Will You Marry Me?
Haena burst out of Hye-sun’s house and finally let out the breath she had been holding.
“I thought I was going to suffocate to death. What kind of house smells like a bathroom?”
The place was as cramped as a restroom, and the stench was so foul she had nearly thrown up. If she had, Taemin might have called off the engagement.
Taemin, who had betrayed even Gong Juhee for the sake of success, was cold and blunt with everyone, but he was an obsessively devoted son to his mother.
It was a relief that he had told her to wait outside first.
Once her head cleared a little, Haena walked over to the wall of the neighboring house. The lights were on inside, but it didn’t look like Gong Juhee had come home yet.
“Where the hell is she wandering around? A beggar should crawl back to her beggar’s den early.”
She had finally stolen Han Taemin, who had been Gong Juhee’s entire world. She was dying to brag about it, but she needed Juhee to witness it for any of it to matter.
On the surface Juhee always looked calm and uninterested, but when Haena thought about it, she was sure the woman was furious. It made no sense that someone who had clung to Taemin like a leech for so many years would let go so easily.
That meant quitting as his secretary had not been the same as giving up on him.
And not only that—given her personality, she hadn’t left Seohwa at all. She had simply become Yoon Jeha’s secretary and stayed with the company.
That was clearly lingering attachment.
She was hovering in Taemin’s line of sight, using a cunning and shallow trick to shake him. But if he were the type to be shaken by something like that, he never would have betrayed her in the first place. Han Taemin was a careful, deeply thoughtful man.
Looking at it that way, Gong Juhee clearly didn’t know Taemin as well as she did.
Although Juhee had made her blood boil, the situation was unfolding exactly as Haena wanted.
Haena stepped out through the front gate.
“Come on out, beggar princess. Huh?”
She wanted to feel like coming to this filthy neighborhood had been worth it.
After she had shown Juhee that disgraceful scene last time, Taemin had grown even colder. To soothe his anger, she had nagged her father until he bought her a foreign luxury car, and only then had she been able to meet him again.
When Taemin mentioned that Hye-sun wanted to see her, Haena had been the one to suggest they go to the house right away.
She had calculated that if the timing worked out, she could show Juhee the two of them together.
But Taemin’s hardened face had softened for the first time.
It was good to have found a way to score points, but she didn’t like the method. She liked Taemin, but she had no intention of liking his mother too.
Why should I take care of someone else’s parents when I don’t even take care of my own?
“Once we’re married, I’ll just find them a decent house in some corner of Seoul and cut ties.”
Taemin’s mother was obviously a money-hungry low-class woman at first glance. If she sent her some pocket money now and then and took her on an overseas trip with Taemin during the holidays, she would never have to see her again. Once they had a child, she could use the baby as an even better excuse.
Just then, at the end of the alley, a small female silhouette flickered into view.
Like a hyena that had spotted prey, Haena smiled thinly.
“The beggar princess is here.”
The necklace and earrings that Jeha had bought for her glittered at Juhee’s earlobes and throat as she walked home.
He had given her expensive gifts as thanks for helping him choose presents for his mother. The man who used to nitpick at everything had been strangely kind lately, speaking to her in such sweet words.
Since you worked overtime today, come in the afternoon tomorrow.
Since he was going to fire her anyway, was he telling her to come in whenever she wanted on her last day?
As Juhee walked wearily, someone blocked her path. The heavy scent of perfume alone told her who it was.
Joo Haena.
Normally she would have dealt with her lightly, but right now she had no desire to.
She was simply tired and annoyed. And it wasn’t that she was afraid of shit—she just didn’t want to get dirty.
She tried to pass by without even glancing at her, but Haena blocked her again.
“Move.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“I said move.”
The artificial nails studded with jewels poked at Juhee’s forehead.
“Oh my, how scary. But what are you going to do if I don’t move?”
“……”
“Do you think becoming Yoon Jeha’s secretary makes you some kind of big shot? You’re still just a secretary.”
When Juhee glared at her, Haena let out a snort.
