“They’re turning away booked clients at the desk, apologizing, while patients are complaining. It’s chaos. They say Dr. Oh Seodong hasn’t come in yet. Didn’t his mother wake him up?”
Sanghwa shook his head, unable to comprehend the madness of the situation, with an expression that read ‘this is insane’. Jaein just shrugged her shoulders and opened the window.
Since dawn, the winter rain had turned into sleet. Yoon Jae In reached out of the yoga center window and froze when she saw someone coming out of the café on the first floor.
“…….”
It was the man she had encountered on her way to work in the afternoon. The man was outside the café, looking around as he talked on the phone. The moment he looked up toward the third floor of Namkwang Building, Jae In quickly ducked below the window.
“Why, what’s up? Is Dr. Oh Seodong watching again?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“Can you check for a man standing down there? He looks to be in his forties, about your height, wearing a navy padded jacket and a black hat.”
“Yeah, I see him. We made eye contact. Just seems like some guy. Oh, he’s going into the café?”
Indeed, it wasn’t just her imagination. Jae In was sensitive to the gaze of the man who was persistently following her. It was only natural, given her past experiences.
She had also encountered the man at the café on the first floor of the office building she briefly visited yesterday. She distinctly remembered him because he had been sitting alone for quite a long time while she was there.
He couldn’t just be touring the Gangnam cafés alone looking like that. The reason for a suspicious person lingering around her for two consecutive days was clear.
“Got another stalker on your hands?”
“Uhm…….”
“Hey, you should come and stay at our place for a while. Seriously! I want to sweep all the stalkers into the trash can!”
“It doesn’t seem like a stalker. Feels different.”
“Then what?”
Jae In gnawed on her lip. The observation was there, but without the sticky obsession. The relatively objective gaze meant it wasn’t from a man interested in her.
The only person who came to mind was Jo Daehoon. She remembered the chilly gaze she felt but couldn’t see a few days ago when she encountered him. He was not someone who would just let things be after that encounter. It was clear that Jo Daehoon had someone keep an eye on her.
“Seems like someone has put a tail on me.”
“What? Which crazy guy would do that?”
She couldn’t help but let out a sardonic laugh. Jo Daehoon, who had been so indifferent towards her, was now having her followed; he must be in quite a hurry for something.
She felt a perverse pleasure knowing that her existence, in any form, made him uncomfortable, that she was a threat to him, even if a small one. Moreover, the fact that Daehoon had her watched instead of confronting her directly meant he intended to observe.
As long as it wasn’t a stalker, there was no immediate threat of harm. Yoon Jae In thought to herself, then looked at Sanghwa with a wry smile.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Hey, what do you mean fine? Can’t you report something like that?”
All she had to do was be careful with her phone calls. Since she never left her mobile phone unattended or out of hand, it was unlikely that it had been tampered with by someone else.
She was supposed to meet Tae Seo on Saturday evening. For Jae In, who needed to make up her mind by then, this was rather a fortunate turn of events. If she quietly went between her home and the yoga center, she wouldn’t draw Jo Daehoon’s attention.
“Let’s install a few more locks at home today. I’ll talk to the landlord. Let’s go together later.”
“Okay.”
Jae In nodded and her gaze drifted to the calendar. Why did she think of Kang Tae Seo at such an anxious moment? But he had said he would be on a business trip starting tomorrow.
He must be busy.
Even though she knew he would be busy preparing for his business trip, Yoon Jae In felt the urge to contact Tae Seo. Could she meet him on Saturday? If so, what would he look like when they met?
Nothing was certain, but Jae In knew. She knew that her heart had already tilted towards him.
After hesitating, Jae In pressed the send button and then typed another message.
Jae In closed her eyes. Any further pondering was pointless. If she had something to tell Tae Seo, she wanted to say it to his face. She looked forward to Saturday when they were supposed to meet.
“What is it that you said you had to tell me?”
After meeting with Director Im Hongjin of Kangsun Art Center and returning to his company, Daehoon was informed that there was a visitor for him. He did not hide his discomfort upon encountering this unexpected person.
The visitor was President Jung Jaehoon of Juan Entertainment. Jaehoon, once notorious as a troublemaker of the Juan group, was the sole grandson of the chairman of the Juan group.
Had it not been for Kangsun Construction’s involvement, he might have been considered as a potential husband for Yu Ri. Despite being the only child of a good family, he couldn’t hide his frail and gloomy nature and had caused a major incident eight years ago.
At that time, Yoon Jae In had nearly lost her life. The chairman of the Juan group and Daehoon sweated bullets to hush up the uproar that nearly broke out. Just thinking about it made his head throb.
“Where have you hidden Jae In?”
“Hidden? What are you talking about?”
“Do you think I don’t know? I’m well aware that the chairman has always considered Jae In a thorn in his side! Jae In is a poor girl with no one to rely on!”
“Oh my, who was it because of that she almost died?”
Jaehoon had come to Ji Seunghi immediately after regaining consciousness from the accident, still in a frail state, demanding Yoon Jae In be handed over. He caused a scene and was then dragged away by his grandfather and sent abroad.
He returned to Korea a few years ago and took over the entertainment business, didn’t he? I also heard that his business has been doing quite well recently.
“If you’re going to spout nonsense…”
“Please, give me Jae In.”
Daehoon watched Jaehoon intently, who was speaking with a voice full of resolve, his eyes flashing with persistence.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I know Jae In is in Korea.”
“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
“I know everything. I know who Jae In’s biological mother and father are.”
Jo Daehoon looked at Jaehoon with a face full of displeasure.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
