Not for the First Time (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
Young In trudged into the powder room between the bedroom and bathroom.
Whether to laugh or cry at how familiar she was with the layout of this house.
Standing in front of the mirror, her brows suddenly knitted together. She was displeased with her disheveled appearance.
“What are you doing here right now…….”
Separate from finding it absurd and ridiculous that she was like this at her ex-boyfriend’s house, she surprisingly wasn’t angry at Sung Hyuk for bringing her here on his own.
It wasn’t that he had done well, but she didn’t want to say he had done wrong either—it was a complicated, subtle feeling.
Young In roughly fixed her messy hair and clothes before leaving the bedroom.
As she walked down the hallway toward the living room, a deep sentiment settled on her face. Just like the owner of this house, the house itself hadn’t changed at all.
Pausing briefly in the empty living room, Young In turned her head toward the kitchen. The homeowner was standing at the dining table, laying out delivery food.
“I’ll get going.”
Sung Hyuk glanced up.
“Eat first, then go.”
He continued calmly.
“Don’t ignore the sincerity of someone who carefully read reviews to find somewhere tastier just to feed you.”
“…….”
Young In hesitated for a moment before approaching the table. She pulled out a chair, sat down, and quietly looked up at him as he opened the disposable containers.
She couldn’t possibly ignore his effort. That was all.
She decided to pretend she didn’t feel grateful to him for giving her an excuse.
Just for today.
[This is the timeline separator]Young In finished an entire warm bowl of soup.
Her upset stomach had settled considerably, and her dry mouth felt much softer.
When Young In set down her spoon, Sung Hyuk, who had been watching with satisfaction, made a slightly regretful expression.
“Have some rice too.”
“I can’t eat rice. It won’t go down.”
“Alright, forcing it and getting indigestion would be worse.”
“I’ll clean up.”
“Please do.”
The reason Sung Hyuk didn’t even pretend to stop her was so he could look at Young In a little longer. If he didn’t do at least this, she would leave right away.
As expected, the moment Young In finished cleaning up, she said goodbye.
“Thank you. And sorry for the trouble.”
Sung Hyuk frowned, clearly displeased. It would be better if she got angry and asked why he was doing this—these formal words felt distant, and he hated it.
“You don’t need to say that to me. Don’t say thank you or sorry.”
“Then what am I supposed to say?”
“Let’s hang out, let’s eat, I missed you—there’s so much I want to say.”
“…….”
Young In answered by glaring at him.
“Then let’s save those words for later, and for today, at least ask me to take you home.”
“I’ll take a taxi.”
Sung Hyuk responded calmly, as if he’d expected that.
“How are you going to take a taxi with no money?”
“What do you mean I have no money?”
“Isn’t your wallet in your bag?”
“Oh right, where’s my bag?”
“Hae Yoon will bring it to the office.”
She panicked for a second but quickly found a solution.
“It’s fine even without my wallet. I can pay with my phone. Who doesn’t have at least one or two credit cards registered on their phone these days?”
Young In smiled because she felt proud for neatly blocking his obvious trick. But that smile vanished without a trace the moment Sung Hyuk asked his next question.
“Where’s your phone?”
“…….”
The pupils of the newly flustered person darted around. She remembered putting her phone in her bag at the lounge bar room.
“If you walk home from here, you’ll be late. Are you really okay being late on your second day of work?”
Sung Hyuk knew Young In’s personality better than anyone. Chae Young In, who was borderline obsessive about being on time for school, work, and appointments, would never choose to be late.
“If you go straight to the office from here, you won’t be late.”
Young In clenched her fists as she stared at him casually shrugging his shoulders.
“I’m going home to shower, change, and then go to work.”
“How are you getting home?”
Sung Hyuk’s smile was practically saying, “Just give up and ask me to take you.” But Young In didn’t surrender easily.
“Lend me some money.”
That wouldn’t work on him at all.
“I told you, the closer we are, the less we do money transactions.”
“Then we’re close enough to do it.”
“I’ll do it with anyone else, but not with you.”
“You’re so petty…….”
Sung Hyuk leisurely crossed his arms and watched Young In grumble, completely confident in his victory.
Finally, the answer he wanted came out of Young In’s mouth.
“Please take me home.”
The corners of Sung Hyuk’s mouth curved softly.
“That’s the best thing you’ve said to me today.”
Of course, to Young In, it was the thing she liked least out of everything she had said today.
“Let’s go.”
Young In followed him, consoling herself that she had no choice.
[This is the timeline separator]The two went down to the underground parking garage together.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Young In cautiously asked Sung Hyuk.
“Did I walk here on my own feet?”
“No. I carried you in and carried you down on my back.”
“Ah…….”
