David's Husband - Chapter 15

“What? Us?”

Ha Yeon looked at Min Je and Ji Hoo alternately with a surprised face. She was about to retort that such nonsense was unthinkable, but Jun Won spoke first.

“Oh my, my stomach… I can’t do it.”

“It’s okay if we don’t get first place. Fighting!”

Ha Yeon watched with a dazed expression as Ji Hoo grabbed Jun Won’s hand and quickly disappeared.

A silence fell between the two people left behind.

“…Are we really going to do this?”

“Why? Not confident? Then we don’t have to.”

When Min Je mentioned confidence, Ha Yeon’s eyes sharpened. It’s not that I’m afraid of the three-legged race, you’re the problem!

Ha Yeon shot him a glare full of dissatisfaction, then said with her arms tightly crossed:

“Let’s do it. What’s there to be unable to do?”

Min Je replied with a smirk:

“Alright, then let’s give it a try.”

When Min Je and Ha Yeon entered, glances poured in from people looking askance. But Ha Yeon held her head high and glared fiercely.

What’s the big deal about just participating in a race? Ji Hoo said he wanted that doll! Far from avoiding people’s eyes, Ha Yeon met each gaze with a fierce look. People flinched and averted their eyes, startled by how intimidating her expression was.

Seeing this, Min Je chuckled and let out a low laugh. He hadn’t seen such an amusing scene in a long while.

Seeing Min Je’s shoulders shaking, Ha Yeon jabbed his side with her elbow.

“I’m going to get first place no matter what, just so you know.”

“Yes, yes. Of course you will.”

Ha Yeon’s eyes wavered for a moment at Min Je’s joking reply. She had never seen him laugh so freely before.

Her heart started pounding again as his sharp eyes curved with laughter.

Ah, you really are the problem. Ha Yeon sighed, rubbing her forehead. It’s all your fault – my mood going up and down with your expressions, the outcome of the race, even today’s weather.

Blaming everything her consciousness touched on him, Ha Yeon slipped her foot into the foam ring they were given.

A brief practice time was allowed to prevent safety accidents, so Ha Yeon tried to match her rhythm with Min Je.

“One, two, one, two…”

Oh no, darn it. We’re doomed! Ha Yeon looked up at Min Je with a blank expression.

“Hmm, this isn’t easy.”

Min Je scratched his face awkwardly. Even if their feet matched perfectly, winning would be uncertain, but this made it difficult to even take a step forward. At this rate, they’d fall disgracefully before they could even run.

It seemed the root of the problem was trying to match only their feet without their bodies touching.

“Alright, contestants please come to the starting line.”

Hearing the announcement, Min Je said to Ha Yeon:

“If you want to win, hold on.”

Ha Yeon stared blankly at the arm he held out, then grabbed it with a resolute expression. Since they were both wearing short sleeves, their bare skin touched.

The feeling of firm muscle and soft skin brushing made her toes tingle, but Ha Yeon deliberately ignored the sensation. She would focus solely on winning now. She intentionally fixed her gaze on the prize teddy bear.

Min Je was equally flustered. The unfamiliar sensation he felt for the first time involuntarily aroused many thoughts. Though only their arms were touching, the feeling of her soft skin seemed to dominate all his senses.

The desire to touch more and the urge to pull away immediately clashed chaotically.

Bang! The starting gun fired.

“What are you doing? Run!”

Ha Yeon gripped Min Je’s unmoving arm tightly and pulled. Thanks to this, their entire arms were now completely touching. Min Je, whose expression had briefly become complicated, grasped Ha Yeon’s wrist firmly and said:

“Try to keep up without falling.”

At the same time, their speed suddenly increased. Ha Yeon let out a shriek and struggled to match his stride.

It was unbelievable how their speed kept increasing after starting dead last. It felt unreal how the other contestants were rapidly disappearing behind them.

Soon only one pair of contestants remained ahead. Just a little more, just a little more…

Ha Yeon was so focused solely on winning that she didn’t even realize she was now holding hands with Min Je.

‘Finally caught up…!’

Just as they were about to take the lead, Ha Yeon’s feet got tangled, unable to handle the sudden speed.

“No!”

With a despairing cry, Ha Yeon’s body staggered. Min Je struggled with all his might to keep her from falling. But it was too much to overcome the momentum.

“Watch out!”

Thanks to Min Je pulling her waist in almost like an embrace, Ha Yeon fortunately avoided falling face-first, but her hands and knees still hit the ground hard.

“Ugh…”

Ha Yeon let out a pained groan from the pain, embarrassment, and disappointment.

“Are you okay?”

Min Je hurriedly checked Ha Yeon’s palms. They were scraped and bleeding from hitting the ground.

“Ah, we could have gotten first place…”

Ha Yeon muttered dejectedly, looking at those who had already crossed the finish line.

Min Je let out an exasperated sigh. What should he do with this woman who seemed to care nothing for her own body and only regretted missing first place after getting hurt?

“Is that what’s important right now?”

When Min Je asked in a chilly voice, Ha Yeon snapped back to her senses.

“I’m not hurt that badly.”

She spoke as if making excuses, not knowing why she had to say such things to him. His gaze seemed to reproach her, causing this reflexive response.

“I’m sorry, I should have run more slowly.”

But when Min Je apologized with a long sigh, Ha Yeon’s eyes wavered. She never expected this man to apologize and take the blame.

“No, no. It was because I was careless.”

