Not for the First Time (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
Young In barely managed to lift her heavy eyelids, as if a boulder had been placed on them.
Her mind was foggy like it was shrouded in mist, her whole body languid, and as her blurred vision gradually cleared, an unfamiliar ceiling came into view.
‘Where am I?’
Her questioning eyes slowly scanned the room. And then she found the answer.
‘Why am I here…….’
After desperately gathering the scattered fragments of memory, bits and pieces of yesterday began to come back to her.
The moment Cha Sung Hyuk’s face faintly appeared in her mind as she left the room supported by Hae Yoon and got into the driver’s seat, a familiar voice burrowed into her ears.
“You’re awake?”
It was a voice that told her this wasn’t an unfamiliar place, but one she hadn’t visited in a long time.
Young In’s memories rewound to three years ago.
Cha Sung Hyuk, who had pushed her all night until she didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger, yet always looked energetic without a trace of exhaustion himself.
“You never exercise, so I’m making you exercise.”
His infuriatingly shameless words lingered in her ears.
Unknowingly immersed in old memories, Young In snapped back to reality and bolted upright.
No way!
Her widened eyes urgently looked downward.
The moment she confirmed she wasn’t naked, the tension in her shoulders melted away.
“What are you doing.”
She had just started to feel relieved that the worst-case scenario had been avoided when Young In instinctively backed away from Sung Hyuk approaching the bed.
The moment her back touched the headboard, he sat down on the edge of the bed. A refreshing forest scent that suited Cha Sung Hyuk perfectly flooded her nose.
“Why? Are you worried I might have done something to you while you were out cold?”
“…….”
She felt the urge to say, “You might have,” tickling her throat, but Young In couldn’t bring herself to voice it. The problem was that her inner thoughts were written all over her face.
A crease formed between Sung Hyuk’s brows.
“What do you take me for.”
“…….”
Knowing better than anyone that Cha Sung Hyuk wasn’t that kind of pathetic man, the person who had tried to unfairly accuse him lowered her eyes slightly in remorse.
“I’m not trash who’d touch a drunk woman. Unless you wanted it, that is.”
At his added remark, Young In glared and protested.
“There’s no way I’d want that.”
“You never know with people. Don’t be so sure.”
Do we really have to argue again?
Just the thought made exhaustion wash over her. Young In let out a deep sigh, lowered her gaze, and then realized Sung Hyuk wasn’t wearing a shirt. Her eyes, which had lingered on his firm chest, hurriedly dropped.
“……How about putting on some clothes?”
She felt embarrassed only now, having looked at the all-too-familiar sight without thinking. Once she became aware of it, she suddenly had nowhere to rest her eyes.
“I just got out of the shower and came to check if you were awake.”
Explaining it wasn’t intentional and starting to stand up obediently, Sung Hyuk noticed Young In’s eyes fixed on the water bottle in his hand. With a faint smile, he twisted off the cap and held it out to her.
“Drink.”
Young In didn’t refuse. No, she couldn’t refuse.
Her lips were parched and her throat felt like it was on fire with thirst—there was no way she wouldn’t drink water offered even by her worst enemy.
Soon the bedroom filled with the sound of gulping.
When her tilted-back head returned to its original position, two-thirds of the water was already gone.
Sung Hyuk reluctantly tore his gaze from her fair, slender throat. The impure heat flickering in his eyes quickly vanished.
Taking the bottle from Young In’s hand, he poured the remaining water into his own mouth.
Finishing the food Young In left behind was something utterly familiar to him. It wasn’t because he was easygoing or because it was a waste to throw away.
If anyone else tried to make him eat their leftovers, he would have taken it as an insult, but strangely, when it was something Chae Young In left, his hand moved on its own. In this world, the only saliva that wasn’t dirty to him—besides his own—was hers.
Thanks to Sung Hyuk lightening the mood at just the right moment, Young In completely forgot what they had been talking about. And that he was still shirtless.
Once her throat was moistened and she felt human again, all sorts of questions flooded her mind at once.
“Sunbae, why am I here? I was definitely with Hae Yoon-ssi…….”
“I told Ahn Hae Yoon I’d take you. You agreed too.”
Sung Hyuk immediately corrected himself.
“To be precise, it wasn’t just agreement—you chose me.”
Young In’s eyes widened.
“Me?”
“When Ahn Hae Yoon asked who you wanted to go with, didn’t you clearly say my full name with your own mouth?”
“…….”
Young In frowned and tried to remember. But nothing in particular came to mind.
“If you don’t believe me, ask Ahn Hae Yoon yourself.”
She had no intention of asking. She didn’t think he was lying.
However, the fact that she had unconsciously chosen Cha Sung Hyuk left her deeply flustered. It made a mockery of her attempts to deceive even herself that her wavering toward him was merely lingering attachment to a relationship she had to cruelly cut off.
Facing the feelings she had desperately tried to ignore wasn’t exactly pleasant. It felt like her bare face had been exposed not only to him but to herself as well.
“By the way, where did you see me?”
Her face twitched as she tried to act nonchalant.
“At the lounge bar.”
“Why were you there, sunbae?”
