Chae Yoon, who was about to leave to call the doctor, stopped in her tracks.
She turned her head to look at Han Jae Oh.
Meeting Chae Yoon’s gaze, Han Jae Oh spoke with a face as if he couldn’t understand.
“No matter how I think about it, I don’t see any reason for you to like me.”
Why?
“What did you like so much?”
What’s to like about someone like me?
“I don’t understand why you stayed with me for three years.”
“…”
“I…”
Han Jae Oh’s eyes, which were quietly listening to her, moved.
The gaze that flowed down her reddened pale cheek.
Pain was deeply etched in the eyes that stopped at her thin wrist in a brace.
“I want to punish myself for making you like this, but you… How…”
How did you endure it all that time?
Why did you still think of me after going through all that?
Chae Yoon’s incomprehensible feelings made Han Jae Oh grimace in frustration.
His chest was so tight he couldn’t breathe well.
Feeling he should say something, he took a deep breath, and Chae Yoon approached him.
The woman who walked briskly and stopped in front of him said,
“I don’t really know why I like you.”
A wave rippled in her deep eyes.
Seeing her reflection in those eyes, a bashful Chae Yoon smiled.
“At some point, you just looked cool, and after that, no matter what you did, I just liked it.”
The moment of falling for you was fleeting.
“Maybe because it was my first time liking someone, I even liked you when you ignored me.”
“…”
“Though being neglected was tough, if we happened to make eye contact or had a conversation, I’d forget about the hardships.”
The trembling I felt in that brief moment was so intense.
I couldn’t forget the feelings of that time.
I couldn’t hate you for making me feel this way.
“That’s probably why I could endure it.”
Through those long three years.
“…”
Hearing her say she liked him without any reason felt both absurd and overwhelming.
But Han Jae Oh felt desperate.
Because such words came from a woman who suggested divorce.
I thought the weight of the past was heavy, so I assumed you suffered more than I expected.
I was mistaken.
Now, I can’t even dare to imagine how much you suffered.
I can’t forgive myself for leaving you alone all this time, not being able to fathom why you mentioned divorce.
“Do you want to hear something funny?”
With lips that had been firmly closed, Han Jae Oh stared intently at Chae Yoon.
“I like you.”
The voice that flowed out was incredibly calm.
Realizing the meaning behind those words, Chae Yoon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“That’s why I asked for just one month.”
“…”
“You had feelings for me, and I had feelings for you. I thought if we stayed together for a while, maybe your feelings would ease up a bit…”
Han Jae Oh’s voice faded as he deeply took Chae Yoon into his sight.
“I realized while being with you.”
His gaze, which had been locked with hers, moved to where Chae Yoon was hurt.
“As long as there are the 3 years when I neglected you, you can’t be just fine looking at me.”
I realized that after feeling for you.
Every single action of the person I cherished, including the expressions, moods, and reactions that changed in response to my words, resonated deeply with me.
If I hadn’t cared for them, these details would have simply been overlooked.
But because I harbored feelings for them, all of these nuances stayed with me, accumulating over time.
For some, these might be remembered as cherished memories. But for Chae Yoon, they were wounds.
And so,
“Now, I truly wish you could laugh without a care in the world.”
It was heartfelt.
When Han Jae Oh saw Chae Yoon hurt from an accident, he felt as though he was witnessing the pain she must have experienced during his times of indifference.
Seeing her like that, he now hoped more than ever that Chae Yoon could laugh without being reminded of any past scars.
Although he might never live to witness such a moment, up until now he had yearned for it so intensely.
But now, just the thought of Chae Yoon laughing somewhere, like that, felt comforting.
“I wish, if an accident happened, you’d openly say it. If you’re hurt… I wish you’d say so.”
His voice carried a desperate plea, as if saying “please.”
Chae Yoon, who had heard that same voice just a few days prior, intently locked her gaze onto Han Jae Oh’s pleading eyes.
“When I realized I had feelings for you, I thought I could overcome such preconceived notions with effort… but I was wrong.”
Han Jae Oh’s lips curved downward in bitterness.
“From the beginning, I realized I didn’t even have the right to make such efforts.”
While he felt he didn’t deserve such a right, Chae Yoon undoubtedly did.
The right to be loved.
Someone would surely emerge, someone who wouldn’t hurt her once he let her go, and who would cherish her from beginning to end.
Because she shone with her own light, no matter where she was or what she did.
Perhaps she’d be swarmed, much like honey attracts bees.
That thought stirred feelings of jealousy within him, but he knew he now had to endure them.
This was a result of the opportunities he had missed all along.
Taking in every detail of Chae Yoon’s eyes, nose, and lips as if to engrave them in his memory, Han Jae Oh then spoke,
“Once you’re discharged, without waiting a month, let’s proceed with the divorce paperwork.”
Her previously calm eyes widened in surprise.
Caught off guard, her trembling eyes met Han Jae Oh’s.
Hoping that no more tears would fall from those eyes, Han Jae Oh, with all his heart, apologized.
“I’m sorry for being so selfish all this time.”
With a stoic yet deeply bitter expression, confessing his feelings, Han Jae Oh left the hospital room after urging her to rest.
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.”
