Thanks to that, I felt a bit closer to him, but it wasn’t because he liked me, it felt more like he needed me.
Because of that, even though I didn’t show it on the outside, I kept my distance inside.
It was because I didn’t want to get hurt again due to unnecessary expectations, but these past few days, he was a bit different.
“Stop worrying about me.”
“Sorry for only thinking about myself.”
Those were words that felt sincere.
He was genuinely thinking about me.
“Don’t worry about how I feel, focus on your own feelings.”
The feeling of caring more about someone else than myself.
Right now, I’m just expressing it as “liking you,” but this is clearly…
The look of contemplation slowly filled Si Hyun’s pupils as she stared silently at Jae Heon’s name.
Si Hyun didn’t move for a while.
The night of deepening worries was quickly passing by.
[Star icon]The next day.
Si Hyun once again faced the simple breakfast that was prepared without fail.
Jae Oh sat there, looking no different from usual.
As I sat down beside him, I could feel his gaze.
“How’s your body?”
Chae Yoon, with nothing unusual except for a slight muscle ache, answered with a faint smile.
“I’m fine.”
Despite her assurance, his gaze didn’t seem to leave her.
She knew he was embarrassed by her response, but Chae Yoon began to mix her salad as if she didn’t notice.
The meal began in a somewhat awkward atmosphere.
Jae Oh, who wasn’t letting things slide easily, stopped eating and asked, “What about work?”
“How do you want to handle it?”
“Do I need to answer right away?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll let you know after thinking about it a bit more.”
With a slight nod, Jae Oh glanced at Chae Yoon. Looking at the bandage on her pale cheek, memories of Woo Jin’s report from yesterday, where he mentioned that she couldn’t contact the man, came back to him.
His thick eyebrows furrowed slightly.
However, this was a very brief moment, and Jae Oh quickly changed her expression to a composed one as she reluctantly broached a topic she didn’t want to discuss.
“Do you have the divorce documents?”
Chae Yoon, who had been savoring the taste of the tangy sauce, paused her creative movement.
“Oh, right. I forgot and left them at home.”
Jae Oh replied casually, “Then stop by when we go to the court later.”
“It’s a hassle. I’ll just rewrite them here.”
Her meticulously groomed eyebrows reacted faintly. Rewrite them? Having to write them all over again by hand didn’t sit well with her.
The tightly-knit eyebrows responded faintly. Again?
I have to write it all over again by hand?
Bitterness welled up, but I had no choice.
“All right.”
I nodded, indicating my agreement. Chae Yoon finished eating, then printed out a fresh divorce declaration form.
“Oppa, you fill it out first, and then I’ll do mine.”
As soon as I saw the words ‘Divorce Declaration’ at the top, my breath caught in my throat. A deep sigh began to boil up from the depths of my heart.
Taking a deep breath, Jae Oh moved his eyes to glance at Chae Yoon.
Despite not being in direct sunlight, her appearance seemed to radiate light, and the lingering attachment began to rear its head once more.
The words “Just one more time” had risen to the tip of his tongue, but the band attached to his white cheek sealed his lips.
Jae Oh felt his heart growing heavier as he began to fill in the blank spaces.
With a hand that seemed to carry the weight of an hourglass, Jae Oh, having completed the painstaking task at a snail’s pace, extended the divorce papers to Chae Yoon. She gracefully accepted them, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“I’ll go out and fill it in.”
Seeing her cheerful expression, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. However, it was better than not seeing her at all. Jae Oh couldn’t take his eyes off her until she left the office.
[A star icon]A few hours later.
The car ride to the courthouse was quiet.
Silently gazing out of the car window, Chae Yoon turned her head slightly to look at Jae Oh.
Having eaten breakfast and lunch as if he were fasting, he had asked her before getting in the car why she ate so little. He suggested going to the hospital instead of the courthouse, attributing it to post-accident trauma.
Although she knew it was all out of concern for her, for some reason, she had playfully responded like this.
“Why do you keep insisting on going to the hospital first? Don’t tell me you’re stalling again, trying to avoid the divorce?”
Since then, Jae Oh hadn’t said a word.
As Chae Yoon stared at his side profile, which had become somewhat sharp overnight, they arrived at the courthouse.
After parking and getting out of the car, they headed to the reception desk.
He was still walking in silence, but his mouth, which had been closed all along, finally moved.
“Let me ask you one thing.”
In a calm, deliberate voice, Chae Yoon stopped in her tracks and stared at him.
Jae Oh gazed deeply into Chae Yoon’s eyes and asked, “How was it while we were together?”
It was a grace period made possible by Chae Yoon’s consent, but the decision wasn’t all that straightforward.
Therefore, Jae Oh wanted to know how Chae Yoon had felt during their time together.
“…….”
Chae Yoon didn’t respond immediately, as if she were reminiscing about the past events. She didn’t provide an immediate answer.
Hoping that it wouldn’t be a particularly bad memory, Chae Yoon waited for the answer, and finally, a voice came through.
“It was better than I expected.”
The tension in her heart, wondering if the response would be negative, suddenly relaxed.
Well, that’s good enough.
Even though it wasn’t perfect, the fact that it wasn’t all that bad seemed to alleviate the lingering sense of guilt in Jae Oh’s heart. He lifted his lips once and paused, then took a step forward.
But before he could take another step, he heard, “And what about you, Oppa?”
Jae Oh stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Chae Yoon.
Without hesitation, he replied, “What are you asking? Of course, it was good.”
Upon hearing his response, Chae Yoon’s clear eyes lit up with a happy glint.
A smile blossomed on her fair face, a brightness he hadn’t seen before, and Jae Oh briefly lost himself as he gazed at Chae Yoon.
Sensing Jae Oh’s absent gaze, Chae Yoon spoke.
“Let’s go.”
Their steps forward were light, just as they had been before.
Walking briskly, Chae Yoon arrived at the entrance to the reception area and pulled out divorce documents from her bag.
She then handed them to Jae Oh.
“…….”
Jae Oh glanced at the documents Chae Yoon offered, unsure of what to do. After a moment of contemplation, he subtly inquired, “Are these for me?”
Chae Yoon didn’t respond verbally but gestured towards the documents with her eyes.
“Please check.”
Jae Oh retrieved the documents from the white envelope and examined them closely.
They were divorce papers freshly drafted that morning.
“There doesn’t seem to be a problem…”
Jae Oh pulled out the documents from the white envelope and examined them closely.
They were divorce papers freshly drafted that morning.
“There doesn’t seem to be a problem…”
As he finished speaking, his voice trailed off, and his gaze, which had been scanning the documents, came to a halt.
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
