Even after being discharged, it seemed that Haejin’s body had not fully recovered, as she slept all day at home. During her sleep, it seemed like I briefly saw him in a dream, probably because of the medicine.
In the dream, I also met Mom. Whenever I was sick, Mom used to hold my hand.
The touch of her hand, full of nagging and worry, asking why I worked so stressed out when it was my dad’s company, came to mind. Since I was sick and tired, thoughts of Mom naturally came to me.
Fortunately, when I fully woke up, my body condition was fine.
[Will arrive soon.]A text arrived before opening the front door. It was an amazing timing. Sometimes it surprises me. It wasn’t the first or second time I was surprised, as if he could see me from somewhere.
“Hello, Team Leader.”
“How’s your health?”
“I slept well yesterday, so I’m fine.”
Haejin’s voice, exchanging pleasantries as if trying to show her recovered condition, was brighter than usual. It was because I hoped he would feel a little relieved.
I felt sorry for what happened that day, and although I asked every morning if he wanted coffee, he pushed something else instead of coffee.
“Open the thermos and drink.”
There was a thermos in the cup holder next to Haejin’s arm, as he said.
“What is this?”
Haejin cautiously opened the lid. Steam rose as if it had just been boiled. When I naturally smelled it, it was a familiar scent.
“Be careful, it’s hot.”
While driving, Taehong reached out and took the thermos from Haejin. I didn’t remember where I smelled this scent, so I brought it close to my nose again.
“It’s barley tea.”
“Barley tea?”
Smelling the thermos again, thinking it was barley tea, it really was barley tea.
“Why should I drink this?”
Haejin held the thermos and lid in both hands without understanding English.
“I heard that when babies have upset stomachs, they drink barley tea.”
“Really?”
Babies might, but isn’t she a grown adult? Moreover, she couldn’t help but laugh at Taehong’s metaphor comparing her and the baby.
“Jeonghae Director had an upset stomach yesterday. I thought barley tea might be good.”
The visual looks like the peak of an urban man, but the care is as warm as barley tea.
“I never expected such a situation.”
“Is that so? Well, take it with you.”
I couldn’t admit it, but my head nodded involuntarily at the unexpected charm.
“Did you make it yourself?”
This question was asked out of courtesy. Of course, he must have boiled it himself. However, he showed a second unexpected charm. Wasn’t he going to explain in detail how he personally boiled barley tea in the morning?
Whether barley tea is hot or my heart is hot, it was confusing. Trying to hide the surprise, I asked slowly.
“How did you know that babies drink barley tea?”
“This exaggeration told me. It was when my son turned one hundred days, and he had an upset stomach, so I gave him barley tea for the first time.”
“Oh, did Manager Byungsoo Lee get married?”
Haejin was so surprised that she even put down the barley tea she was drinking. Taehong stared dumbfounded at her, who even put down the barley tea she was enjoying, and his narrowed eyes seemed as if she hadn’t seen what he had seen.
“Yeah, I got married.”
Taehong’s response was dry, but Haejin’s reaction was genuine. She really didn’t know, and she was genuinely surprised.
“Oh, I see. I didn’t know. You didn’t seem like you were married at all.”
Like ordinary barley tea, words kept coming out of her mouth. She poured barley tea again into the empty cup.
“How long has it been since you got married?”
When Haejin asked again about Manager Byungsoo Lee, Taehong, seizing the opportunity, turned his head.
“Why do you want to know that?”
“Huh? Just, well.”
There was no word that came to mind when I asked the reason I was curious. It was just a question that followed the flow of suspicion.
“Is it an interest in colleagues?”
Without seeing the sensitive Taehong, Haejin blew on the rising steam in the cup.
“Interest in colleagues, huh.”
Taehong’s tail of speech began to drag. Haejin’s attention was still on barley tea. It was because of the unusually delicious barley tea.
“Does that interest only apply to a specific person?”
“A specific person? Don’t people show interest in their colleagues?”
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
Haejin still savored the barley tea, thinking it tastes good.
“Does that include me too?”
Leaving the last sip, Haejin laughed with a clatter. As if the sari had caught properly, she kept coughing. Taehong handed his handkerchief to Haejin.
“Is that such a surprising question?”
Rather than that, it was an abrupt question.
“No.”
Haejin barely blocked her mouth with the handkerchief Taehong gave her.
“I didn’t know that Director Jeonghae is a person with overflowing interest in colleagues.”
He seemed emotionally hurt, and his tone seemed oddly sarcastic. Only then did Haejin make every effort to understand his mood by activating all radar networks.
Now, barley tea wasn’t important, so she closed the lid, leaving regret.
“Team Leader, as you know, the brand launch is just beginning.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
