A few days later, Joo-won took some time during lunch to visit Haein Shinnyeo.
“Did you find the talisman?”
Seeing Joo-won’s bright complexion, Haein Shinnyeo raised her eyebrows. Joo-won calmly nodded.
“No, I couldn’t find it.”
In the midst of his busy schedule, Joo-won sought out Haein Shinnyeo because he wanted confirmation that the nightmare problem had been completely resolved. Thanks to Hye-joo, he was able to sleep well for the past week, but he couldn’t be sure if the vengeful spirit had disappeared.
Haein Shinnyeo’s response was cold.
“If you didn’t find the talisman, it means nothing has been resolved! It seems you’ve resorted to tricks to get some sleep, but it’s not reassuring to just rely on that!”
Although he expected this response, hearing it made him feel distant.
Joo-won lowered his eyes and explained the week he spent with Hye-joo. Thinking it might be the last time, when he embraced Hye-joo, the vengeful spirit surprisingly didn’t appear. Hearing this, Haein Shinnyeo shook her head heavily.
“So, that woman became a talisman for you? No, such a thing wouldn’t happen. The spirit attached to you is not an ordinary spirit. Usually, if you perform a ritual or use a talisman, spirits tend to retreat. The saying that you won’t see ghosts when you’re with a strong person is consistent with this. However, the spirit attached to you is different; it turned into a vengeful spirit and came looking for you.”
Haein Shinnyeo closed her eyes and rolled the prayer beads.
“The spirit of Won Hye-rim is tied through a medium. It’s not that it came to you with its free will! In other words, if you don’t find the medium, which is the talisman, it’s like being stuck in mud! Even if the situation seems to have improved now, it’s just a temporary measure.”
Joo-won’s chest sank heavily. Checking for confirmation in a place he came with a bit of hope, he only received a gloomy response.
‘Hye-rim’s talisman.’
Searching for something that isn’t even in his house, where should he go?
Joo-won left the temple with an uneasy feeling.
‘It’s okay. I have Hye-joo.’
He tried hard to suppress his anxiety.
However, the temporary measure was only realized as ‘temporary’ at a point not long after that.
He was assigned a business trip. It was an annual forum held in Hong Kong where representatives from various branches gathered. He couldn’t send a substitute, and due to the schedule, Hye-joo couldn’t accompany him.
The forum location was about a 4-hour flight from Korea to Hong Kong.
It was the moment when Kang Joo-won would be separated from his talisman for the first time.
[Star Icon]Samsung-dong, his hometown.
Seung-won visited his parents and had dinner together after a long time.
“Why is it so hard to see each other under the same Seoul sky? Same goes for your brother. Seems like he’s a hopeless guy.”
“Oh, with two grown-up sons, what are you doing living together? Sometimes I wish both of you would have a quiet date, but has it already become dull?”
“Dull? Who said that? My love and respect for your mom won’t fade even if I live a lifetime. If anything, it’s getting deeper and deeper.”
Responding to Pilyeon’s sulking with aegyo, Seungwon was undoubtedly the atmosphere maker in the Kang family. The once dull mansion regained its vitality after a long time.
“Okay, Joo-won, are you doing well? That guy hasn’t called for a whole month.”
“Hyung, where would he find time? It’s comfortable not hearing from him; no news is good news.”
“And no girlfriend to meet?”
!”
At Pilyeon’s sudden question, Seungwon choked on the water he was drinking.
‘Why doesn’t he have one? He’s someone who skips lunch these days to leave work early.’
He somehow didn’t want to spit out the words that were tinged with a somehow concealed confession. It was a childish heart that didn’t want to fully acknowledge the relationship between Hye-joo and Joo-won.
“Oh? Looks like there’s something?”
Pilyeon’s eyes twinkled.
“There’s nothing. I really don’t know.”
“Then should I call him? I’ll poke his side once to see.”
“Ah! Don’t do that. If there’s something to say, he’ll tell you when the time is right. I don’t want to act as a spy in the middle.”
Seungwon desperately stopped Pilyeon, who was reaching for his phone, and broke into a cold sweat. Although Pilyeon wouldn’t be an awkward person to ask Joo-won directly over the phone, the moment Hye-joo’s name came out of his mouth, it felt like even the tiny chance left for him would be taken away.
‘You’re really pitiful, Kang Seungwon.’
Finally restraining Pilyeon, Seungwon sighed.
What can he do now with someone who has already become his brother’s woman?
Even though he knew there was nothing more to be done, a lingering regret remained. Even if he had tried something, he wondered if it would have made a difference.
During the ten years he spent by Hye-joo’s side, he felt like a fool who had been absent-minded. It felt like waking up with one’s eyes open and a blocked nose.
After restraining Pilyeon, Seungwon went out to the garden alone after missing the mealtime.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
