True Marriage After Divorce (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 13

That illness was like divine punishment born from the pain of miscarriage.

Patients with vasovagal syncope can temporarily faint when experiencing stress or fear, so they must be cautious in such situations. Ah Rin had been battling this frightening illness for three years. It was something she couldn’t control by her own will.

“Don’t think about him.”

“……Ji Yoon.”

“The more you dwell on it, the harder it gets for you. Just ignore it.”

“…….”

“Ah Rin. I don’t think you’d actually do it, but just in case—don’t waver.”

Ji Yoon looked at Ah Rin with worried eyes.

After a brief silence, Ah Rin spoke first.

“I…… think I’ll file a lawsuit.”

“……A lawsuit?”

“Yeah. My attorney said an amicable divorce probably won’t work, so they suggested filing for divorce litigation.”

“Oh…….”

“Honestly, I didn’t really want to go as far as a lawsuit…… I guess I was too careless.”

Ji Yoon pulled the blanket up to Ah Rin’s chest and covered her.

“For now, let’s use this chance to get your tests done and rest before heading back.”

“…….”

“If things keep dragging on vaguely like you said, going to court might actually be better.”

“Yeah.”

“Before that, Mom said she’s going to run the shop together with Oppa, so don’t worry about the shop—just rest well. Got it?”

Ji Yoon spoke with a stern expression, just like a mother.

“Thank you.”

Gratitude welled up inside Ah Rin.

“I’m really glad I have you, Ji Yoon.”

She meant it.

If Ji Yoon hadn’t been there, her life would surely have been unbearable.

“You know, I’m glad I have you too, Ah Rin.”

As if understanding Ah Rin’s feelings, Ji Yoon smiled gently.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Aaargh!”

Madam Jeong glared at her disconnected phone and let out an angry cry.

Jung Hyo Eon, Ban Jae Hyuk’s mother.

She was born as the eldest daughter of Seodo Group, the parent company of VAN Group—the number one conglomerate in Korea’s business world.

Her grandfather had founded Seodo Co., Ltd., originally a food company.

Chairman Ban Ho Jun, who married her—the one of four daughters—became a son-in-law and inherited the group. Under his leadership, the company’s name changed from “Seodo Group” to today’s “VAN Group.”

Chairman Ban was a man colder and more composed in business than anyone else, never bowing his head to anyone—except for one exception: Madam Jung Hyo Eon.

Chairman Ban couldn’t defy Madam Jeong, who had enabled him to reach his current position. Thus, no matter what terrible or vile acts she committed, he turned a blind eye and even actively covered them up.

Her husband, who commanded Korea’s business elite, was as gentle as a lamb before her, and her son was generally obedient to her words as well.

Madam Jeong had nothing to fear.

Yet, somehow, things had subtly started falling apart.

With both her husband and her son.

“This is all because of Choi Ah Rin.”

Eventually, unable to contain her fury, she hurled the disconnected phone away.

Everything had gone awry since Choi Ah Rin truly entered her son’s life.

“So you’ve finally decided to ignore my warning.”

[You and my Jae Hyuk are already over. Just wait for the divorce. Don’t do anything foolish.]

She’d even gone in person to warn her, yet Ah Rin had clearly still ensnared her naive son.

Her clenched fist dug her red nails deep into her palm.

But Madam Jeong, filled with rage, felt no pain. Her anger wasn’t aimed at Jae Hyuk—it was entirely directed at Ah Rin.

She should never have let them marry in the first place.

[Have your son marry this girl. Then he’ll be able to produce an heir.]

Even though she still trusted Master Cheon’s words even now, she should never have agreed to the marriage.

No—she should’ve pretended to agree to the marriage, gotten a grandchild, and then discarded her immediately.

In the end, she hadn’t even gotten to see a grandchild, and her relationship with Jae Hyuk had deteriorated.

Madam Jeong recalled what Jae Hyuk had said when she’d insisted on the marriage.

