The Bad Husband (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
From morning, chaos had to break out once. Young Hee’s unexpected appearance was nothing short of a tsunami.
Startled by her astonishingly loud voice, Woo Jin rushed out, rubbing his drowsy eyes, while Tae Eun froze on the spot. Young Hee, seeming to recognize her, didn’t even bother asking who she was—she simply raised her voice, veins bulging, declaring that *she* was unacceptable.
After barely calming the agitated Young Hee and sending her back to the main building, Woo Jin had no choice but to soothe the frozen Tae Eun and head toward the main building with her.
Yet each step she took felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Facing the women of the Jangwon family was difficult even with steel resolve—let alone for Tae Eun, utterly unprepared for such an embarrassing situation.
“If you don’t want to go… shall we just not?”
At his sudden question, she lifted her head and looked at Woo Jin. Unlike her trembling self, his eyes remained remarkably calm—as if all this meant nothing to him at all.
“Is it… okay not to go?”
“If Tae Eun finds it unpleasant, there’s no need to force yourself. I’ll handle everything else.”
Listening to his seemingly comforting tone, Tae Eun lowered her gaze to her own feet, then fell into brief thought.
True—as he said, she might not need to go right now. But having already resolved to marry him, this was something she couldn’t avoid forever. And if she fled this moment, future encounters would only grow harder. Even to herself, a woman who ran away speechlessly in this situation could never appear admirable.
She had nothing left to lose—but she didn’t want to turn neutral ground into negative territory. So Tae Eun made her decision.
“No. I’ll go and meet them. If I meet them later, I’ll only feel more embarrassed.”
Thus, she had no choice but to personally face and greet the women of the Jangwon family—figures she’d only ever seen on TV or in the business sections of newspapers. It was a meeting for which she was utterly unprepared.
“Hello. I’m Min Tae Eun.”
Though her heart raced uncontrollably, her voice thankfully emerged surprisingly steady. Yet the Jangwon women before her proved far more formidable than expected.
First, Chairwoman Jung—though over eighty—possessed sharp, intense eyes rivaling any youth’s, and despite her slight frame, seemed like a towering giant. Her charisma so closely mirrored Woo Jin’s that one could instantly tell whom he’d inherited his aura from.
“You must’ve been quite startled, thanks to our Woo Jin’s aunt.”
“No, Mother! *I* was the one more startled! *I* was!”
Young Hee, sounding aggrieved, raised her voice and shot a glare at Tae Eun. Naturally, not a single person—including the gentle-spoken Chairwoman Jung—offered her a friendly look. Among them, Young Hee’s gaze was simply the most blatant.
Tae Eun slowly steadied her breathing to sharpen her focus. If she failed to endure this moment, not only marriage but even her presence here might come to an abrupt end.
“Why do you keep barging in unannounced, without even a call?”
Woo Jin’s dark gaze, having confirmed Tae Eun was seated, fixed coldly on Young Hee. He notoriously despised intrusions into his private life—so much so that even his aunts and staff refrained from entering his annex without explicit permission. Yet today—of all days—Young Hee had stormed in unannounced.
Woo Jin was silently reprimanding her.
“I went because I had something to say! But how could I have known I’d end up meeting some sly fox there?”
Young Hee openly insulted Tae Eun as a “sly fox,” deliberately belittling her. Yet Tae Eun found herself utterly unable to defend herself—this was precisely the kind of situation easily misinterpreted.
“Aunt, please maintain basic manners when speaking in front of others.”
“Manners? What manners? Manners exist to be shown to *people*!”
“I know what you’re misunderstanding. But we slept separately—I didn’t bring her here as some one-night fling.”
“Do you really think I’m naive enough to believe that?”
“If you doubt me so much, go back to the annex and check for yourself. It’s untouched—we haven’t cleaned up yet. You’ll see: I slept in my own room, and she stayed in another.”
At his unwavering, undeniable tone, Young Hee’s lips twitched in frustration.
“There were extenuating circumstances—I couldn’t possibly have turned her away. I brought her here thinking it safer than a hotel, where too many eyes watch. Besides, controlling the gaze of an unpredictable crowd is nearly impossible.”
