Covetous Sponsorship - Chapter 12
Yoon Ga Eul, who had been waiting for him to finish his work, was finally able to face him with the contract in front of her eyes.
As she intently watched the ink seeping into the signature line, Ga Eul unknowingly swung her feet back and forth.
Her childlike innocence, usually hidden beneath her mature facade, was now on full display.
Noticing this, he put down his fountain pen and gently asked.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, that’s…”
Ga Eul answered, scratching her head in embarrassment.
“I’m just so happy.”
More than anything, she was thrilled to have her art recognized by him.
Even so, worried that he might view her as a mere child, Ga Eul hastily stopped swinging her feet and sat properly. Then, she straightened her back.
At that, he let out a chuckle and turned the fountain pen and documents towards Ga Eul, saying,
“You know I don’t accept just anyone, right?”
“Yes, of course!”
“I’m not just accepting you for nothing. So, don’t even think about slacking off.”
“Of course. I won’t.”
Ga Eul obediently responded to his words, her heart filled with boundless joy.
He pushed the contract he had signed towards Ga Eul and said,
“Here, sign it.”
“…Yes.”
Finally, it’s the contract.
Ga Eul reached for the contract after receiving the fountain pen.
With her lovely cheeks flushed a peach color, Ga Eul couldn’t hide her excitement.
Ga Eul signed her name on the signature line in very neat handwriting.
As Ga Eul put down the fountain pen, he gathered the documents and stood up. Ga Eul also stood up to follow him. Then, after fiddling with her fingertips for a while, she spoke as if shy.
“Han Gi Tae. Thank you. I look forward to working with you.”
At that, he abruptly said,
“Yeah. But how long are you going to call me Han Gi Tae?”
“Pardon…?”
“We’ve even finished the contract.”
“Ah…”
Ga Eul, who had been anxious all day, smiled brightly for the first time and called him.
“Yes… Representative.”
With the changed title.
* * *
That evening,
After finishing the contract, Ga Eul was itching to paint a new picture.
Still excited and fluttering, Ga Eul headed to the studio.
Her hurried steps came to an abrupt halt as she reached the front of the main building.
‘Huh? Why is it so bright?’
Normally, the view should have darkened drastically as soon as she left the front of the main building, but it was quite bright. Even the shape of the studio, which should only be visible after walking a bit further, was completely visible from the front of the main building.
Ga Eul raised her head, following the light.
Lights that she didn’t know when they had been installed were emitting a soft glow at regular intervals.
When on earth were these installed…?
As Ga Eul was staring at them in confusion,
“Oh my, Ga Eul, where are you going?”
As Ga Eul turned around, Mrs. An San, who worked with her mother, was coming out from inside the main building.
Ga Eul approached her and answered her question.
“I wanted to draw some pictures, so I’m on my way to the studio.”
“At this late hour…? Why don’t you draw during the day tomorrow. Go to bed early tonight.”
“I just want to draw a little before going.”
“Wouldn’t it be scary to be alone since the studio is so isolated?”
“It’s okay. Now…”
Ga Eul continued, looking at the lights.
“It’s bright too.”
The lights abruptly ended right at the entrance of the studio, as if guiding her there.
Actually, the path to the studio at night was a bit scary.
“Madam. Why were these lights suddenly installed?”
Could this also be the chairman’s whim? He may have felt that the night path is dark when he occasionally returns home late.
As Ga Eul was thinking that, Mrs. An San said,
“Ah, this? The second young master told us to install them, so we did.”
“Oh, really…? Why…”
Suddenly, the fact that he had visited the studio about 3 weeks ago came to mind.
Realizing that, the lights emitting warm energy seemed to also warmly color a corner of her heart.
‘Should I express my gratitude to him?’
Thinking of him, her slowly beating heart started to beat a little more vigorously.
* * *
A few days later, while drawing in the studio, Ga Eul received a call from Mi Jeong and headed to the main building. Fortunately, it was after Chairman Han had left for work, so she could come and go comfortably without being conscious of him.
“Ga Eul!”
“Yes, Madam.”
Ga Eul smiled a little awkwardly at Mi Jeong, whom she was seeing in the main building after a long time. Mi Jeong approached Ga Eul in one breath, clasped Ga Eul’s hands in hers as if happy to see her, shook them, and said,
“It’s been so long since we last met. Even though you’re in the annex, we haven’t run into each other at all.”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
The reason lay in the ‘independence’ Ga Eul had mentioned, so Ga Eul felt a bit embarrassed for a moment.
Feeling uncomfortable facing Chairman Han, she had tried to avoid the front of the main building as much as possible, so she hadn’t run into Mi Jeong either.
After a while, Mi Jeong also waved her hand, indicating that she didn’t want to continue this gloomy topic. Then, she asked another question.
“Ga Eul, you joined Gi Tae’s gallery this time, right?”
“Yes.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Madam.”
Ga Eul softly smiled and gratefully accepted the congratulations.
Then, Mi Jeong grinned and suddenly asked Ga Eul.
“Then, you’ll be seeing our Gi Tae often too?”
“Pardon?”
Although Ga Eul asked back in surprise, Mi Jeong seemed to take it as an affirmation.
Mi Jeong suddenly filled Ga Eul’s hands with two shopping bags full of containers, gave Ga Eul a bright smile, and said,
“Then, could you deliver these side dishes to Gi Tae?”
.
.
.
