Love is Madness (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
“You really intend to go ahead with this meeting?”
So Dam narrowed her brows and asked Tae Joon once again. But all she could confirm was his unwavering resolve.
“When have you ever seen me say something foolish?”
“But… we never do preliminary meetings like this. And besides, if you’re going to side with Executive Managing Director Baek anyway, why bother meeting President Baek? Especially when it means bending your own principles?”
“Who said I changed the rules?”
“You just did.”
At So Dam’s bold complaint, Tae Joon finally lifted his gaze from his laptop and looked directly at her.
She narrowed her eyes as he slowly leaned forward and propped his chin on his hand—because whenever he sought to impose his unchanging will on someone, he always started by subduing them with his eyes.
Even though they were physically far enough apart to remain out of reach, So Dam instinctively leaned back, unconsciously trying to place herself outside his striking range.
Yet, despite her desperate efforts, she couldn’t escape the slow, honeyed voice that gently brushed against her eardrums.
“No, nothing’s changed. Today’s meeting won’t affect my decision in the slightest.”
“Then why? Why meet him at all? You’re the one who always says time is money and hates wasting it the most.”
She asked, but received no answer. Instead, he turned his eyes back to his laptop and carefully reread the profile of President Baek that So Dam had handed him.
President Baek’s resume was more impressive than expected.
Although he wasn’t above using questionable methods for the company’s benefit, every one of his projects had consistently generated massive profits. Now it was clear why not only the board of directors but even the shareholders stood firmly behind him.
It made perfect sense that Seo Rin—more principled and rational than anyone—was struggling alone against someone as relentlessly effective as him.
He found himself admiring her anew.
And suddenly, he understood why she’d looked so utterly exhausted last night.
Just as he’d told So Dam, this meeting wouldn’t influence his decision in any way—because no matter how capable President Baek was, he would stand firmly on Seo Rin’s side.
All he needed was a diversionary tactic: to tie President Baek’s hands just enough to prevent that bulldozer-like drive from creating any new variables.
The upcoming meeting with The MG would give President Baek an unparalleled sense of security.
And once someone feels truly secure, they rarely seek alternative exits—they simply settle in. That’s exactly the psychology Tae Joon intended to exploit.
There were only three days left until the special shareholders’ meeting.
If President Baek remained calm and trusted The MG over these three days, the game would be over.
Thus, today’s meeting was critically important—not just for President Baek, but for him as well.
“Alright, you should get ready now. The meeting’s almost starting.”
“Yeah. I guess I should.”
“But wait—won’t it hurt your carefully cultivated mystique if you suddenly show up like this at such meetings? You know, the aura of secrecy you always maintain?”
Tae Joon possessed an unforgettable face and presence—one that, once revealed, could never be hidden again.
So Dam couldn’t help but wonder why he’d willingly endure such an inconvenience just to attend this meeting.
But then—
“Who said I’m going?”
Tae Joon started talking nonsense.
Then who’s going? William, who was supposed to attend as your proxy, just canceled and is now back in the UK!
As endless question marks of frustration swirled in So Dam’s mind, Tae Joon slowly turned his dark gaze toward her.
Instantly, a chill ran down her spine. She slowly turned her head to check behind her.
There was no one there.
Yet his calm, steady gaze remained fixed firmly on her.
Only then did she understand—and her pupils dilated in shock.
“M-Me?”
This was absolutely absurd.
***
“How… how come…”
“I’m Michelle Shin. My Korean name is Shin So Dam.”
So Dam extended her hand, and President Baek shook it absentmindedly, still visibly stunned. Anticipating his reaction, So Dam’s eyes sharpened as she spoke.
“Are you surprised because I’m Korean—or because I’m a woman?”
Both. But even more shocking was the fact that So Dam looked barely thirty.
President Baek firmly believed that true skill and expertise came only from hard-earned experience. Over the years, he’d learned that one direct encounter taught more than a hundred words or mountains of data.
Yet here he was, facing a woman who looked even younger than Seo Rin, about to explain his vision to her—and even more unbelievably, the fate of his company now rested in her hands.
How should he even manage his expression?
Would she even fully grasp what he was saying?
Contrary to his worries, however, President Baek quickly composed himself.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I just let my guard down for a moment.”
“You were nervous?”
“Of course. Since our conversation involves highly confidential matters, hiring an interpreter wasn’t really an option, so I have to explain everything myself—but I’m not particularly fluent in English, so situations like this always make me nervous.”
That was indeed very much like President Baek—handling the awkwardness with practiced grace, without offending his counterpart in the slightest.
“Haha. I see.”
So Dam sat down pleasantly, yet an inexplicable tension still lingered between them. Neither dared to be the first to address the suffocating atmosphere.
After a while, when a staff member came to take their order, President Baek suggested a meal, but So Dam, wanting to keep things brief, asked only for a simple tea.
“You don’t drink alcohol?”
“No. I never drink when I’m in an important meeting like this.”
President Baek’s eyes gleamed as he watched her speak so decisively.
