Between Us is X (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 13
“Why are you… how did you end up asleep, crumpled on the basement sofa, wearing an apron completely covered in sawdust?”
Of course, she knew this was something he genuinely enjoyed doing, yet the thought struck her out of nowhere.
If she’d kept working at the consulting firm her immigrant grandfather had founded and built into a major company in Boston—now run by her mother—she wouldn’t be earning a salary of just 500,000 won.
For some reason, Sol Heee’s words suddenly came back to her.
“The world doesn’t just reward hard work, nor does it succeed simply by doing things well. Sometimes it’s about inexplicable luck or timing.”
Luck or timing.
Could that perhaps be about appearing on television?
It would be an incredible opportunity for Vida and Ju Han, but if she refused solely for personal reasons and ended up burdening them…
“No, no. Back then, this guy was even more serious than I was…”
Just then, “this guy” slowly opened his eyes. Ju Han screamed in fright upon seeing Eun Su’s silhouette looking down at him.
“Aaah!”
“Aah!”
Startled by Ju Han’s shout, Eun Su instinctively screamed as well. Ju Han scrambled upright, clutching his chest with both hands and gasping for breath.
“Why are you just standing there like that! I thought you were a ghost!”
“Why get so freaked out? Even if it were a real ghost, it’d be too embarrassed to stick around.”
“A real ghost wouldn’t get this close either. At most, it’d sit in a corner or drift past the window.”
“What? What are you talking about? Are there ghosts here?”
Now fully awake and composed, Ju Han adjusted his sitting posture.
“You didn’t know? Everyone’s seen it at least once. Haven’t you?”
Eun Su frowned deeply.
“You’ve crossed the line. Why pull such a prank? Always targeting the one person who’s here pulling all-nighters alone.”
“It doesn’t come up to the second floor, apparently. Only roams between the basement and first floor. Supposedly a woman in white, about your height with long hair…”
“Ah, stop it already!”
Eun Su finally raised a hand. Ju Han quickly changed the subject.
“So why are you here? Do you have something to say?”
“…No?”
Eun Su feigned audacity, adding, “Just that.” Ju Han quirked one corner of his mouth.
“Then why were you spying on someone for no reason?”
“When did I spy on you? I came down because the lights were on, and I found you asleep. If you’re going to sleep, why not go home? Can’t make it because it’s too far, so you sleep here instead?”
“I wasn’t sleeping. Just closed my eyes for a moment.”
“Wipe that drool off your mouth before talking.”
Ju Han swiped the back of his hand across his lips and muttered, “It didn’t even leave a mark.”
“It evaporated. I saw it all.”
Clearly, this guy was worse than any ghost. Ju Han gave her a dismissive wave.
“If you’ve seen everything and have nothing to say, please go home.”
“I’m leaving anyway—oh, Director.”
As Ju Han stood, he rubbed his neck and gave her a questioning look. Eun Su bit her lower lip.
Should I talk to you? About your salary—no, about our company’s revenue. Maybe we should just lay it all out and discuss it together…
Watching Eun Su chew over words she couldn’t bring herself to say, Ju Han asked,
“Is something wrong?”
“What could possibly be wrong?”
Feeling guilty already, Eun Su waved her hand. Ju Han, looking suspicious, suddenly said,
“Wait a sec.”
“Huh?”
“Let me see your hand.”
“My hand?”
Instinctively, Eun Su held out both hands. Ju Han pointed to the faint red line on her fingertip, where she’d cut it on paper earlier. Embarrassed, she lowered her hand.
“Oh, this? Just a little paper cut from earlier.”
“But why leave it untreated?”
“I’ll wash it and put a bandage on it once I get home.”
“What are you talking about? You should’ve disinfected it right away. A paper cut can let bacteria in—if you get necrotizing fasciitis, what’ll you do?”
“Necro—what?”
While Eun Su stood bewildered, Ju Han turned away, then came back with antiseptic, ointment, and a bandage from his desk drawer.
“Give me your hand.”
