Tae-seok began exercising to clear his thoughts. He had not missed a day of workout in the last two years and now pushed himself even harder, causing Hong, his manager, to look at him with a weary expression.
“Got any scenes requiring exposure?”
“No.”
“Then take it easy. You’re in good shape already.”
Tae-seok knew this. His physical condition was at its peak due to his relentless workout regime, especially when his mind was cluttered. But his thoughts were still a mess, and he felt he needed to push his body to its limits.
He was preoccupied with two thoughts.
First, the script was a mess, and he couldn’t perform with it in its current state.
He could coach and rewrite it, but time was tight. “Hold My Hand,” the drama, was due to start shooting in two weeks. The schedule was too tight, and he pondered ways to buy more time.
‘That’s the only way.’
Second, Yeoreum kept appearing too innocent in his eyes.
He expected her to be like a fierce cat with claws out, ready to retaliate when insulted. Yet, she endured every humiliation quietly, scratching at Tae-seok’s nerves.
The situation kept veering unpredictably.
He had planned to torment her by using the drama as an excuse, to revisit their past and eventually extract an apology. But his heart strangely warmed up, creating an unsettling gap. Through that gap, her clear face intermittently appeared.
“Hong, arrange a meeting with Director Lee.”
Tae-seok shook his head, as if to dispel his thoughts. It seemed he needed to ponder more about Yeoreum.
[Star Icon]Meeting at a café near the broadcasting station, the two exchanged pleasantries briefly before delving into work matters.
“About the script, Director.”
Tae-seok smiled slyly.
“It’s terrible.”
As expected, Director Lee’s face immediately tensed. He seemed to be contemplating hundreds of thoughts at once, looking completely flustered. Tae-seok continued.
“The schedule is too tight. The writer is working alone without any assistants. It’s not a manageable workload.”
“I’m rewriting it, so this time it’ll be better…”
“I won’t act with such a messed-up script.”
Tae-seok put down his coffee and glanced at his watch, feigning indifference while mixing a bit of arrogance in his gaze. He was just acting out of a desire for a well-finished script.
“If you’re using Seo Tae-seok as the lead.”
“…”
“Give us one more month. Enough time to properly rewrite the script.”
Director Lee’s face darkened.
“The schedule’s already out. It’s impossible. We’ll have to ask Writer Choi to write faster, even if it’s hard…”
Tae-seok’s brows furrowed slightly.
He remembered Yeoreum’s tired face, coming home with her hair tightly tied up, her heavy footsteps echoing tiredness, the fatigue clinging to her eyes and shoulders. Recalling that, he said,
“That’s a violation of labor laws, Director.”
Leaning back leisurely, Tae-seok spoke again.
“Find a way to make time. Otherwise, I’ll only appear as ‘Supporting Lee Hyun-jun’ as originally planned in the script. Starting from episode 5 and disappearing shortly after.”
Director Lee’s mind seemed to race with thoughts of all the advertisements and PPL deals at stake. Tae-seok hoped he would think hard about the financial aspect.
“Ads are attached in a huge amount. I wonder if the station will give that up.”
“I’ll have to discuss it with the station director.”
Director Lee wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. Tae-seok smiled again.
“I hope the discussion goes positively.”
“A month, though. That’s going to be tough.”
“There are special broadcasts, you can extend the episodes of ongoing dramas. Come on, we both know there are ways if you really want to make it happen.”
Tae-seok was getting ready to leave the cafe when he drove his point home.
“I won’t act with a rushed script. Please make a clear decision and let my manager know by today.”
As Tae-seok stood up, curious glances quickly converged on him. Someone even pulled out a camera, but Hong, his manager, calmly intervened. Tae-seok nodded politely and left the cafe.
Feeling good that things would go his way, he got into his car with a smile, not bothering to hide it. Hong shook his head in disapproval, and Tae-seok picked up his phone.
He called her.
A perfect plan to have Yeoreum rewrite the script at leisure, thus keeping her tied to him, had just come to mind. He was certain of winning time today and planned to call her to his place to discuss it. But the call went unanswered.
‘She’s not picking up my call?’
Tae-seok’s smile faded as he dialed again, only to be met with another missed call.
[Answer the phone.]
After sending a message, he tapped his phone thoughtfully. He was bothered. Why wouldn’t she answer at this hour? It couldn’t be a sudden act of defiance.
‘Cheon Ji-hyeok.’
He suddenly remembered the caller from yesterday on Yeoreum’s phone.
“We agreed to go volunteering tomorrow, so it might be about that.”
Tae-seok’s expression hardened. He couldn’t believe he had forgotten that.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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