“She was an artist. When she was preparing for exhibitions, she stayed here and created her artwork. When I was young, I used to complain about being bored when I came here, but I never knew it would become the only memory I have with my mother.”
I recalled hearing a long time ago that his mother was a famous contemporary artist.
Jae Ha seemed to remember his late mother and smiled with a hint of bitterness.
“She had a pre-existing condition, but we never expected her to pass away so suddenly.”
His mother passed away shortly before he entered middle school.
I vaguely remembered attending the funeral with his grandfather.
“He cleared out all of his mother’s belongings, but he wanted to leave this workspace as it is. It’s the only place untouched by Hojin’s hands.”
“I didn’t know there was such a backstory.”
His serious tone woke me up as if it were a bedtime story.
In the end, I lifted my body from the lying position and sat up.
“Is it okay for me to stay here like this, even though it’s such a precious place to Jae Ha?”
“Such an obvious thing to say. By the way, it looks like you’re wide awake again.”
Jae Ha got up from his seat and approached me with a playful smile.
“I want to get a definite answer from Yeo Jin before I leave tomorrow.”
“What kind of answer?”
‘Why are you coming here?’
With a meaningful expression, Jae Ha climbed onto the bedside next to where I was sitting.
The sound of the bedding crumpling followed his movements.
Slowly, with deliberate gestures, he approached me, and my heart began to beat loudly.
Before I knew it, I had become so close to him that I didn’t know where to place my gaze.
“I think we should hurry.”
Hurry? Hurry for what?
From the moment he climbed onto the bed, my nerves were on edge, and all my attention was focused on Jae Ha.
“What… what are you talking about?”
“What do you think it is?”
With a quizzical look, he returned the question like a boomerang, leaving me stunned.
Then, slowly, Jae Ha suppressed a laugh.
“I have no idea what Jae Ha is talking about.”
“Look at this. You’re in a hurry again.”
‘In a hurry? What on earth is he talking about?’
I was completely puzzled, gazing at him with a bewildered expression as Jae Ha continued speaking, now with a completely smiling face.
“It’s our wedding. We can’t delay it any longer.”
“…….”
“If I go back, I’ll hurry to get married. Remember it that way.”
‘Right, the wedding!’
Amid the recent chaotic events and accidents that had overwhelmed me, I had forgotten about the important wedding.
Having said that, Jae Ha took off his glasses, placed them on the nearby nightstand, and approached me.
‘Why is he coming back again?’
With the glasses off, his pitch-black pupils seemed unusually vivid.
Unconsciously, I had almost forgotten to breathe because of how close Jae Ha had come, as if our lips could touch at any moment.
“I’ll turn off the lights, so just go to sleep.”
After our gaze had been entwined for a while, he was the first to break the silence.
“What about you, Jae Ha? You have work to do, right?”
“I need to sleep too. It’s getting late, and I have to go back tomorrow.”
I felt a twinge of regret, wondering if it was already time to return to Seoul.
He turned his head, checked the clock close to midnight, and then turned his body toward me.
Jae Ha’s lips curved slightly as he looked at me.
“I don’t think I’ll sleep easily tonight either, but I’ll try.”
“……. ”
“Sleep well.”
With those words, Jae Ha reached his arm out behind me.
With a soft click, the switch turned off, plunging the surroundings into deep darkness.
“I can’t believe it’s already the day to return.”
A week that felt like a dream had passed, and it was time to go back to work.
I glanced at Jae Ha. He seemed lost in thought while driving.
My thoughts about him had changed a lot during our time together at the cottage.
At first, I was afraid to get involved with him emotionally or in any other way.
That’s why I drew a line and tried to stick to it, considering him a partner for revenge.
It feels like I’m getting more entangled the more I try to be conscious of Jae Ha.
So, I decided to let go of those feelings.
For the next year, even if I try not to get involved, we’re in a situation where we can’t help but get entangled.
Thinking that I should stop pushing him away blindly, I felt relieved.
I looked at the broadcasting station in the distance and said to Jae Ha.
“A week passed by so quickly. I can’t believe it’s time to go back to work already.”
“Yeah, we’re already in front of the broadcasting station.”
Jae Ha nodded in agreement with my comment that time had passed quickly.
His car slowly came to a stop in front of the broadcasting station.
“Thank you for the ride.”
“It’s on my way.”
I was about to get out of the car, expressing my gratitude to Jae Ha.
“But why are you going to work so early today? It’s not the usual time for work.”
Jae Ha asked, looking at the time, which was earlier than my usual work hours.
In fact, I had planned to visit the office in the morning and meet with the news team staff I had encountered at the hospital where my parents were.
I intended to have a discussion to clarify the rumors that had been circulating in recent days.
There were many speculations surrounding me, but the ones related to my parents were the misunderstandings I most wanted to address.
“I have an appointment with someone in the morning.”
“Who is it?”
He grabbed my arm anxiously when I mentioned the appointment.
Thanks to that, I was about to get out of the car but ended up being led by Jae Ha and seated back in the passenger seat.
“Could it be… a man?”
Jae Ha asked with a fairly serious expression as he looked at me.
I wondered if the gender of the person I was meeting was really that important on a bright morning, not late at night.
In my flustered state, I replied to him.
“Yes, it’s a man. He’s a member of our news team.”
“Why are you meeting a staff member so early in the morning?”
A deeply distorted voice echoed in my ears.
Seeing Jae Ha’s uncomfortable expression, I couldn’t help but laugh.
It felt like he was jealous, almost.
Wondering if that could be the reason, I stared at Jae Ha, and he turned his head first.
“Because there’s something important, right?”
“What’s the matter?”
Jae Ha looked at me while leaning on the steering wheel.
It seemed like he wouldn’t let go of my clothes without hearing the reason.
I exchanged glances with Jae Ha and my clothes he held onto, then let out a low sigh.
“I met them at Daejin Hospital. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to explain, but now it seems like I really need to clear up the misunderstandings that have piled up. Why am I even talking about this? Anyway, I’m heading to work.”
“I see.”
As I spoke, I realized I was sharing too much with Jae Ha.
With his head tilted slightly, Jae Ha’s lips curled gently as he looked at me.
“That smile… I’ve fallen for it again.”
As we got out of the car, Jae Ha rolled down the window on my side.
“I need to clear up that misunderstanding. Yeo Jin seems capable of handling it, but if you ever need my help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“…….”
“Normally, rumors are best left to fade as rumors.”
I turned away from his departing car, looking towards the broadcasting station, pondering his cryptic words.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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