Thrilled by Madness (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
“Are you going to give me that coffee over there?”
So Yeon spotted a well-known brand coffee sitting quietly on his desk.
“Didn’t I clearly say I wanted tea?”
He was, at the very least, not the kind of man who made empty gestures.
At that realization, a delicate charm bloomed prettily on So Yeon’s dimpled cheeks.
“Can I finish this coffee right here before I go?”
Despite having been tearful just moments ago, her audacity in making such a bold request was certainly worthy of praise.
“Of course, Ms. Eom So Yeon.”
Seo Jun gave a light nod toward the sofa, inviting her to sit, then strode briskly toward his desk.
Lowering herself onto the sofa, So Yeon gently smoothed down her pleated mini skirt, which had ridden up to the middle of her thighs.
It was at that exact moment.
Something fairly large plopped suddenly onto So Yeon’s lap.
“Oh!”
The luxury shopping bag, marked with an elegant logo on its surface, clearly wasn’t from any ordinary brand.
Inside lay a sizable brown leather bag, large enough to easily fit a laptop. So Yeon instinctively pulled it out and examined it carefully in both hands.
It featured a versatile design with zippers, allowing it to be worn either as a satchel or a backpack.
“You’re not seriously giving this to me, are you?”
“Why not?”
When So Yeon blinked her large eyes and asked, Seo Jun, who had just placed two cups of coffee gracefully on the table, simply sat down beside her without further comment.
Her attire was refreshingly simple—far removed from high-end brands. Despite being a celebrity, she had never once been seen carrying even a common luxury handbag.
Earlier that day, Seo Jun had visited his usual boutique and, on a sudden whim, bought one for her too. That was the whole reason—nothing more needed to be said.
He ended his explanation with just two curt, indifferent words, as if it were as casual as picking something up off the street.
“Why this?”
“Just because.”
“…”
He was giving her something so expensive… and that was his only reason?
Well, it made sense—he’d been nothing but angry all along. There couldn’t possibly be any deeper meaning.
After staring intently at Seo Jun’s sharp, refined features for a while, So Yeon tilted her head slightly in confusion and brought the straw to her lips, taking a soft sip.
[This is the timeline separator]“I already sent it! That money you love so much! Isn’t that enough? Why are you calling again!”
A shrill scream pierced sharply through an opulent villa in Banpo-dong—it was Yoo Jung Hwa, yelling into the phone with her biological father as if spitting blood.
“Do you really want to see me go insane? Am I your personal safe? Just how much more do I have to squeeze out before you finally stop!”
—No matter how worthless I may be, I’m still your father! How dare you speak to me with that insolent tone?
“Shut your mouth! Why shouldn’t I!”
Just hearing the voice of her father—worse than an enemy—made Jung Hwa shiver. Her hand gripping the phone trembled violently. Once perhaps slender and graceful in her hopeful youth, it was now gaunt and hollowed out by greed.
“Look what you did to Mom! Look how I had to live! And you still keep begging me for money—how can you call yourself my father? Hah! Don’t make me laugh!”
When his daughter kept lashing out, Yoo Byung Hwan seemed momentarily speechless, repeatedly calling out her name instead.
—Yoo Mi Kyung, Mi Kyung-ah…
“Don’t call me that! It gives me chills!”
Just hearing that long-abandoned name made her grind her teeth. As it echoed from the palm-sized device, her tearless eyes reddened, filled with venomous rage, twitching uncontrollably.
A legendary beauty said to appear only once in a century.
True to that description, Yoo Jung Hwa possessed stunning looks, yet her reality was the complete opposite of someone who had walked only flower-strewn paths.
There had been no Yoo Jung Hwa—only Yoo Mi Kyung. Her childhood had been so wretched she sometimes wished she’d been an orphan.
Though her father had held a respectable job and looked presentable enough, Yoo Byung Hwan would gamble away any money the moment he laid eyes on it. One day, exhausted by poverty and her husband’s relentless abuse, her mother fled the house as if escaping.
What followed was sheer nightmare for the eight-year-old girl.
Jung Hwa had to wash clothes, cook meals, and handle all household chores with her tiny hands. It was common for her to endure the bitter cold of midwinter with nothing but a thin blanket. Sometimes, she’d walk from house to house in the neighborhood begging for money just to get through a peaceful day.
