Seeing Yeo-un unable to say anything more and hesitating, he spoke first.
“Do you also feel that I have a difficult relationship with my mother? Like a stepmother… I’ve never felt that kind of love.”
“…”
“To be honest, my mother won’t be thrilled to see me even if I go to her.”
“Huh?”
“In a way, it’s a bit long to explain…”
Seol Ji-oh paused for a moment, sipped his wine, then looked at Yeo-un, wearing a puzzled expression, struggling with what to say.
“It’s the first time talking about my mother… I don’t know how to explain.”
“Ji-oh, you don’t have to force yourself to say it. You don’t need to speak if it’s difficult.”
“……No, you should know. Because you’re the person I’ll be with.”
The words “the person I’ll be with” weighed heavily.
Still, I don’t want you to unnecessarily recall difficult moments because of me.
After organizing his thoughts for a moment, he began speaking in a calm voice, maintaining an attitude as if he were talking about someone else, keeping a step away.
“It was an unwanted pregnancy. We weren’t even married.”
What…?
Yeo-un’s lips parted in surprise.
“The other party was a superior my mother introduced me to. Something like a chaebol. We weren’t even in love. It was the desire of a powerful man that trampled on a woman’s dream.”
Yeo-un covered her mouth with one hand. She never imagined there would be such circumstances.
The reason Seol Ji-oh didn’t have a father, the reason he lived alone in such a big house – this was it.
Seeing Yeo-un’s expression, Seol Ji-oh smiled as if to reassure her.
“How could my mother love me? I ruined her life.”
For a moment, Yeo-un was speechless. Looking at him with a self-deprecating smile, tears welled up in her eyes.
“What are you saying! What wrong could you have done…!”
It hurt as if her heart was being torn apart. Yeo-un approached him and embraced him.
Just hearing about it made my heart shatter, so how did you manage to endure all this time?
Knowing all this, how did you live so seemingly unscathed?
Seol Ji-oh, on the contrary, patted his own back, comforting himself.
“I’m fine. Really.”
“Hmm… Ji-oh, what should I do…”
“What should you do? It’s all in the past.”
He laughed. He repeatedly assured her that he was genuinely okay while comforting her, and Yeo-un cried for a long time.
She had never heard of such a lonely life. She couldn’t fathom what it felt like not to be loved by her own mother.
If only I had stayed by his side…
Even when things were tough, I should have contacted him first when we were younger.
Yeo-un couldn’t stop her tears. He could only warmly embrace her.
“Now I have you. You’re all I need…”
She couldn’t forget his voice soothing her.
The person who was hurt was undoubtedly Seol Ji-oh, yet the one comforting her felt pitiful.
Yeo-un genuinely wanted to become his family.
That feeling was growing stronger.
“…”
Thinking about last night, Yeo-un, unknowingly, wiped away her tears.
As the elevator approached her floor, Yeo-un asked Seol Ji-oh.
“Will you sleep well?”
“I have to. We need to enjoy ourselves tomorrow.”
Seol Ji-oh, who hadn’t had a proper sleep for four days, decided to take sleeping pills tonight.
As the elevator reached her floor, Yeo-un greeted him before getting off.
“Rest well. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
Entering her room, Yeo-un, exhausted, leaned against the sofa. Seo Garam was preparing to go on a date with Choi Hyun and had been busy.
“Garam.”
“Yeah?”
“Can parents not love their children?”
“Why are you asking all of a sudden?”
Seo Garam hesitated for a moment, filling her ears with large earrings.
“Well, becoming a mother, I can’t say for sure, but depending on the situation, it’s possible, isn’t it?”
“Is that so.”
Throughout last night, Yeo-un pondered over this proposition. The cold and indifferent attitudes shown by Seol Ji-oh’s mother to young Seol Ji-oh in the past. And just a few days ago, the way she affectionately treated the two children. It felt so different that it was hard to believe it was the same person.
Why couldn’t she treat Ji-oh that way? Does Ji-oh think he ruined her life, as he claimed? But those eyes… “Take care of Ji-oh.” That was clearly a worried gaze. Even the way she looked for Ji-oh while staring at the beach.
Yeo-un’s head throbbed.
Although Seol Ji-oh said that his mother would not accept him at all, Yeo-un’s thoughts, after meeting her in person, were different. She handed me her business card. In a situation where she could simply ignore it and leave, she went so far as to provide her contact information. Maybe she, too, is waiting for Ji-oh’s contact.
Is there an unresolved misunderstanding between the two?
Yeo-un picked up the business card lying on the table.
Ellen Lee.
As Seol Ji-oh often mentioned due to his busy job, she held a leadership position in a company.
Staring intently at her phone number, Seo Garam tapped Yeo-un’s shoulder.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
“Hmm?”
“Is she a famous person? If you want to contact her, go ahead. Don’t regret it later. I’m going on a date.”
“Uh, okay. Have a good time.”
Yeo-un watched Seo Garam leave the room in a hurry.
Regret…
After pondering for a moment, Yeo-un opened her phone. If she didn’t contact her this time and returned to Korea, it would bother her all the time. The expression on her face when she asked Ji-oh for a favor. She decided to take a chance and send a message.
Yeo-un arrived at a quiet cafe near the hotel. After talking to Seol Ji-oh’s mother a while ago, they had arranged to meet here.
Sitting with a slightly nervous expression, she saw Heewon, Seol Ji-oh’s mother, entering the cafe.
Heewon, who seemed to have come straight from work, was dressed in a two-piece suit and carried a briefcase.
Entering the cafe, Heewon spotted Yeo-un and walked towards her. The atmosphere seemed a bit different from when they last met a few days ago, as she exuded a more formal vibe.
Sitting down, Heewon greeted her casually, “Hello…”
“Yes, hello.”
Yeo-un hesitated for a moment. Should she address her as ajumma, like when they were younger? Or maybe, um, Mother?
“A few days ago, I was too awkward, right? Actually, I was a bit surprised. I never imagined meeting you there.”
“Yes… I was surprised too. But you still look the same as before. I could recognize you right away.”
It was sincere. Her face was still beautiful, seemingly untouched by time.
Heewon smiled awkwardly.
It was genuine. Her face was still beautiful, seemingly untouched by time.
Heewon smiled awkwardly.
“So? Thank you. It’s been quite a while, but you still remember me.”
After emitting a slightly bitter smile for a moment, Heewon asked Yeo-un.
“It seems things worked out well with Ji-oh, didn’t they?”
“What?”
Things worked out well in the end? What does that mean?
Smiling at Yeo-un’s puzzled expression, Heewon continued.
“Ji-oh really liked you a lot, even from a young age.”
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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