Someone had said that poverty, sneezing, and love can’t be hidden. I found myself agreeing with that sentiment quite a bit. As a result, these days, I was starting to feel a bit anxious.
“Hey, we’re too close to the office here.”
“Why? There’s no one around.”
Lately, Ji Seo Joon’s frequency of touch had increased by the day, and although I didn’t dislike it, when we were this close to the office, I found myself pushing him away coldly without realizing it.
“You’re too careless.”
Ji Seo Joon slightly puckered his lips at my words. But I wasn’t one to fall for his cute face. It was possible because for 29 long years, he was the friend who sulked like a child beside me.
“You didn’t want rumors spreading at the office either.”
“Yeah.”
“So, we have to be careful.”
For a moment, I turned my head here and there, looking around just in case anyone saw us. Then, Ji Seo Joon grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.
“People might bump into you.”
In the bustling street filled with people heading home after work, I was cautiously looking all around me, and Ji Seo Joon was protecting me in such a crowd, guiding me towards a movie theater near our home.
“You shouldn’t say anything different later.”
I had reserved a movie in the genre I liked. I asked Ji Seo Joon if it was okay, and he said it was, so I reserved it, but I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“I told you not to worry about me.”
“How can I not? I clearly know what you don’t like…”
“I didn’t come to watch the movie.”
“Then what?”
“I came to watch you watching the movie.”
At his embarrassing confession, my face turned red. I was without a witty response for such a direct remark.
“In that case, let’s watch a documentary for the next movie.”
Feeling embarrassed, I spoke softly and hooked my arm in Ji Seo Joon’s.
I wasn’t certain of Ji Seo Joon’s thoughts, but I too had never anticipated approaching Ji Seo Joon so spontaneously. Prior to our relationship, I was apprehensive whether I could really interact with him like other couples once we started dating, but that worry proved to be unfounded.
In contrast to the past when we used to merely growl at each other, I now longed to be with him even if only for a moment, and yearned for contact when together.
We knew each other extremely well, but discovering new sides to each other was also satisfyingly intriguing.
For example, my friend Ji Seo Joon didn’t like talking much. But my boyfriend Ji Seo Joon enjoyed expressing each and every one of his emotions.
He’d said he missed me, wanted to hear my voice, was curious about what I was doing right now.
Although I didn’t want to compare him with my exboyfriends, Ji Seo Joon’s expressions seemed to strike me more directly.
It was perhaps due to his gaze and voice, brimming and overflowing with sincerity.
Thus, I felt even more anxious.
I was concerned that someone other than me might discern the direction towards which Ji Seo Joon’s gaze and voice were aimed.
Our relationship, which had evolved from 29 years of friendship, seemed even more burdensome as it was an office romance.
And so, we were walking home after watching a movie. My hair fluttered in the rather cool night breeze. I had given in to Ji Seo Joon’s insistence to escort me home.
We had to pass two bus stops by bus, but as the wind was pleasant, we decided to walk.
“Don’t your feet hurt?”
Ji Seo Joon asked. They were lowheeled shoes, but he seemed concerned about the distance equivalent to two bus stops that we had to walk.
“Yeah. I’m still fine. If it gets tough, I’ll just take the bus right away.”
“Wear comfortable shoes… Don’t endure, tell me straight away.”
And so, we walked hand in hand. It was a familiar path, the conversation was as usual. What had changed was the distance between Ji Seo Joon and me.
“So, do you know what the team leader said?”
“What did he say?”
“‘I’m the one managing our team members. I can’t tolerate any abuses.’ Just saying that, wow. I was almost smitten.”
“Isn’t she your female team leader?”
“Yep. The reason I like this company is all because of my team leader and manager. I can endure the difficulty of work, but I can’t stand the difficulty with people.”
“Right.”
“How about you? How’s your team?”
“Just… ordinary.”
I scrutinized him in case he was hiding something, but I still couldn’t decipher his poker face.
“By the way, what happened with you going to Australia? Did you tell them?”
“That? I told them a long time ago that I wasn’t going.”
“When?”
“The day before you first confessed.”
“So, was the talk about going to Australia a lie?”
“It’s not so much a lie as…..”
Ji Seo Joon, who suddenly stopped in response to my words, looked at me.
“Do you… ha. Do you know how nervous I was thinking you might fly off to Australia?”
My boyfriend, looking quite wronged.
“I wouldn’t go anywhere leaving my boyfriend behind.”
“Because you have a bit of that trait…..”
That trait. I smacked the hand I was holding.
“What. What trait are you talking about?”
“You tend to rush headlong into things once you’ve decided to do it.”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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