Lee Soo, who had been using a weather app for a long time, roughly guessed it just by looking at the probability of rain.
There were occasional exceptions, though.
“Well, that’s a relief. I didn’t bring an umbrella.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not going to.”
“Is Seo Ji Ho’s umbrella still in the locker?”
“Yes.”
“You should have just accepted it. It’s been a few days now, hasn’t it?”
“Exactly.”
Lee Soo pinched her nose and said.
“But, don’t you think he’s doing it on purpose? My intuition tells me so.”
Ae Ra narrowed her eyes and let out a malicious laugh.
Ever since the opening party, Ae Ra kept repeating the same thing whenever she had a chance.
Something about her intuition.
“Oh, what now?”
“Honestly, it’s strange even for you. I looked up the perfume that Seo Ji Ho gave you, and it’s ridiculously expensive. It’s a perfume certified by the British royal family. It’s too much of an excuse to not accept an umbrella while he just hands out such a thing.”
“What excuse. It must be a special umbrella. If it’s a meaningful item, what does the price matter?”
“I don’t think so. If it’s meaningful, you should accept it even faster!”
With a suspicious look, Ae Ra tilted her head and lifted Lee Soo’s wrist to her nose.
“Is this that perfume?”
“Yes.”
Ae Ra inhaled so deeply her chest swelled, then closed her eyes and savored the scent.
“Hmmm. This is Seo Ji Ho’s scent. Hehe. It smells really good.”
Lee Soo, unable to hold back a laugh at her friend’s irrepressible demeanor, grabbed Ae Ra’s arm.
“Let’s go. We’re going to be late for class.”
Then, Yu Mi, who had been standing by a pillar in the lobby, was glaring menacingly at the retreating back of Lee Soo.
“Huh! Was that perfume a gift from my brother?”
Yu Mi, who happened to see Lee Soo, had deliberately hidden her body to avoid confrontation.
She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but the conversation between the two people was heard clearly across the pillar.
Ji Ho had texted back confirming to Yu Mi’s message, and she had brushed it off, assuming it was a coincidence they had the same perfume.
“We’re not anything to each other!”
Yu Mi clenched her fist so hard that the tip of her nails dug into her flesh.
The thought that Lee Soo had deceived her made her lips tremble with anger.
What does gifting the perfume that she wears mean?
Come to think of it, they had worn the same perfume on the same day.
Could it be couple’s perfume?
Yu Mi’s heart pounded as she entertained the terrible thought invading her mind.
((()))((()))
Lee Soo’s condition, which hadn’t been good since the morning, gradually worsened as time passed.
Receiving Ae Ra’s cheerful energy seemed to help a bit, but then her body began to falter again.
Her head ached and her throat burned.
A cold might be coming on. If only she could hold out for today, then it’s the weekend.
Lee Soo entered the classroom with heavy steps to attend her last class on Friday.
Without the energy to go down to her usual seat, she simply sat in the closest vacant seat at the entrance.
Sitting in the back, she had a full view of the lecture hall that descended in steps.
She could vaguely see the backs of Ji Ho and Ha Joon at the front.
The class began, and Lee Soo barely made it through the three hours. As soon as it ended, she went straight home.
((()))((()))
When she got home, it was a little past six.
In the empty house, Lee Soo quickly made some dinner and took some cold medicine she found in the medicine box.
She planned to take the medicine and hold on for a day, and if she still didn’t feel good tomorrow, she would go to the hospital.
She might get better after resting.
Despite her lack of energy, she roughly cleaned up the kitchen and went up to her room.
‘Sleeping should make me feel better.’
Lee Soo, grateful that tomorrow was Saturday, fell asleep under the influence of the medicine.
A few hours must have passed.
Lee Soo was startled awake by the sound of loud knocking on the door.
Ah. If the door is locked, why can’t they just leave?
“Hey, Lee Soo! Open the door. Quickly!”
Bang. Bang.
The pounding continued as if they intended to break down the door.
“Open the door, now!”
The pronunciation was twisted, and the tone was higher than usual.
9:23 AM.
Checking the digital clock on the desk, Lee Soo raised her heavy body.
If you’re drunk, you should go to your room and sleep peacefully.
With a foggy mind, Lee Soo nervously opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, a drunken Yumi staggered in, pushing Lee Soo out of her way.
Yumi went straight to the powder room and came back out with a perfume bottle in one hand.
“You! You lied to me, didn’t you? Huh?”
Lee Soo stared at Yumi blankly, a dumbfounded look on her face.
“This! You said my brother gave it to you!”
Yumi shook the perfume bottle in front of Lee Soo’s eyes.
Yumi, glaring at Lee Soo with blurry, bulging eyes, was threatening like an angry cat.
“You said you have nothing to do with my brother. You said it yourself!”
Lee Soo felt a headache.
How did Yumi find out? As she thought, irritation welled up inside her.
I didn’t steal Yumi’s boyfriend, but do I have to put up with her drunken tantrums?
Especially on a day like today when I’m sick. I don’t have the energy to deal with her.
Lee Soo let out a sigh that sounded like a lament.
“Tell me. What’s really going on between you and brother Jiho?”
Every time Yumi opened her mouth, the smell of alcohol was strong.
“Give me that and go to your room.”
Lee Soo suppressed her anger and spoke to Yumi in a placating manner.
When Lee Soo reached out her hand, Yumi forcefully pushed her away, lifting the hand holding the perfume bottle up as if to say no way.
Losing her balance from the force, Yumi staggered and fell heavily, throwing the perfume bottle into the air.
Clang! The perfume bottle shattered on the marble floor, making a loud noise.
Fragments flew and the room vibrated with the scent of perfume.
It all happened in an instant.
With a frozen face, Lee Soo looked at the broken perfume bottle, Yumi suddenly got up and charged at her, grabbing her hair.
“Hey! You, I told you not to mess with my brother, didn’t I? You wicked girl! You deceived me!”
In that moment, Lee Soo felt like the anger she had been suppressing erupted like a volcano.
She had no time to think about patience or anything else.
Lee Soo grabbed Yumi’s hair without backing down, causing Yumi to let out a sharp scream.
“Ouch! Are you crazy? Let go of me!”
At the loud noise, Soomin rushed in and pulled the two of them apart.
“Mom! Ugh. Ugh. She pulled out all my hair.”
Yumi started crying, sitting on the floor and shaking her tousled hair.
Checking whether Yumi was hurt by the broken glass, Soomin suddenly approached Lee Soo and slapped her hard on the cheek.
With a squelching sound, Lee Soo’s head jerked to the side and she stumbled back a few steps.
Blackness flashed in front of her eyes and she saw stars.
“I told you so, didn’t I? How dare you mess with Yumi! You’re so cheeky!”
The sharp voice of Soomin mixed with the sobbing of Yumi.
Soomin kept ranting in excitement, but all Lee Soo heard was a buzzing sound.
When she closed and opened her eyes, she began to see what was previously just darkness.
Supporting herself on the edge of the bed, Lee Soo barely regained her senses and ran out of the house.
Sorrow surged and tears welled up in her eyes.
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
