“Just… someone I know, a younger sibling.”
“A younger sibling who made the missed call?”
“Oh, well, to be precise, it was a robbery of my allowance.”
“Ha…”
A deep sigh escaped Ju Won’s lips as his energy drained away. Hyeju cringed, watching him tightly bite his lip.
“Did I startle you, oppa? Ah, it seems like I said something unnecessary. I did give money that I didn’t want, but he wasn’t a dangerous person.”
“Hey, do you know how much I…!”
Ju Won shouted in an agitated voice. Hyeju looked at him, taken aback.
Only now did he look like himself. His entire body was drenched from running to her in a flash at her halfjoking remark about the missed call.
“Oppa…”
Hyeju stared blankly at Ju Won, who looked at her as if she were a child placed on a shelf.
Her heart fluttered as she gazed at his forehead covered in beaded sweat. When was the last time someone looked at me with such eyes? It felt like there was no unconditional attention and affection towards me except for my dad.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“As long as you’re not hurt.”
Ju Won turned abruptly.
It was embarrassing to think that she had come running here in a frenzy at Oh Hyeju’s one word, and that she had become so sensitive to insignificant things. The person involved was so nonchalant, yet why did I behave like a fool?
“Are you leaving?”
Flustered, Hyeju grabbed Ju Won’s sleeve.
“Don’t go, just sit here. I bought you popsicles for you.”
“…”
“If you don’t eat them, I’ll have to finish two by myself. I can’t even eat them if they melt.”
“What flavors are they?”
“One is strawberry, and the other is mint.”
“Then I’ll have mint.”
Ju Won pretended to be defeated and sat on the swing.
The popsicle Hyeju handed over hadn’t been melted for long. Ju Won accepted it with his hand, occasionally putting his own in his mouth.
“It’s delicious.”
“Right? For some reason, I thought you would like the mint flavor.”
Feeling sorry for having upset him, Hyeju was grateful that he stayed by her side instead of leaving.
Swing, swing.
Their footsteps swayed together in the air.
Until a moment ago, Hyeju’s heart had been clouded, but now it brightened. Just being together was enough to comfort her.
“I have a troublesome guy I know.”
Hyeju casually rolled her foot and opened her mouth.
“That kid from earlier?”
“Yes. It’s not like we’re siblings or anything since we don’t know each other well. He’s the son of the woman my dad remarried, so I have to call him my younger brother out of courtesy.”
She didn’t know why she was talking about this to him, but she wanted to confide in someone for once. About her pain that she couldn’t express clearly to anyone.
“When I was young, my mom passed away, and my dad had a hard time. He couldn’t even sleep for more than a few hours a day because he had to sell beef soup and take care of me. When I turned twenty, my dad introduced me to a lady named Mi Ok. He said she was someone he was grateful to.”
“He might not have liked it.”
“At first, yes. I was cautious and rebellious.”
Ju Won listened calmly to her story.
“Mi Ok is a good person. And I wanted to respect my dad’s choice as much as possible. I didn’t have any objections if they were to remarry.”
“It sounds like you’re talking in the past tense. Why? Do you want to object now?”
“Because of that troublesome guy from earlier.”
Hyeju let out a bitter smile.
Hyeju told him that she had been involved in accidents since elementary school. From small incidents like picking pockets of neighborhood friends to getting into fights with bad kids. As she grew older, the scale of her accidents grew larger, and in high school, she often found herself at the police station for things like secondhand trading scams.
After aspiring to become a rapper, she calmed down a bit. However, whenever she felt like it, she would appear and take money from Mi Ok’s purse.
What made Hyeju upset was the fact that the money Mi Ok gave her ultimately came from Sucheol’s wallet. It pained her to see the two of them, who had aged so much taking care of a grownup son who couldn’t even earn a thousand won by selling beef soup.
“Sometimes it scares me. I wonder how long I have to deal with that troublemaker,” Hyeju sighed heavily.
“I don’t know why you’re telling me all this. Maybe you just wanted to confide in someone because your heart was suffocating,” Ju Won nodded without saying a word.
In truth, she wanted to tell someone that she wanted to confide in someone other than herself. But she didn’t get greedy.
It would be enough if her burden was even slightly lightened. That would suffice for now.
“Can you help me a little?”
“How can I help? Should I go and give him a beating?”
“If he’s the kind of guy who can come to his senses with a beating, then go ahead.”
“If he were that easy to deal with, I would’ve done it a long time ago. I’m pretty good at throwing punches, you know.”
Hyeju clenched her fist tightly and held it out.
“Don’t worry about me. Once you get used to receiving help, you keep wanting to rely on others.”
“It’s okay. A woman who takes a lot of care is my ideal type.”
Hyeju’s cheeks turned red at Ju Won’s casual reply.
He didn’t know what to do when he threw those words at her like that. Her heart pounded, and her blood rushed faster.
Not knowing what to say, Hyeju looked up at the sky, and a spontaneous phrase slipped out.
“I miss Mom….”
Her nose tingled with an unexpected utterance. To keep herself from crying, Hyeju clenched her incisors tightly.
Someone had said that. To hold back tears, imagine someone dancing the robot in front of you.
In a hurry, Hyeju sacrificed Ju Won next to her. Imagining his magnificent figure fluttering and moving on the runway, tears were barely held back.
“Why don’t you cry at times like this? Can’t even wipe away tears.”
Unconsciously, Ju Won muttered beside her. Hyeju tightly closed her defended tear ducts and deliberately spoke brightly.
“Well, this was the perfect timing to cry. You know, in dramas, when they talk about complicated family stories, the female lead sheds a beautiful tear. Then the male lead wipes away her tears and passionately kisses her…”
When she realized it, it was already too late.
“Is that what you wanted?”
Thud.
A large hand grabbed Hyeju’s swing rope.
In a fleeting moment, the gazes of the two intertwined in the air. Ju Won’s burning gaze was so intense that it seemed to swallow everything about Hyeju.
As if being pulled by Ju Won, Hyeju’s swing followed along. Ju Won pulled the rope with one hand and held the back of Hyeju’s head with the other.
And then, he bowed his head.
Silence.
“!”
The swinging motion abruptly stopped.
Hyeju’s breath also ceased.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
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
