Then, a message alert rang from the cellphone tucked inside his suit jacket.
Before getting into the driver’s seat, Director Park sneakily took out his cellphone and quickly stuffed it back into his jacket pocket.
Then he got into the driver’s seat, adjusted the rearview mirror to get a good look at Seo Rin’s expression in the back seat, and gripped the steering wheel.
Her hardened expression.
Her empty eyes.
Having occasionally seen her like this, Director Park could easily guess.
That damned nightmare had come back.
A quiet Japanese restaurant located about two blocks away from the Sungwon Group building.
Tae Joon, who had secured a small room there, was tilting a glass of sake in broad daylight. There was a deliciouslooking plate of sushi in front of him, but he didn’t even reach out to touch it.
After Seo Rin went to work, Tae Joon’s reality had been stuck on the events of last night.
Everyone experiences sleep paralysis at least once, but Seo Rin was a bit different yesterday. It was more serious than 8 years ago. And she trembled for a while even after waking up from her dream.
At that point, it’s not a nightmare, it’s reality.
The day her emotions from the dream eat her up, reality would be a hell worse than a nightmare.
And the sight of her this morning confirmed his anxiety.
Seo Rin’s empty eyes seemed to still be wandering in her dream.
He couldn’t just sit and watch anymore.
He had to find out what was driving her to this point.
Furthermore, he had to discover the identity of the terrible nightmare she was having.
However, he couldn’t ask Seo Rin directly about all of this. Instinctively, he knew that she would shut her mouth.
So, he sent a message to the person who would know best about Seo Rin’s current situation.
To the person who was always by her side, to Director Park.
Shortly after, the door opened, and Director Park appeared. He politely greeted Tae Joon and took a seat.
“Apologies. I’m always on the move with the executive director, so the only time I could spare was during lunch.”
“I understand. And thank you. For not refusing and coming out. Would you like a drink?”
“No, thank you. I don’t drink on workdays. I have to drive.”
“Ah, right.”
The Director Park, who faced person to person, was as sturdy as his robust appearance.
“You said you had something to… discuss.”
“It’s not much, I just have a question.”
At Tae Joon’s words, Director Park put down the glass of water he was holding and assumed a listening posture.
“Since Director Park is always by Seo Rin’s side, I thought you might know.”
“Yes, I’ll tell you anything I know. As long as it doesn’t harm our executive director…”
As Director Park drew a clear line, a slight smile crept up on Tae Joon’s lips.
He liked the fact that he was emphasizing that he was Seo Rin’s person, no matter what. Now he understood why Seo Rin had such strong trust in Director Park.
“Of course. I called Director Park to know more about Seo Rin.”
“Yes.”
“Do you… know anything about the nightmare that Seo Rin often has?”
For a moment, Director Park paused, his hand reaching for the glass of water again, and looked at him. The twitching of his thick eyes suggested that the question Tae Joon had asked was a very sensitive matter.
“A… nightmare?”
“Yes. Seo Rin often suffers from sleep paralysis due to nightmares more than others. I knew this, but seeing her yesterday, it seemed to have worsened. So I wondered if you might know anything.”
“Ah, about that… I don’t really know much about it either. She’s not one to talk about such trivial matters.”
“I know. But even the small things.”
“Yes. I’m not sure what the nightmare is about, but I do know that she has it often. Especially when she is stressed.”
“Stress?”
“Yes. Actually, the recent situation hasn’t been going well for her. The interim shareholders’ meeting and the… marriage….”
Director Park spoke cautiously. Moreover, considering the situation where she insisted not to have a witness, he vaguely trailed off his sentence to avoid any misunderstanding.
“Stress…”
However, hearing Tae Joon’s mumbling, he felt the need to clarify a bit more for Seo Rin.
Yes, it was Seo Rin, not Tae Joon, who held the reins on him. She wouldn’t dismiss him for overstepping a little with this man.
“I don’t know how you’ll take this, but it’s highly likely that marriage was the biggest stress factor. Recently, the chairman passed away, and there was an interim shareholders’ meeting, but they’re all past events, aren’t they? On the other hand, the marriage is ongoing.”
“…..”
“For her, the unexpected marriage was a variable.”
“Do you think so? That the marriage… was a variable?”
“Yes.”
Director Park, who had been hesitant until a moment ago, answered firmly without wavering this time.
It was an answer close to certainty because he knew Seo Rin all too well. And Tae Joon nodded in agreement.
Even though he had forced the marriage out of his own desire, it could have been an unexpected variable for Seo Rin, just as Director Park had said. It could have been entirely possible.
The fact that the married life he had dreamed of was just a source of stress for her was a shock.
In the end, it was his greed that had awakened her nightmares.
“So do you know how often Seo Rin had nightmares before?”
“There haven’t been any in the last year.”
“How do you know that?”
“When she has nightmares… her condition is poor. She can’t concentrate on her work and loses her spirit a lot. Just like today.”
Tae Joon nodded. The sake flowing down his throat tasted unusually bitter today. And the cheap scent of alcohol unusually stimulated his nostrils roughly.
He thought everything would be fine once they got married.
Having experienced love once, he thought the second time would be easier.
But it seemed that everything had been his delusion.
This marriage was not the end but the beginning.
“Um… Excuse me, may I say something?”
Director Park opened his mouth with a resolute voice as if he had made up his mind. Tae Joon’s dark gaze quietly granted permission.
“Go ahead. I will listen.”
“I may have insisted that I don’t want to be a witness for the marriage registration, but I trust your judgment.”
“…..”
“However, you need time.”
Tae Joon precisely grasped the meaning of Director Park’s words.
“Is it, do you see? That I’m dying of love for Seo Rin on my own?”
It was a question thrown out with selfmockery stemming from selfloathing. Yet, that question came back as a confirmation.
“Yes. It’s very obvious, even a passing stray dog would know.”
At Director Park’s cool answer, a small sigh spilled from Tae Joon’s mouth.
He knew, but it hurt.
It was a truth he could no longer deny.
Love always hurts the one who loves more.
But it’s better for me to be hurt than for you to be, so I will love you more.
“So, taking a step back to let you breathe…”
Tae Joon nodded.
One step.
It was the distance that had to be created because of love.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
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.]