“What are you staring at, you pathetic beggar princess? You’re dying to beat me, aren’t you?”
Haena leaned in and whispered into Juhee’s ear.
“But what can you do? I’ve already eaten Han Taemin up. Even if you try to steal him back, I doubt he’ll feel anything. Now, if it were Jeha oppa, that might be different.”
“……”
“Why don’t you try seducing Jeha oppa with that cheap charm of yours? You’re good at that, aren’t you? You used to be so tacky, but the moment you became Jeha oppa’s secretary, your whole vibe changed. You’re in the middle of seducing him right now, aren’t you?”
“……”
“Well, good luck. If you actually marry Jeha oppa, I’ll get down on my knees and bow to you.”
Deciding she couldn’t listen to any more, Juhee lowered her gaze. Joo Haena was still Joo Haena. Wearing eleven-centimeter killer heels on such rough pavement.
“Last warning. Move.”
When Haena still didn’t budge, Juhee shoved her shoulder hard and walked past.
Haena lost her balance and fell to the ground in an undignified heap.
“Aaaagh!”
Haena’s shrill scream echoed down the narrow alley. She glared at Juhee with eyes full of venom.
“You crazy… It hurts. It really hurts. Sob.”
But after closing her poison-filled eyes once and opening them again, she began to sob with the most pitiful expression in the world. When Juhee turned around with a knowing look, Taemin and Hye-sun were already standing outside the gate.
“Mother! Oppa! Sob! I worked up the courage to approach Juhee and make up with her. But Juhee, she…”
Instead of the silent Taemin, Hye-sun came running over.
After examining Haena’s slightly scraped knee, Hye-sun glared at Juhee with fierce eyes.
“Haena made a childish mistake when she was young. But what about you? How can you act so self-righteous? I raised you like my own daughter even though we don’t share a drop of blood. And what did you call me? A maid? Said I couldn’t cook?”
“……”
“Still, Haena was mature enough to try to apologize. But instead of apologizing to me, you’re taking out your anger on my precious daughter-in-law like some brute!”
“Mother, it’s all my fault. What else could Juhee do? She’s lived her whole life only looking at Taemin oppa. How could she give up so easily?”
Haena helped Hye-sun with the most heartbreaking eyes in the world. They really do make quite the pair.
“Don’t say that! My daughter-in-law did nothing wrong! And how dare the daughter of a vulgar woman set her sights on my son? A mere secretary!”
They say rice bows its head the more it ripens, but Hye-sun seemed to grow more selfish with age. She used to be such a good person.
Juhee no longer felt it was worth exchanging words with them.
Treating the two women—who were impossible to reason with—as if they were invisible, she looked at Taemin.
“Director Han, could you please take your mother and fiancée away?”
“Joo Haena, go wait in the car. Mother, please go inside.”
At Taemin’s chilly expression, even Hye-sun immediately backed down.
“Haena, that girl is no ordinary viper. Get in the car before she does something worse. How could I bear it if my daughter-in-law—who even got my son a car—gets hurt?”
Only then did Juhee notice the foreign luxury car parked at the entrance of the alley. She had wondered why such an expensive car was in this neighborhood. So it was Han Taemin’s.
After the two women disappeared, Taemin finally approached.
A cold evening wind blew bleakly between the two people facing each other. After a few more gusts, Taemin spoke awkwardly.
“You look pretty today. Where were you?”
“……Were you with Jeha?”
Juhee almost laughed out loud. You look pretty. Where were you? Words she had never once heard from him in all these years, and now she was hearing them.
“Whatever I do or whoever I meet is none of your concern, Director Han.”
Taemin’s face hardened, as if offended.
“You can speak rudely to me. But Juhee, I’d appreciate it if you showed some respect to my mother.”
She was so dumbfounded that she was speechless for a moment. As she stared at him blankly, sparks of anger flickered in Juhee’s eyes.
“Respect is something that is given and received. It’s mutual.”
“……”
“If the other person doesn’t show it, then I won’t either.”
With those final words, Juhee turned sharply and walked past him. Her back burned with his gaze, but she never looked back.
