The Young Boss (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
In third grade of elementary school, ten-year-old Tae Ha had shot up in height.
He’d been smaller than his peers when first seen, but now he was reportedly the third tallest in his class. Ever since he’d started eating proper meals, his height had grown alarmingly fast.
It made one wonder if he’d simply inherited tall genes. After all, one of his parents was likely Western.
Si Hyeon, now a second-year high school student, still visited Tae Ha’s house every evening to help him study and prepare his meals. Even on weekends, she used the excuse of going to the study room to head straight to Tae Ha’s home.
It wasn’t merely out of pity for a neglected child. Just as much as Tae Ha relied on Si Hyeon, Si Hyeon found comfort in Tae Ha too.
At home, Si Hyeon could barely breathe. Whenever she brought home a report card with top grades, her Aunt became even harsher toward her.
She’d deliberately pile up mountains of dishes and force Si Hyeon to wash them instead of the housekeeper. Aunt especially couldn’t stand that Si Hyeon outshone her own daughter, A Hyeon.
Her Uncle, busy with business, never shielded her. Though he hadn’t sent his orphaned niece to an orphanage out of fear of public opinion, that was the extent of his help. He knowingly turned a blind eye while his wife and daughter tormented Si Hyeon.
The only place Si Hyeon could truly feel at ease was with Tae Ha.
The child, whose hands were cracked and ruined from washing dishes without even rubber gloves, would well up with tears. The child who stubbornly insisted on doing the dishes himself, even setting up a chair to stand on at the sink for his own household chores.
To such a Tae Ha, Si Hyeon held nothing back. She wanted to treat him better, give him more.
But reality was that she was merely a high school student who had to watch her every move even to receive a meager allowance.
Thus, Si Hyeon longed to grow up quickly—so she could do more for Tae Ha.
As she reached to open Tae Ha’s front door, a heavily made-up face suddenly appeared right before her eyes, startling Si Hyeon backward.
She looked to be in her mid-fifties—too old to call ajumma, yet too hesitant to call grandmother.
Vibrant eyeshadow sagged heavily over her wrinkled eyes, and her lips were stained a deep crimson, as if she’d just devoured a rat. Not a trace of the warmth or tenderness typically associated with the word “grandmother” could be felt from her.
Trying to hold back the stench of strong alcohol, Si Hyeon held her breath as much as possible and asked,
“Are you Tae Ha’s Grandmother, by any chance?”
After sizing up the uniformed schoolgirl from head to toe, the woman gave a short laugh.
“Oh. So you’re the one who’s been coming in and out of our house lately?”
“Lately”? Si Hyeon was dumbfounded. It had already been nearly a year since she’d started caring for Tae Ha.
Tae Ha’s Grandmother would sometimes be away from home for a week or even ten days at a stretch. She’d occasionally drop by, toss a few coins at Tae Ha, and leave again. With such behavior, it was no wonder this was their first meeting in a year.
“Go inside. Tae Ha’s in there.”
She pushed past Si Hyeon with those curt words and strode out the door. Si Hyeon, momentarily stunned, quickly chased after her and demanded,
“It’s almost dinner time—where are you going again?”
She’d mustered her courage. This was something she’d mentally rehearsed many times, determined to say whenever they finally met.
“How can an adult keep leaving a young child alone like this? It’s not right.”
Tae Ha’s Grandmother, dressed in a loud floral-print dress, stared at the bold high school girl as if utterly incredulous.
“How can a grandmother do something like that to her own grandson?”
Tae Ha’s Grandmother snorted derisively through her nose.
“He told you that? That he’s my grandson?”
“Yes…?”
“He’s just a kid I picked up. I only took him in hoping for a bit of government subsidy, but then I ended up poking my own eyes out. Now I can’t even get rid of the rotten brat.”
So even his grandmother wasn’t his real one. Though shocked, Si Hyeon quickly gathered herself and spoke firmly.
“Even so, since you took him in, you should take care of him properly. How lonely and hard must it be for a little child to be left alone like this?”
“If you feel that sorry for him, why don’t you take him and raise him yourself?”
Annoyed, Tae Ha’s Grandmother dismissed her and hurried off with quick little steps.
Si Hyeon stared at her retreating back, desperately holding back tears.
That’s right—I’ll take care of him myself.
Soon I’ll become a college student, and then I can earn money. I’ll buy our Tae Ha nice clothes and books.
By the time I graduate and get a job, Tae Ha will be ready for college. I’ll work hard and send him to university myself.
Having made that resolve, her heart felt a little calmer.
Wiping her tears quickly with the back of her hand, Si Hyeon entered the house, worried Tae Ha might have overheard his grandmother’s harsh exchange outside.
“Tae Ha, older sister’s here.”
Peeking into the room, she saw Tae Ha sitting tidily at the low dining table he used as a desk, studying. He brightened upon seeing Si Hyeon.
“Older sister.”
It was unclear whether he’d heard anything or not. The quiet child rarely showed his emotions unless absolutely necessary.
The only time Tae Ha ever revealed his feelings was when it concerned Si Hyeon. The child who never uttered a word even after being neglected and starving for days had, upon seeing Si Hyeon’s rough hands, shed tears for the first time.
Si Hyeon pulled a castella cake from her bag, placed it on a plate, stuck colorful candles into it, lit them, and brought it over.
“Happy birthday, Tae Ha.”
Tae Ha’s eyes widened slightly. He clearly hadn’t expected anyone to celebrate his birthday.
