“Are you really going to wear that on the plane?”
She wanted to take it off right away and put on something comfortable if it were up to Sumin.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s not uncomfortable at all.”
Yumi smiled, not understanding what the problem was.
“If you keep this up, we’ll be late. If you want to surprise Jiho, you have to go early and wait. What if you’re later than Jiho?”
“Oh, has the time really come already? Okay. Mom, I’ll hurry.”
Before departing for the airport, Yumi checked her reflection in the mirror one last time.
‘Pretty. The clothes, the makeup, even the hair, everything is perfect.’
Yumi wore a satisfied expression.
Excited. Nervous.
With a trembling heart, she set off for the airport.
“Is it that exciting? Is it better to go to London? Is seeing Jiho a good thing?”
Sumin laughed as she looked at Yumi’s forehead, which shot up as high as there was no more room.
“What’s the point of saying that? You’re both adults.”
Since tomorrow, they would be living in the same house as siblings.
Yumi felt like she was on a trip to London with Jiho.
Sumin, curious about Jiho’s expression when he met Yumi, was subtly tense.
It would be great if it was a welcoming expression.
The two who arrived at the airport quickly completed the departure procedure and headed to the boarding gate.
Yumi’s excited steps, which were walking busily ahead of Sumin, suddenly stopped at some point.
Then, the bag dropped from her trembling hands.
Isu and Jiho spent leisurely time in the lounge and then headed to the gate.
Perhaps because they arrived a little earlier than the boarding time, the gate had not yet opened.
While Isu sat reading the travel itinerary, Jiho eagerly awaited Isu’s reaction like a child waiting for homework to be checked.
It was meticulously written, including places to visit, restaurants, accommodations, and transportation for each day.
Isu felt a bit sorry, thinking that Jiho must have worked hard to find all this information alone.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“What do you mean, ‘How is it’? Of course, it’s great.”
Isu said it was the best, giving a thumbs up.
“Thank you. You must have worked really hard.”
Jiho embraced Isu around the waist with both arms and rested his chin on Isu’s shoulder.
“I booked only one room at the hotel. Is that okay?”
“Huh? Oh, that’s fine.”
Isu blushed and nodded.
It didn’t seem necessary to book separate rooms.
The hotel issue was the most troublesome part for Isu in this trip, but he decided not to go against propriety.
Isu’s heart seemed to be floating above the clouds right now.
He didn’t know it well when he was preparing, but now he felt it.
Jiho hugged Isu more tightly and pressed his lips to Isu’s neck.
When Isu felt the soft and smooth skin, he couldn’t help but laugh with a ticklish sensation.
“Hey, stop it.”
Isu, trying to escape from Jiho’s tight embrace, twisted his body and unintentionally raised his head.
Then, he happened to meet Yumi, who was standing a few steps ahead like a statue.
Yumi stared at Isu and Jiho with an expression of disbelief.
‘Ha! Finally, we meet.’
Isu walked towards Yumi, slowly scanning her from head to toe.
‘Could it be that she dressed up like this because she’s meeting Jiho?’
Approaching Yumi, Isu picked up the bag that had fallen beside her and offered it to her.
“Surprise! Yumi, were you surprised?”
“Uh…!”
Looking at Isu’s bright smile, Yumi’s face stiffened like a rock.
Although she accepted the bag Isu handed her, she couldn’t speak because she was busy thinking about what had happened.
“I guess you were really surprised. I didn’t intentionally not tell you because I thought it’d be fun.”
Jiho came closer to Isu.
“Yumi, we’re going to see our mom, right?”
“Uh, yes.”
Moving her trembling lips, she managed to make a sound.
What Yumi intended to surprise Jiho with turned out to be a surprise from Isu to Yumi.
‘This is not the picture I imagined. Why…? Why is Isu here of all places?’
Yumi’s throat tightened, and she couldn’t utter a word.
“Oh, Isu…”
Sumin, who followed behind, spoke instead of Yumi.
Seeing Isu and Jiho together, Sumin’s mouth opened weakly in surprise.
“Hello?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Jiho and Isu simultaneously bowed their heads to Sumin.
Sumin quickly looked at Yumi.
Yumi stood stiffly with a frozen expression.
“What’s going on? Are you two going together?”
Sumin tightly held Yumi’s trembling hand.
Worry overwhelmed Sumin as she thought about how Yumi, who had been so excited since morning, must be feeling.
“Yes. Since I’m going to London, Jiho said he would go with me.”
“Oh… I see.”
Jiho, who had said he might not come just this morning, suddenly decided to come, and now Sumin seemed to understand the reason.
‘Knowing that Isu goes to London every vacation, why didn’t I think about it until now?’
Because she underestimated the relationship between the two, she couldn’t even guess.
Thinking about Yumi, who had been excited for the past few days, Sumin’s heart ached.
Wonjin probably knew this fact in advance, but he hadn’t heard a word about it.
‘Did Isu deliberately ask him? Isu did the same thing Yumi wanted to do.’
“Aunt, how many days will you be in London?”
“I planned to stay for a week.”
“You’ll keep staying at our house, right? Mom must have told you to do that…”
“Yeah, I felt like I was bothering too much, so I said I didn’t want to, but Yeonsoo is usually stubborn.”
Sumin laughed with an awkward smile.
“Yes. Mom can be like that.”
Sumin read the embarrassed expression on Jiho’s face.
It felt somewhat tangled.
They didn’t intend for it to be like this when they decided to go to London.
“…I guess boarding is starting now.”
People sitting in the waiting chairs were all standing up and forming a long line behind the boarding gate.
Sumin, feeling sorry for the shocked Yumi, wanted to separate from the two as soon as possible.
“You go in first.”
“Yes, see you when we arrive in London.”
“Sure.”
The two greeted Sumin and turned away.
Sumin watched the backs of the two walking side by side and sighed deeply.
Jiho was hugging Isu tightly around the waist.
They looked like an affectionate couple that anyone could see.
‘What futile expectations does Yumi have, looking at those kids like that?’
It felt stifling as if something were blocking her throat.
Yumi’s eyes seemed to overflow with tears at any moment.
Feeling embarrassed and unable to say a word, she stood there dumbfounded, making herself even more pathetic.
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
