“If he just peacefully gets a divorce now, it would be perfect……”
All the potential misunderstandings had been accounted for, and all she needed was a good conclusion. Then finally, finally, she could take a step closer to the man who seemed as elusive as a mirage.
Ho Yeon’s gaze fell onto the phone placed on his desk as impatience welled up in him.
‘I’d better drop it for a bit, just in case.’
His eyes that watched Hyun Min entering Eun Ha’s studio apartment shone ominously.
((()))
Chae Yoon, who had taken a halfday off as she couldn’t focus on her work and visited her parents’ grave to calm her mind, headed towards Eun Ha’s house.
Hyun Min was also at Eun Ha’s house.
Feeling sorry that these two seemed to be caught up in some unnecessary trouble due to her shortcomings, Chae Yoon conveyed her words of apology.
“Why are you apologizing? It’s fine.”
“Yes, don’t worry about it.”
Eun Ha and Hyun Min didn’t seem to care.
Chae Yoon, who appreciated their response, tried to eat with the cheerful couple, but the atmosphere between the two became strange in the brief moment she was in the restroom washing her hands.
“You just go and come back? It’s said that if you go and come back for just three months, your promotion is practically guaranteed, why won’t you go?”
“You expect me to leave from this weekend onwards?”
“Yes.”
Hyun Min’s words were blocked at the firm response from Eun Ha.
“What’s going on?”
When Chae Yoon asked subtly, Eun Ha responded in a tone that suggested she couldn’t understand Hyun Min’s decision.
“The division chief said that going and coming back from America is a condition for promotion, but he won’t go.”
There was a touch of resentment in Hyun Min’s eyes.
In the unusual atmosphere, Chae Yoon slowly observed their dynamic.
She decided that it would be better to excuse herself from the situation.
“Sister, I need to make a call for a moment.”
Chae Yoon, who didn’t want to get involved in the couple’s fight, discreetly got up and went into a small room.
Even though she closed the door, the sound of Eun Ha and Hyun Min’s sharply contrasting opinions came in clearly.
“The accommodation there is all ready, you just need to go. What’s the problem?”
“Well, of course… Let’s just stop talking.”
The main point of the conversation between the two that Chae Yoon ended up overhearing was whether they could be apart for three months or not.
Hyun Min said that he couldn’t go because he couldn’t be apart from Eun Ha, who he just started dating. Eun Ha said it was foolish to miss such a good opportunity just because of that reason, and told him to stop nagging and just go. The content of their conversation unknowingly brought up a memory for Chae Yoon.
“Brother, this business trip is really long, right?”
“Is a week long?”
Her past self, who was gloomy at the fact that she couldn’t see his face, which she could barely catch a glimpse of at home, for a week, felt hurt at his words.
“……”
The sudden surge of past memories reminded her of feelings she had been trying to avoid thinking about.
Chae Yoon’s mouth soured. With her mood dampened, Chae Yoon folded her legs and rested her chin on her knee.
The reason Chae Yoon came to Eun Ha’s house, not her own, was because she didn’t want to face Jae Oh.
So, she ignored Jae Oh’s continuous calls and tried to forget him by chatting with Eun Ha, but she wondered why her damned brain was thinking about Han Jae Oh again.
‘When will I stop thinking about him?’
Chae Yoon, who felt that all her past efforts were in vain, resented her own heart for not being able to shake off Jae Oh.
A deep sigh flowed out of her thick lips.
It was a frustrating and heavy breath.
((()))
The night passed without anything clearly sorted out.
Hyun Min, who had been waging a nerve war with Eun Ha overnight, had left, and Chae Yoon, who had switched her mood by chatting with Eun Ha, headed home to prepare for work.
As it was early, Jae Oh’s car was in the garage.
‘Will he be asleep, or awake?’
Although the probability of him being awake was high, she still hoped to avoid him if possible, so Chae Yoon silently entered the room.
A quiet silence greeted Chae Yoon.
She turned around after closing the door as quietly as possible so as not to break this silence, but…
“!”
She happened to lock eyes with Jae Oh, who was sitting in the recliner and looking at her.
Her heart sunk with surprise. Too startled, Chae Yoon, who had frozen, took a deep breath to calm her shocked heart.
‘Why is he sitting there like that?’
She didn’t know why he was looking at her at this hour, even with a fierce gaze, and she didn’t want to know.
So, Chae Yoon, after fixing her surprised eyes, examined his appearance.
Judging by his neat look, he seemed to have already used the bathroom.
‘So he will now change clothes and go to work, right?’
She felt relieved. There was nothing good about running into him.
Chae Yoon averted her gaze from him, thinking that Jae Oh would be gone when she came out after washing up.
Despite seeing Chae Yoon, he turned sharply and got up from his seat, the end of his eyes looking at her became sharp.
Although his eyes seemed ready to fire a word at her any second, he silently followed Chae Yoon’s movements only with his gaze.
Then, when Chae Yoon completely disappeared from his view, he got up.
Using his long legs, he strode towards the dressing room, and his feet only stopped when they reached next to Chae Yoon.
“!”
Chae Yoon’s shoulders flinched with surprise as she felt Jae Oh’s presence.
Chae Yoon slightly glanced at him standing next to her with her round eyes.
His profile, not giving me a glance. In the past, she would have felt neglected, but now, she was thankful because she didn’t want to converse with him.
‘I’m grateful he’s not interested in me.’
Bitterness lingered on her delicate lips.
Before she had entered the room, she thought nothing had been resolved. However, after facing him, her previously unsettled heart calmed slightly, realizing her efforts so far hadn’t been in vain.
‘Soon, I’ll be able to forget.’
With that inner resolution, Chae Yoon turned away from him, letting out the breath she had been holding tightly in her chest.
At that moment, Jae Oh, who had been looking straight ahead all along, moved his eyes.
As he watched her receding back, he revisited the situation.
[Yes, the person you’re meeting is the right one.] [So, I said let’s get a divorce, please prepare the divorce papers as soon as possible.]His firmly sealed lips spread into a smirk.
‘As if you have any say in this.’
His eyes, gritting his teeth as if making a vow, shone fiercely.
His eyes didn’t belong to someone who hadn’t slept a wink all night.
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
