“I can stay a bit longer. I’m okay, really.”
“Our Jaein, feeling lonely?”
“Um…”
As Sanghwa, who had been carrying her suitcase downstairs from the second floor, smiled at Jaein with a playful twist of her nose, she said, “Even so, it’s almost Christmas, and we should go on a date.”
“Did you make up?”
Sanghwa explained that she had fought with Ted right after landing at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and came straight to Jaein. Even though Jaein asked why they fought, Sanghwa vaguely brushed it off, and Jaein still didn’t know the reason for their fight.
It was unexpected. Just like Jaein and Taeseo, Sanghwa and Ted were a couple who rarely fought.
Sanghwa was the type to apologize straightforwardly if there was anything to apologize for, and Ted was the type to grumble and act cute while being mindful. That’s why it was strange to meet after a long time and see them fighting, staying apart for a week.
“Fighting with a man won’t change anything. As Mrs. Bae says, if it’s not annoying enough to consider breaking up, just let it go and detach. You should remember that; it’s Mrs. Bae’s advice.”
“So… why did you fight?”
“In fact, Jaein.”
Sanghwa, who was putting on her coat, looked up. Her short hair, still neatly cut, added to her unique freshness.
“We didn’t fight.”
“…Huh?”
“We argue occasionally, but we’ve never really fought. Maybe because I’m dating a guy eight years younger? He still has a thick skull. Even if he does something annoying, he looks cute when he sees something cute.”
“…Um…”
“When I scold him, Ted quickly apologizes, saying he was wrong. When he sees my angry eyes, he gets itchy. He wants to make me laugh.”
“…Okay…”
“I can’t take it anymore. He’s downstairs.”
“Ah…”
It was only now that Jaein realized that Sanghwa had lied about Ted fighting for her and stayed with her for a week.
Worried about Jaein being alone without her significant other, Sanghwa, wanting to see her, probably told her boyfriend to wait and came to Jaein’s house.
“I’ve reached my limit too. I’ll quickly go down and pat our puppy’s butt, saying I waited well.”
“Sanghwa…”
“Ugh, our Jaein is going to cry again.”
“Hmm…”
“You can’t cry. Ted has been crying for a week already.”
Blushing, Jaein covered her red nose, and Sanghwa approached her, giving her a hug.
“Ted said your house has plenty of room, so if you’re going to do this, he might as well stay too.”
“Yeah…”
“So, I’ll leave now. Just a bit, Jaein. Can you wait a bit longer?”
Jaein had never openly expressed how difficult it was to wait for Taeseo, whose stay in Korea was getting longer.
To Taeseo and Sanghwa, Jaein always tried to show a composed appearance. However, Sanghwa comforted Jaein as if she knew everything.
“How did you know…?”
“Ugh, I know everything. It’s already been a year since we stayed close and then drifted apart. It’s natural to be tough.”
“Hmm…”
Actually, before I came to Chicago, I thought about meeting Mr. Kang Taeseo, hugging him tightly before coming.
“Hmm?”
And when I arrive in Chicago and hug you tightly, I wonder if even a hint of Mr. Kang Taeseo’s scent will be transmitted.”
“Yeah…”
“But Mr. Kang Taeseo found it amusing. He laughed at my half-joking, half-serious remark. Although I’ve lifted you up when I was drunk, he said I shouldn’t hug you. He said I shouldn’t hug any other woman except you. Well, some people refused for various reasons.”
Sanghwa laughed, arranging Jaein’s hair behind her ear. In response to Sanghwa’s characteristic atmosphere change, Jaein closed her wet eyes and burst into laughter.
“So, Jaein, let’s endure a bit more. Okay? When Mr. Kang Taeseo comes, don’t let him go. Don’t let him sleep either. Release a year’s worth of pent-up emotions. He’ll probably raise both hands in surrender.”
“Sanghwa.”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Oh, when your Mr. Kang Taeseo comes, tell Ted to give him a break. He’s been asking for a vacation, just for a week, to let go of work completely.”
“Yeah. I’ll make sure Taeseo doesn’t even have a chance to call Ted.”
“Exactly.”
Jaein, still blushing, smiled in Sanghwa’s embrace. Once again, it was a parting moment filled with regret.
Jaein, with her hands in her jumper pocket, buried her face deep in her scarf.
The Windy City, Chicago, was famous for its severe cold in winter. Jaein, born and raised in Chicago for a long time, knew it better than anyone else. However…
“Was it this cold…?”
Even with hand warmers in both hands, Jaein shivered in the piercing cold that didn’t seem to relent. Perhaps she felt colder since Sanghwa moved to Ted’s house last night. Now Jaein was out on the street to pick up some dinner.
Taeseo had praised the orange chicken from a newly opened restaurant near their home, but having it repeatedly made Jaein tired of it.
In reality, more than the taste, Jaein wanted something different today, so she decided to go out.
Christmas Eve was already here. People on the brightly lit streets were each enjoying the Christmas season.
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.”
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