“Meow.”
Ttoyi, the general, meowed again.
As if the sound had the same effect as breaking ice, time started to flow again.
Ji Seo Joon swiped the pasta stuck on his face with his hand and flung it onto the table.
“I’m sorry……”
I apologized to him in a voice barely above a whisper.
Despite my apology, he showed no change in expression, stood up from his seat and headed towards the bathroom.
It was certain that neatfreak Ji Seo Joon wouldn’t let me off easily.
I seriously contemplated whether I should sneak out of the studio apartment right now.
However, I didn’t have a chance to escape before Ji Seo Joon finished washing his face and came out of the bathroom. He then picked up the bowl of pasta we were eating and dumped it into the food waste bin.
“Hey! We haven’t even eaten half of it yet……. What a waste.”
I was startled and tried to stop Ji Seo Joon, but the glare he shot at me made me decide to just sit still with my mouth shut.
I watched Ji Seo Joon’s every move as I put the leftover pasta back into my mouth, mulling over thoughts.
To be honest, wasn’t it partially his fault too?
That highnosed and haughty Ji Seo Joon apologizing. Even now, I doubted if I had heard wrong.
I crunched my jaws vigorously as I watched Ji Seo Joon silently cleaning up in the kitchen.
After a considerable amount of tidying up, he shook off a dishcloth and poured some drinks from the refrigerator. He placed one in front of me.
“Do you, have something to do after drinking this?”
I asked Ji Seo Joon, feeling uneasy as I glanced at the drink.
“No. Just drink. And don’t spit it out this time.”
“Huh? Uh, okay……”
Even while drinking, I incessantly observed his every move.
Ji Seo Joon sat quietly in front of me until I scraped up the last bite. Then he took the empty plate and finished washing it too.
“Were you very angry?”
At my question, Ji Seo Joon let out a deep sigh.
“I wasn’t angry.”
A lie.
With such a clear sign of displeasure, he claimed he wasn’t angry.
“From now on, I’ll make sure to chew with my mouth closed……. I was just surprised because you suddenly apologized.”
“Is it surprising that I apologize?”
“Well……. Because you apologized for something that happened over 10 years ago……”
“……”
Ji Seo Joon silently stood up from his seat and sat on the sofa. Ttoyi, the general, was nibbling on the food in his bowl. He watched that for a while before he opened his mouth.
“I didn’t know.”
“What?”
“That you were bullied because of the lie I told……. I only found out today when you told me.”
Huh? He didn’t know? Didn’t I tell him?
I tried hard to remember something that happened more than 10 years ago, but I couldn’t remember even what I had for lunch yesterday, let alone that incident.
“Is that so? Didn’t I tell you?”
“Yeah. You didn’t tell me.”
“No way……. Didn’t I whine to you, considering my personality?”
“You whined every day, but you never talked about being bullied because of that incident.”
I see. I whined every day.
“I apologize again.”
“It’s okay. It’s all in the past.”
I felt oddly embarrassed at Ji Seo Joon’s apology and focused more on watching Ttoyi, the general, eating.
“By the way, why did you call me today?”
Only now did I realize that he hadn’t told me why he had called me.
“Ttoyi, the general.”
“Huh?”
“You like cats, don’t you? I wanted to show you Ttoyi, the general.”
I loved cats.
However, my mother had a cat allergy, and she strongly opposed the idea of having a pet cat, saying how could I take care of one when I couldn’t even take care of myself.
“You called me to see Ttoyi?”
“Yes.”
At Ji Seo Joon’s words, I laughed heartily and turned my gaze back to Ttoyi, the general.
Seemingly having had enough of his food, he started checking Ji Seo Joon’s and my reactions and hid under the living room table.
“It doesn’t look like it takes after its owner. It seems very shy.”
“Indeed. It doesn’t resemble Nam Joon.”
And so, the two of us just watched Ttoyi, the general, from a distance. In the past, I would have bothered him to provide comfortable clothes, claiming I would sleep over, but now was a grace period. I couldn’t dare to do so.
Regrettably, I lifted my heavy butt and left Ji Seo Joon’s apartment.
Ji Seo Joon followed me out and watched until I got into a taxi.
As the taxi drove away, the image of Ji Seo Joon in the side mirror gradually became smaller.
I was still successfully hiding my job from Ji Seo Joon.
There were less than two months left in my grace period with Ji Seo Joon. It was a short, but also long time, yet my current feelings were still ‘uncertain.’
I really didn’t know.
Sometimes he felt like a friend, other times not, sometimes like a man, other times not. I started to develop a headache from pondering over this question without a clear answer.
And there was another cause for my headache.
Strange rumors started circulating at the company.
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
