“Be careful. Someone might take advantage of your innocence. Remember, a man doesn’t feed a fish he’s already caught.”
“The man doesn’t feed a caught fish…”
Sori repeated the phrase as if deeply impressed.
“If I start dating again, I’ll delay getting into a relationship as long as possible. Nowadays, people might criticize me for that.”
“…….”
Sori’s eyes sparkled as if she had met a great life mentor.
“Men are ultimately…”
“Ultimately…?”
“Never mind. I shouldn’t be giving you prejudices. Not everyone is the same. You don’t have to take my words too seriously.”
“It’s okay to speak freely. I’m not so naive that I take everything at face value.”
Listening to such a candid love story, especially from a fellow doctor couple, was a rare opportunity for Sori.
“And Hye Young, let’s talk more comfortably with each other.”
“We’re the same age, so why not?”
Sori nodded enthusiastically, pleased with the suggestion.
“Anyway, that’s why who you meet matters. I’m thinking of breaking up soon.”
“Really?”
The conversation flowed more freely now that they were speaking informally.
“It’s cooled off. Definitely. He used to rush over during night shifts to bring me late-night snacks, but now he’s sprawled asleep, unreachable.”
“That’s because your boyfriend is also a doctor. Maybe he’s just tired?”
“That’s exactly it. It’s cooled off. He wasn’t like this in the beginning. People should stay consistent, why change?”
“That’s true….”
Maybe it’s better to be consistently indifferent from the start.
That way, there’s no disappointment over time.
Such a ridiculous thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Sori finished her coffee time with Hye Young and headed up to the on-call room for a quick nap.
She slumped onto the bed in the on-call room.
In her spare moments, she naturally thought of Hyun Woo.
Wondering if he had replied to her earlier message, she belatedly checked her phone.
Hyun Woo had read it but hadn’t responded.
Sori, still in her slippers, lay back on the bed.
“It’s too much.”
How could he not respond to my message of missing him? I miss him too. Should I go to him now? Even an empty promise would do.
After hearing Hye Young’s realistic stories, I found myself overthinking.
Which is better, being fed a lot at the beginning of a relationship and then suddenly being ignored, or not being fed much from the start?
“He must have fallen asleep from exhaustion. He’s human too.”
I decided not to read too much into Hye Young’s words.
It was strange how my expectations of Hyun Woo were increasing.
Then, a knock sounded.
Who could it be at this hour?
Dragging her heavy body, Sori shuffled to unlock the on-call room door.
“Oh?”
Hyun Woo was standing at the door of the on-call room.
“Why are you here, Professor?”
“Shh.”
Hyun Woo placed a finger to his lips and pushed Sori into the on-call room. The hospital corridor was silent as if deserted.
Click. He locked the door behind them.
“Did you start work early?”
He nodded.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“How can I sleep when someone else is having a hard time sleeping?”
My mood, which had been low, suddenly soared.
Sori’s expression visibly brightened.
I felt foolish and sorry for having grumbled to myself.
“Were you about to sleep?”
“Yes, just for a bit.”
Setting down what he brought, Hyun Woo looked at Sori meaningfully.
“Too bad. Looks like you won’t be able to sleep now.”
“……?!”
Hyun Woo curved his lips slightly and spread his arms, beckoning Sori to come closer. She slowly approached him.
As she reached him, Sori hugged him, and Hyun Woo enveloped her in his arms, holding her tightly.
“Why did you come? You should have slept more.”
“If someone misses me, I have to show up.”
“Heh. You’re warm.”
Hyun Woo patted her back several times, a gesture of comfort for her hard work.
“But what did you bring?”
“In case you were hungry. Some snacks.”
“What is it?”
I wondered why hunger always hit me when I saw him. Was it the smell?
“Dumplings.”
“Oh.”
“Do you want to try some? It’s tastier when it’s warm.”
“Sure! I’d like to eat.”
The dumplings, freshly bought from a famous 24-hour dumpling shop, were still piping hot.
As they spread them out on the on-call room table, the warm steam rose invitingly.
“This is a lot… too much.”
“Eat as much as you like, whatever you prefer.”
Hyun Woo, always considerate of Sori’s small appetite, often recommended a variety of menu items.
For instance, he knew that offering a selection like kimchi, meat, rib, and shrimp dumplings would encourage her to eat more than usual, even if she just tried one of each flavor.
Sori, easily falling for his strategy, was going to do the same today.
Nibbling on a dumpling, Sori was occasionally lost in thought, recalling Hye Young’s words: ‘He used to rush over with late-night snacks during night shifts, but now he’s just sprawled asleep, unreachable.’
While chewing, Sori looked up at Hyun Woo, who was watching her eat with his usual calm demeanor (which appeared utterly expressionless to others).
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
