Not for the First Time (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
Club, hotel café, and home.
These were the places where Young In encountered Sung Hyuk without any mental preparation.
Even if the meeting at the club could be called a coincidence, the subsequent encounters could not be labeled as such.
There was no way he hadn’t considered the possibility of running into Chae Young In when he came to the house where she lived.
Him showing up at the arranged marriage meeting in place of Oh Chang Geun was clearly Cha Sung Hyuk’s own decision, and today was no different.
He wasn’t the type of person who would do something he didn’t want just because someone told him to or begged him to. The words “I had no choice” didn’t suit him at all.
“It’s not me he came to see—it’s my brother.”
Young In drew that line for herself. She decided not to attach any meaning to his actions.
Whatever his intentions were, she no longer wanted to be shaken. She only hoped her daily life wouldn’t crack any further.
From the day she reunited with Cha Sung Hyuk until now, there hadn’t been a single day her heart felt calm or quiet. It had been constantly noisy and chaotic the whole time. She just wanted to return to her once-peaceful routine.
Unaware that three pairs of eyes were fixed on her, Young In stood frozen in place when a sharp, high-pitched voice pierced her ears.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to say hello?”
Focus returned to Young In’s previously unfocused eyes.
Only then did she see her older sister sitting next to Sung Hyuk and her older brother seated across from them.
“You don’t recognize Sung Hyuk oppa?”
A Rim’s expression and tone were dripping with irritation—because her expectations for Young In and Chang Geun’s marriage had been crushed.
“My mom said it would put her in a difficult position, so I only went because I had no choice. I’m not thinking about marriage.”
Remembering the answer Young In had given their mother when asked how the arranged meeting went made anger surge inside her again.
She should have just said that from the beginning instead of pretending in front of her that she was considering marriage with Oh Chang Geun, only to say something completely different less than an hour later.
There’s a limit to toying with people.
In any case, there wasn’t a single thing about her she liked, from head to toe.
“How could I not know him? We even went on an arranged marriage meeting together.”
While Young In was inwardly scolding herself for failing to keep a poker face, Beom Joon cut in with a sarcastic remark.
“An arranged marriage meeting?”
When A Rim straightened her back and glared with wide eyes, Young In instantly sensed that staying here any longer would do her no good.
“Hello. Enjoy yourselves.”
After greeting and saying goodbye in one go, A Rim’s venomous glare followed Young In as she walked toward the stairs. The only reason she let her go without a word was because she had more urgent business right now.
“What do you mean we even went on an arranged marriage meeting?”
Unlike the frantic A Rim, Beom Joon’s expression was rather indifferent.
“Apparently Sung Hyuk went to the place where she was supposed to meet Chang Geun.”
“Why would Sung Hyuk oppa do that?”
“You know how it is. Chang Geun is pretty wild when it comes to women. From Sung Hyuk’s perspective, he couldn’t help but be concerned.”
Beom Joon didn’t feel the slightest bit upset that Sung Hyuk had gone to the meeting without saying a word to him. He had only been momentarily taken aback when he found out. But he had plenty of complaints about Young In, who had acted like she knew nothing.
“What does that have to do with Sung Hyuk oppa?”
Realizing the person in question was right there, A Rim whipped around to Sung Hyuk and asked.
“Why would you care about Chang Geun oppa’s womanizing women?”
Instead of answering, Sung Hyuk asked a question in return.
“Why are you curious about that reason? What does this have to do with you?”
“Oppa… why are you saying it so hurtfully…”
As tears welled up in A Rim’s eyes, Beom Joon quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“Of course it’s because of me. After all, if Young In is my little sister too, wouldn’t it feel wrong to just ignore it?”
Beom Joon, who had no idea what kind of relationship Young In and Sung Hyuk had, genuinely believed that.
“Of course there can’t be any other reason…”
A Rim trailed off and watched Sung Hyuk’s expression carefully.
She was anxious that he might have developed an interest in Young In. The fact that more than one of Beom Joon’s friends had shown interest in Young In over the years only made her more nervous.
“Oppa.”
As if regretting how harshly she had spoken earlier, A Rim’s voice became soft when she called him.
“Pay some attention to me too. That’s only right.”
A Rim had felt strong inferiority toward Young In ever since they were young.
She hated Young In’s pure, delicate face and clear voice, her slender figure and sharp jawline—she couldn’t stand the sight of them. Just looking at her deep, captivating eyes made her angry for no reason.
As someone who spent tens of millions of won every year at dermatologists for acne and whitening treatments, she was insanely jealous of Young In’s flawless, transparent skin.
It wasn’t just looks—her academic background also fueled the inferiority complex.
The fact that Young In, a year younger than her, had graduated from one of Korea’s top universities already annoyed her, but the fact that it was the same university as Sung Hyuk irritated her even more.
