When You Forget Me (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
“I should just say I like you that much. Honestly.”
Recalling last night’s phone call with Gi Ju, Eun Chae sat before her dressing table and lowered her gaze to her tightly pressed lips reflected in the mirror.
Maybe I should’ve just cursed him out.
Applying lip balm to her slightly dry lips, she immediately dismissed the thought. There was no reason to get angry—she’d known she’d be pricked by the needle yet still took the bait. She was just startled by his bluntness, that’s all.
After moistening her lips with a soft smack, Eun Chae set the lip balm down on the dresser and opened a drawer.
Reaching into the seemingly empty back of the drawer, her fingertips brushed against something hard and cold—a lighter, tipped backward from the motion of pulling the drawer open.
Eun Chae picked up the lighter.
Click.
She opened and closed the lighter’s lid with her slender fingers.
“Click.”
He’d once flicked open the lid effortlessly with his larger, longer hand and lit a cigarette.
She disliked cigarettes, but watching Kwon Gi Ju smoke wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
Perhaps it was simply because, regardless of his personality, his outward appearance was undeniably attractive.
Sometimes, when he lifted his chin to look up at the sky or closed his eyes—unreadable, lost in thought—and let smoke curl from between his lips, she’d find herself staring blankly, drowsy-eyed.
It was a rare, quiet version of him—so rare that when she saw the lighter engraved with the first initial of his name, she couldn’t just walk past it.
“Try using it right now.”
He stared wordlessly at her outstretched white hand before taking the lighter.
In his hands, the lighter no longer looked like cheap street-market junk bought in the Philippines. He placed a cigarette between his lips, tilted his head, and lit it—its tip crackling as gray smoke drifted out.
But the moment he rubbed his eyebrow with the hand holding the cigarette and raised his eyes, he broke into a cough. Gone was his confident demeanor demanding she smoke it right then and there—instead, he coughed, throat rasping against the smoke flooding his face.
Kwon Gi Ju glanced at her as if wondering what on earth she expected, then bit down hard on the cigarette and inhaled the smoke deep into his lungs before exhaling sharply. Moments later, he stamped it out with his shoe.
Thud.
Slamming the lid shut and tucking away that old memory again, Eun Chae placed the lighter back inside the drawer. He’d kept it even after their reunion—despite never using it, it hadn’t even developed an oily smell. She hadn’t expected that when she’d given it to him back then.
Now that things had come to this, she could try seducing him in earnest—but she lacked the confidence to deceive Kwon Gi Ju.
Different in nature, yet capable of inflicting similar wounds.
The more sincere he was, the more easily he’d be hurt—just like she had been two years ago.
Glancing at her wristwatch to check the time, Eun Chae quickly grabbed her coat and left the room.
Several garment racks were set up inside the department store’s personal shopping suite.
Having pre-requested items by brand, Eun Chae sat on the sofa across from her, flipping through a fashion magazine and trying things on as she shopped.
Strangely, today’s list included men’s items as well. When she hesitated over a tie, Gi Ju, who’d been watching, narrowed his eyes slightly.
After finally deciding on the tie too, she left the personal suite and headed toward a watch brand.
As she browsed through various models laid out by category, she caught Gi Ju’s eye and selected the timepiece the salesperson mentioned had just arrived that day—a stainless steel watch with an intricately designed second hand. Gi Ju took the shopping bag once the watch was fully wrapped up.
Thus, everything she purchased ended up in Gi Ju’s hands as they arrived back home. When he followed her into the room and set down the multiple shopping bags, Eun Chae, untying her scarf, spoke up.
“Take the tie and the watch.”
She draped the scarf over a chair. Gi Ju, whose gaze had been fixed on her white fingertips gripping the chair back, looked up. Eun Chae stepped closer, meeting his blunt, unreadable expression as if trying to decipher her intent.
“No, it’s a gift—try it on now.”
Ha. Gi Ju let out a short breath and chuckled lowly. He undid the watch hidden beneath his shirt cuff and set it down carelessly, then pulled a large box from the shopping bag and replaced it with the expensive watch Eun Chae had bought.
“It suits you well.”
As Eun Chae offered her appraisal, she stepped even closer and reached for his tie.
Gi Ju instinctively leaned forward, his eyes fixed on her hands untying his necktie. She swiftly removed the one he’d been wearing and even took the new tie from the department store to knot it herself.
An exasperated sigh landed atop her head as she meticulously adjusted the fabric.
“What’s this about?”
He didn’t even glance at the newly worn tie or watch. Eun Chae sat perched on the bed, crossed her legs, and wiggled her slipper-clad foot.
“Partners usually give each other things like this. I’ll keep giving you gifts like this from now on. Accept them happily.”
Partner. Gi Ju repeated the word slowly, then took a sudden step forward. Before she could react, he pushed her shoulder.
As her back met the bedsheet and she tried to sit up again, Gi Ju braced one knee—his trousers taut—between hers and planted both hands on the bed.
“I haven’t done anything yet. I’d need to actually do something to deserve a gift like this.”
When he retorted, Eun Chae spoke.
“If you know what kind of relationship we have, then why can’t Han Seung Yoon do anything?”
“Because you’re not exactly blameless yourself.”
“Then dig up everything about Han Seung Yoon—tell me who he really is, what his past is like. That’s your job.”
A relationship tainted and transactional—amounting to nothing more than this.
“Move aside.”
