Although she was not a child she had given birth to, every time there was a gathering, she was always the center of attention, boasting about Seo Rin. The eyes that initially viewed her negatively gradually changed their perspective.
Of course, Seo Rin, who had never once called her ‘mom’, didn’t run away either. Whenever there was a disagreement, she was always the grateful daughter who first apologized with her small voice.
There was a distance of just one step, but they were not far apart.
Moreover, it was difficult to define their relationship with the word “love,” but they had a stronger faith in each other than anyone else.
So, she had nothing more to envy in the world.
A loving and capable husband, and even a beautiful and intelligent daughter.
It was the perfect family she had always wished for.
Even though the beginning was a marriage based on fitting conditions for each other, she could confidently say that it ended with love.
During the time Chairman Baek was alive, she had never felt lonely.
So, Ms. Park wished that Seo Rin also had such a marriage life.
Just as Chairman Baek had saved her when she was teetering at the edge of a cliff in life, wouldn’t it be possible for love to knock on the firmly locked heart of Seo Rin?
But it seemed her greed was too much.
Her wish for Seo Rin to be just happy backfired, like a dagger piercing her heart.
Feeling as if all of this was due to her helplessness, she broke down even more.
Her naive belief that it was an internal matter not to get involved in management at all, since Chairman Baek was already under a lot of stress, came back as anger at the critical moment.
If she had known this would happen, she would have put more effort into the management side.
In the end, Seo Rin’s marriage was her fault due to her incompetence.
With selfblame, a throbbing headache came.
As she furrowed her brow and massaged her temples, Butler Kim asked her,
“Ma’am, is your head hurting again? Shall I bring you some medicine?”
“Yes. Please, thank you.”
While Butler Kim went to get the headache medicine, Ms. Park’s cell phone vibrated again.
An unfamiliar number blinked as if giving a warning.
She usually didn’t answer calls from numbers not saved in her contacts. But today, she found herself unconsciously reaching out and pressing the call button.
“Hello.”
[Hello, mother. This is Kang Tae Joon.]It was an unwelcome call.
The drooping eyes of Ms. Park, who rarely showed aggression, sprang up instantly.
Traditional tea house, Plum Blossom.
Arriving earlier than the appointed time in the early evening, Tae Joon was led into a private room.
It was a sitting room decorated with a door plate that seemed antique, showing the passage of time, and a painting of plum blossoms. The interior was simple, yet conveyed a sense of tranquility and elegance.
Thanks to this, his muscles, which had been tense all the way here, relaxed, and he felt at peace.
Well. She usually enjoys tea ceremony, and likes calligraphy and playing the lute.
Upon his question about what Ms. Park liked, Tae Joon recalled Seo Rin’s answer and directed his assistant to find a perfect place that could satisfy those preferences. This was the result.
He was a novice in tea ceremonies, and it was out of the question for him to kneel beside Ms. Park, who was into calligraphy and playing the lute, and chat. But he wanted to respect her taste, at least in the place where they would have the conversation.
People tend to be more generous when they are with things they like, things they are familiar with.
Tae Joon was planning to utilize such human psychology. Therefore, if he could make his sincerity understood, he was prepared to learn about tea ceremonies in this place today.
With the sound of an employee saying “It’s this way,” the door slid open and Ms. Park entered. Tae Joon instinctively stood up and gave her a slight bow.
“You’re here.”
“I see you’ve been waiting. I tried to come as soon as possible too.”
Ms. Park sat down, unwrapped her scarf and looked at him. She looked more haggard than yesterday, as if she had not slept all night, but she was still the most difficult person in the world for Tae Joon.
Even after Ms. Park ordered chrysanthemum tea and he ordered green tea, there was an awkward silence between them. Unable to bear the silence, Tae Joon was the first to speak.
“I heard you like tea ceremonies.”
“I do. But you didn’t call me here to do that, did you? If you have something to say, say it. I’ll listen.”
Her quiet but irresistible soft voice sensitively stimulated his ears. Despite being a middleaged woman much smaller than him, he felt as if he were facing an immovable rock.
A rock that held its place without flinching, despite the harsh times and fierce storms.
Suddenly, he had such a thought.
Did this woman always protect Seo Rin’s side like this over the years?
How much of her own flesh did she give to the harsh wind and hot sun to create such a mountainlike aura with that small stature?
“I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. I usually manage my emotions well, but it seems it was difficult because it hasn’t been long since my husband passed away.”
“……”
“So even if you were upset, please understand.”
“No, on the contrary, I was glad. Because you opposed it.”
At the unexpected answer, Ms. Park’s eyes widened. In her eyes, there was a strong sense of ‘Is this guy mocking me?’
However, Tae Joon’s feeling was sincere without a hint of falsehood. Of course, he was taken aback when Ms. Park opposed him and stood up. He felt pathetic for not being able to properly respond to her words.
But as time passed, a part of his heart sank with gratitude towards Ms. Park. It was because he could feel her sincere love for Seo Rin.
Now, it was his turn to convey the sincerity he couldn’t fully express that day.
“Yesterday, everything you said was right. Marriage… should be based on love. Among the people we can call family, we cannot choose our parents or siblings, but the relationship between a couple is a family that is entirely formed by our own choice. That’s why I think it should be more careful than ever.”
“……”
“And yesterday, I could feel your sincerity towards Seo Rin in your opposition.”
“……”
“After the Chairman passed away, I thought I was alone.”
At those words, Ms. Park felt a lump in her throat.
She thought that no one could understand her heart apart from her deceased husband.
Even when she proudly talked about her daughter as if she had eight arms, in their eyes, Ms. Park was still Seo Rin’s stepmother, and whenever Seo Rin reluctantly had to call her, she always used the title ‘stepmother’.
Even if she were to die and come back to life, she couldn’t just be ‘mother’ to Seo Rin.
The only one who treated her completely as Seo Rin’s mother was her deceased husband.
Occasionally, when young Seo Rin rebelled, her husband would shout without mercy.
“What sort of language is that to your mother!”
She loved the term ‘mother’ that flowed from her husband’s mouth. It was a word far more familiar and informal than ‘mother’, which conveyed formality and courtesy.
But Tae Joon, standing in front of her, recognized her feelings at once.
“I… of course, I know I might not have the right to…”
She couldn’t speak properly due to the lump in her throat. Listening to her own voice stuttering out like a fool, Ms. Park repeatedly clenched and unclenched her poor hand on her knee.
The tip of her nose stung.
A tide of emotion swelled in her chest.
She didn’t want to cry.
She didn’t want to spill all her past sorrow to this young man she’d met only yesterday.
But then,
“You do have the right. Absolutely.”
“……”
“And… thank you for loving our Seo Rin.”
In the end, her tears broke free.
It was the moment when her sincerity was conveyed.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
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
