“Let’s meet up earlier next time. Today was too rushed to properly catch up.”
“It was still fun. Thanks for inviting us over, Ji Yeon. Your place is so pretty. You’ll invite us again, right?”
“Of course, my house is always open to you guys.”
They cleaned up the mess casually and all went down to the parking lot together.
Yu Na had brought her car and deliberately didn’t drink, while Tae Ho lived in the same direction, so Yu Na and Seung Kyu said they’d drop him off.
Choong-Sik said he would take a taxi, so Ji Yeon sent Yu Na’s group off first.
“Take care, see you soon!”
“Yeah, you too, Choong-Sik! Let’s get hit next time!”
“Hahaha, okay, got it. I’ll be your human punching bag.”
After seeing off Yu Na’s car, Ji Yeon came up to the first floor to help Choong-Sik catch a taxi.
“You need to call a taxi.”
Choong-Sik looked up a taxi app and made a puzzled face.
“Yeah, but it seems there are no cars nearby because it’s late. The closest one will take more than 20 minutes to get here.”
“You should book it anyway. Go ahead.”
“I guess I should.”
“I’ll wait with you until the taxi arrives.”
They sat together on a bench in the first-floor garden.
Gathering with the friends after so long, Ji Yeon was elated.
“It’s so good to be together with everyone after such a long time. It reminds me of old times. It feels complete now that you’re here too.”
“I owe everyone an apology. Truth is… I’ve missed you all so much.”
“Then you should have contacted us sooner, Choong-Sik. How long has it been? Next time you do this, I won’t see you again.”
Then, Choong-Sik suddenly grasped Ji Yeon’s hands.
It seemed the slight intoxication gave him the courage.
“I know I’ve been too timid, and I’ve made mistakes. The truth is… I’ve liked you so much. But after hearing you had someone you couldn’t forget, it became so hard to face you. Yet, whenever I came to Korea, not seeing you felt like dying.”
Ji Yeon was utterly shocked by the sudden confession.
“I understand there might be someone else in your life now. Maybe it’s too late for me. But there’s this old saying, right? Just because there’s a goalkeeper doesn’t mean you can’t score. I know it’s childish, but I want to believe in that and reach out to you.”
Choong-Sik’s earnest expression made Ji Yeon feel sorry for him.
However, pity wasn’t enough to reciprocate his feelings.
The closer they were as friends, the clearer she had to set boundaries.
“Choong-Sik, I appreciate your feelings, but I need to be clear about something. That is…”
“That goalkeeper, is it me?”
The voice of Kang Hyun suddenly coming from behind startled both Choong-Sik and Ji Yeon.
“Ian, or should I say Kwon Choong-Sik. Eun Ji Yeon is taken, and I’m that goalkeeper. So, it’d be great if you could let go of her hand now.”
Choong-Sik’s eyes widened as much as they possibly could.
“Kang Hyun… what are you saying? You are?”
“Yes, I’m Ji Yeon’s boyfriend.”
Approaching them, Kang Hyun then gently pulled Ji Yeon’s hand away from Choong-Sik.
“This can’t be true. You’re Ji Yeon’s boyfriend, Kang Hyun? Is this true, Ji Yeon? Tell me it’s true!”
Caught off guard by suddenly having to reveal her relationship with Kang Hyun, Ji Yeon felt awkward.
‘But I should tell the truth.’
As Choong-Sik’s bewildered eyes turned to her, she slowly nodded.
“Yes, Kang Hyun is my boyfriend.”
Choong-Sik looked at her with a stunned expression, seemingly shocked by her confirmation.
“Can I talk to Choong-Sik alone for a moment, Kang Hyun? It seems necessary…”
“Let’s end it here for today. Choong-Sik should go home. It’s wiser to have this conversation at the office tomorrow when we’re both in the right state of mind.”
Kang Hyun firmly opposed Ji Yeon’s suggestion.
Understanding his point of view and agreeing it was more sensible, Ji Yeon decided to follow his advice.
“Choong-Sik, let’s have a cup of coffee tomorrow. We’ll talk then.”
“Alright… okay, let’s talk tomorrow. I’ll go now. You don’t need to come out.”
Visibly shaken, Choong-Sik hastily bid them farewell and hurried out.
An awkward silence lingered between Ji Yeon and Kang Hyun left in the spot where Choong-Sik had been.
“Kang Hyun…”
It was somehow difficult for Ji Yeon to look directly into his eyes.
Really, it wasn’t like that, but the atmosphere made it seem like Ji Yeon was meeting another man behind her boyfriend’s back, which weighed heavily on her heart.
“Kang Hyun, I told you. Today was a reunion of the 5-member group. Choong-Sik is one of those friends. But I never dreamed he would say such things.”
Ji Yeon looked up at Kang Hyun with all her heart in her eyes.
Kang Hyun’s face was unreadable.
His eyes, however, seemed colder than usual when looking at her.
“Eun Ji Yeon, I told you not to hold anyone else in these eyes of mine.”
Muttering as if to himself, Kang Hyun’s hand cradled the back of Ji Yeon’s head, drawing her in, and his lips covered hers.
Taken aback by his sudden kiss, Ji Yeon flailed momentarily in his embrace.
But soon, she wrapped her arms around his neck and responded to the kiss.
It was more urgent than before, as if Kang Hyun was swimming within her, shaking her to her core.
His kiss seemed to tell a story.
That she belonged to him.
That only he could embrace her, and only he could be reflected in her eyes.
Eventually, when breathing became difficult, Ji Yeon gently tapped Kang Hyun’s chest, prompting him to break the kiss.
He then cupped her face with both hands.
“Ha… I’m sorry.”
“Kang Hyun.”
“I shouldn’t have done this without hearing the whole story.”
“It’s okay.”
“I never imagined I’d be consumed by jealousy like this…”
Ji Yeon had already told him about the meeting with her friends at her place; they even talked about seeing each other later.
But as he was having a glass of wine on the balcony, the sound of Ji Yeon and Choong-Sik talking drifted over.
Seeing them alone on the bench, he found himself drawn outside before he realized it.
‘What a foolish sight, Lee Kang Hyun. Not even a child, and yet… without hearing the full context.’
Yet, Choong-Sik’s sudden confession, especially his words implying that having a boyfriend didn’t matter, spurred a sudden burst of emotion that made him intervene.
“From now on, please make sure to hear the full story, Kang Hyun.”
“I understand. I was wrong.”
The tiger that readily admitted his mistake made Ji Yeon inwardly chuckle.
“But is it strange of me… to not completely dislike this jealousy?”
Ji Yeon reached up to encircle Kang Hyun’s neck again and sought out his lips.
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
