“Haru, it would’ve been fine if you were just disappointed. We didn’t come here to find your first love, anyway. Since that person is the owner of the house, we’ll be involved with him one way or another until filming ends. If you’re still unwittingly longing for him, seeing that man with a girlfriend would be so heartbreaking for you. That’s what I…”
I took a breath and spoke with feigned nonchalance.
“Not really.”
My voice, clear as the blue sky, caught Seo Jeong-eun’s wandering gaze.
“My heart’s perfectly fine. Really, truly fine. Ah, I wish I could show you, but this is quite a predicament.”
Surprise flickered in Seo Jeong-eun’s eyes. The contradiction in my words seemed to have caught her off guard. She probably watched me on the way here, quietly shaking at the thought of Jun, pretending not to notice.
But I didn’t want to be caught any further. Or rather, I wanted to convince her, and even Jun, that I had no lingering feelings left. So I played it off, as if Jun having a girlfriend was none of my business.
Knowing that if someone who knew I was shaken was around, the pitying looks they’d give me would only make those suppressed emotions grow uncontrollably.
I made up my mind.
“Seo Jeong-eun, Jun and I are already twenty-nine. Nine years added to our twenty. If he has a girlfriend, then good for him; if he’s married, then that’s great too. I can even afford to give a generous wedding gift if I feel like it.”
“Are you really okay? Can you take responsibility for your expression right now?”
Timing is crucial when responding at times like this. The longer the gap between the question and the answer, the more diluted the sincerity hidden in the words becomes.
I forced a smile. I wanted to appear as relaxed as possible, to match the tone of my previous words and expressions. So I replied with a disingenuous expression.
“How should I take responsibility?”
“Kim Jun agreed.”
“Oh, he agreed to lend the house? Just like that?”
“Yes.”
Her response was heavy. After a long pause, Seo Jeong-eun continued quickly as if she had made up her mind.
“He agreed to take on the role of director and write the screenplay with you for this project. Now, Ih-haru, it’s your turn to answer. Are you really okay? Can you do it?”
I couldn’t answer right away. Writing the screenplay together meant that Jun and I would have to walk through the memories of our past together.
It wasn’t just a favor from someone knowledgeable in filmmaking. Considering my relationship with Jun, it was even more nonsensical. My mind was in a whirl, and I missed the timing to respond. Eventually, Seo Jeong-eun’s question hung in the air, unanswered.
The gap between her question and my answer stretched immeasurably, unintentionally. My hidden truth, tightly concealed behind lies, was embarrassingly exposed.
A cautious voice broke through the prolonged silence.
“Haru.”
I knew Jun well. He wasn’t the type to propose something like this as a mere joke or a light-hearted query. Moreover, the debt I felt towards him made further doubts and considerations fade away.
“I’ll do it.”
Speaking those two words felt inexplicably difficult. My thoughts blocked the simple phrase ‘I’ll do it’ from coming out on time.
So, that’s how it was.
I found it overwhelming to confront the feelings for Jun I had tried to ignore for so long. I closed my eyes tightly and shook my head. It felt like the thoughts, swelling like snowballs, were dropping onto my shoulders, tap-tap-tapping away.
“Jeong-eun.”
“Hmm?”
As lost in thought as I was, Jeong-eun finally met my gaze.
“I’ll do the screenplay work.”
“Are you serious?”
“It’s our memories, Jun’s and mine. Nobody else can write it better than us. Jun is a professional director. We can work together, adjust, and ensure quality.”
And more than anything…
“My first love was too long. I want to end it, this first love. So, tying it up with him, that should be okay, right?”
I uttered this sentence as if making a vow to end this first love. At that moment, all those thoughts, once so abundant, seemed to suddenly fall off my shoulders, arms, and legs, scattering messily.
As if these old thoughts were no longer needed.
Jun had already accepted that our first love was confined to just one season, winter.
If he’s bringing his girlfriend to the house where our tender memories of love lingered, then surely, layers of new memories of love have been stacked upon ours by now.
I faintly felt that Jun might be feeling the same way. It was time to tidy up those memories. To ensure they no longer intrude unexpectedly into our lives.
Certainly, here’s the translation of the provided Korean paragraph into English, maintaining the names and genders accurately and consistently:
“So, let’s meet him at least once. Jun Kim said the decision is yours to make, and that he’ll be waiting. I got his contact, too. But he said it doesn’t matter if you contact him in advance or not, just come straight to his house when you’ve decided.”
“To that house?”
Sigh. I’m such a fool, really. I just firmly said I’d work with Jun, and now I’m all flustered again at the mention of him waiting at that house.
“So what, does he have another house somewhere? How many villas does that guy have?”
Jeong’s right corner of his mouth slightly lifted in a way that seemed to dismiss my nonsensical remark, then quickly dropped. Probably because of the lingering worry he still had about me.
“Haru, if you’ve made up your mind, go ahead. You actually want to see his house. Take it step by step, just like you said. Tie it up tightly, so you won’t waver in those memories anymore, immobilize them. You might be right. Maybe it was because there was no such process. Unnecessarily sentimental.”
“Yeah. I’ll do that. I definitely will.”
It sounded like I was trying to reassure Jeong, but in reality, it was a promise to myself.
I must do it. Jun and I, holding each end of the thread, will tie up all those memories tightly.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
