“No flexibility at all. You think I’d be swayed by a mere card?”
“Give it to me.” She said, extending her hand, and Do-ha chuckled.
“One more thing, brother.”
“Just one thing.”
“Alright. Really, go on a date with sister-in-law.”
“We’ll handle it.”
“Really?”
Making a ‘promise!’ gesture, Do-hee hooked her fingers with her brother’s and stamped it.
“I should go now.”
Do-hee said, suddenly bursting into laughter. She seemed to think it was shameless of herself.
“It’s like I only came to get brother’s card.”
“It’s fine. Do whatever you want.”
“Alright. As expected, our little brother is the best. Say hi to sister-in-law for me!”
After Do-hee left, Do-ha’s briefly smiling face turned serious again. Standing by the window bathed in the afternoon light, he squinted his deep dark eyes, gazing into the skyline crowded with skyscrapers.
After a while, Do-ha closed his eyes tightly, then turned to call his executive secretary on the intercom.
“Did you call for me, President?”
Manager Kim bowed.
“Cancel this week’s holiday schedule.”
The sudden statement left the secretary’s face marked with confusion.
“President, the holiday schedule is an unchangeable agenda. If we cancel the hard-earned meeting, it could disrupt the planned contracts.”
“I’ll apologize personally, so send a cancellation notice to their secretariat first.”
Kim, confused by the president’s statement that usually doesn’t disrupt set plans, replied politely after hiding his dilemma.
“And one more thing.”
After hearing Do-ha’s instructions, Manager Kim left the president’s office. As Kim left, Do-ha’s usually expressionless face crumpled noticeably before returning to normal.
Picking up his phone from the table, Do-ha touched the call list. As a familiar voice came through, a small smile spread across his face.
[Honey? What’s up? Calling at this time?]“I thought I’d forget if I didn’t call now.”
A warm smile blossomed on Do-ha’s face, soon accompanied by a pleasant voice.
[Then call more often.]With the lovely urge, the usually chilly Do-ha’s face warmed up.
“Let’s go on a date this weekend.”
[A date?]A brief silence followed. Haeyeon’s audible inhale was clearly heard.
“Thank you. I love you.”
[I love you too.]After hanging up, Do-ha’s lips curved into a gentle smile. The previously sunken look in his eyes cleared away.
“I love you too.”
After the call, Haeyeon smiled faintly. She couldn’t remember the last time they dated due to Do-ha’s recent busyness. Excited about his rare date invitation, Haeyeon felt cheerful.
With a smile lingering on her face, Haeyeon reorganized her thoughts she had before the call. To investigate the incident from a year ago, frequent outings were necessary, and she needed a reason to go out without arousing Do-ha’s suspicion.
‘Should I get a job?’
The thought of taking up a job seemed like a good idea, purely considering the future. It wouldn’t have been an easy thought if the couple had a child. Thinking about it made Haeyeon’s expression heavier.
“Why can’t we have a child?”
“Even though we didn’t use contraception, I didn’t get pregnant. Both of us visited the gynecologist, but we were both healthy, and there was nothing abnormal. Still, my in-laws blamed me. Was it thinking about this that made me feel depressed? Suddenly, Haeyeon felt a piercing pain deep in her chest.
Gently massaging the aching area, Haeyeon frowned. The pain around her heart eased gradually as she softly massaged it.
“It must be because of stress.”
Heading to the kitchen, she poured some warm water and slowly took a sip. The warm liquid soothed the brief ache in her chest.
[Star Icon] [Star Icon] [Star Icon]On the Thursday Do-ha mentioned last week, Haeyeon accompanied him to the event. It was an unprecedented large-scale reward tour by Chinese tourists in Incheon. Around 6,000 tourists, including the president of the Chinese health food company Hao Lang Group and its employees, arrived through Incheon International Airport.
“Haeyeon, you don’t need to feel pressured.”
Do-ha held Haeyeon’s hand.
“I know. But I’ve accompanied you to these events so many times now, I’m used to it.”
Haeyeon smiled brightly. Do-ha’s business, which organizes corporate meetings, incentive tours for multinational companies, international association conferences, and various large-scale exhibitions and shows, was recently rumored in the industry as ‘laying golden eggs.’
When Do-ha introduced Haeyeon to the president of Hao Lang Group, the president complimented her as a beautiful woman. Haeyeon blushed.
As the day turned to evening, the party grew livelier.
“Haeyeon, just a moment. I’ll introduce you to the president and come back.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Left alone, Haeyeon sipped wine and looked around. A middle-aged woman with a gentle appearance approached her. Her husband was greeting someone else, and she came toward Haeyeon with a smile. Haeyeon bowed her head as a form of guest reception. However, it seemed the woman knew her.
“Haeyeon! It’s so nice to see you here.”
Haeyeon furrowed her brows. She concentrated on remembering people to not affect Do-ha’s business, but even so, she didn’t recall this face.
“Hello.”
“Nice to meet you, Haeyeon. It’s the first time since last year.”
Last year?
Haeyeon’s ears perked up. The woman was a stranger. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember, but the word ‘last year’ bothered her because of what Lee Soo-rin had said.
“Is Mrs. Yoon Myung-gil doing well?”
“What? Ah…”
With a bright expression, the woman knew her mother-in-law. Haeyeon couldn’t just pass by.
“Excuse me…”
“Yes, Haeyeon?”
The middle-aged woman smiled kindly. Haeyeon, used to these parties as Cha Do-ha’s wife and the second daughter-in-law of Gil Myung Sweeteners, showed a social smile.
“Did we meet last year? I can’t remember well…”
Haeyeon’s words made the woman clap her hands in delight.
“You met at the Hanumul gathering!”
Hanumul gathering?
Confused by the unfamiliar content from the stranger, Haeyeon narrowed her eyes and laughed lightly, trying not to show it while prompting the woman to continue talking.
“Oh, right. I’m sorry. Did you get home safely that day?”
“Oh my, am I the problem? Haeyeon, did you get home okay? One of our members accidentally stepped on your foot that day. You were wearing heels, and it hurt a lot, and I felt even sorrier.”
The woman chattered excitedly. At that moment, Haeyeon couldn’t maintain her expression.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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