‘How long do I have to keep listening to this?’
Yeonwoo regretted eavesdropping on their conversation.
It would have been more comfortable not to know anything. Believing that she was the only one who knew about his intimate private life, just as she had been doing well until now.
No, there was no need to believe or not. Naturally, she thought it would be that way.
Kwon Joon-hwi’s secrets, hidden from others, who didn’t know how to confide in anyone. She thought only she possessed him entirely. There was an intimate sense of superiority in that.
Like a fool, why didn’t she think that he might have a past and someone else close enough to share secrets with?
A foolish delusion shattered. The world she believed would naturally be that way began to crack and crumble.
Once again, she realized her shortcomings.
It was when a bitter liquid rose in her throat.
“Mr. Joon-hwi, wait!”
Yeonwoo sensed hesitation in Im Nayoon’s voice. Peeking behind the pillar, she saw the woman grab Joon-hwi’s arm.
He seemed to be trying to leave, turning his body.
Touching another man’s body so casually. Now, Yeonwoo’s sorrowful heart swayed uncontrollably.
Should she pretend she coincidentally happened to be here, as if she hadn’t heard anything, and approach?
“I have a lot to talk about. I’m living in Korea now. Shall we go inside and have a glass of wine?”
“Get your hands off. It looks like you’re already drunk.”
······But his firm voice stimulated her unsavory curiosity.
She wanted to know how he would handle this uncomfortable situation. She wanted to see the outcome.
Even if she had to prove it like this, she wanted to prove that Kwon Joon-hwi belonged entirely to Kim Yeonwoo.
‘Hurry, push her away completely. Say you have a lover.’
At his cold response, the woman’s shoulders visibly slumped. In that moment, a sense of relief covered Yeonwoo.
······At the same time, she was surprised by her unfamiliar self.
Feeling joy in someone else’s suffering. Today, she seemed to be confirming her pathetic self quite a lot.
“Hey, Kwon Joon-hwi. What’s so great about you that you keep pushing me away every time?”
As if being pricked by a needle, Im Nayoon’s reaction suddenly intensified.
“It’s all because of you! If you didn’t treat me like that, we would be a married couple by now!”
Ah.
Yeonwoo covered her open mouth with trembling hands.
“You blame others just like before.”
Whether Im Nayoon was venting her anger or not, Joon-hwi pushed back with his characteristic composure and cold words.
“And ultimately, we’re not a couple. Im Nayoon.”
His strong rejection also did not register in Yeonwoo’s ears.
It was just confirmation from Joon-hwi’s mouth that he had intended to marry that woman.
“I tried my best. Mr. Joon-hwi knows how hard I tried.”
“Attorney Im Nayoon. Just that much.”
“Our marriage wasn’t just our own issue! It was a deal between families!”
The woman turned around, opened the door, and blocked Joon-hwi, who was trying to enter, with her whole body.
“Kwon Joon-hwi, your Juseong Group wanted our LK Group’s patents so badly. If we had married back then, Juseong and LK would have both benefitted by now.”
What? What is she saying now?
Yeonwoo, frozen as if hit by another storm amid the pouring confusion, thought,
‘Juseong Group······?’
Kwon Joon-hwi’s Juseong Group. The woman clearly said that.
“Just marry as planned. Joon-hwi will inherit Juseong Group’s affiliated companies as scheduled, and I will save LK. How about it? Don’t you want to put everything back to how it was now?”
What on earth is all this about? Yeonwoo leaned against the pillar, gasping for breath.
She needed time to digest the tremendous events she had learned in just over 10 minutes.
He had someone he wanted to marry, and he belonged to Juseong Group. Moreover, his marriage was a promise, a deal between families.
She didn’t know. No, was it normal for her not to know?
Amidst the confusion and bewilderment, like fitting puzzle pieces together, the trivial questions she had left unanswered until now began to fall into place.
‘Do you know who Kwon Joon-hwi’s son is?’
Chahanbin, who cornered her earlier, had shouted like a madman supported by malice.
Ah, Chahanbin knew.
‘A kid like you is just being played with! You can never go all the way with that guy!’
A kid like her. She now clearly understood the meaning.
It wasn’t anything else but Juseong Group, the top conglomerate in Korea. That person was mentioned as inheriting it, rejecting any possibility of a commoner like her.
A luxury villa overlooking the Han River. Well-equipped audio facilities. A black card issued only to VVIPs. Suits tailored by a renowned designer.
She should have noticed his tremendous wealth much earlier.
A man who received an invitation to a state banquet, which even the CEO of Ro&Yul didn’t get. Even after seeing that, she didn’t know. Like a fool.
Realizing how inadequate she was, she couldn’t bear it. Yeonwoo quietly shed tears she wasn’t aware of.
‘Then, earlier, when the chairman of Juseong Group kept looking at me······!’
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.”
