Dajeong raised her head and looked at him intently.
“Just lose once. Okay?”
“If you keep staring like that…”
“…?”
A silent gaze was directed at him. Taesang helplessly shook his head, resembling a defeated knight kneeling, displaying a powerless demeanor.
“…Fine. I’ll do it.”
“Thank you.”
“But no photos.”
He said, gripping her shoulders tightly.
“Okay.”
“If you think it’s too personal and want to stop, we’ll end it right there.”
“That won’t happen. The journalist Ms. Miyeon has praised you endlessly.”
“Kang Miyeon…”
Somehow, his uttered voice was low and gloomy. Dajeong was surprised and looked up at him.
“What are you… going to say?”
A somewhat worried look was directed at him. Upon seeing that, he hugged Dajeong tightly, groaning, and pulled her close.
“So… please don’t look at me like that.”
“I didn’t do anything…”
Dajeong, who was about to argue that she only looked, closed her mouth quietly. Whatever it was, it seemed to have an effect, so it was better not to press further.
“Let’s go.”
After patting shoulders, head, and even both cheeks for a while, Taesang, as if determined, spoke. Dajeong nodded lightly, holding his hand.
The place scheduled for the interview was the Sky Lounge on the top floor of the hotel.
As the elevator ascended floor by floor, her heartbeat gradually quickened. An interview. She didn’t know when she made the promise, but now that she was about to do it, she was nervous.
Inside the lounge, a long cocktail bar was in place. The sofas scattered around it were positioned as if they were deliberately avoiding each other, preventing the faces of other guests from being seen even from a seated position.
Dajeong stood at the entrance, scanning the inside. Then, a woman sitting right next to the door approached them with a bag.
“Hello. I’m Song Yoonchae, the journalist for today’s interview.”
A woman in her late thirties dressed in a neat black suit. A sense of ease and confidence emanated from the slightly raised corners of her mouth.
Dajeong straightened her waist.
“Yes. Hello. I’m Han Dajeong.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Taesang looked at her, nodding slightly. An unfamiliar tension emanated from his dark black eyes. Song, the journalist, seemed to accept his gaze as if it were familiar.
“It’s quieter inside. Please come in.”
She pointed to the area by the window, separated by a partition.
The lounge was quiet on a weekday afternoon. When the three of them sat down on the sofa, a staff member came over to take their order. A while later, ginger ale, sparkling water, and a glass of water arrived on the table.
Song, the journalist, took a sip of the sparkling water and took out a notebook and a phone from her bag.
Turning on the recording function, unfolding the notebook, neatly tying her long hair into one. Everything seamlessly flowed like a single motion.
“Don’t worry; the recording won’t leak outside.”
When a light voice cut through the air, Taesang pulled his upper body forward. Slowly, interlocking fingers pressed heavily on the table.
“Journalist Song Yoonchae.”
“Yes.”
“May I ask you for a favor?”
Anticipating what she was about to say, Journalist Song smiled generously.
Unrivaled managerial skills compared to Chairman Seondae, overwhelming charisma that captivates the public. However, he was someone who never enjoyed stepping into the media. If he had something to say before the joint interview with his lover, it was evident.
“Yes. Please go ahead.”
“Please direct personal questions only to me. I alone am enough to decorate the newspaper with controversies.”
It was a clear and polite tone. While he agreed to the interview as Dajeong wished, he had no intention of exposing her completely.
If her attention turned to Dajeong, Taesang planned to leave this place without any hesitation.
“Of course. Don’t worry. I won’t ask unnecessary questions from my side in the first place.”
Necessary and unnecessary.
She went beyond the dichotomy of personal and non-personal, offering a new perspective. She would observe etiquette, but she would ask necessary questions.
“Asking questions necessary to grasp the truth of the case cannot be considered personal.”
Taesang stared at her without blinking, exploring if she could be trusted or if he could step back. The probing energy in the deeply intertwined gaze was palpable.
Eventually, her lips, tinged with darkness, opened slowly.
“Alright. But if the focus shifts to unnecessary personal matters, I won’t be able to continue the interview. Please keep that in mind.”
“Of course. You’ll see as we go along.”
With a soft click and the sound of a pen being pressed, the interview began.
Simple self-introduction, current situation, and thoughts on the emerging suspicions and issues were sequentially thrown at them. Every time, Dajeong responded calmly and in detail, while Taesang answered briefly and precisely. As the questioning continued, her notebook became increasingly filled.
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
