Office Romance Scandal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8
“What are you doing here, Assistant Jeong Hae Jin?”
Ignoring Hae Jin’s question, Tae Hong’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“I’m pretty sure I told you to go home.”
“Well, it’s just that…”
I, who had wanted to leave early more than anyone else, couldn’t say that my feet simply wouldn’t move. Trapped by loyalty, a sense of duty, and lingering feelings I couldn’t shake off, I couldn’t even bring myself to say I’d been waiting for him.
“Maybe you waited just to see this mess.”
Though startled by the words that slipped out before she even realized it, Tae Hong simply gazed down at her silently.
“It’s probably not a good idea to keep standing here with everyone watching. I’ve already parked the car up front, so let’s head there first.”
She, now fully back in her role as dedicated attendant Jeong Hae Jin, tugged firmly at his arm, still unwilling to let go.
Tae Hong, whose frame dwarfed Hae Jin’s, moved obediently where she pulled him—led without resistance by her tiny hand, barely half the size of his own palm.
Even in that moment, Hae Jin scanned her surroundings. It was late, so there were no pedestrians, though a few CCTV cameras were visible.
Worried about how to handle the situation, her eyes drifted to Tae Hong’s hand. It was smeared with dried blood and fresh, unstaunched wounds—much larger than her own.
“I’ll go to the nearby convenience store and buy some first-aid supplies.”
“No need.”
“I’m doing it because I’m worried about you.”
Was it the sight of blood that made Hae Jin so tense? She should’ve suspected something earlier—when he insisted on buying her new clothes, or when he’d pushed her to leave work early. This went far beyond just “a little rough.”
“I’ll be back soon, so please, no more causing trouble tonight.”
She tried her best to tamp down her frayed nerves. Someone had gotten hurt—and not just anyone, but her own boss, whom she’d been assigned specifically to keep out of trouble. And yet, on the very first day, there was blood.
Hae Jin dashed off toward the hotel lobby. Tae Hong’s eyes followed her as she ran lightly away, still perfectly dressed in her tailored suit.
This really wasn’t necessary.
Glancing briefly at his slowly hardening blood, his gaze returned to Hae Jin. Only when her figure vanished into the hotel did a sharp sting finally pierce the back of his hand.
Tae Hong had a half-sister about eight years younger than him. Though they hadn’t grown up together, he knew their father had provided her substantial material support.
It was an open secret—everyone knew, even if she wasn’t officially registered in the family records.
He’d kept a respectful distance and never paid her much mind, assuming their father would handle everything well enough without his involvement.
In their world, such scandalous rumors were commonplace and hardly worth noticing. But if someone had deliberately approached them with the intent to target the Yeon Chang Group, that changed everything.
Especially someone like Park Seo Woo, notoriously quick-tempered and known for throwing things whenever he lost control of his emotions. He’d stormed in fuming and ready to lash out, but even he couldn’t ignore the sheer influence of Yeon Chang standing right before him.
Unable to contain his momentary rage, he’d hurled whatever he was holding—and unluckily, some debris had grazed his hand, leaving a scratch. Still, in the end, it had worked out well enough. At least, by my standards.
But why make such a pitiful face over such a minor wound? Irritated again, his thoughts inevitably returned once more to Jeong Hae Jin.
Jeong Hae Jin—what a bothersome presence, right from the very morning.
The driver’s door opened; he didn’t know when she’d returned. A fresh, crisp scent, entirely out of place in the dim dawn hours, tickled his nose.
Was it about to rain? The clean fragrance softened his mood considerably.
“Team Leader, are you asleep?”
Since his face was hidden behind his arm, Hae Jin hesitated—should she wake him or not? On closer inspection, she noticed drops of blood still clinging stubbornly to his hand.
“If you’re asleep, I’ll treat it myself.”
Worried her voice might wake him, she spoke louder than usual—but Tae Hong didn’t even twitch. Convinced he was deeply asleep, she moved quickly.
At the hotel, she’d managed to procure basic first-aid supplies with a few vague explanations.
Carefully, Hae Jin began disinfecting Tae Hong’s wound. It clearly must have hurt—just watching made her frown involuntarily, so the pain for him must have been even worse.
Without realizing it, she blew gently on the spot where she’d applied the antiseptic. Wiping it clean revealed the exact injury, and she quickly stuck on a bandage.
“Will this be okay without going to the hospital?”
She muttered to herself, glancing around for any other wounds—
“You’d look ridiculous going to the hospital over something this minor.”
“Ah! You scared me!”
Hae Jin genuinely jumped, nearly toppling backward—when suddenly, his long arm reached out and pulled her waist toward him. In the cramped car, their chests pressed together.
“You—you weren’t asleep?”
His firm chest pressed against hers. His warm breath brushed her skin, so close she could feel every bit of it. She needed to pull away, but a subtle strength in the arm around her waist held her in place.
Whether from their closeness or the feverish air inside the car, she felt an unfamiliar heat rise within her. A brief silence passed between them—the gaze of one looking down, the other carefully avoiding eye contact, their breaths tangled together.
It felt like one more inch closer, and she’d burn up completely. She desperately wished someone would cool this moment down—she didn’t want him to see her embarrassment.
