“Who said I wouldn’t accept it?”
“Have I ever said that I’m not interested in you? Not even once.”
With a sudden remark from Ju Won, Hye ju froze, only her eyes blinked. If the boss hadn’t brought out the complimentary appetizers at that moment, the atmosphere would have been truly tense.
“The complimentary appetizers are here! Oh my, everyone else has already left? It would be too much for just the two of you to eat, oh my.”
The interrupted conversation due to the boss’s habitual interjection of “oh my” might have been a chance bestowed by the heavens.
Seizing the timing, Hye ju stood up with her bag and shopping bag.
“I’ll see you at the company tomorrow, CEO.”
As if escaping, Hye ju immediately boarded the bus.
In the quiet bus after work hours, Hye ju leaned against the window, and the words Ju Won said earlier echoed in her mind.
“Why are you like that, really.”
His words sounded as if he would accept her confession.
Just a few weeks ago, he had treated her as a stalker and even reported her to the police. Why would a man like him suddenly act this way? There hadn’t been any special events that could have caused her to develop feelings during that time.
“Did he suddenly gain some nonexistent sympathy?”
If it was a belated feeling of guilt for liking her for ten years, she could somewhat understand. But no matter how much she pondered, Kang Ju Won didn’t seem like such a kind person. Hye ju couldn’t fathom Ju Won’s mindset.
“Is he just playing with me then?”
If that’s really the case, how should she retaliate?
The skyhigh difference in positions between the CEO and a mere assistant, the superior status of a friend’s older brother. She was even lagging behind in age.
“He’s even better at swearing….”
In other words, it was a fight that was disadvantageous no matter how you compared it.
“Phew.”
A deep sigh lingered on her lips. Hye ju leaned her head against the car window, completely immersed in her thoughts.
Without realizing it, the image of Seung Won, who followed Da Hee and ran out of the store, had been completely erased from her mind.
When she arrived home, Su Chul was there.
“Dad, what’s going on without even contacting me?”
“You’re coming now? I came to see your face while I was in Seoul.”
“What business does Dad have in Seoul?”
“It’s because you don’t know. Your dad has a lot of friends in Seoul.”
Su Chul was a doting father who was known to the world. Even before Hye ju turned five, he ran a beef soup restaurant during the day and took care of Hye ju at night after his wife passed away.
He was a father who never got annoyed with his young daughter, who complained about being bored as she took Hye ju around because there was nowhere to leave her.
“I can tell just by looking that you had a drink today too. Did you have a company dinner?”
“Ah, I don’t know. I’m tired.”
In Su Chul’s eyes, Hye ju was still his fiveyearold daughter, even though his hair was turning gray. Seeing Hye ju lying lazily on the messy bed after taking off her clothes in a rush in the morning, he said, “Just leave it. I was going to clean up later.”
Su Chul, who was about to tell her to wash her hands and lie down, continued to sweep the floor as if he hadn’t noticed his daughter’s appearance, which seemed even thinner.
“Is work very difficult?”
“All work is like that, what can you do.”
His daughter, who used to argue nonstop when she was young, had suddenly grown up and become a beautiful young lady. Su Chul didn’t feel a hint of resentment because he knew his daughter’s heart, which ticked unnecessarily, out of guilt.
“Dad, why did you come without even contacting me? I told you not to make a fuss when you came to my studio apartment for no reason. You have a hard time with work, so why do you keep coming all the way to Seoul?”
“It’s tough, whatever. It doesn’t matter since it’s what I always do.”
“What about dinner?”
“I ate. I put the braised short ribs and beef bone soup in the freezer, so take them out and have them for breakfast tomorrow.”
“I’ll take care of myself, so take care of your health, Dad.”
In the meantime, Su Chul was busy tidying up the dishes. Hye ju, who watched his rough hands move hurriedly, asked,
“Is Aunt Mi Ok doing well?”
Mi Ok was a woman in her midfifties whom Su Chul was seeing. After his wife passed away, Su Chul raised Hye ju alone until she turned twenty, and Mi Ok was the lover he met later, who worked as a waitress at Su Chul’s restaurant.
Mi Ok was a kind person, even though she lived a tough life, but Hye ju didn’t want her to become her stepmother. More precisely, it was because of her son.
Since middle school, he had been causing trouble everywhere, and after going to college, for some reason, he decided to become a rapper. To put it nicely, he was optimistic, but to put it bluntly, he was lazy.
Despite knowing Mi Ok’s difficult financial situation, he not only failed to earn money but also constantly schemed to take money from her.
“It’s always the same, whatever. We’re getting by without any problems.”
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
