Hoseok was dragged away by security guards, and as the attention, once concentrated, began to disperse, Nareum took a deep breath and touched her forehead.
“What are you doing right now?”
Sharp as an arrow, Nareum’s question was directed at Taekyu, who smiled with an endlessly gentle face. Nareum was perplexed.
“I haven’t heard the answer yet.”
“What answer…”
Instead of responding, Nareum quickly cut off her words. The question Taekyu asked a while ago suddenly came to mind.
“Do you want to follow him, or do you want me to follow you?”
“Is the question difficult? It’s me, that jerk?”
“Say it. It’s me, that jerk.”
He asked similar questions three times but never got an answer. However, once again, when Nareum avoided eye contact and hesitated to answer, Taekyu looked at her and let out a dry laugh.
“You’re hesitating, how pitiful.”
Was it really that difficult to decide? Muttering to himself, he roughly pulled the knot of his tie.
When his long, straight fingers moved to glance at something, Nareum’s face turned red. If the security guards had come a little later, she might have followed that hand.
As expected, his hand was as gentle and warm as anticipated. The moment the ring was placed on her finger, all the events from earlier were forgotten, and her mind went blank like a fool.
Why is it so easy for me?
I almost lost my judgment momentarily. Standing in front of that man, my discernment blurred as if possessed by something.
Without pride, I sway again. Avoiding trouble, running away when we cross paths. Everything I’ve worked hard for seems utterly useless.
“It was an important moment. You messed it all up, you know?”
Smiling kindly, Nareum thought about following Shim Hoseok, who was threateningly coaxing her. However, she didn’t want to block her father’s path like this, who had suffered because of her all his life.
However, that didn’t mean she was foolish enough to follow Shim Hoseok’s orders without resistance.
If I had to choose, I would have chosen the method of persuading Hoseok. He was targeting my Achilles’ heel, and that was a fact.
“Is that so? If I hadn’t come, you would have followed him by now.”
Looking down at the hotel suite key that Hoseok had overlooked, Taekyu chuckled self-deprecatingly.
“Who I follow has nothing to do with you, Teacher Yoon.”
“What weakness did you find to make you behave like this? Nareum isn’t that kind of person, right?”
Pierced by a sharp question, Nareum was at a loss for words.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s my business.”
After a short pause, Nareum, whose shaken gaze had already revealed her vulnerability, quickly shifted her eyes to the coat and bag she had placed on the chair.
“I don’t know why I’m acting like this, and I know it’s not right, but it annoys me. No, it’s incredibly annoying.”
“……”
“We said we were discussing matters between families, right? Think it over carefully. Even if the same man sees him, he’s not that bastard.”
“I told you not to worry about it.”
“Do you really want to ruin your life like this?”
Even though Taekyu yelled out in frustration, Nareum didn’t show any signs of wavering. As Nareum looked at him with a calm gaze, Taekyu, who had approached closely, spoke mockingly.
“Are you really doing this because you don’t know or pretending not to know? All guys are the same. They try to play some tricks to get a chance.”
Reserving a Sweet Room to enjoy the view with him. Nareum, as if signaling that she couldn’t listen to more of his rambling, turned away. Nevertheless, he paid no attention and blocked Nareum’s way with wide steps.
“Excuse me.”
“Why? Did I cross the line again?”
“Yes, you crossed the line.”
“I’m selling myself.”
Suddenly, looking at Taekyu with a puzzled expression, Nareum raised her eyebrows.
“It was an important moment, and you ruined it. If things get difficult, use me as an excuse.”
“Ha… It’s fine.”
When Nareum, who had let out a long sigh and looked exhausted, moved aside, he once again grabbed Nareum’s forearm. Nareum, who nervously brushed off Taekyu’s hand, raised her voice that she had been suppressing.
“Why are you like this?”
“I have a man I’m meeting.”
“…”
“So, I can’t marry that beggar-like guy.”
He hates brown hair. Despite saying he doesn’t like it, he follows the girl who likes it, and once he breaks up, he sticks to her without any pride.
Openly expressing dislike, why does he keep hovering around? How much more does he want to make me miserable…
“Even if you use me like that.”
“I don’t need it.”
With teary eyes, Nareum stared at Taekyu and matched her gaze.
“I’ll handle it without Teacher Yoon’s help, so please don’t interfere, please. I beg you.”
As Nareum forcefully pushed Taekyu away with her hand holding the bag, the sound of Nareum’s shoes pushing against the floor accelerated.
“Will the mayor be happy with a market position obtained by treating his child like this?”
Nareum’s steps stopped as if she had been shackled at the ankles.
From the beginning, he heard it all. He heard everything.
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.”
