At the emergency exit, Jay released Sori and gave an awkward smile.
Sori, dusting off her mouth, wore a sullen expression. She found the celebrity’s impoliteness displeasing, regardless of his fame.
“There was no need to drag me here. A simple request to stay quiet would have sufficed.”
“I apologize if I was rude. I have a favor to ask, that’s why.”
“What kind of favor all of a sudden?”
Sori’s expression remained unfazed despite the continuous bizarre events.
“Actually, I’m playing the role of a neurosurgeon in a movie.”
“And?”
She began to suspect why he was lurking around the hospital but asked nonchalantly.
“I was hoping to interview you if I have any questions. Could you help me?”
“…”
“No other reasons. Just for authenticity in my role. If you don’t trust me, I can show you my script.”
Sori recalled hearing from Soohyang about actors immersing themselves in their roles by living in similar environments.
“No, I believe you. It’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“This meeting is also a kind of fate.”
The handsome Jay smiled brightly at Sori. True to his reputation as a celebrity’s celebrity.
“Sister.”
“Sister?”
She remembered Jiwoo, who had been troubled by a scandal with Jay, was three years younger.
But why is he calling me sister? How old does he think I am?
“Please, it won’t take much of your time. Just answer some calls or texts. Please help me, okay?”
Unknowingly, Sori found herself nodding.
It didn’t seem too hard to grant an interview.
“Thank you. Beautiful doctor sister.”
Jay’s beaming face looked innocent.
Was his face always this joyful?
His off-stage persona, quite different from his public image, slowly eased Sori’s wariness.
“Can I have your phone?”
“Why?”
“To exchange numbers.”
Suddenly, Sori found herself exchanging phone numbers with DiMonster’s Jay.
Like a sly fox, he charmed her and then vanished.
Was it a dream?
Staring at the number and name Jay had entered on her phone, Sori pondered.
“His real name?”
Probably not for public view.
She decided to change the saved name.
“Jiwoo’s Boyfriend.”
No, they’re not dating.
“Jiwoo’s Male Friend.”
Satisfied with the edit, Sori smiled.
At a restaurant in Cheongdam-dong Hotel.
An impromptu premarital meeting was set.
It wasn’t on the day Sori had heard about from Soohyang.
She was working when Hyunwoo brought her to this momentous occasion.
Gu Hwan and Soohyang, along with Hyunwoo and Sori, were the only attendees.
“The father isn’t the only busy one, right? You know who he is.”
As everyone took their seats, Hyunwoo’s pointed remark pressured Gu Hwan into an awkward admission.
“Can’t help sudden changes in plans.”
Hyunwoo was slightly irritated, realizing Gu Hwan hadn’t changed. His excuses of being busy and his self-centered actions were all too familiar.
Sori, seated beside the frosty Hyunwoo, felt the atmosphere grow even tenser.
She whispered to him not to be angry, but he neither looked at her nor responded.
“Alright, I apologize.”
“You should be apologizing to my mother, not me.”
Sori imagined the thick, palpable tension might be visibly black if it were a color.
Caught in the icy mood, both Sori and Soohyang’s eyes darted anxiously between the father and son.
Sori sent a pleading look to Soohyang, seated on her left, silently urging her to ease the tension.
But before Soohyang could react, Gu Hwan, having sipped some water, spoke up.
“Ms. Sori, I apologize for the sudden schedule change. I had to travel abroad urgently. Please understand.”
“It’s alright since we could all make it. Just a bit disappointed Jiwoo couldn’t attend. I was hoping to see him.”
“He said he’d come later. Told us to start eating.”
“Oh, that’s good. Hope Jiwoo can make it.”
Sori felt relieved hearing Gu Hwan’s update, even though Jiwoo’s arrival was delayed.
The meal was a fine dining experience, but the absence of Jiwoo, the mood maker, left a heavy silence.
Sori discreetly turned on her phone under the table to text Jiwoo an SOS.
[Sori: Jiwoo, where are you? It’s like a freezer here without you. When are you coming?] [Jiwoo: Almost done. Flying there now.]As the meal neared its end, Gu Hwan turned to Sori.
“So, Sori, how’s the hospital work?”
“Ah! Yes, I’m working hard.”
“I often heard good things about you even when you were an intern.”
“No, that’s just everyone being kind.”
“With Hyunwoo around, I guess there’s less to worry about.”
“Yes, of course.”
Surprisingly, Gu Hwan treated Sori warmly, easing her worries.
Hyunwoo remained expressionless, focusing only on Soohyang and Sori.
“Are you thinking of skipping the wedding?”
“Let’s talk about that at home, Father.”
Hyunwoo coolly interrupted Gu Hwan, who was revisiting a settled issue.
“Just asking. Not saying you should.”
Gu Hwan’s face flushed with embarrassment. Sori, feeling the tension from Hyunwoo’s unusually sharp aura, sat uncomfortably in the middle. Her pupils flickered with anxiety.
The silence was occasionally broken by Soohyang checking her watch, seemingly waiting for someone. Then, the moment arrived.
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
