Not for the First Time (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
As the empty bottles piled up one by one, tongues started slurring and eyes grew unfocused.
While everyone else was drunkenly giggling and swaying, only one person remained perfectly composed, quietly emptying his glass.
The space around Sung Hyuk felt like another world entirely—serene. Amid the chaotic atmosphere, he even looked somewhat noble.
The only reason he hadn’t stormed out of this terribly boring gathering was the single-malt whiskey. The harmony of vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger suited his taste quite well.
He couldn’t care less whether a very drunk Beom Joon was whispering something with Chang Geun or not. He paid no attention when Beom Joon bragged for ages about soon being promoted to managing director, then staggered out to the bathroom.
A few minutes later, someone entered the room.
Assuming it was naturally Beom Joon returning, Sung Hyuk glanced up—and his gaze froze.
A face he had annoyingly failed to forget even after three whole years.
The woman who came to mind the moment he set foot on Korean soil, despite all his efforts to erase her—Chae Young In.
‘Why is she here?’
Even as he felt surprised and puzzled by this unexpected reunion, Sung Hyuk’s eyes refused to leave Young In.
Her hair, which used to brush just past her collarbone, now fell long below her chest, and the black high-waisted wide slacks paired with a cream blouse made her look intellectual and refined.
In a word, she was still beautiful.
Her neat yet indifferent expression hadn’t changed. Neither had that characteristically cool aura.
Chae Young In was a woman without a single sharp edge from head to toe, yet for some reason she felt impossibly hard to approach.
It was as if she had drawn an invisible line around herself, warning people not to cross.
He had lightly ignored that warning and stepped over it. Or so he thought.
Only after hearing “Let’s stop seeing each other” did he finally realize.
That he had only imagined he’d crossed the line. That to Chae Young In, Cha Sung Hyuk had meant nothing at all.
Their connection had ended with a heartbreakingly hollow ease.
Sung Hyuk snapped out of his memories the moment Chang Geun’s body blocked Young In from view.
As he frowned, he overheard the giggling conversation beside him.
“That bastard Chae Beom Jun called Young In again? Told her to come pick him up?”
“Chang Geun kept nagging her to call Young In, didn’t he?”
“What the hell. He still hasn’t given up?”
“Still? The guy’s completely burning with lust.”
Sung Hyuk stood up as he watched Chang Geun grab Young In’s wrist.
He had always found Chang Geun annoying for messing around with every woman he met, but it had never been unbearable. Today, however, it was infuriating beyond endurance.
Even if she was now a woman who had nothing to do with him, seeing a pathetic jerk like Oh Chang Geun hit on Young In felt disgusting. It was as if he himself were being insulted.
After Young In turned and left the room, Sung Hyuk approached Chang Geun, who was standing there blankly staring at the closed door—his expression noticeably cold.
“Move.”
Startled, Chang Geun whipped around.
Meeting those murderous eyes, he couldn’t make a sound and obediently stepped aside.
Several days passed.
Sung Hyuk had no intention whatsoever of trying anything again with Chae Young In. Starting over now would make the past three years feel like far too much of a waste and an injustice.
He considered that his compensation for those three years. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to admit that the price of not letting go of his pride had been enormous.
The resolve he had barely managed to hold together crumbled the moment he heard—during the second welcome-back party he attended only because Beom Joon wouldn’t stop pestering him—that Oh Chang Geun was going to have an arranged marriage meeting with Chae Young In.
“She acts all aloof in front of me, yet jumps at a marriage meeting? If someone proposes, she might cry with joy.”
Sung Hyuk followed Chang Geun as he swaggered like Young In was already his, then suddenly rushed into the hallway saying his father was calling. He waited until the call ended and then spoke.
“Hand her over to me.”
Chang Geun blinked, not understanding.
“…What?”
Leaning crookedly against the wall, Sung Hyuk’s lips curved into an arc.
“The marriage meeting.”
“…Huh?”
And just like that, Chang Geun had his marriage meeting stolen.
6 o’clock sharp.
Sung Hyuk arrived at the café in H Hotel.
There was no need to look around—Young In was immediately visible. She was sitting by the window, lost in thought.
He told the approaching staff he was meeting someone and walked toward the window seat, an unwelcome expression on his face.
Young In wore a black dress that hugged her slim figure, her hair loosely pinned up. Her slender, snow-white neckline drew the eye.
The thought that she had dressed up to impress Oh Chang Geun irritated him.
Simply because she was beautiful.
Her beauty itself annoyed him.
He felt his stomach twist at the thought of how widely Chang Geun would have grinned if he had shown up today.
Unless she had shown up wearing a burlap sack with soot smeared on her face, Chang Geun’s reaction would probably have been the same no matter what she wore.
Yet Sung Hyuk didn’t realize he was being unreasonable. Twisted feelings never produce kind words.
“I told him to hand today’s marriage meeting over to me.”
That was the limit of his composure.
Sung Hyuk’s tone instantly turned sarcastic.
