Subin’s pupils shook uncontrollably.
“He hasn’t even played it yet.”
“But still, I know. You’re beautiful.”
Subin twisted the volume control button roughly. The volume increased dramatically, as if the speaker was pounding.
“…”
The excited expression when opening gifts, the bashful appearance when changing clothes. The image of a loving couple unfolded before her eyes like a movie.
Subin couldn’t help but feel a creeping discomfort.
The shame of eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation, the instinctual discomfort from hearing Tae Sang’s voice. It wasn’t just for simple reasons.
Unidentifiable emotions welled up from deep within and gradually made Subin uncomfortable.
I can’t listen to this anymore.
Myung Ok’s audacity to even eavesdrop on this was ridiculous. Subin reached out towards the USB with a cold expression.
At that moment, an unexpected phrase pierced her ears.
“…Tae Sang chose me out of necessity.”
“Necessity?”
For a moment, the corners of her mouth stiffened.
Out of necessity? Did Tae Sang use you like that? With one unavoidable word, her expression turned fierce.
Subin focused all her attention and listened to the conversation intently. After a while, Da Jung’s pitiful voice flowed slowly.
“Even though it’s not a real marriage… Isn’t it funny?”
“…”
“It’s not real. One word was enough to give her certainty.
She couldn’t believe it, she couldn’t.
Subin had been nonchalantly shaking her head when Myung Ok said Tae Sang’s marriage was just a show.
There’s no way, it couldn’t be true. But in the face of the clearly revealed truth, Subin felt intense anger.
“Tae Sang… How could you…”
She knew he was cold-blooded, if not downright cold-hearted, but still, she never believed he would do something like this to Da Jung. Especially after what they had been through in the fire.
But the conversation in the recording made Tae Sang’s intentions clear. He was using Da Jung as a fake bride to solidify his position.
Subin clenched her fists tightly, and her nails dug painfully into her skin. Suddenly, the image of Da Jung’s sunny smile, which had always shone towards her, flashed in her mind.
And then, she couldn’t think of anything else. She had to protect that smile at all costs.
Suppressing her simmering anger, she pulled out the USB drive.
This file must not fall into Myung Ok’s hands.
If it did, she would have no qualms about using Da Jung as a scapegoat. She would sacrifice the girl’s life without a second thought, just to protect her own relationship with Tae Sang.
Subin quickly took out her phone. After scrolling through her contacts for a while, she was relieved to find that the number saved as ‘Director Choi’ was still there.
A very short signal sounded, and Director Choi quickly answered the call.
“Yes, Subin Do.”
“Director, did you happen to listen to the contents of this file?”
“Yes? Yes. I was checking if the recording was done properly. I only listened to the beginning and then turned it off… Why do you ask? Was I not supposed to listen?”
“No, you did well. But more importantly, do you have a copy of this file?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You need to delete it immediately, along with everything the person in Malaysia has.”
Her commanding voice filled the office with a heavy presence.
Da Jung, who had been walking briskly, suddenly stopped in front of the escalator.
It’s a bit of a shame to just go like this.
If she went up, she could enjoy a delicious vanilla latte, and if she went straight out, she could catch the airport bus home.
The win-loss ratio of this fight she fought every time was 50 percent. Today, she had lost again, and Da Jung got on the escalator with bouncy steps.
The platform moved smoothly, carrying the stairs upward.
Busy trolley wheels, excited faces searching for the counter. The scenery in front of her eyes gradually changed, but Da Jung’s heart was still in the hotel suite.
“Have a safe trip.”
“Isn’t that a bit cruel to say?”
“Why?”
“Because you won’t be here when I come back.”
“But you’ll be here when I return to Korea.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Tick, tock. As she moved, Tae Sang’s voice echoed in her ears.
Is there such a thing as a residual feeling of happiness? Da Jung felt a gentle tremor and smiled shyly.
Lost in thought, she had walked to the front of a coffee shop without realizing it. When she opened the transparent glass door, the scent of coffee lightly brushed her nose.
“…He really came.”
The voice was strangely familiar. Turning her head as if entranced, Da Jung saw Subin sitting at a table next to the door.
“Subin, oppa? What is this place…”
Da Jung’s lips, about to ask what was going on, gradually fell silent.
The two of them were sitting across from each other at a two-person table.
The front seat was empty, but there was a single drink placed there. It seemed like their companion had momentarily left their seats.
“You went on a flight?”
Da Jung raised her gaze suddenly.
“Yes. What about you, oppa? Are you going abroad?”
“Abroad? No.”
Subin put down the espresso he had been holding and got up from his seat. As he walked away, Da Jung’s head slowly drooped.
“Just came out to get some fresh air.”
“All the way to Incheon Airport?”
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.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
