As Jaemin’s gaze moved to Chaewon’s lips, she gently brushed her long hair aside and smiled slightly.
“No, I don’t.”
Surprised, Jaemin exhaled sharply and quickly approached them.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Darling!”
Turning at Jaemin’s voice, Chaewon looked first at the man, then at Jaemin, as if seeing a stranger.
“As you can see, I have a husband.”
Once Chaewon made it clear, Jaemin straightened up and glared displeasingly at the man.
The man, having received Chaewon’s signal, pretended to be flustered and quickly left the café.
After the man had completely disappeared, Jaemin’s gaze belatedly returned to Chaewon.
Jaemin wanted to scold her for her behavior as a married woman, but she just smiled and said,
“I’ll have a warm latte.”
She moved to a window-side seat, signaling him to order. Jaemin blinked several times in surprise, as Chaewon usually took care of the coffee orders.
After ordering and bringing the coffee, Jaemin, unable to help himself, looked back once more.
“What’s this…”
He noticed several men glancing at her. Although Chaewon had changed her makeup and style, did it warrant such attention?
Jaemin gazed at her, momentarily captivated, then snapped out of it.
“She’s really trying to hold onto me. Does she think this will make me fall for her?”
Licking his lips in annoyance, Jaemin sat down in front of her.
“Did you order?”
Her long eyelashes, usually turned towards the window, lifted nobly.
Her face was usually pale, but today it seemed even whiter.
Jaemin’s gaze drifted down her slender neck to her shoulders.
She seemed thinner than before.
“Hey.”
Looking at her, Jaemin spoke in a dissatisfied tone.
“Cover your shoulders. The cardigan is slipping off, and your shoulders are all exposed!”
“Hey.”
Chaewon’s low voice made Jaemin’s eyes widen.
“Don’t say that.”
“……What?”
“Don’t erase my beautiful name given by my parents with ‘Hey’ in front of me. Seriously, if you do that again.”
“…….”
“I won’t let it slide.”
Jaemin looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, then cleared his throat and turned his head.
“Alright, relax. I came here to seriously talk to you.”
Chaewon leaned comfortably against the backrest.
“Heeju, what should I do for you to agree to a divorce?”
“Do you hate me that much?”
“We just don’t get along!”
“Let’s try to adjust to each other.”
“We’ve tried enough, haven’t we? If we’re not compatible, there’s no point in trying further. Besides, I feel nothing for you anymore!”
Chaewon looked out the window as if she had heard a boring story.
“Those feelings might be temporary. Taking some time apart as a weekend couple might help us realize how much we mean to each other.”
“We’ve already been apart, and I felt nothing!”
Chaewon, who had crossed her legs, leaned towards the table.
“So, even if I meet another man, even if I give my contact to a man like earlier, you won’t feel anything?”
Jaemin hesitated at her suggestion of meeting other men.
“……Well, you can meet someone else after we divorce.”
“I didn’t know you had no feelings for me to this extent.”
Chaewon’s expression sank as she lowered her gaze.
As Jaemin silently watched her, she turned her gaze back out the window, seemingly on the verge of giving up.
Her fragile demeanor triggered Jaemin’s protective instincts, reminding him of when he first met her, sweet and gentle.
“Okay. I will seriously consider it.”
Jaemin nodded reluctantly, seeing a possible end to their struggles.
He long gazed at the side profile of Chaewon, deep in thought at the table.
“But.”
“Yes?”
“Do you hate me that much?”
Jaemin found it hard to affirm in the face of her doe-like eyes and sinking expression.
“Ah, no, it’s not that.”
“And.”
“Yes?”
“What about my warm coffee?”
Stunned, Jaemin looked at the counter, then hurriedly stood up when their eyes met.
“I’ll get it, I’ll get it.”
He paused in his steps, contemplating, “Is she going to cry all night again?”
Knowing his tearful wife well, Jaemin turned back to look at her. Leaning in her chair, playing with her hair, she exuded a confident air, not a trace of tears.
“Her style has changed, definitely a different vibe….”
Admiring his wife’s new ambiance, Jaemin quickly rushed to get her coffee.
After changing clothes at home, Chaewon drove to the restaurant Venecia.
Taking off her sunglasses, she first checked her watch.
“You’re early today.”
Startled, Chaewon turned towards the sound to see Yugeon just getting out of his car, closing the driver’s door.
Chaewon eyed Yugeon, dressed in a tieless suit, and then met his gaze.
Well, they had to meet, standing so close to each other.
“I like that our date spots are always predictable. Watching a movie, eating, having tea. So today, we’re doing the concept of a cozy dinner?”
“It looks like we’ll soon be going to a place that’s not so predictable.”
This man really knows how to dress.
Perhaps it’s his physique that makes anything he wears look good.
Chaewon, who was observing the harmonious blend of his non-extravagant yet sensually appealing shirt and perfectly fitting jacket, asked in a calm voice.
“Where would that be?”
“A hotel.”
“A hotel…?”
Chaewon, whose gaze had drifted from Yugeon’s clothes, straightened her neck and met his eyes.
She was thinking about his fashion sense just a moment ago, recalling the fashion of his cousin that had recently made her shake her head. Perhaps she had misheard because of that.
“Did you just mention the name of your cousin, Yugeon?”
After her question, Yugeon momentarily closed his lips, and Chaewon smiled apologetically.
“Ah, I must have misheard. I was distracted… I’ve been so absent-minded lately. It’s not like me at all. Even when I’m not in the best condition, I’m usually clear-headed. But these days, with my sister’s situation, I’ve been quite different.”
“Kim Chaewon.”
Chaewon nodded a few times as if to focus her mind.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Let’s spend a night together soon.”
The smile on Chaewon’s face quickly disappeared.
Yugeon seemed as casual as if he had just asked her to have a meal, while Chaewon froze, her lips fluttering without words.
Silence lingered between them.
Then, barely a whisper escaped Chaewon.
“……What?”
She couldn’t believe what she’d heard, but there was no sign of discomfort or hesitation in Yugeon’s eyes as he looked back at her.
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
