The Problematic Helper (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
The rustling sound of the freshly dried, pure white bedding was pleasant to hear.
As she smoothly spread the sheets, replaced the neatly ironed pillowcases, her own mood brightened along with it.
For a man who split every minute and second, deep sleep was his only rest.
Wanting at least that rest to be perfect, Do Um diligently moved her body even when she wasn’t feeling well.
“Oh my goodness, Madam! Good heavens, what on earth is going on!!”
The fingertips of Madam So Kyung, who had rushed in busily, pointed across the yard, down the hill toward the main entrance.
“Those reporter folks have completely filled the front gate—what in the world is happening….”
Hearing that reporters she had never even seen at the wedding were camped out in front of the house, Do Um’s face turned pale.
“Something big must have happened, but Director Han isn’t picking up either—what are we going to do!”
“Tell Mr. Kim to come inside, and have the car leave through the back gate. Not the front entrance.”
“M-Madam, what about you?”
“I have to quietly wait until he contacts me.”
He.
She said “he,” but more precisely, it was Woo Seok.
As always, it was Woo Seok who spoke on behalf of his matters, and to him, she was merely one of the countless tasks that needed resolving.
After sending the Kim couple away, Do Um finally took out her phone and skimmed through the flood of articles under the names Seo Ji Wan and Yoon Yi Seol.
She remembered the back of the man who had told her not to wait for him last night.
The urgent footsteps of a man who rarely hurried, the sharp roar of the car engine as it quickly left the garden.
Yoon Yi Seol.
‘So this woman has a name. Calling her Seol instead of Yi Seol must be their affectionate nickname.’
An affectionate nickname.
A chill ran through her as if a cold wind had blown through one corner of her heart.
She typed the three syllables “Yoon Yi Seol” into the search bar and hesitated for a long while.
It was overstepping.
It clearly violated Article 5 of the contract, Section 3 of Party B’s obligations: “Party B shall not interfere in any way with Party A’s private life.
“What am I doing, how pathetic.”
Do Um erased the name “Yoon Yi Seol” from the green search bar, then turned on every single light inside the house and throughout the garden.
Deliberately, instead of calm music she blasted something loud, put on an apron, and headed to the kitchen.
Today she ambitiously planned to make Japanese food.
Just as she finished placing soy-and-spice-marinated salmon over rice and topping it with various vegetables, a message arrived from Woo Seok.
[I will contact you before the CEO departs.]Unlike usual, sending a message instead of calling probably meant the atmosphere over there was far from ordinary.
The call from Woo Seok came roughly an hour after the Kim couple had left.
Right when she had just finished marinating the salmon in sauce.
– Madam, it’s me.
“Yes, Director Han.”
– You must be startled. It’s nothing serious. And it certainly isn’t the kind of thing you’re worried about.
Woo Seok had said something similar once before, in front of the potted plant delivered to the house.
That she didn’t need to concern herself.
His voice was one tone lower than usual, so Do Um answered brightly.
“I’m fine, please don’t worry about me. Just tell me what I should do.”
Since they were bound by contract anyway, she skipped the long explanation that there was no need for excuses and simply asked what her duty was.
“If you’d like, shall I step out for a while? It seems the reporters don’t know about the exit behind the garage…”
– No, that won’t be necessary. Just do everything exactly as you always have.
“Yes, understood.”
Her reply was concise and clear.
“…Is the CEO all right?”
– Due to Chairwoman Jang’s summons, the CEO is currently in Anseo-dong. As soon as he comes out, I will bring him to Hwaan-dong.
So the rumors that Chairwoman Jang Ho Mook wields the greatest influence across the entire Bando Group weren’t wrong after all.
She recalled the day he had been urgently summoned to Anseo-dong before.
Even thinking back on how Gi Hyuk and his wife had been kneeling before the old woman, it was the same.
Seeing two company CEOs who lead corporations being dragged in and bowing their heads at a single word from Chairwoman Jang.
Had this man also knelt before the grandmother?
What wrongdoing had he begged forgiveness for?
Or did he even think anything he had done was wrong?
Do Um wiped her hands on her apron and, as always, stepped onto the lawn in the garden.
Judging by the commotion outside the main gate, the reporters were still guarding the central entrance down the hill.
Since she had lit up the entire house, the bright light would be clearly visible even from down there, and the sight of a wife waiting for her returning husband would surely be just as clear.
Vroom.
The gate opened, and she could see the sedan carrying Ji Wan coming up the hill.
Raising the corners of her lips into a faint smile and taking a deep breath, Do Um neatly clasped her hands together.
*****
“Did you tell her to turn on all the lights?”
“Of course not.”
The garden he climbed into after passing countless reporters was unusually bright.
Though not pitch dark, contrary to the expectation that she would minimize the lights to block outside attention and huddle nervously, the woman stood in her usual spot with her hands neatly clasped.
“Then did you order her to do that?”
“Oh, come on, no way.”
Woo Seok was just as dumbfounded; during their earlier call she had sounded terrified, as if she would hide or flee at any moment.
Yet here Do Um stood straight-backed with a smile on her face waiting, making it clear how meaningless today’s scandal was to the two of them.
