Therefore, there was no point in reprimanding him. Besides, she wasn’t really in a position to scold him, so she answered the phone calmly as always.
“Yes, this is Jin Yura.”
This is Ko Jin-woo. Our pianist wishes to go to the practice room today at 1 PM.
“Understood. Please tell him I’ll be at the hotel on time.”
After a brief call about the arrangement, Yura looked at the clock on her phone. It seemed like another day of skipping lunch to finish work.
“Need to wrap this up quickly.”
“Haah!”
Hyelim exhaled roughly. After catching her breath, she picked up a cigarette from the small table beside the bed. Before she could light it, an annoyed voice came from behind her.
“Quit the smoking.”
“It’s a preference, a preference.”
At Hyelim’s response, Song Min-woo shook his head and got up. He slipped his arms into the robe laid on a chair by the window and added,
“Be thankful this isn’t Korea.”
“Yeah, thankful.”
Hyelim muttered nonchalantly, smiling broadly. Min-woo gave up scolding her, finding her cute again. Moving to the bathroom to wash off the sweat, he turned back to Hyelim, remembering something.
“Oh, I saw Baek Lee-hyun.”
“Baek Fox? Where?”
Hyelim referred to Baek Lee-hyun as ‘Baek Fox.’ Min-woo recalled Lee Hyun again.
While Lee Hyun’s appearance might suggest a fox, the Baek Lee-hyun Min-woo saw was more like an angry tiger. Moreover, if Min-woo had seen correctly, there was an overwhelming presence of a perfect predator and an intense possessiveness towards his wife, Jin Yura.
Referring to Lee Hyun as a fox seemed to stem merely from his appearance as Hyelim picked up a water bottle from the table. She wanted to quench her burning thirst before washing up. After taking a sip, Song Min-woo spoke.
“I saw him when I went to visit my aunt, at the resort.”
“Ah, she was at Illusion. But Baek Fox was there?”
Sensing the conversation might prolong, Min-woo sat down and opened the window. The dry wind scattered the pungent smoke from Hyelim’s cigarette around the room.
“Yeah, he was on his honeymoon.”
“Ah, he got married. Was she pretty?”
“The bride?”
“Yeah.”
Min-woo recalled Yura’s sunny smile.
Jin Yura, whom he had encountered by chance, was more beautiful than the glimpses he had seen before.
He hadn’t expected another woman, like Hyelim staring at him with wide eyes, to look so pretty without makeup. Min-woo, seeing Hyelim’s curious expression, blurted out insincerely.
“Prettier than you.”
“Look at this guy. This is why they call Song Min-woo a playboy.”
Hyelim clicked her tongue in disapproval, prompting Min-woo to burst into laughter. He hadn’t expected jealousy from Hyelim; he was just curious about her reaction.
“Objectively, she’s prettier. Subjectively, you’re the most beautiful in the world.”
“That’s even worse.”
Hyelim rolled her eyes playfully, and Min-woo thought of Yura’s sparkling eyes again.
Her gaze, scanning him innocently, had changed dramatically once she revealed her name. He was intrigued by her eagerness to get straight to business, regardless of the setting.
“She’s a passionate woman.”
Lying sprawled on the bed, Hyelim agreed with Min-woo’s comment and got up to put on her robe.
“I admit that. She single-handedly raised Songrim to that position. Not solely by her efforts, of course. But Baek Jin-ho alone couldn’t have done it without her, so her capability is undeniable.”
“That’s why I’m considering their proposal.”
At Min-woo’s words, Hyelim climbed onto his lap and kissed him.
“Are you going to sign a contract with Songrim?”
“I signed with IF, so why not?”
As Min-woo’s hands slipped inside her robe, Hyelim’s lips parted from his with a heated breath.
“So, who is it?”
“Violinist Yoon Ga-eun.”
Min-woo answered monotonously, his fingers tracing Hyelim’s delicate skin. She licked her lips, feeling the heat within.
“Ah, she’s a sensual performer. I wanted to sign her, but you must have beaten me to it.”
“Too bad, too bad.”
“Ah, I want to go to Korea.”
Min-woo, who had been resting his head on Hyelim’s chest, lifted his gaze.
“Suddenly?”
“Yeah, suddenly craving a traditional Korean meal.”
Min-woo moved to the U.S. at the age of 10 and hadn’t visited Korea personally since then.
He didn’t quite grasp what Hyelim meant by a traditional Korean meal. In contrast, Hyelim came to study abroad after turning 20 and had visited Korea periodically for personal or professional reasons.
In recent years, being busy with work, she missed visiting Korea and reminisced about various Korean dishes, from familiar samgyeopsal and bibimbap to common ramen. Each time, they ended up at Korean restaurants, but she always complained that the taste wasn’t the same.
Min-woo, having immigrated at a young age, preferred American food over Korean cuisine. But it seemed Hyelim really missed Korean food. He chuckled lightly at her sudden craving.
“What’s with that randomness?”
“If I’m out of touch, assume I’ve gone to Korea.”
The brief contact of Hyelim’s kiss was excessively sweet. Min-woo gently bit her softly curved lips.
“To eat a traditional Korean meal?”
“Maybe?”
Hyelim’s giggling turned quickly into heavy breathing. Their movements, as intense as before, continued by the window, where darkness had fallen, oblivious to the passing time.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
