In the hotel lobby, Jun introduced me as Writer Lee Haru to Secretary Yoon. It was a busy place with many people coming and going. It was better to limit my position next to Jun with the title given to me.
“And this is Secretary Yoon Yeongeun, who manages all my schedules.”
“Hello, I’m Yoon Yeongeun.”
We awkwardly, yet familiarly, looked at each other. With Jun standing between us. As if we were people declaring our allegiance for the first time. Like people who had just confirmed each other’s existence for the first time.
“And hello, I’m Lee Haru.”
“I’ve heard a lot about Director Haru from you.”
It was similar to what I heard in the hotel room a little while ago.
“I was really curious about who you are, and now I get to meet you. Nice to meet you.”
It was a new statement, but it was mixed with falsehood. Clearly, we had already exchanged brief conversations while facing each other.
Seeing her trying to conceal our real first meeting to this extent, it was evident that Jun shouldn’t find out about what she had just said to me. At least, according to Secretary Yoon’s judgment.
“Firstly, I don’t have much time flexibility. I’ll have someone pick you up, so it would be good for both the director and the writer to rest in the car for a while. Director, as well as Writer Lee.”
Was my wariness towards her excessive, or was it perfectly normal? I couldn’t make a judgment. Especially when facing her clean smile without any unnecessary details.
“Writer, shall we go then?”
Jun said, smiling brightly as if the sunlight outside the hotel door. I tried to smile at Jun, looking up at him, but I wasn’t sure how that smile would have looked.
The discomfort of putting my foot into Secretary Yoon’s car was quickly eased.
Surprisingly, Secretary Yoon didn’t bring up any personal conversation other than reporting work-related schedules and project progress.
Jun, whose physical condition wasn’t so great, fell asleep right after hearing the brief report as if he had completed his task. I also looked at Jun’s face as he fell asleep and dozed off.
When I pushed up my heavy eyelids in the drowsiness, I was leaning on Jun’s shoulder as a pillow. I raised my head slightly. I didn’t know how I must have looked when Jun, who knows since when, was watching me.
“Did you sleep well?”
Although you were the first one to fall asleep, I received the greeting asking if I slept well.
“Yeah… When did I fall asleep?”
“As soon as I fell asleep.”
“How do you know I fell asleep while I was sleeping?”
“I could tell right away. How did you know and lean on my shoulder?”
“Oh, so you woke up because of me?”
“That’s what I meant by saying it was good.”
Trying to quickly raise my head due to the awkward feeling, my head was pulled back onto Jun’s shoulder. The familiar broadcasting building in front was starting to be visible.
“We haven’t arrived yet. You can continue like this a bit longer.”
“We should be arriving soon.”
“So, that ‘soon’ is not now?”
I was about to add one more word to Jun’s naive tone when Secretary Yoon, who might have overheard our conversation, caught my attention. I bit my lip and refrained from saying more, looking at her quietly driving ahead.
“We’re here now.”
Watching me forcibly move away from him, Jun chuckled. Opening the door with a wry smile, he said, “You can continue like this a bit longer.”
I exchanged awkward glances and greetings with Secretary Yoon, who was businesslike yet courteous in her escort. There was no particular reason to be friendly, but unconsciously, I found myself taking a few steps back. Hoping that this chilly intuition was wrong, I moved forward.
“Writer Lee. Oh, Director Kim is here too. Hello.”
Before heading to the audition venue, we stopped by the office for a moment. Mi-jeong, who happened to be standing near the door, spotted Jun and me before opening the glass door and greeted us with a warm welcome.
“Oh? Director Kim… Did the air conditioning at the audition venue bother you yesterday? Should I raise the temperature a bit now?”
Jun’s attire was undoubtedly noticeable compared to most employees who wore short sleeves, at most a thin cardigan. He was wearing a noticeably thick jacket suitable for late autumn, just before winter. Mi-jeong, who was considerate, couldn’t easily pass by that sight.
“No, it’s okay. I bought this suit and never had a chance to wear it, only having official events. Today seemed like the right time to show it off. It’s fine.”
Recalling this morning when Jun hastily put on the thickest jacket among the clothes available, I knew it was a lie he made up to avoid revealing his actual health condition. I was aware of the lie, but I didn’t bother to mention it.
After exchanging brief morning greetings, Mi-jeong looked at me and spoke with a slightly excited voice.
“I saw you.”
“Huh?”
“The candidate for the male lead role this time. As others mentioned, it seems like you really broke through Director Kim’s photo. You look so much like him, and you seem so fresh.”
“That’s true. Jihun seems so fresh.”
When Jun said this teasingly, implying something else, Mi-jeong immediately clapped her hands, saying it wasn’t what he thought. However, Jun made it more embarrassing for Mi-jeong by saying, “It wasn’t that meaning, right?” While she was trying to deny it, Jun continued to make her more uncomfortable. In the midst of the commotion, Hyun-soo, who had just finished copying at the end of the office, walked towards us and said.
“Hello. Director and Writer. You’ve been working together since the morning. How heartwarming.”
With a smirk, Hyun-soo, especially emphasizing “how heartwarming,” made it visible only to him. I tensed my eyebrows to show my displeasure at his insincere laughter. His nonchalant face, as if he had no sense of impact, was irritating.
“Anything happened?”
“Yes.”
To my question thrown as if nothing was wrong, I received an answer that something indeed had happened.
“Really? What’s going on?”
“Lately, Writer Lee’s desk has been empty all day. Just looking at the empty desk, even though it’s not autumn, it feels like my heart has been pierced.”
“Oh, nothing happened.”
Seeing that there was nothing to worry about, I felt relieved.
“Excuse me…”
At that moment, the office glass door where we were standing suddenly opened. Everyone’s gaze turned to that direction. Outside the door stood a woman.
With a petite figure, small feet, and large, round eyes that capture attention at a glance. She looked familiar. It was the girl who had introduced herself as resembling Doraemon in a previous profile picture. Naturally, my gaze shifted to Jun, who was standing next to me, as he stopped moving and stared blankly at the girl, making his posture seem unfamiliar.
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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