On days when she couldn’t scrape together even a penny, it was only because her father—a brute who would beat her mercilessly otherwise—demanded it.
Some pitied her, clucking their tongues.
Others offered small coins out of sympathy, pressing them into her little hands.
She had grown accustomed to reading their moods, but even that didn’t count as real hardship—her true suffering began around age fifteen.
Jung Hwa emerged from that pitch-black tunnel and became an actress, thanks largely to her exceptionally striking looks. She changed her name and severed all ties with her biological father.
Yet blood ties proved stubbornly resilient.
No matter how many times she changed her phone number or moved to hide, that man—who dared call himself her father—always managed to track her down. It was hard to completely cut him off, especially since he knew all her secrets.
Top star Yoo Jung Hwa needed to appear as someone raised in a wealthy, loving household—not a slum.
Yoo Mi Kyung was a completely different person from the Yoo Jung Hwa the world knew. In fact, she didn’t even exist. Her parents were well-to-do overseas Koreans, and Yoo Jung Hwa had been a princess since birth, never wanting for anything in her privileged home.
Jung Hwa never saw this crafted image as a lie. To become the beloved Yoo Jung Hwa, she had to erase Yoo Mi Kyung—so broken, so pitiful, weighed down by a miserable past and family tragedy. She simply chose to be whoever everyone wanted her to be.
Her success as Yoo Jung Hwa owed nothing to her parents.
Her mother, forced into housekeeping at her father’s boss’s home due to his pressure, always came home exhausted. Then, one day, she vanished without a trace. After that, the young girl had to take over all household duties herself—even serving as a maid at that same house.
As a child, her father sacrificed his family to his boss for career advancement; now, he lived off draining his daughter’s spine dry. If only he used the money wisely and lived decently—but no, every penny he received was squandered, and he’d come crawling back for more. Could this man truly be her father?
“How can you be my father? You’re just a bloodsucking leech!”
—Mi Kyung-ah, it hurts your old man’s heart when you act like this.
“I keep telling you—you’re not my father!”
At her father’s absurd words, Jung Hwa flew into a rage, thrashing helplessly under the weight of hatred gnawing at her bones and flesh.
—Just remember, you didn’t become a celebrity all on your own! I’ve kept your secret this whole time—that’s all a father needs to do. You know exactly what I mean, right?
“You lunatic… Whose fault do you think this is!”
It was because of me—I, who abandoned the first man I ever loved just to obsess over money and fame! This insatiable thirst, this greed that leaves me desperate even after I get what I want—whose fault is that!
The world was a sewer-like hell, and Yoo Byung Hwan—the father hurling vicious threats at his own daughter—was a beast, a demon.
At least, that’s what he was to Yoo Jung Hwa.
—Quit your whining and just send more money. More than what I got today…
“Please, just stop!”
Thunk!
Jung Hwa hurled the phone with all her strength at her own framed photo hanging on the art wall, then staggered toward the minibar in a daze.
“You bastard…! I’ll kill you for sure!”
My mother, who ran away claiming independence? My father, who sees his own child as nothing more than a money-making machine? Ha! Don’t make me laugh—it was you two who made me even more of an orphan than an actual orphan!
Grabbing a bottle of whiskey, Jung Hwa poured the entire contents straight down her throat.
Gulp, gulp, gulp…
She kept swallowing the undiluted liquor, yet tasted no bitterness.
Because her life as Yoo Mi Kyung was far filthier, more despicable—and much, much more bitter—than any strong whiskey.
[This is the timeline separator]A luxury sedan glided smoothly into the apartment complex in Dogok-dong and came to a gentle stop in front of the building where So Yeon lived.
“Oh, no, that’s alright. You don’t need to get up.”
Perhaps out of gentlemanly courtesy, when Manager Bong unfastened his seatbelt to open the rear door for her, So Yeon immediately waved him off and quickly stepped out of the car.
“Thank you for the ride.”
Leaning slightly toward the open window of the closed door, So Yeon bowed her head politely toward Seo Jun, who remained seated inside, looking directly at her.
“…”
Typical of Eom So Yeon.
Seo Jun let out a quiet chuckle, unable to suppress a smile as he watched the woman whose departure seemed several times faster than her arrival.
But aware that this impression was purely subjective, Seo Jun slowly reined in his amusement and spoke softly.
“Since I don’t know when filming will end tomorrow, just call me as soon as you’re done.”
