The Bad Husband (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
Although there was one tense moment, thanks to Ji Eun calming down, the formal family meeting ended safely. As desserts and tea were being prepared, at Chairwoman Jung’s considerate suggestion to leave the two alone, everyone else left the room, leaving only Woo Jin and Tae Eun inside.
With the tension finally released, Tae Eun suddenly felt the need to use the restroom.
There was a bathroom inside the room, but worried the sound might carry, she asked Woo Jin for permission and stepped out to use the one outside. She remembered there was a separate outdoor restroom near the entrance.
Once inside, Tae Eun lowered the toilet lid, sat down, and let out the breath she had been holding.
“Haa…”
As she released the breath she had been suppressing deep in her chest, the pressure and nervousness seemed to melt away in an instant.
Just three more minutes like this.
Trying to erase that dangerously close call from her mind, Tae Eun let her body relax. But then she heard familiar voices.
“Oh man, because of Young Ja, I broke out in a cold sweat.”
“Why? I felt so refreshed! I really wanted to say something too, but Mom warned me so strictly that I had to hold it in until my insides turned black.”
“Keep your voice down. What if someone hears?”
“Who’s going to hear? We rented the whole place.”
It was Young Hee and Young Sook. They must have come to use the restroom one last time before leaving the restaurant.
Tae Eun held her breath so the two wouldn’t notice she was there. If they found out in this situation, things could become really awkward.
“Well, Young Ja wasn’t exactly wrong. To be honest, it was a bit uncomfortable for me too. Thinking about Woo Jin, it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem. Ugh, she’s obviously the classic evil stepmother type. She keeps praising her own achievements while subtly putting the kid down. And then she defends her son who went to a third-rate university?”
“Exactly. God, I thought I was going to explode. How dare she try to parachute into our Woosung Group? But apparently Woo Jin is enduring all of that? That’s so unlike him.”
“Right? I was shocked too. With his short temper, I was actually nervous he’d snap before Young Ja did.”
“But you know what’s weird? No matter how crazy he is about a woman, why would Woo Jin want to get involved with a family like that? You saw it too—she was subtly hinting at wanting to enter politics and hoping for our support.”
“What if… you know…”
“What?”
“Maybe the two of them… it’s a contract marriage or something.”
“You really watch too many dramas. Tone it down a little.”
“No, unnie. Young people these days do that a lot. It’s not impossible. They just live as suitable partners without interfering in each other’s private lives.”
“No… way. Why would Woo Jin…?”
Young Hee asked while drying her hands. Young Sook answered in a lowered, confident voice.
“Why? To protect Park Seo Woo, obviously.”
In that moment, Tae Eun doubted her own ears. She never imagined she would hear the name Park Seo Woo here.
“Is he insane? They broke up.”
“That’s just what they say. We wouldn’t know if they’re secretly meeting. You know how thorough Woo Jin is. I don’t think that scandal from a few months ago was completely baseless.”
“Now that you mention it, I heard Park Seo Woo is being considered as the model for the new refrigerator launch.”
“See! See! Told you! Honestly, how madly in love were those two? Even when Mom and Young Ja threatened them every way possible, Woo Jin didn’t blink. So I was genuinely shocked when they suddenly broke up.”
“You’re right. It did feel strange. Young Ja even threatened to bury Park Seo Woo so deep she’d never set foot in the entertainment industry again, and Woo Jin shot back that if she did that, he’d never look at her face again. Remember? It was so confusing.”
“Ha, now everything finally makes sense. It’s because it’s that kind of marriage that he didn’t care about the family background. Actually, it’s even better this way—a mediocre family like that can be cleanly silenced if anything happens.”
Young Sook said with conviction. But a moment later, Young Hee countered.
“No, the more I think about it, that doesn’t make sense. No matter the situation, he always faces things head-on. If he really loved Park Seo Woo, he would have married her no matter what anyone said.”
“Maybe… you’re right?”
“Of course. Don’t you know Woo Jin’s personality? Once he sets his mind on something, even Mom and Young Ja can’t stop him.”
“True. Yeah, our Woo Jin isn’t the kind of pathetic jerk who’d do something this low just to keep Park Seo Woo hidden in the background. Right?”
“Exactly!”
With that, the two of them left the restroom.
Even after they were gone, Tae Eun couldn’t breathe properly for a long time. The unexpected name Park Seo Woo had lodged itself deep in her heart.
* * *
Seeing Tae Eun return to the room pale as a sheet, Woo Jin—who hadn’t even finished a cup of tea—glanced at her worriedly and spoke.
“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital? You look really pale.”
“I’m okay. I think I just got indigestion from being too nervous. It’ll pass with time.”
After politely declining, Tae Eun gazed at the passing night scenery and fell back into thought.