Ha Yeon waved her hands and shook her head, as if trying to ignore her pounding heartbeat.

“Oh my, what a shame. As consolation for the team that narrowly missed first place, I’ll give you this mini teddy bear at the emcee’s discretion.”

The emcee gave them a bear doll about one-tenth the size of the large one as a prize. Is it fortunate to at least receive this? Ha Yeon returned to the audience seats with mixed feelings.

“Noona, are you hurt?”

When Ji Hoo asked, Ha Yeon gave an awkward smile, feeling strangely embarrassed.

“No, I’m not hurt. But what should we do? The doll is only this big.”

Ha Yeon felt disappointed as she handed over the tiny doll, barely the size of a palm. She had wanted to proudly give him a huge doll.

“No, I like this one better.”

Ji Hoo replied maturely, as if trying to reassure her. You adorable kid. Ha Yeon was so moved by Ji Hoo’s grown-up response that she hugged the child tightly.

Night had fallen after the eventful sports day. Ha Yeon smiled softly as she gazed at Ji Hoo’s sleeping form.

Ji Hoo had fallen asleep clutching the doll she gave him like a treasure. After gently stroking the child’s forehead, Ha Yeon left the room.

Since it had been such a tiring day, they decided to skip the nightly tutoring session. So Ha Yeon crept down the stairs carefully, trying not to make any noise.

She planned to quickly grab the book she had left in the studio without running into Min Je. Somehow, she felt awkward about seeing him.

Her heart, which had been so turbulent because of him all day, still hadn’t calmed down. The thunderous beating of her heart still seemed to echo in her ears. So she didn’t want to face him tonight. No, it would be better in many ways not to encounter him.

Having come to that conclusion, Ha Yeon was tiptoeing across the living room when someone spoke to her.

“I was waiting for you. Good timing.”

Ha Yeon, who had been extremely tense, screamed in surprise.

“Aah! Y-you startled me! W-why are you there?”

In her rush to just grab the book and go back upstairs, she hadn’t noticed Min Je sitting on the sofa.

“Why are you so surprised?”

Min Je raised an eyebrow at Ha Yeon’s unnatural behavior.

“I-I’m not particularly surprised.”

Ha Yeon reflexively denied it, feeling caught. Min Je narrowed his eyes suspiciously and gestured as he spoke.

“Alright, just come over here for now.”

“W-why?”

Ha Yeon instinctively took a defensive stance. Somehow her instincts were signaling danger. Kang Min Je, don’t get any more entangled with him. If she got close to him now, she’d end up in an irreversible situation.

But when Min Je nodded towards the first aid kit on the table, she became extremely flustered.

“You got hurt.”

She couldn’t run away from someone offering to treat her wounds, nor did she have any good reason to refuse his kindness. Ha Yeon bit her lip as she hesitantly approached him.

“It’s just a tiny scratch. It’ll heal quickly if left alone.”

She said this hoping he might back off, saying he understood. It was a slim chance, but Ha Yeon gambled on it.

“Don’t say such nonsense.”

As expected, it had no effect.

Ha Yeon sat down resignedly on the edge of the sofa. Surely he wasn’t planning to treat her himself?

She rolled her eyes as she watched Min Je open the first aid kit with a click.

“Let me see.”

Min Je held out his hand towards Ha Yeon. He meant for her to show him the palm that had been scraped earlier.

Ha Yeon, suddenly extremely flustered, couldn’t immediately extend her hand. She didn’t want to touch him anymore. Her tumultuous feelings had just started to settle, but if she touched him again, it would all be for naught.

“Come on.”

But Min Je, unaware of her inner turmoil, urged Ha Yeon as if dealing with someone refusing treatment out of fear of pain.

“I’ll… do it myself.”

Ha Yeon finally managed to say, hesitantly holding out her hand.

“Never mind. I’ll do it, so just stay still. I’m partly responsible for you getting hurt.”

Was it his words that were the problem? Or his touch? Or was it herself, helplessly swayed by him? Ha Yeon bit her lip tightly, trying not to reveal her confused inner thoughts.

“It might sting a little.”

Min Je said as he examined her expression while applying disinfectant. Mistaking Ha Yeon’s tense expression for pain, Min Je blew gently on the wound, as he would for Ji Hoo.

Ha Yeon’s shoulders flinched. Under his intense gaze fixed solely on her, his touch that felt so hot, she had long forgotten the pain.

Goosebumps rose all over her body. Muttering a low curse at her body reacting so helplessly to his breath, Ha Yeon, now too drained to even feel tense, blankly watched what he was doing.

Min Je stared at Ha Yeon’s trembling eyelashes for a moment, unconsciously using too much disinfectant.

‘It must sting.’

He couldn’t believe the lapse that had occurred in himself. If he was going to make such mistakes, it would have been wisest to just hand her the first aid kit as she suggested. But he had insisted on treating her himself.

He wasn’t sure of the exact reason. He just wanted to.

Perhaps he wanted to keep hearing her soft breaths, to keep seeing her shoulders flinch. Or maybe he was unknowingly enjoying the contact with her.

Though he was only holding one of her hands, a strange satisfaction welled up. Not wanting to let go, he meticulously treated even the small wounds.

Overcome by an inexplicable emotion, Min Je’s gaze turned to Ha Yeon’s face. The trembling in her eyes was impossible to miss.

‘If you’re like this, I can’t let you go.’

Min Je’s gaze suddenly deepened.

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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