If nothing happens, I’ll finish around 7.
“Yes.”
He was a man who didn’t report his commute schedule separately.
Even if he worked late, even if he had to stay out overnight, I wondered if he would contact me, which was strange.
It was strange that he suddenly told me the time he would finish work.
I’m thinking of having dinner outside.
Since he had dinner plans, it seemed like he was telling me not to prepare.
“Oh, yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
There was a moment of silence.
If you’re okay with it, let’s go out together.
With the suddenly shortened words, Help’s face brightened at the suggestion of going out.
“Yes, I’d love to!”
Without hesitation, I answered right away.
Regardless of the menu or the time, I was just happy to go out.
“At 7. I’ll get ready and wait for you not to be late.”
With a string of words pouring out like a soliloquy, I didn’t know what kind of face Jiwan on the other side had made.
Whatever it was, just the thought of going out made me a happy woman.
Okay.
Help lowered the disconnected phone and turned away. Instead of taking a few steps, she sat back at the dining table where the phone was placed.
After pressing the save button on the phone number that had just called and hesitating in front of the blinking cursor for a while, Help stood up, hiding her blushing cheeks.
Above the call log, the name of the person she just saved was clearly displayed.
Certainly, it was different from other days.
Between the two painful days, whatever had happened, when Jiwan looked at the approval column on the piled-up documents, his expression was unusually relaxed. Usuk’s eyes discreetly observed his boss.
A man who used to schedule meetings well regardless of his leaving time, suddenly said not to schedule any meetings after 5 p.m., but he willingly took out his suit jacket before 6 p.m.
Beep.
“President. Vice President Seo Ki-hyuk from Bando Electronics is here.”
Jiwan’s expression, which had been pleasant until a moment ago, distorted without a doubt at the voice of the team leader on the other end of the phone.
The unwelcome guest, who was already not very welcome, had come without notice, so he wasn’t a person to respond to courteously.
“Tell them I’m away.”
Bam.
Before Jiwan could finish speaking, Ki-hyuk boldly entered the president’s office.
Wearing a gray suit with stripes, he casually loosened his tie, not hiding his graceful smile.
“I know everything, but why tell such a blatant lie.”
Due to the reasons of being the legitimate child and the offspring of a concubine, the hierarchy between Ki-hyuk and Jiwan at Bando was clear.
Even with just one year of difference, Madam Jang treated Ki-hyuk as the heir to Bando Group, and for Jiwan, she imposed the standard that he should be upright.
It was clear enough for a dog raised in Anseodong to know which side they should stand on.
It was a tense tug-of-war between a man who must be made to submit under my feet to relieve my conscience, and a man who would never bow his head even if he was driven away like a beggar.
It was a fierce rope-pulling fight between a man who would never bow his head even if he was driven away like a beggar and a man whose principles were airtight.
It couldn’t be a fair game from the start.
From the beginning, Ki-hyuk, who was the legitimate heir of Bando’s lineage, had the upper hand.
Whoever let go of the tightly pulled string had to admit to cheating, and whoever was pulled along had to admit defeat.
There was no need to think about which side to choose.
Whether it was cheating or defeat, the one who had to admit it was clearly Jiwan, who came from another background, not related to Bando’s bloodline.
“Even if it’s a blatant lie, you can’t avoid it, so you called and didn’t come.”
“Why do you call every time I call you, saying you’re in a meeting? I wondered if the president only held meetings all day, so I came to see. It’s not a problem if you’re not going to see me anyway. When you were a child and now, I can’t really know what you’ve done.”
It was the same story again.
When Jiwan, who had been living in the United States, briefly stayed in Korea due to Madam Jang’s request.
Ki-hyuk, who was afraid of Madam Jang’s anger, gave Jiwan a robot toy in exchange for breaking a flowerpot she cherished.
It was again that story.
In response to Madame Jang’s probing, Jiwan never admitted to what I did. Nor did he say it was what Ki-hyuk did.
Madame Jang called both of them over, pulled Jiwan closer, and asked, “I’ll buy you a robot. Will you tell the truth?”
To anyone from the main house, Madame Jang, who couldn’t even meet anyone’s eyes properly, was a scarier presence than the Grim Reaper or a goblin to the two men at that time.
The young Jiwan, who should have nodded his head obediently, said, “Grandmother already knows who the culprit is. Asking me about the robot is just an excuse, isn’t it?”
Ki-hyuk, who was standing trembling, urinated standing in line for the first time then.
Madame Jang, who scolded Jiwan for the uproar caused by Ki-hyuk’s crying, blamed Jiwan.
“To the one who knows the culprit and asks, you just had to reveal the culprit’s name and get a robot.”
Young Jiwan answered without hesitation.
“I may not know if I’ll get a robot, but I don’t want my soul to be punished for something I didn’t do, and I don’t want to profit from an unfair act.”
Jiwan sat across from Ki-hyuk on the sofa.
As if recalling the past, Ki-hyuk’s forehead twisted.
“And then, when you went back to the U.S. Didn’t you reluctantly accept a robot from Madame Jang?”
It happened more than twenty years ago.
To be precise, it was not just one robot, but a set of five transforming robots.
“What’s going on today?”
“Oh, Madame Jang said to arrange a meal for your couple. The more this old woman gets, the clearer her mind becomes. Ah, being a good son-in-law is so hard.”
Wusuk, who was seen at the door, was blocking Team Leader Yeon, who was carrying a tea tray.
The keen-witted man knew that the current atmosphere was not suitable for drinking tea, and that he should refrain from delaying time.
Jiwan raised his left wrist to check the time.
Considering the rush hour, it was already quite late.
“Yes, please schedule it. Let us know.”
As Jiwan stood up, behind him, Ki-hyuk flashed a cynical smile.
“Are you, by any chance, upset because your mother wasn’t invited to the wedding?”
The man who was about to leave turned slowly.
“That’s right. Isn’t avoiding my calls repeatedly, and not setting foot in Anseodong, all for that reason?”
The gaze that intensified for a moment looked down coolly at the sitting Ki-hyuk.
“Is this also Chairman Jang’s order?”
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!!!
