“The person from the radio earlier?”
“The Prosecutor Kang Jiho who’s handling the Myeongjin Group case?”
The person whose face she didn’t know from just the radio, who could even be a namesake. Yet, somehow she felt it was him. Of course, she couldn’t be certain.
The man’s sharply incisive eyes, the aura as if he could see right through her in an instant.
Meeting a celebrity in such an unexpected place, Rajin felt the man behind her was almost like an apparition.
“Is it really him… or not?”
The man, standing straight, didn’t ask why she was looking at him. He simply continued his phone call with the phone to his ear, giving her a calm look.
“Miss Rajin!”
At the end of the long corridor, a nurse pushing a medication cart waved her hands vigorously.
In an instant, the tension-filled eye contact with the man broke.
“No, it’s alright.”
The man’s deep eyes swept over Rajin’s face as he continued his call, then turned towards the emergency exit first.
An encounter with an unknown man.
Even though she had no reason to ask his name or give her contact information, Rajin felt a strange sensation from their fleeting eye contact.
What was she even doing, suddenly, in this non-dramatic moment? Smiling wryly at the absurdity, Rajin turned her head away from the man’s retreating figure.
“Miss Kim.”
“The night caregiver has already arrived.”
Engaging in a friendly conversation with the attending nurse, Rajin hurried her steps.
Creak.
Through the slightly opened sliding door, a pale face devoid of any color came into view.
“Mom.”
“You’re here.”
Rajin greeted the caregiver and took hold of her mother Jin-ok’s hand. But the lifeless face seemed indifferent, briskly shaking off Rajin’s hand.
“Mom, it’s me, Rajin.”
“…”
“What did you have for dinner, huh?”
As Rajin smoothed her mother’s tousled hair, a hand like a dry twig sharply hit Rajin’s hand.
The strike was so severe that Rajin’s white wrist turned red. Although it was her wrist that stung, Rajin’s heart felt deeply scratched.
“Oh my, why are you doing this to your precious daughter?”
“It’s okay, Madam.”
Rajin smiled as she gently lowered her hand.
The beginning of all misfortunes was a traffic accident on the way back from her stepfather’s hometown late at night.
The accident caused by her mother, who took the wheel after her stepfather had a drink. Her stepfather died on the spot, and only her mother survived.
Was it guilt over her stepfather’s death or an escape from the harsh reality? After several brain surgeries, her mother woke up a completely different person.
“I had a tough makeup shoot today. Want to see the photos?”
“Park Ki-young, I can’t even stand to look at you.”
“I do look a lot like dad. But I’m the daughter of Lee Jin-ok.”
No matter how much she was rejected or cursed for resembling her father, she was the only family left. Despite the end of her relationship with her father, she was more than fulfilling as a mother. The happy memories with her mother made these forced situations bearable.
“We’ve been over for a long time. Leave now, before my son comes!”
“Your stepfather…”
She couldn’t tell her to forget him.
Unable to upset her mother stuck in the past, Rajin bit her lip.
“Why are you making a fuss today of all days?”
“Mom, listen to me.”
“Don’t touch me! I told you I’ve had enough.”
Her mother, struggling with impulse control, pushed Rajin away fiercely. Rajin wanted to cry out, but who was the one who truly wanted to cry? She bit her lip hard.
“I came after work, and you’re even more difficult today.”
“Mom, just hear me out.”
“Let go! I’m sick of you.”
Her mother’s rejection was like a blow to Rajin’s heart.
In an instant, Rajin staggered and hit her thigh against the corner of the table. Tears welled up as she felt a throbbing pain, unsure whether it was in her leg or her heart. Her vision blurred.
“I don’t need any of this. Just call Regular Oppa.”
Her mother was in pain, immense pain. Rajin steadied her wavering heart as if reciting a mantra.
Yet, knowing well about her mother’s suffering, she felt overwhelmed like an abandoned child.
The mother who always whispered love was now just an empty shell, so cruel. Her mother, who forgot everything except the person who had already died, remained fixated only on him. Rajin’s heart constricted.
‘She doesn’t even remember our real dad.’
A surge of heat rose in Rajin’s throat. Struggling to suppress her forlorn feelings, she showed a pinky promise.
“I’ll call Oppa and tell him to come quickly. I promise.”
“Lies. You always lie whenever you open your mouth!”
Her mother’s sudden outburst led to panting breaths. Her lips turned pale blue, and her limbs stiffened.
The seizures, a post-surgery aftereffect, prompted Rajin to immediately search for her phone.
“Oppa! Can you come to the hospital? Quick!”
“Jin-ok. I got a posting abroad and said I can’t come often.”
Her stepbrother, Oh Jong-hyuk, spoke casually, almost teasingly. Disliking his presence, Rajin closed her eyes.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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