Her expression darkening in disappointment — why such a reaction over mere words of congratulations?
They had lived under the same roof for a long time, but that didn’t make them anything more than acquaintances.
Yet, her crestfallen eyes kept haunting his thoughts.
Arriving at the main house for dinner, Autumn entered the dining room right on time. The Chairman’s family was already there. She bowed silently and found her seat.
Seeing Ki-tae enter, she wondered, “Is he also attending tonight’s dinner?”
Amidst the slightly chilly greetings, the meal began.
“Ah, Ki-tae, you’re here.”
“Yes, grandfather.”
“Let’s eat then.”
“Yes.”
The meal proceeded in silence, heavier than usual. Autumn barely touched her food, fearing she might choke.
As the meal concluded, the Chairman’s eldest son and his wife quickly left. The Chairman, meanwhile, seemed frustrated by his grandson’s unyielding stance.
‘Ki-tae, that boy, never admitting his faults.’
Just as the Chairman was about to call Ki-tae to his study with a stern voice:
“Han Ki…”
“Chairman, I have something to say.”
Autumn interrupted him, speaking with unexpected firmness.
“I… have something to tell you.”
“Is that so?”
Autumn was taken aback by the Chairman’s sudden call for a conversation.
“Let’s go to the study. You come along and wait.”
“Yes, I was planning to do that anyway.”
He had many issues to resolve with his grandfather that day. Without further discussion, Ki-tae nodded and entered the study with him, casually taking a seat on the sofa, waiting for his turn.
Autumn cautiously started speaking to the Chairman, seated in a wooden chair.
“Chairman, I… plan to move out with my mother.”
“What? Move out?”
Surprise and anger surged in the Chairman’s face, his forehead veins bulging.
Caught off guard by his harsh tone, Autumn momentarily halted her speech, biting her lip in confusion. However, determined to convey her thoughts, she continued.
“I am fully aware of your kindness and intend to repay it. But, I think it’s time for me to move out and…”
“You know my kindness and yet you say such things?”
The tension in the air made Autumn shudder. She sensed the conversation was veering off course.
Sure enough, the Chairman began scolding her.
“Do you even know how much debt your father had?”
“Excuse me?”
“I cleared his debts, supported your painting endeavors, and you say you understand my kindness? For nine years, I provided everything without expecting anything in return. Now, you plan to leave just like that? I never asked for exact repayment. I just wanted you to join the gallery and paint.”
The Chairman’s fury seemed even greater than when he had shouted at Ki-tae a week ago.
Autumn’s hands trembled at his outburst, recalling men who had once visited her childhood home, demanding repayment of her father’s debts – a traumatic memory.
“How much was the debt?”
She didn’t know the details. Her father, a once-successful artist, had sold all his works, but she had thought the debt wasn’t extensive.
Closing her eyes tightly, she felt overwhelmed.
The Chairman perceived Autumn as ungrateful, having only planned to flee all these years.
Autumn finally realized she had never seen the Chairman truly angry, as she had never opposed him before.
“I’ve always cherished you! And you repay my kindness like this? Shamelessly…”
“Grandfather, stop.”
Ki-tae abruptly stood up, shielding Autumn. He whispered to her gently.
“Leave now.”
“But the Chairman is angry…”
“It’s okay, go.”
“I’m sorry.”
She bowed to Ki-tae and hurried out of the study.
“Myung-hee, what’s wrong?”
Despite Myung-hee’s surprised call, Autumn kept running until she stopped, breathless, at the front garden.
“How much was my father’s debt that the Chairman paid off? And the support I received here…”
Calculating the value of the support received over nine years, her face turned pale.
The fear crept in. She had been living in delusion, misinterpreting the apparent kindness.
The realization sent shivers down her spine.
He seemed to want to extract everything he had invested in her, or even more. Unaware of this, she had firmly believed that just diligently painting would peacefully resolve everything…
Even if she became independent or didn’t enter the TS Gallery, if she continued painting the pictures he wanted, she thought she could repay the kindness she received from him. Such a naive thought.
From the day she, at fourteen, accepted Chairman Han’s offer, she had no right to choose. Autumn just plopped down on the flower bed.
Then, she buried her head and began to sob, releasing all her pent-up sorrow. Can diligent painting lead to freedom…? She asked herself this question again, but now, she could not find the answer.
‘Did she have a debt?’
After sending Autumn away, Ki-tae’s thoughts were solely fixated on this.
Why was she living in his house? Ki-tae listened silently to his grandfather, including the anger vented because of Autumn, lost in thought.
For him, this situation wasn’t a big deal.
But for that girl, it would be different. He thought he had seen tears in her face.
Is she still crying?
He thought his grandfather just liked her paintings and brought her in to cultivate a painter to his taste, or maybe it was a whim of his old age.
But he was using the pretext of sponsorship to impose a debt on her. Ki-tae was unaware of these details as his grandfather never mentioned such things, and he had never been interested.
Now that he knew the backstory, it made sense that she stayed here, struggling to paint. Her mother would be the same.
“……Ha.”
He chuckled ruefully as he pondered these facts.
Why did she have to catch his grandfather’s eye? Did she know how precarious her situation was?
Struggling would only increase the debt. Even if she paid it back, she would incur new debts every day.
Even if she didn’t want to, regardless of her wishes.
But…
Paying it off by selling paintings?
Her innocent face flashed in his mind again.
“Chairman, I’m sorry. I have not forgotten everything you have done for me. I will gradually pay off the debt.”
The Chairman scoffed.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
After Ki-tae and the Chairman came out, Myung-hee, who had heard the news and rushed over, repeatedly apologized to the Chairman.
She thought the debt could be paid off gradually.
She hadn’t expected her daughter to be scolded so severely because the Chairman thought she didn’t know gratitude.
Feeling it was all her fault, Myung-hee couldn’t decide what to do and kept apologizing.
“Leave if you’re going. But can you pay it off right away?”
“No, I…”
Myung-hee, pale and trembling, was sent away by Ki-tae. Dealing with his grandfather required a firmer stance.
Ki-tae postponed the discussion for another day and escorted his grandfather back inside.
As he walked towards the sedan, he heard a faint sobbing.
Sighing, Ki-tae leaned against the car, scrutinizing the barely visible figure in the shadows, and then moved towards it.
The small girl was startled by his approach, covering her mouth and crying.
“Does she think sobbing like that won’t let the crying sound escape?”
Ki-tae called out to Autumn, who was sitting and crying.
“Yoon Gaeul.”
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.]