“If you’re really busy, don’t push yourself—let’s do it the day after tomorrow instead.”
“I’ll handle that myself.”
“Okay.”
They hadn’t just shared coffee at his office. They had also shared a brief, simple kiss there. Rehearsing lines just inches away from Tae Seo Jun had left So Yeon’s breathing so flustered and unnatural that she still felt awkward about it.
After about an hour of practice, they’d left work together and even had dinner.
So Yeon had suggested her favorite cold noodle restaurant as a way to return the favor for the chicken meal he’d treated her to last time. Not only did she enjoy being with him, but watching him happily eat the cold noodles with sliced beef beside her filled her heart with quiet pride.
Yet Seo Jun’s increasing use of informal speech left So Yeon with mixed feelings—like they’d grown just a step closer, yet she couldn’t help worrying if it was really okay.
‘If it bothers you, Ms. Eom So Yeon, you can start using informal speech too.’
His words floated back into her mind just then.
“Go on in first.”
When Seo Jun’s brief remark reached her ears again, she blurted out an informal reply before she even realized it.
“Yeah, take care.”
Ashamed the moment the words left her mouth, So Yeon darted instantly toward the building entrance.
“Hah…”
“!”
“!”
Though caught off guard, Seo Jun merely smirked, clearly amused. The startled ones were Manager Bong and Park Sung Ho in the front seats.
“You heard her—she told us to take care, didn’t she? Let’s go.”
As the sedan began to move at Seo Jun’s lighthearted command, So Yeon, who had been secretly peeking out from inside the building, finally stepped into the elevator.
She looked down gently at the shopping bag clutched tightly in both hands.
Regardless of how it happened, this was the first gift she’d ever received from the man she’d longed for just to watch from afar. That alone filled her with quiet satisfaction, and as she reached the seventh floor, she stepped out of the elevator with the corners of her lips softly lifted.
Just as she stepped inside her apartment and began taking off her shoes—
“You’re back earlier than I thought?”
“Ah! You scared me!”
Do Soon came prancing out from the hallway to greet So Yeon.
Do Soon lived in a slightly smaller unit in the neighboring building, and she often popped over unannounced, startling So Yeon like this.
“Can I stay over here tonight?”
“As if anyone could stop Yeo Do Sun when she’s made up her mind.”
As they entered the living room, Do Soon was already distracted by something else.
“What’s this bag?”
Her eyes widened as she peeked into the shopping bag in So Yeon’s hand.
“It looks pretty expensive. You didn’t buy it yourself, right? Who gave it to you?”
Do Soon knew better than anyone that Eom So Yeon, though not stingy, was frugal—she’d never splurge on a luxury bag like this.
“Oh, this? My older sister sent it a while ago, and I forgot it in the car trunk.”
“It’s gorgeous! If you’re not going to use it, give it to me!”
“Not this one!”
Knowing full well that admitting it was from Tae Seo Jun would lead to relentless teasing, So Yeon mumbled a vague excuse and hurried toward her dressing room.
“Hey, wait!”
Do Soon trailed after her, glanced at one section of the wardrobe, and clicked her tongue regretfully.
“You just keep stacking them up but never use them. What did these poor bags ever do to deserve never even seeing daylight?”
True to her words, every designer bag on the shelf was brand-new, tags still attached—gifts from family members that had now accumulated in considerable number.
So Yeon hadn’t used them not because she couldn’t afford them herself, but because she believed precious items shone brightest only when matched with the right owner—and she didn’t feel she was there yet.
“Come on, just give me one.”
Do Soon had only been teasing.
But So Yeon, feeling unusually generous—and perhaps a little guilty toward her friend—surprised her today.
“Fine. Pick whichever one you like—it’s yours.”
“Seriously?”
“Except this one.”
So Yeon gave a firm nod and pressed the bag from Seo Jun tightly against her chest.
As if it were her lifeline.
Her whole body screamed that she’d give away anything—but never, ever this one.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
Chapter Comments (4)
Inline Comments (1)
Though his gesture had been instinctive, So Yeon accepted it without resistance.
I wonder if Korean women really cry that easily. Wow, that’s exhausting.
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Finally…some communication. Love triangle at this point is surprising and yup it’s gonna be awkward 😑.
Why do I get the feeling that she’s not going to tell him? Haah
I know the revelation is not gonna happen😀, but the ml is just..🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️