Not for the First Time (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8
Young In couldn’t move a single step.
Cha Sung Hyuk being the CEO of SL Entertainment was truly a bolt from the blue.
SL Entertainment suddenly stepping up to acquire Hye Sung Entertainment, the newly appointed CEO Cha Sung Hyuk—could all of this really be a coincidence?
She had an ominous feeling7 like she had walked straight into a tiger’s den.
As CEO Kang and Young In stood frozen at the door, an awkward expression appeared on the legal team leader’s face.
“Please… come in…”
CEO Kang, who had unconsciously been staring intently at Sung Hyuk’s face out of occupational habit, suddenly snapped out of it.
“Ah, yes!”
Nice mask. The vibe is even better.
Reminding himself that he had come to sell the company he had built with his own hands because he was leaving the industry, he chuckled inwardly and turned to the side.
Young In was standing there blankly with a dazed expression.
You must really want that guy too, huh.
With an expression that said he understood all too well, he moved his lips like a ventriloquist.
“Team Leader Chae.”
Only then did Young In come to her senses and bit down hard on the soft flesh inside her lip. Then she followed CEO Kang as he walked toward the sofa.
Sung Hyuk, who had been watching the two from the head seat of the sofa, stood up and extended his hand to CEO Kang for a handshake.
“Cha Sung Hyuk.”
“Kang Yu Gun.”
Sung Hyuk also extended his hand to Young In.
Young In avoided his persistent, sticky gaze and grasped his hand.
As his long, stretched-out fingers gently enveloped hers, a strange shiver ran through her. Alarmed by the feeling of every hair on her body standing on end, she pulled her hand away as discreetly as possible.
Sung Hyuk calmly lowered his hand and gestured toward the sofa with his eyes.
“Please have a seat.”
Young In and CEO Kang sat side by side on his right.
“Then let’s proceed right away.”
The legal team leader sitting across from them handed the prepared contracts to Sung Hyuk and CEO Kang respectively, and the contract was finalized with alternating signatures.
Leaning back on the sofa, Sung Hyuk announced the future plans.
“Currently, SL Entertainment has a total of four actor management teams. The people from Hye Sung will be placed in the newly established 5th team. I would like Team Leader Chae Young In to take on the role of team leader.”
CEO Kang nodded vigorously with a delighted expression.
“Our Young In—no, our Team Leader Chae will do great. She’s a very capable person.”
Sung Hyuk was already feeling uncomfortable from the words “our Young In.”
He wasn’t unaware of the personal relationship between CEO Kang and Young In, but the way CEO Kang treated Young In so familiarly bothered him greatly. He had always disliked men who were close to Chae Young In. Still, he didn’t show it outwardly.
“I know. That’s why I wanted to make Team Leader Chae Young In one of my people.”
CEO Kang and the legal team leader thought it was just a clichéd expression commonly used in talent recruitment.
However, Young In immediately caught the subtle nuance in Sung Hyuk’s words. She felt anxious, unsure what else he might say.
“Of course. If I hadn’t decided to leave this industry, I would never have let Team Leader Chae go.”
To end the conversation with CEO Kang, who kept saying things he didn’t like, Sung Hyuk changed the topic.
“If you have time, would you like to have dinner together tonight?”
“Time is the one thing I have plenty of.”
When Sung Hyuk’s gaze turned to Young In, CEO Kang jumped in first.
“Team Leader Chae doesn’t have any plans tonight either. I know.”
Young In turned to CEO Kang and clenched her molars.
It’s true I don’t have plans, but I don’t want to be there!
No one knew that behind Young In’s calm expression, she was screaming silently.
“That’s perfect.”
Sung Hyuk nodded approvingly at CEO Kang and asked for his understanding.
“I have something to say privately to Team Leader Chae. Could you wait in the reception room for a moment?”
“Please take your time.”
CEO Kang left the CEO’s office with the legal team leader without any suspicion.
The moment the door closed, Young In, who had been holding back what she wanted to say, finally spoke.
“What is it you wanted to discuss with me, CEO Cha Sung Hyuk?”
Her tone was clearly sarcastic.
“There’s nothing like that. I just sent them out because I figured you had a lot to say to me.”
As if she had been waiting, Young In asked.
“Why did you become the CEO of SL Entertainment?”
“So I can see you every day.”
She flinched for only a moment before regaining her composure and responding calmly.
“I heard you were going to the Management Planning Division.”
“I was going to, but I changed my mind.”
“Because of me?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you crazy?”
Young In also knew what the position of head of Management Planning at SL Group meant.
“Maybe.”
Sung Hyuk let out a small laugh and continued playfully.
“Who told you to catch my eye? If it weren’t for you, I would have gone to Management Planning.”
“Are you blaming me right now? I didn’t know you were in that position.”
“Anyway.”
“Should I apologize?”
“No, just accept it. Or resign yourself to it.”
Young In neither accepted nor resigned herself. Instead, she warned him.
“Separate work and personal matters.”
“Do I really have to? I just want to live doing what I want.”