Calmly instructed, Eun Chae lifted her shoulder to stand again, but he pushed her back down effortlessly—and this time, caught her wrist too.
Gi Ju pinned her wrist—small enough to fit in one hand—and covered half his face with the other before lowering it. Now showing his true self without concealment, he tilted his head down to look at her, not even smiling.
“Someone like me—a damn bastard—doesn’t know how to treat a noble lady properly.”
His lowered hand settled against Eun Chae’s collarbone.
Startled, Eun Chae met his stern gaze, her eyelids trembling.
“You need my permission even for something like this. Act like the second you are.”
Fortunately, Eun Chae had regained her composure mid-sentence. She held his piercing stare without flinching, enduring the tense silence.
“You’re picky.”
He lowered his head.
His black hair brushed under her chin, soft against her neck.
“You’re clever.”
“…”
“That’s how you should be used.”
He pulled his lips away from her skin and spoke, then stepped back with his large frame—finally releasing her.
As his scent faded, Eun Chae found herself unable to rise, her body slackening instead. Her chest rose and fell sharply with each deep breath, yet her voice remained calm.
“Find out quickly who Han Seung Yoon is seeing right now.”
Gi Ju, now standing fully upright, adjusted his tie.
“Is that a request?”
He glanced at her again after casually rotating his wrist to check the watch, then lowered his arm at an angle.
“But I’m not interested in material things like this.”
“…”
“Think carefully about what you need to offer to get what you want.”
He rubbed a strand of her disheveled hair on the white sheets between his thumb and forefinger, then left the room without a trace of reluctance—despite the contradiction in his actions.
D1 Group’s ambition knew no bounds, growing rapidly through sharp, aggressive curves. Could any other company besides D1 have its chairman personally meddle in marketing?
This was a stark shift from the days when they’d shamelessly focused only on inflating their size by any means necessary. Chairman Song possessed a fox-like cunning.
Thus, he personally conceived and executed corporate image strategies usually reserved for strategic planning teams—though it hardly mattered, since they’d both plummet together during the next presidential election anyway.
Though thinking this as he investigated Chairman Song right beside him, Kwang Il held no sense of ease.
It was a National Intelligence Service classified project being carried out with greater secrecy than even spy investigations—and his job required him to stay closely attached to Chairman Song.
Lately, however, Kwon Gi Ju had been spending more time with Chairman Song.
This wasn’t due to any order from above, nor was it something Kwang Il had instructed. Though some projects lasted longer, two years was hardly a short time.
It seemed unlikely this carefully laid operation would hinge on him as a variable—but his unpredictable behavior remained unexplained.
Swish.
At the sound of paper turning, Kwang Il shifted his gaze to Gi Ju. Seated on a metal chair, Gi Ju had his crossed leg raised, flipping through documents casually. The files he was reviewing involved private errands personally entrusted to him by Chairman Song.
Why go out of his way to earn unnecessary trust? Kwang Il couldn’t make sense of the man’s motives at all.
He walked over with steady steps and tapped the desk lightly with his rolled-up hand, mimicking a knock.
“Chairman Song trusts you too much. What are you thinking?”
“I left and came back, so it’s crucial I earn even more trust than before to avoid suspicion. Everything’s going as planned.”
Gi Ju replied without looking up from the documents, then tossed the finished file onto the desk and met Kwang Il’s gaze.
“Song Eun Chae’s wedding has been moved up—what happens now?”
“Nothing can be done.”
Chairman Song’s corruption—and the entanglement with Han Seung Yoon’s family. Of course, meddling in politics was always extremely delicate, but this case had enough weight to influence the upcoming presidential election. Thus, the project’s conclusion was timed for that very moment.
Since the marriage had been accelerated and already finalized, Eun Chae’s personal life was now beyond their control.
Once the marriage registration was submitted, reversing it would be impossible. Even if it was a political marriage and Chairman Song’s coercion could be proven—giving her an advantage in an annulment lawsuit—the decision to move up the wedding had been hers alone.
“If this brings down Chairman Song, won’t the government help protect Song Eun Chae’s assets? That part should be fine.”
Eun Chae’s mother had been the daughter of one of Korea’s wealthiest families—their ancestral home was designated a national treasure, and the inheritance she’d received from her parents was so immense it made inheritance taxes jaw-dropping.
Who could have predicted that an unremarkable construction company president would successfully scheme his way into swallowing such wealth?
She’d been frail by nature and died just a few years after remarrying Chairman Song. Though he hadn’t touched the assets specifically left to Song Eun Chae, they had originally all belonged to her.
Publicly, Chairman Song appeared to be a hopeless romantic who never remarried and doted endlessly on his non-blood-related daughter—but it was all a lie.
He simply hadn’t remarried; instead, he’d cycled through dozens of lovers—women met in seedy places, celebrities, office workers, even his personal stylist. After her mother’s death, Song Eun Chae had lived as Chairman Song’s puppet.
Kwang Il pitied her for this—so perhaps Kwon Gi Ju, watching over her from close by, felt sympathy too?
Kwon Gi Ju—the man who never shied from dirty work and who’d swiftly conclude innocent casualties were unavoidable if they served his purpose—felt this way only toward Song Eun Chae?
But when Kwang Il asked, Gi Ju immediately dropped the subject, so Kwang Il refrained from jumping to conclusions.
“Chairman Song summoned you. However things go, don’t get too deeply tangled.”
Without answering Kwang Il’s warning, Gi Ju headed toward Chairman Song.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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