Left alone with Lee, Ina smiled and greeted him.
“Well, I should be going now. See you tomorrow, Mr. Lee.”
“Where are you heading?”
“Pardon?”
“You said you had an appointment, right? Which way are you going? I’m heading this way.”
“Oh, I’m going that way too…”
“Really? Then let’s walk together.”
Lee brightened up and smiled widely.
Seeing his smiling face, Ina couldn’t refuse and nodded awkwardly.
As they walked together, Lee asked with a smile,
“Meeting a friend?”
“Yes? Oh, yes.”
“That’s good. I was worried you might be going home alone.”
“Ah… Thank you for your concern.”
“Given what happened earlier, it’s natural to worry…”
Lee, who was speaking, suddenly stopped and looked at Ina with a surprised expression.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up. If I made you feel uncomfortable, I apologize.”
“No, it’s okay. I would have been worried too if I saw such a situation. Thank you for your concern.”
Lee still looked somewhat embarrassed.
As they walked in silence, they reached the spot where Juwon was supposed to be waiting.
Inside Juwon’s car, at the same time,
Juwon, waiting for Ina, narrowed his eyes.
Ina was walking with a man.
The sight of Ina smiling awkwardly and the man beside her with a flushed face caught Juwon’s attention.
His eyes narrowed further.
There are many reasons why a person’s face becomes flushed: anger, excitement, embarrassment, or… being next to someone they like.
Seeing the man’s infatuated gaze at Ina, Juwon was sure it was the latter reason.
The thought made him feel strangely uncomfortable.
After the ordeal with that trashy guy last night, and now this man looking at Ina with such desire-filled eyes, what was this all about?
Juwon sighed and got out of the car.
Meanwhile,
As Ina was about to greet Lee, he suddenly spoke with a serious expression.
“Um, Deputy Seo. This might be overstepping, but… I’m really worried about you.”
“Sorry?”
“After what happened earlier… I’m worried that guy might harass you. So, I was thinking… maybe I could accompany you on your commute, at least for a while?”
“…Pardon?”
Ina asked, surprised, and Lee cautiously added,
“Sorry, I know this is sudden, but I’m genuinely concerned.”
“Ah, thank you, but… a friend is already helping me out.”
“Oh… I see.”
Just as Lee responded, Juwon walked up to them and stopped in front of the two.
Both Ina and Lee looked up at the sudden appearance of Juwon.
“Oh, Juwon.”
At Ina’s words, Lee looked up at the tall man who had suddenly appeared in front of him.
Juwon, with his fair skin and strikingly handsome features, was staring intently at him, causing Lee to startle.
‘What, who is this guy?’
With wide eyes, Lee stared back as Juwon turned his gaze to Ina and asked in a soft voice,
“Who is this person?”
“Uh? Oh, he’s a manager at the company.”
“I see. Hello.”
Juwon gave a slight nod to Lee, observing him from above.
Lee also awkwardly nodded back, glancing up at Juwon.
Seeing the man standing so naturally next to Deputy Seo, Lee’s mind filled with floating question marks.
The friend she mentioned… is this person?
“Your friend… is a man?”
Lee asked with a forced smile, but the disappointment on his face was evident to Juwon.
Juwon, sensing the change in atmosphere, put his hand on Ina’s shoulder and answered for her.
“Yes. As you can see.”
Lee’s eyes widened at the sight of Juwon smiling and casually placing his hand on Ina’s shoulder, almost embracing her. Ina, too, looked up at Juwon with wide eyes.
“You must be quite close then.”
Lee blurted out his inner thoughts in his confusion.
Realizing what he had just said, Lee immediately regretted it, thinking he had overstepped the mark.
And indeed,
“Yes. As you can see.”
Though Juwon responded the same, his expression had changed. He was smiling, but his eyes were not.
Feeling intimidated by Juwon’s gaze, Lee cleared his throat awkwardly and averted his eyes.
Ina, sensing the tension, quickly said goodbye to Lee.
“Then, Mr. Lee, we’ll be going first.”
“Ah, yes. Go ahead.”
Lee waved them off, urging them to leave.
“Yes. See you tomorrow, Mr. Lee.”
As Ina said goodbye, Lee returned the gesture and gave Juwon a brief nod.
Juwon responded with a cool nod, still holding Ina’s shoulder, and led her to the car.
As they walked to the car, Juwon finally removed his hand from Ina’s shoulder and opened the passenger door for her.
“Uh… thanks.”
Ina got into the passenger seat and buckled up, stealing a glance at Juwon.
“But… Juwon.”
“Hmm?”
Juwon turned his head to look at her while fastening his seatbelt.
“What was that about? Why did you put your hand on my shoulder?”
Juwon, still holding the belt, silently looked at Ina before answering.
“Red alert.”
“…Pardon?”
Ina tilted her head in confusion.
“Literally. The alarm that sounds when an enemy invades.”
Ina blinked several times, looking at Juwon.
“What does that mean?”
Juwon leaned back, his arms resting on the steering wheel, staring at Ina.
“You do know that guy is interested in you, right?”
“…Pardon?”
Ina’s eyes widened.
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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