Taehee wore an expression like she had just been hit hard.
Why make such a face? It’s not like I said anything wrong.
“Go in, Mintaehee.”
Mintaehee, whom he thought would harshly leave, was still standing in front of Sajun.
“Kang Sajun, are you really going to go on arranged dates?”
Mintaehee, asking anew after having refused, was frustratingly sly.
But still, it has to be you for me.
Watching Taehee bite her lip, Sajun chuckled.
“Why, does it bother you?”
Instead of answering, Taehee just stared at Sajun, who also quietly observed her.
Her beautiful face, cast in the light of the streetlamp, seemed especially clear tonight.
Sajun’s heart ached as he silently watched Mintaehee.
How long did they stand there, looking at each other?
Taehee’s voice seeped through the muggy air.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“If it bothers you that much, why don’t you date me?”
Taehee blinked slowly, looking incredulously at Sajun, as if to ask why he was bringing up a topic they had already ended.
Instead of replying, Sajun lightly flicked her forehead with his thumb and forefinger.
Wincing as if in pain, Taehee scowled, and Sajun straightened up.
“Being over-dramatic.””It’s not being over-dramatic!”
Taehee retorted sharply, then bit her lip and glared at Sajun with flounder-like eyes.
But it seems he’s completely smitten.
Even Mintaehee, glaring like this, seemed unbearably pretty to him.
Ah, she was always pretty from the start.
With hands slanted in his pant pockets, Sajun took a step back.
His relaxed black eyes still fixed on the small face glaring at him.
That forehead perfect for flicking, those eyes busy glaring rather than smiling, her adorable nose, and especially those soft, squishy lips… all were beautiful.
His hands clenched inside his pockets, restraining the urge to pull Mintaehee close and kiss her.
It was easier before, not knowing the feel of her lips, but now it was hard to resist.
Just seeing Mintaehee made his gaze drift to her lips.
Oblivious to this, Mintaehee naively asked him.
‘Kang Sajun, do you have any food that you find delicious?’
Sajun never had an appetite, so he had no favorite food.
But recently, it appeared. It was Mintaehee’s lips.
It’s absurd to get any taste from those lips, impossible to chew or swallow, but why did they taste so sweet to me?
Reaching out to Mintaehee was an irresistible impulse for Sajun.
Even if he couldn’t kiss her, at least he wanted to caress her hair.
The thin strands felt soft between his fingers.
As prickly as a hedgehog in temperament, Mintaehee was soft from head to toe.
Despite her small hands swatting away several times, Sajun indulged in stroking her hair.
Eventually, Mintaehee gave up, obediently letting him, like a puppy.
Once Sajun stopped, Taehee brushed her disheveled hair with her fingertips.
“Thanks for the free meal. I’ll let it slide this time.”
There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Everything is paid for.
“If I treat you to more delicious food, can I touch you as much as I want?”
Taehee glared at him as if he had said something absurd, and Sajun just laughed.
She never laughs easily, anyway.
How can anyone say it’s easy with her?
To meet Mintaehee, who would put up her guards at the mention of dating, he even paid extra for a meal voucher.
From the moment he met Mintaehee in front of her company until now, he had been entirely focused on her.
Determined to score some points with Mintaehee by acting charming in some way.
Burying a truth in his heart that Mintaehee will never know, Sajun sought closure.
“I’m leaving.”
After getting into his car, Sajun waited for the light to come on in the dark window, reminiscing.
When did he realize his feelings for Mintaehee? It was when she was 22, precisely when Mintaehee started dating her college senior Jehyun and began distancing herself from him.
He thought he was going crazy.
He was determined to break them up and racked his brain.
After investigating Jehyun’s background, he paid a large sum to Mintaehee’s father, Seontae, to break them up.
Of course, Jehyun’s decision to break up for money was his own, but that hurt locked Taehee’s heart, making it impenetrable even for Sajun.
That’s why he couldn’t approach Mintaehee more, nor could he reveal his feelings.
It had been 7 years of waiting. But he couldn’t wait any longer.
He had no choice but to bulldoze his way through, creating a situation where Mintaehee couldn’t stand not coming to him.
Only after seeing the light turn on in the small window did Sajun start the car and make a call.
“It’s Kang Sajun. Send me the list of men for Mintaehee’s arranged meetings. And choose a woman for me to meet too.”
After giving a few more instructions and hanging up, Sajun chuckled to himself.
I’m such a bad guy.
It was a self-directed comment.
He was that desperate and urgent.
Feeling like he’d go mad because of Mintaehee, who slipped away the more he tried to hold on.
In a large VIP room of Club Gio.
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.”
