“Hah, forget it! Just know that Si-woo is a good son.”
Turning his eyes away like a triumphant boy, Jung-hyuk re-entered the serious conversation.
“Yoo Dajeong. Stop picking on the kid. You like me too, don’t you?”
“Don’t beat around the bush. I don’t.”
“If you keep avoiding it, I might have to tell Si-woo that I’m his dad.”
“Is this a threat?”
“It’s a plea.”
“…”
Dajeong bit her lip gently. Since he openly called it a plea, she couldn’t figure out how to respond.
“Why do you go to such lengths for me, Mr. Cha Jung-hyuk?”
So why would a woman, even if she’s the one who gave birth to her son, go this far? Dejung couldn’t understand it despite the fact that the woman was his son’s mother.
“What are you asking? You like it, that’s why.”
“…….”
Could such a trivial answer make one’s heart beat this fast?
It’s because he’s not a man who embellishes his words to sound pleasing. Being genuine without adornment is what makes it truly sincere.
However.
“I… I hope Mr. Chajunghyuk does nothing.”
“Why?”
“I’m anxious.”
“What about?”
“Fear of change……”
There is nothing in the world that remains in its purest form from the beginning. Especially the heart of a cunning person, how treacherous it can be.
On the day she rode the bridal sedan and became the first husband of her mother, he also looked at her with such tender eyes. The second husband did the same. What’s the use?
If the one who gave her heart changes her mind one day, Dejung felt she couldn’t bear it. That was the most frightening thing.
“Do you know why I like Yoo Dajeong?”
Looking at his eyes that lingered and finally lifted, Dejung slowly turned her head sideways.
“Yoo Dajeong lowers my value. He makes me ordinary enough to be trivial.”
“…When did I?”
Did she make a mistake that hurt him inadvertently? In a vague way, Dejung weakly denied it. Seeing that, Junghyuk chuckled.
Most people who knew Junghyuk thought of him as someone special, highly valuing his worth. They also expected a lot from him and wanted a lot in return.
“But with Yoo Dajeong, I’m just ‘Mr. Chajunghyuk.’ Chajunghyuk. Just Chajunghyuk. Nothing special, just Chajunghyuk. I seemed to have become a very ordinary person.”
Perhaps Dejung felt that way because there was nothing he wanted or expected from her.
“Is that why? While others get tired of attention, I can’t stand it when Yoo Dajeong doesn’t look at me. Because of that, I’m nervously trying to stand out, begging for attention, and doing funny things while smiling. Strangely, it’s not so bad.”
At first, his pride was hurt, and he wondered what the situation was. But that wasn’t the only thing.
“That sense of liberation was the first in my life. Free and feeling good.”
Times when he could be completely himself.
“Yoo Dajeong, I think I’m addicted. So, keep treating me as an ordinary person. Then, you probably won’t be able to get away from me for the rest of your life.”
At the end of the long confession, he awkwardly smirked. It felt like watching a very handsome and eloquent swindler.
While secretly thinking that, Dejung was engulfed in an unfamiliar feeling.
Should it be called excitement? No, is it overwhelmingly moving? Perhaps the word “ecstasy” might be the most fitting at this moment.
A plain woman like herself bringing freedom and a sense of liberation to someone else, isn’t that a tremendously meaningful and extraordinary thing?
As if some dominating deity or faith had become immense and omnipotent, even the feeling of being enlarged swept over him.
This man makes her feel special. In the past and even now, he made her feel extremely special and noteworthy.
Love, maybe it’s okay to fall for it at least once.
Being afraid of getting hurt, doing nothing at all might be an insult to life itself. If the two insignificant letters, love, are so frightening, maybe one shouldn’t have been born in the first place.
Putting aside her firmly rooted thoughts until now, Dajeong reluctantly opened her mouth.
“Okay. I’ll consider dating Mr. Chajunghyuk… positively.”
As if surprised, Junghyuk raised an eyebrow.
“Positively?”
“Yes… positively.”
Only then did a soft smile appear on his lips. It wasn’t exactly a refreshing conclusion, but it seemed like the brief meeting had come to an end.
Silence flowed, and Dajeong stared blankly ahead. Only the view of the deserted parking lot illuminated by streetlights caught her eye.
As the awkwardness thickened, Dajeong hesitated and opened her mouth.
“Well then… I’ll go now.”
“Sure.”
After hearing the reply, Dajeong turned to leave, but with a click, the driver’s side door opened first. Puzzled, Dajeong asked with a puzzled face.
“Why are you getting out, Mr. Chajunghyuk?”
“He told me to eat ramen.”
“…….”
At this point, it was clear that this man was deaf. Staring at him with a blank expression, Junghyuk raised his eyebrows carelessly.
“No?”
“No.”
“I thought you’d say that again.”
Avoiding eye contact and rambling, he quickly came up with another excuse.
“Then coffee…”
“No, my mom is coming up.”
Upon hearing this, he looked up in surprise and threw a sarcastic remark.
“Why say that now?”
Then he pulled the rearview mirror, skillfully reflected his face, and began to tidy up his hair and tie.
“Mr. Chajunghyuk, what are you doing now?”
“I have to look good for my mother-in-law.”
“…….?”
When did she see his mother-in-law? This guy was talented in making up things.
“Who said Mr. Chajunghyuk has a mother-in-law?”
Surprised by Dajeong’s reaction, Junghyuk became a rather awkward face.
“Then should I call your son’s stepmother your mom?”
“Well, not that, but… Why does the only option have to be that?”
Dajeong’s awkward gaze shot at him. Wanting to persist until the end, Junghyuk quickly surrendered. If Yoo Dajeong looked at him like that, he had no way to resist.
“Fine, Yoo Siwoo’s step-grandmother.”
Dajeong offered a compromise with a slightly softened expression.
“Just Siwoo’s grandmother sounds appropriate.”
“Okay. Siwoo’s grandmother. Is that settled?”
“It’s settled. Anyway, stop fooling around.”
He accepted Dajeong’s warning without a grumble. Although there were many things he wanted to say with a face full of dissatisfaction, he was relieved that he listened fairly well.
What would happen the moment Mom finds out about this man’s existence? Dajeong couldn’t even fathom it. Just thinking about being pressured to get married immediately made her head spin.
“It’s late. Let’s go.”
“Already?”
His eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected this. Unlike the time when he planned to eat ramen and leave, he now seemed very insistent.
“I have to go… it’s late.”
“Just a little longer. Just 5 minutes.”
As he insisted, closing the distance, the pouring gaze was intense. With her face flushed, Dajeong rolled her eyes nervously.
Gradually, a peculiar touch enveloped her neck and ear, and Dajeong swallowed dry saliva.
“5 minutes… or so, what… what are you planning?”
“Well, what should we do? For now, how about doing something else and taking our time to think?”
“Something else… what do you mean?”
Pretending not to notice Dajeong’s coyness, Junghyuk tilted his head slightly over her lips.
“Something nice.”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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