Hyeseok looked up with surprised eyes. She didn’t know about anything else, but the large dark brown eyes trembling with excitement reminded Jun of Taehee.
Kneeling down and personally putting the shoes on Hyeseok’s feet, Jun whispered quietly.
“Mother, trust me and be confident in front of those people. That’s what Taehee wants by dating me.”
Out of respect for the person who gave birth to Taehee, he would treat her well. However, that didn’t mean he would endure bitter words.
“I don’t like the differences between Taehee and me because of Mother, but I also don’t like seeing Taehee upset. So, please stop hiding behind Taehee and come forward.”
The reason for sending Min Taehee away from the store was this.
Min Taehee, who couldn’t say harsh words to Hyeseok even though she complained, said this on behalf of her.
Even now, Hyeseok, who couldn’t say anything, received the final blow from Jun.
“For Taehee to be happy, Mother needs to be confident. But if you can’t do that, I might have to let go of Taehee.”
Hyeseok’s eyes trembled. Jun’s words were cold, cruel, and politely turned around, like a threat.
Yet, she suddenly came to her senses.
To become confident for Taehee’s happiness. The words of releasing Taehee if she couldn’t do that.
That’s why. It was to gather the courage, though terrifying and frightening, for the sake of her daughter.
“If shoes aren’t my style, can we skip to bags?”
As Hyeseok tried to get up from the sofa, Jun held out his hand to stop her.
The hand that firmly held Hyeseok’s hand, tinged with a slight tremor, whispered instead of speaking.
Trust me, I will protect you.
Hyeseok, with fists clenched in Jun’s hands, walked to the display shelves.
After that, an employee followed closely.
“There are so many things I like; I can’t choose. What should I do?”
Even without looking back, Jun knew.
The gazes of Min Seontae, his wife, and the neighboring couple were harshly fixed on them.
Ignoring those gazes, Jun handed another black card to the employee standing behind him.
“Please calculate all the bags on the upper and lower display shelves.”
The cheapest bag was in the early 3 million won range, and there were easily ten bags on the display shelves.
Hyeseok looked at Jun with an noticeably surprised expression.
“All of these?”
“If you like them all, you should take them home. If you get tired or don’t like them, you can give them as gifts to neighbors. I’ll buy anything you want whenever you come to Ilsan with Taehee, so don’t hesitate and think it’s a waste.”
“I don’t need all this.”
“You’ve worked hard raising Taehee, so now you need to receive the benefits of having a son-in-law.”
Thanking him, Hyeseok turned around as if to look at something else, and she met eyes with a lady standing next to Okhee.
Nodding slightly and greeting, the lady approached Hyeseok.
“Oh, Hyeseok, let’s have a cup of tea at our house. Why are you always so busy when I suggest it?”
Hyeseok took a long breath and exhaled.
That woman is there, and Min Seontae is in the same space.
Just the thought of it made her fearfully terrified.
All she wanted was a hole to hide in.
But thinking of her daughter, she gathered courage for the first time. Once she did that, it became a bit easier.
Oddly enough, with Jun by her side, she felt empowered. It seems that raising a son has a reassuring taste.
“I don’t like going out, so instead, please come to our house whenever you have time.”
“Oh, if you invite us, we’ll come.”
Behind the lady, another woman appeared. Hyeseok, who was stared at fiercely by Okhee, looked directly into her eyes without avoiding them.
“…”
“…”
For Hyeseok, it was the first time. She faced that woman’s eyes without averting her gaze.
After a few seconds of tense silence, Okhee, who turned around abruptly, left the store, blowing cold wind.
Even though it was expected that she would chase after Okhee, Seontae approached Hyeseok instead.
“It’s so nice to go out with the future son-in-law, isn’t it? I was so worried about you always staying at home.”
The curious eyes of the lady alternated between Seontae and Hyeseok.
“As you said, I’m fine because I have Jun. So, follow him quickly. Jun, I want to see shoes too.”
It felt like she always looked at Suntae’s back, who turned away first.
However, for the first time today, a gentle smile appeared on Hyeseok’s lips as she showed her back to Suntae.
It was a refreshing feeling she had never experienced before.
The restaurant was reserved for 1 p.m.
After precisely one hour of shopping, Taehee’s mind was light as they headed to the restaurant.
Jun asked her to go shopping alone, so she was a bit confused, but she agreed.
There must be a reason for that.
Believing in Jun and perhaps wanting to do well on her own, Taehee didn’t ask or worry about anything.
Following Jun’s advice, Taehee finished shopping according to her taste and opened the door to the reserved room.
But Hyeseok wasn’t there; Jun was sitting alone.
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.”
