As Tae-jun walked slowly back to the meeting room, he paused at the door. From the open doorway, he could hear the voices of Yang Hee-wook and Choi Hyun-ji.
They had returned to the meeting room to devise a strategy.
“Why didn’t you tell Kim Tae-jun Director about your girlfriend working at his company? He might have taken special care of her.”
“We’re the lesser party here. No need to create issues that might bother him.”
“True. So-eun won’t be of any help in our case anyway. Anyway! I’m so glad to be working with you on this. How about you?”
“I’m probably happier about it than you are.”
“Oh my! Really? Ahahaha! So-eun would be jealous if she heard this.”
Hyun-ji’s flirtatious voice was slightly annoying.
Yesterday at Omotesando Hills, Tae-jun noticed Yang Hee-wook was quite attentive to Choi Hyun-ji.
He hired them to confirm this observation further. Today, he realized they were indeed quite conscious of each other.
Just waiting for a spark to ignite into something more.
Deciding there was no need to go back into the meeting room just for the business cards, Tae-jun turned away, suppressing a smile.
[Star icon]The next day.
So-eun got up early in the morning and prepared porridge and a few side dishes for Mal-hee, as Hee-wook had requested. Although the food parcel was heavy, she also took the bouquet of flowers Hee-wook had sent. She hurriedly made her way to the hospital, and by the time she arrived, it was almost noon.
Before reaching the ward, she spotted Hee-wook across the hallway. Beaming with joy, she rushed towards him.
“Oppa!”
“Ah, you’re here?”
Hee-wook smiled faintly and looked at So-eun’s hands, heavy with luggage and the bouquet. He frowned slightly.
“Why bother buying flowers? You should’ve bought fruits instead.”
“These are the flowers you sent.”
Confused, So-eun replied, and Hee-wook quickly corrected himself.
“…I didn’t expect you to bring them here. I bought them for you.”
“I couldn’t leave them at work, and if I only saw them in the evening at home, I thought it would be better to brighten up mom’s hospital room. It looks more cheerful with them.”
Hee-wook disliked this aspect of her. Although being frugal was good, there was no need to be so miserly. He often found himself comparing So-eun with the intellectual and sophisticated Hyun-ji, who seemed a much better match for him.
Nevertheless, he had to entrust his mother to her.
Rushing out of the hospital, Hee-wook waved his hand.
“So-eun, I’m busy, so I have to go. Please take good care of mom.”
“Okay.”
But you could’ve at least helped with the luggage. It’s a bit heavy.
Feeling slightly hurt, So-eun nevertheless thought that her boyfriend must be very busy. She walked towards the ward.
Upon entering, she greeted Mal-hee, who was sitting up in bed, engrossed in a drama on TV.
“Hello, mother! How have you been?”
But as soon as So-eun opened the door and greeted her, Mal-hee’s face changed abruptly. The lively expression, engrossed in the drama, turned heavy.
“Ah, you came.”
So-eun had come and left the hospital previously, and Mal-hee seemed to have been waiting for her for a long time that day. Today, however, she didn’t seem particularly welcoming.
Did she feel disappointed and tired of waiting that day?
“Did you eat anything?”
“I need food to eat.”
“How can you manage without eating, Mother? I’ve prepared a few things. They might not be as good as your cooking, but they should be decent enough.”
So-eun cheerfully spoke while setting up the food she brought on the bed table and made Mal-hee sit comfortably.
Now three months post liver transplant, Mal-hee had regained much of her strength. She could eat and move a bit on her own. Although she seemed particularly lifeless and dependent when So-eun was around, So-eun took it positively. It seemed like Mal-hee was acting spoiled because she felt comfortable with So-eun. So-eun took pride in being needed by someone.
As Mal-hee took a spoonful of porridge, So-eun asked,
“How is it, Mother?”
“Uh, it’s okay.”
Although not an enthusiastic response, it was still a relief. Mal-hee watched the drama intermittently while finishing the bowl of porridge So-eun served. So-eun cleaned up everything after Mal-hee finished eating and stored the remaining side dishes in the fridge.
It was their first meeting in a week, and Mal-hee was unusually quiet today. The fact that she finished her porridge suggested she wasn’t feeling too bad. So-eun’s heart felt a prickly pain recalling the day she came up to the ward and returned home without meeting Mal-hee.
While sitting silently watching TV with Mal-hee, the door to the ward opened.
“Big sister!”
It was Mal-hee’s daughter, Hee-wook’s sister, Yang Hee-jin.
Hee-jin, who lived in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do, and was married, had left her child with her husband to visit her mother.
Knowing that her daughter had her hands full raising a child, Mal-hee couldn’t warmly welcome Hee-jin.
“Why did you bother coming here when you’re so busy?”
“I came because my husband said he’d take care of the child. Oh, So-eun is here too!”
After greeting Mal-hee first, Hee-jin turned to So-eun.
“Yes. Hello.”
“Hi. You’ve been well, right?”
“Yes.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, you don’t have to worry about me.”
“It’s hard to believe you had the same surgery as my mother on the same day. You’re young and recovered so quickly. You’re really lucky.”
Hee-jin looked back and forth between her mother, still in a patient gown, and the robust So-eun, then quietly sighed. So-eun, feeling somewhat embarrassed, just slightly curled her lips.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
