“Are you really here to make a sale?”
Do-ha spoke again. His black eyes quietly captured Ye-eun as he set down his chopsticks.
“It’s been about 50 minutes, and you haven’t asked me to look at your portfolio.”
His gaze pointed to the portfolio on her lap.
Ye-eun, with her chopsticks down, clasped her hands and stared back at him.
Even upon a second glance, he was undeniably handsome.
Not a single flaw in his appearance.
Yet, he was excessively cold.
Especially his black eyes seemed devoid of the soul that should naturally reside in a person. Staring into them made her heart feel icy, devoid of warmth.
How could she possibly persuade such a man?
“If I ask, will you look at it?”
“No.”
The answer, devoid of any hesitation, came out harshly.
A feeling of unfairness momentarily rose in her. Why invite her to eat if he wouldn’t even consider her work? Was this some sort of cruel game?
She wanted to question him, but Ye-eun, holding back her words, just swallowed her saliva.
She had anticipated Do-ha’s rejection. What was unexpected was the situation of dining together.
“I thought you wouldn’t look at it either.”
At her response, one of Do-ha’s eyebrows quirked up slightly.
“Then why did you come?”
Why indeed? She had no plan.
Ye-eun, speechless at Do-ha’s question, swallowed hard.
“To ask you to review my portfolio? Or to tediously talk about the benefits of image training?”
Ye-eun, lips tightly sealed, found his unwavering gaze uncomfortable, barely able to breathe.
Do-ha, looking as if he could devour her with his gaze, twisted one corner of his mouth.
“Why did you come looking so pretty?”
The question hit her like a slap, shockingly direct.
His tone was blatant.
It seemed he had a clear idea of how she appeared in his eyes.
“To cut down a tree…”
Following the suggestion to use her beauty as a tool, she had taken off her glasses and restyled her hair.
She dressed carefully and put effort into her makeup, hoping to meet Do-ha.
“I decided to chop ten times.”
Hoping that appearing attractive might get him to glance at her portfolio just once. But it was a misconception, perhaps a mistake.
Do-ha was not that kind of man.
Even while complimenting her beauty, his eyes were as sharp as ever.
“Chop down the tree ten times?”
Do-ha repeated her words, tilting his head and chuckling, a chuckle so cold it felt like her hands were freezing in mid-September.
Or maybe it was her heart that was freezing.
In that moment, with the laughter gone, Do-ha slowly scanned her.
“That tree.”
His eyes suddenly shifted, acquiring a different hue.
“Do you think it will fall?”
His gaze resembled that of a satiated predator, languid and slightly sticky.
The peculiar stare made her palms tingle.
Ye-eun, swallowing the dry tension in her throat, spoke up.
“Maybe…”
At her response, Do-ha’s head tilted slightly.
A faint smile graced his beautifully sculpted lips.
“Why? Because the axe is pretty? It’s still just an axe.”
Silence.
Manager Kim Jung-ju, sitting beside them, choked on his water from the sudden cough, but Do-ha didn’t stop.
“You know you’re not that level, right?”
It felt like being doused with cold water from head to toe.
“Don’t tell me you think you’re really that pretty?”
A shiver ran down her spine, chilling her to the bone.
Ye-eun cursed herself for dressing up beautifully just to secure a contract. It felt shameful and pathetic.
She was merely an axe, after all.
In Do-ha’s eyes, there was a faint sense of cruelty as he observed her.
“Look it up. Actress Kim Haeri’s scandal.”
Do-ha, with these incomprehensible words spoken in a calm voice, stood up from his seat.
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“Just a moment.”
Ye-eun hastily grabbed Do-ha, who was about to leave.
She might be just an axe, but she couldn’t just turn back now.
“I heard from Director Cha Hyun that you attended the tape-cutting ceremony at Hanju Department Store’s renewal event today on behalf of the chairman. In such an occasion, a red-toned tie would have been more suitable than the grey tones you’re wearing now.”
Do-ha’s forehead slightly furrowed.
“If you chose a dark grey tone close to black to create a solemn atmosphere, it would be meaningful, but I thought it would have been better to display authority.”
“Authority?”
“Yes, authority is red, Director. A cold smile can control the opponent more than a frown.”
Do-ha’s expression subtly changed.
“And I hope you understand… I am not just a pretty axe.”
Ye-eun, swallowing her self-loathing, continued with a trembling voice.
“I’m an axe that cuts well, too.”
A slight smile appeared on Do-ha’s lips.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Then, he left the restaurant just as familiarly as he had entered.
“Sigh.”
Finally, she could breathe again.
Her chest hurt with a dull ache.
“Do I really have to go this far?”
Deep self-loathing left a profound wound in her heart.
What a funny woman.
In the car, Do-ha looked out the window, recalling the woman he left behind in the restaurant.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
