It was much later, after Je Ho left for the U.S. and a considerable amount of time passed, that they became friends through Hyun Kyung’s introduction. On the day Min Woo first met Yul Li, he said they had a conversation, but regretfully, Yul Li did not remember.
Meeting so many people at every charity party, it was too much to remember everyone. However, for fear of disappointing Min Woo, she had never told him the truth.
“Even if you and I were once engaged, it was only for a brief moment. Conversely, Yul Li and I have always been together for the past 10 years.”
When Min Woo tried to embrace her again, Yul Li avoided his touch and glanced sideways. Min Woo, noticing her discomfort, reluctantly put his hand on the back of her chair. Instead, he whispered words of affection.
“Do you remember our trip to Malawi, Yul Li?”
Min Woo seemed to want to imply to Je Ho that he and Yul Li were more than just friends. Yul Li nodded in silence. It wasn’t a lie made up by Min Woo. Because it’s true that the two of them went to Malawi together. But Hyun Kyung was also with them, and it was a trip for volunteer work.
“We stayed in the same room, remember? I still remember the night sky we saw together. Wow, the stars in the black night sky sparkled like diamonds….”
Listening to Min Woo’s words, it seemed like a blissful honeymoon. Yul Li didn’t refute this either. After all, what does it matter if they’re going to be married anyway?
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Yul Li, who briefly agreed, sipped her wine. As she put her glass down after a sip, she caught Je Ho’s eye. Something cold flickered beneath his slowly blinking eyelids. Perhaps it was an expression that seemed to be questioning whether she really had a deep relationship with Min Woo.
Yul Li’s heart dropped for a moment. Her hand, holding the glass, faintly trembled as she hurriedly drank the wine to avoid his gaze. She didn’t know the exact reason, but the thought that he might misunderstand made her heart feel tight, as if being squeezed.
“I thought it was just an arranged marriage….”
Je Ho, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.
“It seems you two have feelings for each other.”
“Well, of course, there are feelings…”
Min Woo, who was about to speak his mind, quickly shut his mouth with an “oops” expression. He shouldn’t make Yul Li feel burdened, especially with the wedding just around the corner. It was an agreed marriage, trying to get what each wanted by thoroughly excluding emotions.
“Whether there are feelings or not, what’s so important about that in an arranged marriage.”
Min Woo quickly covered up his slip of the tongue.
“Is that so?”
Knowing how much Min Woo likes Yul Li, Je Ho turned his head toward her with an ambiguous expression.
“Marriage is not like a merger between companies…”
“Honestly, isn’t it not that different?”
Yul Li frowned at the metaphor of a corporate merger.
“Min Woo and I are getting married because our conditions match, and I believe we will be good partners.”
She wasn’t trying to take Min Woo’s side. But she couldn’t stand hearing the unjust criticism, and the feeling that he was mocking them. Min Woo, who knew nothing, laughed brightly, misunderstanding that Yul Li was defending him.
“So you’re saying it’s about the conditions, not love?”
“Yes, that’s right. Con. Di. Tions.”
Yul Li emphasized the word “conditions” with force. As a result, her voice trembled slightly at the end. Je Ho, noticing the subtle change, momentarily raised his eyebrows, but soon became calm.
“I don’t believe in fleeting emotions like love. I believe that a marriage formed out of mutual necessity holds a much stronger bond.”
Je Ho didn’t argue back. He just silently looked at her. His gaze was emotionless. Still, Yul Li could no longer bear his gaze and turned her head to the side. Although faint, she could sense the contempt in his eyes.
On second thought, she found herself slowly becoming angry.
How could he be so quick to judge without knowing what she’d been through?
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Yul Li asked directly without hiding her feelings. Maybe he found her reaction amusing, as Je Ho chuckled, his eyes crinkling.
“I was wondering if the Chae Yul Li standing in front of me right now is the same person who blushed ten years ago, insisting she didn’t want a marriage of convenience.”
At his words, Yul Li shot Je Ho a cold look.
“In ten years, even rivers and mountains change. Of course, people change too, as do their views on marriage.”
Was it because of her parents’ influence? She’d had a few boyfriends, but most of the relationships didn’t last long. She couldn’t fully trust her partners, and they were more interested in her background, in other words, the power of Representative Chae.
In the end, she became someone who couldn’t believe in the emotion called love. That’s why a strategic marriage that excluded feelings from the start was more comfortable. At least she wouldn’t be betrayed.
“What about you, brother?”
Min Woo, who had been watching the two argue, finally interjected.
“Can you say that you’re the same now as you were back then? Will you never have a marriage of convenience?”
“Of course.”
Only then did Je Ho take his eyes off Yul Li and turned to look at Min Woo.
“I believe marriage should only be with someone you love. Marriage is not a business.”
“So, by the way you’re talking… bro, do you have a girlfriend?”
“….well.”
Je Ho didn’t answer, keeping silent as if lost in thought. Then, after a while, he spoke.
“There’s a woman who keeps catching my eye and tugging at my heart.”
Yul Li tried to look disinterested, but she couldn’t help her ears perking up.
A woman who kept catching his eye and tugging at his heart?
Who was this woman?
Beyond simple curiosity, she felt a strange sensation. Her heart prickled as if poked by a needle.
Yul Li was taken aback by her reaction. Just a moment ago, she had said that she didn’t believe in emotions like love, yet now, she felt suffocated by a heavy stone pressing down on her because of a woman she didn’t even know.
It was clear that her emotional barrier had temporarily crumbled due to excessive drinking.
“Is this woman in Korea? Or in America?”
“It doesn’t matter where she is right now. Because….”
Je Ho paused in his words and turned his gaze towards Yul Li. He then continued at a leisurely pace.
“Because she’s about to become my woman.”
A faint smile seemed to hover around Je Ho’s lips as he murmured in a whisperlike tone.
“….Of course, it won’t be easy.”
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