“It’s fine. It’s nothing.”
“Just hand it over.”
Who does he think he is, a bandit? Grumbling, Eun Su reluctantly offered her injured hand. Ju Han carefully disinfected the cut, applied ointment, and began peeling open the bandage wrapper.
As she watched, Eun Su suddenly realized something.
Scattered across Ju Han’s hands were tiny scars—far worse than any paper cut she’d ever seen.
These weren’t the same hands she remembered from long ago, the ones she’d so often grabbed without thinking. Her heart grew heavy again.
“Hey, Kim Ju Han.”
Having just finished bandaging her finger, Ju Han looked up at her instead of answering.
“Can we just… forget about that thing…?”
Eun Su faltered, unable to finish her sentence. Ju Han tilted his head in confusion.
“That thing?”
Eun Su quickly shook her head.
“No, never mind. Nothing. Thanks.”
She immediately turned away.
“I’ll go ahead.”
She could feel Ju Han’s puzzled gaze on her back as she hurried up the stairs. Eun Su swallowed a sigh.
Her fingertip—hardly painful at all—now stung inexplicably.
[This is the timeline separator]The next day.
The phone on her desk rang. Without taking her eyes off the monitor, Eun Su stretched out an arm to answer.
“Yes, this is Seon Eun Su from Vida. Ah, yes!”
Her cheerful expression gradually turned serious.
“Oh… I see. An unexpected situation came up? Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. When might you schedule again…? Yes, understood.”
It was the Litian Staff—the meeting scheduled for tomorrow had been canceled for now.
Feeling uneasy, she stood up and paced restlessly—when suddenly, someone hurried up the stairs. It was Seon Kyung.
“Director!”
“Yes, Oh Director. What’s wrong?”
Unusually flustered, Seon Kyung frowned and spoke.
“I just heard from someone—I guess Moem is meeting with the Litian Staff tomorrow?”
“What?”
Moem—and Manager Jang Hyun Man.
If it were any other company, she might not worry, but Moem? That gave her a bad feeling.
Moem followed a completely different strategy from Vida—they only took in pieces from already famous or high-value collections.
She knew they wouldn’t purchase vintage chairs, no matter how pristine or beautifully designed, if the designer was unknown. So why, of all places, would they suddenly know about the still-unknown Litian and target it at the exact same time?
“If they’d told us the real reason, I wouldn’t have just accepted it so calmly! What do we do?”
The staff had mentioned they wouldn’t be staying long in Korea—clearly, since they couldn’t meet both parties, they’d canceled Vida’s appointment. It felt utterly unfair.
After intense deliberation, Eun Su called the Litian Staff again.
“Hello, this is Seon Eun Su. Actually… Yes, of course. I completely understand how hard it must be to arrange time. But if it’s alright with you, could I come to you directly and deliver the key points as briefly as possible?”
Though hesitant at first, the staff member eventually agreed to a new meeting.
As soon as she hung up, Seon Kyung asked,
“What did they say?”
“They said they could meet for about an hour in the lounge of the hotel they’re staying at. I’ll go right away.”
Eun Su quickly gathered the presentation materials she’d prepared for tomorrow, straightened her clothes, and headed downstairs.
So Min and Ju Han, who were pulling out already-sold furniture from the showroom to deliver to a customer, turned around.
“Where are you going?”
“Meeting with Litian.”
“Wasn’t that scheduled for tomorrow?”
“It got canceled and then rebooked. It’s urgent—I have to meet them first.”
Seon Kyung, who’d followed her down, gave a brief explanation. Hearing “Moem,” Ju Han frowned and called out to Eun Su just as she was about to leave.
“Wait five minutes by the door.”
He immediately stepped outside. Eun Su turned to the bewildered staff.
“I’ll… go and come back.”
“Yes, Director.”
Outside, Eun Su waited anxiously—when Ju Han came down, no longer in his work clothes but in a neat shirt and slacks, car keys in hand.
“Coming together?”
“Two against one’s better than one against one. Is that too underhanded?”
