How Should I Handle My Fujoshi Wife?

Mrs. Ahn hurried downstairs as soon as she heard her husband come in. Her mind had been reeling since that afternoon's gossip, and it was all she could think about although she found no solutions. Unable to hold back any longer, she was eager to discuss it with her husband and look for a solution.

"How was your day, dear?" She took the bag from his hand and asked with her sweet voice.

"Hmm, tiring as always," he replied, watching her with curiosity. As she was acting out of herself, his suspicion arose.

"I'll take a shower before dinner," he added while removing his coat.

"Umm…darling! I have something I wanna tell you." Her voice was hesitant, barely above a whisper as she held the coat.

"Why are you acting like this?" He chuckled, her nervousness bringing out her softer, almost childlike side.

"The thing is….ah! Let's go to the room. We shouldn't talk here—Jiang might overhear." She took his hand, guiding him upstairs. Her urgency piqued his curiosity despite his fatigue. Mr. Ahn grinned and followed her upstairs.

After they went inside their bedroom, she locked the door and then turned to face him.

"Honey! You know I went to the gathering today. And there was everyone including Mrs. Nam, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Kwang…," she began, pausing, as if weighing her next words.

"Hmm?" He looked at her expectantly, taking a seat on the bed.

"Do you know what they said?" She went towards the cupboard and took a hanger. While putting the coat on it she added,

"They said… they think the girl has something up her sleeve and that she approached Jiang on purpose." She came to him after hanging the coat in the cupboard and sat beside him.

"Which girl?" he asked, not yet catching on. He began unbuttoning his shirt but stopped when he heard Ma Ri's name.

"What? And you actually believe that?" He scoffed, astonished by her gullibility.

"No! But, listen! They might have a point. Don't you think we should at least look into it before things go too far?" She nearly whispered as if it was top secret.

He gave her an exasperated look. "You're the one who was practically bouncing off the walls about this marriage, and now you're saying we should reconsider?"

"No! Listen to me first! What I came to know is that she's often seen with that boy. You know, that boy Ho Seok." Mrs. Ahn's expression darkened with worry.

"Who?" While putting off his shirt, he asked curiously. He couldn't remember where he heard the name as his mind was occupied with nothing other than business.

"Ho Seok! That boy who…. tried to…Jiang…don't you remember?" She just gave some hints as she couldn't say it clearly.

"What? Are you serious?" He stared at her in shock, his hand frozen mid-air.

"Yes! This is why I'm worried! Don't you think it's strange? What if she only agreed to marry Jiang because of her father? What if she really has some ulterior motives just like they said? What if she's also… like that?" She sighed heavily. The tension was visible clearly on her face.

He let out a frustrated sigh."Go ahead! Go and tell them that you want to break off the engagement."

"No! How can I? I should've known about her before agreeing. Can't you just investigate her? I mean, tell someone to put an eye on her….You can do that, right?" Her wide-eyed expression was a mixture of pleading and worry.

"So… you're asking me to hire someone to stalk her?" He stared at her in disbelief.

"No! What I'm saying is… we should find out if what they were saying is true or not before it's too late, don't you agree? I just want to confirm that my son can be happy with her. Is that a crime? Tell me! All I want is his happiness. This is why I'm afraid. Afraid that he'd be devastated instead of being happy." Her voice was filled with concern as she gazed blankly at the wall.

"Alright, alright. I'll look into it. Don't worry too much; I'm sure she's a good girl. But, since you're doubting, I'll investigate. Happy now?" He held her hand and assured her that she could count on him.

"Ah, right! Do you have that exorcist's card? I can't remember where I put it," she asked, suddenly remembering her conversation with Mrs. Nam.

"Which one?" he asked, looking bemused.

"The one you mentioned, that your friend went to because of his son," she reminded him.

"Ah, that one! I don't know where it is either, but I'll ask my secretary to find one." As he was too tired to probe further, he headed to the bathroom for a shower.

______________________________

Jiang was absorbed in work in his office. A knock interrupted his focus. Assuming it was his secretary, he answered without looking up.

"Come in!"

A moderately tall, well-dressed man entered, carrying a stack of files. When Jiang noticed it wasn't the footsteps of his secretary, he looked up to see who it was. Seeing the head officer of the Human Resource department, he furrowed his eyebrows. It completely slipped his mind that he was the one who summoned him.

"Sir, I finished updating the documents as you requested." The man placed the files on Jiang's desk, giving a respectful nod.

"I heard you were looking for me." He added in a polite way. Jiang looked at him and tried to recollect his memory.

"Did I?" As there was so much going on with him, it was hard for him to remember certain things.

"Yes, Mr. Hwang informed me." He replied with his calm voice.

"Ryu Gil?" He pondered as he couldn't remember why he wanted to see him.

Jiang took a moment, recalling why he had summoned him. "Ah, right. I have a few tasks for you," he said after a pause.

"Please, have a seat." Jiang motioned to the chair. Once the man was seated, Jiang fixed him with a steely look.

"Mr. Lee, you know the submission deadline for the KPIs has passed, don't you?" he asked, staring at him as if a cop, interrogating a criminal.

"Yes, sir, I submitted them on time!" he replied, clearly confident.

"I'm talking about the half-yearly report," Jiang clarified, his smirk aimed to shake Mr. Lee's composure.

"Ah! Yes! I'm aware! I just…." he stammered, understanding what the CEO was suggesting. Jiang's stern look felt like a stagger, pointing at his chest.

"I-it's ready! I just didn't get time to submit it." he threw a fake smile and Jiang could totally understand that the answer wasn't honest.

"I want it on my desk in two days. That shouldn't be a problem, since you said it's already prepared?" Jiang's voice held a barely veiled edge.

"Y-yes, sir!" He stood up and bowed with a worried face since he just dug his own grave by lying to his superior.

"Good. And while preparing it, did you notice any issues with performance in your department?" Jiang turned back to his computer, scrolling through some information.

"Pardon?" Mr. Lee looked alarmed. If he doesn't be honest with Jiang, he'll put himself in a tough situation. And if he comes clean, the people of his department would lose trust in him completely.

"There's this worker in the HR department named Baek Ji San. Although you tried your best to cover up for him in the monthly KPI, I found he's been neglecting his duties. Enough that we're reconsidering his position here." Jiang's tone was cold, his words cutting.

"No-no, Sir! He's just not in his best form because of some personal issues. I'll inform him about his negligence and warn him. So please give him another chance." He replied nervously.

"Fine, but transfer him. Make him a field officer and monitor his performance over the next six months. That should send the right message. Agreed?" Jiang's tone was firm, triumphantly smiling at the guy.

"Yes?" He was stunned and couldn't reply for a moment.

"Y-yes, sir!" Mr. Lee replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Good. And arrange an interview for the open position as soon as possible," Jiang continued, his focus went back to his screen.

"Which position?" Mr. Lee asked, anxiety creeping back.

"The vacancy, obviously," Jiang replied curtly.

"Yes, sir." Mr. Lee bowed gently again and turned to leave. He felt relieved to escape, but Jiang's voice stopped him. His face turned pale from the anxiety which Jiang just put on him.

"One more thing…make the interview questions as challenging as possible. Once you're done, I'd like to review them myself." Jiang ordered with a very calm voice though he was trying his best to suppress his smirk.

"I'll get it done by tomorrow." He bowed again and then left. Now that he was left alone, Jiang allowed himself a smirk, already anticipating how he'd put Ma Ri's determination to the test.