Love is Madness (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
Seo Rin went to work without getting a proper night’s sleep and barely made it through the day.
How could she possibly sleep well? She had just received such an utterly unbelievable proposal from Tae Joon. But even more unbelievable was herself—wavering like a reed at just one word from him.
He had re-entered her life once again.
In the past, cutting him out hadn’t been difficult, but if she gave him even a small part of her life this time, she knew she wouldn’t be able to tear him away again as carelessly as before.
If that happened, he might become yet another nightmare in her life.
—“I only need you.”
Those words had stirred her more realistically than any declaration of love ever could.
Yet that single sentence, now deeply soaked into her heart, showed no sign of fading away.
Ten years ago, his name—utterly unfamiliar to her then—had lodged itself in her chest; perhaps it was simply because the breeze had been too gentle, the sky too clear, and the day too beautiful.
She was, after all, only human—and a woman—so the mood of that day had been just right.
Then why did his words from yesterday soak in so deeply that they’d already become an indelible stain?
After all, it hadn’t been under a swaying breeze or a clear blue sky—it had been in a dimly lit wine bar.
“Marriage… really?”
Even upon second thought, it was so absurd that the words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. But Seo Rin couldn’t afford to waste any more emotion on such thoughts.
The voice of Director Park, penetrating her ears, abruptly pulled her back to reality.
“Managing Director, we’ve arrived.”
The moment she arrived at the office this morning, she’d received a message from President Baek’s secretary inviting her to dinner.
Of course, facing President Baek right now wasn’t exactly something Seo Rin looked forward to—but neither did she want to avoid him.
Despite her delicate frame, she had the temperament of a true competitor.
Avoiding confrontation was simply not her style.
Stepping out of the car, Seo Rin walked down a small stone-paved path and entered a cozy traditional Korean house. Following the host’s guidance, she entered a private room and found President Baek already seated, pouring himself a drink.
“You’re later than I expected.”
“I had a few things to take care of.”
Seated, Seo Rin looked at President Baek with an expressionless face.
His features bore a strong resemblance to the late Chairman Baek.
But unlike the frail Chairman Baek, President Baek boasted a robust build, even in middle age. And despite being blood-related brothers, the two men differed drastically—not just in physique, but in disposition as well.
Chairman Baek had been the type with keen insight and patience, while President Baek preferred to clamp down on his prey’s throat immediately with unmatched drive and momentum.
Until now, the synergy of their contrasting strengths had been the very engine behind Seongwon’s growth.
But with Chairman Baek’s death, the balance of power had shattered—and now, no one remained to check President Baek’s unilateral dominance. No matter how exceptional Seo Rin might be, she simply couldn’t surpass President Baek’s institutional knowledge and experience as one of the company’s founding members.
“Care for a drink?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
“You look exhausted. Maybe you should take a break? The company will run without you. Your health comes first.”
Though outwardly playing the generous, caring uncle, his words carried a sharp edge.
Understanding his true intent all too well, a cold glint settled in her dark eyes—the fatigue that had tormented her all day evaporating instantly.
But President Baek wasn’t finished.
Refilling his empty glass, he delivered the final blow.
“Or better yet, why not step away from management altogether while you have the chance?”
At last, he began revealing his true intentions—those hideously ugly desires.
“I’m saying this for your own good. I’m not trying to take your company shares from you. Just step down from management. Why bother staying in that stressful position?”
“Why? So you can take full control of Seongwon and do whatever you please? I saw today’s proposal about Seongwon Hotel’s expansion into Japan. I’m curious—why push forward with that plan, which my father so strongly opposed in his lifetime, barely a week after his funeral?”
“Are you really asking me that? How long do you plan to stay stuck in the domestic market? It’s time to turn Seongwon into a global group.”
“What I’m asking is why Japan has to be the first step—especially by partnering with a former wartime enterprise.”
“If it’s for the company, I’d partner with far worse than them.”
“So you’re saying you’d abandon the domestic market for overseas expansion.”
“How narrow-minded.”
“It’s you, Uncle, who’s obsessing over immediate profit right in front of your eyes. You need to look further ahead.”
Seo Rin showed not an inch of retreat, even against the charismatic President Baek.
The spacious room grew thick with suffocating tension as both unleashed their lethal, silent hostility.
“You really think you’re capable, don’t you? But this world isn’t that simple. ‘The young myth of the hotel industry’? That’s just luck. Perfect timing and good fortune—that’s all. Don’t mistake it for your own ability.”
Seo Rin bit her lip firmly. Who wouldn’t understand his intention—to belittle her skills as mere luck and crush her beneath his feet?
“Luck is also ability. A very special kind of ability that only the prepared can seize.”
“How arrogant.”
“If my arrogance can protect the company’s value, then I’m willing to go even further.”
“Fine. If that’s how you’re going to play it, I have no choice. After all… I have all the time in the world. Let’s see just how far that luck of yours will carry you.”
It was a declaration brimming with resolve—to secure the CEO position at the upcoming extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. And if President Baek became CEO, the first thing he’d do was drive her out. Only then could he claim Seongwon entirely as his own.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can stay for dinner tonight. I doubt anything I eat would sit well.”
Unable to endure President Baek’s presence any longer, Seo Rin stood and left.
After she disappeared, President Baek kept refilling his empty glass and downed two more drinks in quick succession—but the anger burning in his throat refused to subside.
How recklessly naive she was.
Even though Chairman Baek and his daughter had never been especially close, Seo Rin had turned out far too much like her father. Which meant, just like Chairman Baek once did, she would surely put the brakes on every path he tried to take.
He’d dedicated his entire life—never marrying, fighting tooth and nail—to build this company. True, he’d done it alongside Chairman Baek, but now that Chairman Baek was gone, it was undeniably his alone.