[I’ll marry as you wish, Mother. But I have conditions: don’t bind either me or Ah Rin. Don’t unilaterally pressure her to get pregnant. If you remove the three-year condition, I’ll marry her right away.]

At first, hearing her son’s words, Madam Jeong had been suspicious.

‘Could Jae Hyuk actually have feelings for that girl?’

Their closeness had cooled off ever since Jae Hyuk became a middle schooler, but before that, no matter how much she’d tried to keep them apart, they’d been very close.

She’d even been briefly frightened that her son might truly care for Ah Rin. But it had all been her imagination.

During those three years of marriage, Jae Hyuk showed little interest in Ah Rin, and Madam Jeong breathed a sigh of relief.

She became certain: his so-called “request”—which had really been a veiled threat—hadn’t been for Ah Rin’s sake, but for his own.

But now, her son’s behavior left no explanation other than that he truly cared for Ah Rin.

Madam Jeong exploded in fury and shouted,

“How could that fox-like girl have bewitched him so badly that even his own mother can’t recognize him anymore!”

The phone shattered into pieces as it hit the marble floor.

Just as Madam Jeong stomped on the broken phone, imagining it was Ah Rin, the office door opened, and a man’s oily voice drifted in.

“What’s happened that’s made you so angry?”

Chairman Ban Ho Jun, who was indulgent toward everything Madam Jeong did, had only one unforgivable line: infidelity.

[Even if our marriage wasn’t born from mad love, marriage is built on trust. I cannot forgive you seeing another man during our marriage. So don’t do it—and if, by any chance, your heart strays unknowingly to someone else, make sure I never find out.]

The man entering the office casually wrapped his arms around Madam Jeong’s waist.

“Who’s made our Madam so furious again?”

The man with gloomy eyes wore a despicable smirk.

“Han Tae Soo.”

Her affair partner was Chairman Ban’s high school junior. Whenever Madam Jeong caused trouble, Chairman Ban assigned Han Tae Soo to handle the aftermath.

And the two had become intimate.

“Go to Jeju Island right now and teach that impudent little mare some manners.”

“……Ah.”

At Han Tae Soo’s languid response, Madam Jeong snapped.

“What? Can’t you do it?”

“Haha.”

“Don’t laugh! Even you—I’m about to lose it. I’m seriously tempted to throw something at your face right now.”

“Oh, please restrain yourself.”

Tae Soo raised both hands as if surrendering and stepped back—but his expression wasn’t just calm, it was almost lazy.

“Understood.”

“Make sure Choi Ah Rin never stands before our Jae Hyuk again. Use any means necessary.”

“But won’t your son retaliate if he finds out?”

“That’s why I’m telling you to handle it yourself—subtly, without anyone noticing.”

“Yes, yes. That’s literally my job. Leave it to me. You trust me, don’t you?”

Tae Soo placed his hand on Madam Jeong’s trembling shoulder and gently gripped it. At his suggestive touch, her furious expression instantly softened.

“Hah! If you can’t even speak properly……”

“That’s exactly why you like me, isn’t it?”

Madam Jeong swatted his hand away—but her face, despite her words, showed no sign of displeasure.

“Before that, though.”

Han Tae Soo’s eyes instantly darkened. In response to his lecherous gaze roaming over her body, Madam Jeong wrapped her arm around his neck.

“If Jae Hyuk catches us again, it’s over—for both of us.”

“Yes, yes. Whose orders could I possibly disobey?”

Her crimson lips, marked with lipstick, curved into a smirk. A sultry voice slipped through her parted lips.

[This is the timeline separator]

Three days later.

Ah Rin’s discharge was confirmed.

Ji Yoon had taken annual leave and stayed by her side the entire three days. Thanks to Ji Yoon, Ah Rin regained stability quickly, yet she couldn’t shake the guilt of being a burden.

“Ji Yoon, I’m really okay now. You should head back to Seoul comfortably.”