Sung Hyuk elegantly crossed his long legs and smiled faintly.
“Although I couldn’t do it, I believe you will thoroughly separate work and personal matters.”
Young In’s brows narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“I believe that even though you now know I’m the CEO of SL Entertainment, you won’t go back on your words about not quitting. The person who told me to separate work and personal matters wouldn’t do that, right?”
Young In had nothing to say in rebuttal and simply clenched her fists tightly.
She had met all kinds of people, but Cha Sung Hyuk was the most difficult opponent she had ever faced. She felt anxious that if she continued sitting face-to-face with him, she might end up doing whatever he wanted.
“Our CEO gets impatient and hates waiting. Let’s get going.”
Sung Hyuk responded with a straight face.
“Isn’t our CEO me now, as far as Team Leader Chae is concerned?”
“……”
“I hope you’ll be careful with how you address and refer to me from now on, Team Leader Chae Young In.”
Young In suppressed her rising anger and murmured softly.
“I’ll keep that in mind, CEO.”
“Let’s go.”
Sung Hyuk stood up first and walked out of the office ahead of her. A faint smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.
[This is the timeline separator]Young In watched with a sour expression as CEO Kang, drinking expensive wine like water, talked nonstop.
“The thing I emphasize most to my employees is: don’t grovel to artists, you’re partners, not their servants. I drilled that into Young In until she was sick of hearing it. Well, she’s not the type to grovel anyway… But that’s not the point… I’m the one who made the current Team Leader Chae Young In.”
He liked alcohol anyway, so she could understand him finishing two bottles of wine by himself. But she couldn’t understand why he kept rambling on about her when she was sitting right there.
“I’m the one who brought Young In into this industry, so I feel sorry and worried about leaving her behind… My heart is really complicated right now.”
“You don’t need to worry. I’ll support her well.”
Young In couldn’t relax because of Sung Hyuk, who kept saying things that walked a fine line, on top of CEO Kang.
“Young In did a short part-time job at Hye Sung during her senior year summer break in college.”
“I know.”
CEO Kang tilted his head with a blank expression.
“You know?”
“I heard it from Team Leader Chae earlier.”
Sung Hyuk smoothly covered his slip-up without panicking. In reality, he had heard it more than three years ago.
“Ah, Young In told you…”
Muttering to himself and nodding, CEO Kang continued.
“Anyway, I persistently persuaded her and brought her in full-time after graduation.”
Young In had joined Hye Sung Entertainment not long after breaking up with Sung Hyuk.
“She’s a poor kid who worked like crazy for over three years after joining Hye Sung. With that face, she couldn’t even date once…”
“CEO, you’re really drunk.”
Young In was more dumbfounded by the claim that she had never dated even once than by suddenly being called a poor kid.
No matter how much her lie about having a boyfriend hadn’t worked on Cha Sung Hyuk, she never imagined it would be nailed down like this. She wanted to sew his blabbering mouth shut.
“No, I’m not drunk at all.”
CEO Kang, forcing strength into his bleary eyes, turned back to Sung Hyuk and corrected himself.
“I misspoke. It’s not that she couldn’t—it’s that she didn’t. There were so many guys who liked Young In. There were even some surprisingly famous actors.”
Young In glared fiercely at CEO Kang, who seemed determined to expose everything about her, and downed the wine in front of her in one gulp.
“You’re drunk.”
When Young In slammed her glass down and glared, CEO Kang became extremely timid even in his drunken state.
“Ah, I thought I might be drunk. Yeah, I’m drunk. I’m drunk…”
The innocent revelations ended there.
[This is the timeline separator]The alcohol was hitting Young In, making her a bit tipsy. It was because she had kept drinking wine out of frustration.
“I’ll go to the bathroom for a moment.”
She washed her hands with cold water and returned to the room, only to find CEO Kang and the legal team leader gone.
Young In quietly stood and stared at Sung Hyuk, who was leaning back in his chair looking out the window.
The pitch-black night sky, the dazzling night view spread out below it, and one man. It was like a painting.
Whenever she looked at Cha Sung Hyuk, he felt like a being where light and darkness coexisted. Some days he was like brilliant sunlight, other days like a deep abyss.
“You’re back?”
Snapping out of it, Young In hoped her face hadn’t shown admiration and naturally changed the atmosphere.
“Our CEO…”
Worried he might catch her again, she quickly corrected herself.
“Where is CEO Kang Yu Gun?”
A smile spread across his lips as if praising her.
“He was pretty drunk, so I told the legal team leader to take him home.”
“We should get going too.”
Young In walked to her seat and picked up her bag.
“I’ll take you home.”
“I can just call a taxi.”
“Alright, then.”
The two left the fine dining restaurant together. As it happened, a taxi was waiting at the entrance.
“I’ll go first.”
Sung Hyuk simply nodded lightly without saying anything.
Right after the taxi carrying Young In departed, the valet brought his car.
He, who hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, immediately got into the driver’s seat and followed the taxi. He confirmed that Young In got out of the taxi and entered her gate before turning back.
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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