Eun Su frowned.
“It’s not like it’s seventeen against one—two against one isn’t underhanded. Let’s go.”
Ju Han gave a small smile and headed toward the garage beside the building. Spotting the quietly parked black sedan, Eun Su murmured,
“Right, you have a car. I completely forgot, always seeing you drive that truck.”
“I actually just remembered myself. Haven’t had much reason to drive this thing.”
Ju Han took the driver’s seat; Eun Su sat beside him. True to his word, the car—rarely used—still smelled brand new.
“Where to?”
“H Hotel.”
“Should take about 30 minutes. If there’s anything you want to review, go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
The car pulled away smoothly. Ju Han glanced at Eun Su, who was intently reviewing her materials while clearly trying to stay calm.
He knew, too—knew she’d poured more effort into this than anything before.
They’d assumed Litian was favorably inclined, never expecting this sudden betrayal. Worried that they might act just as bluntly and rudely in person, Ju Han had rushed to accompany her.
If Eun Su had prepared well, he’d leave it to her. But if, in the end, the deal proved impossible—whether because of Moem or any other reason—
“I’ve been thinking.”
Eun Su suddenly spoke.
“This doesn’t feel like a coincidence. Do you really think Moem could’ve taken an interest in Litian completely independently of us?”
Ju Han replied immediately.
“It seems highly unlikely. It’s far more probable they caught wind of the sudden interest in Vida and the Marsi Medsen chair—thanks to Choi Yoon Bin.”
“Right? It’s not just me thinking that?”
“Honestly, it’s obvious. And whether it’s coincidence or not, they’ve clearly thrown a wrench into our plans.”
“Exactly.”
Eun Su clenched her fist.
“If this deal falls through, can we drive straight from the hotel to Moem? I’m going to grab Manager Jang by the hair and yank it out.”
Ju Han couldn’t help but chuckle at the mental image.
“Alright, let’s go. We’ll yank it out.”
He added,
“But if he’s wearing a wig, it won’t feel satisfying to pull. So let’s win this meeting cleanly and head back.”
Eun Su stared at Ju Han’s profile.
‘It really does feel better having Director Baek by my side than charging in alone.’
Her earlier surge of anger had already settled considerably.
Yeah, let’s go.
How could such a simple, natural word of support mean so much?
Soon after, Ju Han and Eun Su arrived at H Hotel.
After handing the car to valet parking, they walked side by side into the lobby and headed straight for the lounge, where they were guided to the Litian Staff’s table.
A surprisingly young man in casual business attire stood up to greet them.
“Nice to meet you. Sorry to have you come all this way.”
“Not at all. Our showroom isn’t far, and meeting a day earlier is even more pleasant.”
They exchanged brief greetings and business cards. Seeing Ju Han’s card, the staff member looked slightly surprised.
“The director came in person too…”
“We truly consider this meeting with Litian important—on our side, at least.”
Ju Han smiled gently. Whether the subtle reproach in his words—that Vida came prepared while the other side did not—landed or not, the staff member’s eyes twitched slightly.
Eun Su respectfully placed her materials in front of him.
“I know you must be busy with other schedules. Thank you for making time. I’ll keep it concise and focus only on the key points.”
She began her presentation immediately.
The staff member listened with an unreadable expression, but once Eun Su finished, he looked slightly troubled.
“Honestly, what we want is…”
Male lead is a clingy little husband
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Most Commented This Week
The Villain Has Gone Mad For Me (Completed Main Story)
I’m The Lowest-Ranking Daughter Of A Martial Arts Villain (2 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Became the Assassin Family’s Foster Daughter (Completed Main Story)
Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete)
The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story)
At the End of Ruin, There You Are (56 Chapters Left to Complete)
She’s a Villainess but her Husband is Handsome (Completed Main Story)
People Aren’t Meant to Be Fixed! (4 Chapters Left to Complete)
My Discarded Fiancé Returned (Completed Main Story)
Summer Must Die (16 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete)
Regret With All Your Might (Completed Main Story)