Ga Eul, who received the side dishes from Mi Jeong, stared at the number displayed on the screen. The number that used to be unfamiliar but now had the title ‘Representative’ attached to it.
“…Why am I getting nervous over this?”
It’s not easy to make the call.
Ga Eul, with her cheeks flushed entirely peach and after clearing her throat, breathed out a deep sigh and only then carefully pressed the number.
As the dial tone started, her heart raced anxiously.
Even after the dial tone had been ringing for a while, he didn’t answer, and just as Ga Eul was about to hang up, suddenly his voice flowed out.
“Yeah, what is it?”
“…Representative?”
As Ga Eul called him in a startled voice, not expecting him to answer, he said,
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Well…”
As Ga Eul gave an embarrassed smile, she could feel him chuckling over the phone.
It sounded like a laugh at her startled appearance, but he asked in a low, pleasant voice with a hint of amusement.
“So, why did you call?”
That voice tickled her ear.
“Ah, that’s… Madam asked me to deliver some side dishes to you, so I was going to your studio apartment. I was wondering when you would be getting off work.”
“…I told her it’s not necessary.”
Knowing the words weren’t directed at her, Ga Eul silently waited for his answer.
“I have a lot of work, so I don’t know when I’ll get off…”
After a brief sigh over the phone, he made a short request.
“Could you leave them at the gallery?”
* * *
Ga Eul pushed open the glass door that felt less unfamiliar than the first time and went inside.
She immediately took the elevator and went up to the office, where she saw Director Park.
“Director Park. Hello?”
Noticing Ga Eul, he approached her with a beaming face. Ga Eul also looked at him and gave a gentle smile in return.
“Ga Eul, you’re here. Welcome. Come on in.”
Ever since he found out that she was Yoon Dae Ho’s daughter, he had been treating her kindly for some reason. Tickling her cheek at that fact, Ga Eul thought to herself,
‘I’m just my father’s daughter…’
What she drew could not become Yoon Dae Ho’s paintings. But to people, it didn’t seem that way at all. For the sole reason that she was his daughter, people viewed her differently.
In fact, she had no room to talk as she had used his fame to secure the contract. It was just fascinating to her that people took a liking to her simply because she was her father’s daughter.
‘I don’t know what gave me the courage to do that back then…’
The memory of being carried on the representative’s back for suddenly lying vividly came to mind, causing Ga Eul to unknowingly burst into laughter.
As Director Park looked at her as if asking why she was laughing, Ga Eul waved her hand.
Director Park asked another question while still looking puzzled.
“What brings you to the gallery today?”
Ga Eul showed him the containers full in both hands and answered him.
“I have something to deliver to the representative.”
“Ah, if it’s something like that, you can just give it to me and go.”
Ga Eul handed the shopping bags to Director Park. Realizing they were side dishes, he neatly stacked them in the refrigerator equipped in the office.
Watching Director Park, Ga Eul hesitantly asked,
“Um… Will the representative be coming late?”
“Yes. These days, he only comes around sunset and leaves after a short while.”
After pressing her lips together for a moment, she asked again,
“Can I wait here until he comes?”
“You want to see the representative before you go?”
“Yes. I have something I want to tell him.”
“Alright.”
She wanted to see him after a long time and express her gratitude for installing the lights, making the path to the studio bright and pleasant.
Of course,
‘It probably wasn’t installed for my sake.’
* * *
As Gi Tae entered the gallery office, he spotted a small figure sitting on the sofa and called her name.
“…Yoon Ga Eul?”
At the voice calling her, Ga Eul, who had been dozing off on the sofa for a bit, slowly lifted her eyelids.
To him who was looking at her as if asking why she was here, Ga Eul quickly answered.
“Ah, that’s… I wanted to deliver some side dishes and also say hello to you.”
“Is that so?”
Having heard Ga Eul’s answer, Gi Tae soon turned his body and headed towards the mini fridge placed outside the office. Then, he frowned at the row of containers filling the fridge to the brim.
How much did she pack for there to be no empty space in the fridge?
At that moment, Ga Eul, who had followed behind Gi Tae, spoke up.
“Please enjoy them, Representative.”
As Ga Eul politely smiled and spoke, Gi Tae, who had turned around to look at her, frowned again.
The red marks on Ga Eul’s wrists were vivid. Marks that had clearly settled from carrying something heavy for a long time.
It was evident that Ga Eul had carried all those things here by herself.
As he stared intently at those marks, Ga Eul hesitantly spoke.
“Um… Representative. Thanks to you telling them to install lights outside the main building, it’s not scary and it’s nice when I go to the studio at night.”
Despite it likely being quite heavy, she conveyed only gratitude without a hint of complaint.
She could have complained a bit.
His response came out a little softer at that.
“Is that so? That’s a relief.”
Ga Eul, who had widened her eyes for a moment at that answer, bowed her head deeply for a while before raising it.
“Ah, yes…”
With slightly flushed cheeks, Ga Eul gave a gentle smile and shyly conveyed her final greetings.
“Then, since I’ve delivered the side dishes, I’ll get going. Take care.”
Ga Eul bowed her head, gave a polite smile, and turned around.
Gi Tae’s gaze kept being drawn to Ga Eul. To the deep marks left on both her wrists.
In the end, Gi Tae called out to Ga Eul and stopped her.
“Yoon Ga Eul.”
“Yes? What is it…?”
Then, he said,
“Have a meal before you go. I’ll buy you one.”
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.]
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