This was no company that could be snatched away by some random stroke of luck.
—“Luck is also ability. A very special kind of ability that only the prepared can seize.”
Ironically, Seo Rin had been right.
Turning around two loss-making hotels through rebranding and achieving profitability in just a year and a half was no mere stroke of luck. His young niece had inherited Chairman Baek’s innate business acumen to an astonishing degree.
He had to root out that sprout before it grew any larger.
This company could not—would not—be shared with anyone.
It had to belong to him alone.
✦ ✦ ✦
Meanwhile, once outside, Seo Rin finally caught her breath as the cold air hit her face. She’d expected it, but the dinner had still been as uncomfortable as last night’s drinking session.
The upcoming extraordinary shareholders’ meeting was merely the beginning.
Even if President Baek failed to secure the CEO position this time, his decades of experience would yield seasoned strategies to relentlessly strike her down again and again.
Just how long could Seo Rin hold out?
Suddenly, she recalled the words Chairman Baek had spoken to her shortly before his death.
—“Seo Rin, don’t worry about a thing. My precious daughter… you’ll only walk on flower-paved paths.”
It was truly an incomprehensible statement.
Especially coming from Chairman Baek, who’d been frequently delirious during his final week due to deteriorating health—it was even harder to believe.
Don’t worry at all? Walk only on flower-paved paths?
How could anyone possibly walk only on flower-paved paths when her position was as precarious as a candle flickering in the wind!
It was clearly nonsense.
Now was not the time to entrust her life to such foolish words.
There was no such thing as a predetermined fate.
She would carve out her own destiny.
And at this very moment, she had only one option left.
In the end, Seo Rin picked up her phone.
[Hello.]“…Let’s do it. That marriage.”
For the sake of her new fate.
✦ ✦ ✦
Arriving at the entrance of the park-side walking path, Seo Rin parked her car and glanced around.
Seeing Tae Joon’s tall silhouette beneath a streetlamp slightly uphill, her usually composed dark eyes tensed unusually.
“You found it easily enough.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t hard to find. But why meet here of all places?”
After accepting his marriage proposal, she’d told him she had more to say—and he’d called her to this very spot. Yet among countless possible places, this one raised questions.
“They say the Seoul night view from here is famous.”
“…”
“This is a place I’ve always wanted to visit with you. Eight years ago, when you told me you were leaving for Korea, I excitedly looked up every spot I could find.”
His voice sounded utterly calm, without the slightest tremor—but his words carried profound weight. Seo Rin turned her gaze toward Seoul’s glittering skyline, yet unlike him, she felt no emotion.
“Tae Joon, you’re still living in the past.”
That was her only impression. And he made no attempt to deny it.
She felt she understood him—yet didn’t. He seemed like the same Kang Tae Joon from eight years ago—yet somehow different.
She was afraid of marriage.
Years ago, she’d been engaged—and broken it off. Back then, marriage had been an unimaginable, unfamiliar realm—but not something that filled her with this much fear.
To her, marriage had simply been something you did when necessary—nothing more, nothing less.
Then why was fear overwhelming her so completely this time, despite having a clear reason to marry him?
Only when she looked at him beneath the black sky did she finally realize.
It was because the one she was to marry was none other than you.
Because I’m afraid I’ll hurt you again.
Afraid that I’ll steal away the “everything” from you—the one who believes love is life itself.
Or perhaps afraid that that dreadful curse would repeat itself once more.
“Can I ask you just one thing?”
“Anything.”
“Why… why marriage? You know better than anyone that I’m the person least suited for that word. After everything I’ve been through, don’t you understand?”
She had to know. Why was Tae Joon, who knew her better than anyone, insisting on leaping into that fiery pit called marriage?
“Have you forgotten how I left you?”
She reminded him of the past in the most extreme way—hoping he’d tire of her and walk away on his own.
But the eyes that met hers in this recollection were no longer those of the man he used to be.
“That’s exactly why… I want to get married. Because legally married spouses can’t leave each other unilaterally without mutual consent.”
Just as the passing years had made her stronger, he, too, had not wasted his time.
He’d grown deeper, more profound—his very gaze now overwhelming everything around him.
Seo Rin curled her trembling fingertips tightly into her palms.
She had to warn him, no matter what.
“Alright. I can marry you.”
“…”
“But that’s all it’ll be—just marriage. If you stay by my side and support me for life, I’ll do everything a normal wife would. Even share a bed, if needed. But that’s where it ends. Don’t expect love.”
I can’t love. I absolutely cannot.
Because everything I love ends up dying.
So please, run away. While you still can—run as far from me as possible.
“It’ll be just marriage. Not love—only marriage.”
She huddled tightly into her own defenses, determined not to be hurt again.
Why did she always shrink so small whenever she stood before the word “love”?
Yet upon hearing those words, Tae Joon’s eyes sank deeper than the blackest night sky.
His tightly clenched fists looked truly pitiful.
Others called her the “Iron Lady” and marveled—but why did he alone see only the tender vulnerability hidden beneath her hard shell?
It made him want to protect her more.
It made him want to love her more.
But now, there was no more room for hesitation.
Though she kept straying from his intentions, now that she’d come into his arms, he would never let her go.
“It seems my message didn’t get through properly.”
In a voice thick with resolve, he instantly closed the distance between them.
For a fleeting moment, his silhouette flickered in her startled pupils—then he pulled her close and lowered his face toward hers.
His lips met hers—gentle yet burning with fire.
And an even hotter sincerity seeped into her through that kiss.
“You’re wrong, Baek Seo Rin. What I mean is… I’ll only do one thing with you.”
“…”
“Only love.”
No more one-sided journeys.
I’ll claim it all.
Your heart, your body—everything.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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