To the reporters down the hill desperately trying to catch anything, it was a clear gesture that a mere rumor posed no problem whatsoever to their marriage.
Woo Seok, who got out first and bowed toward the woman, and Do Um held out a lunchbox wrapped in yellow cloth.
“Um, I tried making Japanese food today. One is for Mr. Park the driver, and please take yours home too, Director Han.”
She smiled brightly as she handed over the lunchboxes,
‘Is this really the face of a wife who read articles about her husband’s affair today?’
Woo Seok carefully studied Do Um’s face.
While he stood absentmindedly forgetting to open the rear door, Ji Wan opened the back door himself and stepped onto the lawn.
“You’re home?”
The bright smile that had startled Woo Seok was now directed at Ji Wan.
“Director Han, you should go home now. Please eat before it gets cold.”
After greeting Woo Seok, the woman casually wrapped her arm around Ji Wan’s right arm as if it were the most natural thing.
At the backs of the two who looked utterly affectionate, flashes exploded frantically down the hill.
Click, click.
Pop, pop.
*****
Across the dining table, two people sat in silence, and in front of them was neatly presented salmon donburi.
“Today it’s Japanese.”
It was a conversation that veered far, far away from the “What on earth is all this?” question he had expected.
“The salmon looked really fresh and nice.”
Unlike usual, without even washing up, Ji Wan sat at the table as Do Um led him and scanned the woman across from him.
It was instinct—whenever he saw her, he did that.
He kept checking whether she looked uncomfortable or if there was something she couldn’t say.
Unlike other women whose every gesture revealed their desires, she was the type who rarely showed what was on her mind.
Even though the news about him had heated up the internet all day, the fact she kept smiling bothered him.
And every once in a while, the way she quietly sniffled.
“Why all the lights outside.”
“I just turned them on. I thought brightening the whole house and garden might improve your mood a little. …Has it gotten any better?”
“It wasn’t bad to begin with.”
A lie.
Every word and glance from the grandmother in Anseo-dong had been sharp as daggers, stabbing straight into his chest.
“Yes, sure. Let’s go with that.”
Do Um picked up a spoon, gently mixed the man’s rice bowl, scooped a big bite, and held it to Ji Wan’s mouth.
Ji Wan, who was about to open his mouth casually as if he’d done this many times, snatched the spoon and said,
“I’ll do it myself.”
“You really don’t have to cook either.”
“I do it because I enjoy it. I get bored, I have ingredients, I have plenty of time, and it’s fun.”
To the man who even chewed with those red lips in complete indifference,
“Still, since I went to the trouble, I’d love it if you said it’s delicious.”
She added her true feelings as if it were a joke.
But there was no reply, making her small courage seem pointless.
“They say sheep raised inside neat fences don’t know the fear of wild beasts running rampant outside. So until the moment they die, they never realize there’s an enemy beyond the fence, or that the enemy could leap over at any time and devour them.”
It was a sudden story.
“Someone who has never had a proper fence knows how terrifying the world beyond it is. Unwanted attention, formless criticism… and rumors fabricated however people please.”
It seemed she was talking about the gossip that had been directed at her all day.
“That’s why I don’t misunderstand. You’re not that kind of person, CEO.”
There were probably tens of thousands of things she wanted to ask.
Was yesterday really to meet that woman?
If you met her, why come home at all?
If it was going to be like this, why didn’t you marry her instead of me?
Swallowing all the accusations she wanted to hurl, watching the woman comfort him at length made an indescribable nausea rise within him.
“What kind of person is that.”
“…Pardon?”
“If you’re talking about an idiot who falls in love with one woman, marries another out of convenience, and still runs like mad the moment his obsessive ex calls him.”
A woman who looked like she would wait all night if he said “wait,” no, a woman who would stay rooted to the spot even if he told her not to wait.
“I am exactly that kind of person.”
If asked why she waited, she would probably say, “It just turned out that way.”
“…CEO.”
It scared him.
“I am that kind of person. What people are saying isn’t a misunderstanding—it’s you who’s misunderstanding right now.”
The small woman’s head bowed so low it nearly touched the marble table.
“Do you remember our contract?”
“Yes.”
“Party B shall obey any request from Party A as long as it causes no physical or material harm.”
Clink.
The sound of the spoon being set down echoed emptily through the living room.
“For me,”
Choosing his tie every morning before he leaves, turning his shoes neatly toward the entrance, preparing meals for him day and night.
“Don’t do anything.”
Not even this rubbish of caring about me.
Having said his piece, Ji Wan strode to his room and disappeared.
Above the upright man’s head.
The pouring lights were blinding—either that, or his eyes really stung from lack of sleep last night.
Everything in front of him kept blurring.
Do Um quietly wiped her tears and looked at the bowl that had been placed in front of Ji Wan.
In the perfectly polished silver bowl, more than half the food remained—just like her.
Arranged to be easy to eat and pleasant to look at, yet completely failing to fulfill its purpose.
He probably hadn’t eaten anything all day.
‘I should have just stayed still.’
Regretting having stepped forward with needless comfort, Do Um silently lowered her gaze to the table.
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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