“What circumstances? What kind of ‘circumstances’ make you spend the night at a man’s house after just meeting him yesterday?”
“That’s private. Information you need not know.”
“What?”
“Also, judging by how you’re speaking, you seem to recognize who she is—which makes it all the more imperative for you to show proper respect, Aunt.”
Though far younger, his low, unyielding voice served as a clear warning to Young Hee. Unable to stay silent any longer, Young Sook stepped in.
“Woo Jin, your second aunt is only saying this out of concern for you. Even if you met through a matchmaking arrangement, certain boundaries must still be upheld. This isn’t marriage—it’s just a *gabin*.”
But that proved her fatal mistake—Woo Jin seized upon Young Sook’s distinction between marriage and matchmaking to drive the final nail in.
“It’s not *gabin*. It’s marriage.”
“What?”
“I said it’s *marriage*—not *gabin*. The woman I’ll marry. So even if she’d spent the night with me, what’s the problem in today’s world?”
“Oh my, Woo Jin!”
“And frankly, my personal life is none of your concern, Aunts.”
At his blunt phrasing, Young Sook flushed red and fell silent, her face filled with reproach—as if utterly exasperated. Yet her embarrassment paled completely beside the shockwave sent by Woo Jin’s single utterance: *“marriage.”*
A moment of silence followed.
Chairwoman Jung’s inscrutable gaze shifted between Woo Jin and Tae Eun.
Within that chilling, oppressive stillness, Tae Eun gradually regained her composure. The shock from first encountering Young Hee’s outburst had faded, and the tension from facing all the Jangwon women at once had somewhat eased.
Of course, the aunts’ gazes grew even sharper—but Tae Eun no longer wavered. She’d endured far harsher glares throughout her life. Ji Eun, for instance, had sometimes shaken her violently—and if Tae Eun showed no reaction, Ji Eun would stare down at her as if beholding the filthiest maggot on earth.
Tae Eun remembered that gaze with perfect clarity. It had been more humiliating than any physical blow—a gaze utterly contemptuous, designed to imprint upon her the full weight of her incompetence and pathetic existence. Compared to Ji Eun’s stare, these women’s glares were almost kind.
Thus, she swiftly steadied her trembling heart. Or perhaps—her desperate yearning for this marriage had already triumphed over everything. The thought that failing to stay composed now might dissolve the marriage entirely pushed all distractions to the periphery, clearing her mind. Thanks to that, Tae Eun found the courage to speak.
“I’m truly sorry for meeting you like this. Woo Jin is blameless—it’s entirely my fault.”
Her voice, as poised as her appearance, drew everyone’s full attention. Even Chairwoman Jung’s eyes narrowed slightly as she studied her.
“So—you intend to marry him?”
Woo Jin nodded in response to Chairwoman Jung’s question.
“Yes, Grandmother. I plan to marry Min Tae Eun. I’d intended to formally introduce her to you soon—though admittedly, not like this.”
“I see. How old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.”
Smiling gently as she answered Chairwoman Jung’s interested inquiry, Tae Eun appeared to bloom like a flower—even amidst the aunts’ thorny, hostile stares. An ordinary woman would’ve been utterly crushed by now, incapable of producing such a dazzling, serene smile—there’d be no room left for such grace.
Yet this girl was smiling—beautifully, irresistibly drawing the heart.
Chairwoman Jung observed her with deep, lasting impression.
No matter how advanced technology became or how much human quality of life improved, interpersonal conflict remained an eternal dilemma—an intrinsically human problem, rooted in emotion, that even artificial intelligence couldn’t resolve.
Among these, mother-in-law/daughter-in-law tension ranked as the ultimate conundrum.
Woo Jin had no mother—but he *did* have three strong-willed aunts whose mere presence made others uneasy. For Chairwoman Jung, their near-obsessive fixation on Woo Jin—whose parents had died young—had long been a source of concern: *Was she inadvertently subjecting another precious daughter to unnecessary suffering in marriage?*
Yet Tae Eun appeared utterly unaffected by the aunts’ blatant stares—and even her delicate frame radiated a quiet strength that left Chairwoman Jung astonished.
