
.
.
.
The meeting Winter had put so much effort into finally ended.
“I’ll contact you again once I review the estimate.”
Director Seok, rising from his seat with a bright face, continued as if he had just remembered something.
“Oh, have you heard the rumor that our resort’s CEO is changing?”
“What? No. This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
Winter’s expression noticeably hardened.
The contract wouldn’t fall through just because the CEO changed, right?
She became anxious that all her efforts so far might go to waste.
“Ho ho ho. I didn’t mean to worry Team Leader Han.”
Director Seok noticed what Winter was worried about.
“As you know, when the higher-ups change, the work for us lower-level employees doubles. I just wanted to say it might take longer.”
“I see…”
Winter unknowingly let out a sigh of relief.
“Let’s meet again with good news. You’ve worked hard.”
Director Seok patted Winter’s shoulder lightly a couple of times with a pleased smile.
It was a good sign.
He seemed to have given her efforts a high score.
“Take care on your way.”
Director Seok shook hands lightly with Winter and left the coffee shop first.
Finally, it’s over!
Winter massaged her stiff neck with her hand and shifted her gaze to the window.
“Where… did he go?”
Winter looked around the coffee shop with wide eyes.
Tae Wook was nowhere to be seen.
I thought I just saw him…
He must have left the coffee shop with the woman while she was exchanging greetings with Director Seok.
“He could have at least said hello.”
Unless Tae Wook didn’t see Winter, they definitely made eye contact.
To be in the same space and not even greet…
“He must dislike me so much he doesn’t even want to exchange words.”
Winter’s voice, flowing out weakly, was tinged with deep disappointment.
[This is the timeline separator]The next night.
Winter hurried her steps with her shoulders hunched.
“Hah… cold, cold.”
The words flowed out automatically.
November, on the threshold of winter.
The warm southern Jeju Island was under an unprecedented attack of cold north wind.
The weather forecast said the lowest temperature could drop below zero.
Every time she exhaled, her breath spread out in white puffs.
“I hate winter the most.”
Although born in winter and named Winter, she hated winter the most.
It was because she was naturally very sensitive to cold.
On top of that, today she was wearing a thin skirt and fall coat due to personal business.
“Would it kill them to drive into the alley?”
Winter couldn’t help but grumble at the bone-chilling cold.
The alley wasn’t even that narrow.
Yet the taxi driver said it was inconvenient to go in and out, dropping her off on the main road before speeding away.
If it weren’t for the farewell party, she would have brought her car.
Today was the day a male employee who had been a big headache for the company was retiring.
Although weak with alcohol, she felt she should have a drink as team leader, so she went out without bringing her car.
It was when Winter reached the multi-family house where she lived.
A familiar car was parked under a tall streetlight, and a man was seen smoking outside the car.
Deputy Manager Kim Do Hoon?
Do Hoon was the guest of honor at today’s farewell party.
“Team Leader Han!”
Do Hoon spotted Winter and threw his cigarette on the ground, stamping it out with his shoe.
Winter frowned.
Not only the smell of cigarettes, but Do Hoon’s action of throwing the cigarette butt on the ground irritated her.
“I’ve been waiting for a while.”
Do Hoon patted his suit with his palms, smiling welcomingly.
As if that would get rid of the cigarette smell.
“How did you…”
This didn’t bode well.
The fact that Do Hoon, whom she had said final goodbyes to at the rib restaurant where the farewell party was held, was in front of her house.
“I thought I should hear your answer, Team Leader.”
“What answer are you talking about?”
Winter asked Do Hoon from where she had stopped.
Her whole body was warning her not to get close to him.
“This isn’t the place to talk, let’s go have a drink somewhere.”
“Why should I drink with you, Mr. Kim Do Hoon?”
Not just her tone, but Winter’s face had turned cold.
“You know I like you, Team Leader. And you think I’m okay too, right?”
“Me? Huh…”
Winter was so dumbfounded she let out an empty breath.
She couldn’t tell him to go to the hospital.
This was close to a serious illness, right?
As a deputy manager, his rank was lower than hers, but he was the son of a Jeju landowner and his looks were quite handsome.
Perhaps because of that, he was quite popular among the female employees.
Only Winter had no interest in Do Hoon.
Yet Do Hoon had been hovering around her since she joined ‘The Space’.
“I don’t like you, Do Hoon. So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t come looking for me again.”
Winter said firmly.
“Are you doing this because of Vice President Choi from L Hotel?”
“Why is that person’s name suddenly coming up?”