“I had plans with a friend.”
“You had plans, yet you suggested we all have dinner together yesterday?”
“I got stood up by you and was bored, so I moved today’s plans to yesterday.”
Young In let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
“You told me the same day and now you’re making me the bad guy.”
“Alright. I’ll tell you in advance from now on.”
Sung Hyuk smiled and added,
“Let’s have dinner tomorrow.”
Young In rolled her eyes slightly at the man who never missed an opportunity and changed the subject.
“Was the lounge bar your original meeting place?”
“No, somewhere else. I heard it was a hot spot and wanted to check it out, so I changed the location.”
“Liar.”
“Yeah, I lied.”
He casually admitted it and honestly confessed.
“I was worried about that Ji Seung Chan guy or whatever his name is. I was afraid he might do something to you.”
“Whether that jerk does something to me or not, why do you care, sunbae.”
“You know why, so why ask.”
“…….”
Young In bit her lip as words failed her.
She hadn’t asked because she didn’t know. It was simply meant as “mind your own business.” Yet he went one step further.
“Don’t play drinking games at gatherings from now on.”
“I didn’t want to play. It was just an atmosphere where I couldn’t be the only one left out.”
She had felt safe because Hae Yoon was there, and after downing penalty drinks in a row, the alcohol hit her all at once, leaving no time to do anything about it. Something like yesterday would never happen again, but she still felt a bit wronged.
“If you absolutely have to play, call me. I’ll be your black knight.”
“…….”
Young In unconsciously pictured him showing up as the black knight. Thinking of everyone’s shocked faces made her smile.
“If you’re not going to call me, from now on only drink with me.”
“I quit. I’m not drinking anymore.”
“…….”
Sung Hyuk swallowed the words asking if she really needed to quit entirely. Along with his desire to keep seeing the defenseless Chae Young In.
“Anyway, why did you bring me here? Someone knows where I live.”
“If I took you home, wouldn’t your family think it was weird? I don’t care, but I figured you’d hate it, so I brought you to my place. Was that wrong?”
Waking up in her ex-boyfriend’s bed after drinking herself senseless felt about as strange as it gets, but imagining her older sister throwing a fit made her unable to blame him for bringing her here.
“I’m fine with coming to your place. But this house has a guest room.”
“Why would I make you sleep in the guest room. You’re not a guest to me.”
“If I’m not a guest, then what am I? We know each other, so… an acquaintance?”
“Not a guest and not an acquaintance. We’re much closer than that.”
“We were close once upon a time. Not anymore.”
Young In firmly declared that it was only the past, not the present. It was something she said to him, but also to herself.
Because she knew that if she didn’t stop him right now as he closed the distance at breakneck speed, it would only get harder.
Not that it would work on him now that he was fully awake to it.
“Yeah, not right now.”
Cha Sung Hyuk was the kind of man who knew how to take one step back to advance two—only when it came to the woman named Chae Young In.
If she had to be technical, Young In wasn’t wrong. Past and present were correct; he simply hadn’t mentioned the future. Saying “a relationship that will soon become close again” would have been accurate.
“You didn’t treat me like the homeowner either, so we’re even.”
Young In eagerly bit the bait Sung Hyuk lightly tossed to change the subject.
“What did I do?”
“You kept calling the homeowner casually—hey, you, stuff like that.”
Young In’s eyes widened in shock.
“Me?”
It was already the second time today she’d said that.
“Then who else? You really don’t remember at all?”
“…….”
Her wavering pupils suddenly stopped. She faintly recalled herself speaking informally to him.
Watching Young In’s expression closely, Sung Hyuk curled the corner of his mouth.
“Looks like you remember.”
“No. I don’t remember anything.”
Young In played dumb. She wouldn’t have done it if she’d known she’d get hit back.
“Then I guess you don’t remember confessing your love to me either?”
Young In’s eyes nearly popped out.
“When did I ever!”
“You say you don’t remember anything, so why are you jumping like that. You might have.”
“There’s no way!”
She believed she wouldn’t have. She had to believe that.
“Then did I confess?”
“…….”
Young In quietly shut her mouth, unable to handle his increasingly brazen attitude.
Sung Hyuk stood up with a laugh.
“Wash up and come out.”
Young In retorted sourly.
“I can wash up at home.”
“Then just come out and have hangover soup. I ordered bean sprout soup delivered, the kind you like.”
“…….”
Young In silently watched the man who remembered every little thing walk out of the bedroom, then finally got out of bed.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Most Commented This Week
The Villain Has Gone Mad For Me (Completed Main Story)
I’m The Lowest-Ranking Daughter Of A Martial Arts Villain (2 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Became the Assassin Family’s Foster Daughter (Completed Main Story)
The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story)
Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete)
At the End of Ruin, There You Are (56 Chapters Left to Complete)
She’s a Villainess but her Husband is Handsome (Completed Main Story)
People Aren’t Meant to Be Fixed! (4 Chapters Left to Complete)
Summer Must Die (16 Chapters Left to Complete)
My Discarded Fiancé Returned (Completed Main Story)
I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete)
Regret With All Your Might (Completed Main Story)