Desperate for a Catch (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
Woo Yeon gave a bitter smile and downed her drink. The buzz was setting in, but she was still fine.
“No.”
Tae Kyung also knocked back his drink in one go.
“Your answer is exactly what I expected—no deviation at all.”
“Are you free, President?”
“…….”
“I heard you’ve been incredibly busy, yet somehow you keep showing up everywhere I go. Like a wave—you push it away, but it just comes rushing back.”
“Do I really seem that way?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds like you’re saying I’m to your liking.”
“I do like you.”
Tae Kyung gave a short chuckle. If he spoke to her again right after this, she’d surely hit him with an even colder rejection.
“Ms. Yoon Woo Yeon, you’re surprisingly good at keeping people on the hook. Is it because you’re an anchor? Your lines are smooth, your expressions perfect. Or… is everything just better because it’s you, Yoon Woo Yeon?”
“I don’t know. But I have no intention of keeping you in my pond, President.”
“Huh.”
As if he’d anticipated exactly that, he shook his head.
While they were talking, the couple who’d gone into the room reappeared. They seemed to have reached an agreement—Seo Ji Woo came out, sweetly linking her arm through Park Min Kwon’s.
Woo Yeon, who had been watching her, quickly averted her gaze toward the window.
She just wished the whole world tonight could be nothing but alcohol.
“Mind if I sit?”
That was Park Min Kwon’s opening line when they met at the alumni gathering.
She’d deliberately chosen the most secluded inner seat because she disliked noisy crowds—and yet, he was already the third persistent fly buzzing around her.
The previous two had loudly chattered about various business ventures, trying to catch Tae Kyung’s attention, but soon grew tired and drifted away.
Most people knew how cold and aloof he was, so few dared approach him easily.
Usually, people waited for him to initiate conversation—and some even dismissed Cha Tae Kyung outright as an unlucky oddball, viewing him through tinted lenses from the start.
Tae Kyung didn’t care whether Park Min Kwon belonged to the former group or the latter.
Park Min Kwon wasn’t even on Tae Kyung’s list of people he needed to engage with for business. Though Park might be capable, Tae Kyung had deliberately ruled him out for multiple reasons.
He was about to refuse—but Park’s next sentence changed his mind.
“You got completely drained by Anchor Yoon Woo Yeon, right? You okay?”
It was an amusing remark—sounded like he’d been so utterly spellbound by Yoon Woo Yeon that he’d spilled every last bit of information.
Tae Kyung knew there had been plenty of gossip behind the scenes about the recent Myeong San coverage, but this interpretation was intriguing.
Silently, Tae Kyung downed a glass of whiskey.
When Tae Kyung didn’t respond, Park Min Kwon took it as confirmation.
He immediately sat down beside him and brought up Yoon Woo Yeon again.
“Anchor Yoon is close friends with my wife, so I know Yoon Woo Yeon pretty well.”
He was slightly drunk.
He should’ve known better than to say things he couldn’t take back—but everything spilling from his mouth was nothing but slander against Yoon Woo Yeon.
“Sly fox,” “viperous bitch”—those were actually the milder insults; the rest came laced with vulgar curses and outright sexual harassment.
Tae Kyung’s neck stiffened, his spine straightening involuntarily. He clenched his jaw.
So he asked—
Straightforwardly.
“Did Anchor Yoon get something on you?”
“…….”
Park Min Kwon, who moments ago had been boasting about his seniority while drunk, looked momentarily flustered.
“Of course not.”
“Then… did you get rejected after shamelessly hitting on her?”
“What?”
He’d clearly been found out, yet he still tried to hide it.
He abruptly called over a subordinate, downed some sober-up medicine, and from then on spoke only about business.
Tae Kyung accepted Park Min Kwon’s invitation for “one more drink at home” simply because he wanted to erase the persistent image of Yoon Woo Yeon from his mind.
He already knew.
