The Man Who Shakes Me (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
Jin Woo’s words left Ji Na breathless. For a moment, she couldn’t say anything at all.
The weight of the truth she’d longed so desperately to know felt overwhelming—she didn’t know how to take it in.
“I connected it to a different printer, not the broken one. Your printout will be ready soon.”
It sounded as if it wasn’t the printer that was broken, but herself. Ji Na snapped back to her senses and awkwardly got up. From a printer farther away, the steady sound of printing began.
“Th-thanks.”
She felt like a robot with tangled circuits. Ji Na walked toward the printer in an awkward stance. Jin Woo watched her with an indescribably deep look in his eyes.
He’d come here solely to see her.
No matter how hard he’d tried to forget her, night after night she surfaced in his thoughts as naturally as breathing. He’d even tried dating other women, but his heart never beat the way it did when she was imprinted on his soul.
He realized he’d never truly forgotten her—not even for a single moment. No, he realized he’d endured all this time simply because he held onto the hope of seeing her again.
From that moment on, he’d searched obsessively for where she was. He asked her friends, gathered fragments of news about her, and bitterly laughed at the cruel twist of fate.
He learned that she’d joined the company owned by the father who’d abandoned Jin Woo and his mother.
To get revenge on his father, Jin Woo had given up everything and come under him—solely for her sake.
Jin Woo stepped aside from Ji Na’s spot. Ji Na looked slightly dazed, lost in thought for a moment. Once the printing finished, she placed the documents into a file and set it on Do Jin’s desk. Jin Woo quietly watched her.
It was already past eight in the evening.
Relieved she wouldn’t be leaving too late, Jin Woo stood with his arms crossed, watching her with a satisfied smile. After finishing all her tasks, Ji Na finally picked up her bag and looked at Jin Woo with a solemn expression.
“Seo Jin Woo.”
Her pupils trembled slightly.
“Do you like me?”
Taken aback by Ji Na’s blunt question, Jin Woo looked at her in slight surprise. Without a moment’s hesitation, he answered.
“Yes.”
Though it felt like the most obvious thing in the world, Ji Na’s heart dropped heavily once more.
“I…”
Ji Na lowered her gaze from Jin Woo’s eyes.
“I won’t do office romance.”
Her relationship with Do Jin had ended in complete disaster. She had absolutely no intention of repeating that mistake.
“Even if it’s supposed to be a secret—I just won’t do it.”
Her lips quivered.
“I’m sorry I can’t accept your feelings.”
It was her second rejection. Though, technically, Jin Woo hadn’t even confessed yet.
“I didn’t call you here for that—I was being thoughtless.”
Why did you come to mind first of all people?
Out of everyone, it was Seo Jin Woo who surfaced instantly.
Ji Na’s lips trembled again as she barely finished speaking. To Jin Woo, even that look was heartbreakingly painful.
“I didn’t mean to burden you.”
Jin Woo’s voice rumbled low.
“I just wanted to stay by your side, noona.”
Hearing his earnest words, Ji Na tightened her grip on her bag.
“Actually, there’s something I wanted to tell you back on the mountain.”
Ji Na paused briefly. A surge of intense emotion rose, then subsided.
“Please don’t stay by my side.”
Jin Woo looked down at Ji Na without saying a word.
“When I’m with you, I keep seeing how dark and inadequate I am. Compared to you, I feel endlessly lacking. That’s why I shrink into myself—I even make mistakes I normally wouldn’t.”
Ji Na exhaled the words as if releasing a breath.
“So… just stay until your internship ends. After that, please leave. I’m asking you.”
Her emotions twisted painfully, as if someone were squeezing her heart.
It hurt so badly it was hard to breathe.
Though only a few minutes had passed, it felt like an eternity.
Only Ji Na’s ragged breathing filled the space.
After quietly watching her for a while, Jin Woo slowly opened his mouth.
“Yes.”
It was her request. If his presence caused her pain, of course he had to leave—
even if it meant killing his own soul.
If it was for her sake, Jin Woo could endure anything.
“I’ll do that.”
So please, don’t hurt anymore.
If his very existence caused her this much pain, Jin Woo could disappear into the shadows for her. Even if a hundred years passed instead of ten, he could live his whole life longing for her.
“I’ll head out first.”
Jin Woo’s gentle compliance unexpectedly shattered Ji Na’s heart.
She was the one who told him to leave—so why did her own heart ache?
But it was true.
Ji Na had constantly strived to live within her means—just as Min Hye said, just as her mother said,
and just as Do Jin had said.
She’d tried not to desire more than what was given to her.
Every time she let herself want more, bad outcomes followed. She’d wanted marriage with Do Jin—and got heartbreak. She’d wanted promotion—and got scolded by her boss more often.
If she dared to want Jin Woo, perhaps an even greater disaster would strike. No—she’d already lived through that once.
Ten years ago, on the day he confessed, Ji Na had nearly cried from happiness.
Her heart had fluttered at his confession, and she’d felt light enough to soar into the sky.
