Vroom Vroom!!
As soon as Ha Joon saw a motorcycle speeding towards them, he swiftly pulled Seo Ah into his embrace, turning her to face the wall for safety. The bike brushed past Ha Joon’s back as it zoomed by.
Ha Joon tried to catch the motorcycle’s license plate number, but it had already disappeared into an alley. The act seemed deliberate.
“Ha Joon, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You must have been scared.”
“I’m sorry. I should have been more aware.”
“When I’m with you, it’s okay, but be careful when I’m not around.”
“I will.”
Ha Joon tightly hugged a disheartened Seo Ah.
His concern was evident. Despite having undercover bodyguards, they couldn’t protect her in such sudden situations unless they were right beside her.
He didn’t want to scare Seo Ah by telling her to be cautious of threats. He hoped to find the enemy soon.
What was it that she was so eager to do? Ha Joon glanced at the place Seo Ah had pointed at earlier.
Claw machines, really?
[Star icon]At the claw machine arcade, Seo Ah jumped around like a child.
Ha Joon looked on affectionately, recalling how she used to be like this until she was seventeen – a carefree, naive girl. He thought he’d never see this side of her again and was glad to have it back.
“I guess this is what you wanted to do?”
“Yes! I always wanted to do this… with a boyfriend…”
Seo Ah stopped, realizing she was talking about Ha Joon, her husband. She didn’t want to give the wrong impression, as Ha Joon was the only man for her.
But then Ha Joon said something unexpected, “Is that so? Then today, let’s be boyfriend and girlfriend, not husband and wife.”
Seo Ah’s face flushed with excitement. A date with her dream boyfriend, Ha Joon!
Feeling shy, Ha Joon pretended to be casual, “I don’t have any coins. Do they take cards?”
As Ha Joon examined the machine, Seo Ah regained her composure and said, “You can exchange bills over there!”
After exchanging a bill for coins, Ha Joon approached the claw machine.
“What do you want me to grab?”
“That dog in the middle seems easy to get, doesn’t it?”
“Tell me what you want, not what seems easy.”
Trying to suppress a laugh, Seo Ah pointed to another toy.
“That rabbit!”
Ha Joon confidently inserted a coin and operated the machine.
The first attempt was a failure.
Unfazed, Ha Joon inserted another coin. He was new to this but believed he’d succeed soon.
The second attempt also failed.
Again, Ha Joon inserted a coin, now examining the angles more carefully.
Still, it was another failure.
“I understand now. It should work this time.”
But it was another failure.
“I get it now. I think I can do it this time.”
Yet, Ha Joon’s subsequent attempts also failed, and his frustration began to show.
“This is a trick, a trick! The claw is too weak. It seems to drop on purpose. I need to change more money. Wait for me. I think I can really do it this time. Got it…… Ah!”
Seo Ah had seen such scenes in dramas and movies, but never imagined Ha Joon would be the one doing it. She secretly recorded a video, planning to keep it to herself, knowing Ha Joon might not only dislike it but get angry.
Ha Joon was so focused he didn’t pay attention to anything else around him, not even Seo Ah.
So, she took the opportunity to take pictures, including selfies with Ha Joon working hard at the claw machine in the background.
Enjoying Ha Joon’s efforts, Seo Ah worried he might be getting stressed instead of having fun.
“Ha Joon, let’s stop and go. It’s a trick, a trick. These machines are designed to be tough…”
Just then, cheers erupted nearby.
“Wow! How did you get it in one go?”
A man at a neighboring machine had succeeded in one attempt.
Ha Joon tried to ignore it and continued.
Seo Ah fidgeted, feeling guilty for suggesting it. She wanted to suggest trying the machine that the man had succeeded on but didn’t want to hurt Ha Joon’s pride.
After a few more attempts,
Seo Ah’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What? Oh? Oh!!”
Finally, he succeeded.
“Yay!”
Seo Ah, genuinely delighted, jumped up and down. She had been worried about how to cheer up Ha Joon if he couldn’t win.
Ha Joon, even happier, clenched his fists, though he didn’t show his excitement outwardly. He calmly took out the toy and handed it to Seo Ah.
“Thank you. It’s cute.”
Seo Ah hugged the toy and beamed.
Ha Joon felt a pang of self-reproach.
The toy was smaller than he expected. It fit snugly in Seo Ah’s small embrace, and they had spent nineteen thousand won to win it. Buying it outright would have cost less than ten thousand won…
Was Seo Ah just pretending to be happy? But she genuinely seemed delighted. After all, it was the first toy Ha Joon had won for her, a prize earned through effort.
The value of this moment couldn’t be measured in money.
[Star icon]Arriving home, Ha Joon took off his jacket, revealing a bruise on his back. Seo Ah, standing behind him, gasped.
“Ha Joon. There’s a bruise on your back…”
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.”