“You think I don’t know? That you won the L Hotel contract thanks to Vice President Choi’s favor?”
Winter felt anger rising.
The L Hotel vertical garden project was the result of months of back-breaking effort.
It wasn’t something to be said by someone who just coasted along and claimed credit at the end.
“Let me be clear. I’m not interested in you, Mr. Kim Do Hoon, or any other man. Do you understand?”
“Why are you lumping me in with that?”
“You’re asking because you don’t know? Because that’s my true feeling.”
Winter spoke coldly.
All she wanted was to run into her house right away.
She couldn’t bear the cold any longer.
On top of that, her stomach wasn’t feeling good after drinking several glasses of alcohol she couldn’t handle.
“Go home now. I hope we don’t have to see each other again.”
Winter moved past Do Hoon towards her house.
“Hey! Han Gyeo Wool!”
Full of anger, he barked Winter’s name and grabbed her wrist tightly at the same time.
“Is a pretty face everything? Did your nose get so high in the sky because men call you a goddess or whatever?”
“Let go of this.”
Winter twisted her arm trying to break free.
“I said let go!”
The more she struggled, the tighter Do Hoon gripped her wrist.
And he started pushing with force.
Her back was getting closer and closer to the wall.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
Winter’s voice trembled with fear.
“Acting innocent when you know everything… Urgh!”
In the middle of speaking, Do Hoon let out a rough scream and his hand shot up.
His face was contorted in pain and his eyes, unable to bear the agony, bulged out hideously as if about to pop out.
“Where do you think you’re putting those filthy hands?”
A man’s voice dropped coldly and frighteningly.
A large shadow loomed over the trembling Do Hoon, as if dominating him.
“You, you, what kind of bastard are you?”
Even while feeling his bones being crushed, Do Hoon shouted as if making a final struggle.
Judging by his stuttering, he must have instinctively realized he was no match.
But he was trying to maintain his last shred of pride in front of Winter.
“Come here!”
Instead of answering, the man briefly commanded Winter.
She shot the man a hesitant look.
The man’s intense gaze without a hint of wavering.
There was no choice.
Winter let out a sigh and stood next to the man.
“Han Gyeo Wool, do you know this guy?”
Do Hoon asked, twisting his lips in pain.
His gaze busily moved between the man and Winter’s faces.
“Someone I know…”
“Urgh!”
The increasingly fierce grip.
The sharpening gaze piercing into Do Hoon’s face.
“Winter and I, we were married, weren’t we?”
A voice as cold as his expression cut through the space.
The man who subdued Do Hoon was none other than Tae Wook.
.
.
.
Do Hoon drove away as if fleeing.
A dark alley enveloped in silence.
A cold wind brushed past Tae Wook and Winter.
His fresh and intense scent carried on that wind stimulated her sense of smell.
Hadn’t he gone up to Seoul yesterday?
Winter couldn’t believe that Tae Wook was still in Jeju.
That he was standing right in front of her.
Even after witnessing him subdue Do Hoon.
“Thank you for earli-”
“You seem to still be popular. Seeing as there are men coming to your house?”
Winter closed her deep double-lidded eyes. She opened them after a while.
Of all times, he had to appear when she was having a scuffle with Do Hoon.
It was perfect timing for a misunderstanding.
Would he believe if she explained?
No. It was obvious he would only scoff.
“How did you know to come here?”
Winter asked in surprise, only now realizing that Tae Wook had found and come to her house.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, his cold, deep black eyes slowly scanned Winter from top to bottom.
The blouse decorated with pearls and lace under the thick coat.
The mermaid-style skirt that flowed along the waist and hip line before flaring out from the thighs down.
Tae Wook’s eyes, which had been narrowing, scrunched up as much as possible.
“You must have had an important appointment? You wouldn’t have gone to work dressed like that.”
“I had the day off today.”
Winter had visited several exhibitions on a rare weekday off.
And then joined Do Hoon’s farewell party late.
“It’s not an outfit I wore for an appointment either.”
She regretted it as soon as she said it.
There was no reason to make such excuses to him.
“Did you come here just to ask such things?”
Winter’s voice was thorny as she asked.
“It sounds like you’re telling me to leave because you can’t stand the sight of me.”
“I can’t say that’s not true.”
Her voice stretched out towards Tae Wook, but Winter’s gaze was wandering in the air.
Her toes were clenched as much as possible inside her high heels.
She was barely breathing and barely standing with her feet on the ground.
Did he know?
That she was trying her hardest to pretend to be calm and not show how tense she was.
“There’s something I must say to Secretary Han.”
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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