The ride home in the man’s sedan took longer than usual due to rush hour traffic. Yuin listened to the soft radio, conscious of the occasional glances he threw her way, and gazed out at the sunset streaming in. Surprisingly, she found the car ride with him not as uncomfortable or awkward as she had anticipated, causing her to look outside more than necessary.
Just before getting out of the car in front of her house, the man called out, “Yuin,” and she turned to look at him.
“Get home safely, and let’s meet again sometime.”
Yuin was about to ask why they needed to meet again but stopped herself. Based on her experience, he would probably just tell her to think about it herself.
Reading her expression, the man gave a knowing smile. Yuin just nodded silently and got out of the car.
It was only when she lay exhausted on her bed at home that she realized something.
“Ah… right.”
She had forgotten to ask him what his purpose was in meeting her.
[Star Icon]Exams, as always, did not wait and quickly approached. After several rainy days, the cherry blossoms that had dyed the campus pink had fallen, replaced by fresh green leaves. With the disappearance of the pink, it felt as though spring had left too.
Yuin, who had never paid much attention to cherry blossoms in her three years of university, casually thought she missed them as she passed the central library.
“…He said he was familiarizing himself with the route.”
Why would he say that? What reason did he have to revisit the university campus?
As Yuin stood still in the wind, she began walking again.
She naturally began recalling the man in her mind, and there was a reason for it. His messages started the day after they had shared quite a few conversations and parted ways.
Initially, it was a plain greeting about the weather, wishing her a good day. Ignoring it for a few days, she impulsively replied because of a particular sentence.
[There’s a forecast of rain in the afternoon, so don’t forget your umbrella. It’s a pity we can’t control natural phenomena.]It seemed he remembered her dislike for rainy days, but the unusual addition made her both embarrassed and amused.
One response led to more frequent messages, evolving to him sending a photo of a white-furred dog from some shooting location, saying it resembled Yuin.
The realization that something might be amiss came much later.
“Yuin! Over here!”
Lost in her thoughts, her legs had carried her to the usual meeting spot, the campus cafeteria, where her friends were waiting.
Today, instead of their usual spot, Jaehui was lounging on a spacious and comfy sofa, calling out to Yuin in recognition.
As Yuin approached, Jihan took her bag and patted the seat next to him.
“Why are we sitting here today?”
“Jaehui drank too much yesterday and wanted to sprawl out.”
Jihan looked at Jaehui with an incredulous expression and laughed. Then, handing Yuin the coffee he had ordered in advance, Yuin took a sip and asked, “Didn’t you guys have exams until today?”
“Right. I thought he wouldn’t come today because of his exam.”
Jaehui made a playful face and almost laid down on the sofa, saying, “Well, I had exams, but I couldn’t skip the after-party…”
“Did you have to drink that much? You should avoid such gatherings in the first place. Do you even have any sense?”
“Oh Yuin, shut that nag up, will you?”
“Keep this up, and you’ll end up taking summer classes.”
Jaehui retorted sharply at Jihan’s cynical comment, and finally, Yuin stepped in to mediate.
“Stop it, guys. The exams are over, why fight?”
Although they often bickered and argued, the friends quickly ceased their squabble upon intervention. Jaehui lay back down, and Jihan turned his head away, sighing.
Having seen this play out countless times, Yuin smiled at them and picked up her phone, which was vibrating on the table.
Touching the screen, the app opened, revealing a message from Director Do Kiyon.
[Yuin, you must have had a tough week with the exams.]Was he asking about her exam schedule yesterday to send this message?
As Yuin pondered whether to reply, Jihan unexpectedly asked, “Who is it?”
“Oh? It’s nothing.”
Startled, Yuin quickly turned off the screen, but Jihan kept looking suspiciously.
“What’s so secretive?”
“What secretive? Yuin?”
Jaehui joined in, sitting upright. The friends always united when making Yuin uncomfortable.
Pretending ignorance, Yuin sipped her drink, feeling uneasy under Jaehui’s probing gaze.
Finally, Yuin sighed and put down her coffee.
“Just checking the department’s group chat. Looks like they’re starting festival preparations now that midterms are over.”
“It’s not anything then.”
It wasn’t a lie. She had checked the department chat earlier, but she wasn’t ready to talk about the man who had been contacting her recently.
“Already our last festival,” mumbled Jaehui, quickly losing interest and lying back down. But Jihan, with his finely chiseled face, seemed unable to shake off his suspicion as he continued to watch Yuin.
“Why?”
Jihan, with an unreadable expression, stayed silent. Instead, he gently stroked Yuin’s head with a comforting warmth. Yuin found his touch familiar and soothing.
So familiar and natural that, without realizing, she briefly thought of someone else’s colder touch.
“Ah, again.” Yuin pushed away the intrusive thought, along with Jihan’s arm.
“Jihan, when’s the restaurant reservation?”
“Next Wednesday.”
Yuin nodded and avoided his gaze, not noticing Jihan’s clenched fist as his arm retracted.
Jihan spoke in a slightly subdued voice.
“That’s a free day for you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll pick you up in the evening.”
Yuin was about to decline but instead called out to Jaehui.
Jaehui, pretending to be pained by a headache, looked up and smirked.
“Of course, I’m going. We’ll have wine. Let’s take advantage of Yun Jihan’s generosity!”
Jaehui, excitedly insisting Jihan pick her up too, scolded him playfully. Yuin, laughing along, glanced at her phone tucked away in the corner of the sofa.
Then Jihan’s gaze, which had been accommodating Jaehui, turned towards Yuin.
After that, Jihan’s light eyes continued to gaze at Yuin’s face, which seemed to be hesitating about something, for a long time.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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