“I’ll stay until your discharge day.”

“You said you’re busy right now. Even if it’s annual leave, your coworkers will notice. And besides, we’ll see each other next week anyway.”

Ji Yoon spoke with a serious expression.

“Will you really be able to go? If you tell Yoo Jung unnie, she’ll understand.”

“No. It’s not just any event—it’s Yoo Jung unnie’s wedding. I have to go. She’s always helped me, after all.”

Ji Yoon fell silent for a moment, then reluctantly opened her lips.

“If you go, you might run into the Vice Chairman.”

Ah Rin understood exactly what Ji Yoon was worried about. But skipping Yoo Jung’s wedding just to avoid Jae Hyuk was simply unthinkable to her.

“It’ll be fine.”

Ah Rin turned her head to look out the window and continued, gazing at the pure white clouds.

“I’ll just attend the ceremony and leave—and it’s not like it’s a stranger’s wedding; it’s Yoo Jung unnie’s.”

Yoo Jung had been the personal executive secretary Jae Hyuk assigned to her, but she was very different from a typical executive secretary.

Neither Jae Hyuk nor Ah Rin gave her orders—it was Madam Jeong who did. And Yoo Jung’s duties were simple:

deliver the herbal medicine Madam Jeong prepared and make sure Ah Rin took it daily without fail, and report Ah Rin’s every move back to Madam Jeong.

On the surface, it seemed Yoo Jung was Madam Jeong’s agent—but in truth, she wasn’t.

Yoo Jung had been the small breath of air that kept Ah Rin from suffocating during her difficult marriage.

It happened when Ah Rin struggled with the herbal medicine supposedly meant to help the baby develop well—it simply didn’t agree with her body.

[It’s a different medicine. The packaging looks the same, but it’s subtly different—see, there’s a tiny leaf-shaped mark here. The Madam won’t notice, so from now on, I’ll give you this one. Don’t worry, just take it.]

It was Yoo Jung herself who’d bought the similarly packaged medicine and switched it out—and just as she’d predicted, Madam Jeong never noticed.

“You know I’ve always loved sweets. But Madam banned all snacks, saying sugar causes diabetes and harms the fetus. I already craved sweets so much, and not being able to eat them made everything harder. But Yoo Jung unnie—”

[Madam, please eat this quickly.]

Each time, Yoo Jung would pull out a half-crumbled macaron from her pocket and hand it over.

[Th-this is…] [Yes, it’s from Blanc. Eat it quickly before Madam arrives.]

“You know, Blanc—even though it’s far from the main house, unnie always went out of her way to buy those macarons.”

Ah Rin continued, recalling that memory.

“You have no idea how delicious those broken-shell macarons tasted. Unnie almost got fired because of me—but even then, she still looked after me.”

Ah Rin had thought parting with Jae Hyuk meant parting with Yoo Jung too—but it hadn’t ended there.

“After I broke up with Oppa, unnie didn’t need to visit me anymore. Yet she came all the way to Jeju to see me—always bringing Blanc macarons.”

Perhaps that was why.

Yoo Jung had become more than just an executive secretary to her. No—purely and simply, Yoo Jung was one of the most precious people in her life.

“But skipping unnie’s wedding just because I’m uncomfortable seeing Oppa feels incredibly selfish.”

“……Unnie will understand too.”

In the end, Ji Yoon surrendered. She knew all too well what Yoo Jung meant to Ah Rin, so she couldn’t dissuade her any further.

“Sigh… fine, then—on one condition.”

Ji Yoon tightly gripped Ah Rin’s hand and continued,

“Wherever you go, you stay with me. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

Ah Rin gently stroked the hand holding hers.

“Ji Yoon, I’m okay.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“Nothing’s going to happen. So don’t worry. Once this is over, we can finally go back to normal.”

In Ah Rin’s eyes, as she looked at Ji Yoon, lingered hesitation and an unexplained, vague fear.