Beep, beep, beep.
Myeong-ok’s fingers skillfully pressed the unfamiliar front door keypad. Though it was clearly an act of trespassing, there was no hint of guilt.
When Soo-bin was younger, entering with a spare key was enough. But now, living separately, it required getting the password from a company each time.
Myeong-ok found it a bit bothersome.
Upon opening the door, the smell of oil paint wafted through. She entered, frowning deeply.
Soo-bin, painting in one corner of the living room, caught her eye. Despite hearing the door, Soo-bin’s avoidance seemed like a silent protest.
“Soo-bin.”
“…….”
“Cha Soo-bin.”
Soo-bin was painting a portrait on the canvas.
Unusual for her to paint people. Myeong-ok glanced at the barely formed long-haired woman, then turned to the window.
“Why make such a smell at home?”
Myeong-ok flung open the windows.
“Get me a studio?”
“Why? To barge in there too?”
Soo-bin replied indifferently, without stopping her brushwork. Myeong-ok wished she’d just get angry, but her resigned attitude was frustrating.
Indeed, Soo-bin’s father was a timid man.
Seeing Soo-bin often reminded Myeong-ok of him. If only she resembled me more. Myeong-ok looked at her with mixed feelings.
“Did you delay work to paint?”
“No, not that.”
Soo-bin put down her brush. Standing in the same position for so long, her neck cracked audibly as she stretched.
“I agreed to help a friend. Supervising? Coaching? The art school’s photography club.”
“Just for that?”
Myeong-ok’s shoulders deflated like a balloon losing air.
“It’s meaningful. I’m reviewing works for the school festival.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“There’ll be many guests.”
Soo-bin smiled pleasingly. Myeong-ok shook her head, moving to the sofa. Clearing the scattered magazines and drawing tools, she finally found space to sit.
“Come sit here.”
“That’s not for sitting.”
“If it’s not a sofa, then what?”
“A stand.”
Soo-bin wiped her paint-stained hands on a towel, then tossed a small cloth onto the sofa. She dragged a stool from a corner to sit opposite Myeong-ok.
The tall stool, with Soo-bin seated, looked like a decorative chair.
Resting his hands between his thighs, he leaned back languidly. His broad shoulders rose, asserting their presence through the thin shirt.
“I threw away the USB.”
Soo-bin spoke nonchalantly.
Their conversation lacked structure, but Myeong-ok preferred it. No point in beating around the bush.
“You threw it away. But you heard the recording, right?”
“Right. I did. But it wasn’t anything significant.”
“…….”
Myeong-ok slowly scanned Soo-bin’s face.
Why is he lying? I need to know the hidden reason to act, but right now, there’s no answer.
No choice then. Myeong-ok decided to fish a bit roughly.
“Why hide it when that girl already admitted everything?”
“……What are you talking about?”
“She just confessed in front of me. A fake marriage for money from Tae Sang. Being from an orphanage, she was shamelessly blunt.”
“…….”
Suddenly, Soo-bin’s face turned icy. He slowly stood up, glaring piercingly at Myeong-ok.
Myeong-ok of all people, to Da Jeong.
Soo-bin knew better than anyone how cruel Myeong-ok was. He had endured her harsh words all his life.
The thought of Da Jeong enduring the same pained his heart as if it were splitting.
“Soo, Soo-bin?”
“Did you go there?”
“Uh…… Well…….”
This expression isn’t good.
Realizing her mistake, Myeong-ok’s eyes darted around, seeking an escape. Meanwhile, Soo-bin’s face grew colder.
“What did you say there?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing much. Just asked around. How they met…….”
“Lies.”
Soo-bin murmured quietly, his voice low enough to send shivers. Caught off guard, Myeong-ok stopped talking and watched his lips.
“Talking down on her background, you must have belittled her. Because to Mom, if someone’s poor or powerless, they’re not even human.”
“Soo-bin, it’s not like that. I’m just being realistic….”
“Mom.”
“……Yes?”
“Don’t touch Da Jeong.”
His voice was threatening, like a declaration. It was hard to believe this was the always-smiling Soo-bin.
Myeong-ok could only blink dumbly.
“Everyone else is fine, but not Da Jeong. Absolutely, not her.”
“Da Jeong……? You know her…….”
Myeong-ok sounded puzzled, but Soo-bin didn’t intend to listen further.
He turned and walked away quickly.
How harshly must I have pushed her, is she crying alone? The mere thought of Da Jeong made his head feel like it would burst.
In haste, he headed towards the residence’s underground parking. As soon as he exited the elevator, he dashed toward a familiar sedan.
Song, the secretary sitting in the driver’s seat, opened the door with a puzzled look. A long-time aide to Myeong-ok, he was a diligent and tight-lipped employee.
“Where did the director go today?”
Soo-bin interrupted him abruptly.
“Uh? Why do you ask?”
Song looked towards the residence entrance hesitantly.
“Where… No, never mind.”
Soo-bin half-opened the driver’s door, throwing himself into the car. This was no time for petty arguments.
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