The moment she opened the gate and stepped inside, Juhee let out a long sigh. Her head was pounding.
Through the half-open window came the whispered voices of a man and a woman.
The woman was Hwayeon. She didn’t recognize the man.
“Why is everyone acting like this today?”
Even after she had warned her, it seemed she had let a man in after all.
She considered dumping a bucket of cold water through the window but changed her mind. Let her be properly humiliated for once.
She was just about to take out her phone to call the police.
“Even the son-in-law who cheated on the wife from the Buyoung Group received ten billion won in alimony. Since Seohwa is bigger than Buyoung, I should get more than ten billion.”
Wait. Seohwa?
“I don’t care if you don’t have a penny. Just divorce her and come to me. Okay?”
Hwayeon’s usually sharp voice had turned moist and pitiful, like a tragic heroine.
“Father-in-law will probably tell me to go ahead and divorce. He’s never liked me from the beginning and still doesn’t. The problem is my wife. If she asks our son…”
The man trailed off, let out a heavy sigh, and continued.
“He doesn’t show it, but my son is absolutely devoted to his wife. His personality is no joke either. If he finds out, he’ll do anything to stop me.”
“Then what should we do? I can’t live without you now.”
“Me neither. No matter what, I will divorce and marry you, Hwayeon.”
There was only one son-in-law in Seohwa. The current CEO of Seohwa Mart and Yoon Jeha’s father.
“Can we really get married?”
“No one can stop us. Unless my son and Hwayeon’s daughter get married or something.”
“Oh please, that would never happen.”
“So don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”
Still holding her phone, Juhee quietly sat down beneath the window, hugging her knees.
Incredible words were spilling out of the small room.
As usual, Juhee drank a glass of water and took a shower. Even though they must have heard her, no one came out of the tightly locked room.
After roughly drying her hair, she lay down in bed, but sleep wouldn’t come.
Thinking of Haena and Hye-sun made her furious. And when she thought about how Yoon Jeha would tell her to quit tomorrow, she felt wronged.
Why did everyone seem so desperate to devour her? She had lived her whole life without harming anyone, working so hard.
No, this was not the time to wallow in resentment.
She needed to come up with a plan.
Juhee calmly organized her thoughts, retracing everything that had happened that day.
Good luck. If you actually marry Jeha oppa, I’ll get down on my knees and bow to you.
Joo Haena’s voice rang in her ears.
He doesn’t show it, but my son is absolutely devoted to his wife.
No one can stop us. Unless my son and Hwayeon’s daughter get married or something.
The man’s words echoed in her head.
In the end, Juhee, who had given up on herself, sat up and leaned against the headboard.
It was ridiculous, but one clever idea had occurred to her. A truly brilliant one.
Of course, Yoon Jeha would never accept it easily.
Still, she had nothing to lose. She might as well give it a shot.
It was a long night of thinking.
Juhee arrived at Seohwa Motors at eight in the morning. The moment she stepped out of the private elevator, she saw the CEO’s secretary team.
They were all familiar faces, so Juhee walked forward with a calm expression.
Everyone looked shocked at the sight of Juhee without her glasses, wearing a white round-neck blouse and a high-waisted black skirt.
After giving the secretaries a light greeting, Juhee headed for the executive office. She knocked, waited a few seconds, then turned the handle.
In the center of the spacious office, Jeha sat on the head seat of the sofa with his long legs crossed. As always, he was dressed in his signature crooked style that never failed to meet her expectations.
“I remember telling you to come in the afternoon today.”
“I came early because I have something to tell you.”
Looking at the tie carelessly draped over his solid chest, Juhee sat down to Jeha’s right.
“What, are you here to hand in your resignation just because I caught you ignoring your boss?”
“I have no intention of resigning.”
“Then why do you look so serious?”
“May I speak?”
Jeha let out a light chuckle.
“Why are you even asking? You’d say it even if I told you not to.”
Juhee took one long breath, then looked straight into Jeha’s eyes.
“Representative Yoon, will you marry me?”