When I Reach You (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
Eun Jae furrowed her brow—not only because his voice was too close against her shoulder, but also because the man remained utterly unfazed after casually dropping an embarrassingly unfamiliar term she’d never heard before.
“Me? ‘Honey’?”
“Shh.”
His breath-laced whisper tickled Eun Jae’s ear. Even in the darkness, his pale skin gleamed smoothly.
Seon Woo pressed down firmly on Eun Jae’s trembling shoulders and murmured softly,
“Don’t worry. I’m here, after all.”
The moment Seon Woo straightened his back, he boldly slid his fingers between hers—erasing every last trace of suspicion from Kwon Seung Cheol, who had been glaring at them disapprovingly all along.
Warmth seeped gently into their perfectly interlocked hands. Eun Jae’s trembling fingers, previously shaking from anxiety, now gradually steadied—as if by magic.
“Let’s go.”
Seon Woo smiled brightly at Eun Jae.
“Where to?”
As Kwon Seung Cheol, standing opposite them, stepped directly in front of Seon Woo, Seon Woo’s expression shifted instantly.
All traces of warmth vanished, replaced only by cold indifference.
“From now on, if you need anything from my woman, go through me.”
Seon Woo whipped out a business card from his jacket’s top pocket and tossed it onto Kwon Seung Cheol’s chest before stepping aside.
The card grazed Kwon’s chest and fluttered down into the flowerbed.
“Bring proper documents and come there tomorrow. I’ll give you what you want.”
Watching the two walk past him, clearly unwilling to exchange another word, Kwon Seung Cheol let out an incredulous scoff.
He’d endured looks like that more than just once or twice.
“Rude brat—doesn’t even know how to respect his elders.”
He swept a finger across his temple, revealing a few strands of white hair he’d missed during his last dye job.
Casually bending down, Kwon Seung Cheol picked up the card and recalled the retreating figures—more precisely, the man who’d just stood before him.
He was barely past twenty back then.
Having started from rock bottom with no formal education, Kwon had been entrenched in this world for over twenty years—and prided himself on smelling money better than anyone else.
The man who’d just stood before him radiated an aura unlike any ordinary person.
In that brief moment, the man’s image, rapidly scanned in Kwon’s mind, imprinted itself with striking clarity—as if he were standing before him again.
Kwon could list every brand the man wore from head to toe.
Someone from the shadows—someone like himself, who handled petty cash—could never cross paths with such a man. A man whose very scale of wealth must be measured in entirely different units.
Even from afar, the scent of money wafted strongly off him.
“I knew this would happen.”
If there was one unchanging truth, it was this: beside any reasonably attractive woman, a man was inevitably attached—and the one beside Ji Eun Jae? If forced to grade him, he’d be a diamond.
Not just any diamond, but a rare FL-grade gem—completely flawless.
“Ji Eun Jae sure latched onto a solid gold lifeline.”
He could’ve easily snatched a girl that small long ago.
Pushing someone to the cliff’s edge time and again occasionally led to surprising encounters—sometimes, even with rare diamonds like this one.
Was it about twenty years ago? He’d brushed past just one like him—once and only once.
Replaying that day in his mind, Kwon brushed off the dry soil clinging to the business card that had fallen into the flowerbed.
Then, skimming the card he’d retrieved, he smirked coldly.
“Oh ho. So you’re a professor at Yeonrim Hospital?”
He chuckled softly, carefully slid the card into his shirt’s front pocket, and patted it twice.
“I wonder how much this one’s worth.”
As Kwon flicked his index finger and began to walk, the two men beside him quickly fell in behind.
[This is the timeline separator]Finding their interlocked fingers increasingly awkward, Eun Jae tried to pull her hand away—when the man whispered,
“They’re still behind us.”
Instinctively, Eun Jae turned to look back—but the man’s large hand gently turned her head forward again.
“Don’t turn around like an amateur.”
Seon Woo chuckled softly, lowered his head, and brought his face close to hers as he spoke.
“In situations like this, you just keep walking—looking straight ahead.”
