Married to My Ex's Uncle

Ji-woo's bouquet slipped from her fingers the moment she heard the moan. She froze. For three seconds, she couldn't move. The sound came from the bridal suite's dressing room. A woman's breathless moan. Then a man's low voice, familiar, panting her stepsister's name. Ji-woo's heart stopped. No. It couldn't be. Not today. Not after everything. Her wedding dress felt suddenly too tight. The white lace she had sewn herself for three nights because she couldn't afford a designer dress now felt like a costume. She slowly pushed the half-closed door open. Her world shattered. Kang Min-jun stood beside the sofa, his white wedding shirt hanging open, his black tie lying on the floor. Sweat on his forehead. And kneeling in front of him was Soo-ah. Her stepsister. The girl her father brought home when Ji-woo was ten, the girl she shared her small bedroom with, the woman Ji-woo had trusted more than almost anyone. Soo-ah looked up first. Her red lipstick was smeared. Her hair was messy. Her bridesmaid dress pulled down. For a moment, nobody spoke. The air conditioner hummed. Then Min-jun's face went pale white. "Ji-woo." Her fingers tightened around the door handle until her knuckles turned white. She couldn't hear anything except the pounding of her own heart. "Tell me this isn't what I think it is." "It's not—" "Don't lie to me." Her voice cracked. Min-jun rushed toward her, pulling his shirt closed. "Ji-woo, please. Listen to me. It's a mistake." She stepped backward, her veil catching on the door. Five years. Five years ago, when she'd told Min-jun she was pregnant, he'd disappeared from her life without looking back. He'd refused to answer her calls. He'd blocked her number. He'd told her through a single cold message: _I'm not ready to be a father. Don't contact me again._ So Ji-woo had raised Yuna alone. She had worked until her feet bled. She had opened a tiny bakery called Seo-yeon Bakery, named after her dead mother, with the little money she'd saved. She had spent every night worrying about how she would pay the rent and every morning pretending everything was fine for her daughter. And three months ago, the doctor had said the words that broke her: "Yuna has a congenital heart defect. She needs surgery within three months. 80 million won." 80 million. Ji-woo had 2 million in her account. Then, eight months ago, Min-jun had returned. He had apologized. He had cried on his knees. He had told her he'd made the biggest mistake of his life. Most importantly, he'd asked to meet Yuna. Yuna, who was five and had always asked, "Mommy, where is Daddy?" Ji-woo had been stupid enough to believe him. When he proposed, she'd thought perhaps fate was finally giving her something back. She had believed she could give Yuna the family she'd always wanted and the money for her heart. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. The day she saved her daughter. Instead, she had found her fiancé with her stepsister minutes before walking down the aisle. "Ji-woo," Min-jun whispered, reaching for her. "It happened once. It means nothing." She stared at him. "Once?" He swallowed. "Please. It doesn't mean anything. Soo-ah seduced me." Soo-ah suddenly laughed. It was a soft, almost amused sound that made Ji-woo's skin crawl. "Why are you apologizing so much, Min-jun? Why are you lying to her again like you did five years ago?" Ji-woo turned toward her. Soo-ah stood and calmly adjusted her dress, not ashamed at all. "Are you seriously going to let her ruin our lives because she walked in at the wrong time?" "Our lives?" Ji-woo's voice was barely audible. Soo-ah smiled, that beautiful smile that had fooled everyone. "Yes. Our lives. Mine and Min-jun's and the baby's." Ji-woo's stomach dropped. "What baby?" Min-jun's expression changed completely. Panic. "Soo-ah, shut up!" "Why?" Soo-ah looked at Ji-woo with pity. "She deserves to know the truth before she marries you for your money. Min-jun never came back because he loved you, Ji-woo. He came back because his company is bankrupt and your father's small Han shares are worth 200 million. And because you were easy. You were always easy, unnie." Silence. Total silence. Ji-woo stared at Min-jun. "Is that true? Is she pregnant?" He didn't answer. That silence was enough. Something inside her broke, not with a c***k, but with a quiet snap. Five years of waiting, forgiving, hoping. She slapped him. Hard. The sound echoed through the room. Min-jun's face turned to the side, a red mark instantly forming. "You bastard," she whispered. "You left my daughter to die. You left Yuna to die for money?" "Ji-woo—" "Don't touch me. Don't ever say my daughter's name again." She pulled her arm away. Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Not here. Not in front of them. A knock came from outside. The wedding coordinator's cheerful voice: "Miss Han? We're ready. The ceremony is about to begin. The guests are waiting." Ji-woo closed her eyes. For one moment, she imagined walking down that aisle. Smiling. Pretending. Marrying a man who had never loved her, who had abandoned her pregnant daughter, for 80 million won for Yuna's surgery. Then she opened her eyes. She saw her reflection in the mirror — a fool in a white dress. "No." Min-jun looked at her. "What?" Ji-woo picked up her bouquet from the floor where it had fallen. "I said no. I will not marry you. I would rather beg on the street than let my daughter call you Daddy." She walked out, leaving them half-dressed. The grand ballroom doors opened. Hundreds of guests turned toward her. The wedding march had already begun, violins playing. Ji-woo walked alone. No father holding her arm. No groom waiting. Whispers spread like fire through the room. "Where's the groom?" "Isn't that the bride? Why is she alone?" "What happened?" Her father stood near the front, his face filled with confusion, holding Soo-ah's mother. Ji-woo didn't look at him. She kept walking, her white dress dragging. Then she saw the empty space at the altar where Min-jun was supposed to be standing. Her chest tightened. She should have been crying. Instead, she felt strangely calm. Strangely free. Five years of pain. Five years of raising Yuna alone, telling Yuna that Daddy was working far away. Five years of believing that one day Min-jun