The aerial garden on the company’s rooftop was the most accessible resting place for S.T. employees, like a pavilion in a village. In fact, many employees spent their time there.
Considering she confessed there, it was no surprise the rumor spread so quickly.
As a woman, I found her both pitiful and impressive.
For lunch, I decided to go out with Baek In Ha for the first time in a while. I always remained vigilant, as I never knew when I might run into her.
Perhaps because of that, I easily spotted Yoo Na Ra from the HR team, known as ‘Lady Yoo’, in the lobby with other female employees.
“Is that Yoo Na Ra?”
Baek In Ha, standing next to me, noticed her as well and commented.
“If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to leave the office… she’s remarkable.”
I looked at Baek In Ha, who was staring at Yoo Na Ra with a mischievous expression.
“She might be embarrassed, but it’s not Yoo Na Ra’s fault, and there’s no reason for her not to leave the office.”
Baek In Ha replied in surprise to my statement.
“Ah, I didn’t mean anything bad by it.”
“I know, but since we’re in the lobby, we should be careful what we say, especially as our department often clashes with others.”
“Yes…”
Baek In Ha hung her head and answered dejectedly, as if I had scolded her.
“Let’s go eat something delicious quickly. If we’re late, the waiting time will just increase.”
I grabbed her shoulder and led her towards the restaurant.
Around the time I was leaving work, there was a message from him.
[Moon Moon. Do you have time to come to the officetel today?] Unless something special was going on, I didn’t want to go to his officetel. However, I was eager to hear the story about the girlfriend he had spoken of while ruthlessly rejecting Yoo Na Ra, so I readily agreed.Upon his message saying to go in first as he had something to take care of, I entered the officetel without hesitation, punching in the password.
“Wow, look at this neatness.”
His officetel was even tidier than the last time I had cleaned it up. I was tonguetied as I looked around.
“If it’s this clean, wouldn’t a woman living together find it tiring…”
I sat down on the sofa, criticizing him. Ji Seo Joon’s officetel didn’t have a TV, so I fiddled with my phone for 20 minutes until I heard the door opening.
“Why are you so late! I’m starving!”
“Boil some ramen.”
Ji Seo Joon casually responded to my comment, his hand carrying a small cage.
“What’s that?”
“Oh. A cat. Jun Mo asked me to look after it for a while because he had some business to attend to.”
Jun Mo was a high school classmate of Ji Seo Joon and someone I also knew.
“A cat?”
Ji Seo Joon put down the cage and headed to the bathroom to wash his hands.
I bent over to look into the cat cage. Inside was a charming creature with black patterns on a white background. It seemed uncomfortable with the unfamiliar place and was on high alert.
“Cute… Did you wear boots on your feet?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the cat, continuously expressing my admiration.
“What’s its name?”
I quickly asked him as he came out after washing.
“Ddo Li General.”
“What’s with that name… It’s just like Nam Jun Mo’s sense of humor…”
“Exactly.”
Ji Seo Joon and I spent quite a while ridiculing Nam Jun Mo.
Ji Seo Joon hastily set up a litter box and poured some food into a bowl, but Ddo Li had no intention of coming out. As I was watching Ddo Li, who didn’t seem to want to leave the cage, Ji Seo Joon asked me.
“What should I make?”
“Cook something?”
“Ah, I’m hungry too. And stay away from the cage. It’s already sensitive from being in a strange place, your face will just scare it more.”
I glared at Ji Seo Joon. Regardless, he started bustling around in the kitchen.
Thinking that the cat might indeed be scared of my face as Ji Seo Joon had suggested, I decided to keep my distance from the cage and sat at the dining table.
Ji Seo Joon’s back was busily moving around.
“How’s work these days?”
I laid some groundwork before asking what I really wanted to know.
“Are you curious about my work life? You ask often? Well, it’s just soso.”
Just as I expected, he gave a vague answer.
“Are there many female employees there too?”
It was only then that Ji Seo Joon, who had been working, stopped for a moment to look at me. His expression asked ‘why are you curious about that?’
“No… I just thought you’d be popular.”
Upon hearing my words, Ji Seo Joon opened his mouth, returning his focus to cooking.
“It’s bothersome.”
Although someone hearing this would probably criticize him, I had seen Ji Seo Joon since we were young and knew how much he had struggled, so I simply nodded my head.
“…Did someone confess to you?”
“…”
Ji Seo Joon closed his mouth tightly again.
“You accepted it. You did, didn’t you?”
At my words, Ji Seo Joon, who had been chopping mushrooms, stopped his hand and leaned on his waist to ask me.
“What are you curious about?”
“…What did you say when you got the confession?”
When I asked, he spoke while continuing to cut the remaining mushrooms.
“I told her I have a girlfriend.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
I immediately asked without missing a beat. But Ji Seo Joon, without intending to answer, spread olive oil on a frying pan, added beautifully chopped vegetables and garlic, and stirfried them.
A savory aroma filled the officetel.
With quick and confident movements, he put down a deliciouslooking oil pasta in front of me.
In my hunger, I put the pasta in my mouth and suddenly remembered that my question had been brutally ignored.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” I repeated.
I couldn’t help but wonder if this guy was using me as a shield like he did in high school, or even though it was highly unlikely, if he really had a girlfriend but didn’t tell me because he felt sorry. A smoglike unease began to emerge.
Knowing that Ji Seo Joon hated speaking with food in his mouth, I quickly chewed and swallowed my pasta before asking.
Ji Seo Joon stared at me gently while stirring the noodles with a fork.
“I don’t have one.”
“Then, why did you say that?”
“Because I might get one.”
“……”
I wasn’t sure if he was referring to me, who was still in a period of grace, or a girlfriend who might appear in the future. His vague answer was frustrating.
“I won’t let it slide if you spread strange rumors like you did in high school.”
“What? That I’m dating you?”
“Yes! Do you know how much I was bullied back then?”
“Who bullied you?”
He asked with an expression that seemed to be hearing it for the first time. Suddenly, something in my head went ‘pop’.
“You didn’t know? Seniors came to bully me, I was even called to the bathroom! I tripped while holding my lunch tray in the cafeteria!”
Ji Seo Joon’s eyes grew bigger with my words. He put down his fork and spoke.
“Who did that?”
“Do you think you’d know if I told you?”
Feeling aggrieved, I took my fork and speared a bunch of pasta noodles and shrimp and shoved it into my mouth.
Ji Seo Joon, who had a very displeased look on his face, opened his mouth with difficulty.
“I’m sorry….”
“Phew!”
I ended up seeing the noodles and shrimp that were in my mouth again. They were flying in a parabolic trajectory. And those noodles and shrimp landed gently on the handsome face of Ji Seo Joon.
It felt as if time had stopped.
Neither Ji Seo Joon nor I moved, and a heavy silence settled in the officetel.
Noodle strands were fluttering in Ji Seo Joon’s breath on Ji Seo Joon’s face.
Was I seeing things? Yes. This was merely my delusion. That’s how I rationalized it.
“Meow.”
At some point, Ttoyi, who had come out of the cage, let out a small sound.
It wasn’t a hallucination. Thank you for letting me know, Ttoyi.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
