True Marriage After Divorce (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
The man’s gaze quickly swept from Ah Rin’s head to her toes. Objectively speaking, she was a beautiful woman. Because it was a wedding, she must have paid more attention to her outfit than usual—the lavish ruffles tracing her chestline, her slender, straight collarbones, and her delicately exposed shoulders all shimmered with elegance.
The sky-blue off-shoulder dress tightly cinched her waist and hugged her comparatively wide hips, accentuating her figure. The hem, falling just enough to cover her slender calves, exuded an aura both innocent and sensual.
If someone were to pick the most beautiful woman here, she’d surely rank among the top.
“So I came personally.”
“You’re insane.”
Ah Rin looked at the man with a disgusted expression, but he didn’t even flinch.
“Don’t play coy. You must be lonely these days.”
“Who says I am?”
“I already know everything.”
Ah Rin was flustered by the man’s confident tone.
“I think I might have a solution for you. After all, you were once a chaebol madam—now that you’ve been cast aside, your spending must be tighter these days.”
His eyes darkened instantly, then filled with lust.
“Well, even though it feels unpleasant—like taking back something used—I’ll make an exception just for you.”
His face suddenly drew closer. Ah Rin screamed and pushed hard against his chest.
“Are you crazy?”
She was revolted.
Jae Hyuk always smelled of a pleasant white musk, but this man reeked of sharp cigarette smoke mixed with overpowering cologne—a nauseating, aggressive stench so strong it felt like it was stabbing her nose.
“I’ll scream. Right now.”
Compared to Jae Hyuk, who always took meticulous care of himself, this man’s shirt buttons looked dangerously close to popping off.
The man laughed at Ah Rin as if she were ridiculous.
“I told you. Go ahead and shout. No one can stand against KK Group—not unless Ban Jae Hyuk shows up.”
He twisted the corners of his mouth and continued,
“Oh, of course Ban Jae Hyuk won’t come. You’re the woman he personally discarded.”
Ah Rin’s face turned deathly pale. Her rounded shoulders trembled like an aspen leaf.
‘KK Group…? So I’m completely trapped? What can I do?’
A wave of fear surged through her.
KK Group ranked number one in South Korea’s food industry, sustaining consistent popularity every year with dozens of hit products.
‘Since the ceremony’s about to start, most guests have already gone inside. This floor only has my sister’s wedding, so all the staff must be over there. Besides…’
No one would dare stand up to the famously indulged son of KK Group. Stopping him would be the same as taking on KK Group itself.
‘Please… anyone, anyone at all—help me. Please.’
Her silent scream echoed in vain. Not even a shadow of another person was visible nearby.
The realization that no one would come to her aid filled her with even greater terror and despair.
“Let go! Let go of me!”
The man gripped her wrist roughly. She struggled, refusing to be dragged down the hallway, but his build was easily three times larger than hers—she stood no chance.
Ah Rin was helplessly dragged along by the man’s coarse hand.
“Don’t act so high-priced. Today, I’ll just take your contact info. You just say ‘yes’ and hand it over. I’m not so shameless as to cross lines in a public place like this.”
At the end of the corridor, he pulled her behind a pillar out of sight and pinned her against the wall.
“Since it’s your first time, I’ll take you somewhere nice. Tonight at 7 p.m., 19th floor of Mirau Hotel.”
His whisper against her ear made Ah Rin tremble with fear.
“But listen—if I let you go now, don’t even think about running away. I already know exactly where you are. Jeju Island, Memoria.”
He knew precisely where she was staying.
“How… how do you know that?”
At Ah Rin’s question, the man smirked.
“Do you really think there’s anything the heir of KK Group doesn’t know? And for me, ruining a measly little shop of yours is as easy as stepping on a worm.”
His threat turned Ah Rin’s face ghostly white.
“I won’t force you. But remember this—if I ever drag you here by force, I won’t be this gentlemanly anymore. When I show you affection, come to the hotel tonight. Let’s get along peacefully. After all, we’ll be together for life.”
Goosebumps erupted all over her body. Despair washed over her.
This wasn’t just an empty threat. If he really was from KK Group, he absolutely had the power to back it up.
‘It’s over. Everything.’
Consumed by despair, Ah Rin squeezed her eyes shut. A repulsive sensation crept onto her cheek.
“Good. You’ve made the right decision…”
Just then—
A dull thud sounded, and the man’s hand fell away from her cheek.
‘What on earth…?’
She opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the man clutching his cheek, looking utterly bewildered.
He no longer resembled the man who’d leered at her just moments ago—in fact, he now looked pitiful.
“You wanna die?”
At the same time, a comforting white musk scent—so soothing it calmed her churning stomach—brushed past her nose.
It was Jae Hyuk.
Ah Rin’s heart fluttered. She couldn’t believe it. Tears threatened to spill over at the sight of his broad back blocking her view.
‘I hated him so much. Resented him so deeply. But… is it really him, my older brother…?’
Thump-thump.
Her heart raced again—but this time, not from anxiety. It pounded for an entirely different reason.
Could she be mistaking the trembling from fear and tension as something directed toward him? Psychology called this the misattribution of arousal.
Not long ago, seeing Jae Hyuk had made her chest ache with sorrow and pain.
‘But now it’s different—what is this feeling?’