You gave me nothing, insisted you couldn’t give me anything, and yet—why did you help me again?
She wanted to ask, but her lips refused to part. The more she thought, the more her eyes stung.
His voice resonated in her ear.
“Did you wait long?”
Though she’d hoped he’d simply pass by, absurdly, she felt relief at seeing the man who’d come to rescue her.
Eun Jae swallowed hard—multiple times—and gave no answer to his question.
“I actually got here pretty fast.”
At his words, tears finally welled in her stinging eyes.
Lifting her bowed head and straightening her posture, the man tilted his head in mild confusion.
“By the way—how did those guys even find this place? Ah—was it because of me?”
His tone playful—“Did I keep calling you here?”—and his faint smile made Eun Jae stop walking. She firmly pulled her hand from his grip.
Absurdly, she felt angry—at this man who’d just pulled her out of danger.
Angry at this foolish man who, even in this situation, blamed himself.
“How is it your fault? It was my choice—I came here, didn’t I? Why did you say you’d pay him? I already rejected that offer! I clearly said I couldn’t do it!”
Was he trying to drive her insane—making her feel unbearably grateful and guilty at once?
Though she knew he hadn’t helped with ill intent, her thoughts kept twisting that way—uncontrollably.
The man met Eun Jae’s teary, glistening eyes.
His dark irises were so deep they remained unreadable.
“I honestly don’t know why I offered.”
Seon Woo shrugged, genuinely bewildered.
“I just got angry—for no clear reason.”
I really don’t know why I act this way.
Around you, everything always feels impulsive. I act emotionally, not rationally.
Do you know, Ji Eun Jae? Do you know why I’m like this?
Unable to withstand his steady, silent gaze any longer, Eun Jae looked away first.
“Still, I can’t give you what you want. You chose to offer it yourself—it wasn’t what I asked for.”
She resented him for arriving sooner than expected, felt guilty, and grateful too.
This tangle of conflicting emotions left Eun Jae even more distressed.
“…Well, since I didn’t do it expecting anything, let’s just leave it at that.”
Seeing him brush off the issue with such nonchalance, Eun Jae widened her eyes and asked,
“What did you say?”
“I said I didn’t do it expecting anything. I did it because I wanted to—so don’t worry about it.”
As if to prove it, he gave a faint smile, shoved his hands into his pants pockets, and walked slowly ahead.
Eun Jae trailed behind him, bobbing slightly as she asked,
“How am I supposed to *not* worry about it?”
Seon Woo glanced back at the woman trotting after him and chuckled again.
He’d just told her not to worry—yet now she insisted she *had* to.
They say you can gauge ten feet of water, but not one foot of a person’s heart—just what exactly fills that tiny head of yours?
I want to see inside. Right now—what are you thinking?
Seon Woo, walking ahead, angled his head slightly and glanced back as he asked,
“Then—will you marry me?”
“No?”
“What do you *want* me to do?”
Seon Woo gazed quietly down at Eun Jae, who looked up at him with eyes brimming, as if she might cry at any moment.
“In moments like this, you just say thank you. Even elementary students know that much.”
“…”
“Ji Eun Jae, you’re stubborn over nothing—did you know that?”
Seon Woo turned his body fully toward her and resumed walking slowly as he asked,
“Why did you call me?”
“…”
“I was dying to know.”
Though he usually drove calmly, the trip normally took at least ten minutes—yet he’d arrived in five. That said it all.
Just as he neared the parking lot, he spotted Ji Eun Jae clearly standing in front of the lobby.
Realizing instantly, from the number of men surrounding her, that they were the same men he’d encountered earlier, he didn’t hesitate—he slammed the brakes and sprinted toward her.
Thinking back now, from the moment he recognized it was *her* to the moment he stood before her, not a shred of hesitation crossed his mind.
There was no time to think—his body reacted and moved before his brain could catch up.
“For now, let’s move the car first. I parked a little hastily earlier.”
Sure enough, his car showed signs of a rushed stop—tilted awkwardly at the roadside. He pressed the smart key firmly, and the same chime he’d heard over the phone earlier sounded as the folded side mirrors unfolded.
