Chapter 304 - Standing up

Lee Jinhee raised her palms, and connecting them with Han Taehyun's chest, she put in her effort into pushing him away from her. 

Although her strength barely had an affect on him, she vocalised, "I told you to not touch me this casually. When will it get through your thick head that this is actually inappropriate?"

Listening to those words coming from Lee Jinhee's mouth caused a pout to form on Taehyun's face, and he voiced out, "What is so inappropriate about it? You are my future wife, and it is normal for us to be like this."

Jinhee scoffed and retorted, "Who is marrying you? I am just going to stay with you for a while. That's all."

"Geez! You are really unladylike. There is no word of gratefulness or sorry for disturbing you from you," he said as he finally moved back from her.

"Did you ever think that it was because you did not deserve it?" Jinhee questioned, raising one of her eyebrows.

She then added, "When you came over to the Lee Mansion, you did not thank me either for letting you stay and even tried to ruin my days there."

"Are you going to take revenge for that time? Well, I am looking forward to it then," he stated.

Then, looking towards Kim Jaehyun, he continued, "Thanks for helping me with this. I owe you one. I'll let you name one of our kids after we get married as a sign of gratitude."

Seeing how insensitive Taehyun was being at this moment, Jinhee felt guilt rise within her, and biting her lips, she slapped Taehyun's chest again. 

"Shut up with your nonsense, Taehyun," Jinhee shouted.

Then, looking towards Kim Jaehyun, she added, "After the festival, I will be moving into Taehyun's place then. About the Lee family, what has happened to them?"

"Lee Minjoon's position is under danger, and that is all I can say," Jaehyun voiced out, "As for the rest, you can see them unfold while you spend the rest of your time here until the festival."

"Kim Jaehyun, where is that Jinkyung? I want to have a talk with that lady," Taehyun proclaimed— his voice clearly displaying the anger he felt.

"She is under house arrest currently, but I believe that you will be allowed to meet her," Jaehyun said, "I will be leaving her to you now."

As a grin appeared on Han Taehyun's face, he stated, "She is in perfect hands. My hands had been itching to do something fun recently."

Then, turning to look towards Lee Jinhee, he questioned, "Jinhee, do you want to take part in it?"

She shook her head and said, "Do whatever you want to do. I do not have any interest in such silly things."

Those words of hers caused the excitement in Taehyun's eyes to dim, and he whined, "How can you show me this attitude? I am clearly doing this for you, and since I am a Prince, you have to follow my orders. I order you to take part in this."

Staring at Han Taehyun challengingly, she brought her face closer to his and questioned, "Dear Prince, what are you going to do if I disobey you?"

Folding his arms across his chest, Taehyun said, "The only one you can show your guts to is me. In front of others, you are a weakling and a scaredy cat."

Jinhee scoffed and stated, "No, I am not. I just listened to Jinkyung for the sake of peace, but you know what. I have my own plans to take revenge on her as well."

Pain— that was what Lee Jinhee was afraid of. There was a time when she resisted Lee Jinkyung and tried to stand up for herself. But that was when she learned the hard way that there were some things that she could not escape from.

In front of Lee Jinkyung, her body would involuntarily start to shake, and fear will instantly begin to rise within her. It was not something she could control, and regardless of how much she desired to compose herself, she couldn't do it. It was something rather psychological.

Seeing Lee Jinkyung's face reminded her of all those things she had done to Jinhee to break her down, and although she absolutely detested Jinkyung, seeing Jinkyung made her completely obedient.

Jinhee hated herself for being this weak in front of Jinkyung, but it was impossible for her to control herself from behaving that way under Jinkyung's gaze.

"Really? That's funny hearing from you. At the sight of Jinkyung, you are looking for chances to run away," Taehyun said as mock showed within his eyes.

Letting out a sigh, Jinhee stared at her knees. She was aware that Taehyun meant no harm with his words and that he was only trying to make her more determined. But those words of his were the truth, and truth hurts a lot at times.

"Stop, Taehyun. You are going far," Jaehyun vocalised as he stared at Taehyun sternly.

The mock in Han Taehyun's eyes disappeared when they fell upon Lee Jinhee, and before he could say his apologies, Jinhee raised her head to look towards him.

Wearing a smile on her face, Jinhee voiced out, "You are right. I am really weak when it comes to Lee Jinkyung. But instead of sitting inside the room like this, I guess it is time for me to make a move against her. 

This time, Han Taehyun, I will lead, and you will follow me. Make sure to protect me from her though; I can turn out to be quite a scaredy cat in her presence."

Those words of Lee Jinhee caused a wide smile to form on Taehyun's face, causing him to pull her into a hug, catching her by surprise.

Although such contact between them wasn't considered to be proper, Jinhee did not mind, and her heart began to beat rapidly within her chest.

"I am proud of you, Jinhee," Taehyun stated, "For trying to stand up for yourself. Don't worry, you've got me right behind you, and I am completely reliable."