At first, he’d worried whether this petite, young woman could make sound judgments—but So Dam seemed far more composed and capable than he’d expected.
She clearly had her own business principles, and for someone so young to possess such discipline meant she’d already weathered plenty in this industry, regardless of age.
Maybe they could actually have a meaningful conversation.
“I understand The MG usually doesn’t hold preliminary meetings—you rely solely on data for decisions. That you’d break that rule and give me this opportunity means more to me than I can express.”
“That’s correct. We normally don’t do preliminary meetings.”
“Might I ask… is there a particular reason?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“Because people lie—but data never does.”
Her voice was quiet yet unwavering, and President Baek flinched slightly.
His suspicions were confirmed: she was far from an easy opponent.
Since she approached him assuming people were inherently deceptive, convincing her of his vision wouldn’t be simple.
But giving up wasn’t in his vocabulary.
He absolutely had to persuade this young woman today—because only then could he secure the CEO position at the upcoming special shareholders’ meeting.
“You won’t regret coming here today.”
Failure simply wasn’t an option for him.
“I broke my own rule to be here, so I hope this meeting proves meaningful.”
“Of course.”
“After all, ‘Know your enemy and know yourself, and you’ll win a hundred battles without a single loss,’ right?”
President Baek blinked in slight surprise at the classical Chinese idiom—one that felt oddly out of place in this context—since he viewed her as an ally, not an adversary.
Still, he didn’t dwell on it. He figured her long overseas life might have left her less familiar with Korean idioms and expressions.
—Go tell him. “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you’ll win a hundred battles without a single loss.”
Unaware, of course, that this message came directly from Tae Joon.
***
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
Seo Rin finished a brief meeting and headed straight to the Han River promenade—where she was supposed to meet Tae Joon. Upon arriving, she sent Director Park home early and got into Tae Joon’s waiting car.
“Did you wait long?”
“No. I just got here myself.”
His grin, illuminated by the red streetlight, looked especially sexy tonight. The shifting shadows accentuated his already striking features even more vividly.
“How was your day?”
“Nothing special. A few meetings, a strategy session—that’s about it.”
“Nothing stressful?”
At his question, she briefly recalled meeting President Baek before the meeting—but strangely, unlike usual, it didn’t bother her much, so she shook her head.
“Not really.”
“Good. See? I told you everything would work out.”
“Stop hypnotizing me like that. Don’t you realize I’m in peak battle mode right now? Every time you say that, I unconsciously let my guard down.”
Apparently, that was why she’d so adamantly denied any romantic involvement to President Baek earlier—it was all because of Tae Joon.
There was something strangely compelling about his words.
Whenever he spoke, it felt as though his words would inevitably come true.
Just like in the past, when his “hypnosis” had profoundly shaped her life—and nothing had changed even now.
Thanks to him, her courage kept swelling far beyond her body.
“That’s good. You’re always too tense. Loosening up a bit won’t kill you.”
Seo Rin couldn’t help rolling her eyes—but he didn’t seem fazed. He’d seen that look countless times before. Instead, he leaned forward, resting his arm on the steering wheel, and gazed up at her silently.
In that quiet, upward stare, countless unspoken emotions shimmered.
She knew she shouldn’t get drawn in—yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away from his.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s suffocating.”
“Why not? You’ll need to get used to it soon. After all… we’ll be legal spouses soon.”
Legal spouses.
The phrase weighed heavily on Seo Rin—but unlike her, Tae Joon seemed brimming with anticipation, his eyes gleaming so seductively even in the dark.
How many more times would she have to explain before he truly understood?
“Don’t expect too much. It might not be the kind of marriage you’re imagining.”
“You’re the one who shouldn’t get arrogant. I’m… not the same Kang Tae Joon from before.”
“So now you’ll finally do what you couldn’t even eight years ago?”
Once again, she sharpened her tone.
Whenever they talked about marriage, they always ended up back at square one—stuck in an endless loop, circling a point they could never truly reach.
But Seo Rin couldn’t give up.
Because she never wanted to hurt this blindly devoted man again.
To minimize the pain he might suffer, she had to steadily lower his expectations—but it seemed she’d just said the wrong thing.
He slowly sat up straight from his slouched position over the steering wheel.
With that movement, deep shadows fell across his face, and a potent wave of pheromones filled the cramped car.
For a moment, she’d forgotten.
Just how dangerous this man truly was.
But it was already too late to regret. His surging aura had already closed the distance, now looming right before her.
She could clearly see her own reflection in his dark pupils—so close it was almost unbearable.
From that perilous proximity, he whispered as if casting another spell.
“Back then, I simply wasn’t hot enough to melt you.”
Each time he spoke, his breath—sweet as melted honey—brushed softly against her lips.
And with every brush, that warmth spread through her body, melting her from within.
“But now… I’m burning over and beyond.”
She knew. He didn’t need to say it aloud.
“Want to see for yourself… just how hot I’ve become?”
But it seemed he had no intention of stopping at words alone.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
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