He knew about her day—the engagement ceremony of the man she’d loved, yet she’d pretended so hard to seem unaffected.
When he finally snapped out of his thoughts about Yoon Woo Yeon, he realized he was already near her apartment.
Spotting Kim Min Joon getting into her car in the parking lot was pure coincidence.
He wasn’t curious about what they discussed—but in that instant, all he felt was searing jealousy.
Could it be? Were they still clinging to each other like some foolish, stubborn relic of old love?
If that were true, he’d step aside. If she was the kind of woman who’d risk an affair with Kim Min Joon—who was about to marry another woman—just to keep things going…
Then she was exactly that kind of woman.
“Viperous bitch.”
He’d planned to sum her up neatly using Park Min Kwon’s words.
But the moment he saw Yoon Woo Yeon at Park Min Kwon’s house, sitting beside his wife, Tae Kyung’s thirst flared again.
He studied her expression closely as she silently drank through the back-and-forth chatter.
Park Min Kwon prodded her subtly, while Yoon Woo Yeon didn’t even engage.
And Seo Ji Woo, caught awkwardly between them, kept glancing nervously around.
Tae Kyung wanted to confirm something.
He wanted to understand Yoon Woo Yeon’s true feelings—this woman who, despite clearly drawing him in, kept pushing him away so insistently.
“Huh.”
As time passed, her increasingly withdrawn state only irritated Tae Kyung more.
This was the same Yoon Woo Yeon who’d stubbornly refused to drink in front of him—yet now she was downing shots of strong vodka one after another.
“Woo Yeon, are you okay?”
At Seo Ji Woo’s worried question, Woo Yeon nodded slowly, as if to say she was perfectly fine.
“I’m okay. I’m not drunk.”
“I’ve never seen you drink this much before.”
“Didn’t you tell me to drink till I passed out another time?”
“Well, yes, but… I’m just in a bad mood. You seem more upset than usual today.”
At the word “upset,” both Park Min Kwon’s and Cha Tae Kyung’s eyes flashed sharply. Park Min Kwon was the first to speak, probing gently into Woo Yeon’s mood.
“Ms. Woo Yeon, did something happen?”
Though he still disliked her after their previous encounter, Park Min Kwon couldn’t completely suppress his lingering interest and stared at her intently.
Woo Yeon found his gaze unbearable—she knew she couldn’t stay there any longer.
Though intoxicated, she managed to stand calmly and bowed politely first.
“No, nothing’s wrong. It’s getting late, and I suddenly remembered something I need to do. I’ll take my leave now. Sorry for the trouble today.”
Park Min Kwon frowned, clearly disappointed.
“You’re leaving already? Stay a bit longer. Did I offend you earlier with my careless behavior?”
As Woo Yeon gathered her bag, she shot Park Min Kwon a look.
“Not at all.”
The icy atmosphere made Seo Ji Woo feel as if she’d been doused in cold water—she stood biting her lip.
The two had always intensely disliked each other.
Every time Woo Yeon’s name came up, her husband grew overly sensitive—and though he never showed it openly, she vividly recalled how Woo Yeon’s face had soured the moment their marriage plans were mentioned.
A strange suspicion flickered through her: was there something between her husband and Woo Yeon?
But right now, she wasn’t ready to hear anything about it.
Seo Ji Woo forced a smile.
“It’s late. Go ahead, Woo Yeon. Let’s meet again next time in broad daylight. I’ll call you first. Go on.”
“Okay.”
Woo Yeon hurried out, and Park Min Kwon immediately directed all his frustration toward her, blaming her once again for ruining the mood.
“Hah, look at that. Yoon Woo Yeon, acting so graceless—what a rude, ill-mannered woman.”
“Oppa!”
“Did I say anything wrong? Ji Woo, that’s your problem—you’re always going on about Yoon Woo Yeon, Yoon Woo Yeon. Does Anchor Yoon give you honey or something?”