would regret leaving them. And now she finally understood. She had been waiting for the wrong man. She had been waiting for a boy. Then her eyes landed on someone sitting in the front row. Still. Like a statue. Kang Tae-hyun. Min-jun's uncle. Chairman of Kang Group. Thirty-four, impeccably dressed in a black suit, his expression as cold and unreadable as the rumors described. Everyone in Seoul knew him. He had built his empire by destroying competitors twice his size. People called him ruthless. Untouchable. The Devil of Seoul. And he was the man whose house her mother had worked in as a maid before she died in the fire 25 years ago. And right now, he was watching Ji-woo. Not with pity. With interest. Their eyes met. An idea entered her mind. It was insane. Completely insane. But she had already lost everything today. What did she have left to lose? Yuna needed surgery tomorrow, not next year. Ji-woo changed direction. Gasps followed her as she walked toward him, bouquet shaking. Tae-hyun didn't move. He just watched her come closer. When she stopped in front of him, she could hear her own heartbeat over the violins. "Mr. Kang." His dark eyes studied her wedding dress, her smeared mascara, her shaking hands. "Yes, Miss Han?" Ji-woo swallowed, her voice so small only he could hear. "Will you marry me?" The entire ballroom went silent. The violins stopped mid-note. Someone dropped a champagne glass. Her father whispered, "Ji-woo! What are you doing?!" Tae-hyun raised one eyebrow, slowly. He was not shocked. He was curious. "Do you understand what you're asking?" "Yes." "You've just been abandoned at your wedding. You're emotional." "I'm not emotional. I'm desperate. My daughter needs heart surgery. 80 million won." "You've asked me to marry my nephew's bride. Do you know what that will do to my family?" "I know. My mother was Han Seo-yeon. She worked for your family. She died in your villa fire." Something flickered across his face at her mother's name. A c***k in the ice. "Explain." "My wedding is already ruined. Your nephew humiliated me in front of everyone. If I leave this room alone, he wins and my daughter dies. And if you marry me, you get to punish him without lifting a finger." A faint, dangerous smile touched his lips. "Interesting." Ji-woo's heart pounded. "I'm not asking you to love me." "I wasn't planning to." "One year. A contract." His eyes narrowed. "A contract marriage?" "Yes." "You're desperate." "I am." There was no shame in admitting it. "I need protection. I need money for my daughter's surgery. Most importantly, I need a way to keep Min-jun from destroying the fragile life I've built for Yuna." Tae-hyun stood. He was taller than she expected. He stepped closer until only a breath separated them. The scent of his expensive cologne mixed with her cheap hairspray. "You're making a dangerous decision, Miss Han. Once you become my wife, you won't be able to walk away easily. My mother will hate you. The world will hate you." "Neither will you be able to walk away easily, Mr. Kang." For several seconds, he said nothing. He looked at her — really looked at her — at the brave girl in a cheap white dress who was willing to marry the devil to save her child. Then he turned toward the stunned officiant, who was frozen at the altar. "Give me the microphone." The officiant obeyed immediately, hands shaking. Tae-hyun took it. His voice was calm, deep, and carried to all 300 guests. "The wedding will continue. I accept. Miss Han will marry me." The ballroom exploded. Ji-woo's breath caught. He turned toward her. "For one year." Her lips parted. "One year." "After that, the marriage ends. But Yuna's surgery will be paid tomorrow morning." She nodded, tears finally falling. "Agreed." Tae-hyun extended his hand. Ji-woo stared at it. Then she placed hers in his. His fingers closed around hers. Warm. Firm. Possessive. Completely different from Min-jun's cold hands. The wedding guests erupted into whispers and camera flashes. Somebody shouted, "Min-jun is here!" Min-jun finally appeared at the entrance, shirt buttoned wrong, hair messy. His face was white when he saw Ji-woo holding his uncle's hand at the altar. "Ji-woo! What are you doing?!" She looked at him. For the first time that day, she felt no desire to cry. No desire to beg. She simply turned away. Tae-hyun pulled her gently toward him, toward the altar. "Let's finish the wedding, Mrs. Kang." Her heart stumbled. Mrs. Kang. "Youre serious?" His eyes met hers, dark and unreadable, but with something warm underneath. "Very serious." The officiant, still shaking, began: "Do you, Kang Tae-hyun, take..." That night, Ji-woo sat silently in the back of Tae-hyun's black Maybach. The wedding ring felt heavy on her finger. It was not the cheap ring Min-jun bought. It was a heavy diamond. She stared at it. A contract. One year. Then freedom and a healthy daughter. At least, that's what she told herself. "Why did you agree?" she finally asked, voice small. "Was it really because of my mother?" Tae-hyun looked out the window at Seoul's lights. "Because your ex took something from me a long time ago. And because your mother saved me from a fire when I was nine. I never forgot her name. Han Seo-yeon." Ji-woo frowned, tears in her eyes. "My mother saved you?" "Don't worry about it now." "That isn't an answer." "No," he said, turning to her. "It isn't." His gaze dropped to the ring on her finger, then to her lips. "It is a beginning." Ji-woo's stomach tightened. Before she could ask another question, his phone rang. Tae-hyun answered. "Yes." A pause. His expression changed completely. "What hospital? When?" Ji-woo immediately sat up, wedding dress rustling. "What happened? Who?" He ended the call and looked at her, his face serious for the first time. "Your daughter. Yuna. She collapsed at your father's house. They took her to Seoul National Hospital." Her blood ran cold. Her face drained of color. "Yuna? No, no, no—" "Stop the car!" she screamed at the driver. "Take me to her! Please!" The Maybach accelerated into the night, running red lights. And for the first time since she had married Kang Tae-hyun, Ji-woo realized something terrifying. This marriage wasn't going to be a simple contract. It was only the beginning. And her mother was somehow part of it.