Her mother’s seizure turned into hyperventilation, and right at that critical moment, Oh Jong-hyuk appeared.
“I’ll write to you often.”
Whether it was due to the sedative or meeting her stepfather’s look-alike, her mother became docile as a lamb.
Even as her mother’s only child, Rajin felt helpless against such intense love. A hollow laugh escaped her.
“I don’t want to show my back to you. Time to sleep now, Jin-ok.”
Her mother smiled faintly and slowly closed her eyes. Oh Jong-hyuk patted her hand, then whispered to Rajin.
“Come out. Let’s talk.”
In the outdoor garden of the ward with only single and VIP rooms.
The spring night, following the sunset, was as cold and harsh as her unyielding mother.
“Shameless, after our father died because of you.”
“It was an accident.”
“Father wanted to stay over, but your mother insisted on driving. To take you to your academy.”
Her stepbrother’s accusing eyes glinted, ‘but it was an accident, right?’
An unforeseen accident, and the ensuing responsibility.
If pushed to the blame, as Oh Jong-hyuk said, she would indeed be a great sinner. Resigned, Rajin hung her head. The debt she owed, no matter how much she paid, never seemed to diminish. Was there even an end to it?
Suddenly, Rajin felt a heaviness in her heart.
“Just marry Executive Director Kim Yu-jun.”
“Kim Yu-jun? What marriage.”
“You! Kim Yu-jun, what about him? He’s not your friend.”
Oh Jong-hyuk’s blind loyalty to Kim Yu-jun made Rajin shudder.
Was it because their stepfather was practically a servant to Myeongjin? So to Oh Jong-hyuk, he was like a young master.
“Sigh… Rajin.”
“…”
“Forgetting the grudge against you and your mother. I’m making you the lady of Myeongjin Group.”
Oh Jong-hyuk roughly loosened his tie, grinding his teeth.
“From drama planning to production, the company can’t run without the Executive Director’s support.”
“Get to the point.”
“Don’t upset the money source. You know Executive Director’s temperament.”
Pointing accusingly, Oh Jong-hyuk scoffed. The real pathetic one was him.
“You’re not saying this because you didn’t spend the night with Kim Yu-jun, are you?”
“You’re going to marry him anyway. Just play along.”
As if a detonation button was pressed, Rajin’s heart crumbled.
When my stepfather passed away, I should have ended my relationship with the unrelated Oh Jong-hyuk. But I was too preoccupied with my mother, who was on the brink of life and death.
I’ve done enough up until now, what more can I do? Not only controlling my life through work but now even my marriage. I wanted to confront him – do I not have a life of my own?
However, the invisible guilt of causing my stepfather’s death, the relationship with Oh Jong-hyuk as the only cure for my mother’s seizures, and the complex situation of the company made it impossible for me to break away from this terrible relationship. Stupidly so.
“Myeongjin is going to face prosecution.”
“So?”
“After all the favors from the Executive Director that brought me to this position. Instead of being grateful, you always seem unappreciative.”
His gratitude towards the Executive Director sounded insane. Rajin exhaled in disbelief.
“What does it matter to me if Kim Yu-jun is investigated or goes to prison?”
Oh Jong-hyuk, leaning lazily against the railing, shook his head.
“Just remember, if the Executive Director gets investigated, we’ll be in trouble too.”
“What are you talking about?”
I had a vague idea about the large sums of money exchanged between Kim Yu-jun and the drama production and investments. But if it’s problematic enough to worry about the prosecution, it meant we were in the same boat. What exactly were they up to?
Just thinking about it gave Rajin a headache.
“Director Jin Jae-i of Haeseong Group will be sorted out soon. So, focus on the Executive Director.”
“If I do what Kim Yu-jun wants, will he even pay attention to a fish he’s already caught?”
She added a remark, suggesting he consider it as a man, which instantly shut up the chatty Oh Jong-hyuk.
“They’ll break off the engagement and become serious. It’s not too late then.”
“…”
“Do you have a reason to rush?”
She subtly inserted uncertainty into the calculating Oh Jong-hyuk’s mind.
What if I said I’d look for another chaebol instead of Kim Yu-jun? Wanting to buy time, I was tempted to throw out any excuse.
As Rajin pondered her options, Oh Jong-hyuk, clutching his forehead, cursed under his breath.
“Damn it. At least until the prosecution’s investigation is over.”
“What?”
“Once the Executive Director sorts out his troublesome matters and officially breaks off the engagement, you should actively get involved in the marriage.”
I wanted to punch him for suggesting such an indecent strategy. How could a stepbrother say such things? But ignoring nonsense was the answer.
“If you change your attitude, everything becomes easier.”
“…”
“Your marriage into Myeongjin is your way of atoning to me.”
Rajin chose silence over a reply.
Satisfied with Rajin’s compliant demeanor, Oh Jong-hyuk dumped his burdens and turned to leave, reminding her not to bother him with such matters again.
As the door clicked shut, Rajin exhaled a hot breath towards the dark sky.
I had been dragged along by Oh Jong-hyuk all this time, to save my mother. I willingly jumped into this trap, knowing it was a trap. I felt suffocated, unable to bear it any longer.
No matter how hard I tried not to weaken, a vast hole seemed to have opened in my heart, letting the wind rush through. Tears fell uncontrollably.
“Sigh.”
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed in the garden.
There was definitely no one around… Rajin, with tears brimming, scanned her surroundings.
“!”
The man from the elevator, his face expressionless, appeared in my sight. At such a time, in such a state, to face him.
Just as I hurried to leave, he extended his large hand.
A square, soft sensation was felt in my palm.
“If you need help, please contact me.”
After uttering just one sentence, the man turned away without waiting for any response, just like he had done earlier in front of the elevator. As the door thudded shut, Rajin’s gaze fell.
A grey handkerchief, its foreign texture evident.
Rajin slowly soaked the handkerchief, marked with her tear stains.
Prosecutor Kang Ji-ho.
Inside the handkerchief, nestled his clean, white business card.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
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