His soft breath, carrying a hint of mint, tickled her face.
“I’m declaring war now, Mintaehee.”
His fresh scent inundated her senses, reaching her heart.
“Hold out for the remaining 96 times.”
“Should I just hold out? I won’t be swayed at all.”
“Suit yourself.”
As Sajun smiled, Taehee slightly furrowed her brows. Why was she, the one rejecting, feeling anxious, while Kang Sajun, the rejected, overflowed with confidence?
His long eyes and smile seemed to flicker like a fox’s tail.
Perhaps that’s why. Her sight and face felt itchy.
Deciding not to look, Taehee pulled the sheet over her head and closed her eyes.
“……I’m sleepy. I’m going to sleep.”
It was a pitiful defense, but the only one she had at the moment.
With words of a comfortable rest, she heard Sajun close the door and leave.
Yet, Kang Sajun’s fox tail still seemed close.
The smile that flickered beyond her closed eyelids, the minty breath and fresh scent still lingering at her nose.
9:00 AM.
Seontae suddenly visited Hyesook’s house.
There were only two reasons Seontae would visit this house.
The day his daughter came home once a month. And the day that woman threw a hysterical fit.
“Why are you here so early in the morning without calling?”
Hyesook, not welcoming him, watched as Seontae comfortably sat on the living room sofa as if it was his own house.
“Is there a place I shouldn’t come to?”
“Of course not.”
With an ambiguous reply, Hyesook carefully observed Seontae.
Even approaching sixty, Seontae was still robust and handsome.
With his dashing looks and the soft manners of a Seoul man, it was no wonder a naive 20-year-old country girl fell for him at first sight.
Not knowing that behind that flashy exterior lay a liar and a fraudster.
“I should just live here. It’s so hard to please you, really.”
Unable to control her expression at Seontae’s words, Hyesook subtly averted her gaze.
Every time she saw Seontae, a cruel and harsh truth painfully struck her heart.
This man never loved her, not even once. His only goal was her father’s vast land and wealth, a provincial noble. Unaware, how foolishly she had acted.
Now, not a shred of love for Seontae remained in Hyesook’s heart.
She despised him to the point of wanting him dead.
But it wasn’t time yet.
To achieve what she wanted, she still had to act as if she needed this man.
Hyesook, once again steeling her heart, faintly smiled shyly.
“You know, I’m always waiting for you to return.”
Finally relaxing his expression, Seontae handed over an envelope.
“It’s a list of potential suitors, so try to convince Taehee.”
“Why a matchmaking all of a sudden?”
“What do you mean, suddenly! Since she herself said there’s no hope with Sajun, she has to go on matchmakings! Don’t you know we’re all in trouble if Taehee doesn’t get married by the time she’s 30?”
Startled by Seontae’s outburst, Hyesook hesitantly pulled out the documents from the envelope.
“You want my daughter to meet these weird men?”
Knowing he had to convince Hyesook to persuade Taehee, Seontae quickly changed tactics.
“We need to do this to make Sajun and Taehee come to their senses. I’ll call Sajun and try to talk to him. Just make sure Taehee goes to the matchmaking.”
“…….”
“Our daughter might be temperamental, but she’s so smart and pretty. She deserves someone as great as Sajun. And Taehee listens to you, even if it’s just for show.”
Hyesook bit her lip, wanting to say ‘my daughter,’ not ‘our daughter.’
“If we don’t step in, those two will never make progress. Are you not going to let Taehee marry Sajun?”
If Hyesook agreed with Seontae on one thing, it was her wish for Sajun to be Taehee’s partner.
To Hyesook, Sajun initially seemed arrogant and pompous.
Curt, twisted, and heartless, but upon closer observation, he wasn’t so.
Never rude, tight-lipped, responsible, dependable, polite, and taking care of things precisely.
To her daughter, Sajun was that kind of man. Hyesook believed Sajun held Taehee dear.
But why, then, had nothing happened in over 10 years? Hyesook was as frustrated as Seontae.
For 29 years, being a mother who couldn’t do anything for her daughter, only being a burden.
The only thing she could do for her daughter was to maintain a good relationship with Seontae.
And to marry Taehee off before she turned 30, to a decent man like Sajun, not just anyone.
Finally, Hyesook sighed lightly and replied.
“I can’t promise, but I’ll try to persuade her.”
That’s why she agreed to Seontae’s words.
She overslept for another hour.
Getting out of bed, Taehee considered leaving as is, but then turned towards the bathroom.
Brushing her teeth with a disposable toothbrush always available, she untied and washed her high-tied hair.
Looking at herself in the mirror with a towel-wrapped head, Taehee muttered like a sigh.
“I must be crazy, Mintaehee.”
Wondering why she cared about her appearance after rejecting him.
After roughly drying her hair with a towel, she walked into the living room, but Sajun was nowhere to be seen.
“Did he go to exercise?”
As Taehee looked around for Sajun, her gaze drifted to the open folding doors leading to the terrace.
There was Kang Sajun, exercising in the early summer sunshine, still half-naked.
Standing at the threshold between the living room and terrace, Taehee decided to watch the spectacular sight of Sajun exercising.
Unaware that Taehee was watching, Sajun, with Bluetooth earphones in his ears, was focused on his workout.
Sajun, firmly grasping the push-up bars, slowly lifted his legs in a plank position.
His long legs slowly levitated, then straightened out, aligning horizontally with the floor.
It’s no wonder his forearms are so defined with such workouts.
Taehee swallowed dryly in admiration, but that wasn’t the end.
As Sajun’s knees bent backward and his toes slowly rose to the sky, Taehee’s mouth opened in awe.
It was a high-difficulty move she once saw in the movie “Oldboy,” where the lead character lifts his feet towards the sky.
“……!”
The moment Sajun perfectly executed a handstand in a planche position, Taehee covered her mouth with both hands.
Every muscle in his body was engaged, the defined tendons almost popping out in the aggressively sculpted muscles.
His sweat-soaked body glistened in the dazzling sunlight like a finely carved statue.
She couldn’t take her eyes off him, breathless at how incredibly handsome Kang Sajun was.
Not only was his physique, brimming with energy and dominance, impressive, but Sajun’s focus during his workout was even more admirable.
In this desperate moment of falling for Kang Sajun again, a memory from when she was 22 suddenly resurfaced.
The first movie she and Sajun watched together at home was “Oldboy.”
Seeing the lead character perform that high-difficulty move and calling it cool, Sajun had asked incredulously.
If she liked that kind of man style.
So, Taehee had said she disliked flimsy men and would date a muscular foreigner instead.
Both Seontae and Je-hyeon had pretty faces, tall and slender. Such guys seemed to lack backbone and loyalty.
It seemed like Sajun started working out like a lie since then.
“Ah, no way.”
That he started working out because of her.
What a ridiculous misconception.
But then, why did Sajun’s words from last night come to mind?
‘Mintaehee, I really worked hard on my workouts.’
Trying to snap out of her delusion, Taehee slowly closed and then opened her eyes.
In that time, Sajun, with his back to Taehee, was standing on the floor again.
Mesmerized by the finely sculpted muscles of his back, Taehee heard Sajun’s soft voice.
“Check the schedule, and send me the location of the matchmaking by message.”
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
