“Ah… my head feels like it’s going to split.”
Kang Hyun, deeply engrossed in the documents, murmured to himself unknowingly.
Engulfed in preparing the materials, he suddenly lifted his head and quickly glanced around his room.
Suddenly, his own room felt as stifling and oppressive as a prison.
Just for today, he had no idea how many hours he had spent looking at these materials.
These days, working through the night every day, he had been merely shuttling between home and office.
Moreover, spending entire days just moving between his office and the meeting room seemed to exacerbate that feeling.
He decided to step out of his room and head to the rooftop garden for a brief respite.
It wasn’t lunchtime, so it appeared deserted.
With his hands in his pockets, he stood and gazed outside.
Although he had hastily assembled support staff, creating a new investment strategy for Onyu Pharmaceuticals within a month was almost miraculous.
It was a special directive from Chairman Cha, so Kang Hyun was giving it his all, but he was deeply troubled.
And there was another worrying aspect of this project!
This project was none other than what had secured Cha Min Woo a position as an executive.
He hadn’t been particularly conscious of or bore any ill will towards him ordinarily.
However, after hearing Ji Yeon’s story, his image now resembled a hyena on the plains.
Not one to hunt and achieve on his own, but coveting what belonged to his parents, abandoning a woman he claimed to love for more, and bringing in an oblivious person to mentally oppress and abuse.
In Kang Hyun’s eyes, Cha Min Woo was less than human.
Ji Yeon hadn’t spoken of her family, but if it had been an arranged marriage within the family, it would have been all the more reason to be cautious. Yet, in the midst of that, to commit such atrocities.
If he had loved her that much, he should have protected her to the end, not lash out after giving up on her…
No matter how much he thought about it, it made no sense.
“I was young and made the wrong choice.”
“I have my faults too, for not being able to break away despite knowing it was wrong.”
Even as she spoke of those moments, Ji Yeon kept blaming herself, which made Kang Hyun feel a surge of anger welling up inside him.
Mental abuse and oppression are never the victim’s fault.
It’s clearly the perpetrator’s fault, so why must the victim carry the burden of suffering?
Moreover, lately, he kept clashing with Cha Min Woo at work.
Seeing him exhibit nothing but laziness and arrogance, Kang Hyun felt like stepping on him once at work might quiet him down.
“Always in my sight, irritating me, Cha Min Woo.”
He tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.
I came here to clear my mind for a moment, but instead, I found it filled with different thoughts.
Shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of these thoughts, Kang Hyun gazed blankly at the forest of buildings spread out below.
But this time, his mind was occupied by the meeting with Kwon Ji Su a few days ago.
“I’ve relapsed. But this time, I don’t think I can endure it alone, Kang Hyun. I’m so scared. Can’t you hold me? Can’t you be with me, so I’m not scared?”
“Kwon Ji Su. You’re really selfish until the end.”
He roughly freed himself from her arms that were wrapped around him from behind.
Swallowing his anger, Kang Hyun spoke to her clearly.
“Don’t you remember anything I’ve ever said? Or are you ignoring it? It’s been over five years since you and I completely broke up. You and I, we’re nothing to each other anymore. So why should I go back to you at your every word? You’re nothing to me now. No different from the countless people passing by on the street. Please, listen to someone for once!”
Despite the harsh words pouring from his mouth, Ji Su shook her head vehemently in denial.
“That can’t be true. You can’t give up on me so easily. Kang Hyun, we were always happy. You always waited for me…”
“Always happy? Maybe you were, but I was often driven to madness. Waiting for someone who can’t be contacted. Wondering if they’re dead or alive. Like taking a dog out of its kennel to play for a while before locking it back up. I felt pathetic for dragging on, unable to give up those brief moments of happiness.”
“You were the one who found me first! You… you liked me first!”
“Does the person who liked first have to wait like a fool in a miserable situation to the very end? What kind of nonsense is that?”
The more they talked, the more absurd Ji Su’s arguments seemed, and Kang Hyun’s face was filled with annoyance.
Ji Su stomped her feet and clung to his arm as if hanging on for dear life.
Eventually, she burst into tears.
“I… I was wrong, Kang Hyun. I really was wrong. I won’t do it again. I won’t disappear again. So please! Please, can’t you give me another chance?”
“To want someone out of pity, not love or affection, and to selfishly say that after all that’s happened… who would love you for that? Even if I didn’t have feelings for Ji Yeon, I wouldn’t go to you. That will never happen.”
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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