But maybe it was precisely because she’d dared to wish for it—because she’d let herself be excited by the confession of someone as extraordinary as Jin Woo, someone she felt unworthy of—
that not long after, Jin Woo left far away.
Ji Na, who’d just stepped out of the office, clenched her fists tightly. The pain from her nails digging into her palms flared up.
“Haah… haah…”
Her breath came short. Ji Na barely managed to stand at the bus stop, holding back tears.
She wasn’t that naive, childish girl from ten years ago anymore. Logically, it made perfect sense.
“You should live within your limits.”
That was right. Ji Na rubbed her stinging eyes, fighting back tears as if scolding herself.
Though it might wound Jin Woo’s feelings right now, in the end, it was for his own good. Ji Na boarded the bus with unsteady legs, swaying weakly with its motion.
“Could it really have been just greed?”
Memories long buried in dusty corners of the past resurfaced vividly. Weren’t those dreams simply what any young girl naturally had a right to? Even now, those moments returned to her mind unbidden.
Had her relationship with Do Jin also been born of greed—which was why it ended in pain?
“Your boyfriend’s too good for you.”
That’s what Min Hye had said the first time Ji Na revealed her relationship with Do Jin. Ji Na had felt endlessly insignificant.
She never understood why someone as wonderful as Do Jin would choose her—so she’d done everything he wanted. Even tasks beyond her role, if they’d help his promotion, she’d done them gladly.
Was that why?
Lost in thought, Ji Na didn’t notice her phone vibrating in her pocket until she saw it while staring blankly out the bus window.
“Oh, Min Hye.”
Heading home now?
Min Hye’s voice crackled with energy.
“Yeah.”
Seriously, you work the hardest at the office.
“It’s not that. I just made a mistake.”
We’re meeting Seo Jin Woo—wanna come too?
“Huh?”
Ji Na froze at Min Hye’s abrupt question.
You don’t know Seo Jin Woo? Total king of our high school. Super handsome guy. He just came back to Korea, and somehow we got in touch—so we’re all getting together.
How could she not know? If she told Min Hye they were now in an intern-supervisor relationship at the same company, what would her reaction be? Ji Na brushed her hair back, about to decline.
“Ah… I’ll pass.”
What are you talking about? You have to come! When will you get another chance to meet a guy that amazing?
Min Hye sounded oddly excited.
“I’m fine.”
I’m counting you in—I’ll book the restaurant based on the headcount.
“Ah, no, Min Hye, I—”
Then it’s settled. I’ll text you the time and place once it’s confirmed.
Click. The call with the ever-bold Min Hye ended abruptly. Ji Na sighed, flustered.
Unlike Min Hye, who’d been bright and outgoing in school, Ji Na had always been introverted—though she’d improved slightly since becoming an adult.
Ji Na had always admired Min Hye’s assertiveness, and Min Hye, as if bestowing kindness, had become her friend. Many classmates had found their friendship surprising.
“Ugh… today’s been exhausting in every way.”
After getting off the bus, Ji Na muttered to herself as she trudged down the dark street.
Since starting her new job, she’d been too busy to see Min Hye and her other friends. The thought of meeting them after so long now felt burdensome. They’d surely ask about her relationship with Do Jin—what would they say if she told them they’d broken up? Maybe she shouldn’t go after all.
Her mind was tangled. Amid the chaos, Jin Woo’s unreadable gaze flashed before her eyes. She’d hurt his feelings, yet his eyes hadn’t looked wounded—
they’d been filled with concern for her. Ji Na couldn’t understand it at all. Why? Why?
So lost in thought, Ji Na didn’t see the stone right in front of her foot. Her ankle twisted, and her body lurched forward—but instead of crashing to the ground, she hovered mid-fall, suspended oddly in the air.
“Noona.”
Was it a hallucination? Turning slowly toward that impossibly gentle voice, Ji Na saw who was holding her—Seo Jin Woo.
“Why…”
are you here?
The words died in her throat. Maybe thinking of Jin Woo so much had made her see things.
“I thought you might be startled after what happened at the office, so I followed you.”
Jin Woo gently helped her stand upright. Then, step by step, he moved away from her.
“I was just going to watch from afar and make sure you got home safely before leaving.”
Knowing she’d dislike it, yet his body moved before his mind when he saw her fall. With her, it was always his body that reacted faster than his thoughts.
Jin Woo took another step back.
“I’m sorry.”
His sincerity poured out once more.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t accept what you said.”
Three steps away, Jin Woo finally stopped. Yet she still felt his gaze—warm and full of quiet worry as he checked on her.
“I’ll be more careful to stay away from you, so please don’t suffer anymore.”
Ah—a single tear slipped from Ji Na’s eye.
Why are you so endlessly kind to me?
How am I supposed to handle someone as overwhelmingly beyond my worth as you?
Tears blurred her vision, glistening.
Ji Na stared at Jin Woo without even trying to wipe her tears away.
“It’s because I’m not good enough. So go find a woman who’s right for you.”
Barely revealing her true feelings, Ji Na quickly wiped her tears and turned away.
“Who…”
A sharp voice came from behind her shoulder.
“…isn’t good enough?”
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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