When she woke up after tossing and turning in the dazzling sunlight, Taeseo smiled as she realized arms were wrapped around her waist even before opening her eyes.
The sound of birds settling in the garden, the cat scratching something in her room in the early morning, and, on top of that, the sound of Jaein, who had fallen asleep while tightly embracing her—all of it made for a perfect morning.
The only problem was that her body felt strangely sluggish and heavy. In addition, her throat seemed a bit sore, and she involuntarily grimaced when swallowing.
Taeseo, enjoying the weight of Jaein’s arms around her from behind, the ticklish feeling of her hair and breath on her back, cautiously sat up after a while.
Sweet voices filled Jaein’s ears suddenly overcome by dizziness.
“Umm…”
Ignoring the headache, Taeseo relaxed the corners of her mouth as she gradually lifted her tail to climb up. Gently reaching out, she pushed the disheveled hair behind Jaein’s ear, revealing the swollen eyes and pale face.
As the black night turned into a blue dawn, Taeseo confessed her young days to Jaein. The trauma hidden deep within was also Taeseo’s vulnerability. That was why it was the first time she had revealed it to someone.
It was a long-time silent abuse. The obsessive attachment of her birth mother, who had no place to reach, turned towards the child who looked so much like her biological father. Yet, she remained indifferent to young Taeseo, leaving care and attention to the hired help.
Over a long period, the abuse had quietly unfolded. Living with her birth mother in England had made Taeseo dry and wither. Eventually, the once bright and intelligent child lost her sparkle.
“To appear normal, I had to study even the parts others didn’t. To avoid going crazy, there was no choice. Because I learned about emotional interactions from books, I’m sometimes awkward. As someone like me, is it okay?”
“Ugh…”
“I didn’t tell you in advance, sorry. It can’t be helped if I didn’t mention it. I didn’t deceive you by saying everything was fine when it wasn’t. I can’t endure that.”
Apologizing for being a half-broken human who grew up with many deficiencies, Jaein bit her lip and lowered her head. Her arms stretched out towards her with even greater affection as she burst into louder cries, making Jaein irresistibly lovable.
Last night, Jaein continued to embrace Taeseo. Even when asleep, the tender attachment of not releasing her arms around her felt blissful.
It was she who cried in place of him but spared her words.
Encouraged by her gentle and careful comfort, Taeseo, born without ever receiving a warm gaze from her biological father, vented the scorn of her adoptive father, who had never given her a warm gaze. Born as an object of hatred, she dryly recited her position.
As the black night receded and the morning dawned, Jaein, with closed eyes, called out to her with a hoarse voice.
“Ms. Taeseo.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve grown up well, too, Taeseo.”
“…”
“Not a half-broken adult. Kang Taeseo is a good person. Good enough for me to rely on.”
“Um…”
“…To the point where I can’t live without you.”
“Um…?”
Unable to hear the words buried in the humming, Taeseo mumbled, her thick lips that had been sprouting open miraculously opened once again due to the incoming drowsiness.
“Love…”
“…”
“I love you.”
Taeseo remained frozen. Jaein, who whispered words that could turn a man’s world upside down, fell asleep right after.
Doubting the confession that remained like a hallucination, she repeatedly confirmed Jaein, and again, confirmed him. So immersed in joy that she welcomed the morning alone, she found herself falling asleep, intoxicated by the sense of stability from Jaein’s body temperature.
Looking at Jaein as if seeing the most precious thing in the world, Taeseo eventually got up. She felt the familiar vibration coming from outside.
Taeseo came out to the living room, checked the missed call and message from Director Jang, and turned her body towards the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator, took out a cold bottle of water, and sipped as she pressed the call button on her phone.
“What’s wrong, ah…”
―Director Yim?
Taeseo checked her voice that split apart and closed her mouth. It was a strange situation because she hadn’t experienced anything like this since she was very young.
“Um, sorry.”
―Your voice doesn’t sound good.
“I just woke up.”
―Now…?
Being told that a person who wakes up every morning to exercise had already woken up well past lunchtime was naturally surprising. After emptying the cup of medicine, Taeseo cleared her throat.
“Tell me.”
―A call from Director Im came. He seemed upset about not being able to contact you.
“Ah…”
She had been deeply immersed in her relationship, but she had also been busy and hadn’t contacted him for a while. He might have endured and refrained from asking about his grandson’s first relationship.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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