The name Park Seo Woo that the aunts kept mentioning wouldn’t leave her mind. Even though she had known about that scandal before meeting Woo Jin, hearing it from the aunts’ mouths still came as a bit of a shock.
What if the aunts’ worries were true?
What if he chose her just to protect Park Seo Woo?
Countless questions swirled in her head, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask Woo Jin. She was afraid of the truth she might hear from him—afraid he might admit everything and call off the wedding.
Even if the aunts’ fears turned out to be true, Tae Eun didn’t have the courage to cancel the marriage. Not only had they already held the formal meeting, but she was the one who needed this marriage the most now.
Of course, getting married without confirming the truth was ridiculous, but there was nothing worse than losing everything if the wedding fell through.
So was there really a need to confirm the truth and push herself into hell?
Tae Eun slowly closed and opened her eyes, watching the passing night view, then did some mental self-control.
—Yeah, our Woo Jin isn’t the kind of pathetic jerk who’d do something this low just to keep Park Seo Woo hidden in the background. Right?
She deeply replayed Young Sook’s final words in her heart.
The aunts who knew him best had firmly said no. She decided to believe that. He was absolutely not that kind of person.
While she was organizing her feelings that way, Tae Eun felt the car gently come to a stop. It wasn’t their home as she’d expected—it was an unfamiliar place.
“Where…?”
“To help you relax a bit. Get out. There’s something I want to show you.”
Woo Jin got out first, and she followed. She took the elevator with him inside the building.
“Where are we?”
“The company. Where I work. Woosung Electronics headquarters.”
“Woo Jin-ssi’s company?”
“We’re heading up to my office right now.”
“Why…?”
“I told you—there’s something I want to show you.”
When the elevator dinged and the doors opened, he walked out confidently. After a short hallway and opening a door, she saw desks on both sides—neatly organized workstations that appeared to belong to his secretaries. Past those desks and through another door was a spacious office. The large desk and luxurious decor gave off an intimidating aura that matched his presence perfectly.
Following him inside and looking around, Tae Eun suddenly gasped. One entire wall of the large office was floor-to-ceiling glass, and beyond it, the night view of Seoul spread out breathtakingly.
“Wow…”
“I knew you’d say that. My office has the best view. Pretty impressive, right?”
Impressive? It wasn’t just impressive—it was a healing panorama that cleared away every stray thought in her mind just by looking at it.
“It’s so beautiful. Is it this pretty during the day too?”
“Well, it’s decent in the daytime too. But I prefer the night view. When I work late, this view is my comfort.”
“I can see why. It must be an incredible comfort.”
Tae Eun’s eyes sparkled like a child discovering a new world as she admired the night view. Watching her exclaim so innocently, Woo Jin casually leaned against his desk and stretched his legs.
He was glad he brought her. Throughout the family meeting she had been extremely tense, and when it ended she came back pale; even in the car she looked unwell—but now her eyes were shining again as if nothing had happened.
Just her eyes shining made it feel like light was radiating from her. The dazzle was so strong that Woo Jin had to briefly squint.
“It must be nice—working every day with a view like this.”
“Then how about it, Min Tae Eun-ssi? Want to come work with me? I’ll put a desk right next to mine for you.”
At his playful words, Tae Eun turned to give him a pretty glare—but contrary to her intention, she missed the chance. The sight of him sitting sideways on the desk with the night city behind him was as stunning as the view itself.
Her gaze slowly traced the man, then stopped at his hand beckoning her. That man’s figure felt as foreign and captivating as the night view of another world.
Maybe that was why.
As if enchanted, Tae Eun walked over and carefully placed her hand in his. A gentle but firm grip pulled her into his arms.
She placed her hands on his chest to keep some distance as their bodies pressed closer, but that small action only ignited things further.
Despite the layers—dress shirt, vest, and suit jacket—she could vividly feel the firm muscles of his chest through her palms.
Her face flushed instantly, and he asked,
“Has the indigestion settled?”
“…Yes.”
“Then… can I kiss you?”
“That’s…”
As she hesitated, he lifted the corner of his mouth into a smile. The low laughter that followed felt incredibly pleasant.
“What, planning to tremble like last time?”
It was a question that didn’t wait for an answer.
As he looked at her, his eyes narrowed playfully and he suddenly leaned in.
The surprise lasted only a moment—when their lips met, she helplessly melted into the kiss.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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Chapter Comments (9)
Inline Comments (2)
Every time Seo Woo spoke, the lips painted the same color as hers felt strangely
The alleged mistress is showing more courage than the legitimate wife!
“You’re pathetic.”
She is pathetic and you are pathetic too dragging your innocent wife in your messy life
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He couldn’t provide her the sense of security she needed all the time
Yes get way from this annoying man..he is only good at making excuses
Just leave her alone you jerk !!..she is exhausted 😔