“I didn’t know you were playing around like this.”
“…”
“How could you do this to me?”
Touching her reddened cheek, Wooyeon asked what Seo Jiwu was talking about.
Seo Jiwu opened his bag and placed it over Wooyeon’s head. Dozens of photos flowed down her face.
The summer twilight that dyed the evening sky red was too beautiful to be captured with the eyes alone.
As Taekyung was about to move for his evening appointment, he received a call from the former manager in the United States.
“Madam’s condition has worsened a lot. It seems like preparing would be a good idea.”
The meaning of death was not profound to him. There were no memories of crying over someone’s death, no staying up all night because someone left. No matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find such memories.
He lived without relying on his mother, so it would be okay. Since he had been preparing for it, it would hurt a little less.
Thinking about it, he walked to the restaurant that Director Han had reserved.
It was a Chinese restaurant run by a famous chef who had appeared on TV several times.
With good eyesight and a good memory, Taekyung noticed the change in Inyeong’s appearance at a glance.
Perhaps due to a significant change in her mindset, Inyeong’s hair had become shorter. It used to be long, but now it looked closer to a short cut.
“Oh, hello. M-Mr. President.”
She, who still seemed tense when speaking, greeted first in a somewhat nervous manner.
“You cut your hair?”
“…Yes.”
“It suits you well.”
Although it was a courtesy, Inyeong, swallowing her saliva, sat down. Unlike last time, this table was in the center, receiving attention all at once.
It was deliberately chosen by Director Han, and Taekyung agreed.
According to the rumor, the more exposure Inyeong had to the public, the more Chairman Cho’s heart would be swayed.
Inyeong, who tried to hide her shy smile, was trembling for some reason.
“I-I came to see you t-today.”
Interrupting her, who seemed to be nervously biting her lower lip, Taekyung spoke.
“Let’s eat first and talk slowly.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Director Han already placed an order. If you’re okay with it, I’ll have it brought right away.”
“Yes, yes. That’s fine.”
The dishes came individually.
There was no need to order a course meal and stay for a long time.
The dishes included fried dumplings with minced shrimp between slices of bread, high-class stir-fried eggplant, and spicy seafood noodles with mara lobster and giant crab.
Taekyung was the first to pick up a piece of stir-fried eggplant and put it on his plate.
Inyeong’s changed appearance, with good eyesight and memory, caught Taekyung’s attention.
He had a habit of confirming the answers before moving on, a meticulous type that confirmed whether he heard correctly or not.
He laughed at the thought and looked at Inyeong with his hands on the steering wheel.
Inyeong slightly tilted her head.
“Aren’t you going to answer? I thought you’d be more interested when you heard about the daycare center. You always seem to avoid talking about the daycare center, but it’s strange that you suddenly bring it up.”
“I don’t want to hide it.”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t want to hide anything from you.”
Inyeong hesitated for a moment but continued, “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I want to tell you everything. About my past, about my family, about myself.”
Taekyung remained silent, allowing Inyeong to express herself.
“I grew up in an orphanage. My parents passed away when I was very young, and I was left alone. The daycare center in Paju is a place that means a lot to me. It’s not just a workplace; it’s a part of my life. That’s why I’m involved in charity work and sponsor the children there. I don’t want to hide this part of me from you.”
Taekyung listened attentively to Inyeong’s words, and when she finished, he finally spoke, “I appreciate your honesty. Everyone has their past and experiences. You don’t need to feel the need to hide anything from me. Thank you for sharing this with me.”
Inyeong nodded, relieved that Taekyung seemed to understand. The atmosphere between them became more relaxed as they continued their drive.
As they approached their destination, Taekyung turned to Inyeong with a smile. “Let’s enjoy the rest of our drive and focus on the present. We can discuss the past when the time is right.”
Inyeong smiled back, grateful for Taekyung’s understanding, and they continued their journey, leaving behind the weight of unspoken words.
Once again, it was her, biting her lower lip. When observing her repetitive and regular behaviors, frequently stuttering in conversation, and the habit of never leaving her eyes still for a moment, Jo Inyeong could tell that she was suffering from a serious obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The symptoms she once saw in her younger brother, Jaehee, made it not difficult to recognize.
“What makes you so uncomfortable?”
Taekyung, who had been scanning Inyeong’s face, placed both hands on the table and leisurely opened his mouth.
“Shall we get to the main point now?”
“Yes?”
“You said you had something to say?”
He had emphasized it as an important story, like something urgent that needed immediate attention.
As Taekyung, with a smile disguised as gentleness, showed a hint of his handsomeness, Inyeong took a deep breath.
“S-So… ”
“…”
“P-Perhaps.”
Although it was frustrating, she patiently waited to see what she would say. Besides confessing, “Actually, I’m not Jo Inyeong,” there wasn’t anything else she expected to hear from her.
She just wanted to keep extracting herself from the outside world.
However, what Inyeong pulled out of her bag were unexpected pictures.
They were photos of Yun Wooyeon and Park Minkwon, secretly meeting behind her back, engaged in what seemed like an illicit affair. Each one was a collection of impurity and filth.
Taekyung picked one of them.
“What is this?”
“Th-This is Y-Yun Wooyeon’s r-real self.”
“Real self?”
With eyes that seemed to expect something big, Inyeong nodded her head.
“H-How did you f-find out? Mr. C-Chairman, it seems like you need to know.”
“What are you talking about?”
“W-When you m-meet him, d-do you m-meet seriously?”
Taekyung’s face froze, as if he were about to overturn the table.
Without expecting any words of comfort from her, Taekyung’s face was frozen in a stiff expression.
But Inyeong, who seemed excited by his reaction, continued speaking.
“Wh-When I meet you, I-I go back and forth like that b-behind.”
“How did you get these photos?”
“A f-friend gave them to me!”
“Who’s this friend?”
“What?”
“I said, who’s this friend?”
Inyeong, shoulders twitching, grabbed the cloth covering the table with both hands.
Since living as Jo Inyeong, she had not been able to mix well with people, lacking social skills and adaptability.
Nevertheless, she continued to cover up the lie until the end.
“I-I have a journalist friend.”
Taekyung, who had been listening quietly, took out his phone and brought it to his ear. A director who had been waiting outside answered the call.
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
“Come in for a moment.”
After five minutes, a director entered, and Taekyung, placing Inyeong in front of him, spoke without a hint of hesitation.
“Director Han, please determine whether these are deepfakes and let me know.”
“Yes.”
Taking the photos, Director Han left the room, and Inyeong’s face already showed a disappointed expression.
She stuttered as she spoke again.
“D-Do you not believe what I said?”
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.]