“You seem to have put a lot of effort into your appearance—disappointed it’s not the person you were waiting for?”
Young In kept silent, unsure why he was mocking her. She didn’t feel the need to explain that she had come straight here after a friend’s wedding.
“Chae Young In, weren’t you against marriage?”
It was an accusation: You, who would tense up if I even mentioned the word marriage in passing, are now sitting at a meeting that presupposes marriage?
“Values can change.”
Young In wasn’t oblivious to what he really meant.
She still had no intention of marrying, but claiming to be against marriage while showing up to one felt contradictory, so she brushed it off that way.
“Glad to hear it.”
Young In couldn’t understand why her supposed change of heart would be welcome news to him and offered no reply.
“How about me as husband material?”
“More than I deserve.”
It was an answer from the heart.
Cha Sung Hyuk was a man so perfect that his only possible flaw might be his very existence.
“Then will you marry me?”
Young In let out a short laugh.
The proposal was so absurd she didn’t even feel like getting flustered. She was simply curious why he was acting this way.
“What’s the reason you came instead of Chang Geun oppa?”
“That bastard Oh Chang Geun is an absolute mess below the belt.”
Sung Hyuk nearly blurted out, Why am I “sunbae” and that guy gets “oppa”? But knowing it was childish jealousy, he swallowed it.
“It wouldn’t even be surprising if a kid suddenly showed up one day calling him Daddy.”
“So?”
“I can’t stand watching the woman who dumped me marry a jerk like that. It would make me look utterly pathetic.”
Cha Sung Hyuk would never become pathetic over something like that.
Young In swallowed the words, Is there anyone harder to make feel pathetic than you?
“So if you’re going to marry a guy like Oh Chang Geun, just marry me instead.”
“Don’t say ridiculous things.”
“What part is ridiculous?”
“Everything coming out of sunbae’s mouth.”
“You came to a marriage meeting—what am I supposed to say then? Isn’t this what marriage meetings are? A man and woman who already know each other and each other’s families talking about marriage.”
Sung Hyuk continued without giving Young In a chance to interrupt.
“I know you, you know me—we’re faithfully carrying out this marriage-meeting system right now.”
“It’s just sunbae doing it alone.”
“There’s no need for both sides to be enthusiastic.”
Young In silently stared at him; he looked somehow angry.
“It’s hard to find people who know each other as well as we do. How many marriage-meeting partners know each other’s bedroom preferences? Where to touch to excite you, how lewd your moans are…”
“Sunbae.”
“Yeah.”
“Could you shut up for a bit?”
Having successfully provoked her, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Sung Hyuk’s mouth. He felt a little excited to meet again the only person who ever told him to shut up.
“You know I get bored easily. Once I’m bored, I’ll divorce you.”
Three years ago, Young In had been the one to end things with Sung Hyuk. Yet now she felt as if she were the one who got dumped.
And she found it absurd that she still thought this arrogance suited him perfectly.
“How long do you think it’ll take for you to get bored of me?”
“Well, I never got the chance to find out because you dumped me without warning.”
The last conversation she had with Sung Hyuk flashed through Young In’s mind.
“Let’s stop seeing each other.”
“Do whatever you want.”
The man who back then turned away without even asking why was now suddenly talking about marriage—he could only be insane. He was definitely crazy.
“So you’re proposing just to find that out?”
“I can’t stand not knowing something I’m curious about.”
“Then hold it in.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I have no desire to help satisfy sunbae’s curiosity.”
Suddenly Sung Hyuk’s eyes darkened.
“If you’re not going to cooperate, don’t ever show up to something like this again. Oh Chang Geun is absolutely off-limits.”
Young In realized that if she didn’t speak honestly, this pointless conversation would drag on forever.
“I didn’t come to this marriage meeting because I want to get married.”
“Then?”
“I was just bored.”
She didn’t want to tell him—the one person who knew exactly what she was at home—that she was being offered up as a sacrificial lamb.
“I’ll keep you entertained, so don’t do anything useless from now on.”
Sung Hyuk looked down at his watch, not noticing that Young In’s ears had turned slightly red.
“I have to get going. I’d like to have dinner together, but I already have plans.”
“You never asked me to have dinner.”
Why was her heart fluttering just because he said he’d keep her entertained?
Afraid he would notice, Young In replied even more sharply on purpose.
“I want to, so what’s the problem?”
Sung Hyuk shrugged nonchalantly and changed the subject.
“Still using the same old number. Call me.”
“I deleted sunbae’s number.”
“How cold.”
“Who keeps their ex’s number for over three years?”
“I still have my ex’s number?”
A flicker of panic crossed Young In’s face.
“…That’s because sunbae is weird.”
“I know. I’m weird.”
He admitted it openly and stood up.
Young In could only stare blankly at his retreating back, as if possessed.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (1)
he still hang up with his ex,i smell trouble for them
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debban23
he can not get over his ex so started this drama instead of telling her he missed her