Other kids probably went out to eat with their parents on their birthdays and received toys as gifts.
Seeing Tae Ha’s bewildered expression at the humble castella with candles instead of a proper cake broke Si Hyeon’s heart all over again. How wonderful it would have been if she could afford a real cake.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Tae Ha, happy birthday to you.”
After singing the birthday song, Si Hyeon urged him gently,
“Quickly blow out the candles. Make a wish too.”
“If I make a wish, will it come true?”
She wanted to reassure him with a lie for the sake of his childhood innocence, but worried he might wish for something impossible, like getting his parents back.
After a brief hesitation, Si Hyeon answered honestly.
“I don’t know. Mine have never come true yet, but maybe yours will.”
“Then I won’t make one.”
Just as Si Hyeon wondered if she’d said something foolish, Tae Ha blew out the candles.
“……I’m going to become a great adult.”
In the dim room, the child’s voice rang out with a seriousness hard to believe came from someone so young.
“On your birthday, if you make a wish, I’ll make sure to grant it when I grow up.”
“You asked, didn’t you? Who’s been crying?”
The tears vanished instantly. Si Hyeon asked urgently,
“Do you remember now? Do you recognize me again? Huh?”
But Tae Ha pressed on stubbornly.
“Answer my question first. Who was crying?”
Embarrassed anew at being caught crying foolishly, Si Hyeon quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
“Who said anyone was crying?”
She tried to turn away evasively, but Tae Ha caught her hand.
“Answer me!”
In that instant, a sharp pain shot through her, and Si Hyeon cried out before she could stop herself.
“Ah!”
He flinched in alarm and released her hand. Then, carefully taking her arm again, he examined her hand closely.
His eyes flared with anger at the sight of Si Hyeon’s bright red, swollen hand.
“Why’s your hand like this again?”
She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. Helplessly, Si Hyeon averted her gaze and mumbled,
“I touched some red pepper powder. It’s nothing serious.”
“Nothing serious? Your hand’s in this condition, and you say it’s nothing?”
Though his tone was fierce, worry clearly came first. Tae Ha let out a long sigh, as if calming himself, then spoke in a gentler voice.
“Do you have any ointment or something?”
“In there….”
She pointed to the desk drawer, and Tae Ha opened it himself, searching until he found the ointment.
“Give me your hand.”
He seated Si Hyeon in a chair and knelt on one knee before her. Applying the ointment carefully to her hand, he said,
“You’ve always had cracked hands and eczema from touching water too much, remember?”
That was right. Ever since her Aunt had kept shooing her into the kitchen under the guise of “bride training,” Si Hyeon had lived with housewife’s eczema on her hands—unbecoming of a high school girl.
She recalled how the young Tae Ha, seeing this, had stubbornly insisted on doing the dishes himself, no matter what.
‘So he really has gotten his memories back.’
Her hands, roughened long ago, remained just as they were, no matter how diligently she cared for them.
In winter, forgetting to apply hand cream for just a day or two would quickly turn the skin on her hands dark and stiff, becoming hard as leather.
Even Woo Jin would frown silently whenever he saw her hands.
That was why Si Hyeon disliked showing her hands to others—she avoided even rings, let alone nail art, for fear of drawing attention to them.
Yet Tae Ha applied the medicine to her hands as gently as if handling fragile glass.
“Someone like you wouldn’t carelessly touch red pepper powder with bare hands.”
Unlike her unsightly hands, Tae Ha’s were beautifully masculine—large, with prominent veins on the back, moving with exquisite care.
More ticklish than painful, Si Hyeon turned her gaze toward the darkening window outside.
Being so close, she caught his familiar scent—that same refreshing yet bitter fragrance that had soothed her churning stomach the day she nearly died from a hangover. She’d always thought it suited Tae Ha perfectly.
Just as she was about to ask what perfume it was, Tae Ha spoke again.
“Tell me. What exactly happened?”
Realizing he wouldn’t let it go, Si Hyeon finally told the truth.
“I went to my boyfriend’s house today to meet his parents for the first time. It happened to be his mother’s birthday.”
“Today is your birthday.”
She wasn’t particularly surprised by his use of “you” instead of “older sister.”
After all, Tae Ha had stopped calling her “older sister” around the time she entered high school. And now, as a department head, it would be absurd for him to address a mere associate manager as “older sister.”
“My boyfriend’s mother shares the same birthday as me.”
“So what does your birthday have to do with red pepper powder?”
“They asked me to help in the kitchen, so I went. Then they told me to make some seasoned vegetables. I wore plastic gloves to mix them, but they insisted… seasoned vegetables taste better when mixed by bare hands….”
For a moment, a surge of emotion crossed Tae Ha’s face. He closed his eyes again and let out another long sigh.
“…….”
Si Hyeon, who had watched him for so long, knew exactly what that expression meant. It was how Tae Ha calmed himself when he was extremely angry.
Seeing him so furious over her own plight made her heart swell. He really had gotten his memories back. The wish she’d made earlier—had truly come true.
Tears welled up again at the joy of finally having someone on her side. She wasn’t alone anymore. No matter what happened, Tae Ha would stand by her to the very end.
But in the next moment, Tae Ha opened his eyes and abruptly said,
“Don’t get married.”
Careful not to touch her sore hand, he gripped her wrist firmly and looked straight into Si Hyeon’s eyes from close range.
“Listen to me. Don’t go through with that marriage.”
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
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