“If you could… check in on our Seorin occasionally while I’m away?”

Finally, he was telling Mrs. Park the purpose of his visit, but he didn’t understand why he was so choked up. Just uttering the name “Seorin” brought a surge of warmth to his throat.

Even by just mentioning her name like this, can I forget you?

He truly wasn’t sure.

“Did… you two have a fight?”

“No, never. We get along very well. It’s just… this is my problem.”

“What… are you talking about? I don’t quite understand.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can tell you more than this today. I’ll let you know once I come back from the business trip and things become clearer.”

“…”

“Until then… Until then, please look after our Seorin.”

Saying this, Taejoon couldn’t bring himself to face Mrs. Park and lowered his head.

He felt ashamed that he couldn’t keep the promise he made to her, promising to love her with all his heart despite her opposition to the marriage registration.

Unable to meet her eyes, he finally spoke the truth.
However, Mrs. Park, unable to lift her head, spoke to him in a quiet but firm tone.

“Have a safe trip. But don’t say anything like ‘Take care of Seorin for me.'”

“But…”

As the surprised Taejoon raised his head, Mrs. Park quickly concluded her words.

“A mother taking care of her child is a natural thing.”

During the afternoon meeting postponed to the next day for personal reasons, on her way back from the airport, Seorin received a message.

[Dash] By any chance, when are you coming in today?

It was Taejoon.

Normally, she would have responded to the text immediately, but today, she hesitated for some reason.

Last night, she had seen his tears, and since then, she couldn’t get a wink of sleep. She had hurriedly left in the morning to avoid facing him. The morning meeting was just an excuse.

It seemed like the right thing to do. She was afraid of the moment when she would have to face him.

However, it seemed she couldn’t avoid it altogether. Especially when he straightforwardly sent her a message like this.

Seorin had mixed feelings. She couldn’t decide what to do. The words he whispered behind her back still lingered in her mind.

[Dash] Seorin, what should I do?

She had no idea what was happening in a place she didn’t know.

She wanted to ask but didn’t have the courage.

It was as if she shouldn’t know the truth, or perhaps, if she found out, it would be more painful than Taejoon, she couldn’t dare ask.

Then her phone vibrated.

It was Taejoon.

“Yeah, Mr. Taejoon.”

[Just sent a message. When can you come in today?]

“Well, I’m done with everything I had to see today. I think I can go straight home. But… why?”

[Oh, I have something to tell you. Yeah. So, I’ll be waiting.]

“Yeah, it’ll take about 30 minutes.”

She hung up and turned her gaze to the passing scenery outside the window. Despite the evening approaching due to the lengthening days, the weather was hot, and the outside was still very bright.

Nevertheless, her heart was as cloudy as if covered with clouds.

She had no idea how to clear away these clouds.

After meeting Mrs. Park and coming in, Taejoon had a lot on his mind.

Indeed, was this the only way to deal with the truth of the past? He thought about it dozens, hundreds of times, but the result was always the same.

Once the affair between Chairman Baek and Oksun became clear, Taejoon couldn’t muster the courage to live as if he didn’t know the past.

Yet, he didn’t have the courage to confess the past to Seorin either.

In the end, he chose the path of bearing it alone.

He wouldn’t explain the exact reason to her.

Curiosity would remain, but he thought of everything as his own fault. He would bear the burden of the past alone.

He believed that was the only way to protect her.
At that moment, the front door opened, and Seorin came in. Her faint smile on her lips as she entered stuck in his eyes.

“Sorry. There was no need for you to come in so early.”

“No. I also had something to see suddenly, so I rescheduled today’s afternoon schedule for tomorrow.”

“Have you eaten?”

“I haven’t thought about it. I had lunch a bit late.”

“Then, coffee?”

“No. Water.”

Taejoon placed a cold bottle of mineral water in front of her. She, seemingly thirsty, quickly downed half of the water.

“It seems like I ate lunch too salty. The water just went down.”

“…”

“But, why did you suddenly want to talk?”

She asked as she put the water bottle down. However, despite her composed voice, her black pupils were shaking, seemingly lost and unfocused.

Taejoon approached her, gently pushing aside the strands of her disheveled hair with his ear.

Just looking at her made his eyes reddened.

And though he hadn’t said a word yet, it felt as if his heart had been ripped out, as if a pulsating heart had been detached.

He couldn’t bring himself to face her and speak.

How could anyone understand the feelings of having to say such inadequate words to you, whom I love so much?

In the end, Taejoon silently pulled her close and embraced her in his arms, soothing her.

“Baek Seorin, do you know that I love you?”

“…”

“And when I said I would protect you, it wasn’t just empty words, you know?”

Yeah. That was definitely not an empty promise. Even if their story ends here, Taejoon will protect her until his last breath.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Just… I wish you had known beforehand. Whatever happens, I will protect you.”

He hoped his sincerity would be conveyed. So that even if he’s not around, she can stand firm on her own.

“Seorin, I thought that if I had strength, I could change everything. So, I felt fearless. I rushed headlong without caring about the consequences and ended up falling apart.”

He truly believed that. That’s why he fearlessly tried to uncover the truth about his mother’s death.

But now he understands. There are things in the world that can’t be solved with his strength alone.

Discovering such a simple truth was so difficult; it was truly regrettable.

So, he finally unraveled the questions about the past that he so desperately wanted to know.

And lost the present.

Lost the future.

“Seorin, shall we… get divorced?”

“…”

“No… let’s get divorced.”

I have lost you.

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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