She was the one who had turned her back on him eight years ago, yet he still said he trusted her with such ease.
Her heart ached again. It was pitiful that she couldn’t give her whole heart to this man’s sincerity.
“Before you go… let’s hug just once.”
He slowly stood up and approached her, but she couldn’t refuse.
Against her will, she was drawn into his broad embrace. Then an unbelievable sense of security comforted her body, which had been tormented all day.
She didn’t understand why she lost her composure only with this man.
Seo Rin closed her eyes, feeling his full embrace. Then she thought. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms like this. It seemed like her night, which was deprived of sleep due to shallow sleep, would be charged in an instant.
“There are three days left until the temporary shareholders’ meeting, right?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t stress too much. Everything will be fine.”
A hollow laugh erupted.
“How would you know that, Tae Joon?”
It wasn’t a reprimand. She just echoed the question, wanting to believe his words completely.
But the echoed question returned as a firm conviction.
“I know. Because…”
“……”
“Because I’m going to make it that way.”
It was a low frequency, likely to be brushed away like the wind,
But the voice was strangely clear, piercing through.
The next day, Seo Rin’s patience was stretched to the limit due to Director Park, who kept looking at her all day long because he had a lot to say.
“Did you call me?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you called.”
He had already come in and left without saying what he wanted to say three times, even though she didn’t call him.
She couldn’t stand it any longer.
Seeing Director Park turning around, swallowing the words he wanted to say beyond his throat, Seo Rin opened her mouth first.
“Director Park. If you have something to say, just say it. If you keep this up, both you and I will go crazy.”
Only then did Director Park, who was about to turn around and leave, spit out the question he had been holding back all day, whispering as if someone might hear.
“If you say so, I will take the liberty of asking. Really… are you really marrying him?”
“Why, does it sound like a joke?”
“No, it’s because it sounds so serious that I don’t want to believe it.”
“Why does Director Park care?”
“That’s because… From what I see, it seems like there’s some sort of deal behind this marriage……”
Watching him trailing off, Seo Rin put on her jacket. She had to move for the next schedule.
Picking up her handbag, she brushed past Director Park and casually opened her mouth.
“You’re right. Give and take. But… such things are common in our world. If we argue and discuss based on that logic, that person is the best partner.”
Since her words were too accurate, Director Park couldn’t say anything and followed her.
Kang Tae Joon. He was the best partner, one that even Director Park, who knew little about him, couldn’t object to. Wealth, ability, and even looks that were refreshingly pleasing to the eye.
What woman would refuse such a man?
The problem was that Seo Rin wasn’t an ordinary woman!
The fact that Kang Tae Joon was the best partner as an ally meant that he could also become the most dangerous person if he turned into an enemy. His wealth and ability could turn into a sharp blade that could strangle her.
If Kang Tae Joon had been an easier opponent. No, even if he was a little less successful, Director Park might have welcomed this marriage with open arms.
However, Kang Tae Joon was too successful a man. Now that Seo Rin, who couldn’t live defeated, had met such a man, would this marriage really end in a perfect conclusion?
One couldn’t help but worry.
But Seo Rin, seemingly indifferent to Director Park’s concerns, boarded the elevator with a calm face.
Coincidentally, it was the elevator that President Baek was in.
“Leaving work?”
“No, a meeting.”
“I see. Is the preparation for the temporary shareholder’s meeting going well?”
At his casually thrown question, Seo Rin’s eyes cooled. There was nothing good about provoking President Baek in this situation. Anger creates variables. And Seo Rin didn’t want to create any variables right now.
She had to respond as flexibly as possible.
“There are three days left. There isn’t much I can do in this situation. I presume it’s the same for my father.”
At her words, President Baek seemed to nod in agreement.
The elevator door opened. Seo Rin nodded first and began to step out, when she heard President Baek’s heavy voice from behind.
“You look better than I expected. I thought your complexion would be darker because you’re weak against stress.”
“……”
“……Are you dating someone?”
For a moment, Seo Rin doubted her ears.
After the divorce, President Baek had never shown interest in her love life. But now, in this situation, he was curious about her love life?
Was he blatantly trying to provoke her, or did he know something?
Seo Rin turned around to look at President Baek.
As their gazes met in the void, it seemed as if invisible sparks were quietly flying around.
The surrounding air began to settle heavily.
Normally, she might have firmly denied President Baek’s words. But strangely, this time she didn’t want to.
I know. Because…… I’ll make it so.
That single phrase he had uttered stuck in her heart like magic and wouldn’t come out.
She didn’t know where such courage had come from.
“Why? Do I now have to report my love life to my father?”
In the end, she didn’t even deny it in a situation where it would be insufficient to hide Tae Joon’s existence.
Don’t stress too much. Everything will be fine.
She wanted to believe in that statement Tae Joon had made once.
That everything would be fine.
Yeonhwa Hall.
In this traditional Korean restaurant where one could have a meal, tea, and alcohol at the same time, President Baek had arrived a full 30 minutes earlier than the appointed time. It was a place specially chosen for the meeting with The MG, a matter of life and death.
But President Baek was deep in thought, staring at the steaming hot barley tea in front of him.
He couldn’t forget the sight of Seo Rin he had run into in the elevator just before coming here.
The moment he saw her, the man from the photo he saw last night popped up in his mind, so he ended up asking her a question.
The problem was, Seo Rin didn’t deny it, even though he expected her to do so when he asked the question. Of course, that didn’t mean she had affirmed it. But her inexplicably confident attitude caused endless questions in President Baek’s mind.
“Is she… dating someone?”
Even though the meeting with The MG was imminent, his mind was filled with the image of Seo Rin he had seen today and the photo of the man he had seen yesterday.
It was oddly bothering him.
He couldn’t believe that Baek Seo Rin was being smitten by a man and dating in such a critical situation.
However, such thoughts could no longer continue.
The sliding door opened, signaling the arrival of the representative from The MG he had been waiting for.
“They’ve arrived.”
President Baek quickly tucked away his thoughts, buttoned his suit as he rose from his seat.
Yes, let’s forget about the man in the picture for a moment.
The meeting in front of him was the priority right now.
If he could successfully conclude this meeting, the temporary shareholders’ meeting would end with his victory.
No one could interfere.
It was now a state where only his solo performance remained.
However, as he looked at the person entering the room, President Baek’s thick eyebrows slightly fluttered. He even couldn’t utter all the words he wanted to say with his open mouth.
“Hhow can…”
An entirely unexpected situation was unfolding.
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.”