“Get in first. We’ll talk upstairs.”
Seon Woo opened the passenger door for her, then quickly circled the hood to the driver’s seat.
Almost simultaneously with Seon Woo, Eun Jae got into the car—but as she pulled the seatbelt, she suddenly ducked her head. A tear, brimming past her limit, dropped onto the back of her hand gripping the belt.
“It’s just… well… um… *hic*… you see…”
Why had tears suddenly come?
When Dad abandoned us and ran away, when Mom collapsed without warning, when loan sharks trashed our home, when I was unjustly fired from work—I’d remained eerily calm, completely numb.
Back then, not even tears had come.
“*Hic*—I called you because… *sob*…”
“I can’t understand a word you’re saying—just cry first, then talk.”
Eun Jae clenched her hands tightly on her thighs, trying to rein in the emotions surging uncontrollably.
“So… uh…”
She bit her lip, trying to block the tears streaming down her cheeks—
“Just cry—don’t hold it in.”
“…”
“No one’s going to blame you for crying.”
At his words, *plip, plop*—the dam broke. Tears spilled onto her knees.
Memories of those past days—hard-fought, though never quite abundant—flashed past like a reel of film.
Eun Jae buried her face in her palms and wept openly, as if collapsing entirely.
Only now did she understand why she hadn’t cried back then.
Because back then,
no one had been there to see her.
[This is the timeline separator]Eun Jae sat on the living room sofa in the man’s apartment, rubbing her bright-red nose.
Had she ever cried like that in her entire life?
Had she ever cried so freely, so peacefully?
He had waited silently beside her until her tears stopped—and even after she calmed, he said nothing, simply starting the car.
There hadn’t even been a single word of comfort—yet strangely, her heart felt at ease.
It troubled her, though—how, in front of this man, she kept revealing sides of herself she never meant to show.
“Are you calmer now?”
“Yes…”
The man returned with two steaming mugs and handed one to Eun Jae.
“Drink. It’s good for calming the nerves.”
Chamomile tea, he said. She carefully accepted the mug with both hands, watching the white chamomile blossoms float. As she took a sip, Seon Woo, already sipping his own, let out a soft chuckle.
Eun Jae gazed quietly at Seon Woo seated beside her and asked,
“You *will* pay those men tomorrow, won’t you?”
“What—should I not?”
At Eun Jae’s silence, the man smiled again.
“I’m joking. It’s my mess—I’ll handle it.”
Eun Jae took another small sip of tea, matching him.
“I’ll definitely repay that money.”
“Alright.”
Sensing a faint, teasing lilt in his terse reply, Eun Jae looked up at him.
“Why? Why are you smiling? Don’t you trust me? Should we draw up a contract? You *love* writing contracts, Teacher.”
“I just thought it’d take a long time. Does that mean I’d get to see you often, then?”
Unable to decipher his meaning, Eun Jae blinked at Seon Woo—then quickly looked away, flustered by his unexpectedly radiant presence.
“That germophobia of yours—is that a lie, too?”
“Why would I lie about something like that?”
At her words, the man’s brow furrowed slightly.
“You touched that guy’s hand earlier—I saw it all.”
“You think I touched his hand?”
His genuinely startled expression suggested he hadn’t even realized it.
“What? Are you a goldfish? Since when does a doctor have such terrible memory?”
He dashed straight to the kitchen to wash his hands, then returned, squeezing a generous dollop of hand sanitizer from the bottle on the table and rubbing it in—making Eun Jae laugh.
She brought the mug to her lips, cradling its warmth as it seeped beyond the ceramic. This time, the fragrant herbal tea gently caressed her nose and tongue—unlike her first sip.
Though no words passed between them, the air in the living room felt warm. Her heart settled. It was always like this around him—then and now.
Maybe it’ll be alright—with someone like you.
I’m not sure I deserve it.
But if you truly need me—I’d like, just once, to be that person for you.
*Gulp.*
Eun Jae slowly lowered the mug after swallowing the herbal tea.
“I’ll marry you.”
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.]
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