After leaving the hospital where Chae Yoon was admitted, Jae Oh went straight home and sat down in the recliner after taking off his suit jacket.
As he loosened his necktie, the stifling sensation in his chest eased, and he took shallow breaths.
Jae Oh rested his upper body comfortably against the chair’s backrest, his eyes closing.
In the quiet room with his vision blocked, it should have been a moment of relaxation. However, despite this, Jae Oh’s forehead was gradually creasing.
His lips, framed with a strained expression, released a sigh mixed with a deep breath.
“Ha…”
The image of Si Hyun, injured and looking at him, kept flashing in Jae Oh’s mind.
He couldn’t see her at will anymore, and he wondered what he should do already.
His head throbbed. Jae Oh, pressing his carotid artery with his fingertips, contemplated Chae Yoon’s condition, which he had received from Woo Jong.
[They said there’s no major injury except for a left wrist sprain and minor bruising. She’s wearing a wrist brace, and they said it should improve quickly.] Chae Yoon was in stable condition. However, this fact didn’t alleviate Jae Oh’s worries. His mind was filled with concerns about Chae Yoon, despite her being in good shape.Left wrist injuries wouldn’t likely cause significant disruption to her daily life. Did she eat? Did my words disturb her to the point where she couldn’t eat properly? These thoughts and more filled Jae Oh’s mind.
The urge to rush to Chae Yoon right away was tugging at his rationality.
It seemed like seeing that everything was okay with his own eyes would calm him down, but now that was no longer possible. Jae Oh managed to restrain his body’s impulse to move freely.
His tightly sealed lips let out a heavy, shallow breath. Maybe a drink would make things a bit better.
Wanting to quell his nature to reach for anything and everything, Jae Oh headed towards the mini bar.
As soon as he returned to his seat with a glass of alcohol, his phone on the table vibrated. It was Woo Jong.
“Oh.”
[Dash] Madam has been discharged.“Already?” [Dash] Yes. She said it’s much more comfortable to rest at home. Also, on JW’s side, they explained the situation, and we’ve rescheduled the meeting date.
While most of the words, other than the fact of Chae Yoon’s discharge, didn’t quite register clearly, the words that caught his attention followed.
[Dash] Oh, and I couldn’t mention earlier because the Chairman was there, but the person who caused the accident, I think it was the same man from that time.A sense of anxiety flickered in his blinking eyes.
“Are you sure?”
[Dash] Yes. It would be more certain if Director Hwang saw it, but both the appearance and the atmosphere were similar to Lady Hwang.
His long, narrow eyes squinted slightly.
“Contact information.”
[Dash] I have it.The end of his thick eyebrows twitched slightly.
You have it?
“You gave it to me willingly?”
[Dash] No. Lady Hwang asked me to receive it on her behalf instead of giving it to me.After a moment of silence, during which it seemed like he was assessing the situation, Jae Oh spoke.
“At what point did the motorcycle accident happen?”
[Dash] When I received the contact information.
“Then, contact them now and arrange a meeting.”
[Dash] Yes. What time should I schedule it for?Jae Oh checked the time on his wristwatch.
It wasn’t too late.
“An hour from now.”
[Dash] Understood.“Oh, Grandfather wants to see you.”
Upon hearing Woo Jong’s acknowledgment, Jae Oh ended the call.
With that, the report that Chae Yoon had been discharged from the hospital echoed in his mind.
His long finger hovered over the call button next to Chae Yoon’s number.
I wondered if I could make contact at this level, but once I did it once, it seemed like I would do it again, and if I kept doing it, I felt like I would end up clinging to her again.
If I cling, you’ll nod your head and say you understand, right?
Recalling Chae Yoon, who had always given in to her stubbornness until now, Jae Oh felt frustrated and took a long, deep breath.
The time that had been flowing quickly until now began to pass slowly.
[Star icon] Ignoring Ji Phil’s attempt to stop her from leaving the hospital, Chae Yoon returned home and retrieved the divorce papers she had tucked away in a drawer.As she looked at Jae Oh’s name written there, his confessions began to come back to life, one by one.
“I like you.”
She was vaguely aware that her heart wasn’t entirely devoid of feeling.
But she never thought she was worthy…
“So, is that why you’ve been even more low-spirited lately?”
As Chae Yoon gazed at the contract laid side by side with the divorce papers, she recalled the contrast between Jae Oh’s demeanor now and how he looked when he asked for a one-month postponement.
She didn’t have high expectations that much would change during the month they would spend together.
Human personalities don’t change overnight, and she wondered how much one could change even if they tried.
“Effort.”
At first, it seemed like he was making an effort to turn his heart away.
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