Feeling embarrassed for asking something unnecessary, Young In awkwardly fastened her seatbelt. From today onward, she decided to engrave the saying “ignorance is bliss” deep in her heart.
Thankfully, he stayed quiet until they reached her place.
To be precise, the car stopped a few meters away from her house gate, not right in front.
It was the spot where Sung Hyuk always used to drop Young In off three years ago. The spot she had wanted.
“Thank… drive safely.”
Young In quickly changed her words, and a satisfied smile appeared on Sung Hyuk’s face.
“Yeah, I will.”
She could act like a prickly cat, but at the crucial moments, she obediently followed his words like a good kid—it was unbelievably adorable.
That was why he had always granted whatever Young In wanted, even if he didn’t feel like it.
Of course, he had no intention of granting every wish from now on. Because if he did, the very first thing would be disappearing from Young In’s sight.
“Oh right, Young In.”
Young In, who was about to open the door to get out, froze. Her heart thumped at the affectionate way he called her name.
Trying to act indifferent, Young In turned toward the driver’s seat.
“Beom Joon still doesn’t know I went to SL Entertainment. Naturally, he won’t know Hye Seong was absorbed into SL either. Tell him yourself before he finds out from someone else.”
Sung Hyuk felt frustrated and sorry that he couldn’t do anything even though he knew full well Young In was treated like the ugly duckling at home. But since she didn’t want him to interfere, he couldn’t step in recklessly.
“Got it.”
Swallowing the thank you, Young In got out of the car and walked home, feeling his gaze on her back.
Not long after she entered the gate, a car passed by the front with a heavy sound.
Young In stood quietly until the sound faded, then started walking again.
[This is the timeline separator]While driving, Sung Hyuk recalled the conversation they had last night as he carried a drunk Young In up to his place on his back.
“If you were going to do this… when I said… let’s stop… meeting… why… did you agree…?”
It was a question he never imagined would come from Young In’s mouth. So he returned the question he had only ever asked himself.
“If I had said no back then, would we not have broken up?”
“No… we would have broken up anyway….”
Even though he realized there was no need to regret his actions, he didn’t feel relieved at all. The moment he bitterly thought the outcome would have been the same anyway, he heard a tiny murmur.
“Still… maybe… it would have hurt… a little less….”
Even though she was completely drunk, it felt like the most honest thing Young In had said since they reunited.
Words spoken in wine are true thoughts.
It was a confession as meaningful as saying “I love you.”
[This is the timeline separator]Young In quickly showered, changed clothes, and headed straight to work. Fortunately, she arrived without being late.
“Good morning.”
After greetings asking if everyone got home safely yesterday, groans about drinking too much and feeling like death came from all directions.
Hae Yoon, who had been waiting impatiently for Young In, jumped up from her seat and ran over.
“Team leader, let’s get coffee.”
Before Young In could say anything, she was dragged out of the office again by Hae Yoon’s hand, so she naturally took the lead.
“Hae Yoon, did you get home okay yesterday?”
“Yes, though I had a hard time sending all the voluntary drunks who went crazy for expensive liquor home safely.”
Yesterday, Hae Yoon had basically done what Young In usually did.
“Did the CEO take you home safely, team leader?”
“Yeah, he did.”
Young In awkwardly smiled, omitting the “to his own house” part.
“I left your bag on your desk.”
“Thanks. Nothing happened after I left, right?”
“Seung Chan threw a fit asking why he sent you home first and came back alone…”
Hae Yoon frowned remembering yesterday for a moment, but then her eyes started sparkling.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“What do you mean?”
Young In played dumb for now. She had no idea what conversation happened between Sung Hyuk and Hae Yoon yesterday or how much Hae Yoon knew, so she had to be careful.
“You said the CEO is your oppa’s friend and university senior, right?”
Relief flashed across Young In’s face.
“Yeah.”
“That’s all?”
“…Huh?”
The meaningful smile on Hae Yoon’s face appeared because Young In’s shaking eyes were answer enough. So she naturally moved on.
“The CEO came to that lounge bar on purpose yesterday, didn’t he?”
“He said a meeting got moved up suddenly and he remembered you said it was hot, so he stopped by.”
“Oh, I see…”
Hae Yoon grinned and dragged out her words.
She decided to pretend not to notice the clumsy lie for a while. She was dying to say how perfectly the CEO and team leader looked together, but she held it in.
“Hae Yoon. Please keep my relationship with the CEO a secret.”
Young In instinctively knew Hae Yoon had caught on to something. But she couldn’t exactly say they used to date, so there was nothing else she could say.
“My mouth can only be sealed with meat.”
“Let’s go eat beef for dinner tonight.”
“As expected of someone well-educated.”
The two women who quickly reached an agreement headed to the break room.
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.]
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