“Then what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You keep saying you dislike Woo Yeon, yet you’re clearly happy whenever you manage to bring her along.”
“…….”
“Aren’t you?”
“What on earth are you even talking about!”
Park Min Kwon, whose drunkenness was returning, snapped angrily at Seo Ji Woo.
“What do you think I am to speak to me like that!”
“It’s not that—I just thought—”
“Hey, Seo Ji Woo. Do you think I’m a joke? I give you everything you ask for, and now I’m just a laughingstock?”
“…Oppa.”
“Shut up. Even my patience has limits. I picked up some nobody with nothing to her name—”
It was an unfamiliar tone from Park Min Kwon.
He’d always been self-centered—from dating to marriage—but he’d never spoken to her this harshly before.
Seo Ji Woo was flustered, unsure what to do.
And with a guest still present, her husband showed her absolutely no consideration—tears welled up and spilled over.
She wiped them away on her long dress and disappeared into the main room, leaving only Park Min Kwon and Cha Tae Kyung behind.
Tae Kyung, who had been silently drinking and smiling to himself while Woo Yeon was still in sight, finally stood abruptly.
Woo Yeon’s glass sat empty on the table.
He couldn’t watch the couple’s quarrel any longer—and decided to follow Yoon Woo Yeon, who’d left without a trace.
He put on his jacket, tugged his loosened tie tight, and turned to Park Min Kwon with a polite farewell.
“I’ve had a good time. Let’s meet again if the opportunity arises.”
Park Min Kwon tried to persuade him to stay for another drink, but Tae Kyung left cleanly without looking back.
He’d intentionally waited a while after Woo Yeon left—he didn’t want to look desperate rushing after her like a puppy.
But what if she was gone?
What if that fox-like, viperous Yoon Woo Yeon had already slipped away into the distance?
Tae Kyung’s steps quickened. With every long stride, he pictured her forlorn face as she downed her drink.
By the time he reached the gate after passing through the garden, he exhaled sharply into the night air piercing his lungs.
There she was—Yoon Woo Yeon leaning against a large wall, wrapped in the cool spring breeze.
Her shoulders were hunched, her stance unsteady, swaying slightly.
“……!”
He didn’t usually go for drunk women—but if it was Yoon Woo Yeon, he might just make an exception.
Because it was Yoon Woo Yeon.
If she demanded he take responsibility for the strange night they’d shared, he’d agree.
If it meant he could lock this night away in a glass bottle with her inside, he’d do anything.
The spring breeze fluttered like shards, teasing his heart.
“Are you drunk?”
Woo Yeon, who had kept her back turned and hadn’t noticed anyone approaching until footsteps sounded right beside her, finally turned around.
The bold, charming woman he knew—the one who’d acted so composed all evening while drinking—now had her eyes clouded with tears.
Tae Kyung was startled.
“Could what I’m seeing now possibly be Ms. Yoon Woo Yeon’s tears?”
He never thought she’d show such vulnerability—certainly not the kind of woman who’d cry like this.
Was Kim Min Joon really that important to you? Or is it your pride that’s wounded—feeling like another woman stole him from you?
Just tell me.
What’s making you cry right now?
Her once dry, brittle eyes were now damp as they looked up at him.
“…It’s hard.”
“…….”
“It’s so hard, President.”
The woman he’d wanted to lock away with the night inside a glass bottle suddenly stepped into his arms.
She buried her face in his chest and sobbed openly, heartbreakingly.
Caught completely off guard by her gesture, Tae Kyung stood frozen in place, as if turned to stone.
He’d forgotten entirely what words to say, how to comfort someone, or even how to hold a person properly—he was ice.
For the first time in his life, his mind went utterly blank.
Feeling the night breeze on his cheeks, he murmured softly,
“Ms. Yoon Woo Yeon…”
“…….”
“I must seem awfully easy to you.”
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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So she is missing him so hoping what happens next!