Despite Ha-yeon’s taunts, instead of showing signs of being hurt, she smiled, sweeping her chest.
“That’s a relief, then.”
Raising her hand, Ha-yeon said, “Oh, don’t misunderstand. I’m not opposing the Vice Chairman because of rumors. Whether you take it the wrong way or not, if the Vice Chairman aligns with my views, I’m willing to help the Vice Chairman willingly.”
Ha-yeon waited for Jaehyuk’s response, but he didn’t immediately give her the answer she sought.
He didn’t fail to understand the willingness to give up a company for the man she loved.
In the past, he might have thought it was nonsense, but after letting Arin go, Jaehyuk changed completely.
He, too, could do anything for the woman he loved. However, there was a difference with Ha-yeon. Perhaps he wouldn’t extend a hand to an enemy-like opponent.
VAN Group and LW Group had been the biggest competitors until a few years ago.
Even if he tried to find love, Jaehyuk thought Ha-yeon wouldn’t help him without any cost. So, Ha-yeon’s actions still seemed suspicious to him.
As if examining his inner thoughts, Jaehyuk stared through Ha-yeon.
Seeing him maintain silence, Ha-yeon eventually played her trump card.
“I know you can’t trust me. Do you know this? The recent acquisition of LW Department Store is also happening under the premise of marriage.”
Jaehyuk’s eyes widened at Ha-yeon’s words.
“Do you know my father decided to hand over the department store if Yujin gets married?”
“Ha.”
Jaehyuk burst into a bitter laughter. He found President Min’s sudden change in attitude strange.
“The reason President Min, who vowed never to give up the department store, changed his mind…”
“Yes. It’s to conclude this marriage deal.”
“Is it a collaboration between your mother and your father?”
Instead of answering the question, Ha-yeon nodded.
Jaehyuk felt anger rising within him.
‘She acted all meek and apologized in front of me, pretending to repent…’
His mother, who had pretended to repent and act all meek in front of him, was scheming like this behind his back…
He barely controlled himself from uttering curses and managed to speak.
“If I don’t get married, he won’t hand over the department store.”
“Yes. My father is that kind of person. But…”
Ha-yeon stared at Jaehyuk. The collision of the two gazes in the air was exceptionally silent.
“I promise you. Even if this marriage falls apart, I will take responsibility and ensure the acquisition of LW Department Store.”
“…How can I believe that?”
As someone who had coveted LW Department Store from before, Jaehyuk had no reason to refuse Ha-yeon’s proposal.
However, she was a person from the LW Group, and the acquisition of the department store was not something she could handle alone.
“In fact, handing over the department store is an important matter for us too.”
“What do you mean?”
“To be honest, I don’t know when I’ll leave the company, but LW Group doesn’t have the capacity to handle a department store. I want to organize my father’s chaotic management style. If we continue like this, it will be difficult for us too. So, when the most favorable partner appears, passing it on isn’t a bad condition for us either.”
“…”
“So please accept this marriage, Vice Chairman. Then, I will give you what you desire the most.”
Jaehyuk looked into Ha-yeon’s determined eyes and fell into deep thought.
“I’m begging you.”
Despite Ha-yeon’s earnest plea, Jaehyuk remained silent for a long time.
After a while, Jaehyuk got into the car that had been waiting in front of the main entrance of the department store.
“Have you discussed everything?”
“Yeah.”
Even after meeting Ha-yeon, Jaehyuk maintained his poker face.
‘What on earth did they talk about?’
One manager was more concerned about Jaehyuk’s indifferent demeanor.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
“One manager.”
“Yes.”
“Where did she say the weekend dinner location was?”
“…What?”
The manager was surprised by Jaehyuk’s question and raised his voice.
“Didn’t you already reject that?”
Jaehyuk recalled what Ha-yeon had said.
[I don’t want to regret it again. I let go, but I want to catch that person again. Whether that person accepts me or not, I want to speak my mind.]Jaehyuk, too, had once approached Arin with a similar heart. Her feelings bulldozed forward without a second thought.
Back then, he thought it was the best. But in the end, he missed the only love he would ever have.
A broken glass cannot be glued back together. Relationships are the same. It’s not easy to restore a relationship that has already shattered.
No matter how much he regretted it later, all that came back was the words, “I should have done better then.”
It must be the same for Ha-yeon.
‘Self-satisfaction? No, what did Min Ha-yeon say?’
Jaehyuk couldn’t refuse Ha-yeon’s proposal for some reason.
‘Maybe I wanted to see that a relationship that had broken and been glued back together didn’t necessarily lead to a sad ending.’
After leaning on the car seat, Jaehyuk spoke.
“I’ll go.”
“Understood.”
Only after hearing the manager’s response, Jaehyuk raised one hand and covered his eyes. His eyes seemed to be getting hot for some reason.
‘I don’t even have the right to turn you back, living so cowardly.’
It used to be that he had no interest in the happiness of unrelated strangers…
In the foolish desire to indirectly witness Arin’s and his own future happiness through completely irrelevant other lovers, Jaehyuk tightly closed his eyes.
The last day of the pop-up store quickly approached.
Near the Yeonnam-dong store, Arin and Yoo-hyun had an office-cum-apartment that they stayed in whenever they came to Seoul instead of a hotel. Of course, they had separate rooms.
Since meeting Jaehyuk the next day, Arin had been anxious every time she visited LW Department Store, wondering if she would run into him again.
Fortunately, days passed without seeing Jaehyuk’s shadow. As time went by, Arin’s heart gradually settled.
It was a day when the whirlpool-like emotions were finally finding stability.
Arin, who came out of her room, met Yoo-hyun, who had been working in the living room since dawn.
“Oppa?”
“It’s only 6 AM. Why are you up so early if you haven’t slept enough?”
Yoo-hyun knew she was diligent, but Arin, who woke up this early, surprised him.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
