Yuin gazed through the windshield at the flawless, entirely white high-rise building and doubted her eyes.
She had visited this place only once years ago and never even thought of coming near it again. Denying reality, she didn’t want to believe she was voluntarily here now.
“Director, why has the location changed to… here?”
“You said it was okay.”
“No, I didn’t mean Ilrang Corp headquarters was okay!”
Her usually soft voice rose for the second time today, filled with astonishment. Gyeon merely glanced at the indignant Yuin but offered no explanation, skillfully driving into the underground parking lot.
After parking near the elevator entrance, Gyeon turned to look at Yuin intently and ardently.
“What’s with that look?”
“This won’t do.”
Murmuring while stroking his lips, Gyeon suddenly opened the console box and rummaged through it.
“What’s wrong? Director, if you’re busy, I can just go. I don’t want to enter…!”
A hand suddenly approached Yuin’s face, placing something on it before retreating. Confusedly touching her nose, she saw Gyeon smiling.
“There, that suits you.”
“Director, what is this exactly? Explain…!”
Before she could finish, Gyeon got out of the car, quickly opened the passenger door, and urged, “Get out.”
Irritated by his commanding tone, Yuin glared at him. The inscrutable Gyeon simply looked back steadily.
“I don’t like it here. I won’t go.”
Despite her sharp response, Gyeon sighed shallowly, bent his knees, and sat in front of her.
Lowered to his level, Yuin looked up at his clear face.
“Why don’t you want to go?”
“What if someone recognizes me? If weird rumors spread, my sister will be in trouble. That can’t happen. And I’ve said it before, I don’t want to step foot here.”
Having witnessed her sister, Yuin, enduring pain and suffering in the entertainment industry, Yuin had long decided to avoid this vast inferno of show business.
This glamorous hell had left indelible scars on both Yuin sisters. Unlike Yuin, who seemed to have overcome it well, Yuin hadn’t.
“Yuin.”
Except for this man, an incredibly special exception.
Perhaps she couldn’t resist getting close so quickly because it was hard to believe that the man pulling her out of the depths of her stagnant life was the one at the pinnacle of this fiery pit.
Today, however, it was crystal clear the kind of person the man dragging her here was.
“Do you think Nam Yuin gets to freely live her life as an actress just because she’s good at managing her private life, as people say?”
“…”
“Don’t you know better? What’s your sister’s personality like?”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“Trust me.”
His obsidian-like eyes emitted a profound light. Illuminated by the bright fluorescent lights of the parking lot, his well-defined features seemed infinitely serious.
“I know what you dislike and fear, so I’ll protect you. I won’t let you face the situations you’re scared of, ever.”
“Ever.”
A strong emphasis was placed on the word. It hit her – she was incredibly vulnerable to this man’s words and face, now and in the future.
Though her drooping eyes still bore lingering worries, she couldn’t look away from the man in an expensive suit, squatting down, asking her to trust him.
They simply gazed at each other silently. Then, Gyeon swiftly stood up.
“Understood? Give me your hand.”
His long, large hand reached out. Seeing it, the corners of her mouth tingled.
“A hand? I’m not a puppy.”
“You are a puppy.”
A smile stretched across his face, revealing deep dimples. An uncharacteristic yet fitting feature.
Yuin slowly reached out and took Gyeon’s hand. His strong grip pulled her from her seat and led her forward without hesitation.
While waiting for the elevator, Gyeon was engaged in a low-pitched conversation, barely audible.
Fiddling awkwardly with the black-rimmed glasses Gyeon had forced on her, Yuin quietly stared at the cursive inscription on the silver elevator door.
‘ilrang’
She had actually entered this place. Is this really happening? A deep sigh and a heavy head droop followed.
Despite Gyeon’s assurance of protection, the entertainment industry’s rumor mill, known for its speed, left her uneasy.
What if Nam Yuin hears about Director Do Gyeon being here with her sister?
“Yuin.”
Startled by his call, she lifted her head to find the elevator doors wide open. Gyeon pressed a button and nodded inside.
Yuin passed the naturally posed man and settled in a corner where a frail breeze from the air conditioning flowed.
Gyeon pressed a floor two levels below the top and stood close to Yuin.
“Director.”
“Why?”
“Did something urgent come up?”
“Sort of.”
“Then you should be working. Why am I here?”
“I didn’t want to let you go as you were.”
Tilting her head slightly, Yuin’s gaze collided with Gyeon’s calm, slender eyes.
“Having you in my space seems nice too.”
His husky voice sank subtly. The excuse sounded grand, almost like a confession.
Ridiculously, her heart started thumping wildly, right there in the elevator of Ilrang Corp’s headquarters.
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