“I felt like I was half-asleep, maybe not really asleep at all.”
Tae Hong gave an ambiguous answer and finally released her waist. Hae Jin immediately scrambled back into the driver’s seat, pressing her back tightly against the door—arms crossed defensively in front of her chest, though she didn’t quite form an actual ‘X’.
“If you’re awake, you should’ve said something!”
Though her words snapped at him, her eyes kept drifting back to his injury. Sensing her gaze, Tae Hong waved his hand with the cartoon bandage stuck to it.
“You were blowing on it so sweetly and tending to it so carefully.”
So this jerk had been awake the whole time. The memory of herself blowing on his hand just minutes ago flooded back—and feeling suddenly suffocated by the stuffy air, she wanted to escape as quickly as possible.
“Where—where do you live?”
Her stumbling words clearly gave away her flustered state. A soft chuckle reached her ears, and she resolutely vowed not to turn toward him again.
Tae Hong didn’t give his home address aloud. Instead, he tapped a few commands into the navigation system and set a destination labeled simply as “Home.”
“So I really am doing chauffeur duty now, huh?”
“It’s fine. I’m supposed to act as your personal assistant too.”
The stiff, robotic words tumbled out automatically—she was drawing a boundary, desperate to hide her flushed face and erase the lingering warmth of his touch from her mind.
This sudden emotional slip-up had to end right here.
“Yeah, keep up the good work.”
Tae Hong spoke gently but indifferently, turning his head toward the window where the city lights reflected.
“Good thing—apparently no reporters or police showed up.”
She’d discreetly checked while borrowing first-aid supplies at the lobby earlier. A staff member who’d seen her leave with Tae Hong had quietly confirmed: the other side hadn’t taken any official action.
“What I’m saying is, you don’t need to worry.”
“Reporters and police—a perfect pair. Maybe we should’ve gone public this time.”
What kind of reckless talk was that? Those words of his were threatening her high-paying job. Hae Jin gripped the steering wheel tightly, briefly glanced at Tae Hong, then quickly refocused on driving.
“Your strong work ethic even made you investigate unnecessary things.”
“What do you mean?”
Did he really have personal connections to reporters and police? Of course—he worked for none other than the Yeon Chang Group. Even back when she’d worked at her father’s company, a certain level of networking and influence-peddling had been essential—always more, never less.
Just as she drifted into these private thoughts, Tae Hong quietly rolled down his window. Cool air rushed through the car.
“Assistant Jeong Hae Jin, what do you think it’d be like if you had an older brother?”
First he kept probing her background, now he was asking her to imagine a brother she didn’t even have. His questions felt strange.
“He’d probably be reliable?”
From what she’d seen of friends with older brothers, some would pick them up late at night, others would often slip them pocket money.
“Reliable, huh.”
“At a time like this, wouldn’t he be calling to ask where you are?”
It was past midnight already—the empty road itself seemed to confirm how late it was.
“Sounds like you’re just indirectly saying you couldn’t leave work.”
He let out a quiet chuckle. The previously rigid, unyielding atmosphere began to soften slightly.
“Let me remind you again—it was me who told you to go home. It was Assistant Jeong Hae Jin who chose to wait.”
She couldn’t argue; he was right. Though she’d been pushed to leave with teasing remarks, it was ultimately her own choice to stay.
Scenes from the day swirled chaotically in her mind, but eventually they coalesced into one clear decision—that she would wait.
“I’m not complaining about not being able to leave.”
“Of course you should be.”
The tension eased a bit further. His posture had relaxed noticeably, and so had his tone—revealing a rare, human side of him, uncharacteristically unguarded and warm.
“If you don’t complain, you’ve got no conscience.”
Her opinion changed in an instant. Human? She’d clearly misjudged him—badly. Maybe she shouldn’t have waited at all. Ugh, she almost regretted it—maybe she should’ve just gone straight home and gotten some sleep instead.
“But why did you get hurt?”
A simple, primal curiosity arose. Only his hand was injured; the rest of him seemed perfectly fine. His clothes weren’t wrinkled or wet anywhere.
“Dunno.”
He answered uncharacteristically tersely. She wondered if she’d asked something she shouldn’t have.
It could be deeply personal, after all. Asking further might cross a line—so she decided not to press him. But Tae Hong spoke first.
“Let’s just say I was playing the role of an older brother.”
Older brother? Was this related to what he’d mentioned earlier about his half-sister? His strange questions from before came rushing back. Realizing this was clearly personal, Hae Jin chose to stay silent.
The cool night air drifting through the window further loosened the already relaxed mood. Tae Hong’s gaze slowly shifted from the bandage on his hand to Hae Jin, now fully focused on driving.
His blood had likely dried and hardened by now—but unlike that blood, his attention kept stubbornly drifting toward her.
The fresh dawn breeze flowing through the open window tousled Hae Jin’s hair, carrying with it a crisp, clean scent that brushed against his nose.
It was the same fragrance he’d caught a whiff of during their brief contact earlier. His eyes kept drifting toward her, and an odd sense of curiosity stirred within him.
Quickly, he rolled up the window—determined to let that useless curiosity drift away with the wind.
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.]
I like his honesty and my god there is communication.