She couldn’t stand that the two of them were alumni. The moment Sung Hyuk had called Young In “junior” earlier, she had snapped and spoken more viciously.
“What’s only right?”
“The only real sibling of Chae Beom Jun is me. Not Young In.”
Sung Hyuk let out a short, mocking laugh.
He already knew Beom Joon and A Rim didn’t consider Young In a real sibling, yet today it especially rubbed him the wrong way.
“Then why don’t you go on an arranged meeting with Oh Chang Geun?”
Of course, he wouldn’t care in the slightest whether A Rim met or even married Oh Chang Geun.
He wasn’t interested in other people’s business and wasn’t the type to meddle. He was only interested because it was Chae Young In, and he only meddled because it was Chae Young In.
“Have I gone crazy?”
When A Rim shrieked in horror, his cold gaze shifted to Beom Joon.
“You heard her? She says it’s insane.”
Beom Joon waved his hands frantically with wide, innocent eyes.
“I told you, I’m not the one who set it up! It was our mom—mom!”
“Don’t you think you’re worse for not stopping it when you clearly know what kind of guy Chang Geun is?”
“…”
Beom Joon avoided Sung Hyuk’s gaze and pretended to be distracted. He figured being misunderstood for not stopping it was better than getting caught for actively encouraging it.
Sung Hyuk didn’t press him any further. Instead, he asked himself.
If Chae Young In had been involved with some decent guy instead of Oh Chang Geun, would he really have felt this pissed off?
The answer was no.
Just imagining another man standing beside Young In made him unbearably irritated.
[This is the timeline separator]Beom Joon’s room was on the first floor, while A Rim and Young In’s rooms were on the second. That also meant Sung Hyuk had no reason to come upstairs.
That fact brought Young In considerable relief.
Having received the full attention of all three people, Young In finally relaxed her stiff shoulders once she reached the second floor.
Her jaw ached from clenching her teeth, and her palms were damp with sweat.
“Should I say something urgent came up and leave again?”
She quickly dismissed the idea because it felt like too lame an excuse. Making such an excuse would only make it obvious she was conscious of Cha Sung Hyuk, so she decided to just stay home.
“As long as I don’t go downstairs, I’ll be fine.”
Hurrying to her room, Young In closed the door and leaned her back against it.
Her tense body slowly slid down.
Sitting on the floor, Young In calmed her pounding heart. Because of Cha Sung Hyuk popping up unexpectedly, her heart felt like it wouldn’t survive much longer.
When her heartbeat finally began to slow, the headache she hadn’t noticed returned.
Pressing her temples firmly with her fingertips and standing up, Young In grabbed a change of clothes and left the room. She thought a hot shower might ease the headache even a little.
Glancing briefly at the stairs on her way to the bathroom, Young In’s feet suddenly stopped. A problem she had momentarily forgotten came rushing back.
The fact that her sister and brother now knew her arranged marriage partner had been Cha Sung Hyuk, not Oh Chang Geun.
Of course she had expected them to find out eventually and had prepared herself. She never thought it would pass quietly. Still, now that it was right in front of her, a sigh escaped on its own.
“Haa…”
Even in her troubled state, she didn’t resent Sung Hyuk. She was certain he wasn’t the one who had told her brother. She hadn’t even received any promise of secrecy, yet she simply felt that certainty.
What she actually resented was herself for saying unnecessary things to her sister the day she came back from the meeting.
She hated her sister for pushing marriage even though she knew better than anyone what Oh Chang Geun was really like. That’s why she had wanted to show off to the sister who would sell her soul to the devil if it meant marrying Cha Sung Hyuk.
Like before.
Like that day three years ago when Sung Hyuk had asked her out.
If she hadn’t been slapped by her sister for no reason that day, she probably wouldn’t have accepted his confession so easily.
She hadn’t known back then that a relationship started in a fit of anger would become that deep, or that parting with him would hurt that much.
If she had known, would she have been able to keep rejecting him?
Honestly, she wasn’t sure.
Lost in various thoughts, Young In entered the bathroom, finished her shower, and returned to her room. Because her mind had only grown more tangled, the headache showed no sign of improving.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed when she lay back completely, and at that moment a neat knock broke the silence.
“Who is it?”
Young In shot up, her pupils shaking with unease.
Her sister always burst in without knocking, and her brother either kicked the door or yelled from outside. So it couldn’t be either of them.
“Could it be Madam Kim?”
Picturing the live-in housekeeper’s face, Young In answered cautiously.
“Yes…?”
Her voice sounded uneasy because she couldn’t explain why she felt so apprehensive. And the reason became clear the moment the door opened and she saw who it was.
Cha Sung Hyuk was standing there, wearing his characteristic languid smile.
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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debban23
he still hang up with his ex,i smell trouble for them