Tae Hyuk inquired about Mrs. Hwang’s health and headed to her separate living quarters, ready to take her to the hospital if necessary.
Entering her room, Tae Hyuk urged Mrs. Hwang to stay in bed.
“Stay lying down,” he insisted.
Mrs. Hwang, feeling better, brushed off his concerns.
Tae Hyuk checked her temperature, relieved to find it normal, and decided a hospital visit wasn’t necessary.
However, it was unusual for her to be bedridden for so long, causing Tae Hyuk concern.
Mrs. Hwang first asked about Na Young. Tae Hyuk explained their unique connection from high school, and Mrs. Hwang expressed her amazement at such a special bond.
Tae Hyuk assured her he’d take good care of Na Young and lied about having dinner to prevent Mrs. Hwang from exerting herself.
Before leaving, he planned to meet his grandfather regarding Lee Ju Ah’s matter.
Before going to bed, Seung Hee, noticing the light in Na Young’s room, knocked on her door.
“Na Young, aren’t you sleeping?”
After a brief pause, Na Young responded, “I will sleep soon.”
Normally, Seung Hee wouldn’t have made much of it and would have just gone to sleep, but today she couldn’t stop thinking about Na Young coming out of Yoon Ina’s room, which troubled her. Seung Hee quietly opened Na Young’s door without making a sound to peek inside.
Na Young was sitting on her bed, hugging a teddy bear. That bear had been with her since her residency days at the hospital. Seung Hee had teased her about keeping a childhood toy at her age, but Na Young had said that having the bear with her was comforting. Seeing Na Young clutching the bear, lost in thought, made it seem like she was uneasy.
After gently closing the door, Seung Hee stood outside, indecisive about what to do next. Her brother, Seung Jun, had adamantly refused to give her Cha Hyun’s phone number, so she couldn’t contact the director. Even trying to call the film company had been futile.
Back in her room, Seung Hee took her phone. She couldn’t imagine Professor Choi Tae Hyuk comforting someone, but she decided to trust Na Young’s choice and try. Seung Hee typed a message to Tae Hyuk: “Na Young seems quite anxious. Can you come over?”
Seung Hee hesitated to send the message, fearing she might be igniting a powder keg. “Oh well,” she thought, and pressed the send button with her eyes tightly closed. Then she collapsed on her bed, drained.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, the sound of her phone ringing startled her awake. She sat up quickly and saw that the caller ID displayed ‘Viper’ – a scary nickname for Tae Hyuk. She hurriedly answered the call.
“Hello?”
“[Open the door,]” Tae Hyuk said succinctly.
Seung Hee crawled out of bed and headed for the front door.
Click.
As Seung Hee opened the door, a towering figure entered the house, bringing a gust of wind with him. Without her glasses, Seung Hee squinted at Tae Hyuk, who had come late at night.
“Is Na Young asleep?” asked Tae Hyuk.
Seung Hee shook her head, not sure. Tae Hyuk then walked past her, heading straight for Na Young’s room.
“Oh, Professor,” Seung Hee suddenly called out.
“Do you have Director Cha Hyun’s phone number?”
“Forget it. Cha Hyun isn’t for you,” Tae Hyuk replied curtly, leaving Seung Hee confused and feeling inexplicably upset.
Seung Hee’s eyes rolled in confusion.
“Why do I feel so upset?” she wondered, feeling even more displeased without understanding why.
Click.
When Tae Hyuk opened the door, Na Young was sitting on her bed, hugging a teddy bear. He walked over to her slowly, cautious in his approach as she might not want to talk to him yet.
“Moon Na Young,” he called her name.
Only then did Na Young lift her head to look at him.
“Are you still mad at me?” he asked, studying her expression.
Her look was calmer than the day before, which made him feel more anxious.
“Talk to me. I can’t know if you don’t tell me.”
Tae Hyuk knelt down in front of her, lowering himself to her level.
“I met Professor Yoon Ina today.”
Hearing the name Yoon Ina made Tae Hyuk’s eyes narrow.
“If Yoon Ina has troubled you, I’ll confront her and make her pay back multiple times.”
Na Young shook her head, indicating that wasn’t the case.
“Professor Yoon mentioned she first met you 14 years ago and asked what I was doing at that time.”
The mention of 14 years ago made Tae Hyuk’s heart race uneasily, knowing Na Young wouldn’t have been doing well then.
“I was receiving psychiatric counseling back then,” she said, and just uttering those words seemed to transport her back to those times, pain contorting her composed forehead.
“I underwent it for four years.”
Tae Hyuk reached out to clasp Na Young’s hand firmly. However, she wasn’t looking at him.
“Do I really suit you? Maybe you made the wrong choice with me.”
Although it wasn’t her fault, if people learned that she had been in psychiatric counseling for so long, they might pity her or feel uncomfortable. This plummeted Na Young’s confidence to rock bottom.
She feared that Tae Hyuk’s perception of her would completely change once he knew. Thus, she was torn between wanting to keep this a secret for life and the guilt of deceiving her partner.
Trapped again within herself, Na Young felt like she had reverted to being that helpless young girl.
Tae Hyuk couldn’t just stand by and watch her struggle. He would rescue her as many times as needed.
Pointing at the teddy bear she was hugging, Tae Hyuk asked, “Do you know why this bear is wearing a heart-patterned T-shirt?”
Na Young looked at him blankly, puzzled about why he was asking about the bear at that moment.
Tae Hyuk’s lips curved into a smile as he explained, “It’s wearing the T-shirt that was originally on a pig plush toy.”
Na Young’s eyes flickered with light as she listened, surprised.
“How do you know that?”
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.”
