“Si Woo loves you!”
In the middle of their heartfelt farewell in front of the kindergarten, Si Woo boldly confessed his love.
He said he loved her.
Da Jung couldn’t help but return a bright smile at his adorable assertion, tightly hugging her son.
“Mom loves our Si Woo a lot too.”
“No, Si Woo loves you more!”
“I don’t think so. Mom probably loves you more.”
“No! Si Woo more! More and more!”
Seeing Si Woo stubbornly trying to win this contest of love, Da Jung laughed softly, as if she couldn’t stop him.
How could someone who caused a ten million won accident be so innocent?
Her cunning son must have known that he had made a mistake.
Even if he didn’t understand the value of ten million won, he had some idea from watching his mother sigh deeply time and time again.
Perhaps that’s why she felt like she’d heard his confession of love more than a hundred times over the weekend.
Si Woo didn’t do anything wrong. If there was a mistake, it was hers for leaving the snack box in front of the puppy.
After sending Si Woo inside, Da Jung turned around and hurriedly got into her car, heading to work.
The distance from the kindergarten to her office wasn’t far, but the morning rush hour traffic was unavoidable.
As she anxiously tapped the steering wheel, thinking she wouldn’t be able to avoid being late again today, she surprisingly arrived five minutes earlier than expected after parking her car.
She felt a bit proud. She was usually late three or four times a week, but she had a good feeling about today.
She hummed a tune, leisurely gathering her laptop and handbag, just as she was about to step out of the car. Suddenly, her phone in her hand vibrated.
As soon as she saw the caller, Da Jung’s expression hardened.
Just when she was feeling lucky, it was that man again.
Since he had sent a toy to Si Woo, his calls, now a regular occurrence, were no longer surprising.
It was obvious he would only blabber useless stuff, so she ignored him persistently, but he was stubborn.
This time wasn’t different. Ignoring her vibrating phone, Da Jung began walking towards her office.
Without realizing it, she sighed. Ever since she heard about the ten million won, she couldn’t get the complex calculations out of her head.
When was her fixed deposit due? This month’s credit card bill? The apartment loan? The insurance premium? The living expenses?
No matter how hard she tried to make the numbers work, she couldn’t afford to return the money all at once.
To suggest a 12month installment plan would make her look poor. More than anything, she didn’t want to maintain a personal relationship with that man for twelve months.
She had no choice. As much as she didn’t want to, she decided to accept the toy sent to Si Woo as a pure gift.
Even though she had put an end to it for the time being, she couldn’t help feeling uneasy. She felt uncomfortable accepting an expensive gift from none other than that man.
As Da Jung was crossing the outdoor parking lot, she suddenly stopped. The vibration in her hand had stopped.
Just as she was about to step forward after clearing the missed call notification from her screen, a strange and unfamiliar car passed by in her absentminded gaze.
It was a topoftheline, large sedan, a rare sight in the outdoor parking lot of the lowrise, threestory building.
The lone black sedan, shiny and spotless, was standing. As was the man leaning casually against it.
He appeared as one with the car, dressed in a stylish navyblack suit and black shoes. Had it not been for the radiance emanating from his clean face, he would have easily been overlooked.
The man, upon eye contact, slightly shook his mobile phone. His furrowed brows seemed to suggest annoyance as if to say, he had noticed her deliberately ignoring the calls.
Da Jung, with her mouth agape, frantically looked left and right. As there seemed to be no one else around who had seen, she quickly ran over and grabbed onto Jung Hyuk’s elbow.
She started to scold him, stomping her foot as she dragged him to the outer part of the building.
“Are you crazy?! Do you know where this is?”
Have I come somewhere I shouldn’t have? Thinking that her reaction was hypersensitive, Jung Hyuk raised an eyebrow.
“You weren’t answering the phone.”
“So, what? You’ll just show up at someone’s workplace?!”
“Isn’t it okay to come if I have a matter to discuss?”
“What matter could possibly bring you to my workplace?!”
“Pick up your phone.”
It seemed like he had come to warn her that such things could happen anytime if she didn’t answer her calls.
As he looked at the embarrassed woman, he turned around as if he had nothing else to say.
Unable to hide her dumbfounded expression, Da Jung shouted at his calmly retreating back.
“Why are you doing this?! You agreed that you have nothing to do with me!”
His heavy steps turned back around. Da Jung, thinking she needed to put a firm end to this, briskly approached him.
“Mr. Cha Jung Hyuk. Please, let’s pretend we don’t know each other, okay?”
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.”