An indescribable mix of emotions swirled chaotically inside her.
Ah Rin looked down at her wrist. The sharp ache from where the man had twisted it still lingered.
‘If Oppa hadn’t come… by now, I would’ve…’
She couldn’t define her feelings, but she knew one thing for certain—her emotions toward Jae Hyuk were completely different now than before.
Imagining the worst, tears quickly welled in her large, frightened eyes.
Seeing her tears, Jae Hyuk’s fury boiled over.
“You bastard.”
He spun around and grabbed the man by the collar, lifting him off the ground.
“How dare you speak her name with that filthy mouth.”
His voice, low and grinding, radiated pure rage—a chilling, murderous tone capable of freezing everyone around them.
Just then, faint voices echoed from the corridor opposite.
‘Someone’s coming. If people see us, it’ll be a problem.’
Startled, Ah Rin quickly wiped away her tears.
Her throat tightened so much she couldn’t speak. She tugged at Jae Hyuk’s jacket to get his attention.
He turned his head. Seeing her face, he roughly shoved the man aside and stood up sharply.
“Are you okay?”
He gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder and asked softly. Meeting his worried gaze, Ah Rin felt her barely-contained tears threaten to burst again.
“It sounds like someone’s coming.”
“…Don’t worry about it.”
“But what if someone sees?”
“It’s fine. I’ll handle everything.”
“That’s not what I meant… What if it ends up in the news…?”
“Let me deal with the mud, the filth—I’ll take it all. So don’t you worry about any of that…”
Their eyes met, and suddenly, it became clear.
‘I felt safe because Oppa came. I was relieved it was him who saved me.’
Was I really this shallow a woman…?
After all, it was she who had demanded divorce and pushed him away when he’d insisted he didn’t want to.
“Just focus on your own heart. Pay attention only to your own pain, Ah Rin. I’m here now, so it’s alright. You don’t need to fear anything anymore.”
Why did his words make her heart feel so warm?
Was it the reassurance in his eyes?
“……”
“Can you wait just a bit longer? I’ll finish this quickly.”
Her heart fluttered.
At this very moment, she couldn’t deny that she was swaying toward Jae Hyuk.
After gently comforting Ah Rin, Jae Hyuk turned his body. His formerly gentle eyes instantly turned icy cold.
‘Someone’s approaching.’
He, too, could now hear footsteps drawing closer.
Jae Hyuk walked over to the man sprawled on the floor. As he approached, the man’s previously arrogant expression crumbled again into sheer terror—the look of prey facing its predator.
“Hel—”
Hearing people approach, the man tried to shout for help. But Jae Hyuk clamped a hand over his mouth.
“Trying to call for help?”
The man’s face turned ashen under Jae Hyuk’s grip. He shook his head frantically as if to say no, but he’d already deeply offended Jae Hyuk.
“Go ahead. But tell me—who do you think will suffer more if this gets exposed?”
Fear instantly flooded the man’s eyes.
“I don’t care if you can’t curb your base instincts. But I do have the power to make you understand exactly who you dared to touch.”
“……”
“I don’t know how much strength you think KK Group can wield against VAN Group—but go ahead and try it. I’m not the type to back down from a challenge.”
Jae Hyuk’s glare toward the man brimmed with deadly intent.
Though KK Group held dominant power as the top food corporation in Korea, VAN Group was a global conglomerate far beyond national borders.
Only then did the man seem to grasp the gravity of what he’d done—his face turned from white to blue with terror.
Jae Hyuk released his grip on the man’s mouth. With a cold, composed expression, he said,
“If you want to scream, go ahead.”
Now fully aware of his place, the man stammered,
“I won’t. I won’t tell anyone. Please… forgive me.”
“Did you really think you could insult my wife and walk away unscathed? I’m not generous enough to let go of anyone who’s done something vile to her.”
“W-W-Wife? B-But you’re practically divorced already…”
“…Who told you that?”
“W-Well…”
The man couldn’t answer. How could he say it was his mother’s lover who’d told him?
“…N-Never mind.”
He felt like he was standing on a landmine—any wrong move, and he’d explode.
It wasn’t hard to see who was incomparably superior.
The man clung desperately to Jae Hyuk’s feet.
“I-I’m sorry. I-I just heard some baseless rumors.”
Ah Rin found Jae Hyuk’s low, icy voice—directed at the man—utterly unfamiliar.
The man dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor.
“Please forgive me. It was my mistake.”
‘Damn it. “Practically divorced,” my ass. Madam Jeong lied to me. That bastard Han Tae Soo dared to deceive me.’
The man kept his face pressed flat to the ground, grinding his teeth so Jae Hyuk wouldn’t see.
He’d believed it because it came from his mother’s lover—and because that woman had once been his mother-in-law.
Anyone who frequented “that place” knew the true nature of the relationship between Tae Soo and Madam Jeong.
Besides, he’d long coveted Ah Rin’s lush figure.
‘Damn it. Damn it.’
Realizing how foolishly he’d targeted the wrong woman, the man repeatedly banged his head on the floor in regret.
Fury toward Han Tae Soo for deceiving him flared up—but that wasn’t the issue now. His priority was to somehow calm Jae Hyuk’s anger, even a little, and escape this place as soon as possible.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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