“Well then—who are your parents?”
Since this meeting was so unexpected, Chairwoman Jung had zero prior information about her. Of course, she now understood—from her daughters’ furious reactions—that Tae Eun’s profile was reportedly quite lacking. But could anyone’s life truly be captured on a few sheets of paper?
“My father is a lawyer, and my stepmother is a homemaker.”
“Stepmother? Then your biological mother…?”
“She passed away from cancer when I was young.”
“Oh dear. That must’ve been difficult. How did you manage?”
“Just as Woo Jin has you, Grandmother—I also had my grandmother.”
Chairwoman Jung deeply resonated with that reply—it carried far more meaning than met the ear.
Typically, one would turn to their father after losing their mother. But for Tae Eun, it was her *grandmother* who fulfilled that role—a detail that spoke volumes without needing further probing. Pity welled up in Chairwoman Jung’s heart, sharpened by her own understanding of Woo Jin’s orphaned past.
Even the aunts, whose hostility had been razor-sharp until now, softened slightly. After all, having watched Woo Jin grow up motherless, they couldn’t treat this as entirely someone else’s tragedy.
“Yes… our Woo Jin was the same.”
Young Sook, in particular, nodded with empathy. Though she widened her eyes in an attempt to regain her earlier sternness—belatedly realizing her expression had softened—the effect was minimal.
At this moment, the *only* person showing no change in expression was Young Ja. From the instant Tae Eun entered until now, her expression remained utterly unchanged—rendering her thoughts completely unreadable.
“Still—even meeting just a few days ago, coming and going from the house so freely is rather inappropriate, don’t you think? It’s not as if Woo Jin lives alone; Grandmother and his eldest aunt are here too.”
The comparatively more rational Young Hee resumed her criticism. At that, the corner of Woo Jin’s eyebrow twitched faintly.
“Aunt, that’s…”
Just as he began to counter—warmth settled gently atop his clenched fist resting on his knee. It was Tae Eun. Her small hand, patting his in silent reassurance—though far too tiny to fully cover his large fist—worked wonders: the anger surging like a seizure within him instantly subsided.
Having thus calmed Woo Jin, Tae Eun quietly spoke again.
“Aunt, you’re absolutely right. It was my mistake. Regardless of the reason, I shouldn’t have entered the house.”
“W-Well… at least you’re not completely thick-headed.”
Tae Eun’s humble admission of fault—deliberately preserving Young Hee’s dignity in front of Woo Jin—noticeably eased the latter’s hostility.
Yet Chairwoman Jung’s gaze remained fixed solely on Woo Jin and Tae Eun—more precisely, on Tae Eun’s hand, gently patting his.
The more she reflected on it, the more astonishing the scene became—something she’d never have believed had she not witnessed it herself.
After all, Woo Jin possessed a notoriously explosive temper—one even Chairwoman Jung couldn’t restrain once triggered. (Though, to be fair, he usually exercised self-control well—and when he *did* flare up, his reasons were often justified enough that “she chose not to stop him” was more accurate than “she couldn’t.”)
Just moments ago, the situation had been ripe for conflict: though not quite volcanic eruption-level, Woo Jin could’ve easily delivered a devastating verbal strike to Young Hee—and given her equally formidable temperament, an outright argument would’ve been inevitable.
Yet Tae Eun had defused it all—*silently*—with that one small, careful gesture of patting his hand.
A soft chuckle escaped Chairwoman Jung’s lips.
Did this girl even realize just how extraordinary a feat she’d accomplished?
Never—not once—had she seen anyone control Woo Jin so effortlessly. Even the famously capable Young Ja often ended up yielding to him at critical moments.
Yet this girl had done it.
With that delicate, fragile frame—she’d achieved what no one else could, with astonishing ease.
That fact alone rendered her,
“Well then—when exactly do you plan to hold the wedding?”
More qualified than anyone.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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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 😔