Upon closer inspection, they were his friends. Friends who hadn’t answered his calls, including Hyunchul, who was having a meal with his father after a long time.

“No, those bastards!”

Frustrated, he roughly tapped the cigarette to extinguish it and approached his friends. However, their voices, dark and muffled, made it difficult for Minhyung to lift his foot away from the shadowy and narrow place.

“Hey, did Minhyung also call you?”

“Yeah. I almost answered like Hyunchul did.”

“Hey, I pressed it by mistake! I was too surprised!”

For a moment, Minhyung clenched his fist tightly, bubbling with anger inside. It hurt his pride too much to realize that his friends purposely avoided him.

But this was not the end, but the beginning.

“But that guy, is he really crazy? Seriously… How dare he mess with Baek Seorin? Unbelievable… With what audacity?”
“That’s right. Do you still think Seorin and I are on the same level?”

“She still hasn’t given up on her old dream. Still, Minhyung was engaged to Baek Seorin.”

“Hey, that was when Seorin was really young, just back from studying abroad and not knowing anything about the world. Maybe Minhyung would have been better off alone?”

“Yeah, it seemed like that. There’s not a single instance where Seorin has heard Minhyung’s story from his own mouth.”

“But you still couldn’t let go of Seorin? You even drugged her with ketamine. Oh… I read the article, and I wondered if that guy was really sane.”

“I knew this would happen someday. Minhyung went wild, trusting my father Baek too much. Without my father’s support, he’s nothing.”

“That’s right. Ah… If it were me, doing such a thing to Baek Seorin and losing face in South Korea, I don’t think I could even call you guys.”

“Exactly! Why did he make that call with what kind of face? So disgraceful.”

“But even this rampage is over now. Seorin made up her mind and rushed in. Maybe that guy… won’t be able to come out this time?”

“That’s right. Now it’s time to properly draw a red line on the family register. Don’t you think? Hehehe.”

Laughing as if mocking, they dispersed in their respective cars.

Though a stiff pain throbbed in his chest due to anger, Minhyung couldn’t reveal himself outside the spotlight.

He shivered with a sense of disgrace.

Now, he finally understood the meaning behind Seorin’s words.

[Dash] You… trying to confine yourself within my name.

She had stamped him with a crimson mark using her own name.

[Dash] Even if you pay the price, it won’t end there. I’ll make my name haunt you for the rest of your life.

Over the years, he would never be completely free from that mark.

“Dammit!”

Only now did he keenly feel the situation he was in.

It was the beginning of a downfall.

The next day, Mrs. Park visited Seorin’s office.

In her hands, neatly packaged, was the radish kimchi she mentioned a few days ago.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t make it because of some busy work.”

She had planned to go over the weekend, but due to unexpectedly busy work, her mind was too complicated to go back home. However, Mrs. Park seemed to understand Seorin’s feelings as she nodded her head.

“Yeah, I get it. So I came. The radish kimchi is perfectly ripened. I packed it well so it doesn’t smell. Take it when you leave work.”

“Why did you come yourself instead of sending someone? It’s heavy.”

“It is heavy. And also, Kang Seo-bang is working from home. It’s a newlywed house, so I didn’t want to send someone unexpected.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Let’s see. Your face… looks quite bruised.”
Mrs. Park looked at her considerably pale face as if she found it distasteful. Although she wanted to gently stroke her cheek, fearing that she might dislike it, Seorin held her trembling hand firmly on her knee.

“I never thought Jo Minhyung would cause such a disaster. He’s like the worst scoundrel in the world. You’ve suffered a lot, right? Nowhere to vent it all out.”

“No, I prepared calmly. As you know, old habits die hard, and if I let that guy off this time too, it seems like he won’t change until he dies of old age.”

“How can a person do such a thing wearing a disguise? And to you, of all people?”

“I haven’t treated that bastard well for a long time.”

“Ah… If your father knew, it would be a cry even in the underworld. Really.”

Mrs. Park breathed out heavily as if the anger inside her couldn’t be contained.

Thinking back to the day she encountered the incident on the news, even now, her heart, which had sunk deep back then, seemed to be still down there.

And thinking about Seorin, who had suffered so much after such a major incident, she collapsed once again.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t be of any help…”

In the end, Mrs. Park shed tears.

“I’m really okay. And Taehoon is with me too.”

“That’s why I’m so thankful to Kang Seo-bang. I feel sorry and reassured.”

“Are you eating well?”

“Yes. Eating is not a problem now. Of course, it’s still hard to believe that your father is not here… But still, it will get better someday.”

At Mrs. Park’s words, Seorin nodded. Meanwhile, she sank into her thoughts. Should she let Mrs. Park know the truth that Taehoon and she were aware of?

Even though Mrs. Park had no direct relationship with Seorin’s deceased mother, she was currently the lady of the Sungwon household. Even though Seorin had never addressed her properly, there was a strong trust towards her.

So Seorin thought that Mrs. Park had the right to know.

“Excuse me…”

However, just as she hesitated to speak, her phone rang.

It was an unknown number, and she thought about ignoring it, but considering that it might be a call from the police, she couldn’t ignore it.

“Yes, this is Baek Seorin.”

As soon as she answered the call, a deep voice, somewhat familiar, echoed lowly from the other end of the phone.

[Hello, Baek Executive. Our Minhyung, about this matter, could we have a brief talk?]

It was Chairman Jo.

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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