“I’m too kind. Too kind to the point of being troublesome.”
Though I rushed out without much thought, as soon as the elevator reached the first floor, I wondered if this was the right thing to do.
Did I come out in slippers for nothing? My toes tingled in the early winter cold, making me regret it. I needed to meet her before my toes froze, but when I saw Baek In-ha shivering in the distance, my steps wouldn’t move.
Yeah. Since I came out to meet her, let’s hear her excuses.
I took heavy steps and went outside.
“Wow. It’s freezing.”
I was startled by the low temperature and the blowing wind. Without realizing it, I let out a curse due to the intense cold. Baek In-ha, who had been looking at the ground, raised her head upon hearing my voice.
“D-Director.”
It seemed like she had been standing there for quite a while, and her face, turned red from the cold wind, looked somewhat different from the last face I saw before the accident.
I felt two years pass like a flash when I saw her. I was angry.
Snap!
My hand rose unconsciously. Baek In-ha’s cheek began to swell. She was standing there, unable to turn her head back.
“Follow me. It’s so cold; you might freeze to death.”
I turned my head away from Baek In-ha with effort. We were on our way to a cafe near my house. Maybe it was because of the cold, but my whole body felt tense.
I should have worn something thicker. My neck shriveled up like a turtle’s due to the biting wind piercing through my padded coat.
“Welcome.”
Perhaps because it was a weekday, the cafe, except for three ladies, was quite empty.
“Two cups of warm coffee, please.”
I ordered drinks for both of us and sat down. Baek In-ha approached and took a seat in front of me.
Until the coffee arrived, Baek In-ha didn’t say a word. I didn’t speak first either. I just stared at the steaming coffee cups in front of me.
“I’m sorry… I’m really sorry, Director.”
“Did you come all the way here to say that? Even if Baek In-ha apologizes, I have no intention of reaching an agreement.”
“I didn’t come here for an agreement. I was really, truly worried…”
Tears began to well up in Baek In-ha’s eyes.
The round, cute eyes that I thought looked like a rabbit, staring at me with disdain as she offered an insincere apology, were quite different from the eyes that were now filled with sincere apologies, starting to fall like drops.
What is her true nature, exactly?
“Don’t cry. Who is there to cry for right now?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
She quickly wiped away her tears with the tissues on the table.
“If you have something to say, say it quickly. My family is waiting for me at home.”
A voice colder and sharper than the frigid Siberian wind blowing outside echoed, full of apologies colder than the wind.
“I-I really liked you, Director. You’re so cool, your personality is great, you’re pretty, you’re good at your job, and you speak English so well…”
“Are you joking right now?”
“I’m serious. Please believe me.”
Tears welled up in Baek In-ha’s eyes again, but she remembered my words not to cry, so she dabbed her eyes with crumpled tissues.
“I liked Director, who didn’t judge people by their appearance and truly saw them for who they are. But… when I found out you were close friends with Researcher Ji Seo-jun, I think I went crazy from that moment.”
On the way back after watching a movie with Ji Seo-jun, I recalled her face, which I coincidentally encountered on the street.
“I thought Director’s appearance was all a lie. Even the words that said looks didn’t matter were lies, and I thought you were just trying to monopolize Researcher Ji Seo-jun.”
“That’s, what…”
“I know. I misunderstood everything because I was crazy. Even though Director said in one corner of my heart that it wasn’t true, and that you’re not that kind of person, I turned away. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t mix words with such a person, and Director, it was just too easy for you… so.”
Baek In-ha’s face twisted painfully. The swollen cheek made her look even more agonized.
“So, that’s how it was. I approached Yuna first because at first, she confessed to Researcher Ji Seo-jun, so I wanted to find out what kind of person he was… and I thought that if I hid behind that person, I wouldn’t get caught doing bad things.”
As the sobbing sounds grew louder, the ladies sitting a little away looked over with slight curiosity.
“Not bad things, it’s a crime. Baek In-ha. No matter what you say, it’s an excuse I can’t understand.”
“I know. Pushing Director was really… it was really an accident. I realized it when I saw Director bleeding and collapsing. What was I doing.”
“It’s too, too late for realization. I…”
“I’m truly, truly sorry.”
“I don’t even want to hear an apology.”
“I wanted to apologize, but I also wanted to see Director in a safe state.”
“I can’t believe your feelings, In-ha. I don’t know if you really want to see a healthy me, or if you’re just scheming something else.”
“No, no! It’s really not like that…”
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
